18. Roman
18
ROMAN
36.1716° N, 115.1391° W
W aking in a panic, my heart racing, the trace of the nightmare I had about Elora meshes with reality when I don’t feel her pressed up against me like she has been every single morning since we left Oregon. I sit up and look toward the bathroom door that is open with the light off inside.
“Elora,” I call, already knowing she’s not going to answer. Still, my insides twist when silence greets me.
Tossing back the sheet, I get out of bed and grab my cell phone from where it’s plugged in on the nightstand. The moment the screen lights up, I scroll through the messages and texts waiting, but not one of them is from her.
Her purse she left on the dresser last night after we got back from dinner is gone, so I walk to the closet and jerk open the door, finding her bags still inside with a few items hung up, including the dress I bought her in San Francisco. Memories of me carrying her up to the room on my back, the smile on her face as I set her on her feet at the door, the way I touched her after we fell into bed… they fill my mind, torturing me as the dream still clings to my skin.
Glancing around the room, I dial her number, then look at the side table opposite of mine when her phone begins to ring from where she obviously forgot it when she left. I hang up and draw in a breath, urging myself to calm down, but it’s difficult. I’ve never once woken without her, and never once has she left without letting me know she was going somewhere.
“Fuck.”
I grab my key card and shove my feet into my sneakers before I leave the room. The dream about losing her still floats through my system, making my insides twist uncomfortably. I’ve never had a dream like that, one that felt so real, and I know the only thing that will calm my nerves is seeing for myself that she’s okay.
Getting on the elevator, I wonder what floor to start on. She could be anywhere, and this hotel is huge between the casino, shopping mall, and restaurants that are all attached. Searching for her will be like looking for a needle in a haystack.
Pressing the button for the floor the casino is on, I watch the numbers go down while I dial her number again and listen to the phone ring.
“Hi, this is Elora. Leave a message.” The sound of her voice only intensifies the panic wrapping around my insides, threatening to send me to my knees.
“Call me as soon as you get this message.” I hang up and call back again as I step off the elevator, and I keep calling in case she gets back to our room as I walk through the mostly empty casino. Only a few people are up this early, or maybe they stayed awake all night. After searching through three floors and calling a hundred times if not more, I’m about to head to the security office to see if they can help me out when she answers, stopping me dead in my tracks.
“Hey, I?—”
“Where the fuck were you?” I bite out, unable to keep the worry I’ve been feeling from turning into anger.
“I was getting something from downstairs. Is everything okay?” she asks, sounding confused, and I scrub my fingers through my hair, ignoring the glare I get from an elderly woman walking past me. I’m sure I look half insane, standing in the middle of the hotel without a shirt and talking into my phone so loudly.
“Yeah, I’ll be upstairs in a few minutes. Stay in the room.”
“Okay,” she agrees softly.
Hanging up, I jog toward the elevator, pushing past the group of people getting off with their luggage. I ignore the dirty looks they shoot in my direction and press the button to send the doors closed. The ride up to our floor takes forever, and when the doors open, I force myself to walk down the hall instead of running, taking the extra time I need to calm my racing heart.
Pressing my key card to the electronic lock, I draw in a breath when it beeps and push the door open.
The room is dark, and I stop in my tracks when I see the spark of a match.
“Happy birthday,” Elora murmurs, walking toward me. The flame of the single candle stuck in the top of a stack of sprinkled doughnuts illuminates her pretty face and her hair, which is down in a wild mass of curls. “Make a wish.” She smiles at me through the glow, and my chest gets tight.
Jesus Christ. I’m falling in love with her. Or maybe I’m already in love with her. I should have realized before this moment. I should have understood what the need to have her close meant, why I couldn’t just ignore the impulse to take care of her. I didn’t because I’ve never felt this way about anyone else. Not my parents, my sisters, or Val. Not even my grandmother.
I’ve never had one person in my life who I would gladly walk through hell for and do it smiling, until her.
I don’t bother making a wish before blowing out the candle, and her smile falters.
“Roman,” she says quietly, worry edging into her voice as I take the plate from her and carry it to the dresser. Turning back toward her, I watch her fingers tap at her side. “I’m sorry.” She looks at the plate before focusing back on me. “When the girl at the helicopter place mentioned that today was going to be your birthday, I thought I would surprise you.” She shakes her head as I start to close the distance between us. “I should have asked if you even liked celebrating your birthday or?—”
Her words cut off when I capture her by the back of her neck and yank her toward me, covering her mouth with mine. Her hands land against my chest, her fingers fisting the material of my tee as I walk her backward to the bed. When she starts to fall, I go down with her, never releasing her mouth. She tastes like Elora and mint, but most of all, she tastes like mine.
Letting her mouth go, I kiss down her neck to the top of the dress she has on while I bunch the material at the bottom, sliding my hand up the back of her thigh. The little whimper she makes when my fingers fall between her legs has my cock throbbing in response. I don’t think I’ll ever get over how soft and smooth she is, how wet she gets before I ever really touch her.
Scooting off the edge of the bed, I drop to my knees and grasp the backs of her knees, yanking her toward me.
“Roman.” Her eyes meet mine, but I lose them when I tear away the material covering her, tossing it aside, and cover her with my mouth, pressing in with my tongue. “Oh God!”
Her hands latch onto the edge of the mattress as I feast. I’ve wanted to do this a hundred times before now, but I knew if I did, I wouldn’t be able to stop myself from taking her completely. I knew there was no way I could have her taste on my tongue without getting inside her. After yesterday, there is no reason for me to deny myself. She made it impossible for me to hold back, as she took the ball out of my court when I saw the box of condoms she failed miserably at hiding. Condoms I avoided buying myself, hoping that maybe if I didn’t fuck her, this urge to consume her entire life would lessen. That I would somehow be able to prevent the inevitable.
Sliding two fingers inside her soaking wet pussy, I lick, suck, and nibble as she rides my face. When her back arches, her walls start to contract around my fingers, and a whimper slides up the back of her throat. I suck harder, dragging out her orgasm until her fingers latch onto my hair.
Releasing her, I reach over and grab a condom from my nightstand and make quick work of ripping the package open and pulling down my shorts enough to roll it on. Then, with her chest heaving but her eyes on me, her legs still spread open, I drag her off the side of the bed and impale her on my cock in one smooth thrust.
“Oh God.” Her gasp of surprise and the way she wiggles on my lap to adjust to my size makes my cock throb.
Bunching up her dress around her waist, I lean in, nipping her bottom lip. “Arms up.” When she lifts her arms over her head, I pull her dress off, leaving the thick strip of black lace covering her breasts, but I tug it down around her waist. Grabbing her ass in both my hands, I lift my hips into hers and start fucking her hard. My thrusts are rough as my grip tightens, and I spread her open farther.
When her head falls forward, and her half-mast, lust-drunk gaze meets mine, I groan and move my hand up her back and into her hair, fisting it tight.
“Mine.” The word is a growl from between my lips pressed against hers before I take her mouth in a deep kiss.
I would live inside her heat and the warmth she’s wrapped around me if she let me. When her nails dig into my biceps and her walls start to clamp down on me as she comes, I know that I’m never letting her go. I will do everything within my power to keep her with me. Letting her ass go, I hook her around her waist and pull her down one last time, locking her against me as I lose myself inside her.
With my legs shaking and my chest heaving, I drop my forehead to her shoulder, and she wraps her arms and legs around me. I kiss her as my heart starts to calm, and her breathing begins to even out.
“Thank you for the doughnuts.”
Her body starts to shake before her laughter hits my ears. Leaning back, she rests against the bed still behind her, then lifts her hand to my cheek. My eyes wander over her face, and the smile is still on her lips. “How old are you today?”
“Thirty.”
“How do you want to spend your thirtieth birthday?”
“Inside you.”
“You’re already inside me.”
“Yeah.” I lean in to kiss her but stop when there is a knock on the door. “Did you order something?”
“No.” She shakes her head, looking at the door, when there’s another knock.
“Just a second,” I bite out to whoever is interrupting the best birthday I’ve ever had, lifting Elora off my cock and helping her to her feet. I urge her into the bathroom as I stand and toss the condom before yanking my shorts back into place. Grabbing the bathrobe off the back of the bathroom door, I help her into it, then head to the door.
I stop to check the peephole, and my jaw tightens when I see the man standing on the other side of the door.
“What the fuck?” I swing the door in, and my dad’s assistant’s gaze meets mine before he looks over my shoulder. I turn to look behind me and find Elora standing in the middle of the room, her hair wild, cheeks flushed, and lips still swollen. Wrapped in a robe that is so large it’s hanging off one shoulder, she looks like a woman well fucked. Stepping in front of him so he can’t see her, I watch his eyes shift to meet mine. “What are you doing here?”
“If you’d answer your phone or tell your assistant to unblock my number and everyone else’s, I wouldn’t be here while you fuck your way through Vegas. But unfortunately, your grandmother is in the hospital, and no one’s been able to get in touch with you.”
“Fuck.” I scrub my hands down my face. “What happened?”
“She had a stroke.” He attempts to step into the room, but I wrap my hand around the edge of the door. His eyes narrow, and I almost laugh. Jimmy has worked for my dad for years, and because of their long relationship, he thinks he’s earned respect that he hasn’t.
“What hospital?”
“Lenox.”
“What airport did you fly into?” I ask, knowing my father probably allowed him to use my grandmother’s jet since Jimmy likely would have thrown a fit about flying commercial to run an errand, even for him.
“LAS.”
“Give me a little time to get Elora and myself sorted. We’ll meet you at the airport.” I start to shut the door, but he blocks it with the toe of his shiny loafer.
“No. Get rid of the girl and pack your shit. The plane is waiting. Ricardo wants you back in New York.”
I grin, letting the door go, and I take a step toward him when he backs up from my no doubt terrifying expression.
“First, Elora goes where I go. Second—” I reach out, adjusting his tie. “Remember your fucking place, Jimmy.” I plant my hand against his chest and shove him back before I slam the door in his face.
“Roman?” Elora calls as I walk across the room toward my phone.
“Give me a second, baby,” I mutter, grabbing my cell. Since I have the number for Lenox Hospital programmed in from when Val was there, I dial the number and ask to be transferred to the chief of staff for the emergency department. While I wait for the call to be picked up, I look at Elora, who watches me closely. “Start packing. When we get on the plane, I’ll sort out someone to come get your van and store it until we make it back.”
“Are you okay?” she asks softly, her eyes wandering over my face.
“I’m good.”
“Promise?”
So, fucking sweet.
“Promise.” I walk toward her and drop a kiss on her forehead. “Pack.”
“Okay.” She hurries to the closet while I talk to the chief of staff.
It takes him a few minutes to get the information I request about my grandmother, but when he comes back on the phone, he’s able to let me know that due to her having a hemorrhage stroke, they have been discussing surgery options to take some of the pressure off her brain. None of that is reassuring, but he promises to keep me filled in until I can make it there. When I hang up, Elora is finishing up packing and helps me get my shit together before the two of us jump in the shower.
Thirty minutes later, with Elora sitting next to me in the back of a Town Car, we head to the airport, and for the first time in weeks, I dial my mom’s number.
“Please tell me you’re coming home,” she answers with stark pain in her voice, and I latch tighter onto Elora’s hand.
“I’m on my way to the airport now.”
“She’s been asking for you.”
“As soon as I know what time we’ll land, I’ll send you a text.”
“Okay.”
“By—”
“I’m sorry,” she cuts me off, and my eyes slide closed. “I’ve wanted to tell you that a million times since you left.”
“It’s okay, Mom,” I say quietly, and Elora’s hand squeezes mine.
“I’ll see you when you get here.”
“I’ll text.” I hang up and let my head fall back to the headrest behind me.
“You’ll be there soon,” Elora assures me softly, and I turn my head to look at her, wishing like fuck that we weren’t rushing to New York because of the possibility I might lose my grandmother. The woman who taught me everything I know about real estate and believed in me when no one else did.