Chapter 28
Chapter Twenty-Eight
ROME
My heart punches the inside of my ribs with my arm around her waist. Hints of her floral perfume swirl around me when she pauses instead of pushing me away.
I don’t know what it is about her that I can’t seem to resist. At first, I thought it was the urge to make her angry, to irritate her until she was seething in my direction, because it was entertaining. But now I wonder if I was poking at her because I liked her looking in my direction.
It wasn’t until she calmed me during the race that something shifted…and then came the kiss.
Now I'm hungry for it.
“Rome.”
My name sounds like a beg, but I’m pretty certain she meant for it to come out as a warning.
“We can’t do this,” she says quietly, staring at the door instead of me.
And yet, she hasn’t pulled on the door handle.
“I’m just here to help you clean up from your sloppy date spilling tequila all over you.”
I make a deal with myself mentally.
If she pulls on the door handle for the second time, I’ll let her go. But if she doesn’t, it’s game over.
It could be good to get this out of our systems. Maybe loosen the pull between us.
Or make it tighter.
With my one arm still wrapped around her stomach, I take the other from my pocket and reach for the towel in her hand. Her fingers tighten around the handle, but still, she doesn’t open the door.
“Let me help you.” I mean for it to come out as a question, but instead, it’s a demand.
Tessa lets go of the towel, and I take it while slowly pushing her back to the vanity. I stare at the way her ribs expand with each quick breath through the mirror, and instead of cursing the open back of her dress again, now I’m praising it.
I turn the water on to wet the towel again. The squeak of the nozzle makes Tessa jump against the hard porcelain.
“Relax, Princess,” I whisper into her ear. “I’m just going to wipe the tequila from your legs.”
She shivers and grips the edge of the counter.
I bend at the knee and stare at the open slit of her dress.
I nearly shiver too.
My blood heats, and my fingers ache when I push the silk fabric off to the side, revealing more of her bare leg. A shaky breath slips from her the moment I place the wet towel onto her inner knee. Her knuckles turn white as she grips the counter harder.
“You’re just as affected as I am, aren’t you?” I mutter.
I watch in awe as goosebumps race up her thighs, disappearing beneath her dress.
Tessa says nothing.
I peek at her from below, and she has her bottom lip trapped beneath her teeth.
She’s trying to hold herself together, just like me.
I move to the other knee, and dab her skin there, and then slowly drag the towel up farther. She inhales sharply, and her warm breath cascades below from the heavy exhale.
I reach the outer part of her panties with the towel, and I’m desperate to get a glimpse. I try to move her dress out of the way, and to my shock, she takes the silk into her hands and bundles the material around her waist.
Black lace panties stare back at me, and my tender cleaning grows rushed.
I clench my teeth and move to the other leg, wiping the damp towel over her groin harder than the previous.
She shifts against the vanity, and her hips move forward a fraction.
The towel falls to the tiled floor, but I keep my hand in between her legs, rising to full height.
I stare at her with a silent question.
Those brown eyes, usually fiery, turn rich and doe-like, and I plead my case.
“It’s just us,” I whisper against her lips. “No one on the other side of the door knows we’re in here, and no one has to know.”
Her lips open slightly, and I hold my breath.
Have I ever wanted someone so badly before?
The tiny gap that lives between our mouths is there one second then gone the next. She relaxes into me, sinking her hips to meet my hand between her legs with a sexy noise. I kiss her long and hard. My tongue works quickly to memorize every single inch of her feisty mouth.
I love her lips. I love her taste, and I love having her like this.
I toy with her over the lace, rubbing my finger back and forth softly, until she whimpers against me. I grip the back of her head to keep her lips pressed to mine and pull her panties to the side.
“Needy,” I mutter against her mouth. “And I fucking love it.”
I slide a finger inside, and her head slips backward with a faint moan. My other hand gets lost in her dark strands of hair, the pinned pieces loosening from my grip as she unravels from my touch.
“That’s it,” I say with a strained voice.
Seeing her like this is life changing. Having her all to myself, hatred and teasing aside, is going to kill me in the end.
I add another finger and watch her closely. Euphoria washes over her features, the apples of her cheeks pink, her lips parting with a whimper.
“Right…th–there,” she moans.
My dick pulses as quickly as my fingers move in between her legs. I rub her clit, and her hips jerk from the touch.
Fuck, I think I’m in love.
I bury my head into her neck and tug on her earlobe littered with gold studs. “Show me what you look like when you come, Princess.”
Her breaths are hot and sharp. I tug farther on the silk fabric around her neck, lowering it to give me access. I flick my tongue against her warm skin and press my lips there next.
“Ro–Rome.” My name is a breathless sigh falling from her mouth.
It’s like I already know what her body needs. I suck on her skin gently, nipping her with my teeth. Her hips move back and forth, meeting my fingers, and then she dips her head backward, giving me even more access to her neck to nibble on.
One more nick of my teeth, and she’s a goner.
I’m desperate to watch, so I force myself to lean back and gaze at her thirstily.
Tessa is wildly tempting when she glares at me or rolls her eyes in my direction, but watching her come undone from my touch alone is an entirely new level of obsession.
I care about nothing else at this moment, except for when I’m going to get to watch Tessa unravel again.
Our eyes meet after her high, hers dazed and sated, mine fiery and hot.
“Now what?” she asks, voice raspy, eyelashes fluttering.
I readjust her panties, my fingers wet from her arousal. I gaze at her as I trace a line down her inner thigh, a dampness lingering behind.
“Now we go back out there and do what we set out to do.” I reach up and re-tie the silk sash around her neck, hiding the faint mark that I hope she finds later.
“What did we set out to do?” she asks, still dazed from the orgasm.
I step away, and she watches me the entire way to the door. “Proving to the media that there’s nothing going on between us.”
The realization comes back to her, the flush of her skin slowly disappearing.
“But Tess?” My hand rests on the door handle, and I gaze at her over my shoulder. “There’s definitely something going on between us.”