Chapter 12
Chapter Twelve
Romeo
When I was talking to the boys, I felt Nell enter the pool area. What I did not expect to find when I saw her, was her skirt-thing caught in the door.
Making my way to her, I can see her panic grow. When I get to her, she gives the material one last pull as the door opens from the other side, and she falls into me with an oomph, spilling my drink all over me.
Her humiliation radiates off her, and I know that I have to get her out of there.
Tucking her under my arm, I lead her away from the pool area, down onto the private beach that will lead to the main Waikiki street, where there are shops and a mall, mixed with locals and a fuck ton of tourists.
“You like it here,” I state, seeing her body relax when her feet hit the sand.
She looks up at me, her eyes no longer shouldering her worry and embarrassment.
No, now they swirl with lust and desire, and she bites her lip as I inch closer, pressing my body against hers.
Her skin is warm to the touch, feeling so fucking good against mine.
Her soft gaze settles on mine, and her breathing hitches at the contact. Licking her lips, it pulls a groan from me, making her eyes flash with lust.
“Come. Let’s walk and talk, and maybe if you are a good girl, I will buy you an ice cream.” Taking her hand in mine, we start walking.
As if she found her voice, she speaks.
“I do like you. I-I mean here, I like it here,” she stammers, making me grin.
Pink floods her cheeks again and I squeeze her hand.
“You like me?” I ask, amusement flooding my voice.
“Don’t be a dick, I meant that I like it here. In this paradise.”
“Sure you do. What is there not to like? I have money, I am charming and devilishly handsome, and I fuck like a Greek god.” She gasps, and I wink down at her.
“Fucking hell, Romeo, you cannot be talking like that out in public. You will have women offering to suck you off in an instant. How would that look online? The press would have a conniption seeing you involved in sexual activity on a beach in Hawaii. It is like they love seeing you with different women, and do not get me started on these ridiculous headlines that are printed.”
"And may I ask how you are aware of what is being discussed about me online?" I inquire with a grin in place, letting her know that I am not pissed whatsoever that she looked me up online.
She huffs, kicking some sand with her toes as we keep walking.
“I was told. Simone has a thing for you,” she rushes out.
“Simone, your best friend?” She nods in confirmation. “And what did she tell you about me?”
When we make it to the road, I point to a bench so we can sit down and put our footwear on. Then I slip my T-shirt over my head and I hear Nell whimper. When I pull the material down, I see her looking at my abs, and I smirk.
“Like what you see, babe?”
Her gaze flashes to mine, her mouth parted like she knows she has been caught checking me out, then she blinks and shrugs.
“It’s alright. I have seen better.” People walk past us, and I see men checking her out, then it hits me that she is still in her bikini and torn skirt thing.
I spot the entrance to the mall and take her hand in mine and lead her into the building, looking for a store where I can find her a dress to cover up with.
“What are you doing?” she asks me.
We enter a store, and I ignore the store assistant. “Find a dress to wear. I am not sure of your style yet, so I do not want to assume that you will like what I pick for you.”
“But I am wearing clothes.” She looks down at her body, and I growl.
“No fucker will be seeing what is mine,” slips free, making her let out a breathy gasp, and her wide eyes take me in.
“Yours? Since when?” she inquires but moves to the rack of clothing.
“Since I had my tongue down your throat and your body pressed against mine.” I move in behind her, and my hands go to her hips. “I know you feel it, too.”
Her mouth drops open and closes again, and I grin, stepping to her. Using my forefinger, I close her mouth for her.
“Pick something, then we will eat.”
A frown appears on her face from my sudden change in subject, but I need to stop talking about kissing and touching her before my cock turns to steel in my shorts.
“I can’t believe that you just said that. I do not belong to anyone but myself,” she huffs, walking away.
“While you are here, you belong to me, Nell.” The words slip out before I can stop them.
She blinks, and I swear I see a flicker of disappointment in her eyes, but it is gone just as fast as it came.
“Right, while we are here,” she mutters and walks away.
The air around us has gone ice cold, and I know that I said the wrong thing. I knew it as soon as the words slipped free.
Tucking my hands in my pockets, I follow behind her with my head down. Shame is lashing through me that I reminded her that we are here on a week deal only, as far as she is concerned. This connection between us needs to develop, and I hope to fuck I get to keep seeing her past these seven days.
This is fast, but it feels right. I am usually a man who takes what he wants, but Nell is not like the usual women I fuck; she needs care and respect, and I want to give her all that she deserves.
Nell loves romance books, so I want to give her romance, make her swoon and then come all over my cock when I fuck her.
Fuck, I need to stop thinking with my dick.
I follow her around as she picks a few things up, thankfully including a dress to cover herself up. She is aloof with me, so I keep my distance not to piss her off more.
“Hey, can we pay for these and just go?” she says, looking over her shoulder at me.
“We will pay and get something to eat,” I state.
“I am no longer hungry. I would like to go back to the hotel,” she snipes, making me grin.
“I like your fire, baby, but we are going to eat. No point in arguing with me.” I take the clothes from her and walk over to the register to pay.
The woman behind the counter eyes me seductively, slipping a piece of paper my way, no doubt with her phone number on it. Nell huffs as she walks past, muttering, “No fucking class these days.”
I pay and collect the bags then exit the store, finding Nell looking at some jewelry through the window.
“Do you like anything?” I ask, stepping behind her.
Her body goes tense, but I ignore it, resting my hand on her hip.
I will not let her push me way before I can explain my fuckup.
“They are all so beautiful.” Her voice is slow, soft.
She is looking at a necklace, bracelet, and ring set. All a matching pattern in white gold.
“Like you.”
She scoffs. “I am not beautiful, Romeo. I am here, so you do not have to jerk my feelings around. I have seen the women you have dated, and they are what you call beautiful.”
Inching even closer, I press my front to her back, both my arms circling her waist, holding her tightly. She feels just right.
“You are a natural beauty, Nell. You do not need to try and be fake, or add layers of makeup and have plastic surgery to look good, like most of the women in my world.”
She says nothing for a long time, but I wait her out, not pushing her to speak. The silence hovers over us for a few minutes, then her body sags.
“Can we get something to eat now?” Kissing the back of her head, I nod.
“Yeah, babe. Come on.” I take her hand, surprised that she does not fight me, and lead her back out onto the main street.
“I am sorry for what I said. It slipped out, but I did not mean it. You are your own person and you are here to help me. I get that, but you have to admit there is something between us.”
She nods. “I do feel it, but I can already see that I do not belong in your world, Rome.”
“Rome?” I arch a brow at her, making her blush.
“Sorry. I should have asked before I just shortened your name.”
“No, it is okay. It’s usually just my family that calls me that,” I add with a smile to reassure her. “I like my name on your lips.”
We walk hand in hand until I find the restaurant that I want to take her in. Greeted by the hostess, we are led to a table that looks across the water. It is a beautiful sight to watch the waves crash onto the beach, while eating with a beautiful woman.
Once we order, I push her to talk to me.
I watch her for a minute or two, as she looks across the water taking in the beautiful view. Hawaii is a special place and holds so much history and honor.
“I came here when I was a teenager, for the whole summer. As you can see, my family has money, but I wanted to work. To not be linked to the De Massy family.”
“So you lived like us simple folk for a while then?” she asks, but the humor in her voice settles something in me.
She is no longer pissed but intrigued.
“I did.” I nod. “It humbled me after living the lavish lifestyle. My parents spoiled me as I am their only child, but they have taught me morals and manners. We have a distant cousin who lives on the island and on a homestead, so I lived with him and fuck, it taught me hard work. I learned that you have to work hard in life if you want it badly enough.”
“And you did.”
“I did,” I confirm. “Lux was my first baby. One of my uncles gave me the startup money, but I was to pay him back with interest, which I did within the first three years of opening.”
With a big bright smile on her face that smacks me in the chest, she replies, “That is a huge accomplishment, Romeo. Then you went on to open more clubs and casinos.” I dip my chin.
“I love that. I know that you make plenty of money but even my small bookstore takes a lot of work, so I can only imagine how much you put into keeping them running smoothly and doing enough to keep people coming back for more.”
“It seems we have something in common then.”
“I believe so.” Her voice lowers.
“Nell, I like you.”
She looks at me with wide eyes. “Well, I kinda hoped that you did, as you brought me to Hawaii, all expenses paid. If you did not like me, I might find myself sunk in some lake, like they did in those old-time Mafia days,” she jokes.
Shaking my head, I’m unable to keep the smile off my face. It seems that Nell has a tendency to have me permanently smiling and feeling fucking good. No stress or worries like I have experienced with other women in my past.
Nell is light, free, and a breath of fresh air. And fuck me, I want to keep her.
“You, Nell Bana, are someone I never thought I would want in my life. Seeing family and friends settle down, it made me think that I would never get that. Fuck, most of the time I thought I didn’t want that kind of commitment.
Asher used to joke that I would die in my office of a heart attack, alone, and no one would find my body. ”
A frown slips across her face, and she reaches for my hand that is resting on the small table between us.
“You would be missed, Romeo, so please do not let anyone joke about you dying alone,” she states, then her eyes flash with mischief. “But you are old. I am sure that I saw some graying in your hair back at the pool. Right there.” She reaches to touch a curl at my temple.
Reaching up, I grip her wrist firmly, and her eyes widen but not in fear. My thumb rubs back and forth over her pulse point, her gaze filling with desire for me; I like that. She is doing things to me that I am clearly also doing to her.
“Fuck, you do things to me, Nell. Things I never expected.”
She bites her lip, lowering her gaze before looking back at me. I kiss her knuckles, and her body shivers, making me pleased as fuck that I get to her like this.
“I feel the same.” Her voice is low, husky, making my balls ache and my cock needy. “After my ex, I never thought I would catch feelings for someone again.”
“I understand that. It seems that we are the exception, baby.” The endearment rolls off my tongue and it feels right to use it with her.
I have not used it with any other women before— it seems that Nell is my exception.