Chapter 31
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
“Roman,” Harper whispered, desire flowing hot through her body as he stood behind her in the en suite bath, palming her breast beneath the robe, “we only have ten minutes to get to dinner.”
“I know, but you’re naked under there,” he said into her ear, his eyes meeting hers in the mirror as the warmth of his breath had her skin tingling.
“What’d you expect I’d do when I came back to find you wearing only a robe?
” His husky tone, coupled with the way he rolled her nipple between his fingers, was going to send her over the edge.
She’d taken a long, luxurious bath in the massive freestanding tub, an indulgence she felt she didn’t deserve since Roman had to do God knew what with his uncle all afternoon, but she enjoyed it, nonetheless.
The view from the floor-to-ceiling window next to the tub was phenomenal, though, even more so now that Roman had shared his feelings about the city with her.
He’d returned a moment ago, with barely any time to spare, and surprised her just as she’d finished blowing out her hair and applying her makeup.
“Mmm.” A fluttery sensation filled her stomach as his hand trailed to her other breast.
She missed their physical connection. Their lovemaking. And now that they’d finally shared their I love yous, ones they both knew existed long before they spoke the words, she had a feeling sex would be even better, especially now that they were free of their secrets.
“We have the rest of our lives to be together.” Maybe after dinner, though. “But we can’t be late for Luciano.”
His hand slid from her breast and settled on her hip. “Just one peek.” He gave her his puppy dog eyes, damn him. Okay, it didn’t take much for him to convince her to get naked.
She rolled her tongue along the seam of her lips, unable to stop herself from teasing him.
Her hands went to the knot of her robe, and despite the fact they were short on time, she slowly unfastened it, allowing the lapels to part and expose her body.
Groaning out a curse, Roman slipped his hands around her waist to further push the material away so he could take in the view of her in the mirror.
His hand feathered over one of her scars from when Will’s hired hitman had shot her in 2018, and his gaze tightened with anger.
“Roman.” She needed to pull his focus back and away from those painful memories.
He met her eyes once again, and his expression softened as he brushed a hand between the smooth V at the center of her legs, and she instinctively parted her thighs for him.
She reached back and hooked her hand behind the nape of his neck, pulling him closer. He dipped his head down while guiding the robe off one arm to set soft kisses along the line of her shoulder as his finger slid over her sex.
“You’re killing me,” she murmured as he teased her with his touch.
“Like I said, it’s your fault for being naked beneath that robe.” He removed his hand a moment later and abruptly turned her.
He was still in the shirt and pants he’d had on earlier, and she knew he was desperate for a shower to wash off the filth of his uncle, but maybe they had one more minute.
“So beautiful,” he whispered, staring deep into her eyes as he played with the strands of her hair lying against her cheek. “Kiss me.” It came out as a gravelly request. Maybe a demand. In any case, she leaned into him, her breasts crushing against the wall of his chest.
His large hand curved over her bare ass and squeezed while she kissed him, allowing his tongue to explore her mouth as his hand roamed up and back down to her bottom.
“I don’t know if I can wait.”
Harper edged back to find his eyes, discovering they’d darkened with lust. “As much as it pains me to say this, we should wait. I want us to take our time, not be quick.”
He slowly backed up with one palm in the air in surrender, and his gaze took a slow journey over her body. “Okay, but you need to cover yourself and not be in the bathroom while I shower, or I will not be responsible for the things I need to do with my tongue.”
Oh, he’s going to kill me. How was she supposed to walk away with that kind of comment? “Roman,” she said with a shake of her head, trying to sound tough when her body was jelly from his touch.
He playfully shielded his eyes with his palm and began working the buttons free of his dress shirt. “Out.”
Ah, she missed this side of him that went dormant when they broke up. And even though they were in Cape Town for shitty reasons, the fact he was able to relax and be himself in such a moment filled her with warmth and ease.
“I’m going. And no getting off in the shower.
The only one making you come tonight is me.
” She fully removed the robe and toed it off to the side on the floor, then started for the door.
She tossed a look back at him before leaving, finding him now shirtless with his chest rising and falling as he appeared to do his best not to lunge for her.
“I’m going, I’m going,” she said with a laugh and shut the door behind her.
They needed a layer of protection between their intense desires.
She perused the walk-in closet where someone had hung all her clothes while she was out earlier. The stylists had packed for her despite her protests, and everything was way too sexy.
After a minute, she settled on a dress, checked the label noting it had probably cost two grand, then grabbed a pair of heels to wear before going into the bedroom.
The expansive space was decorated in shades of grays, whites, and pops of orange.
The lines were clean and modern, but the standout feature was the wall behind the bed—tufted, dark gray fabric that looked and felt like the softest velvet.
For all Harper knew, it was indeed velvet.
Visions of her and Roman tangled beneath the sheets, hopefully tonight when they had a moment alone together, filled her mind as she slipped into her outfit.
The full-length mirror on the wall next to the bed reflected a head-to-toe image of a woman she almost didn’t recognize. The one-shoulder, black cutout dress was by Maticevski, according to the tag. She’d never heard of it.
The slash cutout bodice was going to drive Roman wild.
She turned to the side to check her profile and smoothed her palms along the silhouette to the cinched waist. The hem sat a few inches above her knees, which she wasn’t a fan of, but all of the dresses the stylists had packed showed too much leg.
Snatching the black Alexander Wang studded leather pumps from where she’d set them on the bed, Harper bent over to slip them on.
“Absolutely not.”
She flinched at the grit in his voice and turned around once her shoes were secured to see Roman wearing only a towel wrapped around his waist. She allowed herself a few seconds to appreciate the fine cut of his body and the veins along his bicep that popped a bit as he towel-dried his thick hair.
She missed running her hands through his hair.
It was almost unfair a man had hair like that.
“All of the dresses look like this,” she countered, knowing what he was thinking.
He tossed the towel he’d been using for his hair—not the one she wanted him to lose—and strode her way with quick steps.
She did her best not to plant her lip between her teeth at the gorgeous specimen stalking toward her like she was prey, and he was about to devour her.
She’d seen that hungry look in his eyes before, and she usually wound up flat on her back beneath his rock-hard body as he pounded into her.
“I can’t have those men down there looking at you. The things they’ll be thinking . . .” His deep voice had her nipples hardening beneath the built-in bra of the dress.
“Like the things you’re thinking?” She arched a brow, trying to come across as challenging when all she wanted to do was have him tear the dress off and make love to her.
God, how long had it been for them?
Right, the first week in September, which was basically a hundred years ago.
He crooked a finger beneath her chin. “The things I’m thinking would most likely land me in hell with the real devil.” A wolfish grin crossed his face, a smile she’d sadly not witnessed since their time between the sheets together last year.
“I would love to hear all those naughty things, but we’re going to be late.” She set her hands to his chest, still slick from the shower, and smoothed one palm along the lines of his muscles down to the knot of his towel. “It’s only fair I get my peek.”
“You take that towel off, and I can promise you we’ll be missing dinner.” He removed his finger from her chin, then coasted the pad of his thumb along the pale pink lines of her lips.
They had so much time to make up for.
“Later,” she mouthed, her vocal cords too strained to speak with desire sharp and heavy inside her.
His mouth dipped down and came perilously close to smearing her lipstick. “And there’s no way on earth I’ll let Talon, Will, or Luciano stop later from happening,” he rasped, and she squeezed her thighs at his promise.
He placed a kiss on her cheek and backed up two steps to take in her entire body. “You’re sure there’s nothing else you can wear?”
She rolled her eyes and waved him off with a hurry-up motion to go get dressed. He dropped his shoulders dramatically but turned and followed orders. And what a nice view as he did.
That glorious, muscular back that tapered down to show a hint of the curve of his ass where the towel hung low was . . . just wow. The sight of his swallow tattoos held new meaning for her after he shared his story earlier, too.
She blinked out of her stupor when she realized he was now in the closet while she was standing alone with her mouth gaping open.