Chapter 22
brIELLE
“Do you own any clothes that aren’t black or green?” I ramble, tapping my nails against the back window.
The cab is moving far too slowly for how antsy I am. I can’t take the silence any longer. Not while Roman’s sitting not even an inch from me and allowing his thigh to rub against mine every five seconds. We both know that the touches are far from accidental.
He looks at me, the darkness of the back seat hiding a lot of his face. “Does it matter?”
“Not really. I’m just curious.”
“Black to me is pink to you, I assume.”
“I wear more than pink,” I mutter, bouncing my leg.
“Orange, too, from what I remember.”
My throat grows tight. I stare across the seat and pull my hair over my shoulder, feeling the heavy weight of it sticking to the back of my damp neck. “You remember the colours I wear?”
He glances away, staring at the headrest in front of him. His inability to stare at me is answer enough, but I still want to hear him admit it.
“Roman?”
He wets his lips almost angrily before looking back at me.
“I remember the colours, the way you had your hair, if you wore heels. The day you came to see Evie, I remember you looking so fucking bright in my house that it felt out of place to have you there. Like I was trapping your light or something. Everything you don’t pay attention to, I fixate on, Brielle. ”
“Why?” I breathe.
His hand finds my bare thigh, gripping it tight as he leans across the gap in the seats. The streetlights dance across his features, lighting them up for me. I become fixated on the gleam across his slightly swollen bottom lip.
Dropping his voice to a low, dangerous drawl, he says, “Because you’ve stolen your own special corner of my mind, and I find that I’ve grown to like you there too much to shake you free.”
My breath escapes me in a wild puff as I take that in. I place my hand over his and hold it firmer to my thigh, afraid that he’ll take it away. He doesn’t. Instead, he guides it further, until it disappears beneath the hem of my dress.
“Rome,” I whisper, my muscles tightening in anticipation.
He checks on the cab driver before returning his gaze to me. I hold it without a stitch of fear, too far gone to dare give this opportunity up.
I’ve been damp between my legs since I joined him at the club, and it’s only grown worse while we’ve been sitting here.
Having his fingers this close to my pussy has my lungs so tight they burn.
I don’t know whether to guide his touch where I want it or leave it in place and wait for the cab to pull up outside the hotel.
Either choice ends in me losing my mind.
Roman’s lips find the back of my ear as he grazes his teeth along the ridge. “Tell me to wait.”
“I can’t,” I whimper, using my other hand to grip the edge of the seat. “I’m . . .”
“Wet.”
“Soaked.”
His rough groan floods my senses. “We’ve waited this long already.”
“Any longer and I’m going to explode.”
He creeps his fingers up to where my thighs touch, stroking the hot skin like he’s willing them to separate.
I part them instantly, giving him the space to touch me properly.
A blunt nail finds the edge of my panties and tugs them out of the way, baring me.
The cool rush of air against where I’m burning has me biting down hard on my tongue to silence a cry.
A furious exhale runs across my temple. “Tell me you’re sure about this, sweetheart.”
I keep my eyes forward and use my hold on his hand to move it just enough for his fingertip to run through my slit. There’s no doubt he can feel how slick I am, or how confident I feel that this is not a mistake.
“The only mistake we could make is not exploring this,” I say softly, struggling to keep my voice from shaking.
He moves on his own this time and repeats the motion, firmer this time. My eyes shut as he traces the shape of me and finds the swollen bump that’s been throbbing for weeks. I choke on a noise that refuses to stay buried.
Two fingers find my entrance before gliding right past it, teasing me. I turn my head and gasp when our noses bump, our lips a breath apart. His touch stalls, his eyes dipping to my mouth and lingering there before slowly climbing back up.
Time stills. The seconds crawl by as we breathe each other in, neither one ready to claim that next move.
I selfishly want him to be the one to kiss me and break the tension that’s been suffocating me for weeks.
It would be all the confirmation I need that he’s as ready as I am for what’s about to happen, and as self-assured as I am, I still crave that.
The cab comes to a jolted stop, forcing Roman’s fingers up and over my clit.
I pinch my eyes shut and grip his wrist as the pressure sends shock waves of pleasure up my entire body.
My head droops for no longer than a second before I’m parting my lips and he’s cupping my cheek.
With a firm hold, he guides my face back to his and presses his mouth against mine.
Our lips meet for the first time in a hard, desperate kiss.
My heart thrashes in the tight confines of my chest as I reach up and take hold of his nape, tangling my fingers in his hair.
With a tug, I have him moving further over the gap in the seats and moulding his palm to the side of my neck.
His thumb slowly strokes the edge of my jaw as he parts his lips in time with mine and deepens the kiss.
My pussy leaks over the tips of his fingers when he finally moves them on his own again.
His thumb finds my clit and stays there, rubbing soft circles around it while he sinks a finger inside of me.
I gasp into his mouth and suck in a breath at the stretch.
He steals another kiss, silencing me when a whine tumbles out.
I want to feel guilty that my nails are imbedded in his wrist, but I can’t get myself to remove them.
The desperate hold keeps me from jumping off the seat and crawling into his lap in this cab.
I don’t care that the driver can see us kissing or that at any moment, he’s going to ask us to stop.
I’ve never been shy when it comes to sex.
Is Roman?
The thought passes through my mind before getting snuffed out the moment he spreads me with a second finger and rubs me faster.
There are no deep, fast thrusts, but it doesn’t matter.
He keeps me full while focusing on my clit, and I can’t help but assume that’s to keep the cab driver from hearing what he’s doing behind his seat as I feel my arousal running down my ass.
Kissing Roman would have been enough. Getting to feel the scratch of his stubble against my cheeks and taste the mint on his breath is what’s pushing me so close to climax so quickly. Just having the chance to hear his panted breaths and to know that I’m the reason for them is intoxicating.
It may be the most arousing experience of my life.
I fight the need to pull him back to my lips when he breaks the kiss and drags his mouth across my cheek. His voice is raw when he speaks in my ear.
“I need you to come before we leave this cab, sweetheart. You’re close. Let me feel you quiver around my fingers.”
My brows draw in as I battle a cry and bury my face in his neck just in case it escapes. His cologne is so strong here that I start to shake as I inhale, my hips lifting off the seat as subtly as possible. He runs a hand down the back of my head like he’s consoling me, but only we know better.
I open my mouth and bring my teeth to his skin when he speeds up his movements, using my clit as a make Brielle come like a whore button.
He buries his fingers deeper into my hair and massages my scalp as I clamp up, my cry silent and hot against his throat.
The crest of pleasure blurs my thoughts, so full and powerful that I’m not sure there’s an end to it.
“Good girl. Your pussy’s so wet you’ll leave a spot on the seat, Brielle. Because of me. You were so fucking ready for me,” he groans, awe thick in the quiet words.
His fingers remain inside me as I pulse with aftershocks, still floating, refusing to come down so quickly after all the waiting. The soothing press of his touch shouldn’t be coaxing me toward the need for another orgasm already.
He’s not touching my clit anymore, but I’m still turned on enough that he doesn’t need to be. With the fullness remaining inside of me, I busy myself with soothing the bites I’ve left on his throat with soft flicks of my tongue.
He turns his face into my hair and parts his lips against my temple. “Brielle.”
I’ve stopped paying attention to where we are or if the cab’s moving. The only noises I can hear are the ones that Roman can’t trap. I know he’s got to be hard by now. My palm’s itching with the need to feel for myself and finally take that next step.
After months of using nothing but silicone, I’m so fucking ready to feel the real thing.
Before I can make that conclusion, Roman takes the hand creeping toward his lap and links our fingers. He settles our joined hands against his chest and pulls back, stealing his throat from me.
I frown, eyes latched on the marks I know must be there but are invisible in the dark cab. His smirk distracts me long enough that I can regain some control of myself. I swallow when he finally slips his fingers from my pussy and brings them to his lips, sucking the taste of me from them.
“We’re here,” he tells me, sounding more composed than I feel despite the heat gobbling his pupils.
My chin dips subtly, mind still foggy. “We’re here.”
His touch is feather-soft as he tucks my hair behind my ear and grazes his fingertip down my jawline. “Let’s go.”
He doesn’t wait for me to agree before he’s paying the driver and reaching down to unbuckle my seat belt. Once I’m free, he takes my hand and helps me out of the cab.
Everything happens in such a blur that I can do nothing but tug my dress down and try not to trip on my heels as we walk through the night and into the hotel.
We don’t stop until we’re in front of the gold elevator doors.
Roman hits the Up arrow and settles at my side, turned toward me just enough to shield my body from anyone who could be walking by.
It’s not needed, but that doesn’t stop me from reading too far into it and smiling to myself. Despite the stickiness on my inner thighs and discomfort of wearing panties that are wet enough to feel a size too tight, I don’t hide my grin. Then, I let my laugh tumble free.
It’s loud, maybe too loud for such a high-end, quiet hotel lobby. I can’t stop it once I start. Roman’s attention snaps to me, and I watch as his eyebrow lifts, eyes sweeping across my face like he’s looking for some sort of explanation for my sudden burst of happiness.
I press a hand to his chest, quieting myself just long enough to tell him, “You’re a lot more fun than I thought.”
“Is that right? All because I made you come in the back of a cab?”
He’s battling a smile, and that has butterflies swooping low in my stomach. His hand finds my face again, tucking my messy hair back the same way he’s done often tonight. I blink reluctantly, not wanting to miss even a second of this.
“Amongst other things,” I reply teasingly.
“Enlighten me.”
The elevator doors slide open with a ding. Neither of us moves for a long, heavy moment. I take a single step forward, hovering my lips against his.
“You’ll see.”