Chapter 30 Hana
HANA
I stayed with Roman all day. Every time I mentioned leaving, he wrapped me up in his giant arms and provided me with orgasms and promises to take care of me.
Despite how wary I should have been, there was something about it all that made me crave more.
And when he suggested I stay the night and do the same tomorrow, I couldn’t find it in me to say no.
We showered together, and I nestled into his side as he stroked my hair and kissed my temple until I fell into a deep sleep.
I woke in the night, my body aching and my bladder full.
I eased out of bed, slipped on the shirt I’d discarded earlier, and tiptoed out of the room.
Once I’d finished in the bathroom, I was too wired to sleep, so I decided to go and make a cup of tea to help me relax.
I put the kettle on to boil and then searched through my bag, finding a scrunchie to tie my hair up into a messy bun, using a couple of bobby pins I kept in there to help keep it in place.
My feet grew restless, so I wandered around, taking a peek into rooms I’d not been in yet—more guest rooms, a larder, a laundry room, and then a locked door.
I wasn’t sure why, but my gut screamed at me to open it. Peeking back into Roman’s bedroom, he was passed out, the sheets pulled up to his waist, letting me catch a glimpse of his massive chest, his even breaths telling me he was fast asleep.
I knew I was crossing a line, but I could sense that whatever was on the other side of the door was about to shift my world.
I wondered what could be behind there—a sex dungeon, a torture room…
I mean, the man looked like he could do some damage to bad guys, despite telling me he wasn’t a criminal, or maybe it was a room full of crap he’d not unpacked yet, and didn’t want people to find.
But Roman Black didn’t strike me as a person who had lots of friends popping round he had to hide things from.
He was a loner. I knew that because I saw parts of myself reflected in him.
And I would never have a locked room in my house unless I wanted to hide something.
The image of the large wooden box full of the tools of my past currently at the end of my bed appeared in my head, and I considered how I’d feel if someone opened that without my permission, but this wasn’t a box; this was a room, and I needed to see what was on the other side, because no matter how Roman made me feel—and the man made me feel so much—I couldn’t ignore that he might be involved in the shitshow currently blowing up my life, and I’d be a fool not to check out every suspicious thing I came across.
Taking the bobby pin from my hair, I placed it between my teeth, bending the end.
I then slipped it into the lock and wiggled until I heard the telltale click of it opening.
I couldn’t help smiling to myself at how easy it was to get in there, but I guessed Roman hadn’t imagined needing to keep it more secure as the rest of the place was locked down like a prison.
I pushed down the handle and opened the door a little before pausing, making sure there wasn’t a silent alarm that woke Roman, but when I didn’t hear footsteps hammering this way, I stepped inside, letting the light from the hall illuminate the space in front of me.
It took a minute for my eyes to adjust and to work out what I was looking at: a huge desk with three screens on it and then a wall of monitors…
twelve of them, and stacks of what looked like computer towers.
While I knew Roman was apparently in IT, this seemed excessive, and the hairs on the back of my neck prickled in agreement.
There was way more to Roman Black than he was letting on.
Before my head could explode with questions and panic, the muffled beeping of my phone caught my attention. Worrying that Roman would wake from the sound, I quickly closed the door and relocked it before searching through my bag, where I’d tossed the phone before we went to bed last night.
A news alert illuminated the screen. I froze, my worries about who Roman really was now minute compared to what this news meant. The room spun, the air thinning as I sucked in shallow breaths while I tried to decide what I needed to do. And all I could think was one thing.
Run.