Chapter 46
HANA
I’d showered, uncuffed a still sleeping Roman, and was now getting dressed.
I winced as I moved, sore from last night, but every bit of pain was a reminder of how perfect it had been.
How the man managed to make me feel so dominated while having one hand out of action, I’d never know, but he did, and it was all of my fantasies and more.
I was just pulling my black V-necked sweater over my head when a familiar grumble sounded out. I looked over to find Roman awake and glaring at me.
“Finally set me free?” He rubbed his wrist, which looked a little red.
“You sound like a princess locked in a tower by the evil queen.” He raised his eyebrows in that way he did when he wanted to argue with me but didn’t want to bother using words. “Get up.”
He threw back the covers, standing in front of me in all his naked glory. My eyes instantly dropped to his morning wood, the fingerprint tattoo wrapped around his shaft.
“Don’t look at me like that, little menace, or I will have you on your knees, swallowing my dick, and we need to talk this morning. Remember?”
I pushed my feet into my boots, placing one on the chair to lace it up and then doing the same with the other. “I’ll make coffee. You put some clothes on. I can’t talk to you while you’re standing there, looking like that.”
I left the room, hearing the shower turn on seconds later. It didn’t take long for Roman to appear, looking like he’d just stepped out of a photoshoot, despite having on the same clothes as last night.
He pointed at himself as he strode towards me. “Didn’t get time to pack because I had to come and rescue someone from their kidnappers.”
I offered him a fake smile. “Sorry.”
“When can I go home, Hana?”
My stomach flipped. I kind of hoped that last night had changed something between us; that I’d have my protective Roman back, but it seemed any change in his attitude towards me had been sex-based. Could I really blame him?
“I need to break into a house,” I said as a way to explain.
He folded his arms over his chest, his nostrils flaring like an angry bull.
“But I need your help.” I wasn’t sure I did, but after someone shot at me, I decided an extra set of eyes couldn’t hurt, and deep down, I was tired of fighting on my own.
A sick part of me hoped Roman would somehow be the Robin to my Batman.
I rolled my lips into a thin line, trying to hide my smirk, because this wasn’t the time, and I wasn’t sure Roman would think any of this was even vaguely amusing.
He tilted his head like he was seeing me through fresh eyes, and I got the impression he didn’t like what he saw. “I’m not a criminal, Hana. I told you that.”
“And you’re not some mild-mannered IT guy either,” I bit back, suddenly tired of all these lies.
He threw his arms up in the air. “I never said I was. I told you I work in IT, and I do.”
“But your house is full of surveillance equipment. None of that was normal IT-level stuff.”
“It’s for my job. What did you see anyway? There’s a reason that room was locked.” He tried to hide it, but I heard the concern in his words, which made me even more curious about what he did.
“Nothing. You look like the sort of guy who has everything password-protected, and I didn’t have time to look to see if you kept it written on a Post-it stuck somewhere on your desk.”
He growled, making it clear that he was pissed off that I’d broken in. “So you know your way around security?” I asked, changing the subject.
He shrugged. “A little.”
“Right, well, I need to break into a house, but I need someone on the outside to help,” I lied, unable to just say I was scared to go there on my own; scared of what or who would be there waiting for me. He pointed to himself, his eyes wide. “And you’re forcing me to help?”
I blew out a breath, my shoulders sagging. “I mean, if you need me to say I’m forcing you to protect your moral compass or something, then yes, but really I’m hoping you’ll want to help because it’s me.”
He moved slowly, each footstep seeming to take forever as he closed the distance between us. When he was in front of me, he took hold of my face, tilting my head upwards, his eyes bouncing between mine. “This isn’t fair, you know.”
“What isn’t?” The sun beamed in the small, dirty window, lighting up the dust motes that drifted through the air, distracting me momentarily.
“You’re using how I feel about you to get what you want. You know I won’t say no to you… that I can’t say no to you.”
“I need you, Ro.” My voice was barely a whisper, my admission burning through me like a flame about to ignite an inferno.
“I’m still so fucking angry with you. I don’t know what’s going on, and I’m not just going to let that slide and pretend all this,” he glanced around the cabin, “didn’t happen, but say it again.”
He released his hold on me, and I took his hand in mine, entwining our fingers and bringing them up to my lips, placing a light kiss to his knuckles.
“I need you, Ro. I need you to look out for me and keep me safe while I break into this house. You’re the only person in the world I trust to do that. ”
He heaved out a long sigh, lowering his forehead against mine. “Fuck, I never stood a chance with you, did I?”
I wasn’t sure what he meant, but it didn’t matter because seconds later, his lips were on mine, his kiss fierce and determined, as if he was pouring his promise to keep me safe into my soul, and despite how scared I was about trusting him and what would happen when he found out the truth, in this moment, I believed that between us, we could do just about anything.