Chapter 19 #2
He reaches around me and grabs a fistful of my bare breast. The steam from the water has made my body damp. My legs are weak already and we haven’t even fucked yet.
I yelp, tossing my head back as he twists my nipple in his fingertips, deliciously painfully. My mouth falls open when he removes he elastic band from my ponytail, then orders, “Give me your left wrist.”
I move my left arm behind my back, and Rome’s hand wraps around my wrist. The elastic rubs against it, twisting against my pulse point.
“Now the other.”
Swallowing around the bundle of nerves inside me, I try to steady my breathing. The tub is nearly full at this point. If I let go of the edge, I’m completely at Rome’s mercy. He has all the power.
Scared shitless, I remove my hand from the tub and push my right arm behind me. I whimper, fearing I’m going to go headfirst into the water only to meet resistance when Rome tightens his hold on me.
Pinning both arms to my back, he holds onto them with one hand while he uses the other to work my elastic into a tie and leans forward, bringing his mouth to the shell of my ear. “Did you miss this, Lark?”
I tremble. “Yes.”
He grins against my ear before he huffs a knowing, arrogant breath, then pulls back. He drags his tongue and mouth across my neck. It’s messy and not at all controlled. Then he lowers me closer to the water, holding me just above it. It’s now reached the surface, close to spilling over.
Slapping his hand against my pussy, he coats his fingers with my wetness and spreads it all over me.
I snap my head back as a shock of pleasure shoots through my body the moment he slams into me.
His cock fills me, driving deeper until he can’t fit any more.
From tip to hilt, he fills me, tearing me in two.
“Don’t stop.” My legs shake and my toes curl against the tile, and Rome uses his free hand to grip my hip. He pulls out before thrusting into me again.
I moan, a wave of pleasure and fear washing over me. Fuck, yes.
My face is dangerously close to the water. I turn away from it, fearing if he thrusts into me again, I’ll be breathing it in. Despite the anxiety coursing through me, I can’t fight the pleasure of having Rome inside me.
Rome pulls in and out of me, slamming his hips against me, harder with every thrust. The knot in my belly and the heat between my thighs begins to unravel. My walls clench around his cock, and I feel myself getting close to my peak.
I’m breathing heavily, the end of my ponytail dipping into the bathwater that’s spilling over the edge, pooling at my feet, but I don’t care.
Neither does he. He keeps going, focusing on the spot where our bodies meet.
From the corner of my eye, I watch as his desire for me is written all over his face.
It’s in the way his eyes light up at the sight of his cock filling me.
The way his hand perfectly molds to my hip as he drives himself into me over and over.
My wrists ache, the burn from the elastic intensifying, but being with Rome like this breaks something inside me. I feel it dismantling.
“Tell me you hate me,” I pant, holding off my orgasm the best I can. My breasts jostle in the water as it crashes over the rim of the tub.
“Lark,” he moans as my walls tighten.
I face forward, my chin dipping into the water now, unable to stop myself gasping from the pleasure, which makes me swallow some of it.
Rome’s hand moves from my hip to my hair. He winds it around his fist, pulling my head back away from the tub.
“Say that again.” He slams into me.
“Tell me,” I strain. “Tell me you hate me.”
“I… I… ” he stammers. “I—"
“Tell me you hate me,” I repeat around a gasping moan.
“I… “ he starts again. “Dammit, Lark, stop talking.”
He unravels my hair from around his fist, and his hand flies to my throat.
He pulls me slightly away from the water, all the while still fucking me from behind.
With our new position, he’s reaching me in a different spot that has blood rushing to my toes, when he brings his mouth to my ear and growls, “All I want to hear coming out of that pretty little mouth is you screaming my name as you fuck me with that beautiful wet pussy of yours.”
A rush of adrenaline shoots through me as his hand slips from around my neck. I nearly drop face first into the water before Rome catches the end of my ponytail again, pulling me back to him. He thrusts into me, harder and faster than before.
He can’t tell me he hates me, and I don’t know what that means. It may not mean anything at all. Perhaps Rome just wants to fuck me out of his system. Perhaps it’s what we both need.
I’m trembling the second my orgasm rips through me, and my nerves light up like a fucking Christmas tree. Between the pull he has on my hair, the grip of my wrists, and his cock filling me, my walls clench around him, and I come undone. In fact, I come hard.
“Fuck, Rome!” I cry out, my orgasm rippling through me while Rome continues to drive into me. He slaps my ass once more before suddenly pausing. His cock throbs and pulses inside me as he comes, spilling into me.
Grunting, he lets go of my hair and places a hand on my hip.
After catching his breath, Rome slowly pulls me to standing.
My body aches, and I want to collapse to the floor, feeling all sleepy and satisfied.
Instead, I simply stand in a puddle of bathwater on the floor, the tub continuing to overflow.
I’m still panting, trying to wrap my head around what just happened, when Rome turns the water off.
It doesn’t take long for his hands to be back on me, though. He smooths one across my ribs, then down my stomach, his fingers slipping over my swollen clit. I’m still recovering from the earth-shattering orgasm he just gave me. The sensitive bud is easily worked under his touch.
I moan, throwing my head back against Rome’s shoulder, and I roll my head as his fingers circle my sore, aching pussy.
“Doesn’t matter how much time has passed,” he whispers into my ear. “I can still make you come easily and endlessly.”
Goosebumps breakout across my skin. My nipples tighten and my stomach flutters. I roll my hips, grinding against Rome’s fingers working me expertly. He moves his hand to sink his fingers inside me, plunging them deep while his thumb continues to work my clit.
I’m quivering almost immediately.
He’s fast and furious, tugging on the string pulled taut inside me. He snaps it easily, with minimal effort.
“Sing for me.”
“Oh, God, Rome.” My mouth pops open on a gasp as another orgasm tears through me. I moan, stifling my groan by biting my bottom lip. With my hands tied behind my back, I have little control. I pull on my ties and grind my hips against Rome as my orgasm shatters me.
He moves his free hand to my mouth, forcing it open. A whimper and moan crawl up my throat. Rome’s smile against the space behind my ear tells me all I need to know. I’ve sung for him, just as he requested.
He couldn’t tell me he hated me, but he’s clearly happy that I still sing for him and only him.
“The most beautiful sound,” he says as I fall against him.
Two orgasms back-to-back. A familiar sense of comfort wraps around me. The kind I’ve only ever felt from my family’s enemy, which is a contradiction of epic proportions.
Reality hits me the second I feel his absence behind me. He unravels the tie behind my back, and my shoulders ache when I bring my arms forward. The red stripes marking my wrists are evidence of the shift between us.
I’m still catching my breath when I glance over my shoulder to look at him standing behind me, with only a few inches between us. It feels like too much space considering what we just did. There’s a lingering fire of satisfaction in his gaze, but it’s mixed with something else. Regret, maybe?
I fucking hope not.
He leans forward, far enough to plant a kiss to my bare shoulder, then my forehead, before stepping back.
“Rome.” I swallow thickly, reality slamming into me as I turn to face him completely.
“Lark.” His gaze is still dark, lust and satisfaction swirling in his intense blue stare.
I can’t find the words to describe what this moment means, but I can tell Rome understands, too. We might have had shit communication skills in the past, but we’ve always been able to see the other once we’ve allowed the other in.
And that’s what we’ve done. The shooting practice was the beginning of lowering our defenses, and now we’ve shown each other who we are.
Now what?
I instinctively wrap my arms around myself, covering my breasts with my arms.
“Don’t do that. It isn’t you,” Rome clips out, irritation evident in his expression. He reaches out and pulls my arms away from my body. “Don’t hide yourself for anyone. Especially me.”
After giving him a tight smile, I open my mouth to protest but can’t.
It’s the truth. I’ve done nothing but shield everyone in my life from it, and hiding from Rome is instinctual now.
That’s what happens when your heart has been broken at the hands of the same person repeatedly until there’s nothing left.
He glances past my shoulder. “Bath is ready.”
I follow his gaze. The bath is still spilling over. Once I sit in it, more water will spill onto the floor. I snort. “Yeah.”
“Come on.” Grabbing my hand, he leads me into the tub. I follow him, laughing as we both step inside. Nearly half the water sloshes out on all sides. I frantically look around at the mess we’ve made.
“This is going to be a bitch to clean.” I chuckle.
“We have plenty of towels.” Rome grins.
My heart is racing when, with his dark-eyed stare, his grin fades as he sits down in the tub.
He spreads his legs out on either side of me and leans back, resting his arms over the tub. “We should get cleaned up.”
“If I sit down, there’ll be no water left.”
His burning stare roams all over my naked body. I’m already aching to have him inside me again.
“If you don’t join me in this bathtub right now, Lark, I’ll make sure to spank you harder than I did when you were bent over this tub. You’re lucky we’re the only ones here.”
I roll my eyes, teasing. “How does that make me lucky?”
He narrows his gaze. “Because if Marcus were here, I think he might feel even more awkward than he did earlier when you’re screaming my name.”
I don’t give him the satisfaction of knowing how much I’d enjoy it as I spin around in the tub and slide backward until I land against his chest.
His hands glide over my breasts, methodically and attentively. All that can be heard is the sound of our beating hearts and heavy breathing. I close my eyes as his mouth hits my ear.
“Slide back until your hair gets wet.” My body hums with the vibration of his voice. “We need to get this mud off you.”
My heart is hammering in my chest. Although he’s hurt me in the past, I do still trust Rome. If I didn’t, I wouldn’t be here still married to him.
I sink down, sliding across the plane of his chest and abs. I tip my head back until the water reaches my hairline, then I’m sitting back up. Rome squirts a dollop of shampoo into his hand before he starts massaging it into my scalp and through my thick strands.
I completely relax against him. I don’t think I’ve ever felt this at peace. At least not for a long time, anyway.
We stay silent, allowing the weight of what’s happening to settle between us. That is, until he’s rinsed the shampoo from my hair.
“I didn’t think to ask you before,” he says.
“Ask me what?”
“If you were on birth control.”
My heart stops. In fact, everything stops.
Slowly, his hands fall away from my head.
I slide forward until I’m able to half turn in the tub to face him.
With my knees to my chest, I wrap my arms around my legs and stare at Rome.
The mud is gone from his face, and water drips down his sculpted cheek bones, a drop beading along the sharp angle of his nose.
Water coats his dark lashes, surrounding his penetrating stare.
The sight of him causes the protective shield around my heart to fracture like a piece of glass. It splinters, breaking off into wider cracks. His question is innocent, but the deeper meaning isn’t lost on me.
We’ve been here before.
I blow out a breath, sliding my tongue across my lips. “Um.” My eyes close on a heavy sigh. I’m fighting the demons threatening to steal this moment from us both. But they always return. This is how it is.
I force my eyes open and look at Rome when I finally manage to answer, “I am. I’m on birth control.”
“Okay.” He presses his lips together. His elbows are resting on the edge of the tub as he works a hand over his jaw. His gaze shifts to whatever is behind me. “I’m sorry. I should have asked earlier. It’s just you told me you were before, years ago, and—”
“I know,” I cut him off. I won’t go there. I can’t. “But I am, Rome. You’re good.”
He blinks rapidly before he’s nodding. He doesn’t press me.
I slip farther away from him, but Rome’s hand catches my chin, pulling me back. I’m gasping as waves of bath water crash around us. I practically slam into his body when he keeps his fingers to my chin, using his other hand to grip the back of my head.
“I’m sorry.” His heated gaze softens, but it does nothing to quell the uneasiness settling in my stomach. I feel hollow and unsteady—feelings I’ve worked hard to stay away from for ten years.
Rome leans forward, bringing his mouth to mine to give me a soft, grounding kiss. It’s momentary but shoots straight to all the broken parts I’ve kept locked inside.
When he pulls away, he gives me a small, awkward smile. His lips twitch before he’s standing and stepping out of the tub. He grabs a towel and wraps it around his waist before running a hand through his wet hair and pushing it off his forehead. A few strands fall back to rest above his brow.
“I’ll figure out dinner while you finish up.”
“You’re making dinner?” I can’t hide my shock. I’ve yet to see him cook. Ever.
He gives me a wry smile. “I said I would figure it out, not that I was going to make something.”
“Okay.” I chuckle but not wholeheartedly. A piece of me is still unsettled. The entire night is sinking like an anchor headed straight for the ocean floor.
Eventually, Rome leaves me to sit with these new, conjured-up feelings. Only they aren’t new, are they? They’ve always been a part of me. He’s just revealed the weaknesses in my already vulnerable heart.
The one that’s always loved Rome Montgomery.