Chapter 14 - Victoria
Losing myself while kissing Roman was a serious lapse in judgment…and certainly something I can’t come back from. It was a moment of weakness, and as hard as I try to put it behind me, it still shakes me up all the same.
I wasn’t being careful, and I let the whiskey get to my head. While it’s a setback, I’ve committed myself to not giving in again.
Moving forward, I need to resist, regardless of how incredible it felt in the moment.
In my drunken state, having Roman all over me was heavenly. Trying to give in to that lust was more thrilling than I ever wanted to admit. But I can’t focus on that anymore. Now, I need to keep pushing. I need to test his patience until he can’t handle having me around anymore.
Maybe then he’ll finally let me go.
Initially, I thought making his life hell would be an easy accomplishment. After dealing with my attitude, I assumed he would lose his wit, but he has better resolve than I gave him credit for.
That need to frustrate him was the exact reason why I tried to run in the first place.
It was a cheap shot, and I knew the likelihood of it working was next to none, but by the slight chance it did, it would’ve been worth it.
However, now that my wrists are bound by scratchy rope and he’s hauling me back home, I can’t help but wonder if I ever should’ve crossed that line.
It may have worsened his tolerance for my antics, but he doesn’t seem any closer to letting me go.
Instead, Roman looks even more intent on forcing me back into line.
I want to take pride in pissing him off, but the iron grip he has on me only makes me feel miserable.
The car ride home was deafeningly silent, and he certainly did everything in his power to make me sit in that uncomfortable space with him. He made me feel the full extent of his quiet rage.
And to think…I actually did have a good time out with his sister, sans alcohol.
Once he pulls up to the house and wordlessly gets out, Roman opens my door next and reaches for my wrists.
“Get up.”
The words come out terse and brimming with veiled threats, leaving no room for me to object.
I feel a bit pathetic as I get out, almost like a child who knows they’re in trouble, but I can only follow along with his hurried pace.
Given his tense shoulders and the impatience that leaves him with every step, I know any wrong word has the potential to make him snap completely.
While it’s tempting to keep pushing, I have the feeling now isn’t the time. That I need to rein myself in a bit to not overdo it.
Roman pulls me up the stairs and into the house, not offering any onlooking staff an explanation or a second glance. Instead, he escorts me upstairs, takes me into the spare room, and finally lets go.
Strangely enough, my arm feels colder without that measured grip of his.
Meeting his gaze, I expect him to unbind me, but instead, he just looks down at me with nothing short of furious heat in his eyes.
The longer we remain like that, the more my sheepishness simmers into irritation. I gesture with my wrists.
“Get these off me.”
“What do you say?”
My eye nearly twitches at his words. “Get these off me. Now .”
Then, he scowls. “Try again.”
Instead of saying anything, I shut my mouth and glare at him.
Roman reaches for my wrists but clutches them instead of freeing me like I demanded. His eyes flare with unshakable anger. “…how about you start with something like ‘I’m sorry for trying to run, Roman…I’m sorry for being a pain in your ass’.”
His mocking tone sparks more of my resistance. “Maybe you don’t deserve an apology.”
His grip tightens by a fraction, and he pulls me even closer. “In that case, maybe I should leave you like this…maybe then you’ll learn your lesson.”
Something in his demeanor tells me it isn’t just a threat...that he wouldn’t hesitate to do exactly that. It sends a wave of hesitation through me, but his attempts to make me obey only irritate me more.
“You know that won’t work. I’ll just find another way.”
Roman chuckles, but it lacks any real humor as he crowds my space, making me take an instinctive step backward. “Oh, I have no doubt you’ll try…”
“Then let me go.”
“No.”
My chest tightens with that mounting frustration as I look back at him, feeling more and more helpless. “Don’t be a bastard, and just take this damn rope off!”
“You want me to free you so badly…you want me to just do what you ask despite how reckless and infuriating you’ve been,” he utters, backing me up until I feel the mattress against the back of my legs.
He holds both of my arms then, expression riddled with rage and something else I can’t fully decipher.
“But you have no idea what I’ve been dealing with.
The shit I’ve been handling behind the scenes…
your tantrums are the least of my concerns, yet they seem to take up most of my time and attention. ”
That dangerous edge to his words makes me pause, regardless of how badly I want him to just give in and undo the restraints.
My brows furrow. “Whatever you deal with at work has nothing to do with me.”
“Yes, that’s true,” he mumbles, letting his thumbs trace over my forearms in a surprisingly gentle touch. He lets go of a deep breath. “But coming home and having to deal with your bullshit…it doesn’t make things any easier. If you behave, then maybe I can go easy on you.”
As his words hit me, that’s when I see it.
That familiar gleam in his eyes manages to slip through despite his self-restraint. The same look he gave me in the club and the SUV.
Despite myself and the anger coursing through me, it almost causes a chain reaction, and I swallow hard.
Roman’s eyes move across my features, looking both tense and curious, and then some of that anger lessens enough for his tone to come down slightly.
“Damn it, Victoria…I am trying here,” he murmurs, voice softer as his grip loosens by a touch. Even so, he lowers his hands, and instead of undoing the rope, he rubs at my wrists just beneath it. “But all you do is fight me.”
His touch catches me off guard, and it does nothing to quell the warmth coursing through me. I try to hold back, to not let those urges get ahold of me.
“Can you blame me?”
Roman seems to briefly consider his words, then murmurs, “No…not entirely. But I wish you’d make this easier for both of us.”
Feeling somewhat pinned in place by the way his eyes rove over me, I swallow hard. “And how do you expect me to do that?”
“Trust me. Don’t argue with me just for the sake of it. Try to see things from my perspective.”
“You make it sound so easy.”
His voice sounds almost smoother than usual, with a hint of strain behind it. “It can be easy…as long as you let it.”
“And that’s what you want me to do? You want me to make this easy?”
“Yes,” Roman almost sighs, as if it’s the one thing that might make his life simpler. “I do...and I have the feeling you want it to.”
Holding his gaze, I find myself struggling with a fraying resolve, and I’m suddenly very aware of how close he is…how tantalizingly near his mouth is to mine.
Feeling the heat coming off him and knowing how badly he wants me to just work with him pushes me closer to that line, and I can’t help myself.
Despite being the one restrained, I surge forward and capture his lips.
He freezes, as if not expecting that from me, but with immediate acceptance, Roman hums and uses an arm to pin me against his body.
Almost like returning to something familiar, our lips meld, sparking an onslaught of sensations that made me shiver and crave even more, almost like I’ll never get enough.
That heat pulses through me, and at once, it’s like we’re in the backseat of the SUV all over again…back to getting lost in the scorching attraction we can’t fully escape.
“Please, get these off,” I murmur breathlessly against his lips, wanting nothing more than to be able to feel him.
Finally, with a low sound in the back of his throat, Roman reaches for the restraints and half fumbles with them, blindly loosening the tension while kissing me deeply. There’s a frantic nature to his ministrations, as if he can’t stand the wait.
“Please be good,” he says against my lips, finally getting the rope undone before letting it slide off me to hit the floor in a heap. He rubs his thumbs along my wrists before sliding his hands up my arms. “God…just behave for me…”
Something about those words makes me shiver, and I reach for him unrestrained, slipping my fingers up the nape of his neck while I deepen the kiss.
Excitement sparks deep within me, and I can’t resist the craving for more.
Roman groans into the kiss as I press against him, and he immediately wraps his arms around me before guiding me over to the bed.
My breath catches as he drops me onto the mattress and quickly follows, caging me against it with his solid frame. With my heart racing in anticipation, I trail my hands along his chest before I can’t wait any longer, and I start undoing the buttons on his shirt.
Like the gesture has shifted him into the next gear, Roman hums while he kisses along my jaw and down my neck, letting his deft hands push my top up before grazing his palms along my exposed skin.
Shivering, I feel as the heat grows even hotter, and I know there’s no turning back. No stopping.
“You have no idea…” he murmurs while pushing my long sleeve off and tossing it aside before letting his gaze rake over the lacy bralette covering me. Then he moves back in, leaving open-mouthed kisses along my collarbone. “…just how badly I’ve needed this.”
I squirm beneath his touch, feeling almost dizzy, while he kisses down the valley of my chest and cups my breasts. A soft moan escapes me, to which he groans against my skin.
Once I manage to get the last button undone, he pushes the fabric away from his body, then focuses completely on me.