TWENTY-SIX - JAMESON
Time had flown by in a whirlwind. One minute, I was sitting at my desk with a dream in my heart and an idea floating around in my mind like dust in the wind. The next thing I knew, my team and I were balls to the wall, working to bring my wild and crazy idea to life.
I could picture it all so clearly—the glitz and glam, the lights, guests dressed in clothing that cost more than a new car, throwing money at Haunted Hearts charity, endless food and laughter.
Now, it all seemed like a fever dream.
Somewhere amongst all of the chaos, it felt like my plans had started to unravel.
I questioned whether or not forging ahead was even a smart idea at this point, especially after meeting with Kane face-to-face.
All it did was leave me with more questions than answers.
Though things had seemingly cooled down since we’d spoken in person and he’d stopped sending me threatening messages and assassination attempts, his silence felt like the calm before the storm.
The day had finally come.
Now, here I was, a few hours away from the Haunted Hearts Gala, and to say that I was scared shitless was the understatement of the century.
As promised, Roman had hardly left my side; I’d even invited him to share my bed.
He didn’t try to fight me on it. It was nice having someone to cuddle up next to for a change, even if it were him.
For the first time in a very long time, I felt safe.
Having Roman near me again made my world feel almost normal, even though everything about him was far from normal.
We’d gotten an early start on the day. I spent the morning making one last quick round through every department, from housekeeping to security, the kitchen to the loading docks, making sure everyone had everything they needed to get through the day and night.
Tomorrow, things would be back to business as usual.
Tonight was going to be a long one.
“We need to head to my apartment so I can start getting ready. I’m supposed to be meeting Lana from the day spa in—” I checked the time. “—ten minutes.”
Once again, Kelly, my literal saving grace, had arranged for Lana to come in on her day off to do my hair and makeup because she knew I’d forget to set it up.
News flash: I did.
We made it upstairs just in time to meet Lana trudging down the hall with a huge black suitcase in tow.
Roman grabbed the case from her and hauled it into my apartment. “Christ. What’s in this thing?”
“Makeup, hair tools, towels. All kinds of shit.”
“It feels like a two-hundred-and-twenty-pound dead body,” he stated.
She arched an eyebrow. “That’s oddly specific.”
“Don’t ask.”
As soon as we were inside, Lana got to work setting out all of her supplies.
She ran power cords across the floor to plug in hair tools I’d never seen in my life.
Most of them didn’t even look like they were made for hair.
While her smorgasbord of tools heated up, she turned my dining room table into a buffet of makeup, hair spray, and an endless sea of bottles of who knew what.
Then, she sat me down in a chair and wasted no time getting to work.
Not a day had gone by in over a decade that I didn’t do my own hair or makeup, but the way Lana worked was like pure magic.
I should have felt like a movie star, and to some degree, I did.
But I also felt guilty. Here I was, getting all dolled up for one of my and over a thousand other people’s biggest events of the year, knowing my life, and possibly theirs, were all at risk.
Except they didn’t have a clue.
I glanced over at Roman while Lana blotted on my foundation. He was sitting in one of the side chairs, going back and forth between working on the laptop and seemingly texting someone on his phone…a phone I didn’t recognize.
“New phone?” I asked.
“Um, no.” He quickly stuffed it into his front pocket. “Ivan would never. He’s too cheap.”
“Hmm.” He wasn’t wrong about Ivan. Then again, Ivan seemed to have no problem spending my money. Maybe I was mistaken about the whole phone thing. It was hard to tell from across the room with squinty eyes.
“Close your eyes,” Lana said as she loaded up a small brush with eyeshadow. “Need to do your eyes.” She swiped her fluffy makeup brush across my lids. “Okay, now, open and look up.”
She rubbed something under my bottom lashes.
“I just want to make it through the night.” I was half speaking to myself and half to anyone who would listen.
I heard Roman’s laptop close. Then, he appeared in my peripheral as he walked up beside me, bent down, and kissed me on the forehead. “And you will. We all will.”
A knock on the door startled us all. Even Lana shot upright.
“Expecting someone?” he asked.
“Could be my dress.” I fucking hoped it was and not someone with a dozen roses and a surprise gun.
Roman disappeared to answer the door and returned a moment later.
“You’d be correct.” He hung the black garment bag on the doorframe leading into my bedroom.
“Two? What’s the other one?”
He smirked. “That one’s mine.”
“Yours? Did you get a suit?”
“Of course. You didn’t think I was going to show up for your special night in the same shit I’ve been wearing, did you?”
“Well, no, I don’t guess. How did you get it?” This man had way too many secrets.
Sneaky bastard.
“The other day. I found Kelly’s number in the contact list on my phone and sent her a text asking for her help. She had someone from the shop take my measurements the other night. Kelly handled the rest.”
“Well, aren’t you sneaky.” I mean, really. If I missed that much, what else did I not know about him?
“Only when I have to be.” He winked.
“We’re almost done,” Lana assured. “I just need to do your lips and finish your hair. You’ll be all set.”
“Sounds good. Thank you, you’re a lifesaver.”
She finished working her magic, and an hour or so later, she was done, cleaned up, and out the door.
I tightened my cotton robe around my waist and went to see Roman out on the balcony. He was casually leaning against the railing, decked to the nines in his custom-fitted suit, the back side of him looking like the cover of a GQ magazine, as he stared out at the river.
It was hard to believe a man like him had the type of history and lived the life that he did.
I cleared my throat as I stepped outside. “Excuse me, Mr. Stone.”
He pushed off the railing and turned to face me. His mouth fell open.
“God damn,” he finally muttered under his breath.
“Holy shit” was my own response as he turned around.
The sight of this tall, dark, and holy-shitballs-Batman’s-twin-fuck-me-running, dangerous man had me thinking I might need to reschedule this entire event. He looked deliciously edible.
He walked forward, closing the distance between us. He stopped just a few inches short of me, reaching his hands through the opening of my robe, splaying his warm hands across my hips as he pulled me into him.
“You look absolutely beautiful, Miss Hazentree. Just…stunning.”
I wrapped my arms behind his neck and pushed up on my tiptoes. His hands slid around to my ass, and my robe fell open between us. “I’m not even ready yet.”
He squeezed my bare ass as I nuzzled my face into his neck, breathing in whatever cologne he had on.
Fucked-up as Roman and I were, I could get used to this. I missed this…I missed him.
It was hard to believe almost a week had gone by, and already, he’d be gone by tomorrow, if not tonight when the party was over.
“And you’re not going to be coming to me like this half-naked, tempting me on every level, you little minx. Don’t you have somewhere important to be tonight?”
“Ha. Ha.” Reluctantly, I pulled slightly away, secured my robe back into place, and tied it. Tight. Because he was right. Despite my wanting him, we did have somewhere we needed to be. “I actually just came out here to tell you I’m going to go finish getting ready.”
He took my hand in his and held me at arm’s length.
I eye-fucked him from head to toe, not even trying to hide it anymore. “You, sir, look absolutely, deliciously fuckable. Whoever made your suit did a fantastic job.”
“Some old guy named Armani. Now, take your fine ass inside and finish getting ready before I bend you over this balcony and ruin your makeup and your night.”
I pressed up on my toes, placing a kiss first on the corner of his mouth, then along his freshly shaven jawline, and down his neck to the collar of his starched white dress shirt. He let out a low growl when I reached between us and rubbed him through his tuxedo pants. He was already rock solid.
“Hmm. You’re worried about ruining my makeup? Who said you were gonna fuck my mouth?”
He pulled me flush against him. “You asked for it.”
His fingers curled and dug into my hip through the thick cotton robe that I wished I wasn’t wearing as his other hand untied my belt and made its way through the opening in the front.
I shifted my legs slightly apart, giving him the access he silently asked for as his warm fingers slipped between my legs. Slowly, he slid one, then another finger inside of me. I dropped my forehead to his chest and held on to his arms for support as his fingers moved in and out of me.
“You’re already so fucking wet.” He worked his hand, slowly pushing deeper, working his long fingers until I was on the verge of coming. He knew it, too. “Not yet,” he whispered in my ear.
“Please. I’m so close.”
“I know.” He pulled out of me and spun me around.
“Roman. What are you doing?” He guided me forward with his hands on my shoulders. I was now looking down over the parking lot and the entire casino property.
I’d never been more grateful for the sun setting at five in the afternoon this time of year.
“You know exactly what we are doing here…and you’d better hold on.”
I grabbed onto the balcony railing. “You sure this is a good idea?”
He let out a soft chuckle. “This is a perfect idea.”
The back of my robe lifted up. My skin pricked with goose bumps at the cool breeze that reached my bare skin. I heard the unmistakable sound of a belt buckle and a zipper.
Roman’s warm hand splayed across my ass cheek, rubbing softly before he raised it and lowered it back down, giving it a very painful, stinging smack. My entire body lurched forward as he made contact.
My grip on the railing tightened.
“I warned you.” His voice was stern, laced with heat. “You’d better hold on.”
I leaned forward, bending at the waist and sticking my ass out. “Better?”
“Jesus Christ, Jameson. So much better.”
He grabbed onto my hip with one hand and pushed against my lower back, urging me to arch my back even more.
Then, he pressed the head of his dick to my dripping wet pussy, sliding it through my slick folds.
I urged him on as he lined himself up and slowly pushed the length of himself inside of me until he filled me completely.
I didn’t even care anymore if someone looked up and saw us or if security had inadvertently caught us on one of the cameras or saw me bent over this balcony with my robe wide open in the front, exposing myself to the world. All that mattered in that moment was I was with Roman.
He grabbed onto both of my hips, pulling me backward into him as he thrust forward.
Over.
And over.
And over.
He claimed me from behind.
My orgasm built back up and buzzed through me like a bolt of lightning. I bit my bottom lip and held my breath to keep from letting out a scream that would catch the attention of anyone in the parking lot below.
Roman moved harder and faster, our bodies slapping together, until he growled, holding himself still as he came inside of me.
He eventually very slowly slid himself out and lifted me upright to a standing position. “You good, babe?”
“Uh, yeah.” I turned around to face him. “Legs are a little wobbly, but it was worth it.”
“Good. Now, let’s get you inside for real this time and finish getting ready. There’s still business to be done. Just make sure you wear panties.” He winked.
I gave a half-hearted smile. The thought of what the rest of the night had to potentially hold killed my buzz. “Yeah. You’re right. We’ve been out here a while. Let’s go.”
“Hey.” Roman grabbed me. “Look at me. Everything is going to be fine. Okay?”
I wanted to believe him. I wanted to think that whatever went down, or however things turned out, he was right. “I—I know. It’s going to be okay.” I did not think things were going to be okay. But I didn’t have time to worry about it now.
He leaned down and gave me the softest, lightest kiss on the lips. “I’d give you more, but I really will ruin this bang-up makeup job Lana did.” He smiled.
I couldn’t help but smile back. “Thanks. And that—” I tilted my head toward the railing behind me. “—was kinda hot.”
“You’re damned right it was. Just like our first time.”
I sucked in a deep breath of cool, fresh air. When I blew it out, a cloud of fog formed between us. “Hopefully not our last.