Chapter 30
CHAPTER THIRTY
Roman breathed deeply, pulling in the scent of the ocean air and Irina’s unique scent lingering on the breeze. Her shoulder bumped his as they walked, and he looped an arm around her waist, resting his hand on the curve of her hip.
She smiled up at him, hair whipping around her face, eyes alight with joy. He had always thought her beautiful, but these past few days had revealed a beauty far deeper than skin. She was the most amazing woman he had ever met, both inside and out.
He could leave there, carry out the terms of the original agreement, and divorce her six months from now with no one the wiser.
Except… he didn’t want to. He would never regret the events that brought them together because he never would have gotten to know her otherwise.
This woman pushed him beyond the edge of reason, beyond control.
And he loved every minute of it. He wanted all of her, every day, every way.
Was it crazy that he already thought of her as his wife even though they had only been together less than two weeks?
Probably, but he didn’t care. He had never done anything by half-measures, and he wasn’t about to now.
He thought he knew the moment she asked him to marry her what his answer would be.
He had resisted initially, trying to find another solution for her sake.
She was worried about him, but the truth was, he never would have married her if he didn’t think this could work.
He hadn’t said a word to her yet about how he felt. She had enough on her plate. All he could do was be there for her and show her he wasn’t going anywhere. Slowly, he would win her trust and make her see that this was more than just a fling.
Dusk was just beginning to fall as they stepped onto the pier. Side by side, they ambled toward the end, past another couple who barely noticed their presence. Irina and Roman shared a secret little smile as they passed, and he pressed his fingers into the flesh of her hip, pulling her even closer.
When they reached the end of the pier, Irina leaned her elbows on the railing and gazed out at the sky, a dark lapis now that the sun had dipped below the horizon. He placed his hands on either side of her and pressed against her back, holding her in place with his body.
She tilted her face up to him, her teeth buried in her lower lip. “Can I ask you a silly question?”
“Of course.”
“I was just wondering…” She pulled her phone from her back pocket and met his gaze again. “Can I take a picture with you? You know, to remember…”
“To remember our honeymoon?” He watched a slight blush spread over her cheeks, and he grinned. “You realize this is our first picture together?”
“Technically, it’s our second,” she said with a small smile, referring to their doctored engagement photo.
“Our first real photo together,” he amended.
As a general rule of thumb, it wasn’t something he kept track of.
He didn’t care about pictures—normally. But everything about Irina was different.
His mind drew back to the photo Vivi had taken, to the look in Irina’s eyes.
He wanted a lifetime of moments just like those.
“Here.” He took the phone from her fingers, made sure the flash was turned on, then held it out in front of them. He kissed her temple just as he snapped the photo, then passed the phone back to her.
She smiled when she saw it, then tucked her phone away again. “Thank you.”
He dipped his head and spoke next to her ear so she could hear him over the breeze. “Was the beach everything you thought it would be?”
She tipped her head up to him. “It’s so much better than I dreamed.”
“It’s a helluva view.”
“It is,” she agreed as she turned in his arms. “But that’s not what made it great.”
Her eyes dropped to his lips, and he moved in closer. “Yeah?”
She nodded. “It wouldn’t have been the same without you.”
He studied her face. From the very beginning, she had intrigued him.
She was headstrong and exasperating, smart and incredible.
They had had their difficulties, and just like any other couple, he was sure there would be more rough patches ahead.
But there was no one he’d rather be with than Irina.
He slid his hand around the back of her neck. “I really like you.”
Long lashes swept down over her eyes as she blinked up at him. “I really like you, too.”
He slanted his mouth over hers, claiming, possessing.
His mind and heart finally seemed to be on the same page, and he had no intention of slowing down or pulling back now.
From here on out, it was full steam ahead.
He wanted her, and she wanted him; that was all that mattered.
They would work out all the other details later.
Several long minutes later, they broke the kiss, and he took her hand. “We should get back so we can pack.”
They turned to leave, and he was momentarily brought up short by the darkness. “Strange.”
Both lights at the entrance of the pier were off, and they moved by the light of the thin crescent moon.
A prickling sensation raced up the back of his neck, and he paused at the end of the pier, looking around for the source of discomfort.
Something glinted in the sand at his feet, and he released Irina’s hand so he could stoop down for a closer look.
Pulling out his phone, he used the flashlight function to light the area.
Fragments of opaque white glass stuck up from the sand, and he lifted his gaze to the lamp attached to the pier.
Standing, he stretched his phone upward to get a closer look.
The base of the bulb was still screwed into the fixture, but the glass had been shattered.
“Probably some kids,” Irina commented, picking up on what he was doing.
“Maybe,” he said softly as he crossed to the other side. A rock lay next to the broken glass of the second bulb, and his gut clenched with dread. He stowed his phone in his back pocket and laced his fingers through hers. “Come on.”
Irina was probably right. More than likely, it was a harmless prank by some kids.
His head swiveled left and right the whole way back to the house, unable to kick the unease swirling in his stomach.
He held the gate for her as they stepped onto the patio and handed over the key.
“I’ll get the stuff put away, then I’ll be in. ”
He should have handled the pool stuff earlier, but he and Irina had fallen into bed after lunch and hadn’t resurfaced until dinnertime. The storage shed was in the corner of the yard, so he could keep an eye on her while he got the stuff put away.
“TV and chill?” She tossed him a teasing smile, and he hardened.
“Definitely.”
He grabbed their towels, all the while watching as she moved toward the door.
He breathed a soft sigh of relief as she unlocked it and stepped inside, then closed the door behind her.
Moving quickly, he grabbed the folding chairs and umbrella and stowed them in the shed.
He snapped the combination lock into place, and a whisper of sound had his ears perking up.
He turned a second too late, and pain exploded across his scalp as the object connected with his skull.
He tried to yell out as he fell, but his mouth refused to work. His last thought was of Irina, vulnerable and unprotected, before everything went black.