gulped and swallowed, Kalina could taste it.
Rome exuded it. Just being in this room pressed up against his body for those brief moments had her center pulsating, her nipples hard.
Her wet feet slapped against the hardwood floors as she followed him out into the living room where he was toying with the door. “What are you doing?”
“This is a cheap-ass lock. I barely fiddled with it and it opened. You do realize you could be killed in your sleep for all the protection this provides?”
“I could also walk out the door and be gunned down or get on the subway and sit right next to a suicide bomber. Whatever is meant to happen will happen,” she snapped.
His head jerked and he looked at her, a muscle in his jaw twitching. “You will protect yourself. That’s not negotiable.”
“And just who the hell do you think you are?” The macho I’m-king-of-the-forest thing was way over the top, even for an arrogant rich lawyer such as Rome. “I could call the cops on you for breaking and entering.”
He stood and pushed the door until it clicked shut, the corner of his mouth lifting in a half smile. “Now, that would be ironic since I could make the same claim against you.”
Oh yeah, she’d almost forgotten about that.
“What are you doing here, Rome?” she asked, deciding it was best to stay away from threatening him with the authorities—even if she was the authority here.
“I came to check on you.”
“Do you check on all your employees like this over the weekend? Besides, I don’t need to be checked on.”
“All my employees don’t incite the attention of unsavory characters at a party.”
“You don’t know that,” she snipped and folded her arms over her chest. His gaze was roaming over her, touching the tips of her hair, coaxing a heated path down to her still-wet toes.
“Get dressed. I want to show you something.”
She stared at him.
“You’re not moving,” he said, tightly pulling his cell phone from the holster on his hip.
“You didn’t say ‘Simon Says.’” This back-and-forth was interesting, probably proving that she was as stubborn as he was. She wondered if that surprised him. If he’d thought it would be simple to break into her apartment and order her around, after he’d made her come. She couldn’t leave that part out.
“Kalina, I’m serious.”
“So am I. You cannot just come in here and order me around. You may rule the office with your brooding looks and serious tone, but this is my place. You’re on my territory now.”
“I don’t want to fight with you,” he said slowly. “I’m just trying to protect you.”
“Why?” she questioned. “Why are you so hell-bent on being in my life? I didn’t ask for your protection and I probably don’t even need it. But you’re still here. You’re always here.” She said the last quietly because it was true. Even when he wasn’t physically in her presence, he was still there, inside.
She hated that realization, felt it gave her a weakness, one she didn’t want to claim.
“I don’t know,” he answered, and she felt the honesty of that response ripple right through her. “I’ve always felt the need to protect. It’s just a part of who I am.”
Staring at him, she wondered, “And who exactly are you?” The question sounded strange but she really wanted an answer. “I know you’re a successful attorney and that you’ve very active on the social scene around town. But I’m curious as to the real Roman Reynolds, the man behind the facade.”
He rubbed a hand over his chin. “Don’t believe everything you read,” he replied.
“Then why don’t you tell me. Tell me about you, about who you are and what you want.”
“I want you,” he said instantly. “I want you safe and I want to be inside you. I can’t stop thinking of you, of touching you, tasting you. I want you.” He took a step closer. “How does it feel to hear me say that, Kalina? How does your body react to those words?”
It felt different, that was for damn sure. She’d been attracted to him in his office and again in the confines of the truck last night. But right here, standing in the middle of her living room, with her naked body air-drying beneath the thin material of her robe and his words rippling through the air, the feelings spiraling through her were different. It was definitely sexual, these new sensations, there was no doubt about that.
Her nipples had started to ache as they scraped against the silk material. Her skin felt sensitive, as if every particle of air touching her was bringing something alive inside.
“I’m not intimidated by your candor, if that’s what you were aiming for,” she said with only about half of that statement being true. “You’re on my territory now, Rome.”
“And what are the rules when I’m on your territory?” He folded one arm over his muscled chest, lifting the other to tap his cell phone on his chin. His legs were slightly spread and her gaze couldn’t help but fall on the bulge between them.
He was aroused, highly. And apparently he wasn’t ashamed. Hell, with the heated look he was giving her at this moment she half expected him to pull his dick out for her again. Her mouth watered at the thought.
“Rule number one, don’t tell me what to do. You can ask and wait for my answer,” she said in a voice that sounded strong, confident. Two things she’d always assumed she was.
“And?”
She swallowed because his biceps jumped as he spoke. His medium-size lips and chiseled jawline gave him the brooding look, she surmised. His skin was tones darker than hers, like a glass of root beer. His body was prime, excellent from what she could see. She wanted him, she thought with a start. Badly.
Holy hell she was in big trouble.
Rome wanted to fuck her right here, right now.
He knew she was naked beneath that robe, knew her body was still wet from the shower, her pussy wet from arousal. With every inhale he picked up the scent of her lust and wanted to bury himself deeper inside her by the minute. He had questions and yet couldn’t focus on anything but the attraction between them.
“What were you doing in the shower?”
“What?” She cocked her head at him, her eyes narrowing as she stared quizzically. “What are you talking about?”
“While you were in the shower.” He talked slowly, putting his cell phone back into its holster and taking a step toward her. “What did you do?”
She blinked, let her arms fall to her sides, and said, “I bathed. Isn’t that what people normally do in the shower?”
“Did you touch yourself? Did you make yourself come?”
For a split second she looked as if she were about to admit truth in what he’d said. Then her lips thinned and fury flashed in her golden eyes. “Just who the hell do you think you are? This is beyond inappropriate. Everything you say to me is either offensive or downright crude. Since you found your way in you can just as easily find your way out!”
She turned away from him, preparing to stalk into her bedroom, he presumed. Big mistake.
Rome was on her in seconds, his arms wrapping around her waist, pulling her ass flush against his rigid arousal. Blood pumped fast and hot through his veins, thumping loudly in his ears.
“You came. Last night,” he murmured, his lips right against her ear. He inhaled deeply. “And this morning. Don’t try lying to me. Your scent’s thick and heavy, lurking all over this apartment. It’s driving me crazy.”
An elbow slammed into his ribs as she tried to duck out of his grasp. “That’s because you are crazy!”
Her struggle was futile. Rome wasn’t letting her go. “You didn’t come last night?” he asked, his hand flattening on her stomach, slipping slowly between the flap of her robe.
“I was drunk. Too much champagne.”
He growled. “Liar. You were aroused. Just as you are now.”
“You’re a jerk!”
“You’re addictive.”
Rome licked her neck, let his fingers drift farther until he touched the moist heat of her mound.
Her breathing was ragged. “Why are you doing this to me?”
