He’d watched his mother after his father died, the mourning, the withdrawal, and then the small steps back into the real world. But she’d never fully been what she was with his father, and she hadn’t tried to redefine herself either.
Her choice, he realized. Just as it had been his choice to take off and distance himself from not only his hometown, but his family—and the pain he saw in his mother’s eyes each time he was home. Especially in the beginning.
At that moment, Roman realized he’d been running from emotional attachment—the same way Charlotte was running from him. She feared the same pain she’d grown up seeing in her mother, day in and day out.
But making love to her had shown him that when it came to some things in life, there was no alternative. They were meant to be. Not just because he desired her but because he wanted to give her things she’d missed in life, the family and the love. How he’d accomplish that and still maintain the freedom he needed for his job and his life, he didn’t know.
He had a long road ahead of him—to prove to himself and to her that his lifestyle could satisfy them both. That their lives didn’t have to be a repeat of their parents’ mistakes but one of their own making.
And that meant commitment, he realized now. Not just the commitment he promised his family he’d make, but one he wanted to make with this woman.
He looked into her soft eyes and something inside him melted. “Is happily ever after what you want?” he asked.
“Is it what you don’t want?” she shot back.
“Touché.” He stroked a finger down her cheek.
Poor Charlotte. She had no idea he’d figured out both himself and her. He knew what he wanted—her. He was about to storm her defenses and she hadn’t a clue. “I notice you changed the subject earlier. I wanted to talk about ‘my’ women.”
Her face flushed a charming shade of pink. “I don’t.”
“So once again, you don’t have to talk. But you are going to listen.” In one smooth move, he had her flat on her back, straddling her hips.
She scowled up at him. “You play dirty and you forgot to order my food,” she said.
“You finish this conversation and I’ll get you all the cookies you can eat and more.” He moved his hips against hers, deliberately provocative and hot.
“That’s bribery.” But her eyes glazed over, letting him know she was enticed by his erotic teasing. Her stomach chose that second to grumble loudly, killing the mood. She grinned sheepishly. “I suppose I have no choice but to listen if I want to eat.”
“I suppose you’re right.” But he wasn’t above a little erotic coercion to get his way. He settled his weight so as not to crush her, but so he could feel her supple curves and smooth flesh. Damn, but she felt good. “Just hear me out,” he said, refusing to be distracted. Not when so much was on the line. “Number one, my life’s been so busy women rarely factored into the equation—believe it or not. And I promised you I’d never lie. Number two, I may not have gotten involved before, but I sure as hell am now.”
He shocked himself and obviously shocked her by the admission, because silence descended around them.
Something akin to fear shimmered in her eyes. “You said you’d never lie.”
“This time I think I should be insulted.”
She shook her head. “I’m not calling you a liar.”
“Then what?”
“Don’t make this”—she gestured between their naked bodies—“out to be more than it really is.”
“Oh, and what exactly is this?” he asked, because he needed to hear exactly what he was up against when it came to turning her thinking around.
“Sex,” she said, deliberately trivializing what they had shared.
As much as Roman recognized the protective mechanism, he couldn’t say she hadn’t hurt him. He forced an easy laugh. “Good thing you never made that promise not to lie, sweetheart.”
With those words, he let her know he didn’t believe one word she’d uttered, and this time she sucked in a deep breath, realizing she’d been caught.
He inhaled deeply. The scent of sex did hover in the air, arousing him and making him want her despite her stubborn minimizing of what they’d shared. He’d already made his point. Together they’d experienced something much deeper than just sex.
He nudged her legs apart with his knees.
“What are you doing?” she asked.
“You said you’re hungry, yes?” He didn’t wait for a reply. “You also said what’s between us is just sex.” He nudged the head of his enlarged penis between her legs and entered her slowly, methodically, with a slick, thick stroke she couldn’t help but feel. He sure as hell did.
Her lips parted and her eyes dilated as she took him inside.
What was he doing? she’d asked. “I’m going to make you eat your words.” He was going to make her experience every taste, touch, and sensation so that he’d always be a part of her. He was going to prove to her that everything between them was deep and meaningful.
His powerful strokes inside her body elicited a response he couldn’t mistake. One she couldn’t either, if the arousing sounds coming from her were anything to go by.
Every moan that passed her lips settled inside him and brought a stinging sensation to his eyes, a thick lump in his throat.
And later, as she lay asleep in his arms, he knew she’d become a part of him too. Or maybe, he thought, she always had been.
* * *
The next day, the sun had long ago dipped below the horizon, an orange ball of fire in the reddened sky, when Roman drove them back into town. Charlotte’s stomach plummeted. She wasn’t ready to end their time together so soon.
After that one serious conversation that got them nowhere, things had lightened up. They’d
