Karine wasn’t quite the same.
He had a desire to taste her—but not with just a kiss. What would her sounds be like when she came for him? Hard, and then harder. Would she take her pleasure from him, or let him give it? Again and again, the thoughts and fantasies filled his mind until it was all he could see. Already, although she did nothing more than stare at him and hold his hand, he could hear his name on her lips.
Breathy, and begging.
Roman wanted to see her toes curl when he was inside her. Stretching out her pussy, and filling her full of him. Would she ask him to take her ass, too?
Goddamn.
He wouldn’t refuse.
His mind even conjured up the picture of her on her knees, taking every last drop of him down her throat until he had had his fill of her completely. Before he’d even got her naked, Roman had already mentally taken her every single way he wanted.
It was crazy.
Completely.
Despite the boldness she had shown, Karines gaze shied away from him. Just long enough for him to notice, and hesitate.
“Are you sure you want to do this?” he asked. We don’t have to—”
“No, it’s not that.”
The assurance rushed out of Karine’s mouth before Roman could even finish his own sentence. She couldn’t possibly know how painful it was for him to say those words. He was positive that if he didn’t have her tonight, in all the ways he’d imagined, he might explode. Except he also wasn’t a monster.
He’d never been the type to find pleasure in someone else’s pain. There was a thin line between the two, sure, but he wouldn’t push her. A sense of fragility clung all around her. He found it staring back in her blue gaze.
She had a soul that craved something—the feeling was visceral to him, so real—was she searching for it in him? He definitely wasn’t the man who could provide it. He didn’t even know how to care for himself.
“Then, what is it?” Roman asked, settling on the words that seemed right. Not that he could say why—it felt better than anything else he wanted to say, though. Didn’t that count for something?
Karine’s fingers tightened around his as she said softly, “It’s nothing.”
He didn’t believe that.
Roman wondered if she was thinking the same thing as him. If he took her now, what would happen to her tomorrow? That diamond ring should be on her finger—there it was, bare. Where was it?
She’d taken it off, and didn’t even bother to hide her naked finger from his pointed stare. Clearly, she didn’t want any reminders of Dima tonight.
That should have bothered him. Or at the very least, given him some sense of guilt about the situation they found themselves in together.
Except it didn’t.
At all.
The only thing he thought about the missing engagement ring?
Good.
Roman didn’t care to indulge the jealous side of his nature, nor did he intend to admit he felt it in the first place. He didn’t own this woman—she wasn’t his. There wasn’t room for his possessiveness here regarding someone who wasn’t even his.
Yet, there it was.
Burning in his heart.
All because of a missing fucking ring. Yeah. There was no way he was going to poke that monster and wake it up more than it already was. Hadn’t he played with fire enough without adding feelings to the mix as well?
Roman sure as shit thought so.
Apparently, his silence didn’t settle well with her because the next words out of Karine’s mouth were sharp, and they stung. “I know what I want. Do you think I’m just a silly girl? That I don’t know what I’m doing here?”
“That’s not what I said.”
Karine’s brow dipped as she regarded him quietly before asking, “Then, what are you saying—or, aren’t saying?”
He figured, if she could ask, then she should know. “That you may have changed your mind about this, and if you have, that’s fine. I’ll leave now—if you want me to. Say the word, babe.”
She pulled her hands away from him as if she’d been burned, her nostrils flaring with indignation, and even though it was dimly lit, he saw the color pink her cheeks. The very fact that she was offended because she thought he implied she didn’t know her own mind said all he needed to know.
It still wasn’t enough for Karine.
She wanted to make it clear, it seemed.
Very much so.
Instead of saying anything back to him, she simply slipped the straps of her nightdress over her shoulders. They fell down her arms, dragging the rest of the thin material with them until it fell beyond her pale, full breasts.
She stood with her chest on display, tipping her chin up at him almost defiantly. Still, she said nothing.
Fuck.
He’d probably seen hundreds of tits in his lifetime—fake and real—and somehow, the sight of Karine’s bare torso made it hard to breathe. He struggled to keep his gaze from wandering, or worse, from physically reaching out and allowing himself to pull the nightdress down the rest of the way. It was like he had never seen a naked woman before.
Or maybe it was just because she was so beautiful. And even more so when she stared at him like she was willing him to deny that fact.
He wouldn’t.
God.
He couldn’t.
“You don’t want to see me?” she asked in a low whisper, the words still feeling like a slap to his skin all the same.
It wasn't always what someone said, but how they said it that had the right impact. He wasn’t even sure she knew the effect of her words on him in that moment.
Roman took a step closer to her, his heart slamming beneath his rib cage because, no. Hell no, he didn’t want her to stop.
“No, I want to see all of you,” he murmured. “Every inch—spread you wide. I’ve been dreaming about it. Too much, if I’m honest.”
A faint smile curved her
