Chapter 23

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

Maddie

And by the next morning, I turn into a chicken.

Even though he said we’d talk more today, I don’t ask Roman anything else as we have breakfast. I take a shower, and for the first time since I came here, he doesn’t join me.

This shouldn’t be a big deal. People shower alone all the time. It’s not usually a group event. Then again, most people don’t have showers with six shower heads.

I’ve learned the layout well enough that I don’t need his help, but I can’t shake the feeling that I messed something up last night.

Why did I have to go confessing that I was falling in love?

I get out of the shower, dry off, and after wrapping the towel around my body, I sit down to brush my hair.

I wish I could blow it out. I mean, I can blow-dry my hair. But I need someone else to really style it.

I could try…

The lighting in here is amazing, even better than the rest of the house and when I lean close…

I start to work at the strands using a large round brush to straighten with just a big curl at the end, then Roman enters. I turn off the blow dryer with a sigh, sure I’m not doing a great job.

“What are you up to?”

Considering how much I’ve already confessed, I think it’s best I don’t say, trying to look pretty for you . So instead, I go for snark, which is not my thing at all. “Umm. I’d say it’s obvious, isn’t it?”

He stops behind me. “Is it? I’ve never seen you dry your hair before.”

I let out a sigh. God, I suck at this hiding my feelings thing. “I bet the other women you’ve dated dry their hair.”

His hands come to my shoulders, sliding along my skin. “I don’t really date. So, I wouldn’t know.”

My brows scrunch at his words. “You have satchels of overnight products prepped in your bathroom.”

“Those aren’t for dates,” he answers, gently taking the blow dryer from my hand. “To be clear, they are for women I convince to come back here for a single shared night. And since we’re being honest,” he takes the brush from the other, “what you and I are doing is in keeping with that, because I didn’t ask you out on a date either.

And then he starts to dry my hair. I blink my eyes several times because, those words hurt. We didn’t go out on a date. He did just convince me to come back here with him. I’m a hook-up…

The sting reverberates through me a moment before my mind rebels. He told me not to give up on him. I reach out for the counter to steady myself as I try to get my emotions and thoughts back in check.

I can feel him rolling the brush through my hair, as he holds the strands against the dryer. He works around my head, the steady hum of the blow dryer creating a pause in our conversation as I try and pull myself back together.

I can see him creating a sleek coif. I tilt my head, leaning closer. It’s perfect.

But somehow, I no longer want to look like every other woman.

He doesn’t notice or doesn’t acknowledge my change of mood as he finishes the task, switching the dryer off.

I look down at my lap. He reaches my chin, tilting my face back up. “But Maddie,” he says like no time has passed.

“Yeah?”

“You are completely different in that none of them have ever been invited to stay longer than a night.”

“Oh,” I blink back my surprise, turning to face him. Because he gave me an indefinite invitation that was completely at my discretion.

“And you’re different from them in that you don’t need makeup or hair styles to make you beautiful. You are stunning just as you are, sweetheart.”

“Oh.” I stand then, my body pressing into his. He steps back long enough to tug his T-shirt off and then jerks the towel off my body, before he pulls me close. “In that case,” I say, trying to catch my breath as our skin slides together and I wrap my arms around his neck. “Do you want to mess my hair back up?”

He barks out a laugh as he uses his free hand to shuck down his athletic pants. “I’m going to mess it up so good, baby.”

That makes me laugh for a second before his lips crash down on mine.

His tongue is in my mouth, his hand wrapping under my ass as he lifts me in his arms.

My legs come around him, the tip of his cock already pressing into my folds.

The moment he pushes into my entrance though, I wince a bit. It’s not like yesterday, it doesn’t burn. But the skin is tender.

Roman eases back, seeming to understand. Taking two steps forward, he sets me down on the bathroom counter.

He kisses me again, his tongue teasing mine before his mouth slides lower, down my jaw, along the pulse of my neck, over my collarbone and down to my chest.

He sucks one nipple into his mouth, palming the other. Gasping, I arch into his touch.

But he doesn’t stop, he keeps kissing lower over my belly, along the seam of my leg, and across my mound, only stopping when he reaches my clit.

I’m wide open now and dripping as he swirls his tongue over the sensitive bud. He’s so good at this, I’ve completely forgotten about the pain. Soreness be damned. I want Roman inside me.

But his tongue is working my clit and I’m having a difficult time telling him to stop. The man is magic with his tongue.

My fingers are gripping his hair, pulling as I cry out. He slides a finger inside me, and then another. I’m sure he’s testing my soreness but I’m way too far into this to care about a little pain.

I start pulling his hair harder, tugging him back up my body.

He obliges, filling both of his hands with my ass as he pulls me to the edge of the counter.

My legs wrap around him as his cock slowly pushes back inside me. He eases in, likely giving me a moment to adjust. Much as I appreciate it, we both groan out our pleasure when he’s finally buried deep inside me.

I can feel him pushing against that magic spot that has me arching to take even more.

Hands on my hips, he eases out and then thrusts hard back in. Pleasure rocks through me as he sets a pace that makes my head spin and my body vibrate. I’m barely balanced on the edge of the sink, one of my hands wrapped around a faucet while the other digs into his shoulder, my nails gouging into his back.

But the faster we go, the harder it is, the better it feels.

My moans grow louder, sharper, until I’m begging him, talking more and more as I get closer to my orgasm. “Harder. Yes. Like that. Oh Roman. Please. Fuck me.”

I didn’t even know this side of me existed.

But Roman only goes faster, pounding me with a force that I can’t get enough of. “You want it harder, baby?”

“Yes. Yes.” My nails only dig deeper and then with a flurry of thrusts that have my head snapping back, I explode around him, scratching down his skin.

He’s right behind me, cumming with a roar as he continues to pump into me like a piston.

I’m still holding onto him, feeling the jerking pulses of his body as he finally slows the pace. “That was…”

His forehead comes to mine, his arms wrapping around my back. I let go of the faucet and tip my weight forward, against him, only to realize that every muscle in my body might be sore.

Totally worth it.

“Fantastic,” he rumbles as he lifts me off the counter and carries me into the shower.

“I just got out of the shower, you know.”

“Did someone get you all dirty again?”

I laugh, and then run my hand over his neck. “You could have come with me the first time.” My hurt is showing but I can’t hold it back.

I know he hears it as he squeezes me tighter. “Sorry I didn’t join you, sweetheart. Mason called…”

“Any news?”

“About Luke and Kate? No. But he does have some lease terms he wants to run by you.”

“Lease terms.” It sounds so unimportant after what we just did.

Roman rinses me off, spraying cool water between my legs this time to reduce any swelling, before he soaps himself up.

We both get out to dress, conversation soft and easy, all my worry gone for the moment.

Roman puts my clothes on first, an easy A-line dress, and then pulls on a pair of athletic pants slung low over his hips. “I’ve got a bit of research to do,” he says as he opens the door and steps out into the hall. “But I’ll be here all day— What the fuck?”

I immediately tense, freezing in the middle of the room.

“I told you I wanted this wrapped up.”

“You don’t get to just show up at my place, Mason. Christ. How long have you been here?”

“Long enough,” Mason mutters and my face heats. Did he just hear…

I’ve learned that I’m rather loud during sex. Not something I knew about myself, but there you have it. If Mason was here, he heard everything.

I spin toward the bathroom, intent upon hiding.

But Roman grabs my hand, stopping me before I flee. “Maddie, Mason wishes to speak to you far more than he does me.”

I shake my head. My face surely bright red. “Roman.”

“It’s all right,” he answers, pulling me toward the doorway. “He’s here to write you a big check.”

Somehow that doesn’t make me feel any better.

Because even with my vision as it is, I can see enough to make out the large red scratches decorating Roman’s back because he isn’t wearing a shirt.