Total pages in book: 90
Estimated words: 84670 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 423(@200wpm)___ 339(@250wpm)___ 282(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 84670 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 423(@200wpm)___ 339(@250wpm)___ 282(@300wpm)
Rome fucked me so deep. The slap of our sweat-damp skin. The cries of pleasure. Frantic kisses that were mostly teeth and tongue. I loved it all. Nothing had ever felt so right. So completely consuming.
It took three quick strokes of my hand on my cock to come. I shouted Rome’s name, and my lover followed right behind me.
For several minutes, we lay plastered to each other, covered in sweat, cum, and saliva. My body tingled from head to toe, and my brain was fuzzy.
“You okay?” Rome mumbled, his face mostly pressed into a pillow.
“Holy shit,” I panted.
Rome huffed a weary laugh and lifted his head. “That good, huh?”
“Holy shit,” I repeated, because they were the only two words I knew.
He kissed me slowly. Each brush of his lips against mine woke more brain cells, getting real thoughts churning again.
I raised my hand and cupped his cheek, my thumb rubbing along the short beard he wore on his chin and jaw. Rome closed his eyes and leaned into my touch, seeming to soak it in. How was I so lucky? This man was sweet, generous, patient, and so fucking funny. Okay, he could be evil too, but we were good at being evil to each other when pissed. The fact that I got a second chance to be his friend and now lover felt too hard to believe. Rome should have been happily married to a person who worshiped him.
Someone who protected him every moment of the day.
But was that someone me? Could it be me after I was the one who’d hurt him so badly? Dating Rome came with a tremendous responsibility—protecting him and his money from the assholes of the world. What if I fucked up? I’d already screwed up my first marriage. I’d walked away from a job I loved because I couldn’t stand up to my boss.
“Wanna grab a shower? I was thinking of rummaging through the fridge. Finding a snack.”
I shoved aside my worries and nodded. “Sounds good to me. I am a mess.”
Rome chuckled and gave me a quick smacking kiss before hopping off the bed to deal with the condom. I followed him a couple of minutes later after I discovered that my body was now full of aches following our wonderful sex. A hot shower sounded like heaven.
Unfortunately, the hot water didn’t help to clear my head like I’d hoped. I found Rome in the kitchen with a scattering of fruit, cheese, and crackers on the counter. He was wearing only a pair of shorts, and his hair was wet, as if he’d showered in another bathroom. He grinned at me, his mouth full of cheese.
My answering smile was a little wilted.
“Post-sex regret?” Rome inquired after he swallowed his cheese.
“Nope. That was fucking amazing, and to hell with anyone who thinks they can regret that.”
He looked less worried but more confused as I slid onto a stool at the counter. “It’s work.” I took a breath and released it. “I quit.”
“What?” Rome gasped and choked on the cracker he’d shoved into his mouth. I ran around the counter and pounded him on the back while searching for a glass or a bottle of water.
Rome waved me off as soon as he could draw in air. I hurried to the fridge and snagged a bottle of water. Only after setting it in front of him and feeling sure he wasn’t about to suffocate did I return to my stool.
“What the fuck?” he demanded roughly. “What happened?”
Biting down on my tongue, I held in my words as I tried to decide whether to unload the full truth on him or try to censor it. But that was wrong. If we had any shot at dating and having a decent relationship, I had to tell him the truth.
“It’s about that stupid donation my boss wants. She’s been hassling me.”
“Shit. I’m sorry. I always planned to make that donation. Give me a second. I’ll make a phone call and get that settled now—”
“No.” The word came out more sharply than I intended, and I winced. “That…that won’t fix anything. She wanted me to increase the amount I asked for because we’re having legal problems with the owner of the land where we plan to do a dig this spring. And when I told her I wasn’t comfortable with this because I was sort of dating you, she got excited.”
“Wait! You outed yourself to your boss? You actually told her we were dating?”
I blinked against the brilliant smile that was spreading across his face, and there was no way I could stop the answering smile on my mouth. Rome hurried around the counter to pull me into a hug as soon as I nodded.
“I can’t believe it,” he said in a choked voice. His arms were so tight he was almost crushing bones. “I just…even if we started dating…I thought…” He couldn’t complete the thought.