“Wait, what?”
Her expression shifts, like something’s caught her off guard and it takes all of my willpower not to pull her back into me and hold her close at the vulnerability in her eyes.
“You’ve waited?” she repeats as her brows pull together slightly. “For me?”
I exhale sharply, dragging a hand through my hair, already irritated at how badly I’m explaining this.
“Yes. For you. For this.” I gesture between us, frustrated.
Her lips part slightly, but it’s not anger that hits me this time. It’s disbelief.
“What? You waited to bend me over a sink in a public bathroom?”
I wince but I don’t look away and I swear I can see a slight bit of amusement in her eyes.
“No. I saw you kiss him,” I admit quietly. “And then I nearly saw you die and something just… snapped. I wasn’t thinking about where we were. I wasn’t thinking at all.”
“That doesn’t make it okay,” she says, but it’s quieter now.
“I know that,” I bite out and try to step towards her, but she holds her hand up to stop me.
“Wait,” she snaps again, “your body being close to me confuses me. Stay back for a second.”
“Really?” I ask as my heart skips a beat. I have known she’s desired me but to hear it out loud fuels the need to claim her as mine forever.
“You don’t get it,” she sighs, shaking her head. “I didn’t say stop because I don’t want you…I said stop because I didn’t want… that,” she gestures vaguely around us. “Not like that. Or rushed. Or because you lost your mind for five minutes.”
My heart pounds as I lick my lips and drag in a breath. Taking a big step back for real this time and forcing the space between us before I do something else, I can’t take back.
“I’m sorry. That’s not how it is supposed to be with you,” I say firmly.
“Then what is it supposed to be like?” Her gaze flicks up to mine.
I hold her gaze, something hot and certain settling into place between us as I offer my hand to her and she takes it with a roll of her eyes.
“When you’re ready, I’ll show you how it is supposed to be.”
And with that, I pull her out and head back to the ballroom. All I know now, is if I want her to want me, I will have to let her lead.
CHAPTER 7
FAE
What the fuck was that? Did I just… nearly sleep with Roman? Oh God. Why the hell did that have to be so good? I will never survive a man like him. Does one even want to survive a man like him? I am not so sure. What I am sure about is this cannot happen again. But now I have had a taste, I don’t know how much control I can have around him.
Okay, new rules.
One, do not be in a room alone with Roman. Two, do not drink around Roman. Three, do not think about Roman and his sinful mouth, the way he bites, the way he licks, the way he completely disarmed me and made me forget where we even were… no, fuck. Stop.
Jesus Christ, I am so fucked.
Robyn would love this.
The sad reality is, whilst I may be a little messed up from this, I don’t think Roman is. He will go back to being the controlled and unreadable person he usually is, as if nothing happened. But something did happen. His words, I waited a long time, loop in my head and I grit my teeth. That can’t be right… surely?
It doesn’t make any sense.
For one, Roman doesn’t wait. He takes. He does not stand around pining over girls he barely tolerates half the time. And secondly… my stomach twists as I come up blank. My mind slips back to the way he looked at me. Not just in the heat of the moment, but after. The way he stepped back when I told him to. He didn’t argue or push.