Her eyes flick to me once more.
Remaining items? There are more?
Elena leaves with the smooth silence of a woman who has already decided I’m beneath every garment in the room.
The moment she’s gone, I turn back to Roman. “When did you order these?”
“On the way.”
“On the way from the airport?”
“Yes.”
“You were in the car with me.”
“I’m aware.”
“You were talking to me.”
“Not continuously.”
I stare at the rack of clothes, then at the boxes, then at him. “How do you even know my size?”
Roman’s expression shifts. His eyes travel over me. Slowly.
From my damp hair to my flushed face. Down the line of my throat. Over the robe tied at my waist. The place where the fabric strains a little over my breasts. The curve of my hips beneath the thick cotton. My bare legs. My feet against his rug.
By the time his gaze returns to mine, I feel naked. Not because I’m barely dressed. But because he makes looking feel like touching.
My mouth goes dry. “Roman,” I say, and it comes out far less irritated than I want.
He takes one unhurried step toward me. Then another. “I know your size,” he says, “because I had my hands on almost every inch of you.” His eyes hold mine, and there is nothinggentlemanly in them now. “Not enough to satisfy me,” he adds quietly. “But enough to buy you a dress.”
My fingers tighten in the robe. Heat slides through me, sudden and humiliating. “You cannot say things like that in the middle of a living room.”
His gaze drops to my mouth. “I can say them anywhere.”
I look away because if I keep looking at him, I’m going to forget that I’m supposed to be embarrassed, angry, careful, something other than hungry.
“There are underthings,” I say, mostly because panic has destroyed my ability to choose better words.
“Yes.”
“You bought me underwear.”
“I had Elena buy you underwear.”
“That’s not better.”
“It’s slightly better.”
“It’s mortifying.”
His mouth curves. “Would you prefer I had chosen them myself?”
The image hits me so fast I cannot breathe.
Roman in some elegant boutique, expression severe, choosing lace with the same concentration he probably gives to money and whatever men like him call investments.