Page 18 of Wicked Savage Cruel
What an asshole.
He’s quiet for a beat and I take another drink from my cup. The alcohol burns and I relish the pain. My throat tightens so I take another drink, eager to chase away the ache forming in my chest because it still hurts and I hate that. I hate that he still has any sort of hold over me.
“I loved you,” I tell him, my voice cold.
“Baby, I love you, too. So much.”
I shake my head even though he can’t see the movement. “No, Ry. Loved. Ilovedyou. I don’t anymore. Not after what you did.”
“Allie, baby. Please. Don’t be like this. We can fix this. I know we can.”
“Nope.” The ‘p’ makes a popping sound to emphasize my decision. Another drink and my cup is empty. I set it aside and lean back, relishing the slight spinning my head is doing right now. “I might have been able to get past the cheating if you’d been honest with me. I was that invested.” He’d been my first kiss. My first love. The guy I lost my virginity to. Maybe that was why I’d put up with so much for so long. Not anymore. I deserved better. I knew that. “But Ry, you dropped me when I needed you the most. There’s no coming back from that. Stop texting me. Stop calling. I’m not going to forgive you. Not for that.”
A movement to my left draws my attention and I spot Roman leaning against a tree, staring at me. His face is blank, but he’s removed his aviators, giving me a glimpse of his dark brown eyes. There’s fire in his gaze, and I shiver. When he sees I’ve spotted him he steps forward and sits beside me.
He puts a hand out, silently asking for my phone. I frown, but what the heck? I hand it to him.
He lifts the phone to his ear and says in a gruff voice, “Listen to her. Stop calling. Stop texting. You two are done. Got it?”
“Who the fuck are you?” I hear Ryker bite out.
“Your replacement.” Roman deadpans. He hands me back my phone after he ends the call. It starts ringing almost right away but I silence it and shove it in my back pocket. He offers me his beer and I take it. I tilt the bottle back to my lips, letting the cool liquid slide down my suddenly dry throat.
My vision blurs for a second but I blink fast to clear it and hand the beer back to him. Heat rushes up my neck and I can feel the effects of the alcohol kicking in even more now. Good.
I don’t want to be sober. Not tonight.
Neither of us say anything after that. Both content to gaze up at the starless night sky. Roman takes a few pulls from his beer bottle and I watch as his Adam's apple bobs with each swallow.
When the seconds turn to minutes, I feel my cheeks go numb and my head begins to swim. I’ve always been a lightweight. Drinking and partying was never really my thing. I hadn’t expected the liquor to hit me this quickly, though I can’t say I regret that it has and I’m already wishing I had more.
Roman nudges me with his shoulder and I meet his gaze. The mask is still in place. His expression unreadable. A tendril of dark brown hair has fallen forward and I reach out, brushing it back.
His hand shoots up to grab my wrist and I gasp, but rather than tightening his hold on me, his thumb rubs small circles along my pulse as he lowers my hand between us. He doesn’t release me. He continues to rub lazy circles across my skin and goosebumps break out on my arms. He tugs at the teal bracelet on my wrist drawing my attention.
His eyes meet mine again and this time, I see him. I see the want and the need there. The desire.
I swallow hard and a bout of nerves has my stomach tightening.
“That the ex?” he asks. His voice is smooth and he’s still rubbing those darn circles along my skin. I can’t think with him touching me.
“Yeah.” My voice is more breathless than I’d intended, but all of a sudden, it’s like I can’t get enough air inside my lungs. Walk away, Allie. You don’t need to fall for another asshole.
“He cheated?”
I nod.
“And your mom’s dead?”
Another nod.
He seems to ponder my words. “So, who are you living with now? Your pops?”
I nod. “Yeah. Bio-dad.”
He tilts his head in question and he shifts so our bodies are closer to one another. One arm curls around my shoulder, the other still on my wrist, but I can feel the heat from his body so close to mine now.
“I, uh… don’t really want to talk about it.” I stutter my words. Being so close to Roman has me on edge. I’d done so well avoiding him this past week that I’d almost tricked myself into believing he’s forgotten about me. Clearly, that was a stupid thought because here he is, in the flesh. A gut feeling has me believing he’s planned this meeting. Why else would he have followed me to the back of Aaron’s cabin? What other reason did he have for being here?
