Page 29 of Teaching Roman

Chapter Fourteen

Despite being forcedinto hair-holding duty, I found a note from Roman on the pillow when I finally rose from the dead late the next morning. Lunch at his place. Let myself in. He’d be cooking.

That might be a problem. I swung my legs slowly out of bed, testing my feet as if I was a newborn fawn. To my surprise I didn’t feel terrible. Thirsty? Yes. In need of a shower? Definitely. But I wasn’t dead, and although my recollection of the previous evening was questionable, that seemed like pretty good news.

After a shower I felt downright human again. Of course if there was one thing I’d learned being best friends with Jillian and Cassie for years, it was that a night spent over the toilet meant less pain in the morning. I tried to push out of my head the fact Roman had been there to witness my one woman vomitorium.

Cassie was snoring in her bed, so I sent her a nasty text and headed out. I could only hope that her own bad choices would be biting her in the ass when she finally rolled out of bed.

Roman’s grandmother lived a few blocks away in a tiny house close enough to see the beach from the porch. It was easy enough to find thanks to GPS. The front door was unlocked, so I let myself in per his instructions. I found him the kitchen, surrounded by tomatoes and jalapeños.

“Are you cooking for me?” I asked, popping a slice of tomato in my mouth. Just the small bit of food made me realize I was famished.

“Yes,” he said, planting a swift kiss on my lips before returning to his prep. It kiss lingered there, growing warmer and spreading down my neck and arms, coming to rest in my belly. “If you’re feeling up to eating.”

My stomach rumbled loudly enough to answer for me, and he laughed.

“Where’s Aba?” I asked.

“Siesta.” He tilted his head down the hall. “Don’t worry she sleeps like the dead.”

So, like me last night. I didn’t dare say it. I’d decided to pretend it didn’t happen. I was becoming well-versed in practical amnesia.

I pushed myself onto the counter to watch him. He flipped a pepper onto a cutting board and expertly sliced it up, removing all the seeds. Even the slight chopping movements were enough to tense the long, sinuous muscles in his arms. He kept his chocolate brown eyes on the food, but I knew they’d be looking at me later, stripping me down and watching me writhe beneath him.

I blew out and tried to get my mind off of getting him into bed. Being around him was like an aphrodisiac. I couldn’t seem to help myself. It was the time limit, I was sure of it. We had so little time together before it was back to normal life.

Only a few more days. The thought sat like a lump in my stomach, and try as I might, I couldn’t pretend it didn’t leave an ache in my chest.

I ignored it, and wagged a finger at Roman.

“We’ll never eat if you distract me,” he said, but even as he did, he turned toward me. Pushing my thighs apart he leaned against the counter and grabbed my hips, pulling my ass to the edge so that my crotch was pressed against the buckle of his pants.

“How about some tapas? Just a quick taste,” I breathed. I needed to feel his hands on me. It was the only way to erase the sudden panic I felt about leaving us behind in Mexico.

“You’re a bad girl,” he said, his lip curving mischievously as his hands slid up my bare legs and under my sundress.

“So bad,” I murmured as my mouth found his. His stubble scratched along my chin as he forced open my mouth, his tongue plunging inside and withdrawing immediately. I moaned as he bit down on my lower lip and sucked it gently between his teeth. I wasn’t hungry anymore. Not for anything but him. My legs widened and his erection pressed against my panties, my hips circling against him in encouragement. We only had a few days left which meant we needed to make the most out of every moment, starting with this one. Roman’s hand crept further up my dress, settling between my thighs and pushing aside the thin fabric covering me. His thumb found my clit and he pressed against it, causing my back to arch. I clamped my mouth shut, refusing to get too loud in the kitchen.

“It’s like a fun button,” he whispered, his lips dropping kisses along my neck.

“That’s exactly what it is.” Relinquishing my thighs’ control of his waist, I propped my feet on the counter and raised an eyebrow. “Let’s see what happens if you keep pressing it.”

Roman dropped down and ran his tongue along my thigh, while his fingers massaged me. My desire ignited into a frenzy, building slowly as he worked my clit with slow, deep strokes before he slid a finger inside me. My body was in flames, desperate for him.

“I want you,” I groaned, barely able to produce words.

He pulled away from me and unzipped his jeans. Then he hesitated. “Mi bella, we can’t. I don’t have”—

“Don’t care.”I could only think about him—wanting him. Losing him. No. Needing him. My hands tangled in his hair, pulling him roughly to me and crushing my mouth to his. There were no more arguments from him. He grabbed my hips and angled my ass to meet his thrusts as our lips stayed greedily pressed together.

He stroked in and out as my body burned for him.

I was on fire for him.

And he realized the same thing about the same time. We were both on fire—literally.

“Holy shit!” I screamed as he threw me over his shoulder and bounded down the hall. Down there felt like I’d doused it in gasoline and lit a match. Judging from Roman’s mad dash to the bathroom, he had an inferno of his own to extinguish.