Rome: A Marked Men Novel (17 page)

unknown future. I wasn’t sure, but I had a sinking suspicion I might be one of the few able to withstand the

destruction left by that storm’s aftermath, and even though my old fear was there, it wasn’t as strong as the

attraction I felt for this enigmatic man.

He didn’t respond, but I saw his chest rise and fall as he sucked in a deep breath.

“Cora.” I could hear the hesitation in his tone. “I don’t juggle women and I don’t think I could be any

more honest with you than I already have been. But I’m still not the guy you’re looking for, and that hasn’t

changed since the other morning. Perfect isn’t even in my vocabulary, even if you are cute enough to make

me want to try and be.”

He tapped a finger to his temple, and I saw the shadow move over his eyes. He might not be one

hundred percent, but I was starting to think any portion of Rome was better than most men operating at full

capacity. I was good with words, could tell him that something about him just got to me, that I thought he

was hotter than any guy should be, that I liked that he didn’t just back down from me. Instead I decided

that since he was a man of action, I would just show him I knew what I was doing and knew exactly what I

wanted. I wanted the last word in this and there really was only one surefire way to get it.

I grabbed the hem of my sundress and whipped it up and off over my head. The bright material landed

in a heap on the floor and I was left in my yellow wedges and cute pink underwear. One thing about having

small boobs was I didn’t have to really worry about a bra if I didn’t want to. Apparently Rome was a fan of

small boobs, because his eyes lit up like a lighter flicking to life. Even in my chunky shoes, with him

barefoot, when I made my way to where he was standing, stock-still, the top of my head barely reached his

chin. I had to look up at him, and when I did, I put one hand on either side of his face so he couldn’t look

away from me.

Those blue, blue eyes got heavy-lidded and dropped just a fraction, which made my blood get all warm

and slippery under my skin.

“Don’t be scared, Captain No-Fun, we got this.”

He put his big hands on my naked waist and started to walk me back toward the bed in the center of the

room. It would be so easy to be intimidated by a guy like him, only he was looking at me like I was

something so unique and so precious that all I could feel was anticipation. That grin that was probably

going to make me fall in love with him broke across his face, and I knew that whatever it was I was doing

with this man, who was so the opposite of what I thought I wanted, was the right thing. He wasn’t steady,

he was most definitely not a man content with his current circumstances, and I was pretty sure his idea of

what being a partner to someone looked like was totally different from mine. I still didn’t know that he

wanted to be all in with me or even with himself but the pull, the undeniable current of want and need that

seemed to loop around us, was just too much to dismiss for a dream that had yet to come along.

“I told you last night you know better than anyone what my idea of fun entails.” His thumb brushed

across the jewels dotting my side and trailed up over a nipple that was now straining and begging for

attention. The back of my knees hit the bed, and before I knew it, I was on my back and he was looming

over me all naked skin and glowing eyes. It was beautiful, he was beautiful, and no matter what happened

after this point, I knew I was a lucky girl to be here with him.

“Are you actually going to talk to me this time?”

I put my hands in his short hair as he worked on getting my shoes off and the cute little underwear out

of his way. I liked that he was kind of rough, a little impatient, but there was always reverence when his

fingers brushed my skin. He kissed me once and dropped the towel.

“Probably not.”

He put his hands under my hips and moved me toward the edge of the bed. I slid my hands down to his

shoulders and propped his chin up with the edge of my knuckle so that he was looking at me.

“Why not?”

He ran his hands down the length of one leg and situated me so that my legs were off the bed and he

was standing at the apex of them. I was exposed, open to him, and should have felt vulnerable or maybe

even shy, but it was impossible to feel anything but appreciated and sexy with the way those eyes burned

when he looked at me. My breath got caught in my lungs and couldn’t escape when he touched that little

tiny ring situated at the heart of me with just the tip of his index finger. Everything was slick and damp, and

his touch just made it all burn hotter.

“Because I’m freaked out that whatever I say might be the wrong thing. And right now, being with you

is the one thing that feels solid and real … You’re so full of color, so vibrant you never get lost in all the

gray in my head. I don’t want to lose that.”

My heart caught. Those were words a woman would never forget a man saying to her, especially when

they came from a man like this. I got my arms around his neck and pulled him down for a kiss that I hoped

conveyed how I felt. I arched up off the bed when his finger abandoned the jewelry and went in search of

more intimate, deeper territory. I felt those thick digits slide through my folds, brush against quivering

nerve endings, play with all the parts of me that were achy and greedy for his touch. He used his thumb to

press down on my clit, which had the added benefit of rubbing the smooth edge of my piercing against all

those tightly wound centers of pleasure. He knew just how to stroke me, to play me to get the best result.

I kissed him until neither of us could breathe, kissed him until he made me pant his name, kissed him

until he got more fingers involved in what he was doing down there and I couldn’t keep it together

anymore. I broke apart, felt him drop his head and kiss the side of my neck. I was clutching those broad

shoulders like a lifeline. I felt like if I let him go, this thing we were building between us was going to

disappear in a puff of smoke—it was just that magical and different. I think he might have even chuckled,

but I was pretty sure he had just devastated what it meant to have sex for me.

He pulled me to him and I could feel that erection pulsing and throbbing at the apex of my core. My

breasts flattened against the hard plane of his chest, and we were as close as two people could be without

being joined. I could feel his stomach muscles tighten and contract against me. I ran a hand over the solid

curve of his ass and blinked up at him lazily. I saw that he looked a little hesitant, which made me frown. I

wanted all that rigid and ready flesh inside me, now.

“Did I hurt you last time?”

His voice was gruff, and I didn’t appreciate that he was too strong for me to just pull him down into

where I wanted him to be. I retaliated by wrapping both legs around his lean waist and lifting myself up to

him. I heard him swear, but it only took a fraction of a second before he got with the program and sank all

the way down into me. I sighed at the sensation, the stretch and pull my body had to do to accommodate all

that length and girth. I dug my hands into the thick muscles running across his neck. I wanted to groan but I

tried to answer him instead because those blue eyes were on mine resolutely and he wasn’t moving.

“Noooo …” I couldn’t really form words as he bent his head and put a nipple in his mouth. The scrape

of his teeth nearly made me lose it again and the way he lapped at the turgid skin with the flat of his tongue

made it almost impossible to breathe. “It was awesome. You were awesome, so what if I had to be careful

how I sat down for a week? Totally worth it.”

I choked out a laugh when he levered up on his arms to glare down at me. It was hard for him to look

threatening when he shuddered as I squeezed him with my inner muscles.

“Not funny.”

I moved my hands so that I could trace the tight line of his rib cage, pausing a little when I got to the

part that was just recently healing. I liked the way he felt, liked the way he moved. I liked that he was so big

and strong, yet able to admit he was struggling and human enough to have weakness. The fact of the matter

was I just liked him, and even if it meant we had to get used to the size difference, it was a learning curve I

had no trouble being a part of. My body wanted him, it was my head and all things I had told myself I was

waiting for that had been my stumbling block up to this point. Looking up at him looking down at me like

he had never seen anything he wanted more, I realized all the parts were on the same page right now. I

kissed him on the center of his breastbone and worked on pulling him back down where all of that

straining and aching flesh did the most good. I liked feeling surrounded by him, engulfed in all his

maleness.

“It’s fine. Now move or I’ll have to hurt you.”

He grunted his agreement and got back to business. He stroked along my legs until I bent them up along

by his sides. One of his hands tangled up in the top of my short hair and all that lovely, sinewy muscle

started heaving and pushing against me. With each thrust, each retreat, his eyes got hotter and burned

brighter. I couldn’t look away. It was even better, more intense than the first time. He didn’t leave any part

of me untouched. My mouth, my neck, my breasts, the part where I was open and sliding along him. His

hands, his mouth … they did everything they could to pull me back apart.

He said my name, I’m pretty sure I screamed his when he reached down between the two of us, and

right before he pushed me over the edge again started playing with that damn hoop. His thick fingers were

so light, so gentle, but I was too gone, too ready to let go, so it just took a brush of skin and the slight tug of

metal in aroused flesh to make me come unglued and throw my head back and arch up against him hard

enough that he got an arm under my back. Holding me that way, he plunged into me with renewed vigor

and less care for my well-being. It was awesome. I felt him shudder his own release, felt him flick his

tongue along the cord of my neck that was throbbing in time to his heartbeat, and then he rolled over so

that both of us had our backs on the bed and our legs dangling over the side. I swore that if he was that

good at getting me off with just his hands, I was never going to survive if he ever worked his way to getting

his mouth down there. He was dangerous in a whole different way now.

We were both breathing hard and silent. I was pretty sure that Rome was the best cure for a hangover I

had ever come across. He picked up one of my much smaller hands in his own and trailed a thumb across

my neon-painted nails.

“So you gonna let me take you on a date or something, Cora Lewis?”

I turned my head to look at him and had to bite back a laugh. He actually looked concerned about my

answer.

“Do you want to take me on a date, Rome Archer?”

“Yeah, I think I do. Don’t get me wrong. If you just want me to take you to bed anytime you feel up to

it, I’m game for that as well, but I like you, so yeah, I would like to take you on a date.”

I went to push up on my elbows so I could look him in the eye, when I realized we were both really

naked and there was a whole lot of non-after-sex stuff happening. I felt my eyes get huge in my face and I

must have looked panicked because he frowned.

“Seriously we don’t have to if you don’t want to.”

“Uh … The date is fine, but we have a problem.”

He scratched his chest and yawned. “The guys?”

I smacked him on the arm. “No, well yeah, maybe, but something more serious than that.”

He copied my pose. “What?”

“I’m not on the pill.”

We stared at each other for what felt like five minutes without talking. I was smarter than this, always

had been. I couldn’t believe I let something as basic as safe sex get away from me. Finally he flopped back

down on the bed and threw his arm across his eyes.

“I knew I felt like I forgot something the last time.”

Well, crap, I hadn’t even considered the time before. I cleared my throat.

“And?”

He just shrugged a big shoulder. “It’s not like we can go back and un-have sex.”

I growled a little at him and narrowed my eyes. “What if the result is a baby?”

“Then we deal with it.”

“Just like that?”

“Just like that. Don’t freak out yet.”

Oh, this wasn’t even close to freaking out, but he didn’t know me well enough to know that, which

really was the entire problem with the possibility of getting knocked up by a virtual stranger. I was going to

start hyperventilating, start spazzing out, but before I could, he wrapped his arms around me and pulled me

down so that I was lying on top of him. I felt his lips brush the top of my head and felt that wide chest start

to rise and fall in a steady rhythm. The jackass was going to fall asleep on me while I was having a major