by Katee Robert
“Lose the bra and whatever you’re wearing under the shorts.” She grinned. “If he doesn’t take you right there on the floor, I’ll give you twenty bucks.”
* * *
Allie walked across the warm sand to Roman’s brightly lit villa. Soft music emerged, and though she couldn’t quite place the lyrics, the lilting melody drew her in. She made her way up the porch stairs and stopped just outside the ring of light from the foremost lamp.
“You’re teasing me.”
She jumped and then silently cursed herself for jumping. Allie searched the spot where his voice had come from, only making him out of the shadows when he moved closer. “How long were you lurking there, waiting to make your grand entrance?”
“Would you believe me if I said I went for a swim to burn off some energy and just got back?”
She started to call his bluff, but he walked into the light and, sure enough, he wore wet swim trunks and his hair dripped tiny rivers down his shoulders and chest. It took more effort than it should have to drag her gaze to his face. “Swimming in the ocean at night is stupid.”
“I survived.” He held out his hand, as imperious as a king. “Come here.”
Allie had never been one to make an entrance, but she found herself wanting to prove Becka right. She threw her shoulders back and put a little extra hip into her walk, knowing it would make her breasts sway more than normal.
Sure enough, as soon as she breached the circle of light, her chest was exactly what held Roman’s attention. His hazel eyes went wide and then hooded. “AC/DC.”
“I’m a fan.” She looked down and pulled at the hem of her shirt, which drew the fabric forward and revealed a bit more side cleavage. “They’re classic.”
“How attached are you to that shirt?”
The question brought her head up. She found him closer than before and stopped. “I’ve had this shirt since I was thirteen.”
“Mmm.” He circled her, and she didn’t bother to try to keep him in sight. Allie already knew what he’d see. The tiny sleep shorts that her ass filled out, the slits in the side teasing even more skin. The carefully ripped sides of the shirt that showed her breasts and part of her side. She normally wore the shirt for sleeping or working out—with a bra. It was practically indecent without one.
Which was the point.
Roman stopped in front of her, closer than before. He reached out and ran his hands slowly down her arms, his thumbs caressing the sides of her breasts. “I’ll show the required restraint not to rip it off you right this fucking second.”
Allie shivered. “If you did, we’d have a problem.”
“Noted.” His hands moved back up her arms, thumbs again making the movement a tease. “Were you wearing this when you got the note?”
“I might have made a few alterations.” Thanks for the tip, Becka.
“Mmm.” The sound was somewhere between a purr and a growl. Roman released her arms and hooked his fingers into her shorts. A swift yank and they hit the deck. “No panties. Allie, I think you’re going to fucking kill me.”
She started to pull her shirt off, but he stopped her. “Keep it on. It’s just as much a tease as you are.”
“If anyone is a tease, it’s you.”
“Is that so?” Roman undid the ties at the front of his suit and slid it off without taking his eyes from her. “You came earlier, Allie. I suffered.”
She smacked his hands away when he reached for her again. “Don’t pull that shit with me. You said you’d jerk yourself. If you didn’t, that’s your problem, not mine.” She tried to make herself believe the words. She wasn’t some idiot teenager who thought blue balls meant she owed a guy something, but the thought of Roman suffering didn’t sit well with her, even if he was the enemy outside of this island.
“If you think my hand can compare to your pussy, you’re sadly mistaken.” He went to his knees right there in front of her and lifted her shirt to bare her completely from the waist down. “It’s been hours, Allie. Fucking hours that I’ve wanted you and haven’t been able to do a goddamn thing about it.” Roman dragged his mouth from one hip to the other, just below her belly button. He inhaled deeply. “I crave you. What are you doing to me?”
“Me?” She didn’t get more than that out before he nudged her legs wider and gave her pussy a long lick. The position didn’t leave her open nearly enough, and she tried to spread her legs farther without toppling over.
Roman hooked the backs of her thighs and lifted her to straddle his face. She blinked down at him, but he was too busy taking advantage of the access. He delved his tongue into her, and pleasure made her stop worrying about if he was going to drop her. She clung to his head and gave herself over to what he did to her, trusting him.
He fucked her with his tongue the same way he fucked her with his fingers and cock. Thoroughly. She could barely shift against him in her current position, though, and frustration warred with desire. “Not enough. I need more.”
His growl vibrated through her and seemed to center on her clit. He shifted and she let loose a cry as he stood and walked them to one of the lounge chairs arranged to look out over the beach. With the light of the villa, the contrasting darkness felt absolute, but Allie didn’t have a chance to think too hard on that before he laid her on the lounge chair and lifted his head. “Not enough.”
“That’s what I said.”
He pushed two fingers into her. One stroke. A second. A third finger joined them. Roman used his other hand to tug her shirt to reveal one breast. He flicked her nipple with his tongue as he plunged his fingers into her again and again. “Is this enough, Allie?”
Yes. No.
She thrashed, shaking her head. “I need you.”
He nipped the underside of her breast. “You missed my cock. You’ve been empty and aching for me since you left. That orgasm earlier only made it worse, didn’t it?”
“Yes,” she sobbed out. It was the truth. Instead of taking the edge off, she’d been acutely aware of what she was missing, rather than what she’d gotten.
“You need me, Allie.” He kept up the punishing rhythm with his fingers. “You need what I can give you.”
“Yes! I need you.” She grabbed his shoulders. “Tell me you have a condom nearby.”
She felt his grin against her skin. “I stashed some earlier.” He reached under the lounge chair and she heard the familiar crinkle of foil. Roman ripped it open and stopped touching her long enough to roll it on. “Up.”
Allie scrambled to obey, already anticipating what came next. He took her place on the lounge chair and guided her to straddle him. “That shirt won’t last much longer.” He cupped her exposed breast and went still as she positioned his cock at her entrance. “That’s it, Allie. Take what you need.”
I need you.
She didn’t say it again. It felt too big, too vulnerable, to give voice to, when she was going out of her mind with what he was doing to her. She sank onto his length, enjoying teasing them both by taking it slow. Only when he was sheathed completely inside her did she breathe out. “Yes. This.”
He pulled her shirt up. “I want to see all of you while you ride me.”
There were no shadows to hide in out here on the patio. Anyone who walked up could see them, but that was the point of paradise—there was no one but them. She liked the thought of being interrupted, though—more than she wanted to admit.
Allie took her shirt off, braced her hands on his chest and began to move. A long slide up, and another down while she rolled her hips. It felt so fucking good, she had a hard time keeping up the rhythm. Roman’s grip on her hips urged her on, her pleasure cresting all too soon. She dug her nails into his perfect chest. “I’m close.”
“I know.”
So damn cocky. It would have been unbearable if not for the way he watched her, as if she was something he wanted. Needed. Allie couldn
’t close her eyes, couldn’t look away, couldn’t do anything but ride him with one slow stroke after another, pushing them both toward oblivion.
“I love your body.” He skimmed his hands over her stomach and up to her breasts. A few breathtaking seconds spent plucking her nipples and then he coasted his hands back down to her ass. “Fucking phenomenal.”
“Stop talking.” She had decent self-confidence, but that didn’t mean his showering her with compliments made her comfortable. Allie knew Roman wanted her—he wouldn’t have acted the way he had since meeting her if he didn’t. He sure as hell wouldn’t have compromised his business plans to give them a reprieve. She might not know him well, but she knew that much. But the way he spoke to her—about her—was as worshipful as if he really thought she was Aphrodite.
But she was only a woman, and not one that he’d like all that much outside of paradise.
Allie might not be sure of a lot of things, but she was sure of that.
CHAPTER NINE
ROMAN HELD ALLIE’S BODY, but her mind was a million miles away—just like it’d been since they’d finished having sex. He had no right to push her. He knew that. The agreement that had brought her here in the first place was the same one that kept him from asking anything that might link back to New York.
Except...
“What are you thinking about?”
“Hmm?” She blinked those impossibly blue eyes at him and gave herself a shake. “Sorry. I was mentally wandering.”
It was tempting to let it go. Hell, it was the right move to make. But when Roman opened his mouth, that wasn’t what came out. “Tell me.”
“It’s just boring stuff.” She shifted off him and climbed to her feet. A small petty part of him was pleased to see her legs shake a little. The sex had been...beyond words. Desperation—that was what he felt for her. He’d hoped she’d respond favorably to the note, but Roman hadn’t been sure she’d actually come to him.
He wasn’t sure of a lot of things when it came to Allie.
She scooped up her clothes but made no move to pull them on. He liked that. She was so comfortable in her body, and that confidence was just as attractive as her looks were. But all that was surface-level shit. He wanted to know her.
Roman stopped short. Knowing her wasn’t part of the bargain. It was supposed to be just sex—strictly physical with nothing else involved.
She didn’t say no emotion. She said no business. Apples and oranges.
He steadied himself and followed her into the villa. She meandered to the kitchen and pulled a bottled water from the little fridge. Allie watched him as she took a long drink. “What?”
“What?”
She frowned. “Now you’re the one mentally wandering. What’s going on in that devious brain of yours?”
He grabbed his own water and contemplated it. “I was thinking about the terms of our agreement.”
She went still. “And?”
This was the moment he could back off, change course and keep them in a safe spot. But Roman had never met a woman that both turned him on and called him on his shit the same way Allie did. He might never again. Letting her slip through his fingers without at least poking at the potential for more was a stupid move.
Roman didn’t make a habit of making stupid moves.
“And I want to know more about you.” He watched her closely, noting the tension that crept into her shoulders.
Allie set her water bottle down on the counter. “Why?”
“I haven’t connected with a woman the way I’ve connected with you. Ever. I want to know if it’s just lust that will run itself out or if it has the potential to be more.”
“Normally...” She shook her head. “There is no normal in this situation. In another world, I’d think that sounded downright nice. But this isn’t another world, this is ours—and no matter how great the sex is or how compelling the connection, there remains the fact that you want to buy my business out from underneath me.”
“Ah-ah.” Roman held up a finger. “No business talk. That was part of the agreement.”
She glared. “That was before—” Allie cut herself off and looked at the ceiling. “Damn it, you’re right.”
“Taking business out of it—”
“Roman, that’s crazy.”
“You keep throwing around that word. Maybe you’re even right.” He set his water bottle next to hers and placed his hands on either side of her hips on the counter. “But what if you’re not, Allie? Do you run into this kind of thing so often that you’re willing to pass it up?”
She frowned harder. “Your argument is compelling. Irritating, but compelling.”
He’d given her a lot to think about, but he wasn’t planning on giving her recovery time to think too much. Roman traced her collarbone. “Any siblings?”
“Only child.” Her expression closed off, as clear as if she’d lit a neon sign warning him away.
Family is off-limits. Got it. It was almost enough to confirm that Allie’s pushing so hard for the women’s shelter had something to do with her past. He set the thought aside—for now. He wanted her to tell him when she was ready. He might have the file on her history, but he decided right then that he wouldn’t read it. Better to hear from Allie whatever she wanted to share with him.
What happens when we get back to the mainland?
We’ll figure it out.
She pulled her hair off her shoulder to give him a clear path to stroke to her arm and back again. “You have siblings?”
“No. I always wanted one or two, but my parents had other priorities.”
“Like what?”
He glanced at her face, but there was only curiosity there. Roman stroked her knuckles. “They’re both from old money, and while I was growing up, their only priority was making the family even richer. My old man was a stockbroker, and my mother was a consultant like I am.”
“Was?”
He shrugged. “They retired a couple years back. I haven’t seen them since, but they bought a boat and have been traveling the world. It’s large enough to house a small army, because my parents never do anything halfway. They’ll come around again when they get tired of the travel, but I don’t expect them to stay. They’re nothing if not restless. Always have been.” He loved his parents, in a way, but it was a distant sort of feeling that meant talking to them once every few months and the occasional Christmas card if they stayed in one place long enough to receive it. He had friends who’d grown up with loud families filled to the brim with messy love that manifested in jokes and hugs and the occasional heated fight. There was no room for that in the deep stillness of the Bassani household. “Even when I was little, they traveled regularly. They’d be gone for weeks at a time.”
“That must have been hard to deal with as a kid.” She looped her arms around his neck, bringing them chest to chest. “I don’t know anyone with perfect parents—mine included—but at least most of them were there. The absent figures must have sucked.”
“I thought it was a grand old time when I was in high school. Parties every weekend and girls staying over most days of the week.” He tried to give the comment lightly, but it came out bittersweet.
Allie saw it. She smiled and ran her finger along the shell of his ear. “You turned out all right—except for the whole business thing that we aren’t talking about.”
He laughed. “Except for that—which is my life.”
“Seriously? You don’t have anything else going on but work?”
He squeezed her hips. “Do you?”
She opened her mouth but seemed to reconsider. “That’s a fair point. I could argue that my business is more honorable, but...I’m not in the mood to argue.”
Roman liked this side of her, playful and almost coy. He turned them so he could lean against the counter with her in his arms. “What, pray
tell, are you in the mood for?”
“I’m so very glad you asked.” She kissed his throat, his shoulder, his pectoral muscle, sliding to her knees in front of him.
The wood floor would be hell on her knees, but she gave him a look from beneath her lashes that stilled the words in his chest. Allie knew exactly what she was doing, and she wasn’t about to let him drive the show this time. The sight of her stroking his cock with an exploratory hand had him in danger of swaying. It was only the promise of her wetting her lips that kept him pinned in place.
“Your cock is ridiculous.” She gave him another stroke. “There isn’t another word. Just ridiculous.”
He tried to laugh, but the sound came out strangled. “Thanks?”
“You’re welcome, but seriously, with you packing this around, it’s no wonder you’re an arrogant ass.” She flicked her tongue along the underside. “You’ve gone down on me like a dozen times in the last few days and I haven’t had you in my mouth even once.”
“Show me.”
She gave him a saucy smile and then his cock was between her lips. Allie sucked him down, down, down, until he bumped the back of her throat. Roman gripped the counter, using every ounce of self-control he had to keep from moving other than to brace his legs a little wider.
She took the move as an invitation and cradled his balls with one hand while she kept sucking him. Just when he thought he couldn’t take another second of it, she released him. But Allie wasn’t done. She gripped him around the base of his cock with her free hand and licked him like he was her favorite flavor of lollipop. That evil, wonderful tongue of hers damn near made his eyes roll back in his head. “Fuck, Allie.”
“We’re about to.”
* * *
Allie barely got the words out before Roman was on her. He paused long enough to pull a condom out of a candy bowl she hadn’t noticed before and then he was between her thighs, his cock sliding home. He cradled her head with one of his big hands, saving her from knocking herself silly against the hardwood floor with the strength of his thrusts.
It was...brutal. There was no other word to describe the way he moved over her—in her.
