by L. J. Dee
“It wouldn’t be on your throat, it would be here,” he growled in a voice so deep I melted into it, gasping as his thumb found my clit with the perfect pressure and I knew this was game over.
“You still want to run?” he asked, tilting his head and if I wasn’t so aroused I’d have knocked the smugness from those perfect arrogant lips, but I was practically boneless and altogether speechless.
“Like I said, Chas, one finger,” he chuckled as I took a deep breath and gathered every ounce of strength in my body to push him away.
“Fucking hell, Roman, you’re not big on making a woman feel good, are you?” I snapped as he smiled again.
“Don’t you feel good, Chas? You certainly look good, and you feel incredibly good to me,” he said, searing me with a look that knocked the breath from my lungs as he ran his finger across my swollen, naked pussy. I was flushed and trembling, as aroused as hell, and really annoyed about it.
“Now, now, baby, don’t get upset. We both know what we want here,” he said, suddenly grabbing my waist and pulling me hard up against him. I could feel the brush of his throbbing cock against me, teasing every inflamed cell, bursting with need as his lips found the sensitive spot at the base of my throat and I was gone, opening myself up to him and turning against every sane instinct in my head.
So he wasn’t for keeps, and it was a momentary passion that would invade my life before fleeing back to some war torn part of the world to do whatever ‘business’ it was that he did. It was even more reason to make the most of the moment I convinced myself quickly, and he picked me up throwing me roughly onto the bed.
In a heartbeat I was pinned underneath him, mischievous eyes glinting down at me, the unmistakeable smirk set firm. “Right decision, good girl,” he said as his lips crashed against mine and I dissolved under that hard firm body, revelling in the sensations and pushing back that part of my brain that kept asking what the hell I was doing.
My body had no such quandary as I relaxed into the slow soft strokes of Romans hands across my ribs and my waist, moaning softly as he forced his knee between my legs, opening them up and sending a hot jolt of electricity straight to my core. If last night was intense I sensed this morning would be no different. He might not know romance, but Roman Hunter knew better than most just exactly how to seduce a woman until all thought was gone, leaving only desperation for his touch.
Carpe Diem had a lot to answer for. I was never going to a fucking funeral again.
Chapter Four
There was no doubt that he’d left my body floating in the same ecstasy as he had last night, after another two mind blowing orgasms. Unfortunately, my head was taking a little longer to catch up and not allowing me to abandon all sanity at quite the same rate. I was delirious with bliss, but the methods he’d employed to get me there still didn’t sit right with me.
“You’re not exactly chivalrous, are you, Roman?” I said as soon as I’d caught my breath.
“I’m very chivalrous, Chas. I think you’ll find I’ve allowed you to come first every time,” he smiled, holding my gaze as I narrowed my eyes at him.
“Can’t you just be a bit nicer?” I asked as he started laughing, taking me aback with the unfamiliar sound and pulling me closer.
“If you want nice, you picked the wrong brother. I should have thought it was obvious I didn’t do nice,” he said as I swallowed hard, thinking suddenly of Charlie and how his night with Scarlett might have gone. The thought upset me, and I decided instead to gather as much information as I could about his not very nice, but incredibly sexy brother.
“Are you a mercenary?” I asked as he chuckled softly, but didn’t answer. It seemed to fit. I sat up, resting on my elbow and gazed across at him. “You must be a trained killer with all that hardware,” I said as he laughed again and I traced my fingers softly over his scars. He had certainly taken his fair share of pain. He said nothing. “Are you any good at it – whatever it is?” I raised my eyebrows as he turned a steely glare on me. Well that had got his attention.
“Yes. Why?” he asked as I smirked.
“Well, you’ve got a lot of scars, so you must keep getting hit. I assumed maybe you were a bit slower than your enemies,” I said, trying to hold a straight face as his eyes narrowed even further. He certainly didn’t like me questioning his professionalism in whatever profession it was.
“I can assure you I am extremely good at what I do, and I’m in a much better position than every bastard who gave me these scars,” he said seriously.
“How so?” I asked, wondering if I would finally get him to crack while trying to sound as nonchalant about it as possible.
“As in I’m still fucking breathing,” he said as I gasped and turned to face him.
“So you are an assassin?” I said; trying to close my dumbstruck jaw and once again wondering what the hell I was doing here.
“I’m a negotiator, Chas, let’s just leave it at that,” he said, sighing gently, but I was getting somewhere and wasn’t about to stop now.
“What do you negotiate?” I asked as he turned an incredibly tense stare on me that dried up my mouth instantaneously and I thought hard about probing any further. I decided eventually that there was little to lose. He remained silent.
“Are you one of the bad guys, or one of the good guys?” I asked, changing tact slightly as he frowned at me and I couldn’t help but notice that the smirk was back.
“That’s a very naive question, Chas. Everyone is the bad guy if you’re on the opposite side,” he laughed and I guessed he was right.
“So which side do you sit on?” I smiled, still desperate to glean as much as I could.
“The most lucrative,” he said as I gasped, my moral dilemma playing out all over my face as he stared at me for a moment.
“Let me guess, you’re suddenly laying there thinking what the hell am I doing in bed with a killer. This man is dangerous and I shouldn’t be here. Killing is wrong and immoral and I could never like a murderer, much less have sex with one,” he said, holding my gaze as I nodded mutely. It was exactly what I was thinking.
“Well, baby, let’s put it another way. My skills were honed in the army where I was sent to war and people were shooting at me,” he said as I held his gaze.
“Then of course you have to kill them first,” I said as he smirked, not sure what he was getting at.
“Then I was in the Special Forces and we had a job to do; extracting hostages or falling behind enemy lines where, by and large, people were shooting at me again,” he said as I frowned.
“Then of course you have to kill them first, but doing it for money isn’t the same,” I said as he shook his head.
“Why, Chas? I got paid by the army, I wasn’t doing it for free,” he said as I gasped. Surely he could see the difference.
“Because you were risking your life for Queen and country, to do the right thing and not just for profit,” I said as he laughed softly. I wasn’t amused.
“I never kill just for profit and I always believe I’m doing the right thing, but it’s irrelevant anyway. Who says I was ever doing the right thing; in the army, the SAS or now? Killing is wrong, full stop, but when you cross that line, all it comes down to is your set of belief systems. There is no absolute truth. The Taliban believed they were right to kill me; that I was the enemy and they settled their conscience that way. I did the same. When push comes to shove, right or wrong is just an extension of your beliefs, not a universal truth. I fight for capitalism, democracy and the concept of freedom because that is my culture and I trust in that system. Just because you dress a killer in a uniform under the control of a Government, it doesn’t automatically make it right to take a life.”
I guess he was right and I was a hypocrite. I wouldn’t have had the same quandary if he was in the army, I would have had none, and I thought about it for a moment as he rose from the bed and walked into the bathroom, shutting the door and leaving me laying there and realising that the answers to my questi
ons had only succeeded in making him more of a mystery.
I tiptoed across to the bag, checking the door and unzipping it quietly to get another look, rifling through his equipment and praying that I didn’t inadvertently fire one of the damn things. Six guns in total. Why the hell did he need six guns? He only had two hands. I wasn’t sure what kind they were; I’d never seen one in real life. I started to zip it back up, wondering if I’d just shared numerous orgasms with some kind of hit man, freezing as I heard the door open, scrambling to my feet as he stood there in the doorway, glowering at me.
“Get in the fucking shower,” he said as I pouted, slapping my arse playfully as I walked past him into the bathroom and suddenly smiling as he manoeuvred me under the hot jet of water, gently stroking the hair from my face. “Curious little thing, aren’t you?” he said as I laughed, loving the wet dark hair soaking in thick tendrils over his face as I just stared, wondering if I’d ever get used to the perfection of his imperfection. I traced my fingers slowly across his scars.
“You’re beautiful, Roman,” I said as he shook his head, cupping my face in his hands and kissing me gently.
“I’m not beautiful, Chas. If you could see inside my soul you’d know that,” he replied, holding my gaze as his eyes filled with the deep, dark torment I’d noticed yesterday.
“But you are, inside and out, sweetheart.”
“Be careful. That was verging on nice,” I smiled as he pulled me close in a tight embrace, loaded with affection that made my heart sing and my mind wonder if I hadn’t made the right decision after all. He lathered me with soft shower gel, turning me to face the tiles as he massaged shampoo and conditioner into my hair, caressing me so softly it was hard to believe this was the same person. He turned me around, positioning me under the hot spray until I was clear of foam and squeaky clean, kissing my lips gently as I ran my hands over his solid pecs.
“Now get out or I’ll be forced to fuck you again,” he said, trying to hide the smile that was playing around his mouth as I rolled my eyes and started to laugh, thinking I might just have witnessed Roman Hunter being playful and it was strangely endearing.
The thought was a welcome one, but I wasn’t certain I could face another onslaught. He already had me reeling with his unique back and forth style of aggression and affection. Any more and my head would be spinning like a cyclone. I needed perspective and I wanted a moment, stepping out of the shower and forcing my eyes away as he started to clean that solid frame.
‘Move, Chas’ I urged my feet, smiling inwardly as I wrapped a towel around myself and finally left.
I went to my own room to get ready, hearing the door shut ten minutes later as I watched his tall, muscular frame sprinting up to the house through my window and sighing loudly. I wasn’t certain I’d done the right thing, but I wasn’t about to beat myself up about it. Some temptations were impossible to resist and it wasn’t as though I had anything to lose. I was single and Charlie was back with Scarlett. I’d known it as soon as I heard about that text, wondering if that had influenced my decision to fuck his brother. There was no point analysing it now, what was done was done and every muscle in my body was reminding me of that very fact.
Chapter Five
I followed him up to the house when I was ready, taking my time and wondering what the hell my sister would make of my clandestine little tryst with the prodigal brother. She was sitting in the kitchen, nursing a coffee in her hands, smiling as she looked up at me. “Where is everyone?” I asked as she glanced across to the giant double doors.
“They’re all in the lounge with their lawyer; he’s going through the will.”
“Is Roman with them?” I asked as she nodded.
“Lucas came to get him; it seems he was mentioned after all.” I pulled up a chair beside her, pouring the muesli from the box on the table.
My exertions had left me absolutely starving. I could have murdered some bacon, but it looked as though rabbit food was my only option right now. I added the milk and grabbed a spoon, shovelling it down my throat as she stared at me in disgust. “What?” I shrugged. “I haven’t eaten for ages.”
“I’ve wanted to talk to you since you got here, Chas, but we haven’t had a moment alone.” I was itching to tell her about Roman, but this sounded serious and she obviously needed to get something off her chest.
“Lucas wants to move things forward more quickly than I realised. You know he asked me to be his girlfriend and told me he loved me,” she paused as I smiled. “Well the last few days have just been incredible. Even in the most awful of circumstances, I’ve loved spending time with him and he has too. He tells me he loves me constantly, and can’t get enough of me sexually. He’s keen that when we go back to London, things will be more like this than the way they were,” she said, her voice low and calm. “It’s what I want too, Chas.”
“Are you telling me you’re moving out?” I asked as she shook her head quickly.
“God, no, nothing that drastic, but I will be spending more time at his place.”
I smiled, relieved. I couldn’t afford the apartment on my own. “What about the whole Dominant thing?” I grinned as she flushed.
“He’s still my Dom inside the club and sometimes the bedroom, but outside of that we’re on an equal footing and when it comes to Dex, I am most definitely in charge,” she laughed. I’d believe that when I saw it. “He’s incredible, Chas and I don’t ever want to be without him now I know the man behind that serious frown,” she grinned as I hugged her.
“He’s a good guy, Sis, and a pretty amazing prize; just don’t let him bully you too much.” She knew what I was referring to.
“He doesn’t bully me. I choose to submit to him because I like it as much as he does. He calls it a gift, Chas. He says that without my submission, he’s not a Dominant, just a regular guy.” I rolled my eyes at that one.
“There is nothing regular about Lucas Hunter,” I smiled, itching to tell her about my night in the lodge with his younger brother and waiting until I was certain she’d finished before jumping in with my own news.
“He’s not the only Hunter who’s awesome in bed.”
I watched the realisation creep across her face as her jaw dropped open. “What happened to your list? Roman is hardly reliable,” she gasped as I laughed.
“Its usefulness has been temporarily suspended for a short term hook-up with just about the sexiest man I’ve ever seen.” She was shaking her head. “Don’t look at me like that, Jess,” I said as she frowned deeply.
“What about Charlie?” she asked as I glared at her for a second, looking to the doorway as the double doors blasted open and Roman stormed in, ignoring me and my sister and heading straight for the exit.
Lucas wasn’t far behind him.
“What’s the matter with Roman?” I asked quickly.
“It’s been a lot for him to take in,” he said seriously, watching through the window as the roar of a motorbike engine broke the peaceful morning and I ran outside with the voice of my sister ringing in my ears.
“What are you doing?” I shouted over the revving of the motorbike that was almost deafening.
“Get on,” he said, throwing me a helmet as I looked back to the house to see Jess at the window, shaking her head. Ever since Jake died, she loathed motorcycles and I knew she wouldn’t like it, but my bigger concern was for the angry man sitting on the machine who had already shown me seven shades of bliss.
I climbed on the bike, begging him not to go too fast, gripping on for dear life as he shot down the gravel path, working his way at increasing speed through the long and narrow winding country roads. Adrenaline spiked in my veins as I tightened my grip, but I wasn’t enjoying this. It wasn’t thrilling, it was terrifying and all I wanted was for him to stop.
“Please slow down, Roman,” I screamed, unsure if he could hear me through the helmet and the wind that was rushing around us. We dipped and swerved, negotiating the killer bends and the man was on a mission to blo
w off some steam. Roadside trees were blurring into a mesh of green and the roar of the engine was thunderous. He pushed the bike to its limits and I squeezed my eyes shut, not knowing whether I’d even make it alive out of this hellish journey.
We rode for miles, my knuckles white as I prayed for it to end. My stomach was churning, my heart in my throat. This wasn’t exhilarating, it was downright dangerous, and worse still, there was absolutely nothing I could do about it. He brought the Ducati to a stop eventually, in a lay by near some fields as I pulled off my helmet and threw it on the grass, pummelling his chest with my fists as he watched me curiously. “I told you not to go too fast, Roman,” I shouted as he grabbed my trembling body, pulling it close to his. I was shaking, almost crying with the adrenaline and fear that was racing through my veins as he tucked my head under his chin.
“I’m sorry, baby, I didn’t mean to frighten you,” he said, his voice laced with concern as he tipped my chin to meet his gaze, looking genuinely regretful. “Racing the bike cools me off, but I shouldn’t have done it with you on the back.” He kissed me softly as the trembling began to subside, his face contorted in pain and I wondered what was at the bottom of it, my reaction or the reading of the will.
“I was terrified, Roman,” I said, trying to catch my breath as he just held me, waiting for my breathing to calm. There was little point in labouring the fact. He’d apologised and at this moment he definitely had other things on his mind.
“What happened at the house?” I asked as he picked up the helmet, jumping the huge metal gate before helping me over, walking through the field until we came to rest at the base of a giant Sycamore tree. He sat on the soft grass as I moved beside him, wondering whether he’d open up and tell me, or shut down as he seemed to do often. He pulled my head against his chest, breathing hard as we lay there in silence.
