After The Storm

by K. M. Scott

  And just like that, Roman returned to saying nothing, but now, Kate didn’t worry about his silence. It comforted her in some strange way and made the moment mean more to her.

  * * *

  Kate opened her eyes slowly as Roman’s arm holding her gradually registered in her brain. She and Roman had slept together and now they…well, were sleeping together in her bed. He lay next to her with his eyes closed, and she struggled to believe what they’d done.

  Not that she regretted it. No way. Sex with Roman had been the best she’d had in her lifetime. A woman didn’t regret that kind of sex.

  She looked over at him and knew he still slept soundly, so she eased out from under his arm and grabbed her clothes to go outside. For some reason, she felt antsy, like she wanted to move and do something. That she couldn’t frustrated her, but she didn’t dare to endanger the two of them.

  At least she could get a breath of fresh air on the porch.

  Quickly dressing in the hallway, she headed outside into the night. Chilly for New Orleans, she wished she had a sweater to throw over her shoulders. Maybe Roman had gotten her one when he went out to buy them new clothes.

  What a man he was. That she could even think he might have been that thoughtful felt completely out of the ordinary. She’d never been with a man who could rock her world in bed and still be someone she could depend on. Most men succeeded at one or the other, but to be good at both? She wondered if she was still under a haze from the great sex they’d had.

  She wanted to tell someone about him. Wasn’t it just her luck that for once she’d found a man who had everything she could possibly want and she had no one to share the news with.

  Eve. That’s who she could tell. She had a bone to pick with her about telling the police about what had happened to her anyway.

  Fishing her phone out of her purse, she turned it on and pressed 2 to speed dial her. After only two rings, she answered in her usual perky way.

  “Talk to me.”

  Kate looked around to make sure she was alone on the porch and whispered into the phone, “Eve, it’s me. Do you have a minute to talk?”

  “Jesus! Kate, where the hell have you been? I’ve been over to your apartment like ten times in the past few days. I’ve been worried sick. Are you okay? What happened to you?” she asked, her voice frantic.

  “I’m fine. Thanks for ratting me out to the police, though.”

  She began to pace at just the mention of the cops as Eve tried to explain why she’d done exactly what she’d been told not to do. “I’m sorry, hon. I got scared. That man following us in the Quarter freaked me out, and then when you ran, I didn’t know what to do. Are you in jail?”

  “No. I guess I should actually thank you because someone in the New Orleans Police Department called this group that helps women and one of their men came to the Bayou to help me.”

  “One of their men? What kind of man are we talking about?” Eve asked with far too much interest in that one part of her story.

  Kate didn’t exactly know how to explain Roman. Was he like a security guard for her? What exactly was he other than the man she’d fallen for and just slept with?

  “His name is Roman and he’s trying to help me figure out what to do about Jonas’s murder. He found us a place to hide out for a little while so we can do some investigating.”

  Eve hummed in to the phone. “Hmmm, Roman. Sounds like someone I’d like to meet. Good masculine name. Does this Roman look as hot as his name?”

  “Very much so,” Kate said with a smile that made her cheeks hurt.

  “Oh my God! Tell me you haven’t slept with him. Did you sleep with the man protecting you, Kate?”

  Giddiness overtook her, and she walked around the side of the house away from the front door. “Shhh, don’t say that so loud. He might hear you,” she said, pressing her mouth to the phone.

  “Is he right next to you? I want all the details! What’s he look like? Is he hung like a horse? Give me all the info right now!” Eve squealed into the phone.

  “He’s gorgeous. Everything I could ask for in a man,” she said, trying to be cool as she answered Eve’s questions. “He’s hung like…well, I don’t know what he’s hung like, but let’s just say he left me boneless after we made love.”

  “Oh my God! Kate! I can’t believe this. So are you two madly in love or what? Was it love at first sight? Tell me everything!”

  She didn’t know what the two of them would be after sleeping together. She hoped they’d be more than just two bodies who bumped into one another that one time. And she certainly didn’t know if he loved her.

  Honestly, she didn’t know if she loved him either. It seemed too soon. They’d known each other less than a week. It took longer than that to fall in love with someone, didn’t it?

  “I don’t know, Eve. I just know we need to find out what was behind the murders before we can think of anything after that.”

  “Okay, okay. I can see that. But the second you two figure out what else you are, I want to know. Got it?”

  “I got it.”

  “So have you been able to figure out who killed Jonas and his client yet?”

  “No, not yet. I tried to follow all the clues he left on his laptop, but I kept running into dead ends. I still don’t think I can trust the police, though, so no matter what, do not tell them you heard from me, okay? I’m serious, Eve. Don’t tell a soul I called you.”

  “I won’t. I promise. How did you get your boss’s laptop?”

  Chuckling, Kate explained the caper she and Roman had done to get it. “We broke into his office and stole it. A security officer saw us and chased us down the stairs and out into the street. I swear it was the scariest and most exhilarating thing I ever did in my life.”

  “Good God, honey! This isn’t like you. You’re all wild and crazy. Now I can’t wait to head out with you the first night you get back. We’ll have a blast!”

  The thought of all of this being past her and returning to her life again seemed like a near impossibility as she stood on Butcher’s porch looking out toward Lake Pontchartrain. She had no idea when that would happen or how it would come about, but she liked hearing her friend talk about it in such a positive way.

  It made her feel like she and Roman were going to make it out of all of this alive and well.

  Looking around, Kate suddenly worried she’d been out in the open for too long. She couldn’t afford to risk anyone finding them there.

  “I better go, Eve. Remember, don’t tell a soul you heard from me. Promise?”

  “I promise, honey. You take care of yourself, you hear? And let that Roman do his job. I know you. You’ve probably been fighting him every step of the way, right?”

  Leave it to Eve to hit the nail right on the head.

  “Not all the time,” Kate said, only half-heartedly trying to defend herself. Eve knew her too well to believe she’d gone willingly into anything a man wanted her to do.

  “Well, I want to meet him, so you two stay safe and come to see me the minute you get back. I love you, honey.”

  “Love you too, Eve. Remember, tell no one I called.”

  “This time my lips are sealed. I swear. Take care, Kate.”

  She ended the call with a feeling of melancholy settling into her heart. She missed her apartment and her life. Hopefully, someday soon she’d get to introduce Eve and Roman when life returned to normal.

  The night air chilling her, she hurried back inside and to the warmth of the bed Roman still slept in. Stripping out of her clothes, she crawled in next to him and loved when he reached around her to take her in his arms and pull her to his body.

  As much as they’d felt perfect together during sex, this felt even more like they were meant for one another. Closing her eyes, she let herself enjoy how safe and protected she felt in his arms.

  She didn’t know how long she lay there pressed against him, but she could have spent the rest of her life in that very spot. Just as she began to
drift off to sleep, she heard him moan softly behind her.

  “Where did you go?” he asked in a sleepy voice as he gently squeezed his arm around her.

  “I just took a walk outside for a breath of fresh air. I didn’t mean to wake you up. I’m sorry.”

  Roman nuzzled her neck. “It’s okay. I was just worried when I didn’t feel you next to me.”

  Smiling, she sighed at how cute he could be. He said so little, but when he did say something, it said so much.

  “Well, I’m back, so no need to worry. Go back to sleep. You deserve to get a good night’s sleep.”

  His lips grazed her earlobe, and he whispered, “Always so bossy, Kate.”

  “It’s one of my best traits. I knew you’d get used to it,” she teased him as he pressed his hips forward and angled his cock against her ass.

  “Mmmm. I could get used to something else I like much better.”

  She knew exactly what he meant and couldn’t disagree. Sex with him was definitely much better than her lame attempts to boss him around.

  And she could absolutely get used to it.

  “Oh yeah? Got any suggestions?” she asked, turning her head to look at him.

  Wide awake, he smiled and licked his lips. “Round two sounds good, don’t you think?”

  As he slid her under him, she couldn’t think of anything that sounded better.

  Chapter Seventeen

  The sight of Kate lying naked beneath him made Roman want to take her again, but this time without foreplay. She felt so good against him that kissing and whispering sweet nothings in her ear wouldn’t do it for him. He wanted to be inside her again, making love to her like she deserved, filling her until nothing separated their bodies.

  “You look like you have something on your mind,” she said with a cute smile that made him feel guilty for what he’d been fantasizing doing to her.

  “Just thinking of how good it’s going to feel being inside you.”

  She winced and a tiny moan escaped her throat. “You don’t say much, but when you do talk, you sure know what to say to get a girl going.”

  He trailed his fingertip down between her breasts and let it come to rest just above her belly button. “Good. I know other ways to get you going too.”

  Kate arched her back and opened her legs wider so his body sat in between them. “I do love a man who has skills,” she cooed.

  Her sweetness made him want to devour her all the more. Sliding down her body, he kissed the exact path his finger had traveled, staring up at her to see her face as he drew closer to the delicious goal between her legs.

  The moment his mouth grazed her tender skin, her eyes rolled back in her head and she moaned his name. Hearing that made him hard as a rock, but he needed to take his time. Kate wasn’t just some casual hook up, meaningless and easily forgotten. They may not have known each other for long, but she’d ignited a long dormant spark inside him that made him want more than just a throwaway roll in the hay.

  Her fingers threaded through his short hair, tugging his head toward her to keep his mouth where it gave her the most pleasure. Her skin felt like silk against his lips, and she tasted like heaven. As much as he wanted to watch as he gave her another orgasm, he couldn’t stop his eyes from closing as he reveled in her.

  “Oh, that feels so good, Roman,” she said in a dreamy voice.

  But he wanted her to feel even better. Sliding his middle finger inside her, he hooked it and rubbed in tiny circles, remembering how Xavier had said this was the one thing that could drive a woman crazy. He opened his eyes and watched to see if his teammate had been correct.

  Kate pressed her knees open even wider and arched her back, staring down at him as he caressed her tender skin. Tearing her hands away from his head, she sunk her hands into the sheets next to her and squeezed them tightly in her hands.

  “Oh my…what are you…oh my God, don’t stop…right there…” she moaned, her words heavy with need.

  Moments later, her body tightened around his finger, and she came, a tiny squeal escaping from her mouth before she buried her head in the pillow and closed her thighs to the sides of his head. He pressed his mouth against her and rode her orgasm until the very last aftershock tapered off and Kate fell still beneath him.

  Clearly, Xavier had been right. And all along he’d thought the nerd of the group had just been the world’s biggest bullshitter. Well, he still thought that, but at least on this one thing, he’d been right.

  “I don’t think I can move my legs. Or my arms, for that matter. I’m the definition of boneless,” Kate said with a smile. “Were you a porn star before this job?”

  Roman couldn’t help but laugh at her compliment. At least, that’s how he was taking that comment.

  Sitting back on his heels, he shook his head. “Nope. Definitely not a porn star.”

  She bit her lip in that cute way she sometimes did and asked, “Maybe it was a part time job then? Because I don’t know what you did there, but that was incredible. Damn.”

  “Just something I heard about one day and thought I wanted to try out with someone who deserved it.”

  Her smile lit up her face. “Someone who deserved it, huh? I like that.”

  Roman slid up her body and kissed her softly on the lips. “Oh yeah. You’re definitely someone who deserves that and more.”

  Wrapping her arms around his neck, she kissed him back with all the passion he could wish for. “I like that. You know what I’d like more of?”

  She slid her hand down over his chest and abdomen to palm his cock before he could ask what her heart desired. Looking down between their bodies, he watched her stroke him and smiled.

  “I like how you think.”

  Still wet, her body took him inside her easily. Kate kissed him and whispered against his lips, “You feel so good. I’m not going to be able to walk after this night.”

  Rolling her over so she straddled his hips, he looked up at her. “Good. Then I’ll know I’ve done my part right.”

  Kate positioned her hands on his chest and leaned forward to kiss him again. “You don’t have to worry. You’re doing all the right things.”

  He held her hips firm and began to move her up and down on his cock, slow and steady. If it made her half as crazy as it made him, he wondered how she was holding back because all he wanted to do was jackhammer into her to feel that sublime moment when he finally came.

  The seductive look in her eyes said she loved how he made love to her, and with every moan, he became more sure she felt as good as he did.

  Dragging her fingernails over his ribs, she groaned, “If you’d let go of my hips, I’d ride you like you’ve never had before. I promise.”

  When she said things like that, he didn’t want to hold back. All he wanted to do was ram his cock into her to make her come harder than she ever had with any man in her life.

  “I’m trying to take my time, Kate. I thought women liked that.”

  Leaning forward, she whispered breathlessly in his ear, “I don’t know what other women like. I just know when a man knows how to make me feel good, I don’t want to wait, so feel free to fuck me with abandon, Roman.”

  Between the sound of those words and the feel of her warm breath teasing his ear, he wanted to do exactly that. He slid his hands down her body from her hips and grabbed a hold of her perfect ass, squeezing hard as he lifted his body from the bed to plunge into her balls deep.

  She took a sharp breath in as he filled her to the hilt and then moaned into his ear, “Oh, God…fuck me.”

  Roman let go of all the restraints holding him back, and stuffing his hand into her hair, he tugged hard, pulling her up off his chest. She stared down at him with need in her eyes and rolled her hips.

  “I want to watch you ride me, Kate. Time to put your money where your mouth is, love.”

  He watched as she began to fuck him in earnest, her body milking his cock as she rode him just as she’d promised. Never before had a woman made him fee
l so incredible, and even though he preferred to control the pace of sex, he loved seeing the look of desire on her face as she took him inside her over and over.

  It didn’t take long before he began to read the signs that told him Kate was close, so he grabbed hold of her hips again and took over, pumping into her to get her to that sweet spot he knew her body craved. She tumbled over it moments later and came hard, bucking her hips as her orgasm tore through her.

  She collapsed on top of him and dropped her head next to him on the pillow. “God, that was unbelievable. I’m serious. I’m not going to be able to walk after tonight.”

  Roman continued to thrust into her body, enjoying the pulsating feel of the aftershocks from her coming on his cock. Nearly exhausted, she still rolled her hips with each push into her and murmured in his ear, “You feel so good. I want you to feel that too.”

  “Don’t worry,” he groaned as he inched toward his release. “I’ll be there in a bit.”

  Cooing contentedly next to him, she sounded like the epitome of complete satisfaction, which sent his body into overdrive after just a few more strokes into her. Holding her still, he filled her with everything he had until his body was as exhausted as hers.

  They lay there silently in each other’s arms trying to catch their breath, and Roman wondered if he could do this with her. Not the sex, which he had no doubt he could do for the rest of time.

  No. Everything else. The moments other than sex when he had to give more than his body.

  Those were the times he’d never been good at. A woman deserved more than a man who kept his heart walled up. Kate deserved more. She deserved someone who could make her laugh when she felt blue. Someone who could tell her she could do it when the rest of the world told her she couldn’t.

  Someone who could open up and be the man she needed other than in the bedroom.

  He just didn’t know if he could be that for her.

  And he knew all too well as he lay there with her curled up on his chest loving the feel of her body next to his that he should have goddamned thought about that before taking her to bed.

  While he turned that thought over in his mind, he heard a buzzing sound somewhere in the room. Kate lifted her head off his chest and leaned over the bed toward where it came from.