Page 7 of Yours Suddenly

Honestly, I’m surprised. I did not expect somebody who looked like him, with his brooding manner, to be so open. I mean, it's not like he gets rid of the lazy growl, the expressionless face. But there's a lot more life to him than what appears.

Throughout the night, I keep looking at his mouth. Full and so sensual. And he keeps running his hand over it when he’s amused. He says he has a younger sister my age (he’s twenty-five), and his dad died years ago. I tell him about my own family, and a hush comes over his features. Concern and care in his eyes.

“You will be happy one day. You will have a family again.”

His words are comforting. “There's nothing I want more,” I tell him.

He asks more questions. What school I went to, the kind of books I read, my favorite color — with an obsessive attentiveness that makes me melt. His eyes linger on my lips as I speak, darting back to my eyes frequently and, like he was doing downstairs, to my hair, to my arms, and my hands.

“You're tired,” he says at some point.

I could go on speaking to this man, getting to know him. “Yes, but I don't want to go home.”

“You need to rest,” he says. In contrast, he doesn't look tired at all, his eyes still sharp, still taking me in, like he can't get enough. “I'll take you home.”

“I take it you know where it is?” I tease.

He laughs then, something deep and boiling rumbling in his chest. I want to hear it over and over again. “You mentioned where it is, so yes, I do know.”

“I have no recollection of that,” I continue to tease, even though I did tell him.

We leave the hotel, which I now realize is his.

“I had a feeling,” I say. “The whole kicking people out thing.”

He says, “I don't usually do that. The reviews and complaints are going to be a nightmare.” His eyes land on me seriously, making my heart skip. “Only someone like you could make me do that.”

In the parking garage, he leads me to a sleek black sports car and opens the door for me. I slip in, his scent embracing me. We drive to my place, a block of apartments in Stapleton, the night around us alive. He parks in front of the rather derelict building and exits the car to open the door for me.

“Thank you,” I say, taking his hand and standing up.

We are the closest we’ve been to each other tonight. His scent is sogoodand I want to sink and swim in it. In his body, in his mouth, which is not far from my own.

We hold each other's gaze until I look away first. Wordlessly, he leads me to the entrance of the apartment building, stopping by the bottom of the short stairs and lets me take the lead this time. I climb the steps and I want to drag him with me, but he remains where he is. As I climb one, two, three, four steps, his hand slips from mine and I turn to face him.

He's looking up at me with such a tender expression on his features, and the words that come out of his mouth softly in his low, rich voice make my breath catch.

“Marry me.”

My breaths quicken through my nose as the wind whips through my hair and ruffles his. He looks up at me expectantly, confidently, his hands in his pocket. The seconds slip by as something blooms in my chest.

I turn away and rush into the building. I lean against the wall next to the doors, my heart racing, my legs threatening to melt into a puddle on the tiles.

Already I feel a loss, as if I've stepped away from a fire and walked outside into cold weather.

The hallway I stand in is chilly, dark, damp. But outside, there's something warm and more hopeful.

I step back outside, and he's still at the bottom of the stairs, his hands still buried in his pocket, still looking up at me. A small smile plays on his lips, and my heart has never been more sure.

Chapter 4

Roman

I make her mine the day after she walked into my hotel like a fucking hurricane, in a dress I know I'll remember for the rest of my life.

As soon as my eyes landed on her, the guy she was on a date with had to go but, for a while, I was too entranced to do anything butstare. I watched as he let her sit at the table without pulling back her chair, as the boredom came over her features. How irritable she was getting as her little playdate went on.

I watched her from the shadows I thrive in and realized I was going to make this woman my wife.

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