Page 103 of My Rose

I pulled her closer to me. “It’s okay. He can’t hurt you anymore, remember?”

“Hurt her? What the hell did he do?” Dean’s cheeks heated as he stared them down from across the room.

“Nothing,” Rose replied hurriedly.

Dean looked at Rose, his eyes widening as he took in the way Rose had become flustered. “And now he’s touching my daughter. I mean, I know she’s no saint, but fuck.” His hand slid down his face. “And what the hell is Jasmine doing talking to him?”

“She’s probably threatening him,” Rose rushed out with a deep sigh. “She’s always hated him.” Dean had a way of seeing through people, and it turns out Jasmine did, too. Knowing she was going up to bat for my girl was putting her on a bigger pedestal than before when she was just Dean’s girlfriend.

Dean started walking over to Jasmine, and August’s attention snapped to me and Rose. His face drained of color as I raised my glass toward him, then pulled Rose close and pressed my mouth to hers, slipping my tongue in for show. I turned her and pushed her back to the column I’d been leaning against, loving how pliable she was, allowing me control over her in public. My fingers slipped into her hair as I opened my eyes to find August staring back at us. If it weren’t for all the people in the room, I’d fuck her right here in front of him and make her call out my name while she came all over my cock. But then he’d see what was mine—they all would. And no one would ever see Rose naked unless they wanted me to gauge their eyes out afterward.

Rose was breathless when I pulled away, her red lips pouty and soft. I cupped her jaw, keeping her focus on me. “Come on. I have somewhere I want to take you.” Her eyes were glassy as she nodded, then laced her fingers with mine, forgetting all about the guy she used to think owned her heart while she went with the one who actually did.

Her gasp was everything I never knew I needed to hear as validation. All the noise and pressure from the bodies standing in the room we’d left were now long forgotten. They didn’t steal my attention the way she did. She was always on my mind and had been for so hauntingly long that I’d learned how to ignore her presence if only to survive in the world I lived in.

Now, there was no way to ignore how I felt standing there, watching Rose take in the sculptures and artifacts around the room. Even my mind couldn’t accurately paint a picture of the admiration she had on her face—of the way her body seemed to sing as she silently took in the room. She was practically glowing.

Her brows furrowed as I came up from behind her and fit the curve of her back to my front. “Why is no one else here?” she whispered like it would disturb the peace in the room.

“I may have asked the director to close off this room and only allow us through.” She glanced over her shoulder, making me turn our bodies so she could look at the entrance we walked through, where two security guards stood, paying no attention to us.

Her cheeks turned pink. “I didn’t even see them as we came in.”

I smiled and kissed her shoulder. “Did I steal your focus, baby?”

The air she expelled allowed me to tighten my hold around her waist. “You always do,” she admitted. “This is incredible.”

“There were hundreds of pieces of ancient artifacts decorating the floors and walls, but the most interesting piece wasn’t made of marble or stone. Not for me, at least. I released her and took her hand. “Show me some things. Teach me.”

Her brow cocked. “I thought you were the teacher?”

“Me?”

“Yeah.” Blush stained her cheeks, becoming more evident against the white backdrop of her dress and all the marble statues around us. “You know, with”—her hands waved between us—“stuff.”

Oh. “Clearly, I’m not doing my job well enough if you can’t say sex or the way I fuck you.” I stepped in closer to her, my breath thick between us. “The way I make your legs weak as I call you my dirty little slut and fill you with my cum.” The cum that was dripping down her thighs during this event since she’d decided to go without any underwear. My naughty little viper.

Her throat bobbed as she swallowed. “Yes. All of that” Rose put a hand on my chest, pushing me away gently. “But, you’re right. It’s my turn to teach you, although I think you know about most of the things here.”

It was true. I did. But I wanted to hear about it all from her. I wanted to hear her version and insights on every piece she could tell me about. Mostly, I just wanted to hear her talk. She could read the directions to the box of pancakes I repeatedly burnt, and it would be the most captivating thing.

She pulled me from statue to statue, briefly describing them while getting caught up on the next thing her eyes fell on. Not a single apology slipped from her lips on the manner in which shebecame wrapped up in every minuscule thing about the most random pieces, like a part of a broken plate and how it showed some aspect of their daily lives. If I were the director, I’d hire her on the spot. Every single piece had value, and Rose made youfeelher passion as she spoke.

At one point, her excitement got the better of her, and as she spun too quickly, her ass bumped into one of the ropes around a display. I caught her as she fell back, then lifted her completely from the ground, reminding me all too much of our time in the woods.

“Briggs, really, with the carrying?”

I squeezed her hip as I made my way to a set of stairs. “I think you meantsir. And yes, if I want to carry you, I’ll carry you.”

“Fine,sir.” Her fingers laced behind my neck. “Where are you taking me now?”

“The rooftop. One last thing, then we can go back home.”

Her fingers threaded in the hair at the base of my skull. “Already? I didn’t get to see—I mean talk to Jasmine.”

“About that—she said I have to stop fucking you so much so you can get some rest. Have you not been sleeping well?” I started climbing the stairs, waiting for Rose to answer.

“Not really. It’s that box my grandma gave me. I don’t know. Maybe I’m imagining things.”

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