Then her gaze connected with his and something soft filled her face.
Are you okay?
She mouthed the words, but he understood them.
She was checking in with him?
It made him feel noticed. Seen in a way he never had been with his family. Often wasn’t around anyone except the people in this room.
Roman didn’t enjoy casual touch. He didn’t like strangers surrounding him.
But all he wanted was her touch. Her comfort. Her affection.
Getting up, he moved to the couch and kneeled next to her, ignoring Alexei and Salem’s surprised looks. This was about Tamsyn.
About making her feel as comfortable and cared for as she made him feel.
Slowly, he cupped the side of her face. It was gentle, tentative, but her eyes closed and a look of wonder filled her face.
As though his touch was agift.
Christ.
Leaning in, he brushed his lips lightly against hers. A soft sigh escaped her and he did it again. When her mouth parted beneath his, he was hesitant at first.
What if he did this wrong?
What if he was shit at it?
But what he didn’t want to be was a coward. So he slid his tongue into her mouth. He’d read enough books about kissing to have some idea of what to do, even if it had been years since he’dkissed anyone. And those times that he had kissed someone had kind of been disasters.
A small moan escaped her.
All right. So she seemed to like that.
He was vaguely aware of Salem moving. . . of him kneeling next to him and removing some of her clothes.
Finally, he drew back from her mouth, breathing heavily.
“Wow,” she whispered, looking up at him with wide eyes. “You are so good at that.”
“I am?” he asked. “I mean, I am.”
Great. Now he sounded like an idiot.
But confidence was half the battle, right? Or something like that. He glanced down her body, seeing that Salem had stripped her bottom half off.
“Are you all right with this?” Roman asked.
“This?” she asked breathlessly as Alexei started stripping the rest of her clothes off.
“Are you all right with us touching you?” Roman clarified.
Do not blush.
“Oh yeah,” she said. “I’d be mad as a hatter not to be all right with that.”
“Good,” Salem said as he lowered one leg so her foot rested on the floor. Then he kneeled on the sofa between her parted thighs putting her other leg up on the top of the sofa. “I’ve had to listen to Alexei making you come so many times and it’s been killing me. Now, it’s my turn.”