Page 7 of Loving Roman
I’m mesmerized by the woman who fits perfectly in my arms. I’ve known her for less than a day, yet I feel connected to her on a fundamental level. Admittedly, I don’t know a lot about her, but I know how Ifeelwhile I’m in her company, and it’s like nothing I’ve experienced before. I’m in unfamiliar territory here.
Her fingers tease the hair at my nape, and I pull her body tighter against mine. I have to think about what the kids may be doing right now to keep myself in check. There’s no way she wouldn’t feel what having her body snug against mine is doing to me if I don’t distract myself.
Alice pulls her head away from my chest, and her stunning gaze lands on my face. “I’ve had a really fun day. Thank you.”
I squeeze her generous hip. “Me too.”
Her eyes drop to my lips, and I can’t help but mimic her action. Those perfect lips of hers have been tempting me allday, but the way her pupils are dilating and the fast flutter of her pulse at the base of her throat has me leaning closer.
I feather my lips across hers, then pull back a little. “Is it okay if I kiss you?”
“Please,” she murmurs.
Dipping back down, I lightly press my mouth to hers, catching her sigh on my tongue. She presses into me, and I slide my hand up her curvaceous body to cup her soft cheek so I can deepen the kiss. I swipe my tongue across her bottom lip, and she invites me inside. Raising my other hand, I cup her other cheek and press my mouth more firmly to hers. The feeling of my lips on Alice’s is better than I imagined … and that’s saying something, since it’s all I’ve thought about since I first saw her bent over on the beach.
Our tongues lick and lash against each other. Tease and taste and tangle. Stroke and suck. She tastes like sunshine and promises. Like someone I’d like to spend more than a week getting to know.
Her body presses tighter into mine, and I relish the feeling of her soft curves against me. It’s impossible to miss how perfectly we fit together, and the sudden vision of waking up beside her every morning assaults me. I push the thought away because, over the course of today, we’ve agreed to enjoy our week together and leave it at that.
In another life, one where I only had myself to think about, I’d throw caution to the wind and invite Alice into my life. Instead, I deepen our kiss and soak up the pleasure of tasting her for the limited time I have her.
She pulls away a little, slowly opening her eyes to reveal pupils blown wide, surrounded by a thin ring of blue. Her lips tip up a little, and she runs her hand over my pec, where my heart beats like a thousand drums. I don’t want to take advantage or make her think I’m a pig of a man who expects too much too soon, so I pull away a little further.
“How about I walk you to your room?” I murmur, tracing her swollen bottom lip with my thumb.
Her shoulders drop a little, and I could swear I see a flash of disappointment slip over her face, but it’s gone too soon to be certain. It’s probably wishful thinking on my part.
“Sure. We have an early start for our paddle boarding class.”
I chuckle and shove my fingers through my hair as I guide us toward the door. “I still can’t believe you talked me into paddle boarding, of all things.” I’m a big guy, and I’m not sure how I’m going to balance on a flimsy board in the ocean, but I’ll give it a go.
She wraps her hands around my arm and squeezes, leaning into me with a giggle. “We’re on vacation. We need to try new things.”
“Easy for you to say. You obviously have fantastic balance because of yoga. I’m not so sure I’ll be able to stay upright on the board. But, as you say, I need to do things outside of my comfort zone.”
Her bright blue eyes dance with mirth. “It’ll be fun. You’ll see.”
Alice grins up at me as she presses the button for the elevator, and I can’t—I refuse to—stop myself from leaning down and swiping my lips across hers. If I’m not careful, this woman will easily become an addiction. We giggle our way inside the elevator, where I kiss her again. Swiping my mouth across hers and tasting the sweetness of the drink she enjoyed after dinner.
The doors slide open, and I remain steadfast inside the elevator, so I’m not tempted to take things too far, too fast with Alice in her room. Pressing the button to hold the doors open, I grip the railing like a lifeline and kiss her one last time. “I’ll knock on your door at seven, and we can head downstairs for breakfast before our paddle boarding session.”
She presses up onto her toes and kisses my cheek, almostshyly. “See you then.” Turning, she steps out of the elevator and waves over her shoulder. “Night.”
“Sweet dreams, Tesoro.” I release the button, and the doors close before she can respond.
Shit, maybe I should walk her to her door to ensure she makes it inside. But I don’t trust myself to do the right thing. She has my mind in a spin, and all I can see when I look at her are all the filthy things I want to do to her.
Sitting with Alice, enjoying breakfast as we chat about our plans for the day, feels natural. Any lulls in the conversation aren’t awkward, and neither of us needs to fill the silence unnecessarily. The level of comfort between us makes it feel like we’ve enjoyed meals together for much longer than we have.
Alice sits back in her seat, rubbing her stomach. “That was delicious. I ate way too much.”
I wipe my mouth with the napkin and mirror her. “Me too. But everything looked so good.”
“It did. I probably shouldn’t have eaten so much, considering our planned activity this morning,” she says with a chuckle.
I glance down at my phone and notice the time. “Shit. We should get going, or we’re going to be late.”
We work together to stack our dishes and, holding hands, make our way out of the inn and towardTheSurf Shackfor our paddle boarding lesson. When we enter, the place is packed again. It must be the only place that offers water activities. I’m relieved to see not a single college-aged kid. Once again, we sign waivers, and then a different guide explains the safetyprotocols and provides instruction for getting onto our boards and the best practice for paddling in a straight line.
