Page 42 of Roark
In his life, Roark was used to leading, whether with his family or at work, so their personalities should’ve clashed, but they didn’t. Instead, the more time he spent with her, the more drawn to her he felt.
“Absolutely! I have some great ones in mind, and I promise you’ll love every one of them.”
“Well, even if I don’t enjoy the movies, I’m sure I’ll enjoy the company.”
They were at the car then and Roark reached to open the door for her, but she stopped him. She took both his arms and wrapped them around her waist, then she leaned into him while closing her arms around his neck. “I enjoy your company too, Roark. I enjoy it a lot.”
With her palms pressed to the back of his head, she pulled him down until his lips touched hers. Roark held her tight and slipped his tongue between her lips. Her tongue met his, and the slowest, sweetest, melody began.
“Are you serious right now? You think John Wick was better than Robert McCall?”
She was sexiest when she was excited. It had only taken three movies, two bowls of Dorianne’s chicken and dumplings, more dinner rolls than he cared to admit and two glasses of rum for him to figure that out. “Look, McCall was a smooth killer, I’ll give him that, but Wick was brutal in his attacks. He went after everybody who betrayed him and even the people he’d originally worked for, all because of a dog.” He’d actually enjoyed the movies she’d suggested they watch, includingSpeed,which had the romantic angle he’d expected from the quote she’d mentioned earlier.
She shook her head. “You’re delusional. We’re gonna have to watch the sequels to both so you can rethink your answer.”
“Not tonight, I hope,” he said. She’d already picked up the remote to the television in his room and was pressing the buttons to change it from the movie channel.
“Why? You ready to go to bed? It’s only…” She paused and clicked on the TV’s menu. “It’s only twelve-thirty.”
They’d been in his room watching movies since returning from their walk. After making the calls to arrange for a complete security detail for both of them, along with Tamika’s mother and the housekeeper at the hospital, he’d changed his clothes. The button-front shirt he’d been wearing had been switched to a T-shirt, and he’d decided to forego shoes the moment he’d seen her walking barefoot. She’d actually taken her shoes off the moment they’d stepped back into the house. Then she’d gone to her room. When she returned to his room, her jacket was also off and her was pulled back into a ponytail. He’d sat on one end of the couch and she’d sat right beside him, one leg tucked under her butt. To anyone on the outside looking in, they probably appeared to be a normal couple having a movie night.
“I’m ready to go to bed, with you.” It seemed so easy to tell her what he wanted. He didn’t have to expect an interrogation or a counter to whatever he said. No, he wasn’t going to compare her to Katrina—they were different women in every aspect. And yet, he was more drawn to Tamika than he ever recalled being to his ex-wife.
Standing from the couch, he extended his hands to hers. She turned the television off, dropped the remote and put her hands in his before standing.
“And I’m not just talking about sex,” he continued. “I can’t explain it, and that’s something new for me to digest, but I know I liked sleeping with you last night.”
“Roark Donovan, are you saying you likednotsnuggling with me?” Her tone was teasing, but her eyes were telling him something else. Not quite arousal, but definitely a warmth that settled into her eyes as she stared up at him.
He’d been waiting for her to bring up that little inconsistency. “I’ve never snuggled with a woman before.” It was an admission he wasn’t sure he should’ve made, because her expression immediately turned serious.
“Not even your wife?”
Well, he was in it now, no backing down. “Not even her.”
“How did she feel about that?”
As far as Roark knew, women didn’t like to talk about a new lover’s past relationship, but Tamika seemed genuinely interested. “To be honest, I don’t really know. The subject never came up.”
She tilted her head slightly like she was deciding whether or not to believe him. Then, dismissing it, she came up on the tips of her toes and dropped a soft kiss on his lips. “No wonder you never had children.”
Easing her hands from his, she walked away, going toward the bathroom, but Roark couldn’t let the conversation go so easily. He quickly turned off the lamp in the sitting area and followed her. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
She was at the bathroom door when she turned to him. “It means if the two of you didn’t communicate enough so you’d know whether or not she was bothered by you not holding her in the night, there was no way you were ready to have children.”
He wasn’t sure he subscribed to what she was saying. “We never even talked about children.”
“That’s my point exactly,” she said with a nod. “Communication is key to any successful relationship. If you’re not telling each other what you like and what you don’t like, what you expect from the other person and why you’re not getting what you need out of the union, what’s the point in being together? You might as well just be friends with benefits.”
“Did you and Colin communicate well?” He knew the moment the question was out that he maybe shouldn’t have asked, but if they were going to discuss relationships, then hers had to be fair game as well.
Annoyance flashed in her eyes briefly, and she shrugged before replying, “No. And that’s the lesson I learned from those two years with him. If I’d been honest with myself and admitted I wasn’t getting any sort of emotional support or mutual respect from him, maybe the break-up would’ve come sooner. And if he’d have been honest about how he felt about my physical appearance, I could’ve told him to kick rocks long before the two-year anniversary. But we didn’t, and so it ended, which again, proves my point regarding you and your ex.”
She didn’t wait for him to ask another question but instead continued into the bathroom, closing the door behind her. Moments later, Roark heard the start of the shower and he moved closer to the dresser, opening the top drawer and taking out a shirt he planned to give her to sleep in tonight, since she hadn’t brought anything from her room when she’d come in earlier.
After placing the shirt on her side of the bed, Roark began removing his clothes. He left his boxers on while he waited for her to come out of the bathroom. He’d take a shower next and when he finished, he planned to snuggle tightly with Tamika tonight and to cherish this amazingly honest woman who was now waist-deep in a murder investigation with him.
In the middle of the night, Roark rolled away from Tamika. He removed the new boxers he’d donned after his shower and leaned over to the nightstand. Pulling open the top drawer, he grabbed a condom and covered his hard dick. When he was once again in the center of the bed again, he eased back into the same position he’d been in all night—on his side, his front pressed up to Tamika’s back, one arm around her, hand cupping her breast.
