The Dare Collection: July 2018. Nicola Marsh

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       CHAPTER FOURTEEN

      ROMAN CARRIED ALLIE across the sand. He ignored the tension bleeding into her body the farther they got from the waves. Too much time to think. They were being so damn careful not to edge too close to subjects that would put them at odds with each other, but he craved that part of her as much as he wanted the rest. Allie wasn’t just the beautiful siren who looked so at home in the sun and sand, with the turquoise water creating the perfect backdrop.

      She was a strong woman who hadn’t let circumstances beyond her control beat her. She’d fought tooth and nail to accomplish so much in such a short time, and it was a fucking tragedy that it hadn’t gone according to plan. He didn’t want her to lose Transcend any more than she wanted to lose it, if only because he now recognized the pain it would cause.

      Roman would go to extraordinary lengths to save Allie from whatever pain he could.

      He padded up the porch steps and headed straight for the bedroom. She wouldn’t thank him for ruining their good mood with serious talking, and she might go so far as to leave if he tried to broach the forbidden topic. There wasn’t a damn thing Roman could do to change that, and he wasn’t used to being so effectively painted into a corner.

      He couldn’t use words to reassure Allie.

      But he could use his body.

      “Roman?” The hesitance in her tone killed him.

      He set her on her feet but didn’t release her. Naked and wet from the ocean, she really did look like a siren who’d been sent to tempt him. Allie blinked those big blue eyes. “Are we okay?”

      “Yeah.” Not as okay as I want us to be. He liked Allie. He admired her strength. He wanted to bolster it, to be the immovable object she could lean on when she needed it. If there was one thing he was sure about when it came to the woman in his arms, it was that she didn’t allow herself to rest, to pass the burden on to another.

      He wanted to bear all her burdens, at least for a little while.

      Roman framed her face with his hands and stroked his thumbs over her cheekbones. “I want it to be just us while we’re here. No past, no worrying about the future. Just you, Allie, and me, Roman. Two people enjoying their time together.”

      “That sounds good.” She bit her bottom lip. “But I don’t know if it’s possible to just put all that aside and pretend it’s not there.”

      “Aphrodite.” He kissed the spot on her lip where there was still an indent from her teeth. “Nothing exists but us. The goddess of love and her Adonis.”

      She laughed a little. “You know that myth didn’t end happily, right?”

      “It’s Greek mythology. There are no happy endings.” He shifted to kiss her stubborn chin. “Fuck them. This is our story.”

      Her hesitation was so brief, it might not have existed. “Yes. Tonight. The next three days. You and me. I’m in.”

      As much as Roman didn’t want any kind of limit, he knew when not to push his luck. Allie had given him more than he’d hoped, and he’d have to be happy with it. “I’m taking you to bed now.”

      “Finally.” She gave a dramatic sigh. “I thought we’d never get to the good part.”

      “All of it is the good part.” He walked her back to the bed and laid her down, leaning over her. “Tell me what you want. Your wish is my command tonight.”

      “Just tonight?” There it was again, the slightest hint of vulnerability.

      Not just tonight. Always. Promises he had no business making rose, pressing against the inside of his lips like live things. He’d known he wanted Allie, but the realization that he had only three days left with her pulsed up inside him, desperation building with each heartbeat. He looked down at her, her open expression of need cleaving into his chest as if she’d actually struck him. I don’t want to lose you. He swallowed hard. “We’ll start with tonight and see how it goes.”

      Her grin brought out an answering one from him. “Kiss me, Adonis.” She arched up, pressing all of her body against all of his. “Touch me. Hold me. Fuck me.”

      There was no room in this night for fucking. They’d passed that point days ago, though he couldn’t pinpoint the exact moment when Allie went from a gorgeous woman who drove him out of his mind to a woman whose inside was just as compelling as how she felt when she rode his cock. It wasn’t just sex between them, no matter what lies she told herself.

      Maybe it never had been that uncomplicated.

      Roman joined her on the bed and kissed the long line of her neck. “Here.” He shifted to the side so he had full access to her body, and moved to the curve of her shoulder. “Perhaps here.”

      She shivered. “I could think of a few places I’d like.”

      “I bet you could.” He urged her onto her side so he could fit himself against her back. The position gave him free reign, and he wasted no time cupping her full breasts, weighing them in his hands. “Open your eyes.”

      She obeyed and froze when she met his gaze in the reflection of the windows across from the bed. The deep darkness outside and the single lamp he’d left on inside created a mirror of the glass.

      Roman pressed an openmouthed kiss to the back of her neck and retreated just enough for his breath to ghost over the damp skin. She shivered and arched her back against him, pressing her breasts more firmly into his hands. “That feels good.”

      “I’m just getting started.” He lightly pinched her nipples, rolling the tight buds between his fingers. “I love how rosy your skin gets when you like what I’m doing to you.”

      She lifted her head and frowned. “The reflection isn’t that damn good.”

      “No. It’s not.” He skated a hand down her stomach and hooked her thigh, lifting her leg up and setting her foot behind his legs. It left her open for him and he delighted in her shiver. “Cold?”