Page 37 of Deceptive Desires

“No, Roman. You’re not to blame. The stranger that did this is. The lost soul who made this poor decision is. You savedme. You kept me safe. You took care of me. That’s all that matters.”

I breathe him in again, and the scent ofhimand lemons enters my nose.

“Mmmm, you smell like lemons. It’s making me want a cup of tea.”

He tenses, then pulls back a little. There’s a strange gleam in his eyes, but he shakes it away.

“I’ll make you some tea right now.” He starts to get up, but I stop him.

“I can do it.”

“Absolutely not. Stay in bed.”

“I need to get up. My body is protesting being still for this long.”

He sighs but nods, and cradles me to him as he stands, carrying me out of my room.

“I can walk, silly goose.”

He lets out an unexpected chuckle. “I can’t remember the last time someone called me a ‘silly goose.’”

“Well, you’re being one. But it’s okay. I appreciate it,” I tell him as I snuggle into his arms.

When we get to the kitchen, Gracie is already in there, working on her laptop. She closes it when she hears us and races to my side.

“How are you feeling? Are you okay? Do you remember what happened?” she rushes out.

“I’m okay. I feel a little sick, but some tea will help. Roman told me what happened. How some guy roofied me. I’m not angry. I’m hurt and feel violated. But I forgive him. He’s a lost soul.” Gracie gapes at me, even though she should be used to my forgiving nature.

“You can’t be serious!” she gasps.

“Gracie, it’s not healthy to hold on to grudges. It’s bad for the soul,” I remind her. I’ve told her dozens of times, but she chooses not to listen.

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” she huffs then sits at the counter.

“Thank you, both of you, for taking care of me. I appreciate it so much.”

“You know I love you, girl. I’m always going to take care of you. Especially if you’re in a state where you can’t take care of yourself. Let’s just be more aware in the future,” Gracie tells me.

“I love you too.” I tell her.

Then I realize how awkward this exchange must be seeing as I’m still in Roman’s arms.

“Erm, you can put me down now, héroe?” I ask softly.

He doesn’t move for a beat, then places me on the couch. He heads to the kitchen, reaches into the pantry, and pulls out my tea stash.

Gracie plugs in the electric kettle, and they work seamlessly together.

It’s odd to see her comfortable around a man, but I guess the shared trauma and seeing what a good man he is won her over.

Roman sets the tea in front of me and sits in the chair across from me.

“You can have some tea too if you’d like,” I offer.

“I’m okay for now. I need to get going but wanted to wait until you were awake and situated.”

“Oh.” I try to hide my disappointment. “Can we see each other again soon?” I try to mask the want in my voice. I want him to say yes more than I want my next breath.