Page 11

Chapter Eleven

Roman

G etting to know Eva is making things worse. The more time I spend with her, the more powerful my attraction feels. Which is unusual because it’s usually the opposite of what happens when I spend more time with a woman.

Like when I stopped by a couple of weeks ago after dinner at Ma’s and provided her with her requested leftovers.

She was shocked that I’d followed through, but extremely excited.

The feelings that her giddiness evoked in me were strange and definitely not welcome.

But it was impossible not to feel things when she was moaning over a plate of Ma’s veal parmesan in her gray pajama’s shorts and T-shirt.

She just looked so damn sexy.

So, I did the same thing this past week after dinner at Ma’s. We ate and laughed, then watched TV until she could hardly keep her eyes open.

At work, my eyes are constantly watching the hallway, waiting for a glimpse of her.

That’s why tonight—Friday night—I am going out with Walker and the guys. I need to get out and remind myself that I can be attracted to more than just one woman. I need to shake this laser focus my brain seems to have on her.

Sawyer insists on going to a club tonight. It’s not exactly my style, but a change in scenery might be just what I need.

As soon as I step into the club, the loud bass of the music vibrates through my body. Purple lights flash above as I fight through the crowd to get to the back of the room where the VIP sections are lined up against the wall.

I spot Drew first, his head bobbing to the music, before I spot the rest of the guys sitting on the plush red sofas. As soon as I get past the rope, I shed my jacket and roll up my sleeves in an attempt to relax.

I take a seat next to Colton, and he nudges my arm.

“Can you believe Sawyer picked this place? Is he that desperate for pussy tonight?”

“I don’t care where I’m at. I just need a drink,” I admit as I watch the waitress approach our area.

She hands the guys their drinks, then leans down. “What can I get you?”

“I’ll take your most expensive whiskey on the rocks. Make it a double,” I shout.

“You finally decided to grace us with your presence tonight?” Walker screams over the music.

“I’ve been busy with work,” I lie as guilt washes over me. The truth is that I’ve spent most nights with his sister between building the bookcases to watching TV together.

“How’s that going? I talked to Eva today. She seems to think everything is moving forward really well.”

“It is. She’s extremely talented. The renovations are going to blow everyone away. Sebastian will have no chance at competing with what your sister is putting together.”

Walker smiles proudly. “That’s my sister for ya. She needed to get out of her last job. They never let her spread her wings and show what she was really capable of.”

“Speaking of Eva, isn’t that her over there, rubbing up against some chick on the dance floor?” Sawyer says as he continues to watch on appreciatively.

An odd sense of anger and protectiveness takes over. I stand up quickly.

“Where?” I bark at the same time Walker says, “No fucking way.”

Walker and I stand next to one another as we survey the dance floor. It’s her hair I notice first. Long brown hair with golden highlights that reaches the middle of her back.

Then I notice she’s in a pair of black shorts and a white tank top. Her black heels make her legs look like they go on for miles. Her hands are up in the air as she bounces and sways to the beat, a large burst of laughter falling from her lips.

Her friend grabs her hand and twirls her in a circle.

“Of course she’s with Jessie,” Walker groans next to me.

“Who the fuck is Jessie?” I ask, ready to pounce on some dude.

The rage I feel at the idea of her with someone startles me. I’m not sure where the hell this is coming from.

“Her annoying friend who thinks she’s Little Miss Perfect.”

It dawns on me that Jessie is a girl. My muscles loosen up instantly with relief. I’ll analyze why I reacted like a caveman later. Right now, my eyes are set on watching Eva’s tight body move.

Her hands slide down to her waist seductively. My dick twitches with excitement. I picture her moving like that, riding my cock, while I grip her hips as we both pant with growing arousal.

“Fuck, she sees me,” Walker says under his breath.

I look over and see Jessie’s face turn to something like anger. Her eyebrows turn down as she holds eye contact with Walker, then whispers to Eva.

Eva stops immediately and turns around. Her eyes move from mine to Walker’s and back to mine. I’m hit with a shy smile, which goes straight in the gut.

I watch her closely as she makes her way in our direction. She doesn’t look away from me while my heart rate accelerates with each step that brings her closer.

She stops right in front of me. “Hi,” she says softly.

I can’t help the smile that spreads across my face. “Hi.”

She leans forward, and I bend down so she can whisper in my ear. “I wouldn’t have thought this place was your scene.”

I adjust my head so I can respond in her ear. “It’s not. Sawyer was in the mood for an easy lay.”

Her laugh rings in my ear. “That’s very blunt of you.”

I pull away and look down at her. “I’m a pretty blunt guy.”

She nods her head. “Yeah, I’ve noticed.”

“Can I buy you a drink?” I ask.

“Sure. Thank you.”

I gesture for her to come join me on the couch just as the waitress comes by.

“What would you like?” I ask.

“Um, I’ll have a Manhattan.”

I look over at her friend, who currently has her arms crossed over her chest and rolls her eyes at something Walker said.

“Do you think your friend would like one?”

“I’m sure she’d appreciate that.”

“Make that two,” I say to the waitress, then hold up my glass, “and I’ll take another.”

Once the waitress leaves, I adjust my body on the couch so I’m facing Eva. Our legs touch, and my body heats up, but I do my best to ignore it.

“What’s up with Jessie and your brother? Why do they seem like they hate each other?”

“Ugh, I don’t know. She’s so weird when it comes to Walker. She claims it’s because she thinks he sold out for the money, but I think there’s more to the story.”

Sawyer takes a seat on the other side of Eva. “Eva, funny seeing you here.”

She offers him a smile. “I hear you are in the market for an easy hookup.”

His head falls back as he laughs loudly. “I wouldn’t say it like that. I just wanted to loosen up for a change. These guys always want to go to a stuffy bar with old, boring men who talk work.”

Eva glances at me. “That sounds like Roman.”

I roll my eyes. “It beats a place like this.”

“Hey,” Eva sings. “Sometimes, it’s fun to let loose and dance. You can’t always take life so seriously.”

Walker and Jessie join us once the drinks are delivered. We sit down for a while and attempt to talk over the music. After a while, Sawyer whispers something in Eva’s ear.

She shrugs her shoulders and stands up. “We’re going to the dance floor,” she announces.

Walker looks over at Sawyer. “Be careful, dude,” he warns.

Sawyer waves him off. “We’re going to dance. Chill out.”

Everyone else gets back to the conversation, but all I can do is survey the dance floor from my seat. They start off dancing innocently. Sawyer keeps his distance while they laugh and dance together a couple of feet apart.

Then the song changes, and they get closer. She moves her body more sensually, and his hand falls to her hip.

In the grand scheme of things, it’s pretty innocent compared to the way others are dancing, but it sparks the familiar rage I felt earlier when I thought Jessie was a guy.

My hand tightens around my glass. I should look away, but it’s impossible. Sawyer’s body moves with hers in perfect rhythm. They are laughing and talking as they dance. I’ve never wanted to punch my friend’s face in before, but the urge at the moment is strong.

When they continue dancing into the next song, I decide that I’ve had enough. I put my drink down on the table and stand up. No one seems to notice that I walk away. Neither of them notices me as I approach. I punch his arm and motion for him to move.

Instead of calling me on my possessive behavior, he puts his hands up in defeat and backs away. Eva’s ivory face has a rose flush on her cheekbones, but she doesn’t look too pleased.

“What was that for?” she shouts angrily.

I close the distance between the two of us, grab her hand, and spin her around, then pull her back against me. “It’s my turn,” I whisper in her ear.

I can feel the movement of her body as it shivers against mine. I’m pleased to know that she has that kind of reaction to me. I might not be able to have her in the way I want, but if dancing is a way I can get my hands on her, I’ll take it.

I move her farther out onto the dance floor until I’m sure no one can see us. My hands find her hips and squeeze as I start to help her move back and forth, but I feel her resistance.

She looks over her shoulder up at me. “I thought we were just friends.”

“We are. So are you and Sawyer, right? We’re just dancing.”

With that, she turns around and lets her body feel the music. I don’t know what the hell happens next, but all I can gather is that I completely lose control.

Just watching her shimmy from left to right, feeling her against me, it’s like I have tunnel vision—like there’s no one else in the room but us.

I pull her against me so she can feel the effect she has on me. The evidence is hard and currently pressing against her ass. She glances at me again; this time, her eyes never leave mine as she deliberately grinds against me.

We get lost in the music as our bodies express what we feel for each other, what we wish we could do with them. I gather her hair and yank her head to the side, then lean down and press my teeth to her neck.

Despite the pounding of the beat, I hear her gasp as I bite harder—surely leaving a mark. Her hand finds the back of my neck and pulls me closer. My lips run gently down the slope of her neck until they find her shoulder, and I give her another bite.

I’m desperate to take things further. I’ve never felt this turned on in my life. It feels like if I don’t get more, I’ll lose my mind.

My hand glides up her writhing body until I outline the circle of her breast. Our eyes have never left each other’s, intensifying each second that we push this too far. When she shows no signs of wanting me to stop, my fingers tighten around her breast.

Her jaw drops as her eyes look like they glaze over in pleasure.

What would it look like to see my cock slide between those lips? I bet she’d struggle with my size.

The picture I see in my mind of her gagging on me almost makes me come right here out on the dance floor in front of hundreds of strangers. This level of arousal is out of this world.

Suddenly, the song changes to a much calmer beat. It pulls me out of my trance. I realize I’m nearly fucking this woman out on the dance floor, her brother only feet away from us.

I take my hands off her and step back, and she stumbles back from the loss. I grab the back of my neck as the tension builds immediately.

“Thank you for the dance,” I shout, then take off for the restroom.

My dick is like a damn rod of steel. I can’t go back to the group in this condition. I slam my hands against the restroom door and find an empty stall.

I pull my dick out, and my brain is already conjuring up images of her sucking my cock again. I let my hand work myself over as the act plays out in my head—over and over.

Within seconds, I’m coming all over my hand, grunting to myself in anger. I can’t believe I let it get that far.

That was not my intention. I just wanted an excuse to enjoy an innocent dance where I could get my hands on her body for a minute. Though thinking about it now, that doesn’t sound innocent at all.

I lean back against the side of the stall, and take a long, deep breath. I don’t even know how I’m going to go back out there and face her—or Walker.

After I clean myself up and get the courage to rejoin the group, Jessie and Eva are nowhere to be found.

I take a seat next to Sawyer, trying to act casual. “Where are the girls?”

“Jessie wanted to go to another bar.” His eyes look at me disapprovingly.

“What?” I ask with annoyance.

“How long have you had a thing for Eva?”

“What the hell are you talking about?”

He rolls his eyes. “Don’t play stupid. I know what it means when a man approaches me on the dance floor to claim his woman.”

“That’s not what happened.”

“So, you’re in denial. Got it. This ought to be interesting.” He leans back and takes a sip of his drink like a cocky bastard.

Standing, I straighten my shoulders and clear my throat. “I’m going to call it a night. Good luck trying to find a chick in a place like this.” I dig at Sawyer, then nod my goodbye to the rest of the guys.

During the entire walk home, a war wages in my head as I think about the feeling of Eva’s body moving against mine to how much of a piece of shit, I am for touching her that way when her brother was right there.

That war doesn’t stop, even when I get home and am lying in my bed.

This attraction was supposed to get easier the more time I spent with her.