Page 20 of The Criminal’s Cure

As I lay on Roman’s shoulder, fingertips tracing the endless lines of his tattoos as his chest rises and falls with each breath, my mind is almost blank.

Nothing else matters, nothing else exists, except for us, in this moment together.

I don’t want to think about what happens next, or what this means moving forward, because, right now, everything is perfect and I’m not ready for that to fade.

I don’t exactly have a long line of experience to compare it to, but sex with Roman is like nothing I’ve ever experienced before.

He knew just how hard to push me, when to pull back, and exactly where to touch to drive me wild, like he designed my sweet spots himself.

It was almost irritating how fast he mastered me, but he was patient and intentional and took every cue I gave, so by the end, he knew what I wanted even before I did.

It was everything I expected, yet nothing like it at all, and as we lay here, it only gets better.

I half expected Roman to kick me out and send me back to my room the moment it was over, but he did the opposite.

His strong arms have held me for almost an hour, his fingers gently caressing my back and shoulders.

We lie tangled beneath the sheets, naked bodies pressed together like we were designed for each other.

As tired as I am, I don’t want to breathe too hard for the risk of ruining the moment, because I know what comes as soon as it’s over. Instead, we lay in the quiet, both lost in our own thoughts.

This thing between us is almost more than I can handle. One minute he’s infuriating me, and the next, I’m absolutely positive I’ll never be able to live without his touch. It’s disorienting in the best and worst of ways, and I know that what we just did is only going to complicate things.

Not only are we completely incompatible on paper, he’s my boss. I left my lease and I’m counting on the money he’s paying me to get me out of debt. And we just slept together.

Roman leans close, and he presses a kiss to my forehead. “Are you okay? You haven’t said much.”

“I’m great.” I smile up at him. “Just taking it all in. That was…it was incredible.”

He grins, catching my mouth in his. “For me, too. I don’t know why the fuck we waited so long.”

“Probably because we’ve got ourselves a little bit of a mess now.” My stomach knots as I sit up, covering my body with his bedsheet. The elation of the moment slowly dwindles, replaced with gripping reality.

“Maddie, there is no mess.” Roman props himself up. “I meant what I said earlier. You’re in control here. If you want this to be a one-time thing and we never speak about it again, then we’ll do that. No questions asked.”

It’s probably the most logical answer, but each word he says is like a twisting knife in my chest. His face is unreadable, giving no clues to how he’s feeling until he finally speaks again.

“But you should know that’s not what I want.” He swallows, resting his palm on my cheek, his thumb sweeping across it.

“It’s not?”

“Of course it’s not.” He’s almost offended that I asked. “Is that what you thought?”

I don’t answer, biting my lip as I try to make sense of what I’m feeling. “I don’t really know what to think, Roman. You’ve been playing a game with me since the moment I got here…and I can’t say that I haven’t been laying here thinking what happens now that you got what you wanted.”

Roman’s eyes widen, and he lets out a heavy breath.

“Maddie…I’m a fucking asshole. You’re right, I’ve acted like a dick the last few weeks and I’m sorry, but it’s only because you’ve made me absolutely insane since the moment you got here.

That’s not an excuse. I’m just telling you like it is.

But don’t for a second think that you are some kind of game or conquest for me.

It’s the exact opposite, actually. I’ve started to get feelings for you in the last few weeks that I haven’t felt for someone in a very, very long time. Probably never.”

He pauses, rubbing his chin. “And that scares me. I don’t like being out of control or unprepared, and that’s why I’ve been acting like I have.

You kind of made me lose my mind.” He lets out a sharp laugh.

“Maddie, I think you’re brilliant. You’re witty and you’re passionate and you’re fucking gorgeous.

I’m done pretending that I’m not attracted to you.

I’m all in on this. I want to see how things go between us, but I’ll also respect how you feel about it, so you’ve just got to tell me. We’ll work it out however we need to.”

His words catch me off guard. I didn’t expect that kind of honesty from him, and I realize it’s the one thing I’ve been craving from him for weeks. The truth. To know how he feels. For us to be on level playing fields.

While dating Roman sounds exhilarating, I’m not sure I completely trust him yet.

He says all the right things, but it still makes me nervous.

Despite my reservations, I’m willing to give it a shot.

Roman and I are captivated by each other; our chemistry is undeniable.

Not to mention the white hot attraction between us.

He’s about the last person in the world that I’d imagine ending up with, but there’s something even more special about how unexpected this is.

“I want to see what happens, too,” I say. “I don’t want it to be a one-time thing, but I think we should take this slow. So that we can really get to know each other.”

The sincerity in his smile makes my heart skip.

“I was hoping you’d say that.” His muscled arm snakes around my neck and he pulls me in. His lips are rough on mine, but everything in his kiss is reassuring. “We’ll take this as slow as you want.”

When he backs off, I can’t surpass a yawn. I don’t even know what time it is, but it’s late and I’ve been up since five.

“You should get some sleep,” he offers. “You work in the morning, right?”

“Bright and early at 6AM.” I nod. “I guess I should head back to my room.”

“Stay with me,” he pleas, tugging at my hand.

“I thought you wanted me to get some sleep.” I cock my eyebrow at him. As tempting as another round sounds, I’m not sure my mind or body could take it without a little rest.

Roman rolls his eyes. “I meant stay here to sleep, Madison. I’m not a complete animal.”

I consider protesting, but curling up in that big comfy bed wrapped in Roman’s protective arms all night is more enticing than I can resist, so I climb back in next to him.

“Mmm, this feels nice.” I sigh, snuggling into his chest as he covers us both up with the down comforter.

Roman grunts. “Okay, you definitely need to stop making those noises if we’re just going to sleep.”

“Maybe I should put my robe back on,” I say, reaching for it.

“That’s definitely not happening.” He jerks me back and wraps his arm around my waist, bracketing me against him as our bodies curved together like lock and key. My head rests on his thick forearm as he runs his fingers through my hair.

“You know, it’s highly unprofessional to be sleeping with my boss,” I tease.

“You’re right. What the fuck are we going to do about that?” He chuckles, continuing his massage down to my neck. “I’ve got it! Maddie, you’re fired.”

“Be serious, Roman.” I giggle, rolling over to face him.

“I am serious.” He shrugs. “If we’re dating, there is no way in hell I’m going to have you around my guys. Watching them constantly looking at you was tough enough before you were mine.”

The way he calls me his should offend me, like some sort of possession, but I like how it sounds and a smile pulls at my lips.

“Problem solved.”

“But what about—”

Roman puts his finger to my lips. “You held up your end of the deal and treated my guys when I asked. I’ll still hold up mine and pay your loans off.”

“And my lease? I canceled that a few weeks ago.”

“So? You have a room here.” Roman placates me with answers, but we both know my objections are futile.

“Right, because living with you is taking things slow.”

“That’s a good point. But you’re down the hall so far it’s as if you were in a separate apartment. Besides, who is going to kill the spiders if you move out?” He smirks as if he’s throwing the ultimate trump card.

“That’s a very good point.”

“Close those pretty eyes of yours now, Maddie. One of us has to work in the morning. And now that you’ve lost this job, you better hang on tight to your other one.”

“Just don’t tell them that you fired me if they call for references.” Bantering back and forth with him feels so natural as we lay here.

“Oh, don’t worry about that. I’ll give you a glowing reference. Fantastic oral skills, very vocal, willing to try any position...”

“You forgot that I take direction well.”

Roman grins, brushing my hair out of my eyes. “Very well. And that stamina. Wow.”

“I’ll be sure to keep you in mind if I ever decide to apply for a job as a stripper,” I quip, pressing my lips together.

“Now there’s a job where you can sleep with your boss. As long as it’s me, that is.”

“Goodnight, Roman.”

He leans in, slanting his mouth to mine in a kiss before I roll over. “Goodnight, Maddie.”

His body engulfs me again, pulling me in tight against his chest. I feel his heart beating against my back, and our breath syncs until we find the same rhythm and drift off to sleep.