I slumped back against the rigid metal. “It’s all too much, isn’t it? Your family obviously hates me, Shelly won’t back off, you turn on anyone who even looks at me, and these… girls you’ve had in the past seem not to be able to let go. I have my own issues, Rome, you know this, and piled with yours… it’s just too much. How can we possibly work under all this stress?”
Panic set on his features. “Don’t. Don’t do that!”
“Do what?”
“Write us off. Don’t run away when it gets tough.” He gripped my chin. “You fight your past problems. I’ll learn to control my anger. We fight back against my family. We ignore all the others. We get through this! Don’t you dare quit on me now, Shakespeare. Don’t you f**kin’ dare!”
“Rome—”
Dark eyes searched mine. “No! I won’t let you go. I know I’m all kinds ‘a wrong for you, but you’ve changed me. You’ve f**kin’ changed me! Can’t you see that?! You’re gonna face this with me. Say it! Please, baby, say it to me!”
I shook my head, ready to argue, and he shuffled forward until he held me captive with his tall, broad body. “Say you get me, Mol?”
“Rome, I—” I groaned.
A clenched fist hit the shelves behind, causing stacks of boxes to crash loudly to the floor. “You’re not runnin’. YOU GET ME???”
“YES! YES, I FUCKING GET YOU!” I screamed, pushing against his chest. Even through the hardness of his words, I could feel the fear pulsing from his body at the thought of losing me.
His hand gripped the back of my neck. “You’re still in?” he whispered, searching every part of my eyes.
I sighed and he hitched my leg over his hip, struggling to get even closer.
“I’m still in.”
Romeo’s pupils dilated and an excited flush spread on his rugged face. “Fuck, I want you so bad. You doing everythin’ I say makes me hard as f**k.”
I leaned forward and kissed the spot just below his ear. I drew back slowly and, taking his hand, lifted my dress and placed his hand square against my heat.“Mol… Christ,” he groaned as his fingers slipped along my core. “You’re killin’ me.”
My tongue circled the shell of his ear. “I like it when you lead, when you assert your authority. It turns me on.”
“Fuck… I can tell, and I like that you submit. It…calms me. You’re what I need. Damn, you’re perfect for me. Beautiful, sexy as all hell with a body that makes painters weep.”
Rome’s fingers began their exploration and I lost all semblance of sanity. He wrapped his hand in my long hair and held me tightly as his fingers entered me, making it impossible for me to move. I hissed and his gaze grew darker.
“They’ll be no one else. For the first time ever, you’re givin’ me what I want, what I need. You give me full control, and I love it. You do too, don’t you? You f**kin’ love it…?”
That familiar devastating wave of want began to lap along my legs and my breathless pants filled every corner of the room.
I gripped onto his shoulders and answered, “Yes, I love it. I love it!”
His taunting smirk both turned me on and infuriated me, and his fingers pulsed at a mind-bending speed.
My hand reached down to his jeans and he roared, “Off! Let go. Now. This is not about me. You won’t touch me unless I say so.”
I did as dictated and when a third digit entered me, I threw my head back and screamed in release. My chest heaved with the sensation and I gripped Romeo’s hair, smashing his lips to mine, conveying my complete acceptance of who he was, who I was, what we were together.
The beat from the music on the dance floor thumped through the quiet of our little room; I could feel the drum and bass penetrate through Romeo’s chest against mine. Romeo pulled his hand from my panties and kissed me softly, slowly, and lovingly, a direct contradiction from only minutes before.
“Are we okay?” he whispered against my mouth, his eyes guarded, even scared.
I kissed his forehead and smiled, causing a brightness to light up his face. “I want you, Romeo. You give me something I didn’t even know I needed too.”
“Even though I’ve f**ked around for years? Made things even harder on you? That I come as damaged goods?”
I ran both hands up his arms. “I can’t pretend I’m okay with it, but if I’m yours and yours alone, then I’ll deal with it.”