ROMAN WOKE TO find Allie gone. He sighed and rolled onto his back. It shouldn’t have surprised him that she’d bolted, but disappointment was sour on his tongue. He stared at the vaulted ceiling for a few long moments before he forced himself out of bed. Lying around all morning wasn’t going to do anything but give him more time to debate what the fuck he was going to do.
Accepting her terms was probably a mistake. But the thought held no strength against the memories from last night. He wouldn’t take that choice back, no matter how thoroughly it might bite him in the ass later.
He pulled on a pair of shorts and headed out into the main living space of the villa. It was a sprawling room containing a kitchen and furniture artfully arranged around the wall that opened to the beach. Roman stopped short at the sight of Allie walking up the steps, sand on her feet and her blond hair windblown.
She grinned. “The sunrise is seriously beautiful today.”
She didn’t leave. He tried to get his reaction under control and to smile in return. “It is paradise.”
“That’s true.” Allie dropped a kiss on his lips as she walked past. “I got coffee started. How do you take yours?”
Roman had never lived with a woman before. Even when he’d dated—occasionally seriously—his schedule prevented this kind of casual morning interaction. It had never felt like a loss until that moment. He followed Allie into the kitchen. “Black.”
“I should have known.” She’d reclaimed her shirt and shorts, and they looked even better in the daylight than they had the night before. She brought two mugs from the open-faced cupboards and poured coffee into them. After setting his in front of him, she doused hers with enough cream and sugar to make his teeth hurt. She shot him a look from beneath her lashes. “What can I say? I like sweet.”
“I see that.” Even this early in the morning, he was smart enough not to comment on it. He took a cautious sip. “You stayed.”
She stirred her coffee. “I almost left, but it didn’t seem right to sneak out like a thief.” Allie made a face. “Plus, Becka was otherwise occupied last night, so I don’t expect her up and around until a little later. I do not need to walk in on some kind of morning-after shenanigans.”
He almost asked, but Roman was... He didn’t know how to term his relationship with Becka’s sister anymore. They were friends once, albeit not close ones. They might be friends again if Gideon ever forgave him for meddling in their relationship. At this point, he’d be lucky if he was invited to the wedding.
Either way, it was none of his damn business who Becka Baudin went to bed with. He wasn’t her brother, and he wasn’t her friend. Her sister might have an opinion on that, but Lucy wasn’t here and Roman wouldn’t win any points by running back to her and telling tales. No, Becka was a grown-ass woman and he was going to stay the hell out of it.
Roman leaned against the counter. “Big plans today?”
“We were going to go snorkeling off the reef on the other side of the island. They have a boat that takes you out and they provide lunch, too.” She hesitated. “Do you want to come?”
Yes.
He tempered his reaction almost as fast as it arose. Jumping at her and yanking her into his arms was only going to spook her and make him look like a fool in the process. Instead, he saluted her with his mug. “Only if I’m not intruding.”
Allie raised her eyebrows. “As if you’d let that stop you.”
He laughed. “Fair point. Yes, I’d like to come snorkeling with you.” Saying it felt like he was agreeing to something more serious than a daytime outing, but Roman didn’t let himself think about that too hard. He liked Allie. He liked spending time with her. She wasn’t going to let him get any ground on talking business while they were down there, and even if he went back to New York, he couldn’t make any forward progress without her. All that aside, he wanted to be on West Island. With her.
“When’s the last time you had a vacation?”
He shrugged. “I visited my parents in Morocco a couple years ago.”
Those blue eyes saw too much. She gave a soft smile. “When’s the last time you had a real—relaxing—vacation?”
“Ah, that’s something else altogether.” He thought hard and came up blank. “I don’t know. Maybe spring break in college, but that’s hardly the idea of relaxing you’re talking about.” He’d had his eye on the prize even back then, so Roman had used the time to network. Nothing brought people together as much as getting drunk and doing stupid shit, and those relationships had panned out nicely in the years since.
But an actual vacation? Just to relax?
He cleared his throat, not quite able to meet her gaze. “Never.”
“That’s what I thought.” Allie set down her mug and slid into his arms as if she’d made the move a thousand times before. “We have four days left on West Island. Why don’t we treat it like a real vacation and just enjoy ourselves?”
It sounded a whole hell of a lot like she’d just smacked an expiration date on them. Roman wasn’t surprised at that. What did surprise him was how her words made him feel—like he wanted to bend her over the counter and fuck her until she admitted that there might actually be something there.
Instead, he palmed her ass and gave her a light squeeze. “You’ll stay here at night.”
“Yes.” No argument for once. Her gaze dropped to his lips. “I have to talk to Becka, but judging by how excited she was by my leaving last night, I don’t think she’ll have a problem with the change of plans. Especially if it leaves the villa open for her to have her own vacation fling.”
I’m not a fucking fling.
Once again, he smothered the response. Roman didn’t know what he wanted from this yet, other than more time with Allie, but he’d be damned before he did or said something to spook her. There would be plenty of time to hash it out later. Right now, they were just talking about the next four days.
He smoothed her hair back. “Why don’t you bring your things here for the duration—it’d save you the multiple trips.”
“Trips I’ll still have to make to arrange things with Becka for our daily plans.” Allie shook her head. “No, this is better with clear boundaries. I’ll bring enough stuff for overnight—toothbrush and that kind of thing—but the rest stays.”
Stubborn woman.
“You’re being difficult.”
She grinned. “What I’m being, Roman, is noncompliant. I get the feeling that you don’t get told no a lot, but you should get used to it. You might have a magical cock, but that doesn’t mean you get a permanent free pass to run my life.”
“You think I have a magical cock?” He pulled her closer, lining up their hips so she could feel exactly what she’d just described.
Allie’s eyes went wide. “I might have said that.” She palmed him through his shorts. “Then again, my memory is a bit faulty. It’s been ages since I’ve had you inside me.”
“Woman, it’s been a few hours at most.” He laughed and scooped her into his arms, liking the little yip sound she made. “But never let it be said that I don’t take care of your needs.”
“Heaven forbid.” She arched up to murmur in his ear. “I’m desperate for you, Roman.”
His cock went rock solid and he tightened his hold on her. “In that case, I think your friend can wait another hour or two.” He strode for the bedroom.
* * *
Allie sat as rigid as she was able to while the boat wobbled its way through the waves away from the island. When she’d invited Roman along to go snorkeling, she hadn’t really thought it through. Becka hadn’t seemed to mind, so it didn’t really sink in until they’d left the island that this was...a date.
No, not a real date.
But it was as close as she’d come to a date in years.
Not loving what that says about my social life.
What social life?
It was different when it was just her and Roman in his villa. She didn’t have to think too hard about the implications, because it was clearly just sex. Or maybe the sex just fuzzed her mind and that was why spending all that time with him didn’t bother her.
Either way, it was different now.
They were out in what passed for public on the island. The little boat was maxed out with her, Roman, Becka and a trio of giggling women who kept shooting Roman significant looks. All three had wedding rings, but that didn’t look like it’d stop them from taking him somewhere to be alone if he so much as crooked a finger.
Allie clenched her fists and stared pointedly at the ocean. Roman wasn’t hers. If he wanted to run off with someone else, she didn’t have a right to be pissed. She certainly didn’t have the right to punch him over it. Get it together.
“You look like you’re about to shove someone into the ocean.” Roman’s murmur was barely loud enough to be heard over the waves they cut through. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing’s wrong.” She’d answered too quickly. Might as well have put a sign over my head claiming the opposite.
“Allie.”
She glared at the horizon. If she was smart, she’d fake a smile and play this off. Admitting to feeling something as damning as jealousy would give Roman even more ammunition than he already had. Then again, if she’d wanted to prevent him from having ammunition, she shouldn’t have slept with him a second and third time...and she shouldn’t be planning on doing it again at the earliest available opportunity. There was no taking back those actions, and she had no intention of stopping until she really had to.
“Allie.” He pressed his hand to the small of her back. “You’ve been checking out on me ever since last night.”
“Maybe it’s just what I do. You don’t actually know me, so you don’t know that it’s not something I don’t do.” It sounded just as jumbled as her head felt. She battled the truly ridiculous urge to cry. Allie shook her head. “I’m sorry. I think it all just became real to me and I’m trying to come to terms with the fact that I’m not really protected against you and it’s my own damn fault.”
Roman moved closer, his body blocking her from the rest of the people on the boat. “You think you need protection from me?”
She couldn’t read his tone, but the words didn’t sound any happier than she felt. “Not like that. I know you’d never hurt me, but...” But once they left West Island, all bets were off. She also knew that. She’d known that going into this thing with him.
So why did it bother her so much now?
I like him.
It was as simple as that. It might have started with just sex, but it wasn’t just sex. She’d never been all that good at compartmentalizing, and even if she had been, Roman’s sheer presence would overwhelm whatever barriers she put up between them. It was easier when she could pretend she loathed everything about him except for his body.
That fallacy hadn’t held up against their interaction that morning. He wasn’t just an unfeeling suit. He was a man, with a past and a present and a future, and they had at least a few superficial things in common. She understood his loneliness, because she held the twin feeling inside her. He spoke to her as if he cared what she thought, even if most of the time they’d been too busy to talk about much of anything. It didn’t matter. That focus was there and he’d have her confessing her deepest desires if given half a chance.
She turned to face him, putting her back against the boat railing. His expression wasn’t a happy one. He hadn’t had a vacation, and she’d invited him out here to continue their feel-good time together...and now she was ruining it. She hated that, hated that she’d been the one to damper his enjoyment of the boat ride. Of the sight of those women.
Stop it.
She bit her lip, but there was no holding back the torrent of words. “I hate the way they look at you.”
He blinked and then blinked again as comprehension dawned. “You’re jealous.”
“I wouldn’t say that.” That was exactly what she’d say.
Roman moved closer and skated his hand up her side until his thumb brushed the side of her breast through her swimsuit top. “Do you honestly think I have the slightest interest in anyone else?”
She didn’t really know. That was the problem. It was entirely possible that the only reason he’d come onto her the first night was because they were literally the only two people in the restaurant. Oh, for God’s sake, stop. Allie gave herself a shake. She didn’t do this. Crippling self-doubt was exactly that—crippling. She hadn’t had time for that nonsense up until this point, and she’d be damned if she would let it prevent her from enjoying her remaining time with Roman.
She took a long, slow breath, and then another. “Okay, yes, I’m jealous. You might not be mine, but you’re mine right now, and I don’t like them looking at you like you’re a piece of meat they’d like to share over dinner.”
Roman burst out laughing, the sound taking up residence in her chest...and lower. His thumb dipped beneath her swimsuit, wandering dangerously close to her nipple. “You know damn well that you’re the only one who gets to have me for dinner.”
She couldn’t find the air to laugh. Not when he pressed his hips into her, letting her know exactly how much he wanted her to have him for dinner. Allie ran her hands up his chest. “There isn’t anywhere private on this boat.”
“If there was, we’d already be there, and I’d be inside you.” Roman’s thumb found her nipple. “I wouldn’t even tell you to be quiet, Allie. I’d fuck you hard enough to make you scream as you came around my cock, so everyone within hearing range would know exactly who it belongs to.”
Belongs to.
She didn’t know what to say to that, so she went onto her tiptoes and kissed him. Allie looped her arms around his neck and pressed her body against his and tried to tell him without words how hot he made her—how much she appreciated the distraction.
Distantly, she was aware of the boat turning and stopping. The guy driving it cleared his throat. “We’ll gear up here and you can explore the reef.” He went on, but she was too focused on the heat rising to her cheeks to pay attention.
Roman backed off just enough to fix her top and then slid behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist. His cock pressed against her backside, the hard length preventing her from focusing fully on the instructions. He knew it, damn him. His lips brushed her ear. “Pay attention.”
“Stop distracting me.” She rolled her hips a little, rubbing her ass against him.
The instructor finally finished up and started handing out snorkels and life vests. Allie slipped out of Roman’s grasp and headed for Becka. Her friend gave her a significant look. “I thought you two were going to go at it right there.”
Her face flamed, but she tried to laugh it off. “Don’t be ridiculous.”
“It’s not ridiculous if it’s true.” Becka grinned. “Get it, girl.” Her gaze went over Allie’s shoulder and her eyebrows inched up. “Would you look at that?”
She turned around in time to see one of the other women saunter up to Roman. Her bikini was tiny enough to border on indecent, and she wore it with utter confidence. Normally, that would have been enough for Allie to want to give her a high five, but with the way the brunette was eye-fucking Roman, the only thing Allie wanted to high-five was her face—with a chair. She sidled up to him, all flirtatious moves and sweet smiles, and placed her hand on his arm, leaning in so her barely covered breasts pressed against his biceps.
He took off his sunglasses and looked down at the spots where she touched him with such coldness that she actually jumped back a step. Roman gave her one last long look that wasn’t in the least bit friendly and then turned to take his snorkel gear from their guide. He donned it quickly, dropped his sunglasses on top of his towel and slipped into the water.
All without saying a word.
Becka whistled under her breath. “He gets a nine for takedown, with a plus-two bonus for dramatic exit.”
Allie snorted and then tried to cover the sound with a cough. “You’re horrible.”
“No, what’s horrible was that attempt to poach your man.” She spoke just loud enough that there was no way the other woman didn’t hear her. “Who the hell does that? He was two seconds from dragging you into the ocean to bang you against the side of the boat and she thinks she has a chance?” Becka tsked. “Girl’s got issues.”
Allie smacked her friend lightly even though she agreed with everything Becka had said. All her worries seemed silly in the face of what had just happened. Hell, they were silly even before Roman rebuffed the woman. A fling in paradise. Don’t complicate things for no damn reason.
Easier said than done.