Mia
“Wow. That is a… really huge ham. Did it come off a pig or a dragon?”
Roman laughed – a little uneasily, Mia thought – as he sawed off an enormous piece of delectable-looking meat.
“No dragons here that I know of.”
Mia rested her elbows on the gorgeous granite of the counter, watching as Roman deftly sliced the ham before placing it on a thick slice of bread, buttered with real butter. The bread looked white and fluffy, and had green olives baked into it. It was just the kind of fancy thing that Mia never really had the time – or the money – to eat.
“How much mustard do you want?” Roman asked her, holding up a small jar. The smell alone was enough to make her mouth water.
“As much as I can have, please,” she said. “I like things a little spicy.”
Mia felt her face coloring as she realized how flirtatious her remark sounded. She hadn’t meant it to come out like that, she swore it! But it was just that Roman… did something to her. From the moment she’d walked into the café and laid eyes on him, she’d barely been able to contain the excited churn in her stomach.
Well, he is amazingly good-looking, she thought, watching him from beneath her lashes as he slathered mustard onto her sandwich, apparently having taken her wholeheartedly at her word.
But it wasn’t just that. She’d seen handsome men before. She’d seen men whose families owned outrageously beautiful houses before. And she was sure it couldn’t just be that he was a veterinarian, even though that was pretty attractive as well. A man who spent his time saving animals had to have a good heart, right? And he’d shown such care and attention to the little creature she’d found – he’d been so gentle with him. She could tell just by watching him that he had healing hands.
And they were beautiful, too – strong, assured, with long, tapering fingers, elegant, yet hardened by work.
For a brief moment, Mia wondered what it would be like to have those fingers touching her, sliding down her sides, over her hips, until –
She coughed, blushing, and cut that thought off before it could go any further.
Stop! He’s a nice man who’s taken you in while there’s a storm raging outside! That’s it!
Still – he had offered to call her to let her know how their little charge was doing. And she’d seen the heat in his eyes when he looked at her, as if he was just as tempted by her as she was by him. She knew she hadn’t been imagining that.
Maybe it’s a Christmas wish come true, she thought. She’d wished for someone special to spend the holiday season with, and who should show up but the most gorgeous man she’d ever seen?
Okay, that doesn’t make you sound desperate. Or crazy, Mia thought to herself. She really needed to make sure all of these thoughts stayed where they belonged: in her head.
It didn’t matter if he was just as into her as she was into him: it could wait until after the craziness of Christmas. He’d already said he had a lot on his plate with his family – he probably didn’t need to be finding out if he was compatible with her as well.
And neither did she, for that matter. She had a couple more jobs she had to get to before she could even think about her own Christmas – sitting on the couch by herself in her pajamas with a microwave dinner, probably.
Right now, she couldn’t think of anything less appetizing. Especially not as Roman held out a plate with the biggest, most luscious ham sandwich she’d ever seen sitting on it.
“For Madame,” he said, affecting a silly French waiter accent, before pulling an embarrassed face. “Oh God, sorry. It’s a stupid thing my cousin and I used to do when we were kids. I guess being back here after all this time reminded me of it.”
Mia couldn’t help but laugh – both at the stupid joke, and at his mortified expression. “Merci, Monsieur,” she responded, taking the sandwich. “You haven’t been back here in a while, then?”
She took a bite of her sandwich. It was heavenly – the ham was flavorful and tender, and the mustard had just the right amount of bite. The bread was light and fluffy, and the olives provided a hint of tang. Perfect.
Roman seemed to be hesitating to answer her question. Finally, he shook his head. “No. My uncle raised me as his own, but I guess you could say we don’t see eye to eye on some things. It’s caused a little bit of… tension, I suppose, down through the years.”
“I’m sorry,” Mia said, feeling suddenly embarrassed. “I didn’t mean to pry.”
Roman just shrugged, taking a huge bite of his sandwich. He chewed, looking out the kitchen window at the snow outside, seemingly lost in thought.
“It’s just the way it is,” he said once he’d swallowed, sounding almost wistful. “You always want to get along with your family, but sometimes it’s more important to follow your own path.”
Mia wasn’t sure what to say to that – or even if Roman wanted her to say anything. “That’s true,” she said eventually. “But it takes a strong person to go against what others want for them and to strike out on your own.”
Roman let out a small sigh before turning to look at her again. His eyes were so dark blue that they looked almost violet. They were beautiful, but she could see the sadness in them too.
“I suppose you’re right,” he said, a small, sad smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. “Ideally, we wouldn’t have to make that choice. But you can’t live your life according to someone else’s rules.” He took another bite of his sandwich, as if to console himself. “But anyway, enough about me – what brings you out here so close to Christmas?”
Mia shook her head. “It’s boring, I’m afraid: just work. I had a job up in one of the houses in the mountains.”
“A job?”
“Oh, I don’t do anything fancy,” Mia said, waving a hand as if to dispel any notion Roman might have had that she was anyone special. She only made people’s houses prettier – what was that, compared with saving the lives of people’s beloved pets? “I decorate houses and other places for parties. It’s frivolous, I suppose, but –”
“Not at all,” Roman said, interrupting her. “I think it’s great. You make sure someone’s special occasion really is special.”
He gestured to the house around him, decked out in all its Christmas finery.
“I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but my family is… pretty big on the holiday season. But don’t say what you do is frivolous. You give people special memories that they’ll treasure.” He paused, licking his lips. “I think people underestimate how important beauty can be. I mean, look at this sandwich. I mean, sure, if I’m hungry, I could just suck on a protein shake and I’d get everything I needed. But sometimes it’s not about that – it’s about making something that’s... well, special, I suppose. And doubly so when it’s with good company.”
Mia laughed. “All right, good point! And yeah, this is a pretty good sandwich.”
She took another bite, lowering her head to try to disguise her blush. Just when Roman seemed too good to be true, he got even better. A handsome veterinarian who also understood just why she loved her work so much, and said she was good company?
“I suppose I feel the same way about pets,” Roman continued after a moment. “I mean, I guess no one needs to have a pet to share their life with, but doesn’t it make life so much nicer to come home to something that’s happy to see you, no matter what? That’s why I think I get so much happiness out of my work – knowing I’m helping people to have that.”
Mia thought she was lucky she was sitting down, or else she was sure she’d swoon.
They finished their sandwiches in companionable silence, concentrating on enjoying them down to the very last morsel. Mia even found herself picking up leftover crumbs from her plate with the tip of her finger, before lifting them to her mouth.
“Mmmm,” she murmured as she sucked on her finger, savoring the last of the fluffy white bread. “That was amazing.”
She glanced up to find Roman staring at her as if he was entranced, eyes glued to her lips. He looked a little like a deer caught in the headlights. Mia felt a smile threatening to sneak across her face.
“Hello? Earth to Roman?”
Roman blinked, then seemed to shake himself out of whatever trance he’d wandered into. “Oh – sorry. I was just – uh.”
Mia’s smile broadened. She knew exactly what he’d been doing. Mainly because she’d also been doing it to him for the past couple of hours, too. But how could she help but stare? He was gorgeous.
But it wasn’t just that. There was a warmth between them: a connection she wasn’t quite sure how to describe. It wasn’t something she’d felt before.
Naturally, she’d dated. She’d dated quite a bit, if she was being honest. But there’d always been something missing – some spark, or a link that she couldn’t define. She’d often thought she was just being too fussy, and should just settle down with the next nice man she met who could remember to bathe and didn’t mind her working hours.
But she’d never quite been able to give up on finding that spark.
And now, here it was.
Standing in front of her, wrapped in the most attractive man she’d ever seen with her own two eyes.
Taking a deep breath, Mia looked down at her empty plate. Her stomach might have been satisfied, but she was still hungry.
Just not for food.
“It’s okay,” she said, as the awkward silence extended. Glancing up, she caught his eye, and saw an answering hunger in his gaze. Tension crackled in the air between them. “I... Roman, I...”
That was as far as she got.
She wasn’t sure which one of them moved first, only that suddenly their lips were locked together, hands tangling in each other’s hair, bodies colliding desperately.
She felt as if a searing line of fire had jumped between their bodies, fusing them together. Mia heard herself gasp as their lips broke apart for a moment, only to join again a moment later.
The desire that surged through her made her go weak at the knees, her whole body trembling. Roman seemed to fill her senses – his fresh, clean smell, the heat of his body, the feel of his skin against her palms. She felt almost dizzy as they kissed, leaning against him heavily, her head in a whirl.
She wound her fingers around his jaw, pulling him even closer against her, and he groaned into her mouth.
“God, Mia...” His voice was little more than a whisper as he pulled back slightly. “I... I’m sorry, I just –”
Mia cut him off with a shake of her head. “I’ve been wanting to do that since I first saw you in the café,” she admitted with a small smile. “So don’t apologize. Please.”
Roman blinked, as if her words surprised him. “Then... you feel it too?”
Mia licked her lips. “The connection between us? Yeah, I can feel it.” Relief flooded her at knowing she wasn’t the only one who had been battling their desires this whole time – that he too could sense there was something between them.
His fingers slid through her hair to cup the back of her head, and she shuddered.
“God, please... kiss me again,” she gasped, unable to wait any longer to feel his lips on hers again.
She had never been kissed like this before – not with such desire and passion. This was how men were supposed to kiss women, she thought. This was how they had been made to kiss and be kissed.
Roman towered over her as they stood, but it didn’t seem to matter. His mouth came down to meet hers, his lips hot. She opened her mouth to him readily and his tongue slipped inside, filling her mouth the same way he filled her senses. She forgot about the need to breathe, the need to do anything except feel him against her, her heartbeat hammering in her chest.
Mia moaned, throwing her head back as Roman’s lips left her mouth, kissing down her throat until he got to the winter sweater she was wearing. His tongue darted over her skin, making her shiver and groan, as his hands rested in the valley of her waist. His hands were probably the only thing holding her upright just now, Mia reflected vaguely. If not for them, she would have melted into a puddle of desire right there and then.
Never before in her life had she responded to someone else’s touch this way. She felt as if she was about to be consumed by the fire of her own lust.
“Mia. Mia.”
Her name sounded amazing on his lips, his voice soft and desperate. His hand found its way up her side to her breast, cupping it through the thick material of her winter clothes. She moaned, arching into his touch. She wanted so much more than this – she wanted to feel him against her bare skin, to feel him everywhere...
“You’re so beautiful.” His voice was husky with need. He pulled back a little, his deep violet eyes gazing into hers. Desire blazed in them. “I don’t know if I can resist you if we keep going, Mia.”
Mia licked her lips. “So don’t. Don’t resist.”
She wanted to blush at her own boldness, but it was clear that Roman wanted to touch her just as much as she wanted to be touched.
He looked down at her, his expression hesitant. Groaning, she reached forward, running one hand over his jaw, the other settling on his firm hip, pulling him toward her. He was driving her crazy, and she didn’t think she could hold out much longer.
“Roman, please...”
At the sound of his name, his eyes darkened, and she knew desire had won out.
“Come with me,” he said, his voice soft and hoarse, as he took her hand and led her out of the kitchen.
Her head was in such a whirl that she barely noticed their journey up the grand staircase in the foyer, or the hallway decked with holly and baubles. Roman glanced over his shoulder as if to check she was still there as he reached a doorway of dark wood, with a garland of red and green ribbon hung on it.
Mia thought she could see the question in his eyes, battling with the desire. There was no need for words. She stood on tiptoes, kissing him again, her tongue slipping between his lips, hungry to taste him.
Whatever his question had been, her kiss had apparently answered it. The door opened as if by magic and they stumbled through it together, their lips locked together, hands fumbling at clothing and discarding it on the floor as they made their way to the bed.
Mia gasped as she tumbled onto her back on the bed, Roman above her, his hands on the bare skin of her stomach. Mia felt embarrassment rising within her – she’d been too enthralled in what they were doing to think of it before, but now that she had caught her breath, she wondered if Roman might find her rounded tummy, her large hips and soft thighs to be a turn-off.
The look on his face quickly put paid to that idea, however – he was looking at her with an intense desire, his eyes roving over her exposed skin hungrily. She was still wearing her bra and work pants, but there was still plenty of her on display for him. Her breasts felt almost ready to spill out of her bra as he raised his hands to them, running his thumbs over the sensitive buds of her nipples, making her squirm.
“God you’re beautiful,” he breathed, as he finally dipped his head to her breasts. She cried out as he teased her with his lips and tongue through the material of her bra. Mia writhed beneath him, her breath coming in short gasps. Roman’s hands curved over her soft skin, and Mia felt a rush of wetness between her legs.
There was nothing she wanted more than to get rid of all their remaining clothes, to lie skin to skin against him, to feel him pressing against her with nothing at all between them.
She could feel his cock pressing against her thigh, hard and hot, and she shifted her hand down awkwardly to run her fingers over it through his pants. Roman gasped, his body jerking.
“Mia.”
Her name on his lips in that hoarse, desperate tone was going to drive her crazy, she was sure of it.
She didn’t have much more time to think about it, however, because in the next moment Roman was kneeling above her, tearing his sweater and t-shirt up and over his head to reveal a body that was every bit as hard and toned as it had looked. Mia bit her lower lip as she looked up at him, the taut grid of his abs standing out clearly against his tanned skin, dusted with hair that ran in a dark trail down to the waistband of his jeans.
Oh, God...
He was mouthwatering.
His hands went to the buttons of his jeans, and Mia followed suit, scrabbling with the catch of her work pants before shucking them down her thighs.
The look in Roman’s eyes as he gazed down at her was enough to set her soul on fire, and then he was leaning over her again, his long, hard body pressing down against her, his fingers slipping down between her thighs and against the soaked material of her panties.
Mia cried out, arching her back, her fingers and toes curling as his fingers teased over her hot flesh, finding her clit and circling it mercilessly.
“Oh, God...!”
When she dared to open her eyes, she found Roman looking down at her, his eyes dark with desire, watching her every shudder and twitch as if it was the most entrancing thing he had ever seen.
“You’re beautiful,” he repeated, his voice little more than a whisper.
Mia had never really considered herself beautiful – cute, maybe, and she knew she had an engaging personality, or else she wouldn’t be able to book as many clients as she did. But beautiful was something new. And from the tone of Roman’s voice, there was no way she could doubt his sincerity.
His fingers between her legs never let up, and her eyes slid shut as he finally slipped them beneath her panties, touching her without any barrier between them. Her whole body throbbed, sending waves of heat through her veins.
Mia arched up again, filling her hands with the heavy muscle of his shoulders as he stroked and teased her, skillfully sending pulses of pleasure through her body with every movement of his fingers.
She squirmed up, groaning, as he slipped a finger inside her. Her hips lifted up off the bed as ecstasy coursed through her, Roman’s fingers finding exactly the right spot inside her as his thumb continued to stroke her clit.
“That is so good...”
Sweat broke out across her skin as a fresh bloom of pleasure spread through her, but she wanted more: more of him, more of everything.
Lifting her head from the pillow, Mia looked up at him, licking her swollen lips. “Roman, please...”
His eyes, heavy-lidded, never left her face. He seemed to be watching her, before at last, he nodded.
Sitting up, he pulled his jeans down his thick thighs, taking his underpants with them. Mia groaned as his cock sprung free, hot and huge, flushed dark against the skin of his abdomen.
She couldn’t stop herself from sitting up a little, taking it in her hand and running her fingers slowly along the full, impressive length of him. Roman groaned, throwing his head back, sinews standing out against the skin of his throat.
His girth filled her palm, and for a moment she simply stroked him, marveling at the feel of him in her hand.
It made her mouth water just looking at him, listening to the sounds he made at her touch. But as entrancing as that was, she wanted more.
“I want you,” she said, her voice hoarse with need. She had never wanted anyone or anything more in her entire life.
And from the way Roman was looking at her now, she was willing to bet the feeling was mutual.
In any case, Roman didn’t need to be told twice. He lowered his body over hers once more, resting on his elbows as he leaned down to kiss her. She parted her legs around his hips, feeling him hot and hard against her. He kissed her, shifting his hips, and Mia gasped against his mouth as he nudged at her entrance.
She raised her hips, pushing against him – and then he moved again, sheathing himself inside her in one long, slow movement that sent pleasure streaming through every cell in her body. She was so wet and ready for him that he entered her easily, sliding inside and filling her up.
Mia gasped, her fingers pressed against his hips, feeling like she would burst if he didn’t move right this very second.
“Oh God, Roman, please... do something...”
His laugh was low and rough, and very possibly the sexiest thing she had ever heard in her entire life.
“Like this?” he asked, and his hips shifted, sending stars spiraling across her eyes.
“Oh God, yes. Exactly like that.”
He laughed again, but then he was moving against her, inside her, his thrusts powerful and even. Mia wrapped her legs around him, urging him to go faster, to move even deeper within her, if that were possible.
His lips against hers were desperate and hungry, kissing her like he couldn’t get enough of her.
Fierce pleasure spread through her, wave after wave of it coursing through her body, every movement Roman made pushing her closer and closer to the brink.
Sparks seemed to run over her whole body, jumping between them, every touch electrified. She squeezed herself around him, urging him on, and heard his answering groan against her lips.
Mia could feel her climax building within her, hot and sweet. Her body arched, her fingers digging into Roman’s hips, her thighs clenching – and then she was coming, ecstasy unfurling through her, her vision utterly whited out by the force of her climax. Roman too let out a long, deep groan, his body going taut as he followed her over the brink.
They lay together for a long time, bathed in sweat, Roman resting over her, still sheathed within her body. It was only with reluctance that he at last rolled away from her, his softening cock slipping from her body as he lay beside her.
Mia missed the feel of him immediately, but a moment later he had gathered her into his arms, pressing a kiss against her sweaty forehead.
“That was... amazing,” he said, still sounding slightly breathless.
“You don’t have to tell me,” she replied, laughing a little. Even now, her nerves were still tingling with the strength of her climax, her skin still sensitive to every touch.
She wasn’t sure how long they lay there together, or even that she hadn’t dropped off into a light doze from time to time. She blinked as she felt Roman’s hand against her face, his fingers tracing a light circle over her cheek.
“Do you have to leave right away?” he asked, his voice sounding tight.
Mia swallowed. She had jobs she had to get to. She really needed to leave as soon as the storm lifted.
But suddenly, the thought of being away from Roman was unbearable.
“I do,” she said reluctantly. “I need to work – those clients are relying on me. But... I promise you, I’m not going anywhere. Not really. Once Christmas is over, we can... well, we can definitely see each other again.” She suddenly realized she had no idea where Roman even lived. Hopefully not too far away. The idea of being in a long-distance relationship didn’t sit well with her, if only because she was sure she’d go crazy in the meantime.
Roman nodded. “I understand. But... promise me this wasn’t just a one-time thing. That’s not what this is, is it?”
Mia’s mouth popped open in surprise. “No! Not at all!”
Roman looked suddenly sheepish. “Oh – I didn’t mean to imply that – I just meant –”
Shaking her head, Mia cut him off with a kiss. She didn’t know how he could go from being so sure of himself one minute, to so boyish and uncertain the next.
To be honest though, it was kind of cute.
“No, I know what you meant. And no, that is definitely not what this is.”
Roman raised his hand to her face, deepening the kiss, and Mia couldn’t help but smile.