“Belle.”
The nickname reserved solely for him fell from his lips with a groan as he gathered me in his strong arms the way I still sometimes clutched the teddy bear he gave me all those years ago. His head dropped against me, and he slumped just enough that I wondered if I’d have to hold him upright. He was so much bigger than the last time we had hugged. The bulge of his muscles felt so different from when he was long and lanky, having yet to grow into his body. My lungs filled with his musky spice when I sucked in a deep breath. His body was warm and hard, almost erasing the heartache that had carved a gaping hole inside me after being forced to go so long without him.
It was heaven on earth.
Deep down I wanted to hate him for abandoning me, for not doing everything in his power to reach out and let me know that he hadn’t forgotten about me, or what we had. My fingers curled into fists as I considered punching him, beating an apology from his chest.
But his dad had already put him through enough. I had put him through enough.
“What happened to you?” I whispered in a cracked voice, finally giving in to wrap my arms around him. Tears stung my eyes as I dug my fingers into the back of his shirt, wishing I could hold him there forever. “Why didn’t you call?”
He sniffled in my ear as his muscular arms flexed around me. I wondered if he was crying too. “My old man sent me to a military academy in Texas. There wasn’t time to grab anything from my room before he stuck me on a plane, and I couldn’t remember your address to mail you a letter. I tried calling you after I was given phone privileges at the academy, but I got some old lady who said she had just moved there.”
“We moved to Vegas with my aunt’s new boyfriend.”
A grunt vibrated in his throat. “I was scared as shit I wouldn’t see you again. At first my father refused to let me come here, then my grandma stepped up and paid my way, said I had earned it after being sent to Texas and still keeping up good grades.”
My chest hurt with the mention of his dad. “Roman…I heard what you did. I know why he was so upset.”
With his arms still wrapped around me, he pulled back, his expression pinched. It was so easy to get lost in those beautiful seas of green, to swim in their depths. “It doesn’t matter, Belle. You don’t understand what I was going through. He had become so fucking violent. I had to see you. You’re the only one who’s ever cared about me. I knew I’d lose my mind if you weren’t at camp.”
I reached up to stroke his strong jaw. “He was hitting you, wasn’t he? That’s why you were so upset last year. That’s why you called me all the time, and talked about running away.”
Rather than answering, his eyes flickered beyond me, stoic and weary. It was all the confirmation I needed.
“Roman…”
I waited until his eyes returned to mine, then I pressed my lips against his warm mouth. This kiss lasted longer than our first, and meant so much more. It had been a long time coming. Thousands of miles and countless days had tried to keep us apart, but fate had brought us together again. I was all at once needy and desperate to make every second count.
A strangled growl vibrated in his throat as his mint-flavored tongue darted out for a taste of my bottom lip. My body exploded like the sky on Independence Day. It was nothing like the gross kiss with Benjamin, and I wanted more. So much more. But we were standing on a sidewalk and there were still campers coming in.
I took a step back and smiled bashfully. “Thank you.”
The smile I had waited almost an entire year to see again appeared when he twisted his fingers around mine. “For the kiss or for the money? Because one I plan on giving you again. The other…not so much.”
All at once feeling incredibly shy, I ducked my head against his chest and laughed.
My Roman was back.
As soon as I had changed into the camp shirt and shorts, making a few modifications to the collar so it was more like the style I wore around my friends in Vegas, I found Roman leaning against a tree outside my cabin with his arms crossed. I felt my insides turning to molten lava with the sight of him. The plain navy colored t-shirt with CAMP OSCINES written across his chest looked oddly out of place on his matured body, and I felt a sudden urge to yank it over his head.
“Hey, Roman!” Melanie greeted him at my side in a teasing voice.
His thick lips curled with a delicious smile as we neared closer. “Hey, Mel.”
She crossed her arms and tipped her chin at him. “So military camp, huh? Are we supposed to salute you now or something?”
He shrugged. “Nah, it wasn’t like that.” Then his eyes slid over to me. “Can we talk?”