He sat directly next to her in one of the big, comfortable, leather seats instead of across the aisle from her, his nearness putting her on edge. That familiar masculine, woodsy scent wrapped around her as he leaned closer, his body heat scorching. “I don’t want to get rid of you.”
She wasn’t going to pretend she hadn’t heard him at his place, because his words had hurt. “Then why’d you say it? Are you embarrassed by me?” That insecure part of her she thought she’d left behind in high school flared to the surface. The girl who’d never quite fit in—and still felt awkward in a lot of social situations—and wondered why a man like Roman had even kissed her.
He blinked as if she’d truly surprised him, something she figured didn’t happen too often. “Embarrassed? Why would I be embarrassed by you?”
His surprise soothed her ego, but she still wanted an answer to her first question. She shrugged. “Why’d you say it?”
He scrubbed a hand over his face. “I don’t know.”
“That’s helpful,” she muttered, annoyance ratcheting up more than hurt.
Gritting his teeth, he met her gaze. “That kiss took me off guard and… I don’t fucking know. You make me feel crazy and I didn’t want to deal with questions from my brother when I had no idea how to answer him.”
Okay now she was confused. “I make you feel crazy?”
“Yeah.” His voice dropped an octave and he leaned in a fraction before he stopped himself and pulled back. Not enough to put actual distance between them, his masculine scent teasing her senses as it wrapped around her. “I’m near you and I want to kiss you. I think about you, and I get fucking hard,” he growled.
Her lips parted in surprise and just like that, his gaze dropped to her mouth and he let out a soft groan she might not have heard if they weren’t sitting so close.
“Are you hard right now?” she whispered, unable to take her gaze from his face.
“As stone.” His words were a guttural confession.
Just like that her nipples hardened and heat flooded between her legs. His words were like a full-body caress for how they affected her.
Unable to stop herself, her gaze dipped down but he had his laptop case placed over his lap. When she looked back at him, his gaze seemed to darken as he watched her intently, waiting for a response.
She leaned a fraction closer, as if drawn by the magnetic pull between them. “My nipples are hard too,” she whispered, the bold admission unlike her. Everything going on in her life might be insane, but the attraction she felt for Roman probably took the cake. There was no explaining it.
“I’m not looking for a relationship,” he quietly blurted.
Okay, that doused some of her desire, but…her gaze fell to his mouth again and her nipples tightened even harder against her bra cups. “Good. Neither am I.” Which was mostly true. She didn’t have time for a relationship, especially now, but that didn’t mean she didn’t want Roman. Maybe some good sex would be enough to get him out of her system. Though part of her was really disappointed by the no relationship statement even if she wasn’t looking.
The flight attendant chose that moment to interrupt them, asking Roman if he needed anything else. He answered no without looking at her, which made Taylor smile. Once they were alone again, she leaned back against her seat and tried not to fantasize about going to bed with him. She felt guilty for her thoughts with everything else going in.
It was definitely time for a subject change. “How do you like working for Wyatt Christiansen?”
Roman paused for a long moment, as if he didn’t like the shift in topic, but then he sighed and seemed to relax, the tension in his shoulders loosening as he leaned back against his seat. He was still turned in her direction. “He’s a good boss. Benefits are good too. He takes care of his people.”
“That’s a very succinct answer.”
His lips twitched as if he wanted to smile—she wondered what it would take for him to full-on smile at her. “There’s not much else to say. The guy’s a hard ass when he needs to be, but he’s fair. I like working for him and I like the people I work with. Did he offer you a job again?”
Her eyebrows raised at his question. “You know he’s offered before?”
“He mentioned it when he called earlier.”
“He could have contacted me for all I know but I still don’t have my phone.” Or her laptop, her tablet, e-reader or half a dozen other electronic devices she was used to carrying with her at all times. Being so disconnected was jarring.
At the same time, it was also oddly nice not to have to deal with anyone who’d known Hugh, whether they thought she was guilty or not. The thought of talking to people she worked with about Hugh made her want to tailspin into a breakdown.