“I can already tell you that you’re barking up the wrong tree, but so you don’t feel like I’ve left one single thing out, the second—and last—time Craig and I had sex, we were at SecureCon.” He could feel the bravado behind her words, the way she was trying to act so tough about sleeping with some guy she had no emotional connection with. But Roman knew firsthand how empty that could leave you. “Since he hadn’t made a big deal about the first time we hooked up, I decided to give him another whirl.”
In her fury, she’d moved close enough that her chest was now pressed against his. He could feel how soft she was, how perfect. Sweet Lord, he’d known this job was going to be hard, but he’d had no idea how difficult things could get.
“Is that enough detail for you,” she said, “or do you need positions too?”
Visions hit him—hard—of Suzanne naked and entwined with some other guy. Those pictures in his head twisted his gut into knots, even as he could barely look away from her full, red lips. Lips he was barely holding himself back from tasting.
Devouring.
“I’ve got what I need now,” he gritted out past a jaw clenched brutally tight. Roman couldn’t believe he had spent twenty years honing his control, only to have one beautiful, brilliant woman unravel it as easily as she would a ball of yarn.
“Well, that’s good to hear,” she said with no small measure of sarcasm. “Let me know if you change your mind, and I’ll be happy to walk you through every single thing we did during our two nights together.”
As far as Roman could see, Suzanne didn’t believe much in fighting—she usually leaned toward calm and rational to make her point when she was working. But when she finally decided to get into the ring, she was scrappy. His respect for her rose another notch even as jealousy continued to hit him low and hard in the gut from her well-aimed jab.
Right now, however, he needed to clear the red haze from his brain so that he could make a plan to keep Suzanne safe for a couple of hours while he went to put the fear of God into Craig.
And yet, in the moment, he didn’t see how he could possibly do anything but erase that final inch between them, how he could stop himself from dragging her all the way into his arms and crushing her mouth beneath his.
He almost had his hands on her—was this close to kissing her—when a knock sounded at the door. She bounded out of his almost-embrace at the same moment he forced himself to take a step back.
They were both surprised to hear Harry’s voice. “Hey, Suz. Can I come in?”
He watched as Suzanne worked to pull herself together so that she could open the door for her brother without looking as if she’d been on the verge of making out with her bodyguard.
“Of course you can.” She pasted on a smile and opened her arms. “What a nice surprise.”
Harry returned her hug, but frowned as he pulled away and took a closer look at her outfit. He seemed to be especially surprised by her shoes. “You look…” He shook his head as if he couldn’t quite believe his eyes. “I’ve never seen you wearing such…”
“These clothes have been hanging in my closet forever!”
“Sorry.” Harry seemed to realize that he’d upset her. “You look really nice, sis. Just a little fancier than usual.” When her expression barely softened, he wisely stopped digging himself deeper. “I was hoping you might be able to squeeze me in for lunch. Any chance of that?”
Finally, she gave him a smile. “I’d love it.” Her smile faded again as she turned back to Roman. “You can trust me to have a meal alone with my brother, right?”
“You bet. I’m going to step out while you two eat.” He looked at Harry. “It would be great if you’d stay with Suzanne until I return.”
Her mouth set into a hard—but still gorgeous—line. “I don’t need a constant babysitter.”
“I didn’t only come to eat,” Harry said, obviously working to smooth things over with the sister he adored. “I also wanted to get your thoughts on some new research I’ve been trying to figure out how to best present to my students. You always seem to have a knack for getting inside their heads.”
Looking slightly appeased by the fact that her brother was looking for her advice, she put her arm through Harry’s and walked away from Roman without a second glance.
CHAPTER NINE
“I was going to ask how things are going with Roman,” Harry said as they headed for her company’s dining hall, “but from that exchange I just witnessed, it seems I’ve already got my answer.”