Since I Fell For You(56)

What the hell was he doing?

The question whiplashed through his brain as he finally came back to his senses. Close enough to sanity to realize that not only was he kissing Suzanne, but he’d also stripped off her clothes outdoors, right outside a massive celebrity wedding where anyone could walk by and find them.

He’d told her brothers, She’s safe with me. He’d said, I won’t let anything happen to her. But he’d just made a complete mockery of those promises.

He’d vowed to protect her.

He’d nearly ruined her instead.





CHAPTER NINETEEN





Best. Kiss. Ever.

Suzanne had never felt so good. So alive. She almost pinched herself to make sure it wasn’t just another sexy dream.

She’d thought kissing Roman would be good. But the reality was a whole lot closer to mind-blowing. Although even that wasn’t strong enough for the way his kisses were making her feel.

It had all happened so fast. First they were yelling at each other. Then he was saying all those amazing things about how much he wanted her. Then one kiss was spinning out into a dozen across her face and neck and shoulders. Then her dress was off…and he was doing the most incredible things with his hands and mouth.

He kissed her, touched her, with pure, unadulterated desperation. She wanted him as badly. Craved him more with every touch, every kiss. She wanted Roman sweet. She wanted him rough. She wanted him slow. She wanted him fast.

She wanted him any and every way she could get him.

“Suzanne, we shouldn’t be doing this here.”

She wouldn’t have been at all averse to making love right where they were, but he was right. It would be smarter to find somewhere more private. A room they wouldn’t have to leave for hours and hours.

“I know a place,” she told him. “There’s a cabin near my father’s house that no one ever uses.”

She was about to take his hand and lead him there when she belatedly realized her dress was lying on the ground. That was how much his kisses had spun her out of the real world—she hadn’t even realized she was wearing only her underwear.

“I should probably put this back on first,” she said with a laugh as she bent to pick up the dress. She felt giddy, as though she would never be sad again, never stop smiling.

He silently helped her into the dress, holding the fabric out so that she didn’t accidentally catch it with a heel. She loved how gentle his hands were as he slid the dress up over her naked skin, then zipped it into place.

Desperate to kiss him again, she wound her arms around his neck and was closing her eyes and leaning in when she felt his hands grip her forearms.

“Suzanne, stop.”

Her mouth grazed his as the words came out. But it wasn’t so much what he’d said that gave her pause—it was the way he was touching her. For the past few minutes, he’d been doing anything he could to pull her closer.

Suddenly, it felt as if he was trying to push her away instead.

“No.” She wouldn’t let him do this again. “You’re not going to tell me this is all a big mistake.” But by the set of his jaw, she could see that was exactly what he was about to say.

“I shouldn’t have talked to you like that. Shouldn’t have kissed you like that.” His teeth clenched tightly before he unlocked them enough to grind out, “Shouldn’t have unzipped your dress and touched you like that. Shouldn’t have been about to get on my knees so that I could—” He cut himself off with a curse.

Earlier, when he’d pulled away on the dance floor, she’d assumed it must be because she wasn’t pretty enough, wasn’t sexy enough, wasn’t feminine enough for him. But now she knew for sure that none of those were the true reasons.

Roman wanted her. Wanted her with a depth of passion that took her breath away. And not because she’d somehow managed to seduce him into crossing professional lines the way she’d originally planned.

The attraction, the heat between them was real. Unavoidable. Undeniable.

“I lost control with you,” he said, guilt underpinning his every word.

“I loved it when you lost control.” How could she get him to see that they were two adults who could break whatever rules they wanted to? That just because he’d come into her life as her bodyguard didn’t mean they had to hold to any kind of professional relationship now. “I loved kissing you. I loved everything we were doing.” She’d never been this bold with a lover before, but she needed him to know. “I want to do more.” She wouldn’t let herself back away now. “I want to do everything. With you. Tonight.”

* * *

Roman battled viciously with the desire that was swamping every cell in his body. He needed to force himself to do the right thing, rather than wishing he could keep kissing Suzanne. He needed to stop fantasizing about stripping her dress away again so that they could finish what they’d started beneath a moonlit sky and a thousand silver branches.