Free Ceasefire by Scarlett Black Page B

chance to say no.
    It
didn’t happen.
    There
were no other options, at least none that I could accept.
    When
I lifted my hand to knock, it weighed a thousand pounds and each rap on the
door sounded like thunder inside my head.
    This
time, there was no pause.  I heard a muffled, “Enter,” and then walked inside.
    My
heartbeat raced.  I couldn’t breathe.  I was close to fainting.
    That
is, until I saw Roman again. 
    I
don’t know why, but the sight of him was enough to calm my nerves.
    Had
I been able to predict the future, it should’ve done exactly the opposite.
    The
suit was gone, and instead, he greeted me wearing a faded red t-shirt,
stretched tight against the muscles of his chest and biceps, and a pair of
jeans that were ripped at the knees.  He was barefoot, too, and even his damn
toes were sexy.  His smile was just as disarming as it had been twenty-four
hours ago.
    He
stuck out a hand to shake.  I took it, squeezed lightly, and said, “I wasn’t
aware that it was Casual Wednesday.”  It might’ve been a risky joke—I had no
idea what his sense of humor was really like at the time—but I had to walk in
with control.  I had to let him know that it was my room.
    “Funny,”
he said.  “I’m painting my master bedroom this afternoon and didn’t feel like
getting dressed up.”
    Master
bedroom, huh?  Need some help?
    I
shrugged, pretending to be disinterested.
    “You
look fantastic, Kim.  Stunning, really.”
    I
lied and said, “It doesn’t take much.”  Yet in his eyes, maybe it was true. 
I’d dressed quickly and put on a dash of makeup in a gas station restroom.  If
he thought I looked stunning after that , then who was I to disagree?
    Even
if it was total bullshit and he said the same thing to every woman who walked
through his door, I didn’t care.  Some would say I should’ve been smart enough
to know better.
    In
hindsight, some would be right.
    He
crossed his arms.  I wanted them wrapped around me so badly that I could
actually feel what the embrace would be like. 
    Strong. 
Soothing.  Electrifying.
    My
legs quivered. 
    When
he reached for the contract, I briefly snapped back to reality.  And what in
the hell was I doing, allowing the moment to sweep me away like that again?
    Damn
it, Kim.  Control yourself.
    Hadn’t
I just decided the day before that nothing would ever happen between us?
    After
all, Roman didn’t get involved with the help .
    He
said, “So, you’ve decided?”
    I
nodded, holding out the contract, and when he reached for it, I let go.
    I
let go of the control.
    I
took two quick steps and pressed my lips against his.

CHAPTER TEN
    He
wrapped an arm around my waist, put a hand on the back of my head, and pulled
me deeper into the kiss.
    Thank
God, I thought.  I flung the contract across the room and somehow heard the
pages rustling in the air over our heavy breathing, over the sounds of our
desire.  Roman tugged at my shirt and lifted it off my body and I melted at the
feeling of his hands on my skin as they slid down to my waist, pulling at my
skirt until it dropped to the floor along with my panties.
    With
my bra gone now too, tossed onto his desk, once again I stood in front of him,
nude, wearing nothing but high heels and a look of lust.  I reached up to let
my hair down, but Roman said, “Leave it,” and then stepped back.  He devoured
me with his eyes, allowing his hungry gaze to slip over every inch of my body. 
“Even better than yesterday.”
    I
won’t lie, I felt like a porn star, standing there in nothing but my heels,
running my hands over my breasts and down between my legs, wanting to suck on
his bottom lip, wanting his mouth on my chest, my nipples.  Kissing me where
another’s lips hadn’t been in almost two years.  Instead, he backed away and
slipped his t-shirt off, putting on a show for me, allowing me to take it all
in, just as he’d done to me the day before.
    His
chest, abs, and arms were so defined that there were