to say, because my instinct is to make jokes when I’m nervous, but Roman grabs me and hauls me to him, kissing me, and I just about forget my own name.
Roman’s not exactly a man of many words, but holy fuck, can he kiss.
I wrap my arms around his neck, kissing him back, pressing myself up against him as his large hands flex around my waist, his mouth pouring fire into mine. It spreads through my whole body, lighting up my nerve endings and igniting the craving for him that never seems to be satisfied no matter how often I try to quench it.
My hands thread through his hair, and my clit throbs in time to my heartbeat as he pulls me closer, grinding our hips together. I was unconscious for most of the summer, unaware of time passing—but it’s like my body knows how long it’s been since we last did this and is trying to make up for lost time.
When he finally breaks the kiss, I’m gasping.
“Sorry,” he murmurs roughly, pulling back an inch or two as I drag in a shaky breath. Damn. I can’t feel my legs. “Just wanted to do that one last time before the semester started.”
My arms tighten around his neck. “Are we going to be…”
“We’ll be fine.” His hands worked their way under my shirt while we were kissing, and now his thumbs rub soothing circles into my skin. “We’re not breaking any rules. There’s nothing in school policy that says we can’t date, although… it is frowned up. But we’re all of age, and I can prove in your transcript that I’m not giving you better grades or special treatment because of our relationship.”
I snort. “Yeah, that’s for damn sure.”
A smile quirks his lips, and his cobalt eyes shine with possessiveness and humor. He kisses me again, hard and dirty, and I shudder. Fuck, I’m going to miss being able to touch him however and whenever I want, to flirt with him as much as I want.
We break apart slower this time, more reluctantly, as if neither of us wants to let go of the other.
“But listen, if anything does come out,” Roman adds, resting his forehead against mine, “I’ll take responsibility.”
I gently stroke my fingers through the soft, dark hair at the back of his neck. “Hey, it’s not like you tricked me into this.”
“I know. But you’ve already been through enough, and I can take a little heat. If this does get out, let me bear the brunt of it, all right?”
“…fine.” I’m not happy with that, but I know Roman’s as stubborn as I am, if not more so.
He kisses me on the nose, the tender gesture making a cascade of butterflies flap around in my stomach, and then grabs his suitcases and heads out.
I hate how much it hurts to watch him go.
For the rest of the week, it’s the five of us—Maddy, the guys, and me—and I can tell the others are trying to cram as much good stuff into it for me as they can, making up for what I missed out on. We have a Lord of the Rings marathon, go to the beach even though it takes us two hours to get there, and have a few cookouts. Just fun summer shit.
Despite having a blast with the guys and my sis, I’m feeling a little… out of it. I’m still kind of weak from being asleep for so long, but it’s not just that. It’s like I’m a bit outside of space and time somehow, like everything’s slightly tilted to the side for me.
At least everyone else is acting normal. Cam’s an adorable goof, Asher’s soft and sweet, and Dmitri… well, he’s gone back to being cranky and withdrawn around me. And honestly, I’m not as relieved about that as I expected to be.
Last semester, there was a moment when I thought he was going to confess that he had feelings for me. At the time, I almost didn’t want him to say anything—I didn’t feel ready to face all the unspoken emotions between us, to admit the depth of my own feelings for him.
But now? I’m not sure I want to hide from those things anymore.
When I woke up from my coma, I got just a little taste of what Dmitri’s love would be like, and I can’t stop thinking about it. I want more. I don’t want our relationship to just be about poking at each other from behind our fortified