Roman (Raleigh Raptors #2) - Samantha Whiskey Page 0,32

forearm and spun until I pressed my knee against Drew’s hard chest.

“Good!” he said, his chin hitting my knee as he tapped the mat.

I hauled off of him, tears streaming down my cheeks. Not out of fear or anger, but a sort of cleansing as power rushed through me. At the way I’d taken down a man the size of Rick. How I’d made a choice for my body and used it to save myself. How I knew, with absolute certainty, I’d never let myself be in that position again.

“I don’t know what I’d do if you ever left me,” Rick said later that night, his fingers trailing the edge of my arm as I laid still, holding back tears. “Oh, wait,” he said. “Yes, I do.”

I swallowed hard.

“What would I do, Teagan?”

He’d told me a hundred times before. Every time I’d ever contemplated leaving.

“Come on, baby,” he said, nuzzling his chin over my shoulder. “I want to hear you say it,” he cooed as if he were asking me to sing him a song.

“I don’t need to say it,” I whispered into the dark.

“Why?”

“Because I’m not leaving you.” Not when he’d threatened the people I loved most. Not when I knew what the kind of money and power he had could do.

“That’s right,” he said and smoothed his hand over my tummy. “I feel like tonight was the night.”

I nodded despite knowing that it wasn’t. I’d gone to extreme lengths to ensure that.

“You know I’ve always wanted a son. I can’t wait until you give me that.”

“It’s normal,” Drew said, his deep yet understanding tenor drawing me out of myself.

I swiped at the tears on my cheeks.

“To have breakthroughs like this.” He handed me a water bottle.

“Thank you,” I said as Savannah came up beside me, her hand supportively on my back. “I can’t tell you how good that felt,” I laughed.

“I can tell you how much it hurt,” he teased, rubbing the back of his neck.

“I’m sorry!”

“Don’t be,” he chided me. “Never fucking be sorry for defending yourself. For owning your body and your space. That’s what our lessons are all about.”

I nodded, sucking in a breath that felt like it finally reached the entirety of my lungs.

Slowly, I was coming back to myself.

With the help of my friends, with taking steps to forgive myself for the mistakes I’d made, the blind spots I’d had...

I was healing.

“Same time next week?” He asked as Savannah and I gathered our things.

“Absolutely,” I said. “And thanks again,” I called as we exited the studio.

After a quick stop home for a shower and a change, Savannah and I met up with Liberty to shop for our Halloween costumes. The Raptors were having their annual boo-bash in a few days, and I finally felt ready to face an event again.

Not as Rick’s girlfriend.

Not as Roman’s best friend.

But as me.

The thought of Roman shot a white-hot heat through my blood. Images flashed behind my eyes—his lips on mine, the taste of him in my mouth, his strong body pinning me against the wall outside his home while the warm night air whirled around us.

God, I’d nearly came just from a kiss. Just from him touching my body in a way I’d never experienced—passionate and primal and consuming.

He’d had me pinned against that wall, his muscled body caging mine, and I hadn’t felt trapped. I’d felt safe, wild, but safe. And I wanted more.

That’s what had terrified me. That’s what had stopped me from crawling into his bed and begging him to touch me again.

Because he was my best friend, and if we crossed that line for real? Would we ever be able to go back to normal when it inevitably ended? Because it would end…I had too much baggage, and he was perfect. He deserved a woman who didn’t have flashbacks that brought on panic attacks. Deserved a woman who didn’t come with an ex-boyfriend who’d threatened to hurt him more than once, just for being my friend.

I knew all this…and it didn’t stop me from replaying that kiss over and over in my head. Didn’t stop me from craving his touch, his taste, all hours of the day and night.

“You should’ve seen it, Lib,” Savannah said, snapping me back to the present as we sashayed through the costume shop. “Teagan laid Drew’s ass out.”

I chuckled, heat rising to my cheeks.

“You’re kidding? Drew looks like Jason freaking Momoa’s brother!” Liberty said. “That’s badass.”

“Oh, yeah,” I teased. “Totally badass. Right up to the point where