Roman (Raleigh Raptors #2) - Samantha Whiskey Page 0,6
me.”
“I know I can, Roman,” I said, sighing as I ran my fingers through my long blonde hair. I needed a shower to work out the tangles. “It’s not about trust. I promise. And I literally can’t thank you enough for what you’ve done. What you did…” My voice trailed off as tears bit the backs of my eyes. He could get in so much trouble for that punch. A teammate, nonetheless. “Last night, all I could think of was getting somewhere safe. You were that place. I was an idiot. I should’ve thought. I didn’t think about how I could get you in trouble—”
“Fuck that,” he said, shoving off his barstool and rounding the island to stand before me. Walt quickly backed up and padded over to his bed in the living room to lay down.
Roman tilted my chin up so I would meet his dark eyes. “You always come to me, you hear me? For anything. I’m here. I don’t give a shit about the consequences. And that asshole deserved what he got.”
I blew out a breath, my forehead falling to rest against his chest. He wrapped his arms around me, his hands smoothing circles on my back.
“I just need some time,” I admitted. “I’ve barely been able to sort it out in my own mind.”
“Okay,” he said, his voice low as he released me. “I understand.”
“Thank you,” I said. “For last night. For breakfast. All of it.”
“Always.”
“Please don’t tell our mothers, either,” I begged as I chewed on my bottom lip, the call of his bed and a two-week-long nap so strong I felt I might pass out right there.
“I wouldn’t do that to you.”
Some tight pieces of my chest uncoiled. I didn’t need my mother or his knowing what went down last night. Or the past few years. Any of it. Not until I’d had time to sort it out myself. “Can I ask one more thing?”
“Anything.”
“Can I borrow your shower?”
Roman laughed, a quick, warm sound. “You know where it is.”
I pushed off the barstool, heading toward his bedroom. I stopped short of his door, a cold panic clawing up my throat. I spun back around, rushing into the kitchen. “I’m so sorry,” I gasped.
I grabbed both our empty bowls off the kitchen-island and hurried toward the sink. “I don’t know what I was thinking.” I flipped his faucet toward hot, quickly rinsing the bowls beneath the water as I reached for the scrub brush he kept to the sink’s left. My chest tightened at the idea of what could’ve happened if I’d left those dirty dishes on the counter—
“T,” Roman said from right beside me, and I jumped at his nearness. But I didn’t stop scrubbing. “Teagan.” He reached for my hands, soaking his underneath the water but not seeming to care. “Look at me.”
I tore my gaze away from the dishes, my muscles coiled from instinct, that habitual fear tingling in my blood.
“You don’t have to do that,” he said as he shut off the water.
“But if I don’t…” I said before I could think.
Roman tilted his head, concern churning in his eyes.
Oh, God.
My muscles trembled, the world tilted beneath my feet as I looked from him to the dishes and back again.
Roman is not Rick.
I silently repeated that three times before I set down the dish I’d been cleaning. The urge to clean it was still there—to finish the dishes, dry them, and put them in their proper place like an itch I couldn’t reach.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered.
“You don’t have to be,” Roman said as he reached for something behind me.
I flinched, the instinct overpowering every other thought in my head.
Roman lifted his hands and took a step back, a hand-towel dangling from his right.
Mortification colored my cheeks, and I shifted on my feet. “Shower.” That’s the only word I could squeeze out before I spun on my heels and practically sprinted to his bedroom.
Once inside his ensuite bathroom, my fingers hovered, hesitating over the lock.
“Teagan!” Rick shouted from behind the door.
“Hey, babe, I’m in the bath—"
“Why’d you lock the door?” He gave the handle a forceful jerk causing the metal to shriek.
I sat up in the tub, bubbles sloshing everywhere. “I didn’t know I did. I’m almost done—”
“Open the door, Teagan.” His voice left no room for questioning.
I hurried out of the tub and into a towel, water sliding down my legs as I rushed to unlock the door.
Rick stormed in, his eyes darting every which way before landing on mine.