Total pages in book: 168
Estimated words: 153571 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 768(@200wpm)___ 614(@250wpm)___ 512(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 153571 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 768(@200wpm)___ 614(@250wpm)___ 512(@300wpm)
"Because there are some fucked up people in the world," he says instead, tension pouring from him. "And I work with some of the worst of them. You don't need to know anything about that shit. It's dark, and it's ugly. It's exactly the opposite of what you are and has no place in your life. Ever."
I swallow hard, caught off guard by the intensity in his voice. I want to pry for more, but he suddenly seems different. He seems to know a little bit too much about the dark, the ugly, and bad people. That makes me ache for him. I can't imagine doing what he does, dealing with criminals all the time.
"You think I'm the opposite of dark and ugly, huh?" I say instead. It's the only thing I can think of to lighten the mood.
"You're fucking beautiful, Mila." He shakes his head, his expression serious, far more serious than the teasing question demands. "I've thought so since the day I met you, and you've only gotten more beautiful since."
His emphatic response sends another little bolt of warmth through me.
Two weeks, Mila, I remind myself. He's only yours for two weeks.
That reminder makes me feel almost…sad. I shy away from the emotion and the little niggling doubt that comes with it. There's no way I'm going there. This is just a fling. Two weeks of amazing sex, and then we go our separate ways.
"Why'd you leave your ex?" he asks a few minutes later, watching me eat my omelet. His is already gone. He finished it in about two seconds flat. I don't know how he has a body like that if he always eats so much.
"He asked me to move in with him until I found my own place but conveniently forgot to mention that he was fucking my boss. I walked in on them the day I was supposed to move in." I set my fork aside, my appetite gone. "I guess he wasn't as good with waiting for me to be ready as he said he was."
"Jesus," he says.
"Yeah."
"He's a fucking idiot. You're worth the wait, Mila."
"I don't even know what I was waiting for, honestly." I stare down at my plate, trying to figure that one out. I didn't have a strong attachment to my virginity or anything. I just…I don't know. It just never seemed right with Damien for some reason. I guess now I know why, right?
"Deep down, you knew he didn't deserve that part of you," Roman says.
"Maybe," I sigh, veering back on track. "My boss fired me on the spot."
"What the fuck?" he growls, sounding as pissed about that as I am.
"It's all kind of funny, though."
"What is?" He takes my plate from me and sets it to the side before tipping my face up to his. He looks at me like he really wants to know, so I tell him.
"I miss my job more than I miss Damien. As soon as I caught them together, I walked away. It didn't even hurt. So maybe he did me a favor," I say, watching the play of emotion across his face. "Hell, maybe they both did me a favor. I'm pretty sure if you're meant to be with someone, you're supposed to miss them when they aren't in your life anymore. I'm angry, but I don't miss him. That tells me that maybe it wasn't him I wanted. Maybe all I wanted was the stability he offered."
"What do you mean?"
"With my dad being the way he is, I didn't have a whole lot of stability growing up. I had a roof over my head. I even had food in the fridge if I did the shopping. Not even he could blow through the money my mom's parents had. But affection? Safety? Someone who cared? I never had much of that. Damien was safe and predictable, and there was never any drama between us. I thought that was what I wanted, something completely different than how I grew up. But now? Well, now I can't help but wonder why I was with him in the first place."
Actually, I'm not sure that's entirely true. But the truth is too messed up to admit, so I've carefully avoided thinking about it too closely. I was with Damien for all the wrong reasons, and every single one of them leads back to the man standing in front of me right now. But that's a little bit more profound than I can safely deal with right now. So I'm simply not dealing.
"Jesus," Roman whispers. He seems speechless, like I said something he didn't expect. His hands actually shake against my skin.
That unnerves me for a thousand reasons I don't want to think about. So I don't think about them.
Instead, I lean forward and press my lips to his.