Page 15 of Romi

Even though I returned home planning to seduce Romi, now that I knew my feelings were reciprocated, I really wanted him to make the first move. I guessed I was old-fashioned deep down. Chewing at the side of my thumb, I mulled over what I should do. After a lot of humming and hawing, I decided to give Romi a few days to react. If he hadn’t made his move by then, I would need to initiate things again.

It was going to be difficult to wait, but in the meantime, it wouldn’t hurt to put together a plan of action in case I needed it. Dad had always taught us to be prepared, and it would be good to have a few ideas ready to pull out of the bag when the next opportunity arrived, and I knew just where to find them.

Smirking to myself, I headed to the library and searched through several books by my favourite romance authors, looking for inspiration. I spent the morning researching, and by lunchtime, I was armed with a number of scenarios I could use depending upon whatever opportunity presented itself.

Unfortunately, none did because the man himself had disappeared—literally. I looked for him at lunch and for the rest of the day, but he was nowhere to be found. At dinner, I subtly asked Marko where he was, but apparently, he finished his run and then headed off straight away on Bratva business and hadn’t returned.

Well, I consoled myself with the fact that at least he wasn’t avoiding me after our near kiss, as I had begun to suspect. Hoping he’d return later, I spent the evening downstairs, but by midnight, I realised he probably wasn’t coming home and headed up to bed feeling quite deflated.

My fingers itched to call or text him, but I couldn’t think of a good enough reason to do that, especially at this time of the night. I didn’t want to appear clingy and put him off me, so I refrained from contacting him.

Forcing myself to go to bed, I tossed and turned as sleep eluded me. My mind kept thinking about different possibilities for Romi’s no-show. I lay in bed, my imagination taking me down a rabbit hole of worry as I wondered where he was and what he was doing.

It seemed likely that he had worked late and decided to spend the night at his flat. Although I wasn’t sure, it was in a fit state for sleeping in. Alternatively, he could have been in one of the two apartments we had kept in central London. We had them so that if anyone was out late, working or otherwise, and couldn’t be bothered with the forty-minute commute home, then they had somewhere to crash instead.

Of course, my brothers often used the apartments if they were entertaining ladies, too, and that was my problem. Jealousy coursed through me as my mind kept thinking about that scenario. Could Romi have a girlfriend I didn’t know about?

Whenever I called Marko, I always made a point of asking about everyone’s love life, including Romi’s, and he hadn’t mentioned anyone, but what if Marko didn’t know? Or what if Romi picked some random women up tonight? I knew he felt desire last night and this morning; what if he decided to sate it elsewhere and stay away from his troublesome little cousin?

Tears pricked my eyes at that thought, but I pushed them away. I didn’t know if he was with anyone else, but I didn’t want to believe he could be. The attraction between us was too strong for that. I might be wholly inexperienced, but I was sure of it. I was just being silly. He had either been busy and had worked too late to come home, or he was avoiding me, afraid of the problems a relationship with me would cause. I hoped it was the former, but knowing Romi as I did, it was probably the latter.

Feeling bloody frustrated, I rubbed my tired eyes. I was exhausted and needed to get some sleep. I wanted to look my best whenever I got to see Romi next. Being unsure of how he felt about us was killing me, and I needed to confront him about it. I wouldn’t give Romi enough time to talk himself out of his attraction to me, which I figured, with his strong sense of duty and family commitment, he was probably trying to do. So, I determined that if he hadn’t returned by tomorrow, I was going to find out exactly where he was and go find him myself.

With that decision made, I stuck my earphones in and listened to a soothing meditation until I drifted off to sleep.

CHAPTER 9

ROMI

SUNDAY – HIDING OUT

What the heck was I doing?

Shaking my head in disbelief at myself, I paced the bedroom, running my hands through my hair, trying desperately to get my thoughts under control. I had been hiding out in my flat in the city since yesterday after I retreated here to stop myself from doing something stupid and claiming Sonia the way I longed to, so I’d done the only thing I could and ran away.

This was becoming a bloody habit and not one I was proud of. I was a grown man, for fuck’s sake. Yet here I was, hiding away from my beautiful little cousin. Again. It was stupid, I knew that, but I didn’t know what else to do. I couldn’t be trusted around Sonia; that much was clear. I rubbed my forehead and scrunched my eyes against the headache that was threatening to add to my troubles.

After spending the night tossing and turning while my mind replayed every last detail of our evening together, my hard-on had been a constant source of pain. Between that and my lack of sleep, I was bloody knackered when I finally dragged myself out of bed in the morning.

A long cold shower had done nothing to alleviate things, so I’d decided to head outside for a run to try to clear my head and exhaust my body enough for my libido to quieten down and let me get some rest. I’d only been passing through the kitchen when I’d stumbled on the source of my problems. I’d decided to take a different route around the Estate for a change, and that was the nearest exit. Big mistake!

The unexpected sight of Sonia sitting there looking adorable in her pyjamas with her hair tied back had thrown me. The star of my very adult fantasies sitting there in the flesh, licking tiramisu, my favourite dessert, off a spoon, had nearly been my undoing. Then, when she teased me in such a decadent way, I’d almost come on the spot.

Even though I knew I should have left the minute I saw her, I hadn’t been able to drag my eyes away from the sight of her sucking that bloody spoon. I hadn’t been able to think straight. She had drawn me to her like a fly to honey. Her moans of pleasure had shot straight to my cock. The mere sight of her sent my libido into overdrive. I had no control when I was around that woman. It was like being a bloody teenager all over again.

Stupidly I had been unable to resist removing a spot of cream from her lip with my finger, and when she had grabbed it and stuck it in her mouth, sucking on it like she had the spoon, oh dear god, I stopped breathing. I’d needed to taste her. If Nonna hadn’t interrupted, I would have succumbed to temptation and tasted that tiramisu off her luscious lips.

Thankfully, Nonna had come in and brought me back to my senses. I hadn’t been able to get away quickly enough after that.

It was hard to believe how close I had come to giving into my baser urges and kissing Sonia. I had always prided myself on my level of control, but one second in Sonia’s company, and I had none. Absolutely none. If she had been anyone else, I would have been elated at her obvious interest in me and would have dragged her straight off to bed. But she wasn’t. She was Sonia, and she was out of bounds. Our mutual attraction would only lead to trouble. I huffed in frustration. I needed to stay away from her.

Not that staying away from her helped much. I had been holed up in my flat for the last few hours, desperately trying to get my mind on the installation of the bathroom I needed to do, but thoughts of sexy Sonia kept distracting me. I couldn’t get the woman out of my mind and wasn’t getting any bloody work done, but at least I couldn’t do anything foolish, either. I supposed I should be thankful for small mercies.

Sighing heavily, I checked my watch, then headed down to the kitchen and poured myself a shot of vodka. I didn’t have much in the flat, but I’d brought the alcohol with me before I left the Estate, knowing I would likely need it. I tossed the measure back, feeling the burn in my throat and looked longingly at the bottle. I desperately wanted to pour another, but instead, I screwed the lid firmly back on and placed the bottle on the counter. I had to go out but it would be there when I got back. I had a feeling I would be downing a few more shots when I did.

I planned on staying here tonight and tomorrow, too. I couldn’t avoid Sonia forever, and our family would wonder what was going on with me if I stayed away from the Estate for more than a few days, but at least for now, I could put some distance between us. The more, the better. The rest of the time, I would keep myself as busy as possible with Bratva business and whatever else I could—anything to ensure I wasn’t left alone again with Sonia.

Grabbing my jacket and keys, I headed for the door. I had to pick Ash and Miki up; we had some business to attend to. After that, I would drop them off at home and then return here for the night. Tomorrow, I had more Bratva stuff to do with Ash, and then in the evening, we had the honour of attending the dinner at Tribeca with the delightful Mrs Peacock. Wonderful! I frowned. I was not looking forward to that, but at least it was another excuse to steer clear of the Estate and avoid my Little Miss Trouble. I laughed at myself for calling her that.

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