Page 8 of Romi

Oh hell. Just when I thought Sonia couldn't get any more beautiful, she stepped out of the house, looking like Aphrodite had come to life again. Shit, shit, shit!

She was completely stunning, and my mind was struggling to cope with her presence again.

What was it about this woman that suddenly had me acting like an inexperienced teenager? How the heck was I going to get through this evening? I should have found an excuse not to attend tonight's event. Why the hell didn't I? I chastised myself for not telling Ash I was sick or something.

'It's too bloody late now!' my annoying inner voice said. It was right. There was no way out of this situation, and I would just need to suck it up and deal with it.

"Hey, Romi," she said, smiling.

My breath fled, and I froze like a rabbit caught in the headlights. Sonia literally took my breath away, and the sight of her had me so bloody tongue-tied I couldn't say a word to her. All I could do was smile awkwardly before jumping into the car in an attempt to cover up my sudden inability to communicate like a grownup. Again.

Thank God Ash hadn't noticed.

As we drove in silence, I desperately tried not to look at her, but I couldn't stop myself from sneaking peeks in the rearview mirror. Every now and then, our eyes met, and my breath hitched each time. Oh, I really had it bad!

Fuck! I needed to get a grip and stop acting like a teenager. If I didn't, someone would definitely notice. I couldn't let that happen. I took a deep breath and released it slowly.

I valiantly avoided looking at her again until a short while later, as we pulled into the private driveway leading to the club, I heard Ash say, "You look beautiful, by the way."

Unable to help myself, my eyes flew to hers in the mirror, and before I could think better of it, I heard myself agreeing, "You certainly do."

"Well, hopefully, that tall, dark, and droolificent male specimen, I am hoping, will sweep me off my feet and carry me off over his shoulder might actually notice me then!" She laughed and winked.

All the blood rushed south, my cock liking that idea, and my mind was onboard, supplying me with a visual of doing just that. I imagined carrying Sonia off, taking her home to my room, and never letting her leave, before chastising myself for the thought. It couldn't happen. Our family would kill me.

"There will be none of that nonsense, young lady, or we will turn this car around right now, and you will be locked in your room for the rest of the summer," Ash growled, and she chuckled.

The sound of that breathy chuckle had me imagining all sorts of dirty thoughts, and I had to bite back a groan.

I pulled the car to a stop just as she said, "Relax, bro, I'm teasing. I am not planning on meeting anyone new tonight, but at some point, I am going to want to set my sights on someone in particular, and you are going to have to deal with that!"

Hell no! There was no way I was allowing anyone else to have her.

Shit, there I was again, acting all possessive like I had a right to be.

She is not mine! I reminded myself sternly. It was futile, though. I knew my heart was not convinced. Neither was my cock. Thank God I was wearing a suit jacket to cover it.

"We'll see," Ash said, but I knew he was thinking the opposite.

Ash doted on Sonia, especially now Krissa was gone. I doubted he would ever think anyone was good enough for his baby sister. Especially not me. Doing anything with Sonia would be seen as a complete betrayal. That thought sobered me up. I wished it wasn't the case, but it was, and I needed to keep that in my mind. It was unfair, but that was life. There was no changing the fact that the woman I had fallen for was out of my reach. I would deal with my feelings. There was no other choice.

However, as I watched her climb out of the car, I had an idea. It might not be my best idea, and it would probably make everything worse for me from now on, but once I'd thought about it, there was no stopping things. I wanted to be with Sonia; that couldn't ever truly happen, but just for tonight, I would allow myself to pretend.

Licking my lips, the idea took hold, and the more I thought about it, the more I liked it. I would let myself have one night enjoying Sonia's company in the way that I longed to. I would talk to her, laugh, and dance with her. I would allow us one night of fun and do my best to enjoy this evening with the woman of my dreams. But I wouldn't allow anything more to develop between us, and after tonight, I would do everything I could to keep my distance from her.

Climbing out of the car, I took a deep breath, filling my lungs with air, then slowly released it as I let my whole body relax.

Sonia squealed. "Oh my god, look at those lights, I knew they would look great. Just like the Bellagio," she said, clapping her hands and pointing at the water feature with coloured dancing lights.

Grinning at her enthusiasm, I hurried to her side, feeling happier than I had for the last year. We might only have this one night, but I was going to savour every minute of it.

"I love their show with the dancing water lit up in beautiful colours. I always wanted a water feature like that, and now we have one of our own. It's great!"

She laughed and did a funny little wiggle of excitement.

"It sure is," I agreed, chuckling at her antics.

"Stunning!" she said in awe as she watched the water show.

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