Page 39 of Now You're Mine

She turns her head to look at me, but I can’t read her expression.“You want me to keep it?” she asks, but the words catch a little toward the end.

I want to sayyes,but I bite it back. This is one thing I know I can’t control. “I don’t want your fear of being alone driving your decision. You’re not your mom, and I’m not your dad.”

She purses her lips, and a tear rolls down her cheek. Reaching up, I brush the tear away gently. “Don’t cry, Little Rabbit. It’s going to be okay.”

Her chin quivers as she lends forward, and melts against my chest. I wrap my arms around her and stroke her hair,murmuring words of comfort as she cries quietly. “It’s going to be okay,” I repeat softly.

And it is.

I’m going to make it okay if it’s the last fucking thing I do.

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

Lux

I’m a mess.I suspect it’s the hormones, but also, life has been pretty fucked up lately, so there’s that.

But Roman assuring me that everything is going to be okay is everything I need right now, even if I know, deep down, it can’t possibly be true.

Because, for once, it feels like I have someone. As a kid, I was always alone. It was just me. Any problem that popped up, I was the one who figured it out. I solved it. My mom was a single parent, which made her very resentful toward me, so a lot of the time, she was mentally and emotionally checked out.

When we ran out of food, I asked my teacher to help me apply for food stamps—atten. I got myself to school and back.Me. There was no one there telling me everything would be okay. No one had my back, except Bree, and now she’s gone.

So hearing those words from Roman…yeah, it’s everything.

The tears have subsided, and now I just feel embarrassed. I pull back, and sniff, wiping my face with the back of my hand.I’m sure I look like a mess right now. “Sorry. I’m a lot more weepy than usual.”

He reaches up and brushes his thumb across my chin. His gaze is soft, and understanding. It’s not a side of Roman I see often. “It’s okay, baby. I got you.”

“Oh, do you?” I tease. “You’vegot me?”

“Yes.” He laughs, and it’s a genuinelaugh that rumbles in his chest. That sound, my God, it’s so rare for him to be light and vulnerable, just hearing him laugh makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. He pulls me closer, twisting both our bodies, so he’s half on top of me. “I’ve got you. Literally. Now you’re mine,” he says playfully.

He peppers me with kisses, on my cheeks, my eyelids, my chin, and down the column of my neck. All over. “Stop!” I’m laughing so hard, I can hardly breathe. I try to wedge my arm between us to push him away, but it’s like trying to move a solid slab of marble. “Oh, my God, Roman!”

Finally, he pulls back, and I roll out from under him. Then I take a pillow and swat him with it. “That was mean.”

A ping comes from the nightstand, drawing his attention, tugging him out of this little moment we’re having. He reaches for his phone, and unlocks it, reading the message. Then he types out a response.

“Everything okay?” I ask, watching him, annoyed by the disruption.

He finishes typing out his message, then sets his phone aside, and climbs out of bed. “Yeah. It was Lucas just letting me know someone would be dropping our stuff off soon. He needed our room number.”

“Ah,” I say, drinking in the sight of his rock-hard ass as he pulls his underwear and pants on. My stomach grumbles. “Before they get here, can you go downstairs and grab some fries from Isca?”

He zips his jeans up and turns to look at me. “Sure, I’ll call room service.”

“Noooo,” I moan, flipping onto my stomach so I can bury my face in the pillow. I pop my head back up to flash him a pouty look. “Room service takes forever, and I’m so hungry, I’m going to start feeling nauseous soon.”

We had the grilled cheese sandwich not too long ago, but I’m suddenly starving. The hunger hits me like that now, fast and furious. And usually, there’s just one food group that will satisfy me—fries. Any fries will do, but wedge fries are a miracle sent down by God.

He pulls his shirt over his head, then leans over the bed, and kisses the tip of my nose. “Okay,” he says. “I’ll go down and grab you some fries.”

I flash him a smile. “Thank youuu.”

“If anyone comes to the door, don’t answer it. If it’s one of the guys with our stuff, they can wait until I get back. I should only be a few minutes.”

I nod once. “Got it.”

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