Page 63 of The Love Simulation

By the time Roman enters the room, I’m a ball of nerves.

The door clicks shut behind him, and my breathing is infull erratic mode when he glances at me standing in the middle of the room.

He frowns and my stomach drops. Yup, I knew I read him wrong. He wasn’t planning on doing anything tonight but relaxing after a hard day.

“I thought you’d have on less clothes,” Roman says.

Oh.

I don’t waste time. I unzip my jumpsuit and let it pool on the floor, exposing me in nothing but my bra and panties. I quickly think over whether I should let my braids down from the bun or keep it up, and decide to keep it up and out of my face.

Roman’s eyebrows shoot up at my eagerness, but nonetheless, his eyes hungrily devour my body. After getting his fill, he reaches for his zipper and pulls it down. He’s broader than I am, so he has to help the jumpsuit off his shoulders, down his torso, and past his slim hips as it finally falls on the floor.

I suck in a deep breath once Roman stands straight. Now only in his boxer briefs, he’s beautiful. So gorgeous I could weep. Now, however, is not the time for tears. Now is the time to commit everything about Roman to memory. Every muscle, every tattoo, every faded scar. I want to remember so that when I finally,finallyget back to making art, Roman standing there will be the first thing my pen will put to paper.

He takes the first step, and I move to meet him in the middle, both of us stopping before we collide. As eager as I am, I take the pause to get my bearings. This isn’t a line I’ve crossed with many men, and there’s no going back after this. We won’t be simple colleagues. I will have known how it feels to have him moving inside me. He’ll know what I look like naked.

Roman cups my jaw, lifting my head to meet his eyes. “Are you sure about this?”

If there’s one thing in this life I’m sure of, it’s that I want Roman. Have wanted him since the moment I saw him. Maybe our relationship won’t pan out, maybe my heart is too open when it comes to him, but I’m standing with the literal man of my dreams and I’m not letting all the what-ifs hold me back.

“I’m sure,” I breathe, turning my head in his hand to kiss his palm.

I wrap my arm around Roman’s back as he leans down and brings his other hand up to cup my face and take my lips with his. It’s another unhurried kiss like before. Like we have forever to stand here and learn each other’s mouths and tastes. To learn each other’s rhythm and tempo. I suck on Roman’s full bottom lip, running my tongue along the bottom crease, and something about having my lips on his is akin to sensory overload. All we’re doing is kissing, but behind my closed eyelids I sees bursts of colors. Blues, greens, yellows. More color than I’ve seen in weeks.

Roman moves from kissing my lips to laying pecks on my cheek, lifting up my head so he can get to the crook of my neck, which is a special spot that makes shivers race down my spine. His hands travel lower and grasp my ass, bringing my body even closer to his. More sensory overload. His hot skin. He’s just so hard everywhere. More colors. Pink, purple, neon. I thought he was kissing me like we had all day, but no, he’s kissing like he’s on a mission to take my soul. Not that it’s not his by now.

Breathing hard, I move to hike one leg around Roman’s waist. He gets the message, slipping his hands under my thighs and lifting me up. He strides to the bed as I lay kisses on his throat. After he sets me down on the bed, Ilook up to meet his darkened gaze and see an inkling of doubt. Before he can fix his lips to ask me if I’m sure again, I unhook my bra. I reach for Roman’s boxers next, slipping my fingers under the band and lowering them down his legs. I moan softly as my inner muscles clench at the sight of him.

Roman crawls on the bed, settling his warm body right over mine. He leans over me on his elbows, and I lift my hips to close the small space between our bodies.

“I don’t have a condom,” he says with a tinge of panic.

I reach under my pillow and pull the one from earlier out, biting my lip sheepishly. “I’ve got one.”

“But how?” he says in absolute amazement.

I shake my head. “You don’t want to know.”

Roman looks like he’s holding in a laugh but takes the packet from my fingers and sits back so he can slide the condom on.

He leans back over me, and I can’t help but hold in my own laugh at the audacity it took for me to go through Angie’s things and take a condom. It’s all seemed to work for my good though. Roman kisses me while my lips are still in a smile. “You’re beautiful when you smile.”

I’m taken aback by the honesty in his eyes as they lock with mine. I know some men don’t like to be called beautiful, but I can’t find it in me to keep my thoughts to myself. “You’re beautiful always.” The most beautiful man I’ve ever laid eyes on.

A smile ghosts his lips before he leans down to kiss me again. This kiss quickly turns hungry as he grinds against me, the friction of our bodies causing pulses of pleasure to radiate throughout. He lines up at my entrance, pushing and stretching me in the most delicious way until he’s fully seated. Little sparks of pleasure radiate from my wholebody as he moves in and out, grabbing hold of one of my hips for leverage as I meet his every thrust. “You okay, Bri?” he asks, his voice labored and restrained.

But I don’t want labored and restrained from him. I want wild and out of control. “More,” I say in his ear. Maybe it’s the word or the way I say it, but either way, something snaps in him. He lets out a sound from deep in the back of his throat before he starts moving harder and faster. I hang on, silently applauding how I’m able to match his thrusts. And when the pleasure builds so much I’m ready to burst, I don’t try to delay it. I let it wash over me as I throw my head back in bliss and a sea of colors, feeling Roman shudder over me.

We both collapse in a heap on the bed. Roman picks his head up, eyes bleary and lips looking thoroughly kissed. He looks me over, no doubt seeing evidence of the lone tear of happiness that made a trail down my cheek and into my hairline. I close my eyes and contentedly smile when he kisses my cheek.

Chapter Twenty-Two

I wake up to a nudging at my shoulder and roll over, blinking sleep out of my eyes, to find Roman holding two cups of oatmeal. I sit up, leaning against the headboard as I smile at him.

“For the nourishment of your body,” he says, handing the bowl out to me. “May it keep you going and going and going.”

I roll my eyes as I take the proffered bowl in hand and set it in my lap. As Roman sits beside me, I briefly wonder if anyone saw him make the two bowls on camera and subsequently walk back to the room and out of eyesight. There may be a few raised eyebrows, if not outright suspicion, but surprisingly I can’t bring myself to care. After what we shared last night and how close we’ve gotten over the past few weeks, my heart won’t let me put anyone else above my desires.

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