Page 112 of Revive Me

He straightens and locks our gazes. “For school,” he says. Simply. As if that isn’t a hugedeal.

“Did you start already?” I ask him, putting the journal back down and drifting back toward the kitchen.

He nods and goes back to chopping. “About a month ago. I enrolled in community college so I could get started quickly and get my GenEd classes out of the way.”

“And how is it?”

His movements slow as he mulls over the question. “It’s…new. Different. I haven’t been in school for over a decade, so it’s going to take some getting used to. But I kind of like it.” He glances up at me. “I’m glad I enrolled.”

Distantly, I wonder if a person can explode from too much pride and happiness.

Especially when he goes back to chopping with a small smile on his face, saying, “I have this one class that I think I’m really going to like. It’s history, obviously, and only a GenEd class, but the professor is awesome. He’s really well-traveled and he’s done a bunch of insanely cool expeditions, so sometimes I’ll stay after class to talk to him about it.” His expressionoozesgiddiness. “He actually told me about this adaptive scuba diving program that he was involved with. They work mostly with veterans, but he said I’d fit in perfectly. I was thinking of signing up.”

“Are you serious?” I squeak. “Roman, that’s amazing. You’ll have to tell me the organization. I’ll check if they offer dive buddy certifications.”

Eyes lit up, he nods before focusing back on the cutting board, then starts animatedly telling me about the program.

I’m mesmerized as I watch Roman. I can’t believe this is the same man who, on bad days, wouldn’t let himself attempt even the simplest task because he didn’t want to deal with the reality of his injury. I always knew he was capable of this kind of healing, but to see it is…

My desire to love him becomes suddenly overwhelming. I don’t question the urge, I just round the counter to gently take the knife from Roman and set it down. He gives me a questioning look at first, but once he meets my eyes, there’s no more question.

I cup his face in my hands, and then I kiss him.

Hemeltsinto it. With a stuttered exhale, his arms come around me, clutching me to him in a way that tells me he needs me just as much as I need him. One arm stays around my waist and the other comes up to cradle the back of my head. We can’t get enough of each other, can’t even pause long enough to take a much-needed breath, and because of it, the passion grows.

And then it ignites. When Roman angles my head to deepen the kiss, I moan and feel myself go weak in his arms.

The sound must break the spell because, in the next moment, he pulls back, breathing heavily. For a moment, his gaze travels over my face, cataloguing every inch of it, but then he takes my hand and leads me out of the kitchen.

In the time it takes to reach Roman’s bedroom, I’ve managed to calm myself just enough that I don’t jump him as soon as we’re in the vicinity of a bed. Iwantto go at Roman’s pace, for both of our sakes.

I let him pull me to him, let him lead us in the sweetest kiss. It almost feels like he’s pausing the heat for just long enough to stamp this as a moment to remember.

But then he’s reaching for the bottom of my sweatshirt, his kiss developing teeth and sharp edges, and suddenly there’s nothing sweet about us anymore.

38

ROMAN

I pull her tank top off in one swift move. By the time I’m lifting her sports bra, I’m letting out a growl of frustration at the layers that keep interrupting my ability to taste her. It isn’t until she’s finally naked from the waist up, and I can take her lips in one more deep, seductive kiss, that I’m finally satisfied.

I’m still kissing her as I lay her down on the bed, and I both feel and taste the sigh of contentment she lets out when my weight settles on top of her. She wraps one leg around my hip, pulling me impossibly closer.

Her obvious hunger makes my own desperation ratchet. I’ve been fantasizing about this for months, replaying our one time together and thinking about what I would do differently if I ever got her to touch her again. And now that, by some miracle, she’s here with me, I’m dizzy with need. I want to do everything. Want to make herfeeleverything.

I take her mouth once more, hard, before letting my kisses drift over her cheek and down to her neck, where they become nips and bites and make her arch even harder into my body.

“God,I missed you,” I groan into her skin, my hand sliding up to cup her breast as I brace my weight on the opposite forearm. When I give her nipple a harsh pinch, a moan spills from between her lips.

The sound drives me into a frenzy. Sliding farther down the bed, I kiss my way down her body, only stopping for a few seconds to cover first one nipple, then the other, with my mouth. Then I’m impatiently tearing her jeans off.

I feel her freeze as I’m reaching for her thong. “Wait, Roman, I just realized I haven’t shaved. You don’t have to?—”

Her words break off in a gasp when Iripthe fabric from her body and lick from ass to clit.

“Oh my God,” she moans. Her hands sink into my new, long hair, and her legs tighten around my head.

I’m fuckingstarvedfor her. After two and a half years, I finally get the taste of her directly on my tongue, and already I’m wondering if I’ll ever get enough of it. My hands come around her thighs so I can hold her against my face, my tongue swirling in circles around her clit. I hear her moan and feel the way she arches against my mouth.

---