Page 16 of Star Crossed
Chapter Three
Romeo took the long way to his new room, including a stop at one of the gift shops for condoms. The two he carried in his wallet were probably too old to be safe, because the sad truth was, Romeo worked too hard to get laid.
Sure, the opportunity was always there. Romeo wasn’t blind or naive. He knew he was good-looking. When so inclined, sex was as easy to get as Chinese takeout in New York City, around every corner and more often than not, just a phone call away. But most women wanted love and commitment and lots and lots of time, which was one thing Romeo didn’t have. Even if they came to him under the guise of a casual fuck, there were always underlying expectations that Romeo knew he’d eventually destroy when fighting or family took priority.
And despite being a cocky bastard in front of the media and a genuinely mean fighter—Romeo didn’t like to break women’s hearts.
His mother just so happened to have been a woman, one who’d gotten her heart trampled on right up until the end of her life, when Frankie—Nova and Tino’s asshole father—finally decided to pretend he gave a shit and spent the last few months with them. Frankie had come clean to his wife over the long affair and his two bastard sons. He’d held Romeo’s mother’s hand while she lay there slowly dying and promised to look after her children.
His mother took peace in that only because she’d been too high on pain medicine to stop and consider what it meant to have a genuine mafioso promise to take her sons under his wing. Romeo was asked to throw a fight because of that stupid deathbed promise. That was Frankie’s way of looking out for them, lining his pockets with dirty money earned by Romeo’s blood, sweat, and tears.
Fuck that. Romeo would rather be celibate the rest of his years than be something that even closely resembled Frankie.
But Jules was different. She didn’t expect anything. Romeo was fairly certain she was going to kick him to the curb and never look back once this night was over. She wasn’t impressed by his fighting stats or his bank account. She wasn’t looking at him like a one-way ticket to easy street. She certainly wasn’t hearing wedding bells.
Jules Conner was very intriguing.
Not to mention gorgeous as hell and sexy enough to leave him hard and uncomfortable through all of dinner. He’d nearly come in his pants when she admitted she wanted to be wild, sweaty, and naked with him.
It took everything he had not to sayfuck, yes!and drag her to the nearest corner, but he wanted more than a quick, mindless fuck from her. She had a body made to be savored, and he planned to do just that—savor her all night long and end this week on a high note.
What the hell? He deserved that, didn’t he? Hadn’t they been running grainy footage from the casino’s hidden cameras on every national news station all day that proved he was a hero?
One night to enjoy himself before he ended up back in New York, with Frankie’s dirty fingers in every aspect of his life, including his career. Everyone from Romeo’s coaches to the towel boy at the center where he trained was in the mob’s pockets. Romeo was so fucking sick of it he was ready to do something drastic, but he wasn’t going to think about it now.
He had something entirely different on his mind as he got out of the elevator and spied Jules down the hallway. She stood in front of the double doors to the suite he’d reserved. Her arms were crossed over her chest. Her foot tapped impatiently.
Romeo got the distinct impression she was pissed off about something. The way her arms were crossed pushed her breasts up to the point that they nearly spilled over the low-cut neckline of the slinky, indigo-blue dress she was wearing. Her foot tapping just pulled his attention from her tits to those impossibly long, shapely legs. They seemed to go on for miles, especially with those high heels that made her six-one at least.
This woman should be a model instead of a lawyer, but she was probably a little too toned for that line of work. She didn’t look like she was going to waste away like so many of those waifs; instead she was curvy and strong. Her body had definition Romeo appreciated. It spoke of a lifetime of dedication to a sport he loved, and damned if that didn’t turn him on to the point that his vision almost went hazy from the hard throb of sexual excitement.
“I was supposed to pay for dinner,” Jules said as he approached her. “Wasn’t that the deal? You get the room. I get dinner? Or does it hurt your delicate, male ego to let a woman pay the tab?”
Romeo had suspected she’d be ticked about him paying for dinner, but he didn’t give a fuck. He wasn’t letting her pay for their date, and besides, she looked hot as hell with her cheeks flushed in anger and those icy blue eyes narrowed at him. He’d have paid twice to see it.
He ignored her rather than respond, because he was still fighting down an attraction that was overwhelming to the point it almost scared him. He honestly couldn’t remember the last time he’d wanted a woman as badly. Instead he pulled out the key card the front desk had given him and reached around Jules to open the door.
She huffed indignantly as he pushed the door open. “I’m talking to you.”
“I heard you.”
“You genuinely disappointed me.” She sounded stricken as she followed behind him. “I thought you were different from the fellas I’m used to, but it turns out you’re the same and—” Romeo pushed the door closed behind her, and Jules turned when it clicked shut. “What’re you doing?”
Romeo stepped into her personal space and then leaned forward to breathe her in. The perfume she wore was dark and seductive rather than sweet and floral like most women wore. Jesus, this woman even smelled perfect.
When Romeo moved to kiss her, she turned her head. Her breathing was shallow, her body tense, but she obviously wasn’t inclined to give in—yet.
He bent down and whispered against the smooth line of her throat, “I didn’t pay for dinner to be a chauvinist. I did it because I enjoyed your company, and I felt like you were worth it. Is that so bad?”
Jules appeared unmoved by his impassioned plea. “You think you’re charming.”
“Sometimes,” Romeo admitted, a smile tugging at his lips. “But it’s still the truth. I wanna kiss you, Juliet. Look at me.”
“No.” Jules’s voice was a low rasp, sounding like the denial hurt. “Maybe this is a mistake. I thought about it while I was walking up here. This is all wrong and—”
She was going to be stubborn, so Romeo took the initiative and cupped her face in both of his large hands. He forced her to turn to him and studied her stunning features for one breathless moment. Her body tightened defensively, but she didn’t fight him as only the sound of their labored breathing filled the air. Jules’s eyes were wide, her cheeks more flushed than ever. Then she licked her full, lush bottom lip in a quick swipe of anticipation.
That was all the invitation he needed.
