Page 79 of Prelude To You

“Ask your supervisor,” Roman said in a barely controlled tone. “And you were just incredibly rude to my companion. Please apologize to her.”

That was a lot to unpack.WhowasRoman?

“I’m sorry ma’am,” the assistant stammered. “I stepped out of line.”

I tried to smile. “Thanks. It’s fine. Really.”

Roman circled my waist as he led me to the exit. “Are you okay?”

I nodded yes.But I wasn’t okay.And it had nothing to do with the bitchy assistant. “You keep having to save me from these people who threaten to ruin my good time.”

He answered me with a kiss on the cheek. “No one harms you. No one.”

Does that include you?I wanted to ask him, but I didn’t.

He handed me a gleaming black keycard, his voice hushed. “When you get to the foyer, turn left. On the very end of the elevators is a smaller elevator that goes directly into the penthouse suite. Use this card for the elevator… Let me finish some business here and I’ll meet you up there.”

I nodded and untangled myself from his grip. I left without looking back, one foot in front of the other, wondering what the hell I was doing.

When I reached the end of the hallway I was back in the foyer, the opulence ongoing despite my self-respect having been trampled to smithereens into the plush carpet.

This was my fork in the road. To my left were the elevators. To my right, at the far end of the foyer, was the exit and my salvation. I could call Meg and Felix from the concierge desk. They’d take me home where it was safe, away from all this.

It might take a while to forget Roman, but I was almost sure it wasn’t entirely impossible and that, eventually, I could.

I turned on my heels, facing the hallway again. Roman stood at the auction room entrance, hands casually in his pants pockets, mouth pursed, watching me with primal focus. Perhaps agonizing over which direction I would finally choose.

I didn’t have to be near him to know the vein in his temple was throbbing. He smiled, my pulse quivered, and for a moment I wondered what he would have felt had his thumb been resting in the hollow of my throat.

His smile faded and he did something curious; he strolled back into the room without waiting to see which way I went. It took me a few seconds to understand why he did that. And when it came to me, I didn’t know whether to hate him or admire him. He knew I was wavering, and he also knew that if he vanishedfrom my sight, his sudden absence might stir a longing in me to see him again.

And he was right, so damn right. It felt like someone had cut off my oxygen flow. I needed to see him again, I needed to breathe. Even if I knew my downfall wasn’t far behind.

21

ROMAN

“When I look at you, this is what I see.”

I betrayed my carefully guarded feelings when the words spilled from me in such a perfect moment of truth. And that was the moment everything changed. The tears welling in Isabel’s eyes, washing away her defiance and resolve.

The cameo was Isabel incarnated, carved out of shell, and my admission to her left me as surprised as it left her defenseless. It didn’t have so much to do with ravishing her anymore, as it did spending more time with her.

All these feelings suddenly barreling out of the woodwork left me more than mystified. Whether it was worth dissecting later remained to be seen. For now, all I wanted was for her to stay.

I watched her stroll to the end of the hallway, relishing the way she moved. As if the air parted to make way for her. With her being next to me the entire time, I rarely got the whole view, and what an exquisite view it was.

When she stopped at the end of the hallway, considering her options, dread took hold of my insides. She glanced right and then left. And to her right again; her chance to flee.

She pivoted on her heels and stared back at me, a thousand unspoken words drifting between us. I realized that if I stayed in the hallway, and watched her make her ultimate choice, it might all be over in the next breath. If I went back inside the auction room, I could give myself a little more time to anticipate finding her in the suite.

Then it came to me. Disappearing from her sight so suddenly might induce a need in her to see me again. Desperation made a fool out of me. But if that meant she’d be waiting upstairs…

There were fewer people in the auction room. I was the only one waiting for my purchases to be packed and bagged. Everyone else would have theirs securely delivered.

A familiar voice startled me, hissing through gritted teeth. “What are you doing, Roman?”

Steven stood behind me, as ruthless as he was intimidating. I pitied anyone who ever tried to do me harm. But for the first time in fourteen years, it irritated me that he was just alwaysthere, always somewhere in my vicinity. Even if I knew he was just doing his job.

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