Page 31 of Romi
With so few of us in the room, the tension between Romi and myself was palpable. I knew Nonna was aware of it because she kept glancing between us. Thankfully, she didn’t say anything but instead entertained us with stories of her youth and the time she spent both in Italy and Russia, first with my mother and then with my mother and father. I loved hearing these tales from her. Romi did too, and after a while I was happy to see him finally relax and chat away much more like his usual self.
The tone of his voice was like a sexy caress which sent shivers throughout my body, so I tried hard to engage him in the conversation as much as possible. Every time he laughed tiny hairs on my arms stood straight up and I got goosebumps. I wanted to listen to him always. His accent really did things for me, just like everything else about him really.
Besides, he seemed far more comfortable talking to me with others present. I wanted to make use of that to remind him that I wasn’t the little girl he used to know anymore, and that as a grown-up woman, I knew my mind and what I wanted. It seemed to be working too, because the more we chatted about everyday things, the more relaxed he became and the more he let his guard down. I even caught him several times staring longingly at my mouth as I ate or spoke. It made me think he was imagining our almost kiss, and I hoped remembering our real one.
So even though he quickly disappeared again after we’d finished eating, in an obvious attempt to continue to avoid me, I couldn’t help feeling a renewed sense of hope. This time as he left I bit back a smirk. Tonight, I was going to confront Romi again and take some drastic action to force him to deal with us. I just need to pluck up the courage.
Grabbing the third glass of wine of the evening, I drank it quickly. Fortified with the extra bit of confidence a few glasses of wine gave me, I intended heading along to Romi’s office as soon as I could get away from Gracie and Nonna. He’d said he had work to do but I knew his earlier meetings were over and since Marko hadn’t returned yet, I knew I could finally get him alone and put my plan into action.
Unfortunately, I couldn’t seem to get away. Nonna had an errand to run, leaving Gracie by herself and seeing how anxious she was, I felt compelled to stay and keep her company.
She was worried about Ash which was completely endearing but unnecessary. I tried telling her that he would be fine. Miki, Vlad, and Luca too. The C was their space. It was designed by my dad who was great strategist and always planned for every eventuality. Miki had turned out to be so very like him and not just in looks. Everything to do with the C was created to make it easy for initially my dad, and now my brothers, to get away with murder, literally. So, I knew when they were there, they were in full control and as safe as they could be.
However, nothing I said seemed to help and she continued to ring her hands and chew nervously on her lips, so I did the only thing a good friend and possible future sister-in-law could do and spent the rest of the evening distracting her by binge watching some episodes of the Handmaidens Tale. Thankfully it did the trick, at least for her. My own thoughts kept drifting along the hall to Mr elusive and his sexy abs.
By the time she finally succumbed to exhaustion and headed to bed, it was late, and I was chapping at the bit to see my man. The minute she disappeared up the stairs, I turned and hurried down the hall towards his office.
After knocking on the door, I opened it a crack, but the room was empty. I knew he hadn’t left because I had positioned myself in the lounge in a way I could keep an eye on the front door to ensure he didn’t escape without me being aware. So, where the heck was he? I pursed my lips and frowned.
There were only a few options. He had either gone to bed or for a late night session in the gym. Either was an option, but there was one last possibility. I hadn’t noticed Marko return while Gracie and I were in the lounge, but he might have returned while we were still eating. It wouldn’t be the first time he had his shot at the C then returned to complete some work he was doing. He certainly had plenty to deal with just now with looking into these attacks on our businesses and since Romi often helped him with stuff, he could be in Marko’s office with him. I decided to check out Marko’s office since it was only along the hall before I went anywhere else.
As I closed Romi’s door, Ivor, one of the security guys, headed around the corner. He saw me and walked towards me a huge grin spreading across his face. I shivered and not in a good way. He was handsome enough, and I could see how he would be a hit with the ladies with his fit body and dangerous vibe, however, I wasn’t attracted to him. He was nothing compared to my Mr Sexy Abs, also there was something in his eyes that made me think he wasn’t the charmer he tried to appear.
Ivor winked at me as he approached. I sighed and tried to hide my discomfort behind a friendly smile. He always tried to flirt with me and while it was a bit of an ego boost it also made me uncomfortable as hell, but he worked as a security guard in my home, so I always tried to keep our interactions light-hearted and not give him any ideas. He seemed the type who would easily mistake a little friendly flirting for a deeper interest, and I was very keen to avoid that.
We chatted for a couple of minutes, but I was too distracted with thoughts of Romi to really listen to Ivor. I just made some non-committal uh huh sounds and laughed at one of his stupid jokes then yawned widely before saying goodnight and walking away from him, trying hard to suppress the feeling of unease that slid down my spine as I felt his gaze follow me.
I quickly stepped inside Marko’s office in a bid to hide from Ivor’s stare and was glad to see both Marko and Romi were there staring at computer screens.
“Hey! You’re back!” I said to Marko.
“I was about to head to bed. Are you guys going to be working much longer?” I asked.
“I’ll be busy for a while yet, I think,” Marko told me, yawning but not looking up from his screen.
“Me too,” Romi said.
“Okay, night,” I said.
“Night, Sonia,” Marko replied absently, still engrossed in whatever he was doing.
“Night,” Romi said, but I held his gaze and gestured with my head towards the door, letting him know I wanted to see him outside before I dipped back out and waited a short distance away for him to come out.
My insides churned as nerves begun to get the better of me the minutes dragging on when he didn’t appear. I was beginning to think he wasn’t going to when he finally emerged, striding towards me with purpose.
My eyes narrowed at the look of determination on his face, which gave me a prelude to his thoughts. He was going to keep denying us unless I did something to change his mind. So, the minute he reached my side, I grabbed his arm and dragged him into the nearest room which was our games room. As soon as we were inside, I closed the door and pulled his head down towards me, kissing him on the lips before I could chicken out.
The second our lips met, I felt him startle, freezing in place but I didn’t stop. I continued brushing my lips over his. They were so soft, yet firm, and I couldn’t help emitting a little groan at how good they felt. His hands came up and I thought he was about to push me away. I couldn’t let that happen, so I upped my game and darted my tongue along his bottom lip and suddenly to my surprise and relief, he kissed me back. And what a kiss!
If I had thought our previous kiss was amazing, this one blew my mind. He kissed me wildly, attacking my lips with relish until I could barely breath, my head was light, and the world fell away until there was nothing but the two of us. I moaned into his mouth and that seemed to spur him on even more. He grabbed my bum and squeezed, pressing me close, holding me tightly against him and I couldn’t miss his arousal. My panties were getting wetter by the second.
He kept kissing me as he walked me back a few steps until my legs hit against something. My mind bombarded me with images of being taken over the billiard table. Oh my!
Without breaking our kiss, Romi pushed me down on it and lunged over me. My heart hammered at the knowledge that my brief flash of fantasy might be about to become a reality. He slipped his hand down between us and cupped me through my leggings. I pushed myself against his palm knowing he would feel my wetness. He groaned and moved his hand, slipping it into my waistband. I gasped in pleasure as he finally touched me where I had longed to be touched.
“Oh,” I cried, as he started stroking my sex, matching the rhythm of his fingers with the rhythm of his tongue in my mouth.
My whole body shook with how good it felt as he stroked my clit, making me arch into him and moan louder. He broke the kiss sliding his lips from my mouth to my jaw then planting little kisses all over my neck.