Page 30 of King of Ruin

“I promise I’ll keep Maddie safe.”

“Okay,” Lucia says again, but she doesn’t sound certain. Which is weird because Lucia is always certain.

Roman hangs up the phone before I’ve even said goodbye, his arm still around me.

“You’re Roman Kincaid?” I thump his chest lightly with my hand. I’ve never been more unsure in my life. Is Roman what he seems to be or have I run from one beast straight into the arms of another?

CHAPTER ELEVEN

Maddie

“I am.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?” I hear the hurt lacing my voice. I just let this man touch me in ways no one has before. What little I thought I knew about him has been colored and I don’t know how to see him.

“Maddie,” he whispers and then he leans in to kiss me. I feel it coming and turn my head to the side so his lips land on my cheek. This conversation would be so much easier if I weren’t still mostly naked and pressed against his bare chest. “Try to understand.”

“I don’t. Not at all.”

His other hand settles just above the curve of my ass, his hand spreading out in a possessive hold that steals my breath. “Your date took my cousin.”

The air whooshes from my lungs. Because. Yeah. “I…”

“Imagine if it was Lucia,” he says and my stomach twists into knots.

“I…”

“It was an oversight on my part. I was not thinking clearly, I had a head injury, but I never lied to you. I introduced you to my brothers. I took you to my home. Do I seem like a man trying to hide truths from you?”

My arm wraps around his neck then, my fingers gliding over his hairline as I bite my lip. “No.”

He gives me a squeeze, though I swear I feel tension move through his muscles like a wave, down his body. “All right then.”

I swallow down a lump. “Thank you for catching me.”

He drops his forehead to mine, our breath mingling. “I’d never let you fall, Maddie.”

No tension this time, I feel the truth of the words right down to my bones. I’m melting into him then. Part of me still worries that I shouldn’t, but he offered to let Lucia live here. He caught me when I could have hurt myself, he…

He made me feel things no one has ever made me feel before. His mouth finds mine, and this time I don’t turn away. He gives me a soft, warm kiss that lingers and teases. It’s full of promise and, dare I say, affection, and it’s more than I ever imagined a kiss could be.

I have this thought that I could just give myself over to this man and damn the consequences. Whatever price I pay later will be worth the pleasure now.

His hands trace my hips, giving me a light squeeze at my waist and then skim up my ribs, his thumbs caressing the sides of my breasts.

I love the feel of him. His skin, the long length of his body, his large strong hands. I could drown in his touch.

He slides his hands up to my shoulders, down my arms and then over my back. Dipping lower, his palms caress the back of my legs before cupping my ass and pulling my hips into the cradle of his.

His tongue tangles with mine as the kiss goes on and on. I’m breathless with want as I wind my fingers into his hair, my body so open to him, I’m practically begging for more.

That’s when his phone rings. Again.

He doesn’t stop, the kiss lingering, but I feel the change as he slowly retracts, his body less molded to mine.

All too soon, he picks up his head, one of his hands leaving my body to grab the phone again. “Hello?”

I force myself not to sigh.