and because I couldn’t help myself—I’d slipped my hand into his just as I had when he’d been unconscious. I hadn’t even known that he was awake until his fingers had suddenly tightened on mine.
Startled, I’d met his eyes, and the heat I’d seen there had more than matched what I was feeling. The sharp flood of desire was something I’d never experienced before. My whole body went into a meltdown, and my mind had emptied and filled with Roman.
“Come here.” His voice had been raw, hungry, and there was a question in his tone that I’d answered by sitting down on the bed next to him. He’d moved quickly then, levering himself up and moving his free hand to the back of my neck to draw me even closer until his mouth was only a breath away from mine.
Time had seemed to slow as everything about him flooded my senses. His eyes had been so beautifully dark. Had I noticed that before? And he’d smelled of soap, simple, basic. Wonderful. I could feel the press of each one of his fingers against the skin at the back of my neck.
I’m not sure who moved first, but our mouths made contact. It wasn’t a kiss really—just the gentlest brush of lips against lips. But the pleasure was so intense, the need to have more so huge that when he’d suddenly dropped his hand and drew back, I’d wanted to cry out in protest. But before I could make a sound, someone had spoken from behind me.
“Good morning, Philly. I’m beginning to believe that Roman’s recovery depends on your visits.”
Roman’s father. I’d taken a moment to gather my thoughts before I turned to him and managed a smile.
I hadn’t slept for two nights as I’d relived those torrid moments and fantasized about what might have happened if we hadn’t been interrupted…
Though I’d visited him each day, we hadn’t been alone again. Finally, this morning, I’d reached a decision. It was high time I took action. I wasn’t a sixteen-year-old with a schoolgirl crush. I was a woman, and I knew what I wanted.
Even now, I wanted to go into the room and touch him, to strip him out of that thin hospital gown and run my hands over that smooth skin, those taut muscles—
Roman rose suddenly from the chair. Through the slightly opened back of the hospital gown, I caught a glimpse of bare buttocks before I whirled away from the door and pressed my back against the wall. Ruthlessly, I tried to gather my thoughts, and rev up my momentum. I dragged up all the arguments I’d made to myself in the past two days, mentally ticking them off on my fingers. He’d very nearly died. I might have missed my chance of making love with Roman Oliver forever. But the Fates had spared him. The Angelis family has always put a lot of store in the Fates. Surely the fact that Roman was alive was a sign that I should do something.
Not for the first time I wished that I’d inherited my aunt Cass’s power to see into the future. Psychic powers run strong in the Angelis family—especially in the women. Aunt Cass believed that the power could be traced back all the way to the Oracle at Delphi. Even my three brothers possessed some kind of clairvoyance. But my psychic ability seemed limited to the work I did with animals. I’d always had a special knack for communicating with them mentally. Some people were skeptical about my special connection with animals, but because of the pets I was able to help at the vet hospital where I worked, my reputation was growing more and more.
Animals I understood. It was people I didn’t always get. So I didn’t have a clue about what would happen when I propositioned Roman Oliver.
Nerves knotted in my stomach. A part of me wanted to race right back home. But I was twenty-three; Roman was twenty-nine. What were we waiting for? Drawing in a deep breath, I turned, opened the door of Roman’s room and walked in.
He was back in bed with most of his body discreetly covered by the sheet, and he was reading what looked to be some business papers.
“Philly.” Glancing up, he sent me a smile. The kind of brotherly smile he’d been giving me for so many years. My stomach sank, but I moved toward the bed.
“Am I interrupting?”
He glanced down at the stack of papers. “A lot of things have been piling up on my desk, and I bribed my personal assistant to smuggle some work in to me.” He met my eyes again. “But I have some time for my most frequent visitor.”
For a moment, our eyes merely held, and I thought for an instant I saw a flicker of something. My heart leaped.
It’s now or never, Philly. Go for it.
“I came here to say…I have something that I want you to know.” I’d prepared a little speech. But every time I was with Roman, I had difficulty organizing my thoughts. I couldn’t help remembering what had almost happened the last time we were alone in this room. What if I stopped talking? What if I just walked to the bed and pressed my mouth to his?
“Yes?”
I caught myself twisting my fingers, something I’d stopped doing when I was in junior high. I felt a sudden surge of anger at myself. Why was I still hesitating? “I came here to talk about us and about what happened two days ago just before your father walked in.”
Roman opened his mouth, but I held up a hand. “Please. Let me finish. I know that we’ve known each other a long time. And for a lot of that time, I’ve had a kind of schoolgirl crush on you.” Get to the point, Philly. “But my feelings for you have changed. I’m very attracted to you and I want to make love with you.”
For a moment, Roman said nothing, and I couldn’t read anything in his expression. Finally, he responded, “Philly, I want you to know that I care a great deal about you, in much the same way that I care for my sisters, Juliana and Sadie.”
Pain struck—a hard sucker punch to my gut. I might not have been able to say another word if a surge of temper hadn’t followed. Hands fisted on my hips, I strode toward the bed. “It wasn’t brotherly affection I saw in your eyes two days ago, and I didn’t imagine your mouth brushing against mine. If your father hadn’t walked into the room, we would have kissed and a whole lot more.”
I saw another flicker in his eyes. Of desire? Or pity?
“I’m sorry. I was afraid you might have misinterpreted that, and I should have said something sooner. I was just waking up, and I thought for a moment you were someone else. Someone I’ve been dating.”
For a moment, I couldn’t think, couldn’t breathe. The second slap of pain was too consuming. It pounded into my heart like a fist.
But I didn’t have to say anything—Roman was talking. I saw his lips moving, but only caught bits and pieces—something about how he thought of me as family, loved me like a sister. And that he couldn’t lead me on but it was a good thing I’d brought it up so that we could clear the air. And then he apologized.
I nearly saw red. I’d spent most of my twenty-three years learning to control my temper. But this time, I was grateful for it because it helped me deal with the pain. Roman was dead-on right about the fact that it was a good thing I’d brought the subject up. Because now I had my answer—even though it wasn’t the one I’d wanted.
Pride ran deep in the Angelis family, and I didn’t think I’d ever needed it more. Squaring my shoulders, I said, “I won’t bother you again.”
Then, somehow I made it out of the room.
ROMAN
