The curtains subtly move when wind thrums against my bedroom window. I need fresh air, but I'm too tired to move a muscle. Feels like we are burning as Roman and I lay side by side, watching the shadows on the ceiling.

"You'll be the end of me," he whispers, bending an arm over his head.

"Why are you even here?" There's nothing in my voice. It's empty. Maybe a little resentment, and heartbreak... Maybe.

"You texted. You needed me," Roman replies, shifting his gaze to my face. "I don't know how I know."

The howling wind fills the silence. I sigh, throwing a leg over his hairy ones. I can't hate him no matter how much I try.

"Remember the day we ate tacos at the park?" Roman asks softly, then closes his eyes. His smile seems ten times lighter now; his features rested. "I'd like to be that man. A simple man. Carefree, and full of hope."

"I liked him too," I say, holding his hand.

He parts his eyelids and starts gulping, loudly, as if he wants to swallow the rest of his words. Then drawing a long breath, he twines his fingers around mine. "I was on my way to Harvard when Dad's news arrived. When he...died. I had to go to the hospital to identify his body. Mom was a mess. Nate was a dumb teen. He was stuck at the airport—couldn't even figure out where the hospital was. We had a big funeral. The press. The board. Strangers my father had helped that we never knew about. Everyone came."

He takes a short break. His irises move rapidly as if he's looking into his own mind to retrieve the memories. "None of us understood what was happening at first," he continues. "It felt like Dad was gone for a business trip and he'd come back. But then Mom started selling the estates for a quarter of their worth. She sold everything, until all we had left was the magazine."

Roman rubs his forehead. "The lawyers, partners, banks, debts... Everything fell like dominos. I was the only one left standing." He squeezes my hand. "I had to keep standing."

He falls silent, but he doesn't need to talk. I know the rest of his story by heart. He had to build walls around him to become invincible.

"A fortress..." Roman says, echoing my thoughts. "It's a price I had to pay. I had to focus. I had to—"

"Sounds lonely," I whisper.

Roman whips a gaze at me and nods. His chest starts rising and falling faster. His jaw tightens. I hate the pain in his eyes.

"It doesn't have to be this lonely, Roman."

Grunting, he climbs on top of me again. His lips start leaving wet kisses across mine, then move to my cheek. He hums, tucking his nose under my ear, and my skin flares with instant goosebumps.

"I want to do the right thing," he says.

The determination in his voice sends a kick to my gut. "What do you mean...?"

His caramel eyes lock with mine, and capture my soul. "I'll figure things out," he says. "I'll find a way for us to be together. Just give me time."

"Okay..." I whisper shakily.

"Okay," he echoes as he brings his lips closer to mine.

His breathing gets heavier and carries me to that state of bliss every time he is near. His hand closes around my breast. And when he pinches my nipple, I whimper in need.

"I need you too," he whispers. "I need you, Abigail."

My nails dig into his shoulder. His tongue curls around the curve of my neck and trails down my cleavage. He looks down at the nipple he's pinching and then closes his mouth around my entire breast. My back arches to feed him more. The way his teeth graze my sensitive skin makes me want to scream and pull my hair. Being under him, surrendering to Roman's burning touch is the sweetest torture. And he loves being my torturer as he kneads my other breast. Then he switches to my other nipple to make me moan and twist under him all over again.

My fingertips graze his short hair.

I need more. I need him. All of him.

Winding my legs around his hips, I tip Roman over. And when his back touches the sheets, I climb on top of him.

He pops my breast out of his mouth and watches my hand move around his chest. The thin layer of hair crunches under my touch.

What does his skin taste like? I slide further down and run my tongue right where his heart is beating. Salty, grainy, and soapy with hints of sweat.

His tip touches my wet core every time I lean forward to lick and kiss Roman's neck, ears, chin... I hold his face, and then, capturing his lips, I slip my tongue into his mouth. My hips glide further south. He is between my legs now—hard and silky. I grind myself along his length.

"Roman!" I flip my hair and close my eyes. This is heavenly. Can he feel it too?

He reaches for a condom, and carries it between his legs to slip it over his erection. Then he sits up and tries to get on top.

I push down his shoulders. "No."

And before he can object, I kiss him. Deep. So deep that my thighs start shaking. "Let me ride you," I beg, between my kisses, against his lips. "Once. Let me take control."

I move my lips to his cheek and down to his neck. His oaky perfume consumes me. I run my hand between our bodies and grab his cock, rubbing his tip between my folds.

Roman is breathing heavily. His eyes are hooded. His face is tense, but it is the best sight I've ever seen. At that moment, he is merely a man. A man who is aching for his woman.

I rise on my knees and guide him to my entrance. His sinks in, only by an inch. Roman's gaze is locked between our legs. I start riding his tip, but I know he wants more. So much more...

"Abby—just fuck—oh—fuck!" His head shoots up and drops back on the pillow when I slowly start lowering myself on his length.

His loss of control is enough to push me to the edge. Feeling him between my walls is magical. He is magic.

I lean forward. My nipples graze against his chest when I whisper into his ear, "My Roman." And that's all it takes for him to grab my hips and pull me down on his erection. He is in. Deep. All the way. His back arches as he keeps still for one moment, then he wraps his arms around me and moves his hips, hard.

I'm still on top, but he's in control. He doesn't let me move, sit up, or ride him. I've awoken his beast—he's grunting, digging his fingers into my skin, keeping me perfectly still as he slams himself in and out of me.

I'm going to come soon if he fucks me like this. I manage to squeeze my hands out of his bear hug, and press his wrists across his chest. Then I push my hips down, forcing him to stay still.

"Roman..." I demand. His eyes are still shut. His face is red and squirmed. He is breathing heavily, trying to move his legs left and right for the friction he's craving.

I guide his wrists above his head, and lean forward to his face. "Roman, look at me."

He opens his eyes and stares into my soul. Can he see himself in there? I can feel him roam in the depths of my chest. He moans in need and watches me rise on top of him.

Keeping our gazes locked, I start rolling my hips slowly. My mouth drops open. My fingers run around his stomach. He is filling me perfectly. This moment is divine.

Roman sits up, and I wrap my arms around his shoulders. His nose grazes against my neck, breathing me in. His grunts escalate. He grabs my hips and moves them faster.

"Abby, baby..." His fingers trace my spine and close around the back of my neck. "My Abby." His squeeze forces me to look into his eyes.

Suddenly, I'm sucked in and lost in his darkness. My bedroom disappears. We are in a different world now. Pitch black. The air is lighter here, and we are above it all. Or down below... I don't know where we are anymore.

Roman's entire being rises before me as a dark silhouette. He is a universe with shooting stars. His torn edges are flaming fibers, and they are reaching out to reunite with me. His missing piece.

I open my arms and welcome him home.

Roman presses his lips against mine. We are one and burning together, heart, body, and soul. I throw my head up in ecstasy. I'm jumping up and down on him, taking him to the hilt. I'm complete.

"Roman!" I scream his name.

"Abby..." He's panting. "Come for me, baby."

I shut my eyes as my body trembles. Roman screams out my name and shoots his stars.

I'm still jumping. My core is clenching around him. I don't know how to stop, and I don't want to stop. I don't want this moment, this connection, to end. We can deal with the aftermath in the morning.

Roman tips me over, lays me down on my back and keeps thrusting into me until this giant wave of pleasure comes to an end.

My hands are pinned above my head. My wrists hurt under Roman's tight grasp. My thighs are burning with the extreme workout.

This is the sweetest pain.

Roman raises his head. His thin lips are parted—he wets them with his tongue. His fast breathing heats my chin.

"Look at me," he demands gutturally.

I drag my gaze from his shiny lips to his now amber eyes.

"I'm in love with you," he says.

A bitter smile forms in the corners of my lips. My heart starts beating faster, and sets my cheeks on fire. "I love you too, Roman."

His hold around my wrists loosens as he pulls out, takes the condom off and then lies on his side. I nestle in his arms and tuck my head into his chest.

My thighs are sticky. But I'm too tired to clean up or let my thoughts run wild about what we've just experienced.

Roman strokes my hair. His chest rises and then falls when he sighs. "You'll be the end of me," he says.

I tighten my hold around him—scared that if I loosen it, he'll slip out of my grasp and drift back to darkness forever. "I love you, Roman."

He hums and pulls me deeper into his arms.

I close my eyes and let the rhythm of his heartbeat carry me to sleep.