Roman: Book 2 (The Hunter Brothers Series) (5 page)

“I love you,
Roman, I wish you hadn’t left,” Tyler said as he managed to wriggle himself
free from Roman’s now loosened grip.

“I had to,” he
said simply as he resumed his position next to me.

They spent the
next hour discussing how the day had gone as I sat quietly listening and
feeling guilty that I’d missed it. Scarlett had turned up with her father, much
to everyone’s annoyance. Aside from a curt nod and a brief handshake from
Lucas, the Hunter family had avoided them completely, and they’d left straight
after the service.

“I wonder why they
didn’t come to Mum’s,” Tyler said as Roman stared at him.

“Are you kidding,
Tyler? Dad would have put Everett in the fucking ground if he’d shown his face
after what he did,” Roman laughed as Tyler put his head in his hands.

“I still can’t
believe she had an affair,” he said as Roman walked across to him, resting his
arm over his brother’s shoulder.

“It was a long
time ago, Ty, well before you were even born. Don’t let it taint your memories
of her and forget about Everett. Dad won that battle,” he said, patting his
back and smiling at him. It was touching and affectionate and made me warm to him
even more.

“It’s funny, but I
have some memories of that time. They’re sketchy, but things changed. Dad was
never around and then all of a sudden he was. He started doing things with me
and Charlie that he’d never done before. I was much younger than Dex, probably
three, and Charlie would have been about two. I obviously had no idea what was
going on, but I think riding out on the lake with Dad and Charlie was probably
my first clear memory of him,” Lucas said sadly as Jess kissed him softly,
resting against his chest as he pulled her tight.

All the fears I’d
had about Lucas had been unfounded and my heart clenched, smiling at my sister
and glad that life had finally thrown her a break.
 
Lucas’s phone beeped suddenly as he looked at
the incoming text, frowning deeply.

“Charlie isn’t
coming back tonight,” he said as I took a sharp intake of breath that didn’t go
unnoticed. That could only mean one thing. Charlie Hunter was back with
Scarlett and there was a niggling part of my brain that let me know I wasn’t
remotely happy about that fact.

Chapter Three

“I’m going to go
to the lodge now,” I tried to smile, rising from the chair as Lucas rose too.

 
“I’ll get your bag and walk you down there,”
he said as I shook my head.

“No need, unless
there’s a headless huntsman on the loose in the grounds.” I looked outside
across the dark acres and suddenly decided that a bit of company might not be a
bad thing. The whole ghost business had started out as a bit of a cover up, but
there was definitely something iffy about this place. If I wasn’t careful my
imagination would go into overdrive and I’d wind up scaring myself shitless.

“No, but I’ll walk
you anyway,” he smiled as I hugged my sister, deciding not to hug Tyler because
that would mean I’d have to hug Roman. The very thought sent my heart hammering
through my chest and my palms sweating in a strange autonomic response that was
I trying desperately hard to conceal.

“Goodnight
everyone,” I said as they mumbled their goodbyes, all except Roman who just
stared at me, running his tongue across his firm pink lips and silently
suggesting it might not be goodnight for the two of us. At least that’s what I
hoped he was suggesting, following Lucas out into the hallway and shoving the
thought to the back of my mind. What the hell was I thinking? He was Charlie’s
brother.

He wasn’t like the
rest of them and I doubted that had anything to do with genetics. For all Tyler
Hunter was the budding rock star, there was only one badass in this family and
Roman Hunter was it. He was edgy, unpredictable and just about the sexiest man
I had ever laid eyes on.

I sat there
stoking the fire that Lucas had built and wondering whether to go to my room. I
should, I knew I should. Close the door and try to sleep, knowing that soon
he’d be here, and ignore the fact that beautiful man would be laid in the next
room. I had to do it whether I wanted to or not. If I was sitting here when he
walked in, there was every chance that with one move he’d have me naked and I’d
be powerless to resist. I’d felt it twice already – every cell in my body on
fire for a man I’d never met before and I rarely felt that. Who was I kidding?
I had
never
felt like this.

I wasn’t like
Jess, I was a realist. Unobtainable men were one thing; Roman Hunter was a
level above. Unfortunately, he was also the first man ever to make me seriously
consider abandoning my list. I knew enough already to realise he didn’t tick
those damn boxes.

But he definitely
ticked one. There was hot and then there was Roman. Christ, I needed to get a
handle on this.

He was a lone
rider, an independent soul and it was instantly evident he wasn’t the type to
be tamed and it wouldn’t just be women. He was exactly the kind of man from
whom a girl like me should run a mile. I wanted the whole package. There was no
way I’d be left like mum or Jessica, penniless and struggling, raising kids
with no support from a man. It had destroyed my mother. She loved us and she
tried her best, but she was dead by her mid thirties, consumed by an aggressive
disease, never having had it good. Life was not to be endured; it was to be
enjoyed. Jess was getting that now and I was delighted for her, but it hadn’t
always been that way.

I made my way into
the guest room, pulling on the black negligee I’d brought for my trip and
crawled under the covers. It was cold in here. I guessed it was seldom used in the
winter months. Already I missed the glow of the fire, wanting to curl up on the
huge chair in front of it, with one of the blankets that was laid out on the
dresser in the corner, but I couldn’t risk it. As much as the thought of Roman
Hunter was seriously appealing, it was also seriously dangerous.

My stomach flipped
as I heard the front door open, slamming shut with such force that it would
have woken me even if I had been able to sleep, wondering what the hell had
gone on in that house since I’d left.

I heard the liquid
being decanted, once, twice, three times, laying there and desperate to go and
see him, but knowing there’d be only one ending if I did. Thoughts of Charlie
entered my head. I’d sent him back to his girlfriend and I wasn’t sure why I’d
done that. It seemed like the right thing to do at the time, but from the
conversation in that room after he’d left I was worried I’d done him a major
disservice. There was an undeniable part of me that stung deeply when that text
came through. We were friends and that was all, but I couldn’t deny that I’d
hoped we would be more. That chance had gone now. Charlie had seized his
opportunity and maybe it was my chance to do the same as my mind flashed back
to the graveyard and that solitary walnut coffin, resting in a six foot hole.

 
The crash of the glass against what sounded
like the brickwork of the fireplace shocked me back from my thoughts as my
heart pounded in my chest. I rose, moving to the mirror to check what I looked
like. This wasn’t normal behaviour for me, but the pull of Roman Hunter was
just too strong. I wanted to make sure he was okay; at least that’s what I was
telling myself.

 
I wanted to make him okay, wanted to taste
him, to feel him, to know if that electric connection I’d felt in the graveyard
and again in the house was a one way street or if he felt it too. He wouldn’t
be a keeper and I was playing with fire. This was Lucas and Charlie’s brother,
but the lure was filling my cells with every passing second, my blood coursing
through my veins with an excitement that was palpable. Before I could stop
myself, I was making my way to the lounge to see just exactly what was
happening by that fire.

I stopped dead in
the doorway as he turned and stared, intense blue eyes burning into mine as he
stalked towards me. I grabbed the wooden frame for support under the glare that
sent my heart hammering, my stomach spinning into a thousand knots and my nerve
cells stratospheric. He was breathing hard, dangerous, dark, menacing and
angry, never breaking his hold on my gaze as he moved closer and closer,
stopping only a foot away. I could feel the rage radiating from his body, like
a coiled spring ready to explode. It was a unique sensation, as terrifying as
it was thrilling and I couldn’t speak, swallowing hard and unable to breathe. God,
this was intense.

“I suggest that
unless you want my cock buried deep inside you in the next two fucking minutes
that you turn around and go back to your room,” he said, the fierce aggression
in his voice unwavering as I tried to process his words. There was no
seduction, no romance, just the threat of pure unadulterated carnal fucking.
Lust, not love, not friendship, no kindness, but brutal, no holds barred sex
that would batter our senses as well as our bodies and for a second I couldn’t
move.

I should leave,
but my feet were immobile. I was powerless to movement, to everything but the
eyes of Roman Hunter that were currently burning so deeply into mine that I
wanted exactly that. I wanted him to unleash that barrage of raging
testosterone against me, to take out his anger, his need and his sexual
aggression on my body. I stood there, holding my ground and throwing out my
silent challenge. There was only one thought my scrambled brain could process.
Seize the day.

I closed my eyes,
taking a deep breath when his mouth crashed down on mine in a move so violent,
so powerful and so unprecedented that my legs buckled beneath me as he shoved
me roughly against the wall, grasping my head in his hands as I kissed him
back. He was claiming my mouth like he needed to kiss me as much as he needed
the very air in his lungs. My hands reached up, and I was certain at that
moment I had never felt so possessed, so wanted or so desired.

I moaned against
the soft lips, crushing mine in an intense connection, our tongues darting and
entwining, tasting one another and Roman Hunter tasted good. He tasted of brandy
and danger as arousal pooled between my thighs and his hands found the straps
of my negligee, releasing it to the floor as he pinned me against the wall with
that skilful mouth.

He ran his hands
firmly over my flesh, moaning against my eager mouth as he pulled away, casting
his burning black gaze across my naked skin and ripping off my thong with one
quick tear as the satin dug into my skin. I pulled him back towards me, as one
hand found my hair, the other sliding between my thighs as I spread them open
for him, gasping as he slapped my exposed wet pussy hard with the palm of his
hand. The harsh shock of the contact sent delicious shockwaves pulsating
through my cells. It was aggressive and it was demeaning, but I cried out as he
did it again, the feeling of pure all consuming pleasure almost bringing me
apart right there in the hall.

He continued to
kiss me, alternating between soft nips and firm passionate possession, as
intoxicating as it was addictive. I was moaning loudly, wanting more relief
from my throbbing awakened cells as he lifted his knee between my legs. “Wider”
he said as I obeyed, splaying myself as he undid his fly, rolling on a condom
swiftly and expertly before plunging his cock inside me so forcefully I
couldn’t breathe.

“Fuck, Roman,” I
gasped as he pounded my body, hard and deep, grunting his pure carnal
appreciation as he held my face, staring into my eyes and I knew he was as lost
as I was. It was intense, all consuming, every cell in my body singing with
life for this glorious man and his pleasurable assault on my senses. He thrust
so hard that my feet left the ground, wrapping them around his waist as the
wall took the weight of my back that was scraping against it. My brain was overpowered
with a million sensations, all thought lost. He held me tightly as I arched my
body, throwing back my head and screaming his name. He grabbed my hair, pulling
me to him, enveloping my mouth with that powerful kiss, heating my lips and
stilling as we unravelled together, gasping, panting and breathless.

I had never
experienced anything quite like the need that had consumed me then, utterly
powerless to resist the solid wall of muscle in front of me that would deliver
none of my usual pre-requisite qualities and be gone from my life as quickly as
he’d arrived. It didn’t matter. I’d wanted him in that moment like I’d never wanted
anyone, thought and logic crashing around me as sex took hold.

He said nothing, still
holding me up in his arms; carrying me through the hall and kicking open the
door to his room as I curled against him. The heat of his solid chest warmed me
against the cold before he threw me gently down on the bed. He was still fully
clothed as I watched him undress, bathed in the glow of the moonlight through
the window and he was absolutely beautiful.

His olive skin was
deep tanned from his time overseas, hard taut muscles and smooth skin, peppered
with tens of scars, littering his chest and his back. This was a man who’d seen
action and it was incredibly arousing. I was licking my lips, gazing up at him
as he discarded the rest of his clothes on the floor, watching me closely. “You
like rough sex?” he asked as I stared up him.

“I liked that,” I smiled,
tilting my head as he held me with that searing gaze.

“That wasn’t
rough, Chastity, that was pure fucking lust. I’m just asking you how you like
it,” he said, a small smile playing around his mouth as his cock began to stir
again, moving onto the bed beside me. He perched on his elbow, halfway over me,
as he took my erect nipples one by one into his mouth, drawing the hard buds
out even further and I groaned out loud. “You’re very beautiful,” he said as I
lifted my head to kiss his shoulder, running my hand across a broad white scar
on his abdomen.

“What’s this?” I
asked gently, stroking the raised skin beneath my finger, moving my hands upwards
to the next one on his shoulder. “Knife wound,” he said as I held his darkening
gaze.

 
“And this?”

“Bullet wound,” he
said as I gasped out loud and he captured my mouth in his, muffling the sounds
of my shock as I melted into his mouth. I continued the ascent of my fingers as
he kissed my neck, firing my skin to life beneath his touch, sending shivers to
the heart of my being as I threw my head back, touching another scar.

“And this?” I
breathed hoarsely as he changed sides, weaving a trail of butterfly kisses
before whispering “Shrapnel” against my ear, climbing on top of me as I wrapped
my legs around him.

“Not yet,” he
smiled against my mouth. “This time I want to savour you, taste you, feel every
inch inside of you while you come apart for me, gorgeous,” he said, unwrapping
my legs and trailing a soft path of kisses over my breasts, grazing my nipples
with his teeth before continuing his delicious journey over my stomach and
holding my thighs with his hands.

I wasn’t sure how he
was doing it, hard hands that seemed to rough up my skin before soothing it
down in a touch as sweet and soft as silk, reading each reaction, feeling his
way and firing up my body in a way no one had ever done before, and it was
incredible. I’d known it instantly, the second I saw him leaning up against
that tree that his touch would be wonderful, but nothing had prepared me for
this. This was a whole other level of bliss.

He looked up at me
as he buried his head between my legs, holding my hips firmly in place as he
licked and sucked, following the rhythm as I rocked against him, crying out
loud at the glorious pressure on my swollen pussy. Fuck, Roman Hunter was
intense.