Page 71 of Bound By Blood and Lies

I shift and his breathing changes behind me like he’s drifting closer to waking. Roman’s hand moves against my stomach, his open palm sliding across the soft skin there before settling over my womb like he’s protecting the baby. He does it again; this time his thumb brushes lightly across my skin.

I can’t believe he accepted the pregnancy without any hesitation. There were no questions, no anger, not even a flicker of doubt. There was only the certainty in his voice when he told me it didn’t matter whose blood ran through our child. Most people would have paused. Needed time to think through something that complicated, but Roman didn’t even blink. My hand drifts down to rest lightly over his where it covers my stomach as my fingers trace the roughness of his knuckles.

I need to know who the father is. I don’t know why the feeling sits so stubbornly inside my chest, but it does. Roman has made it clear that it won’t change anything for him, and part of me believes him, yet the question lingers in the back of my mind. Maybe it’s preparation. Maybe it’s knowing what I’m walking into before this child arrives. Maybe it’s simply the need for the truth. Whatever the reason, I know I won’t be able to ignore it forever.

Roman’s palm shifts again across my stomach, and the movement pulls my attention back to him. My lips curve faintly into the pillow as I let my body relax into his hold once more. I think I could stay like this for hours. Curled in the quiet of theroom with Roman’s arms wrapped around me as the rest of the world waits outside the door. After everything the last few weeks have taken from me, the simple comfort of lying here beside him feels fragile and precious.

Safe.

I stretch carefully, wincing as the pull of it sends a dull ache across my back. The shift pushes me back into Roman. He inhales sharply behind me as his hips shift, pressing him firmly against me. The heat of him against my back makes me squirm. Even through the thin layers between us I can feel how hard he is, the unmistakable weight of it resting against the curve of my body.

“Fuck,” he groans, his voice rough with the sleepy huskiness I’ve missed.

He presses closer against me as his mouth brushes the back of my shoulder. A shiver ripples through me before his lips follow the trail of goose pimples across my skin.

“Ignore that,” he murmurs sleepily, his lips lingering near my neck. “I can’t help it when you’re lying next to me like this.”

A quiet laugh escapes me. I turn slowly within his arms, rolling onto my back so I can see him. His arm stays draped across my waist. Up close, I can see the faint shadows of exhaustion clinging to his face. His buzz cut leaves the shape of his head completely exposed, dark stubble already beginning to return along his scalp, whilst the rough shadow of his beard frames the sharp line of his jaw. His brown eyes are heavy with sleep, but the moment they settle on me something in them shifts. Roman’s gaze moves across my features before settling back on my eyes. His thumb drifts absently against my hip as he watches me.

“No,” I whisper.

“No?” His brow pulls together.

“What if I don’t want to ignore it?”

I shift closer, my hand sliding across the warmth of his chest until my palm settles over his heart. The steady beat beneath my fingers sends a rush of nerves through me, my own pulse hammering as I draw in a slow breath to steady myself. Roman reacts instantly. One of his arms slides beneath my neck, his hand cradling the back of my head as he pulls me closer, and the other moves down to my hip before gripping a handful of my arse.

“I need you,” I say into his mouth.

Roman stills.

“Tink…” he begins gently and I place my finger on his lips, silencing him.

“I know what you’re going to say.” He raises one eyebrow at me as I pull my hand back. “That I’ve been through too much or I’m not thinking clearly and that we should wait.”

His hand comes up to my face, brushing a loose strand of hair away from my cheek before his fingers settle there. He studies me as a soft expression covers his face before he leans down and presses a gentle kiss against my lips.

“I don’t think it’s a good idea, little one. You could be hurt,” he murmurs.

My chest tightens and my eyes fill with tears. This was exactly what I was afraid of. I know I’m not easy to love. I never have been easy to love. But I don’t want to feel fragile. I don’t want him looking at me like I’m something broken that might shatter if he touches me wrong.

“I need to know you still want me,” I choke out.

A crease forms between his brows as he pulls me closer. The movement presses my stomach against the solid heat of him and his grip firms, like he’s trying to anchor me there.

“Fae—”

“I know some women don’t react like this,” I rush on before I lose the nerve to say it. “I know some people need space aftersomething like that. But that’s not how my brain works. I need to know he didn’t break something in me; I need to know that when you look at me you don’t just see… what happened.”

Roman’s jaw tightens as his nostrils flare.

“And I need to feel like my body still belongs to me,” I add softly.

Silence settles between us. Roman’s hand slides down my arm and his fingers thread through mine. The touch is gentle, causing a shiver to move through me. My breathing changes and my attention fixes on how close we are. There’s the heat of his body beneath my palm, the slow rise and fall of his chest under my hand and the solid length of his cock pressed against me. A warmth spreads through me. It is deeper than desire. It is the feeling of being wanted, being touched without fear, being here in his bed instead of on cold concrete wondering what someone might take from me next.

My thighs press together, and the movement only makes the awareness worse. My body feels sensitive; every brush of his fingers against my skin sends little sparks of sensation through me that make my breath catch. Damp heat gathers between my legs as my body reacts with a kind of urgency that almost embarrasses me, but the need sits stronger than the shame. When I look at him like this, when I feel the strength in his hands and the heat of him beneath me, all I want is the reassurance that I’m still his. Roman’s thumb strokes across my knuckles and I can see the restraint in his face. His jaw is tight whilst his eyes continue searching mine.

“You already know I want you,” he murmurs.