Page 94 of Bound By Blood and Lies

“No!” I blurt, a little too quickly, even though I know he’s joking… or at least I hope he is.

He laughs and his dimples press into his cheeks as he shakes his head, trying to compose himself.

“Then don’t be naughty,” he says, still fighting the smile.

“Scout’s honour,” I reply, lifting my hand again with a dramatic sigh.

He huffs out another breath of laughter, unbuckling his seatbelt before stepping out to pay for parking and heading to the boot. A moment later, my door opens and my dark, brooding man stands there with one brow raised as he nods toward the coat draped over his arm. I make a show of being put out, rolling my eyes as I take the coat, but the truth is no one enjoys a beach when they’re freezing. I’m halfway through rolling my eyes at the coat when I notice the basket. It’s tucked neatly in the boot beside a couple of folded blankets and what looks like actual food, not just something thrown together last minute. I pause, blinking at it, then back at him.

“You planned this?” I ask, narrowing my eyes. He rolls his, like that’s the most ridiculous question I could have asked.

“What do you think?”

“I don’t know,” I mutter. “You’ve been a bit… unpredictable recently.”

His mouth twitches, but he doesn’t rise to it, just shuts the boot and shifts the basket in one hand with the blankets tucked under his arm.

“What about Felix and Robyn?” I ask as we start walking.

“What about them?”

“Well, we didn’t know Fiona was coming,” I say, swallowing past the lie on my tongue. “Were they meant to come too?”

“No,” he shakes his head, shifting the basket in his hand. “I was dropping them off.”

His hand finds mine and our fingers thread together as he leads me down toward the sand. The air shifts the closer we get, the breeze picking up slightly, carrying the scent of the sea with it. It’s familiar and comforting as we make our way across the beach. My feet sink slightly with each step until we reach the place we came the first time he took me here. Roman sets everything down and gets to work straight away, shaking out the blanket before laying it flat against the sand. I watch the quietfocus in him. The way he moves feels so intentional and it does crazy things to my insides. He pats a spot for me, and I lower myself down onto it before he joins me a second later. Roman sits behind me again, pulling me back so I’m flush with his chest and I shiver at the contact.

“It’s nice here,” I murmur, looking out toward the water.

“It is,” he agrees, with a softer voice than I’ve heard in days.

Roman gently grabs my chin, turning me as my hand rests against his chest. I lean in and he meets me halfway. His lips find mine in a slow, steady kiss that feels nothing like the rushed ones we’ve been stealing lately. This one lingers. His hand comes up to cup the side of my face, holding me there before I pull back and rest my forehead against his.

The sound of the ocean crashes around us, steady and loud against the quiet. His breath brushes my face. It feels warm against the cool air, and I can hear the rhythm of it. A seagull cries somewhere in the distance above, but everything else fades under the way he holds me. One hand rests over my stomach, the other moving slowly up and down my back, grounding us both.

“Are you okay?” I ask quietly.

He exhales, “I am if you are.”

I swallow the sob that rises.

He always chooses me over himself, but I won’t let him. I can’t. It’s why me and Fiona made this plan, why it has to be me. He would do it for me without hesitation, but it would ruin him. I mean, yeah, he’d survive it. I know he would. But he wouldn’t be the same. Unease settles low in my stomach as doubt tries to push to the forefront of my mind.

I’m not losing him to this.

Roman pulls back and that twinkle returns to his eyes as his smile spreads wider.

“Will you dance with me?” he asks.

I blink, as a small laugh slips out.

“There’s no music.”

A corner of his mouth lifts as he reaches behind him, pulling a small portable speaker from the basket.

“It’s a good job I thought of that.”

I shake my head, smiling as he connects his phone. He stands, holding his hand out to me.