All I've Never Wanted(69)

“I’m sorry,” I whispered, wishing I could say something to make him feel better. I felt so bad. At least I still had my mom. Roman, though, didn’t have either of his parents, at least not in a way that counts.

Without thinking, I walked over and wrapped my arms around him. He immediately tensed up.

“What are you doing?”

“Giving you a hug.

“I don’t need a hug.” Apparently, the stony fa?ade was back in place. “And if you tell anyone what I just said, I’ll kill you.”

I wasn’t even fazed. “Shut up, and just let me hug you, you idiot.”

Roman remained tense for a few more moments, but then I felt him relax the tiniest bit. He shifted his weight, and I thought he was going to push me off, but he pulled me down so that I was sharing the chair with him.

He slowly, hesitantly returned my hug, burying his face in the crook of my neck like a little child.

I closed my eyes and rested my chin on his broad shoulder, trying to ignore the little thrill that ran through me when I felt his strong muscles through his thin T-shirt.

“You smell good,” he mumbled into my neck.

My eyes widened in shock, but I couldn’t help but laugh a little. He really did sound like a little child. “You smell good, too,” I murmured.

We didn’t say anything else, just sat there and held each other. I wasn’t sure how long we stayed like that, because the night had taken a toll on me, and I soon drifted off into a deep sleep. I didn’t even feel Roman lift me up and gently tuck me into bed.

CHAPTER 17

Something was tickling his arm.

Without opening his eyes, Roman frowned and attempted to scoot away from the source, only to find he couldn’t move his arm. It seemed to be under something heavy. And it was seriously tickling him.

Reluctantly, Roman cracked one eye open, then the other one, hoping there wasn’t a horse’s head in his bed or anything. The first thing he saw was a mass of silky dark hair.

He frowned, but when he moved his gaze lower and saw Maya snuggled into the crook of his arm, the events of last night rushed back to him.

With a groan, he resisted the urge to hit himself in the head. He couldn’t believe he’d told her about his parents. He’d never told anyone about the situation with his parents, not even Carlo and the others, who knew only the vaguest details.

And now she has the perfect blackmail material, Roman thought darkly, berating himself for how stupid he was.

With a scowl, he propped himself up with his elbow and tried to pull his arm out from under Maya’s head without waking her. It didn’t work.

Letting out a low curse, Roman tried again. And failed again.

He sighed, falling back on the bed in defeat. Without even noticing, though, Roman’s scowl softened a bit as he looked at Maya’s sleeping face. Her long lashes cast a shadow over her cheeks, and there was a small smile on her lips. A stray strand of hair fell over face, and he willed himself not to brush it away for her.

She looked so peaceful when she wasn’t yelling at him.

Roman was so busy looking at her that when his alarm sounded, he jumped about ten feet in the air, jostling her in the process.

He winced when Maya let out a groan and slowly sat up, rubbing the back of her head. She yawned and opened her eyes, and then—

“Aaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhh!”

The scowl came back in full force. Ah, there was the Maya he knew and lov—disliked.

“It’s a bit early in the morning for that, don’t you think?” he pointed out, shaking out his numb arm. A tingly feeling invaded his limb as feeling slowly crept back into it.

“Why were we sleeping together?” Maya asked accusatorily, her green eyes wide as she scooted back to the edge of the bed like he was going to attack her or something. “What happened last night?” She narrowed her eyes. “You didn’t take advantage of me, did you? Because if you did, I’m going to—“

“Of course not,” Roman snapped, swinging his legs over the side of his bed and walking over to his closet to grab something to wear. “If I remember correctly, you came in here screaming about some monster being after you. Then you invited yourself to stay over in here till the lights went out, fell asleep, and when I put you down on the bed to sleep so you didn’t wake up with neck cramps, you pulled me down beside you and used me as your pillow. So no, I didn’t take advantage of you. It’s more like you took advantage of me.”


He grabbed a Thomas Pink shirt and a pair of jeans and turned to face Maya again.

She relaxed the grip that was strangling her shirt—his shirt, actually—as realization dawned over her face. “Oh.” She smiled sheepishly, obviously remembering everything that happened. “Oops.”

“Yeah, oops.” Roman rolled his eyes, pulling on his jeans. Girls were just too much trouble. He had no idea why Parker liked them so much. Well, he had an idea, but they just weren’t worth it, in his opinion.

As he buttoned up his jeans, he realized that Maya’s face had turned pink, and she was staring intently in his director.

A small smirk appeared on his face when he realized what she was looking at. “See something you like?” he asked cockily, pulling his shirt over his head in a deliberately slow motion.

Maya’s face turned even redder as she quickly looked away. “You wish,” she snapped, getting out of the bed.