Twice as Hot (Tales of an Extraordinary Girl #2)(35)

Himself, then. "Me, too. So...are you still trying to work things out with your ex?" The question tumbled from my mouth before I could stop it, needy and whiny. That embarrassed me, but I didn't try to take back the words.

"No. Yes. No. I don't know." He strode forward and claimed the seat Reese had formerly occupied.

He propped his elbows on his knees and scrubbed his face with his upraised hands. "This is such a mess."

"I know," I said softly.

There was a beat of silence, heavy, uncomfortable.

When he faced me, his eyes were tortured. "I want you to know, I haven't slept with Lexis. She wanted to, but I just couldn't do it. I couldn't even bring myself to kiss her. And I won't. Not until this...thing between us is resolved. Okay? All right?"

Those damn tears burned my eyes again. Relief was like a separate entity inside me, rushing me, tackling me. I wasn't sure what I would have done if he'd slept with her. Could I have forgiven him? I'd wondered before, but hadn't known the answer. Still didn't.

Even though I'd despised my ex, the Prince of Darkness and my last boyfriend before Rome, at the time of our breakup, learning that he'd cheated had destroyed my pride, my self-esteem, my every feminine instinct. I'd felt disposable and worthless.

In Rome's mind, it wouldn't have been cheating. I knew that. But in my mind, it would have. He was still my man. Still my heart, my one and only. "Why are you telling me that? Don't get me wrong, I'm grateful.

I'm just curious about your thought process." To him, we were strangers. He didn't owe me anything.

"Because in your mind, we're engaged," he said. "I owe you that much." He owed me a lot more, but whatever. We'd get to that, one step at a time. And for the first time, the familiar thought didn't seem like a pep talk meant to get me through the day. It felt true. Like it would happen. Like everything really would be okay.

"And...I don't want you to be with anyone else, either," he finished suddenly.

I blinked over at him. Even choked, and he had to pat my back to help clear my airway. But instead, I lost my ability to breathe. Dear God, his hands were on me, hot and callused and shiver-inducing. I would have pretended to choke for an hour, just to keep those hands on my body, but all too soon he settled back on his chair and crossed his arms over his chest. Lines of strain branched from his eyes, though, as if he hadn't wanted to pull away.

"I think I misheard you," I said. "Or maybe you were kidding. Because I know you didn't just tell me, a person who currently means nothing to you, that you - "

"I did, all right? I don't want you seeing anyone else."

One, I would never consider seeing one man while engaged to another. I wish he knew that about me.

Two, Rome was the only one I wanted, period. "Until?"

"Until we work this out."

"And just how long do you think that will be? I won't wait for you forever, you know." Another lie. I'd wait however long was necessary, and I knew it. I just didn't want him dawdling. A man could not have his cake and eat it, too - unless that man was Chuck Norris.

I'd been watching Chuck Norris movies lately to improve my roundhouse kick.

Rome scowled at me. "You're being difficult, Belle."

"So give me a severe tongue-lashing. That will shut me up. Or make me scream for mercy. It's a toss-up." I didn't give him the chance to scold me or tell me to stop. "So what do we do now?" I asked.

"About us?"

Rome's jaw was tight. "I want to remember you. I do." He leaned back in the chair, eyes hot on me, boring deep. "Tell me about us."

Where to start, where to start? "Well, the sex was amazing. The best you'd ever had. Top five for me." His lips twitched into the semblance of a smile, another reminder of the Rome I so loved. "I figured that out on my own. The part about it being amazing, I mean."

My heart skipped a beat, leaving me winded and shaking. "You remember?"

"No. I...guessed."

"Oh." My shoulders sagged. "How?"

His gaze perused me slowly, lingering in all the right places, making me tingle like a woman who'd just experienced a total body caress. "Let's just say a man can look at a woman and know how it'll be between them."

"And you know it'll be, was, amazing...with me?"

"Yes." No hesitation.

Wow. Of all the wonderful things he'd said during this conversation, that little tidbit gave me the most hope that we'd end up back together. A man who desired a woman couldn't resist her for long. Could he?

"You probably burned me alive," he added softly. Wistfully.

I had. Literally. At first, I'd been unable to control my powers and had caught him - and whatever room we'd been in at the time - on fire. That wasn't what he'd meant, but I couldn't help but reminisce and ache and crave those days again. "We had fun together. I made you laugh, even when I didn't mean to, and you made me feel like the most important thing in the world to you." His gaze whipped from me, as if he were suddenly afraid to face me. "Belle, I - " Whatever he was going to say, I didn't want to hear it. I didn't have to be psychic like Lexis to know he would ruin this happy buzz I had going. "Look, if you don't need anything else, I'd kind of like to be alone. I need to dress, and then round everyone up for our meeting. So..." He didn't stand. His expression went flat and hard as he faced me again. Determination pulsed from him.