I heard the door click open and I turned around on the sofa to see Roman enter. Seeing him immediately made me feel whole again. I jumped up from the sofa and hurried around to hug my husband. Roman took me into his arms and held me for a long while, resting his face in the curve of my neck and breathing me in.

"I missed you, Roman," I said, gazing up into his blue eyes.

"I’m so sorry, Hannah," Roman said. "I need to tell you something really important."

"Is something wrong?" I asked him. He took my hand.

"Come sit with me," he said, guiding me around the sofa and turning off the TV. We sat beside each other and Roman took both of my hands in his.

"I know you’re going to be angry with me," Roman began and I groaned.

"Roman, what’s this about?" I asked him.

"I wasn’t at work late, Hannah," he said, and I stiffened.

"If you weren’t at work, Roman, then where were you?" I asked him pointedly.

"I went to The Auction House," he said, and I involuntarily recoiled from him, removing my hands from his grasp.

"You didn’t," I said. "You lied to me?"

"I knew you’d be upset," Roman said and I scoffed.

"Of course I’m upset that you lied to me," I said to him.

"I shouldn’t have lied to you, Hannah, and I truly regret it," Roman said. "I’m sorry, but I need to tell you the rest." I didn’t respond, so he continued. "I was with Marcus just for a recon of the place and he asked me to buy one of the women." My brow raised and I didn’t realize that I could be more surprised and disappointed with him. "He knew her, Hannah, he and Ed rescued her from a human trafficking ring a year ago."

"So, you actually bought her?" I asked him. My stomach was tight as I realized that what I thought was an amazing relationship with Roman could come crashing down around me. "You signed another contract?"

"Yes," Roman said, "but Marcus was only trying to get Kristin to safety."

"Then why didn’t he buy her?" I asked Roman but before he could answer me, I waved my hands to signal for him to stop. I didn’t need to hear the answer right now. This was too much for me to process. I stood and made my way to the bathroom.

"Hannah," Roman called after me, but I continued walking.

"I need a bath," I said to him before I entered the bathroom and closed the door behind me. I stood with my back against the door for a moment. I had been so eager to see Roman because I had missed him so much and he returned to tell me a bunch of information that I was not prepared for. It wasn’t fair. I went to the tub and turned on the water, slipping out of my clothes. How could he go to The Auction House knowing that I would be pissed at him for not only lying to me but for keeping me in the dark about the change in plans for the recon? I dumped a bath bomb into the tub and climbed in before the water was even high enough to cover my ankles. How could I have been so stupid?

As the hot water rose higher and higher in the tub, submerging my body, I began to relax. I knew that Roman just wanted to help take down The Auction House, and although buying a woman was a stupid move, he had risked his safety to bid for me, too. I didn’t want to admit it, but the only reason that Roman lied to me was because I was too close-minded. If I had been more supportive of Roman helping the FBI agents, then it wouldn’t have been an issue for him to tell me the truth of his whereabouts tonight. It was a hard pill to swallow, being the cause of your own anguish, but I was still allowed to be disappointed that Roman had lied to me. Roman hadn’t even tried to knock on the bathroom door and talk to me. He knew that I was angry and that I had to come out of the bathroom at some point.

When I had soaked enough for my mind to be clear and my body to be heavy and ready for sleep, I stepped out of the tub, drained it, and dried off. I dressed in a silk nightdress and left the bathroom. Roma was still awake, lying on his back on top of the bed comforter in his boxers. He glanced over at me when I climbed into bed.

"Do you still love me, Hannah?" Roman asked me.

"That’s a silly question," I said, slipping beneath the covers. "Of course I still love you."

He lifted up onto his elbow to face me. "You’re not mad at me?"

I sighed. "I’m hurt, Roman," I said. "I don’t want you to feel the need to lie to me about anything."

"I hated every minute of lying to you, Hannah," Roman said to me.

I rested on my side so that I could face him. "Good," I said. "Tell me about the woman that Marcus asked you to buy."

Roman thought for a moment. "Kristin is a tough one," he said. "Marcus told me that she was in protective custody in Alaska, but within the last six months she ran away and voluntarily found her way back into human trafficking."

I raised my brow. "That certainly seems radical," I said to him.

"It fits her personality," Roman told me. "She’s obstinate and rebellious. I don’t doubt that her time as a victim of human trafficking taught her some serious survival skills. Bernard said that she hadn’t been broken yet."

"Bernard was there?" I asked him. "This guy seems to show up everywhere."

"Tell me about it," Roman said before cautiously wrapping an arm around me and when I didn’t resist, he positioned my head onto his chest.

"He was in the market for Kristin based on some intel he heard from her previous patrons," Roman said. I waved away his words.

"I don’t want to hear anything about Bernard or what patrons have to say about the women that they trade illegally," I told Roman before yawning.

"Get some sleep, Hannah," we can talk in the morning.

"It is morning," I pointed out to Roman. "It’s after one in the morning."

"All the more reason for you to get some sleep," he told me.

"I’ve been waiting up all night for you, Roman, only for you to tell me that you lied to me," I told him. "I want to tell you about my day."

"I’m listening," he said.

"Lori and Lauren finished the guest house," I told him. "You’ll have to check it out."

"I look forward to it," Roman said as he stroked my hair.

"We went to the mall and got Lauren some clothes," I continued, "and we ate at a really good farm-to-table restaurant."

"I wish I had been there with you," Roman said to me.

I glanced up at him. "That’s your own fault," I said.

"You’re absolutely right and thank you for not shutting me out, Hannah," Roman said to me. I sat up and met his gaze.

"Don’t lie to me again, Roman," I told him. "When I said I love you, I meant it and I don’t want to lose my trust in you."

Roman sat up to face me looking like a chastised child. "I can’t begin to express how sorry I am for lying to you," he said to me. "I promise I will do whatever I need to do to make this up to you, Hannah."

My eyes dropped to his lips. "Kiss me," I said and Roman pulled me into his arms, kissing me with a passion that made me feel every bit of remorse that he had for lying to me. I tugged at Roman’s boxers, and he shifted to allow me to slip them off of his hips as he continued to kiss me. I pulled my nightdress up and broke our kiss just long enough to slip it off and over my head.

"God, I missed you," Roman said as he lowered me to the bed and caressed my body from breasts, to stomach, and hips before he gently parted my legs. I relished his touch and yearned for him to be inside of me. He took his time kissing first my lips and then my neck before moving his lips to my hard nipples, sucking each one in turn. By the time his lips reached my clit I was begging for him to put his dick inside of me. Finally, Roman obliged and made love to me slowly and sweetly. As my orgasm built, Roman gently rocked his hips into me, allowing me to feel him deep inside of me. I gripped the bed sheets and saw stars when I came hard around Roman’s dick. Moments later I felt the warm burst of Roman’s cum inside of me. He rolled onto the bed beside me, and we lay together panting from the ecstasy of our lovemaking. Roman slid beneath the bedsheets with me and he held me, stroking my hair until I dozed off into a contented sleep.