---------- Twenty Minutes Later

Kirsten and I had stayed in the kitchen for twenty more minutes after we had both shooed Roman from the room and managed to clean up after ourselves and the disastrous mess the man had made while trying to help.

"I guess it is kind of relieving to know Roman isn’t good at everything he does," Kristen told me jokingly as she nudged me in the ribs.

"I can still hear you," Roman said loudly from the living room where he had gone to retrieve something, "And I don’t appreciate the slander in front of Hannah."

"So can I slander you when she’s not here?" Kristen asked as we both watched Roman come back into the room while adjusting his earring.

Roman moved to stand behind me for a moment and gave me a quick kiss on my forehead. "Of course. Just don’t make me look bad in front of my girl."

I blushed at the statement. Despite being together for as long as we had and having gone through all that we did, Roman still made me feel like a blushing teenager all over again with everything he did and said.

"You two are going to give me cavities," Kirsten said as she scrunched up her nose at the two of us.

I only stuck my tongue at her as Roman squeezed my shoulder lightly and kissed my cheek.

Roman moved away from me, much to my dismay, and went to gather himself a glass of water. When I turned around, the two of us shared a long look as he looked down at me from the water he drank and leaned back against the countertop.

I, at that moment, was suddenly overcome with such an overwhelming feeling of love for the man in front of me. It was like I was suddenly seeing him in a new light.

Sure, I had always felt attracted to Roman, and sure, those feelings had developed into something greater over time as I spent more and more days with him. But looking at him now, I was overcome with something greater.

I only shook my head at Roman when he raised a questioning eyebrow at me and tilted his head. I couldn’t look away from his smiling face or bring myself to voice the reason for my staring. I only hoped he could see the admiration I held for him in my eyes.

Roman’s eyes flickered to the other woman in the room, Kristen, and then back to me.

"Okay, well," Kristen said from beside me, but I barely heard her, "if you two won’t stop making puppy dog eyes at each other, I’m going to sleep."

Before either of us could object, not that we wanted to, Kristen was walking in the middle of us with a hand in the air as she waved goodnight.

When she was gone, the staring contest between the two of us only prolonged for a moment longer before Roman knocked himself from the counter and came toward me.

I felt his large, warm hands on my hips and the way his hot breath tickled my neck as he leaned down and whispered in my ear.

"If you don’t stop looking at me like that," Roman spoke roughly into my ear, somewhat out of breath despite not having done anything, "I won’t be responsible for what happens next."

Spurred on by the reaction I got out of him with only a look, I bit my lip and pushed myself up. I leaned against his chest for support and felt the hard muscles beneath my hands flex at the touch.

"If you won’t take responsibility," I purred into his ear, "shall I?"

With a slight growl and a shaky breath, I squealed as Roman lifted me by my hips in one smooth motion and placed me on the counter. He came to stand in between my legs and grabbed the back of my hair before slamming his lips to mine.

It was a long, long overdue kiss. The entire days’ worth of pent-up frustration and longing look was poured out of him and me and met each other where our bodies touched. I gasped when he pulled back on my hair, both from pleasure and shock as electricity shot down my spine.

Leaning down, he deepened the kiss. I was suddenly aware of where we were.

"Roman," I whispered into his ear as he trailed kisses down my neck, "Roman, this is the kitchen."

His head came out from the crevice of my neck, and I got a good look at his face. He was thoroughly dazed and definitely not at all in the right state of mind to be thinking about anything except where his hands were going and where he put his mouth.

I let out a giggle as I stared at his blue eyes and tugged his brown hair back a bit. Planting one soft, lingering kiss on his lips I dragged him out of the kitchen and toward our bedroom.

Once we were inside, and the door was locked, it seemed Roman had regained his sense of consciousness. He picked me up and threw me on the bed. I laughed loudly as he peppered my face with kisses from my forehead to my chin.

"That tickles," I scrunched up my nose as he placed butterfly kisses on my eyelids and nose.

When Roman pulled back, I opened my eyes to see him clearly, I was astounded by the look he held in them. If I had to compare it to anything, it seemed like the exact kind of look I felt when I was staring at him earlier.

"I love you," I told him as I caressed his face. "You were so good with Kristen in the kitchen. You handled it so well."

Roman hummed at the praise as he closed his eyes and leaned into the hand I stroked against his cheek.

"Despite how turbulent it is sometimes, I love the little family we have found together Roman. I love you." I then lightly whispered, "You’ll make a greater father someday."

That statement made his eyes shoot open wide. He looked down at me with a different lingering expression now. His eyes weren’t cloudy like before, but it looked like he was looking at me as though I had said something wonderful.

"Tell me," he ordered as he leaned down and reached beneath my shirt.

"Tell you what?" I let out a gasp as he groped my breasts and suckled on the skin of my neck.

"Tell me how good of a father I will be."

My eyes widened at his request. Something shot through me, down my throat and through my stomach, settling at my core. It was something so inherent—so primal. I couldn’t help but let out a shaky breath as I complied with every request this man gave me.

"You’d be so good," I murmured in his ear, "Take care of your children so well... You’d be so doting to your little daughters." I continued the praise as he grabbed and squeezed at my body, finally trailing his large hand from my breast and settling it on my stomach.

"Will you give me daughters?" A particularly needy gasp escaped me as he bit down onto my neck.

"Hm." It was all I could think to say. Words escaped me with the way he began to peel off my clothes. My legs began to feel weak at the administrations he did on my body.

"Daughters and sons, however..." A gasp escaped my mouth. "However many you want..." I panted as he lifted my legs and hooked them around his hips. "Just tell me... Tell me, and it’s yours."

He hummed in an appreciative manner at my words and then a chuckle escaped him. "You think I’d look good covered in baby spit."

A face of disgust quickly morphed on my face. I pulled my head back to stare at him. "Don’t ruin the mood."

Using some momentum I gathered as I lifted myself, I flipped us over so he was lying beneath me. A gasp escaped both of us when I tightened my thighs around his body and grinded hard against the length of him.

An agitated sigh left me as I felt the barrier of his pants. Wanting more, I helped him out of his clothes. He tore mine off in turn. I ran my tongue up his firm stomach and chest, licking and sucking as I went before my mouth reached his.

I kept my eyes glued to his blue ones. The contact was intimate and vulnerable as I sunk onto his length. The sigh that left both of us then was pure pleasure. An unimaginable wave of relief left me as he gripped my hips and held me there.

I placed my hand on his chest to steady myself. One of his large hands came to grip my hand where it sat. He began moving. Pleasure-filled gasps left me as we spent the night in each other’s embrace.