“Look, no matter what happens in this relationship, you’re not keeping me barefoot and in the kitchen, Roman,” I told him. “I’m a grown woman with my own life. Hell, I’m even responsible for keeping two puppies alive and well. I’m not going to let you…run roughshod over me.”

  Roman reached out, grabbed the hem of my shirt, then pulled me to him. “I’m not looking to douse your feminine fire, Haven,” he said. “I’m just looking to be the man in the relationship.” I opened my mouth to give him a lecture on feminism, but he quickly stopped me. “And this isn’t about gender roles, or oppression, or any of that crap. You say that you want a partner, right?” I nodded. “Well, a partner is supposed to make your life easier, not harder. At least, that’s my understanding of marriage.”

  “We’re not married,” I pointed out.

  “Shut it,” he said, ignoring my comment. “The point is that I’m useless if I’m not making your life easier, Haven. So, rather than have you watch a YouTube video on how to change your car’s oil, I can take care of that since I already know how to do it. Plus, it’ll save you money if you’re taking it to a shop. That’s making your life easier, whether you want to be stubborn about it or not.”

  The jerk was making a rather good point.

  “That’s what I mean by letting me be the man,” he went on. “Don’t dismiss what I do and what I know simply because you want to prove a point. Let me bring value to our relationship, just like I expect you to bring some to it.”

  “But you’re already busy with work and the twins,” I reminded him. “And you were very clear about having too many of your own responsibilities to-”

  “Stop with what I said when I offered that stupid arrangement,” he ordered, cutting me off. “All of that bullshit was before I started having feelings for you, Haven. All of that was before I wanted to make your life easier. All of that was before I was surrounded by nothing but tits and ass, but all I could do was think of your tits and ass.”

  “Such a romantic,” I deadpanned.

  “If you wanted romantic, you never would have agreed to letting me violate you during your lunch hour, baby,” he scoffed.

  “Speaking of my lunch hour, it’s almost over-”

  “Good thing that it only takes me a few minutes to make you cum,” he stated arrogantly, but the prick wasn’t wrong.

  “Sex isn’t always going to be the answer,” I lied, already weakening because I knew exactly what Roman Scott could do with his penis.

  “We’ll see about that,” he muttered before sticking his face in my neck.

  Like a woman that’s been dickmatized, I let my head drop back, giving him more access to do whatever he wanted to do to me. It was also sad to admit that I was already sprung and that was just from one hour a day with the man. I had no idea what he was capable of when he had a woman at his disposal for an entire night, and there was a good chance that I could become a five-stage clinger once we got that far. Thinking about it, it might be a good thing that he had his kids with him all the time, because I could easily see myself beginning to stalk the man.

  I mean, c’mon, the guy said that he wanted to bring value to our relationship.

  Reading my mind, Roman said, “I can’t wait for the first time that I have you all night long, baby.” I wrapped my arms around his neck as his right hand slid underneath my shirt. “I’m going to fucking wreck you. I’m going to make you miss me when we’re not together.”

  I wanted to confess that I was already there, but I still had some pride left. I also wanted to say to hell with the rest of my workday when Roman slipped my shirt up over my head, his lips automatically back on my skin. That kissing thing was going to be the death of me. When a sourly man wasn’t afraid to show affection like that, for me, it was a turn on.

  “Roman, please…” I panted, knowing that we were short on time.

  “Christ, that begging gets my dick rock fucking hard,” he groaned as his hand slid inside my pants. “I love how your smart mouth never shuts the fuck up, but then you’re not embarrassed to beg for my cock.” I could feel my body clench. “Gotta love a strong woman that submits so prettily.”

  I didn’t care about women’s lib in the least when I felt a third finger slide inside me. “Yes…” I rushed out. “Please…Roman….”

  “I’ll give you whatever you want, baby,” he promised with his lips against my shoulder. “Whatever the fuck you want.”

  Before I knew it, Roman had me bent over the couch, his hands yanking my pants down around my thighs. I knew that it wasn’t going to take much to push me over the edge, but I wasn’t complaining. Having dated men that had been just fine with their own satisfaction, I appreciated how Roman always made the effort to get me there, whether by tongue, fingers, or penis.

  When I felt the head of his dick run up and down my slit, he said, “God, I love how wet you get for me. I love how you’re always so ready for me, even when you don’t want to be.”

  “Oh, I want to be,” I argued. “I love what you do to me.” If he was going to continue to be honest about his feelings, then so would I.

  My hands gripped the couch cushions as Roman pushed inside me, the both of us letting out deep moans of satisfaction. With his hands on my hips, his dick buried deep inside me, I closed my eyes as Roman started moving perfectly against me.

  “God, you feel so good,” I panted, the couch moving with each thrust of Roman’s hips.

  “Not as good as you feel, baby,” he groaned, his breath a warm blanket against my right shoulder blade. “Nothing feels as good as your pretty pussy.”

  Knowing that we didn’t have a whole lot of time to spare, Roman started railing me like I was a hooker on the clock, and I happily took it. Within only a few minutes, I felt my desire begin to build, that push to the edge almost as addicting as going over it. There was a reason that edging existed, and I’d never felt so lucky not to be a guy. They weren’t able to experience the sensation more than once without a break in between.

  “Don’t stop…” I demanded. “I’m close…”

  “You’re always close,” Roman smirked arrogantly. “You’re always so fucking ready for me.”

  When Roman’s right hand slid between my legs, I immediately went off as soon as his fingers touched my clit, and I let myself go, trembling in his arms, knowing he was not going to let me go. Roman loved how I fell apart all around him, something that he’d been very vocal about.

  “I’m going to cum,” he grunted in my ear. “I’m cumming inside you, baby.”

  “Yes…” was the only word that I could get out.

  Roman’s hand came up to wrap around my neck, pulling me up closer, before saying, “No, I don’t think you understand. I’m going to cum inside you.”

  He didn’t have a condom on.

  I was on the shot, so we were protected there. I also knew that he was too wrapped up with the twins to be screwing around every other day, so that wasn’t a concern.

  Actually, nothing felt like a concern right now.

  “Please…” I begged, not caring how irresponsible we were being.

  “Christ,” he growled. “Take my cum like a good girl.”

  Within seconds, Roman was cumming inside me, and it felt wicked enough to send me off for a second time. Usually, cumming at the exact same time only happened in romance novels and romantic dramas. Still, it was happening now, and it was the stuff of every fantasy that I’d had ever dreamed up.

  “Holy fuck, baby,” Roman panted behind me. “Holy fuck.”

  Yeah, it was probably safe to say that I really was halfway in love with the arrogant jerk.

  Chapter 21

  Roman~

  If I hadn’t been in love before, I sure the fuck was now, and I was very aware how that was my dick talking, but I didn’t care. Haven Oslind was the first woman to ever take my dick bare, and as reckless and irresponsible as it’d been, no wonder STDs ran rampant like the idiots that we were. The feeling of Haven wrapped around me bare had been the highest that I’d ever felt in my life.

  I also knew that once a day wasn’t going to be enough anymore. I wanted more with her, but I had to find a way to balance that with the kids. Even though I knew that there were no guarantees in life, I needed to know that Haven was all in. I needed to know that she wanted more than just me for a boyfriend. She had to want to be an example for my kids. Now, while I didn’t need her to automatically jump into the surrogate mother mode, I needed her to still commit to the twins. Like my parents, brother, Lucius, Phoebe, and Derek, I needed her to want to be another source of adult responsibility for them.

  “Do you think Haven likes chicken?”

  I looked down at Zach, his blue eyes peering up at me. “What?”

  “Do you think Haven likes chicken?” he repeated.

  “Well, I don’t know,” I answered hesitantly. “But most people do.”

  “You should ask her to come eat dinner with us,” he said matter of fact.

  “I should?” I had no idea where this was coming from, but it was an interesting turn of events.

  “Yeah, you should,” he replied as he went to go sit at the kitchen table, eyeing me like he knew all my secrets.

  “And why’s that?”

  “So that we can watch The Secret of NIMH after dinner,” Zoey piped up, walking into the kitchen, then sitting down next to her twin.

  I lowered the fire on the stove, turning to give the twins my undivided attention. “And what makes you guys think that she’d want to come over and watch The Secret of NIMH?”

  “Because she’s already watched it, and she said that she loved it,” Zach answered, taking me aback with that bit of information.

  “She did?”

  Zoey nodded. “She watched it when we told her about it.” The kid grinned up at me. “She even cried when Nicodemus died.”

  I looked between my two children. “You guys really like Haven, don’t you?” They both nodded. “I guess you guys have become good friends, huh?”

  “She’s going to be my other best friend when Zach’s mad at me,” Zoey announced.

  Her brother looked at her. “I’m not going to get mad at you,” Zach stated tiredly, but Zoey did that sometimes. The girl could drain you if you weren’t careful.

  Zoey looked back at him. “What if you do?”

  “I’m not,” Zach insisted. “You’re my sister.”

  God, how life was so simple for the little guy.

  Clearing my throat, I asked, “So, you guys wouldn’t mind if Haven came over for dinner sometimes?” I felt like my heart was going to beat out of my chest with this line of questioning, but the woman had not only named her puppies on my children’s suggestions, but according to the kids, she had immediately watched the movie, too.

  “Don’t you like her, Daddy?” Zoey asked.

  It really did feel like I was going to have a heart attack. “I do,” I admitted. “She’s a nice person.”

  “She also likes puppies,” Zach added, almost like he was promoting Haven as a good buy.

  “Yes, she does,” I agreed, a grin playing on my lips.

  “And she lives next to us,” Zoey chimed in. “If I need a girl on my team, then I don’t have to wait for grandma or Phoebe to come over.”

  I inwardly winced at that. It was easier to forget that Zoey needed a woman in her life because I didn’t have to think about Naomi whenever the thought crossed my mind. I knew as Zoey got older, she was going to need a woman’s influence, but I still wanted to be enough for her. Over the years, I’d read so many books and articles about female development that there wasn’t going to be any questions that I couldn’t answer as Zoey got older. However, she was still going to need someone that could identify with her on an emotional level, and as males, Zach and I would never be able to say that we know exactly how she feels. We would never know what it feels like to experience all the crap that females have to.

  I turned back towards the stove, checking on dinner, feeling my palms sweat as I went for it. “What do you guys say to inviting Haven over for dinner?”

  “That’s why I asked if she liked chicken, Daddy,” Zach stated, and the ‘duh’ was super implied.

  “Everyone likes chicken,” Zoey remarked sagely. “You can make it all kinds of ways.”

  “I like it when Daddy cooks it outside,” Zach agreed.

  “That’s when I barbecue it, Zach,” I said, my palms still sweating a bit.

  “I like it when you barbecue it,” he echoed.

  “I like it when it’s crispy,” Zoey said, sharing her opinion.

  “That’s called fried chicken, honey,” I explained.

  “I like fried chicken,” she said confidently. “Maybe Zach and I aren’t twins, Daddy.”

  I immediately turned at that. “What?”

  “Shouldn’t we like the same kind of chicken if we’re twins?” she asked. “Maybe the doctors got it wrong and we’re not twins.”

  I almost laughed at her, but I couldn’t do that. A child’s confidence was always developing, so I did my best not to laugh at my kids. It was the cruelest thing to make a child feel like they were stupid.

  “The doctors didn’t get it wrong, Zoey,” I told her. “You and Zach are twins, honey. However, that doesn’t mean that you guys have to both like the same things. You will grow up to be your own person with your own likes and dislikes.”

  Zach frowned. “I don’t like that idea,” he said, and it was hard not to smile at him. The little guy was just so damn serious all the time. “She can’t be her own person when she’s my sister.”

  Just like I was never going to understand the female mind because I was a male, I was never going to understand the connection that my children had because Alec and I weren’t twins. I was never going to know just how close they felt to each other, and the idea was rather remarkable when I considered how close I felt to Alec. However, that was nothing compared to what Zach and Zoey felt for each other.

  Zoey frowned, too. “Yeah, I don’t like that idea, Daddy. If Zach turns into his own person, then he won’t need me to be his friend anymore.”

  “Zoey, it doesn’t work that way-”

  “Can we invite Haven over for dinner?” Zach asked, cutting me off, obviously not liking the idea of losing Zoey as his best friend. “I can share my piece of chicken with her if we don’t have enough.”

  “We have plenty,” I told him. “Let me…uhm, I’ll call her, okay? But if she’s busy, no pouting.”

  They both just grinned up at me.

  Pulling my phone out of my pocket, I let out a deep sigh. Sure, I could text her, but this was a big deal that needed a conversation, not a text.

  She answered on the fourth ring. “Roman? Is everything alright?” No one ever called anyone these days, so I understood her instant concern.

  “Yeah, everything’s great,” I quickly assured her. “I’m…uh, I’m calling because…have you eaten yet?”

  “Uhm…no,” she answered hesitantly. “In fact, I was just getting ready to feed Tin and Nic before whipping myself up some gourmet dish that I saw on Pinterest.”

  It was amazing the people that we fell in love with.

  “Well, while I’m sure that your Pinterest masterpiece will be great, Zoey, Zach, and I were wondering if you’d like to join us for dinner,” I told her, putting it out there. “It’s baked chicken with mashed potatoes and steamed peas, so if you’re against anything healthy at the moment, I can pile up your plate with loaded mash potatoes only.”

  “You’re inviting me over for dinner?” she asked carefully. “With you and the twins?”

  “Yes, I am,” I replied, not even trying to pretend not to acknowledge how big of a deal this was. It was unbelievable how I’d gone from not wanting to involve my kids in this to inviting Haven over for dinner. That just proved that love didn’t give a shit about best laid plans.

  “I’d love to,” she replied, and I could feel my entire body sag with relief.

  “Bring the puppies, and the kids can help you feed them out back while I finish up dinner,” I told her, and I could feel my palms still sweating.

  “We’ll be right over,” she replied, a smile in her voice. The wench also hung up without saying goodbye.

  When I looked over at my kids, they were grinning from ear-to-ear.

  Chapter 22

  Haven~

  I was nervous, and…not necessarily excited, but something. A part of me wondered if Roman had only invited me over because he’d been pressured by his kids. Even though the twins were only five-years-old, they were a formidable pair; Zach with his serious disposition, and Zoey with her direct personality.

  Nevertheless, dinner had been fun, entertaining, and surprisingly easy enough. Nicodemus and Justin had even been acting right, which felt like such a relief. Parents always wanted their kids to act right around company, and I was no different. However, in all honesty, it was beginning to feel like Nic was mine and Tin was Roman’s. Justin followed him around like he idolized him.

  More incredible than being invited over for dinner? The puppies and I had been asked to stay afterwards for a screening of The Secret of NIMH. After the movie, the kids had played with the puppies for a while before having to take a bath, then go to sleep. To make matters even more picturesque, when Roman had put the kids down for bed, Nic had followed Zach to his bed, and Tin had followed Zoey to hers. The twins had their own bedrooms, and the puppies had followed them like they’d been doing it forever. The only thing left was for me to follow Roman to his bedroom, though I knew that wasn’t going to happen. However, I had no problem letting the puppies spend the night. I could come back early in the morning to retrieve them while Roman got the kids ready for school.

  So, with everyone else down for the night, it was just me and Roman in the kitchen, him having a beer, me having a cup of tea, just having finished cleaning up dinner.

 

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