Ivan shakes his head, disappointment reflecting in his eyes. “His mood swings are getting worse. He needs to stop taking that shit before it fucking kills him. If he ever loses it on you, call me. I won’t hesitate to bring you to the house with Violet and I.”
My heart stops before resuming an unnatural rhythm.
Before it kills him?
The thought of Roman hurt or dead floods me with dread. I can barely deal with the thought of me leaving this house and being away from him. But the thought of him dying…of him not existing anymore…I can’t even fathom it.
I could never live in a world where Roman isn’t alive…never.
I’m curled up on the leather couch in the media room downstairs, half awake, watching some random TV show, when I finally hear the front door open. Roman has been gone for hours, so long that I was close to calling Ivan to gather a search party.
I turn off the TV and get up, stretching my aching muscles, hoping to be able to talk to him about what Ivan said earlier. But once the sound of the TV is gone, I hear Roman’s voice echoing through the house. My stomach drops, when the sound of a second voice touches my ears. It’s a male voice, one that I don’t know. Things seem to only get worse when they walk into the living room and I can see that they are clearly intoxicated.
“Hey babe,” Roman smiles when he sees me, catching me completely off guard. It’s almost like he is a completely different person from when he left the house this morning.
“Yeah…hey babe,” the other guy greets me, looking up and down my body. “You didn’t tell me you had someone to warm my bed.” He nudges Roman in the side with his elbow as if he’s joking, though the look on his face says otherwise.
Roman’s smile turns into something that looks like that of a snarl from a wild cat. “She is mine! Don’t fucking look at her, talk to her, and I swear, if you ever touch her, I’ll cut off your fucking hands!”
His possessiveness takes me by surprise, but I would be lying if I said I didn’t enjoy him claiming me as his. I want to be his. I want him to be mine. I just don't know if that's in the cards for us.
“Calm down man,” the guy holds up his hands palm first as if to show he means no harm. “Message received…babe is off limits.”
Roman walks up to me, his gaze softening when our eyes meet, and I melt just a little into his touch. This is the side of him I like most.
“I’m sorry I left you for so long. I had to…blow off some steam.” I just now noticed that his speech is slurred. When he leans in to kiss me on the cheek the strong smell of alcohol assaults me.
“It’s okay,” I lie. It’s not okay, but I don’t want to fight again. Especially not in front of some guy I don’t know.
“This is Andi, he is a good friend of mine. He is going to stay here for a few days. Andi this is Sophie.” My heart sinks.
I only met this Andi guy a few minutes ago, but there is something about him I already don’t like. I can’t put my finger on it, but I feel like there is something off about him.
“Hi Sophie, I would shake your hand but then Roman would cut them off and those are way too useful to have some crazy person cut them off.”
I just nod, not even able to muster up a smile.
“Come on, let’s get a drink.” Roman takes my hand and starts pulling me into the kitchen. Once there, I sit down on one of the bar stools at the island and watch as Roman takes out some liquor bottles and three short glasses.
“I don’t want to drink anything,” I announce, nervously placing my hands in my lap.
And I don’t think these two need to drink anything else either, but I know they won't listen to me, so I hold my tongue.
“Suit yourself,” Roman mumbles and puts the third glass back into the cupboard. He pours the remaining two glasses full to the rim, handing one to his friend and sipping on the other one himself.
For the next half hour, I listen to the guys talk, joke, and drink. They include me in casual conversation, but I also find myself enjoying the times they talk about some of the stuff they had experienced together when they were younger.
I feel myself loosening up a little with each passing minute and then I start wondering if I was maybe wrong about my first impression of Andi. Maybe he's not as bad as I thought.
“Ugh, I got to take a leak…I’ll be right back,” Roman murmurs and stumbles out of the room and down the hall. As soon as Roman is out of earshot, Andi turns to me. There's a sinister glint in his eyes and it makes me shiver.
“So, what room do you sleep in?”
I blink slowly, unsure of why he cares what room I sleep in. The uneasy feeling I had about him earlier returns with a vengeance. What kind of question is that?
“I sleep in Roman’s bedroom…with Roman,” I clarify, refusing to answer anymore of his creepy questions.
“Oh well, if you ever get tired of him, you are more than welcome to sneak into my room,” he almost drools while talking.
His eyes roam down my body again and even though I am fully clothed, I feel exposed. Like he can see every inch of me.
“No thanks.” I try to keep my voice even, not wanting to show any weakness.
“I see how it is, you want both of us, don't you? That’s okay too. I can be a team player. You’re pretty enough after all. I can fuck your ass while he fucks your pussy if that's what you’re into.”
I jump up from my chair almost tripping over my own two feet. My instincts kick in, telling me I need to get out of here. Backing away from the creeper before anything can happen, I run out of kitchen as fast as I can. He grabs for me but I'm much too fast and he is way too drunk.
I turn the corner in the hallway, and nearly scream when I collide with Roman’s muscled chest.
“Hey, where are you going?” His hands find my hips to steady me, and even with him drunk I still feel safe, and protected. Roman won’t let his friend hurt me.
“I…I’m going to bed,” my voice comes out shaky but Roman must be too intoxicated to notice because all he does is give me a little frown.
“Okay, I’ll be there soon.” He presses a kiss to my forehead and releases me. I brush past him and make it into the bedroom closing the door while clutching a hand to my chest directly over my erratic heartbeat. I don’t like that Andi guy and I already can’t wait for him to leave.
Forcing myself to calm down I strip out of my clothes and grab a fresh pair of panties and one of Roman’s t-shirts. I shower in his bathroom, dry off, and get dressed in my pjs before crawling into the bed. The sheets are cold beneath my bare legs and I hope Roman comes to bed soon.
I lay there in the dark for what seems like forever...my eyes drifting closed briefly and then I hear the turning of the door knob. My heart starts to race, and panic floods my veins. That Andi guy certainly wouldn’t be stupid enough to come in here, right?
When the door opens and Roman walks in, I nearly sigh into the bed sheets. He closes the door quietly behind him and starts stripping off his clothes. When he catches me staring at him, he smiles, and it makes my entire body burn up in flames.
“I could get used to having you in my bed every day and every night.”
“Is that so?” My mouth waters, looking over every inch of his body. If perfection had an image, he would be it. He looks like a statue with all his sculpted muscles, defined and lean. It’s no wonder I feel safe with him, he looks like a brick house.