Satisfaction Guaranteed (31 page)

She loved Rome Vicenza more than she had ever loved anyone before.

And to think she might not have every gotten to know him if he hadn"t been

strong enough to ask Mrs. Marshall to make her his science-fair partner.

That was well over a decade ago. Rome was a man now. With all the raging

emotion, rough needs, and pride that came with that masculine title. She had to

remember that fact.

Rome was not the seventeen-year-old she remembered.

Yet he still is…

There were still some parts of him that would always been juvenile. He would

always be a young man searching for his father"s approval. At least until he chose to

move past that point. Although Rome would never admit it, Sela knew his father"s

words had hurt him greatly. She glanced at his stoic face. He was keeping the anger

and pain within, and if she wasn"t careful, he would bottle it up and let it fester.

Satisfaction Guaranteed

149

Features tightened in concentration, he turned back to the canvas and went to

work, covering it in paint. With any other person she would have been worried

about what he was painting. How she would look. How he saw her.

But Sela trusted Rome.

“I missed you.”

He stilled. For a moment it was the only indication he had heard her words.

Then she saw his fingers were clenching the paintbrush so tightly his knuckles were

white with tension. He licked his handsome mouth and lifted his gaze. “Did you?”

She blinked back the tears that threatened in her eyes at his question. He had

to know she had ached every day they were apart. “I never was the same when I

found out you weren"t coming to see me. Something was always missing. I thought I

had gotten over it, over you, but the first time you kissed me, a little part of me

realized what was wrong. I still cared, do care about you.”

Flames a thousand degrees hotter than hell burned in his green eyes as he

stared back at her. His fingers clenched the brush so tightly he broke the wooden

handle. He cursed savagely as the snap of broken wood sluiced through the thick

air. He strode across the room and dropped the brush into the trash.

He turned back to her. Gone from his gaze was the fire of need. He"d banked

the flames of his desire. “You shouldn"t say things like that, Sela, if you don"t mean

it.”

He was angry, irritated. The words that had been exchanged between him and

his father had forced him to barricade his emotions. But she needed him to let them

out.

Sela needed him to let her inside.

She knew from experience that altercations between Rome and his father left

the younger Vicenza with wounds. Ten years ago Sela had been too young to

understand that wounds never healed and even festered if they weren"t cleaned out.

Sela needed to get Rome to let go of the poison his father"s barbarous words had

inflicted.

“And what if I"m not lying, Rome?” She stepped forward, totally naked,

physically and emotionally, and strode toward him.

He met her more than halfway. Rome marched across the room and grabbed

her arm. His long fingers bit painfully into her flesh as he held her to his chest.

“Don"t play with me, Sela. I"m no longer in the mood for your damned games.”

She licked her suddenly dry lips and stared up into Rome"s turbulent gaze. She

had to be careful with what she said. She was toying with a wounded animal. She

needed to placate the beast. “There is nothing playful about the way I feel for you. I

am very serious when I say I missed you. I still miss you whenever we"re apart.”

“Shut up.”

“If you leave me for more than a day, I start looking for you. I miss you

whenever you"re not around.”

150

Tuesday Morrigan

“Damn it. Damn you,” he yelled before lowering his head and kissing her

harshly. Sela relished the feel of his lips pressed against her mouth, dominating her

in kiss that demanded her total submission.

She gave it easily, willing, because she was already his.

Satisfaction Guaranteed

151

Chapter Twenty

Sela missed the man she loved. It was ridiculous but true. Rome had only been

gone for a few hours, but Sela already missed him.

She glanced at the blanket they had shared the night before. It, thankfully,

still smelled like him. Unwilling to deny herself the pleasure, she grabbed the

blanket and wrapped it around her before taking a seat on the sofa, grabbing the

remote from the coffee table and putting the television on. After half an hour she

had to admit she wasn"t watching it. She"d spent the last thirty minutes wondering

just how far things could go between her and Rome when she lived in the UK and

he lived in New York City.

A little part of her was worried about her job. She"d been in town for almost

two weeks. The date for her to return to Britain was quickly approaching. A large

part of her was thinking of changing or canceling her flight. She used up the last of

her vacation days for her annual visit to her mother"s, so she might not have a job to

return to if she stayed. Though she wasn"t a fan of job hunting, she could always get

another job, whether here or in the United Kingdom. She just hated the idea of

leaving the company like that.

It seemed she was a lot more adventurous than she originally thought. Since

rediscovering her feelings for Rome, she"d found that she was a betting woman. She

was willing to put her money on Rome no matter the stakes because she believed in

him.

Inside, she knew they would make it.

Her job was just that, a job.

She looked to her left and eyed her mother"s desktop computer. The television

wasn"t capable of emptying her mind like she hoped. Maybe the Internet would do

the job. She stood and headed over to the small desk. She was halfway there when

the doorbell rang. It was around the time her mother and sister were supposed to

return. Knowing her mom, the woman lost her house key again, and her sister

hadn"t received her copy of the latest key. Rosa and Nick were no longer in town,

and neither was the kind of person to drop by out of the blue.

She opened the door and froze. Turin stood on the doorstep with a grimace on

his mouth and a bruise darkening his eye. “I"m sorry to bother you, but…” He

trailed off and looked to the side, avoiding her eyes. Something heavy and painful

dropped to the bottom of Sela"s belly at the action.

“Staying at home wasn"t an option, and I didn"t know where else to go.”

152

Tuesday Morrigan

Her heart broke at his confession. She was well aware of why Mary Beth left

town. Unfortunately, Turin decided that he didn"t want to stay with Mary Beth or

Rome and would rather take his chances with his father. It seemed he"d had

enough. With Rome away for the day on business, the poor boy must have been

afraid that he would have to return home to the very man who beat him. Sela was

very glad he thought of her. She might not be the man he needed, but she could

provide him with comfort. She gave him what she hoped was her warmest smile.

“Don"t ever worry about coming over.” She stepped aside and allowed him to enter

her home.

He stopped just a few feet into the foyer. His bit his bottom lip nervously. He

looked so much like Rome had ten years ago, it broke her heart to see him in so

much pain.

But unlike Rome, Turin wasn"t looking for a hug, not from her.

“Can I take your coat?” For a moment she thought he was going to turn down

her offer. Then, reluctantly he shrugged out of his slick raincoat. She hung it up.

“Are you hungry?”

“No, ma"am.”

She smiled. “I think I"m a little too young to be called ma"am.”

“Yes, Ms. Sela.”

She sighed. He was nervous, too nervous. “Just Sela.”

“Yes…Sela.”

She suspected her attempts to make him feel comfortable were making things

worse. Still… “Come on.” She led the way to her kitchen, grateful that Sasha and

her mother had found another reason to take a weekend trip.

As much as she would have liked their help with Turin, she wanted and

needed to spend some time alone with Rome"s brother. She hoped to bridge the gap

that lay between her and Turin. “I was just on my way to make some hot chocolate.

Would you like some?”

She knew Turin must have been shivering. His raincoat hadn"t done much to

protect him. His clothes were more than a little damp from the summer storm.

“Turin?” He nervously looked around the kitchen before replying.

“No…Sela.”

“Are you sure?” she asked softly, wondering if this was how her mother had

felt the first time she had set eyes on Rome. She desperately wanted to wrap her

arms around him and keep him safe and away from the pain his father brought

him.

“I guess one cup would be fine,” he said shyly.

She smiled. “Why don"t you go clean up in the bathroom while I get the drinks

ready?”

“Okay, ma"am…I mean Sela.”

Satisfaction Guaranteed

153

“I"ll show you where the bathroom is.” She walked across the living room and

down the hall to stop at the second door on the right. “This is the restroom.” She

opened the first door and pulled out a blanket, towel, and washcloth. “These are for

you. I strongly suggest you take a hot shower to warm you up, and the blanket is to

keep you warm. This is a house of women, and as far as I know, my mother didn"t

keep any of my father"s clothing.”

“Thank you. This is plenty, Sela.”

She smiled. “You are very welcome.” Then she turned and strode into the

kitchen. Once there she realized the hot chocolate might not be enough and grabbed

a few ingredients from the fridge to make some quick soup. She hadn"t been in the

kitchen for very long when she felt his presence. She glanced over her shoulder.

“Feeling better, Turin?” she asked.

“Yeah, I needed the shower,” he said sheepishly.

She believed him. His face was full of the color it lacked when he arrived, and

his limbs were loose, not coiled from anger and pain as they had been before.

Silence descended between them, and Sela couldn"t help feeling helpless. There was

nothing she could think of saying that would make the young man feel better.
Not

that anything could make me feel better about my parent kicking the shit out of me.

To curb the rage she could feel brewing, she returned to the kitchen.

Occupying her hands might keep her thoughts cool. “I made some soup. It"s my

mom"s recipe, pretty much a thick beef stew. Would you like some?” she called out.

First, there was an acute pause and then shuffling. “Uh, I would really

appreciate some, Sela,” Turin said.

She gave him a tender smile. “Why don"t you take a seat? I"ll get you some.” A

few moments later she returned with soup and some warmed bread. She placed the

bowl and small plate on the table in front of him.

“He loves you.”

A few steps away from Turin, she froze. Christ, she hoped so. Sela didn"t like to

think she was the only one who was falling head over heels in love. But the truth

was she was swimming in the dark. She glared at him. “I don"t think that"s any of

your business.”

She saw his small, tight smile, almost as though he didn"t know how to let the

smile free. “Adults always say that when you"re getting too close to the truth.”

She sighed mentally. “The truth is your brother and I have not discussed the

depth of our feelings,” she admitted before walking to the kitchen.

“That doesn"t change the facts. He loves you.”

Her heart started pounding wildly at his words. He seemed so sure, and she

wanted him to be right. She couldn"t help her reaction to Turin"s statement even

though she wanted to play it cool. “Hmmm,” she murmured. As much as she wanted

to dwell on her relationship with Rome, she knew that was not the most important

issue at hand. She lifted her head and held Turin"s gaze. “I do know one thing—he

loves you and your mother more than anything.”

154

Tuesday Morrigan

“That"s not true.” The soft yet savage way Turin whispered the words nearly

stopped her heart in its tracks. “If he loved us, he wouldn"t have left.”

Left them alone to suffer with the bastard he was forced to call father. Though

they were unspoken, the acidic words hung in the air between them.

“He didn"t have a choice.” Sela didn"t know much about what had kept Rome

from his family, but she did know the man she loved wouldn"t leave and stay away

without a damned good reason. Knowing Rome as she did, she suspected he couldn"t

stay in the same household as his father any longer and needed to get out.

“Didn"t he?”

“He"s back now.”

Turin shook his head, glossy midnight hair falling around his beautiful,