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easier. “Girl, you haven"t changed a bit,” she whispered as she wrapped her arms

around Rosa"s neck.

Rosa snorted. “I have changed…in all the right ways, lady.”

Sela pulled back slightly to look Rosa in her eyes. “You"re right, Rosa. You"re

even more beautiful now.”

Rosa gave her a full, bold smile. “You"re good, but I refuse to be distracted. Tell

me about you and Rome.”

Sela evaded her curious gaze. “There is absolutely nothing going on between

me and Rome.”

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Rosa turned her in a circle as the beat of the music picked up. When she

returned to her arms, Rosa asked, “Is that because he doesn"t want it or you don"t

want it?”

“Why are you even asking me this?”

Rosa grinned at her, a mischievous light in her beautiful eyes. “Don"t tell me a

few years in London and you"ve forgotten how quickly the small-town network

works.”

Sela gasped at her statement. “Don"t tell me people are actually talking about

this. I"ve barely been in town for eighteen hours.”

Rosa shrugged one slim shoulder. “The town can"t help it. You guys were the

„will-they-won"t-they" couple for years. People need to know if their hopes and

dreams are going to come true.”

Sela came to a standstill in the middle of the room. “What?”

“We, okay, I want to know if you and Rome are finally going to do the nasty.”

“There"s not a chance in hell that is going to happen.”

Sela started to stride off the impromptu dance floor when someone captured

her arm and pulled her close.

“Would you like to dance?”

She turned swiftly at the sound of Rome"s voice. She started to tell him she

wasn"t interested when she realized that he wasn"t talking to her. He held out his

hand to Rosa.

The redhead flashed Sela an amused grin before taking his offered hand. Sela

dreaded the questions she knew Rosa was going to ask Rome. It wasn"t until the

dancing crowd swallowed up Rosa and Rome that Sela realized Nick was the one

who had pulled her hard against his body.

“A beautiful girl like you, standing all alone… Something is very wrong with

that.”

She turned and found Nickolas smiling down at her. “Want to dance?” she

asked. He held out his arm. “I thought you would never ask.” Hand in hand they

made their way back to the makeshift dance floor. Sela grinned up at Nick when he

wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her close. If any other man did that,

she would have started wondering about his intentions, but she knew Nick too well

to think along those lines.

They"d joined the same company at the same time. They"d also happened to be

recent college graduates. They"d bonded that first year, and the relationship had

lasted despite the fact that they both went on to different jobs in different states.

They still talked regularly even though Sela had moved to London for her newest

job.

She"d been horribly disappointed when he"d told her he would be away at a

convention when she came back to the States. “Thank you for this,” she whispered

before placing her head on his chest.

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Sela felt his chuckle rumble through his broad chest. “You know I can"t stay

away from you.”

She snorted. “I missed you too.”

His hand moved up her back as he swiveled his hips. “Am I the only guy you

missed?”

Sela lifted her head. “Why would you ask me that?”

“I"m not blind, Sela.”

“And what exactly do you see, Nick?”

“Tell me the truth, Sela. Who would you prefer to be dancing with?”

She didn"t say anything in response. Nickolas already knew the answer to the

question. He could always see through her lies.

“I thought so,” he murmured and placed a kiss against her forehead. When she

felt him pulling away, stepping back, she lifted her head in surprise. Nick and Rome

were switching partners.

“Hi,” she said, feeling both nervous and awkward as Rome pulled her into his

arms. Awareness slammed through Sela the moment his fingers curled around her

upper biceps. She looked up to find green eyes staring down into hers with a curious

shine. He gave her a tense smile. “It seems Rosa is more interested in your…friend

than she is in dancing with me,” Rome murmured softly as he pulled her even

closer.

She felt the pause before he called Nick her friend. He was implicitly asking if

he was right to characterize Nickolas as nothing significant. She licked her lips.

“Last time I checked, Nick was single.”

“Rosa will be glad to hear that.”

“Hmm,” she said as she moved with him, trying not to wonder if Rosa was the

only one glad to hear that Nick was single. Although she"d already told Rome she"d

ended her engagement, nothing was said about her current status. Now he knew

she and Nick weren"t dating.

“I missed you, Sela.”

She sucked in a deep breath and consumed the flavor of his skin. She could

taste the woodsy essence of his light cologne, the rich flavor of his body heat, and

the man himself.

It rolled off her tongue and settled deep into her gut.

He spoke the words so softly she couldn"t help wondering if they were part of

her imagination.

“Sela?”

She blinked hard when Rome whispered her name. She lifted her head and

found his mouth a breath away from hers. She yearned to move across that space

and press her lips against his.

“Cat got your tongue, Se?”

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She discovered herself racking her brain for the question he had asked. “Uh…”

“I think I already got my answer,” he said and lowered his head. Lightning

heat streaked through her abdomen and the folds of her sex the moment Rome"s

mouth pressed against hers. Her nipples pebbled and tingled with molten desire.

Sela gasped into his mouth as the shocking heat from his lips echoed through her

every erogenous zone.

Rome slipped his tongue past her lips and into her mouth. Sela sighed when

his tongue glided over hers, teasing and tantalizing her with the moist warmth of

his kiss. His wide, long-fingered hands splayed over her back and pulled her closer

against the flat plane of his hard chest. She swiveled her hips against Rome"s as his

hand moved down her spine until it cupped the full globe of her right butt cheek.

Sela lifted her hands and threaded her fingers through his hair. She gripped

his head and deepened the kiss, falling deeper into the spell that Rome"s lips wove

so well.

He lifted his other hand to her face and cradled her jaw as he glided his mouth

over hers, seducing and enticing her. Thoughts Sela had never allowed herself to

think entered her mind as his lips moved earnestly over hers.

“Do you feel that, Sela?”

“Do you?” she retorted without opening her eyes. It was her first taste of true

passion in years. She wanted more. Wanted to consume and be consumed. Sela

wanted Rome to devour her until nothing was left.

And she knew that, at that moment, if she chose to open her eyes, the reality

of the situation would sweep away her need.

“Yes,” Rome groaned before wrapping his lips around the sensitive flesh right

behind her ear and sucking hard. Sela immediately felt her knees buckle as she

threw her head back to enjoy his ruthless caresses. Thankfully he was holding her

tightly against his body. Otherwise she might have fallen to her knees.

He was devastating to her senses, and he was demolishing her carefully

crafted guard. Pressed against his body as she was, she could feel she wasn"t the

only one getting aroused.

His thick black hair that was a touch unruly brushed across her nape. A tingle

shot down her spine to settle at her core just as he brushed his lips over the baby-

fine hairs at the back of her neck. They were in the middle of April"s living room, in

front of Lord knew how many people, and all she could think about was the itch she

wanted him to scratch.

“Rome?”

He pulled back. She opened her eyes to gaze at him. “You shouldn"t say my

name. Not like that. Not here.” Beautiful, hot green eyes stared down at her,

warning Sela not to push him to a place she couldn"t handle. His eyes were filled

with such heat, yet so guarded, she couldn"t help but wonder how Rome would

respond if she pushed him.

Just the tiniest bit.

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It couldn’t hurt, could it
? the demoness on her shoulder asked.

Before Rome could answer, the guy behind him bumped into him. A change

came over him almost immediately. He shook his head and took a step back, away

from her, the hungry gleam in his eyes gone.

Sela didn"t know whether she should have felt thankful or enraged. They were

so close, and now far didn"t even begin to describe the distance between them.

“Excuse me,” Rome murmured. “I think I need another drink.”

She watched Rome stride off, running away from her, from what simmered

between them. Then again, he might have been the one doing the only intelligent

thing. Three seconds ago and a few kisses more, and Sela wouldn"t have given

another thought to fucking in the middle of the room.

Lord, she was in so much trouble.

“Damn, girl, if you two had kept that up any longer, I would have started

charging people for the triple-X show,” Rosa said with a giggle.

Sela gasped. “Shut up!”

It was all she could come up with as she looked at the small crowd gathered

around her. Several people were sneaking her smug looks that told Sela her make-

out session with Rome had indeed been noticed.

Shit!

The low hum of conversation slowed and ebbed until it was completely gone. A

woman in her mid to late twenties stood in the middle of the room, her arms spread

out to her sides. “It"s game time, people,” she called.

Everyone started talking at once.

“What kind of games is she talking about?”

Rosa gave her a bold smile. “Sex games, of course.”

Sela gawked at her. It was quickly becoming apparent that everyone had lost

their minds. She pulled her purse tighter against her side and took a step to the

right. She had every intention of leaving the party as soon as possible. She didn"t

care if she had to walk her ass all the way home.

Rome chose that moment to return, two drinks in hand. He handed one to

Rosa and held the other out in front of her. “I got something I think you might enjoy

more.” She eyed the door. His gaze followed, and his mouth flattened in irritation.

Sela took the beverage reluctantly, seeing her chance for escape diminish

exponentially.

She was going to remember this moment the next time someone asked her to

come to a party she knew could not end well.

Yup!

Suddenly the room stilled. Sela blinked to find several pairs of eyes watching

her with more than mild curiosity. Sela took an instinctive step back.

“Am I that frightening, Sela?”

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She looked up to find Rome looking down at her, emerald eyes hard with a

mixture of anger and need. She didn"t know what she had done to receive that look,

but she hoped to never repeat the act. “What… Excuse me?” She gripped the cold

glass in her hand like it was a lifeline.

“Rosa just volunteered us to play seven minutes in heaven.”

Sela darted a glance at Rosa. The light in the redhead"s gaze told Sela that

Rome was unfortunately telling the truth. She racked her brain trying to figure out

when and how the “nomination” had come to be.

She knew she had a bad habit of daydreaming when she was irritated, but…

“Sela?”

Her head snapped up at the tone of Rome"s voice. He fully intended to make

her spend seven minutes in a tiny, dark closet with him.

She stared at him in horror. “Tell me you"re kidding,” she somehow managed

to get past her tight throat. She could already feel a panic attack coming on, and

she was neither pretty nor sexy in panic mode, and she refused to be anything but

pretty and sexy as long as Rome was in looking distance.

He flashed her a blinding smile that didn"t reach his eyes. “Don"t tell me you"re

too old to play games, Sela.”

She bristled at the underlying sharpness to his soft words.

Rome was angry with her.

Why, she didn"t understand. Sela was the one who should have been angry

with him. He was the one who"d walked away from the dance floor. He was the one

who"d left her standing in the middle of the room, trying to figure out how to handle

her raging hormones. He was acting like a total ass for no damned reason.

To make matters worse, he was airing their dirty laundry in front of everyone.

She shot Rosa a look that promised retribution and darted a glance around the