Chapter 140: Am I not enough for you?

Ivy

The click-click-click of my nails was the only sound in the room.

I had been sitting on the edge of the couch for a while now, biting my nails down, my knee bouncing so hard the whole couch was shaking. The butler dude had deposited me here and vanished. The house was dead quiet.

Where were they?

My phone was as heavy as a brick in my pocket. I read my father’s messages on the drive over here, all caps, furious, demanding to know where I was, why I hadn’t answered, what I knew about his arrest.

Then the last one.

Father: Jake said he called to tell you about my arrest, but you were too busy fucking those devils and cut the call. I assume you need a little reminder, Harper.

What reminder? I was terrified.

What was father up to? I was already in knee-deep shit; I just needed to get out of here. My head whipped up to see Roman was in the doorway.

And he looked terrifying.

His hazel eyes were blazing, his jaw was tight, his chest was heaving like he had run the whole way here. His blonde hair was a mess, like he’d been dragging his hands through it and... I gulped, digging my nails into the couch. There was something in his eyes, something wild and unhinged that made my stomach drop straight to my feet.

"Ro?" I whispered, my voice coming out small and shaky. "What... Hi. Why do you look so- "

He burst into laughter. A loud, booming, chilling sound, his head thrown back, eyes crinkling at the corners. "Vivi," he purred, still laughing, walking toward me.

"My sweet, sweet Vivi. Here you are. I’ve been looking everywhere for you."

He was stalking closer like a predator and I was prey.

I swallowed hard and stood up, my legs unsteady. "Um. Um, you. You guys were able to finish what you wanted to do? At the uh... at your meeting or something?"

He didn’t answer. He just kept coming, backing me up until my calves hit the edge of the couch and I had to sit back down. He loomed over me, his hands braced on either side of my head, caging me in.

"Why? Do I need to report to you now too?" he murmured. "Hmm?"

"What?" I blinked up at him. "What’s going on? Are you...are you drunk or something?"

"Yeah." He laughed again, softer this time, but no less unhinged. "I’m drunk. I’m drunk on you, Vivi. Drunk on your lies. Drunk on your pretty... pretty face."

His hand came up, fingers tangling in my hair, twirling a strand around and around. He leaned down, his nose brushing against my cheek. There wasn’t any smell of alcohol on him. He wouldn’t be drunk.

"Ro," I breathed. "What’s going on? Where’s Kai and Gideon?"

"Aww? Why? Am I not enough for you, Vivi?" he asked, pulling back to look at me. His bottom lip pushed out in a pout. "Am I not man enough for you? Do I not make you feel good?"

"What? Of course you do- "He smushed his lips to mine, cutting me off. His mouth crashed against mine and stole the words right out of my throat.

I wanted to respond but it was pretty jarring. Roman’s kisses were always gentle and soft, never like this. This kiss was hard and demanding, punishing me.

Then his hands grabbed my sweater and a loud ripping sound filled the air. He was ripping it.

"Ro," I gasped against his mouth. "Ro, what!"

I heard the fabric tear, one sharp rip, then another until my sweater was in pieces on the floor and his hands were on my bare breasts, cupping them, squeezing them, roughly.

"Roman!" I gasped, ashamed that my thighs even quivered in arousal at all. I tried to push away. "What’s going on? This isn’t like you- "

"You’re not screaming loud enough," he muttered, pulling back just enough to look at me. His eyes were wild. "You’re not answering me, Vivi. Am I not man enough? Am I not enough?"

I swallowed hard. Oh god, oh god, this wasn’t gentle Roman. Gentle Roman was gone, and the man who tortured the assassin sent to kill Kai was standing right in front of me.

He was terrifying. So much more terrifying.

"Answer me," He cooed, sending chills down my spine. "Am I not enough?"

"You are, you are, Ro, you’re- "

He kissed me again, cutting me off, and his hands slid down to my jeans. He popped the button, yanked the zipper, and then he was pulling them down my legs, harshly.

Not the way he usually did, sliding them off my body like I were made of glass. He tugged and ripped until they came off in a rush, and I was left standing there in just my panties, my heart pounding so hard I could feel it in my throat.

He groaned, hazel eyes shimmering with... tears? "How can I still fucking want you? I should not want you."

"What’s going on?" I whispered, my voice shaking. "Ro, just tell me what’s going on. I can fix it."

He laughed again. But this time, it was so hollow and broken, it ripped through my chest.

"Oh, you can’t fix this, Ivy." He cupped my jaw, hissing through his teeth. "You can’t fix this, Vivi. What is there to fix? You’re every bit like him."

His words hit me like a punch to the gut.

You’re every bit like him.

My blood went cold and my heart rammed to a stop. My brain scrambled to catch up, to put the pieces together. Oh god, they knew.

"You know," I breathed, horrified down to the bones. This was now what I imagined it would go down to. This wasn’t what I wanted. Why couldn’t the universe just wait a day more? Just a day more.

Roman’s head snapped toward me. "What was that?"

"You know," I repeated, my voice cracking. "You know who I am."

He laughed again, that same hollow, broken laugh. "Oh, we know. We know exactly who you are, Harper Kingsley."