A phone. It felt oddly heavy in my hands as he placed it on my lap, as though it carried a weight far beyond its physical form.
I stared at it, a chill running down my spine. “What is this?”
“Turn it on, Savannah.” His voice had lost its playful tone, hardening into something serious, almost foreboding.
My palms grew slick with sweat. With a gulp, I picked it up, the device feeling heavier than it should. The screen flickered to life, revealing an old, scratched phone that looked hauntingly familiar.
I glanced up at him, my heart sinking. “Is this… yours?”
Roman’s jaw tightened, a shadow crossing his features. “It’s Dean’s.”
The air left my lungs in a rush, my stomach dropping as reality crashed down on me. My fingers flew to the video app, and there it was-waiting, taunting me.
“Dean, you bastard,” I whispered, my vision blurring with unshed tears.
I tapped play.
Roman’s gaze flickered to the phone and back to me, his jaw clenched, muscles in his forearm tightening as if he were physically restraining himself from snatching it away. I could see his nostrils flare, a vein ticking in his neck, the tension in the air palpable.
The screen lit up with movement. I caught a glimpse, just enough to send my body rigid, shame searing my skin. My throat constricted, panic rising. God, not in front of Roman. With trembling fingers, I slammed the screen dark before it could reveal any more.
Tears spilled hot and fast, the first one splattering against the glass in my hand. My voice trembled as I spoke, “L… I don’t know what to say.”
Roman didn’t look away. His gaze remained steady, unwavering as he absorbed my brokenness.
“How did you get this?” I managed to whisper, my heart pounding in my chest.
His eyes remained fixed on mine, unyielding. “I have my ways,” he replied, his tone clipped, jaw still iron-tight. “We came to a compromise.”
Dread crawled up my spine, a sense of foreboding settling in. My head snapped toward him. “Roman-what did he ask from you in exchange for this?”
He didn’t blink, his expression resolute. “That’s not important now.”
“It is to me.” I pressed, desperation leaking into my voice. “Don’t you dare brush this off-“
“What matters,” he interrupted, his voice like steel, “is that it’s out of his hands now.”
I swallowed hard, my chest heaving. “And if he has other copies?”
His eyes sharpened, a dangerous glint flashing through them. “Then I’ll find them. I’ll destroy them too. He claims this is the only one. But if he lied… if he has more, I’ll make him pay.”
The way he said it sent a shiver down my spine, a promise laced with violence.
I nodded, my grip on the phone trembling. “Thank you, Roman. Truly. Thank you.”
His expression softened, just enough to steal the breath from my lungs. “You don’t need to thank me, Savannah. I’d do anything for you.”
His words wrapped around me, warm and suffocating all at once. My heart swelled, betraying me, even as the shame from that cursed video clung to my skin like poison.
And still-Roman stayed. He didn’t look away. He bore my shame as though it were his own, and that made it both easier and infinitely harder to breathe.
“What do I do with this?” I asked slowly, raising the phone once more. My hands trembled under its weight, the reality of the situation pressing down on me.
“Whatever you wish to do with it.” He paused, his gaze sweeping over my form, assessing. “Do you have anything in mind?”
“Are you really sure this is going to work?” I asked Roman, my voice coming out softer than I’d intended, almost a whisper.
“Absolutely,” he replied without a hint of doubt, his confidence unwavering.
“Get in,” he commanded, the tone of his voice both firm and resolute, sending a shiver racing down my spine. I complied, sliding into the passenger seat, feeling the cool leather wrap around me like an embrace. He shut the door with a solid thud that echoed in the stillness of the night before walking around to his side.
As I settled in, heat surged to my cheeks, and my gaze inadvertently wandered to the backseat. The rich, supple leather seemed to beckon me, pulling my mind back to that unforgettable night. I could almost feel the ghost of his hands gripping my hips, his breath hot against my skin as I pressed against the glass, fogging it with my heated breaths while I cried out his name. My thighs instinctively clenched together, my body recalling each thrust, every sinful sound that had reverberated in this very car.
I knew I shouldn’t have looked at him in that moment, but I couldn’t help myself. Roman sat there with such casual ease, one hand confidently gripping the steering wheel while the other rested lazily against his thigh. Damn him. The memory of me straddling that same thigh, grinding down against him as his smug grin watched me unravel, nearly made me squirm in my seat. My body betrayed me, my nipples hardening at the thought of how his mouth had claimed them over and over again that night.
My fingers twitched restlessly at my side, aching with the memory of pressing against the glass as he took me from behind. Oh dear God, the recollection sent a thrill through me.
And Roman? That little smirk tugging at his lips told me everything I needed to know-he remembered it all too well.
“You are one naughty girl, Savannah,” he murmured, his chuckle low and deep, sending a rush of heat down my spine.
I caught my breath, heat pooling in my stomach. Turning sharply toward the window, I pretended to study my reflection, but all I could see was the imprint of my own hand from that night-a mark of our reckless abandon. “Shut up,” I muttered, though my body was already betraying me, thrumming with desire.
Desperate to steer the conversation away from our shared memories, I forced myself to change the subject. “Are you really sure it’s going to be completely destroyed and irretrievable?”
Just thinking about that awful video made my stomach twist in knots. After we had deleted it, I had insisted on obliteration-no chance of it ever resurfacing. And so here we were, sitting in his car, the phone lying there like a lifeless thing on the driveway, Roman promising to finish the job.
“Of course,” he replied smoothly, his voice steady as he started the car. “Just watch this.”
The engine roared to life beneath me, vibrating through the car and sending my mind spiraling back to Roman’s growls in my ear, the sound that had made me lose control. I shook my head quickly, trying to clear my thoughts. He shifted the car into reverse. A loud crunch echoed as the tires rolled over the phone, and my heart leapt in my chest.
Then he moved forward, the tires grinding the device into the asphalt as if it had personally offended him.
“Alright, I think it’s destroyed now,” I said, watching intently through the windshield, my heart racing.
But Roman, with his trademark mischief, drawled, “Just one more time to be sure.” He rolled back again with exaggerated flair.
I groaned, dragging my hands down my face in exasperation. “Why do I get the feeling you’re enjoying this a little too much?”
He chuckled, killing the engine with a satisfied grin. “C’mon. Let’s go take a look.”
We stepped out of the car, and I was met with the sight of what was once a phone. Now, it was just a mangled heap of glass shards and twisted metal. “It’s destroyed now,” he said, his voice softer, almost tender. “So you don’t have to worry anymore.”
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.