Olivia deserved more than this. She deserved more than a brief fling with a man like him. And that was all he could offer her. Once the passion wore off he would only end up hurting her when he left. Roman Lazarov did not do relationships. He did not make declarations of love and commitment or plan lifetimes together.
In the past he had never been good at returning the things he had stolen. He refused to repeat his mistakes. And yet the idea of Khal knowing what had happened made him balk. Not for himself, but for Olivia. She deserved his protection.
‘I’m coming with you,’ he said, surprising himself.
Olivia turned around, her eyes wide with confusion. ‘There is no need to escort me home, noble as it seems.’
‘This is not about being noble—it’s about being honest with Khal.’
Guilt entered her expression at the mention of the Sheikh’s name. His gut churned at the realisation that by rights he should be displaying the same emotions himself, seeing as he had spent the past twelve hours in bed with the woman his best friend hoped to marry.
‘Do you honestly want us to tell him about last night?’ she said with disbelief.
‘I will speak to him alone. There is no need for you to see him.’ He found himself saying the words—words he had meant to protect her—and yet he could tell by the dark look on her face that they had come out wrong. As usual.
‘You presume that I need you to explain on my behalf.’ Her gaze seemed to darken as he took a step closer to her. She stood tall. ‘I am quite capable of speaking for myself.’
‘Clearly you are not. Otherwise none of this would have happened.’ Roman shook his head, anger at the whole ridiculous situation coursing through him.
‘Feeling some remorse, I see.’ She pursed her lips.
‘One of us should. Do you simply plan to go back and accept his proposal with the heat from my bed barely gone from your skin?’
‘Is that actually what you think of me? Do you even know me at all?’ She was completely still, unnaturally still, like the eerily calm glass of the ocean before a hurricane.
‘I’m trying to—God help me. But you’re not making it very easy.’
‘And just what will you tell him? Seeing as you’ve got this covered.’
‘Whatever needs to be said. Bottom line: he needs to know that we have slept together. I cannot let your marriage go ahead with him in the dark.’
‘Bottom line?’ Olivia’s eyes widened. ‘You know that telling him will essentially be ending the engagement before it can even happen? Why the sudden change of heart? Two days ago you were doing everything in your power to make this union go ahead.’
‘Do I truly need to explain to you what has changed?’
Olivia’s eyes darkened. ‘Yes. You do.’
And there it was. The gauntlet, large and heavy, hanging in the tension-charged air between them.
‘You spent the night with me, Olivia,’ he said. ‘I took your virginity.’
‘That does not qualify as an explanation.’ She bit one side of her lip, taking a few paces away from him before turning back. ‘You said it yourself—it was just sex.’
Roman met the unmistakable challenge in her blue-green eyes. He had not lied when he’d told her that sex was not always so intense.
‘Sex is never “just sex” when it is one person’s first time,’ he said quietly, knowing he was being a complete coward.
‘I think that is up to me to decide.’
‘You wouldn’t need to decide anything if I had done the right thing and walked away last night.’
‘How utterly male of you to think that.’ She rolled her eyes. ‘Spending the night in your bed was my choice too, Roman. I wanted it just as much. I wanted you.’ Olivia took a step towards him, the sunlight glowing on her Titian waves. ‘You did not take my virginity. You can’t take something that is given freely. I took last night just as much as you did.’
She looked so beautiful at that moment—all strength and feminine power. Hadn’t he told her she needed to let this woman be free?
The unmistakable sound of helicopter blades in the distance intruded on the moment. Roman looked out of the windows and sure enough a scarlet-coloured chopper was coming in from the coast, the gold crest of Monteverre emblazoned along its side.
I wanted you.