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When it's over, I slump against the chaise again, completely spent. My eyes slide closed, a smile on my lips.
I hear him moving around above me, but I'm too blissed out to open my eyes. Even when he wipes me off and picks me up, cradling me against his chest, all I manage to do is sigh.
"You're beautiful when you come," he says, kissing my forehead tenderly.
"So are you," I mumble as he carries me into the condo and deposits me on the couch.
"Feel better?" he asks.
I crack one eye open to look at him. He smiles at me, his eyes soft and amused. I think he heard me bitching about everyone getting orgasms except me. He's laughing at me. Whatever though. I just came twice. I don't care what he heard.
Chapter Seventeen
Roman
"I talked to Tahani today," Mila says softly as we cuddle on the couch after lunch. She has her face buried in my throat, her words muffled. I hear the worry in them anyway.
Her fear is the same as the one that's been knocking around in my skull for the last few days. I have no fucking clue what I'm going to tell Tahani about us. All I know is the thought of losing either my daughter or the woman currently in my arms makes my chest ache. I've never wanted much before, but I want this to work out with an intensity that's foreign to me.
"She's worried about you," Mila continues when I don't say anything. "She knows something's going on."
"I know," I mumble, little pinpricks of guilt prodding at me. I maneuver us around until we're both sitting up, Mila's legs spread around my hips. I tip her face up to mine, studying her expression. She looks as guilty as she sounds, and I hate that. She has nothing to feel guilty about. This is on me, not her.
"You haven't done anything wrong," I tell her when her worried eyes meet mine.
"I'm lying to her," she whispers sadly. "Every time I talk to her, I lie."
Fuck.
I close my eyes, resting my forehead against hers. "I'll talk to her, baby. It's my responsibility to tell her what's going on with us. I should have told her already."
"What if she hates me?" Mila whispers.
Her voice sounds so small, it fucking kills me. It kills me even more when I can't promise her that Tahani won't be upset about this. I know my daughter. She's going to be pissed when she finds out that I'm in love with her best friend. I just pray to God that she's mad at me for it and not at Mila.
Mila may have been brave enough to speak up and tell me she wanted me, but I think I would have taken her anyway. This thing was bound to happen between us sooner or later. Since the day I met her, we've been on a collision course, headed for exactly this same ending.
"No one could ever hate you," I tell her, heat in my voice. "She may be pissed, but fucking hell, baby. Tahani loves you like you wouldn't believe." That's nothing but the truth. My daughter is so much like me that it scares me sometimes. She's hell on wheels, constantly up to something. She's not happy unless she's doing something. Since the day I finally met her, she's been like that. But she's also fiercely protective.I've seen my girl upset about a thousand different things over the years, but I've only seen her sob once: after Mila told her about her bastard of a father. I was so fucking proud of Hani the day she came to me to ask for help tracking down Mila's dad so she could kick his ass.
I wanted to help her do it when she told me about the way Mila grew up after her mother died. About how her father neglected and hurt her. Instead, I talked Tahani down and promised to make sure he didn't get a chance to fuck up Mila's life anymore. I know exactly where he is. For almost four years, I've told myself I only keep tabs on him for Tahani's sake, but that's a lie. I've kept tabs on him for Mila. Because the thought of that son of a bitch hurting her anymore pisses me off.
"The day you told Tahani about your father, she came to me," I say, sliding one hand up her back into her hair. I hold her to me, tucking her face into my neck again while I talk. "She was so pissed at your dad about the way you grew up. I've never seen her that upset before." I touch my forehead to hers again. "She may be mad about this, but I promise you, sweetheart, Tahani loves you. She could never hate you."
"Okay," she whispers, the word little more than a trembling sigh.
I tip her face up and press my lips to hers, kissing her hard. She kisses me back, slipping her tongue into my mouth. With a soft curse, I tilt her head, using the hand I have tangled in her hair to move her where I want her. We make out until we're both panting for breath, and I'm hard again, and then I break away.
"I didn't know she told you about my dad," Mila says a few minutes later, curling up in my lap.
I run my hands up and down her back, being careful to avoid the bruises across her upper back and ribcage. I fucking hate the fact that they're there. Her entire upper back is black and blue.
Aside from bitching about not getting orgasms and about me hovering, which I have been doing, she hasn't really complained once. She just keeps moving forward, refusing to let anything slow her down. I admire the hell out of her strength. More than she knows.
"She did," I confirm. "Do you ever talk to him?"
"Nope."
"Jesus. I'm sorry." I press a kiss to her crown, hating that her father is a piece of shit. She deserves more than that. A hell of a lot more.
