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“Good.”
Penny raised her other leg with the help of Roman’s sturdy arms. She curled around him as he released himself from his jeans and let his pants drop to his knees. Then he moved his fingers under Penny’s skirt, his eyes darkening when he felt the barely-there thong.
She groaned when his fingers touched her most sensitive spot. “I don’t… I can’t…”
Roman pressed into her with his full force, sending Penny’s breath hissing out as his lips glanced across her neck. Her fingernails dug into his back, surely leaving marks. Her eyes snapped shut, her mind splintering into fractures of color and light and stars.
A knock on the door interrupted them. Immediately, Penny felt her face go flush, both with regret at the interruption and shame at their brazen risk. Roman all but dropped Penny, then leaned forward and pulled up his pants. He zipped and fastened his button with all-too-practiced ease.
“Get dressed,” he said. “I have to take this meeting.”
“But you don’t know who it is,” Penny mumbled dumbly, feeling idiotic as she knelt to retrieve her torn panties. “What if they heard us?”
“Straighten your skirt.”
“Relax. It’s not like we’re doing anything wrong,” Penny said, then blushed. “I mean, it’s embarrassing, but it’s not the end of the world. We’re both adults, both single. I love you, Roman.”
“Now is really not the time to have that discussion.”
“I’m not pushing you to say it back to me. I’m just being honest with you.”
“Oh, Penny.” Roman shook his head. “Try to be realistic. It’s too soon for that. I can’t exactly marry you; I’m not even divorced yet.” The knock on the door sounded again, more persistently. Roman’s gaze flicked over her shoulder. “We’ll talk about this later. I have an important meeting.”
“We’ll talk about us later.” Penny didn’t mean to ask the question, but her voice lilted at the last moment, giving away her insecurities. “Are we still on for drinks—”
“Tonight won’t work. I’m sorry. This might take a while.”
“Call me then, when you decide what you want.”
Roman gave a quick smile. “Of course.”
Head down, Penny shoved the carcass of her torn panties out of sight. She’d skipped lunch earlier in the week and had spent the saved money on special undies to surprise Roman. Now, they were a mangled mess, tucked into the elastic band of her skirt. Much like Penny’s feelings.
Her cheeks warmed as she yanked the door to Roman’s office open, wondering if his next visitor would be able to smell sex clinging to the air. She was so painfully self-conscious that she could hardly glance at the middle-aged woman waiting on the other side. But the tapping of the woman’s toe against tile drew her gaze as Penny wondered with an air of annoyance what was so important it hadn’t been able to wait.
Penny stilled, however, as she caught sight of the woman’s face. “Anne?”
“Penny?” Anne Wilkes hesitated. “What are you doing here? God, you’re a student. I completely forgot.”
“Taking classes?” Penny joked, her palms clammy as her mind worked in overdrive. “I didn’t know you were an actress in your spare time.”
Anne. Eliza. Eliza’s husband. There was no way word of Penny’s dalliance with Roman wasn’t getting back to Eliza. Big mistake. Even if the two were separated, Roman was still married. It wasn’t right what Penny was doing; she just couldn’t seem to stop herself.
“Not me. I don’t act.” Anne was so distracted, she’d missed the joke, her cheeks a ghostly pale. “I was just dropping something off… er…for Eliza.”
“Ah, of course,” Penny said. “Well, I’ll see you this weekend.”
“This weekend?”
“Brunch. Saturday, your place? I’m bringing fruit?”
“Yeah, yes. I mean, of course. See you.”
“Anne, come in,” Roman called casually from his office. “Sorry about the wait.”
Blindsided by both Roman and Anne, Penny wheeled away from the acting studio and shuffled back toward her car. There was no way she would sit through class tonight. She couldn’t stare at Roman all evening and wonder what the hell they were doing together for the zillionth time. Some days, he was so sweet with her, and other days, it was like he wanted to pretend she didn’t exist.
When Penny returned to her car, her night progressively got worse. A thoughtful cop had slipped a dismal parking ticket under her wiper. She plucked it off and noted the expired meter.
