The Virgin’s Guide to Misbehaving (Bluebonnet #4)(54)
Author: Jessica Clare

As she showered, Elise thought about the night they’d just spent together. Sex had been amazing. Okay, more than amazing. Mind-blowing. If sex was this good, she should have been having it years ago, shyness be damned. Then again, she suspected the partner had a lot to do with it, and there was no one more attractive to her than Rome. She loved his tattoos, his smile, his piercings, his gorgeous eyes, his laugh . . . everything about him. Even his personality seemed to hit her in all the right spots. He didn’t mind when she was quiet, and didn’t try to tease her about the things she was hung up on. He just accepted them, as if everyone had hang-ups and you just coped with them.

He was so patient and understanding. How on earth did she get so lucky?

True, she’d told him that she’d loved him last night and he hadn’t said it back to her. But—and maybe this was naive of her—she didn’t feel like he had to. He cared for her. It was in the tender way he held her when they first made love, waiting to see if he’d hurt her and looking down at her with agony in his eyes at the thought of causing her pain. It was in the way he touched her, his fingers dancing along her scar as if it were something that made her beautiful instead of strange. It was in the way he didn’t see the port-wine stain still faintly outlined on her cheek, and always treated her like she was a goddess. It was in the way he tried to protect her from everything that might somehow hurt her feelings.

If he wasn’t the type of guy to admit love and feelings, that was all right with her. He felt them. He didn’t have to verbalize them for her to feel adored.

Just being with Rome made her feel wanted and special.

When she got out of the shower, she wrapped herself in one of the towels and made her way out, then gave him a fierce kiss when he headed in, to let him know she was thinking about him. He groaned and muttered something that sounded like “Lord have mercy” before heading in for his own shower.

By the time he came out, she was dressed in her clothes again, her wet hair pulled up into a loose bun at the back of her head. Rome dressed quickly, too, and then they linked hands and headed out for a walk on the Strand to find something to eat.

The air was crisp and smelled of the ocean, and Elise couldn’t resist tugging Rome in that direction. “Can we grab something portable and walk on the beach?”

“You bet,” he said, and steered her toward a burger stand in the distance.

They walked up and stared at the printed menu, trying to decide what to eat. Rome pulled out his wallet and began to count dollars, and Elise tilted her head, studying the sign on the burger stand when she felt an uncomfortable prickle on her neck. She glanced around and saw the guy at the counter was staring at her. Or rather, he wasn’t trying to, but his gaze kept flicking to her face and then flicking away.

She touched her cheek, self-conscious. The sun was bright today, and she wasn’t wearing any makeup to even out her skin. Given the fact that she’d been rubbing her face all over Rome’s beard stubble for the past twelve hours, her face was probably flushed and the stain more noticeable than usual. Ill at ease, she stepped behind Rome, carefully using him as a shield from the man’s gaze. She was sure he didn’t mean to make her feel . . . small. But she did. He was probably wondering what a girl like her was doing with someone as gorgeous and confident as Rome. Her hand reached for her hair to pull it across her cheek, but it was in a bun.

“What do you want to eat?” Rome asked.

She shrugged, staring down. Her hand went to the band in her hair and she tugged it free, not caring that her hair was still wet, and began to drag it across her cheek in an effort to conceal the stain. “Just order me something,” she mumbled.

Rome’s fingers touched her chin and he angled her face up, making her look at him. “Hey.” His blue eyes searched her face. “What’s wrong, Bo Peep?”

She shrugged. “That guy was staring at my face.”

Rome leaned in and kissed her. “This beautiful face?”

A hot flush crept up her cheeks. “It’s the only one I’ve got.”

He grinned at her, and her heart thumped. “You want me to go growl at him and scare him?”

She shook her head, but she was smiling.

He winked at her. “You wait here and I’ll take care of food, baby.”

She nodded and sat down on a nearby bench, letting her wet hair flutter in the wind. She tried not to look over, but Rome seemed to be having a rather intense conversation with the man behind the counter, who looked terrified.

Rome returned a few minutes later with a paper tray, two burgers and fries, and a large drink. The guy behind the counter had disappeared. Rome set the tray down on the bench between the two of them.

“What did you say to him?” Elise asked.

Rome handed her one of the cardboard cups of fries. “I told him if I caught him checking out my girl again, I was going to make him sorry.”

Her eyes went wide. “Rome . . . he wasn’t checking me out.”

“You said he was staring at your face.”

“Yeah.” She touched her cheek self-consciously. “Because it’s . . . weird.”

Rome shook his head and offered her one of his fries, as if she didn’t have a cupful of her own at the moment. But she took it from his fingers with her lips, and tried not to feel absurdly pleased at the small gesture. “Baby, the only thing weird about me and you is why a sweet, classy girl like you got mixed up with a tatted-up loser like me.”

She made a sound of protest, only to have him shove another fry at her mouth. This time she glared at him. “Are you trying to shut me up?”

“Maybe?” He gave her a mischievous look. “Maybe I just like shoving things into your mouth.”

Her face went scarlet, a reminder of that morning.

They ate together, enjoying a quick bite on the bench, and then Rome gestured at their leftover fries. “Come on. Let’s go feed these to the seagulls.”

It seemed like such a mischievous little-boy thing to do, how could she refuse? Elise smiled and got to her feet. They linked hands again, Rome carrying the cup of leftover fries. They headed toward the beach and the water, and as soon as they got close, seagulls began to circle, crying out.

“Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea,” Elise said, shielding her face with a hand as the birds swooped overhead. Everywhere she turned, more and more seagulls were coming.

“Nah, it’s all good,” Rome said, and began to toss fries out onto the sand. He grinned when the birds dove for them, and looked back to her impishly. “They’re hungry.”