Chapter 15 15
Roman's POV
Harmony didn't move. I knew she wanted this just as much as I did.
I edged closer to her face, and the moment my lips touched hers, every thought I'd had about this being a bad idea evaporated completely. She was motionless for half a second, and then she kissed me back.
She released her grip on my shirt, but then pulled me closer almost immediately, and I felt the small sound she made against my mouth more than I heard it. She tasted so good that I forgot about my knee. There was just her warm body, her amazing lips, kissing me back with an urgency that matched mine in a way that I hadn't expected.
I pulled her closer with one hand flat against her lower back, and she came without resistance, which sent heat vertically through my body. Her supple body was pressed fully against mine now. I could feel everything, from the curve of her waist under my hands, the softness of her breasts against my chest. I was painfully, obviously aroused, brushing against her body, aching for some release.
I moved my mouth to her jaw, then her neck, and she tipped her head back and sighed slowly. My hands traveled from her waist downward and when I grabbed her ass, she made a sound that I knew I was going to be fantasizing about for a hell of a long time. Her fingers found the back of my neck and pulled, and I pressed my lips harder against her throat and felt her pulse jumping under my mouth.
Her scent was clean and distinctly sweet, and I kept my face buried in her neck, trying to figure out exactly what it was, when she shifted her body against me and I lost the thread of that thought entirely. Her nails grazed the back of my neck lightly and I groaned against her skin before I could stop myself.
"Oh, God!"
"Roman," she whispered, and the way she said it, in a wrecked murmur, did nothing to help the situation below my waist.
"Do you want me to stop?" I asked.
"Mm hmm," was all she said, and I took that as a no.
I brought my mouth back to hers and kissed her deeper, one hand still on her behind and the other traveling up her back, pressing her closer even though there was no more space left between us. She kissed me back just as hard, her hands moving from my neck to my shoulders, and I was starting to think that nothing in the world existed outside of this room, this moment and Harmony Sinclair's mouth on mine.
Right until a loud crash interrupted us. Harmony flinched, and I lifted my head.
My mother was standing in the doorway. The door must have opened as it always did, but right there, it sounded impossibly loud, enough to jolt me out of what I was doing.
My mother was speaking to Dr Sherman, who was walking into the room behind her. Then her face started to cycle rapidly through several expressions before stopping outrage. She glared at Harmony, then at my hand, which was still very much on Harmony's ass.
"WHAT ON EARTH IS GOING ON HERE?" She shrieked.
Dr Sherman himself had a scandalised look on his face. "Miss Sinclair!"
Harmony jumped back from me like she'd been electrocuted. Her face was red and her ponytail was slightly undone. Hastily, I pulled my hand away from her ass, feeling my face heat up as well.
Harmony was trying to explain. "Dr Sherman, this is not—I wasn't—we were just doing a flexibility exercise and..."
"With your mouths? Miss Sinclair!"Dr Sherman chided.
"I kissed her," I spoke up, and both of them looked at me.
"She was helping me with my knee exercise and I kissed her," I repeated. "It was entirely my doing. I promise you, Miss Sinclair was professional the whole time. I pushed it in a direction she didn't initiate, nor ask for. That's the truth."
"There's no need to lie for her now, is there?" Mother snapped. "A misdemeanor is a misdemeanor."
Dr Sherman studied me for a moment, then looked back at Harmony, whose face had gone from red to pale.
"Miss Sinclair had nothing to do with it," I continued. "If you're going to be angry at anyone, it should be me, please. I'm the person who overstepped."
Harmony was glaring at me, giving me a 'what the hell are you doing?' look, but I ignored her. I knew how much trouble she would be in, if she took the fall for what happened.
Dr Sherman was quiet for another long moment. "Thank you for your honesty, Mr Foster," he said finally, with a stiff nod in my direction. Then he turned to Harmony and the kindness that was usually on his face was completely absent. "My office, Miss Sinclair. Immediately."
Harmony glanced back at me just briefly, and then she was gone, hurrying out after Dr Sherman and closing the door shut behind her.
Then my mother, who had been standing in the doorway this entire time like a statue, stepped fully inside.
"Well," she said, and shook her head.
I groaned. "Here we go again."
"That girl has no business putting her hands on you in that way. She is an intern, a student!"
"Yeah. A student like me." I quipped. "Seriously, Mom, it's not that deep."
"Oh, no. It is that deep. She should be dismissed immediately and I intend to make sure—"
"She didn't do anything!" I snapped. "Were you not standing there? Did you not hear what I just said? I kissed her. She wasn't even—just stop, Mom. Please."
"You are recovering from a serious injury and that girl was taking advantage of you!"
"No, she was helping me, which is more than you have done since you heard about my injury, need I remind you?" I pushed myself carefully back toward the bed and sat down. "She has been helping me since day one, more than you know. This clinic has done more for my knee in two weeks than your private nurse is going to do in two months."
"I have already made the arrangements," my mother replied coolly. "Sarah comes highly recommended and has worked with professional athletes. You will be far better taken care of at home than in this place."
"I don't want to go home. I have a student apartment."
"That is not your decision to make." She picked up her handbag from the chair where she had set it down. "I am doing this for you, Roman. I am paying for this out of my own pocket, because I want you to be well. That girl..." she pointed towards the door, "is bad news and you'd do well to keep your distance. You should be grateful that you have a mother who still looks out for you."
She smoothed down the front of her suede coat.
"Aaron never gave me this kind of trouble," she continued quietly. "He trusted my judgment, and he was grateful for what I did for him. Until..."
She paused and stared at me, and I could swear I saw disdain in those eyes. "I'll have Bruno bring the car outside tomorrow morning at ten, no excuses. Be ready."
And then she was gone. I remained on the edge of the bed, ignoring the dull ache in my knee, and pressed the heels of my hands against my eyes.
I was not going to cry. I was twenty years old, for crying out loud! But God, was I close to doing it.