Hearsay (22 page)

"Then let's talk," Roman proposed.

"You'd rather talk than make out?" Derrick joked half-heartedly. "What's wrong with you?"

"I'm not going to pretend I didn't hear what you said before," Roman stated in a firm tone.

"My timing was off. This is not the time or the place, plus I'm in a better mood already." Derrick kissed Roman again, narrowing his eyes when the infuriating man leaned his head back. Luckily for him, they remained firmly joined at the hip. Otherwise, Derrick would've snapped.

Roman brushed his nose over Derrick's forehead and nose. "I wanted to bring you as my date tonight. I saw it as another opportunity to be with you, and I couldn't pass on it. I only remembered my family would be in attendance hours after I'd invited you, and I wasn't willing to cancel my plans." In a soothing tone, Roman added, "I understand why you're so upset, but I really didn't think you'd mind meeting them."

"Of course I don't mind meeting them," Derrick hissed, not soothed in the slightest. "I'm fucking ecstatic to meet them! What I mind is meeting them before defining our relationship, and there's no way in hell you didn't know that would upset me!"

There.

He'd done it again.

You so need to quit the princess act
, he told himself.
How about you start right now?

"I'm not bipolar or prone to mood swings," he mumbled. "I swear to you, I'm not."

It was just that, this was one of the many topics they had discussed last year while sitting by the pond. When it came to dating, he and Roman had agreed you shouldn't introduce a boyfriend to the family unless you were serious about the relationship. Derrick didn't have a single doubt where they stood. He was crazy for the man, and, Roman, albeit resistant, couldn't hide the fact he had strong feelings for Derrick.

They hadn't talked in a year or discussed the big pink elephant in the room, but that didn't change a freaking thing. They were the real deal, as simple as that. True love for the win, and all that jazz.

But, before he allowed Roman to bring him into the inner circle of his family, Derrick needed him to acknowledge that fact. Out loud. So that there wouldn't be any confusion as to what this night was all about.

"I didn't think things through," Roman said sheepishly, pressing their foreheads together and ignoring Derrick's words. "I apologize for that."

"Don't lie to me," Derrick said in a calmer tone, recognizing Roman's bullshit answer for what it really was; an extension of the fear that had him by the balls. "Please."

Roman could be the sweetest man in the world, but he was also extremely smart, perceptive, and calculating. Derrick didn't believe for a second Roman hadn't considered every angle before even asking him if he owned a tuxedo. Clearly he wanted to stop Derrick from reading too much into his actions. Not a chance. He'd sooner walk out of the hotel than let Roman make light of the situation. Derrick was done letting him hide.
 

"I admit introducing you to my family before having our talk is a bit premature," Roman said quietly after a few seconds of silence that felt like hours.

Good start
, Derrick thought. "Then why did you do it?"

"I've been nothing but serious about you since the first time you met me for lunch in Central Park." Roman slid one of his hands down Derrick's tux lapel and rubbed the back of his neck with the other. "I know you felt the same way… it's obvious that hasn't changed." He took off his glasses and put them in his jacket's inner pocket. "I'm almost convinced I'll never stop wanting you, but you might change your mind about wanting to be with me," he said in a wavering voice. "It occurred to me that I could… that maybe it'd be best if I… I've dreamed of this moment," he whispered, looking down and breaking eye contact. He swallowed visibly, scowled at the floor, rolled his neck. He cleared his throat, shifted his weight from one foot to another, and finally lifted his head. His beautiful eyes became dull right before he said, "I just thought I'd show you how much you mean to me by introducing you to my family while I still had the chance," he finished in a small voice.

Roman's softly spoken words sent a tremor down Derrick's spine. He felt the floor move under his feet and his heart swell in his chest as the anguish pouring from Roman swallowed him whole. He had never seen anyone look as defeated as Roman did right now, and for the first time in his life Derrick didn't have a clue what to do.
 

Reassuring Roman nothing would make Derrick give up on them would be a waste of time. He could always show Roman he was in it to stay, but that would take time he didn't have. That was real anguish making Roman's eyes look like they belonged on a corpse. Roman truly believed they wouldn't last. He seemed… resigned. It broke Derrick's heart… and scared him to death. So much so, that he needed to do something about it right away.

"I can't decide if I should kiss you or kick your ass," Derrick groaned, thumping his head against the wall twice before wrapping his arms around his man.

Roman buried his face in the curve between Derrick's shoulder and neck. "I vote for a kiss," he said roughly, once he'd stopped shaking. "It'd be much appreciated." He framed Derrick's face with his hands and captured his eyes. "May I?"

"Please," Derrick whispered.

Roman leaned forward and brushed his lips with a series of butterfly kisses, caressing Derrick's face with so much tenderness, it was an assault to his senses.

His mind, heart, body, and soul were engaged. His entire being swept away by Roman's touch and taste… by the words he was afraid to say but didn't hesitate to show. By the promise of paradise after they'd made it through this storm.

Derrick drew in a jerky breath, slid his hand between their bodies, and measured Roman's length with his fingertips through the fabric of his pants. "You'll come up to my apartment when you drive me home tonight," he said against Roman's lips, cupping his man's growing erection in his hand. "Then we'll talk. And after that, you'll take me to bed. Okay?"

Roman squeezed his eyes shut. "You agreed to a recess not even twenty-four hours ago."

"Only because you failed to mention making love was contingent on us having
the talk
," Derrick accused. "That was foul."

"But you agreed, and it's only one more day," Roman pointed out.

"And now I'm telling you I want us to make love."

Roman sighed. "What if I'm not ready to be intimate with you?"

Derrick about swallowed his tongue when he heard that question.

He knew Roman wanted to be with him in the worst way.

No.

Scratch that.

He knew Roman wanted to let out all his pent-up desire and frustration by
fucking
him raw. He hadn't said it out loud, probably because Roman always avoided being crass, but Derrick could see it in his eyes. When Roman finally stopped pussyfooting around, there'd be no holding him back. Just thinking about it increased Derrick's blood flow to his genitals and made his ass clench.

He couldn't wait to be taken by Roman, and he'd see to it that he didn't have to. If he had to tie Roman down to his bed and keep him there until they'd solved all their issues, he would.

Then Derrick would climb on top of Roman and ride him like he was
Secretariat
at the Kentucky Derby, not letting the reins go until they were on the same track.

"Is
the talk
we're supposed to have the only thing stopping you from admitting you're more than ready to bend me over and give me what we both need?" he asked, not bothering to watch his language. Roman could be a prude, but Derrick wasn't.

Roman cleared his throat and looked away.

Derrick yanked his arm, although not too hard. He didn't want to grab people's attention, and he didn't want to hurt his man.

Much
.

"Answer me," he demanded.

"I started mentally undressing you five minutes into our first meeting," Roman admitted with another sigh, looking him in the eye. "What do you think?"

It was Derrick's turn to sigh. Roman's eyes weren't dull anymore.

That's more like it.
 

"Good, because I kind of need you to touch me as soon as possible," he said, pressing his hard cock against Roman's.

"
Jesus Christ.
" Roman panted. "Does this mean you're not mad at me anymore?"

"I am, but watching you try to deny me makes me unbelievably horny." Derrick grinned. "Will you be a good boy and take care of me? You know I'm eager to return the favor."

Roman growled, as if he was in pain. "You're killing me."

"I love your eyes. They're so bright and expressive, even when you're wearing your glasses." Derrick licked his lips. "You look at me, and I go up in flames. Your gaze is so intense it sets me on fire... and it tells me everything you want to do to me. I want to do some of those things tonight."

Roman's nostrils flared. "It won't kill us to wait," he said, looking like he was ready to go to the nearest bed.

"I understand you need a break from whatever it is that's giving you gray hair and making you look like you're miserable. I needed a break myself last night, and something tells me you've been worrying over things way longer than I have. But I thought about this today and concluded we aren't doing ourselves any favors by putting this conversation off."

In reality, it was Tashana who made him realize he had to man up.

They'd had a long conversation over lunch. He'd finally told her about his lunch dates with Roman and their outing the previous night, and she'd ripped him a new one for not confiding in her before. Then in true Tashana style, she'd gotten over it, gave him a big hug, and proceeded to share her opinion on the whole thing.

His friend told him it might be better to talk things out sooner rather than later, and, after a few minutes of introspection, Derrick had to agree. He had to get what Roman obviously thought of as an insurmountable obstacle out of the way before they could start their life together the way it was supposed to be: drama free.

Granted he'd rather live in denial. As nervous as Derrick was over the possibility of facing felony charges and hearing the reasons that had kept Roman away, taking permanent residency in Oblivion County sounded extremely tempting. But the possibility of losing Roman again scared him to death. At the moment he was bracing himself for the worst while still hoping for the best. He couldn't think of anything better than to getting it all out in the open and taking it from there.

Starting now.

"What if you're wrong?" Roman argued, looking at Derrick with pleading eyes. "It's just another day. Twenty-four hours. One thousand, four hundred, and forty minutes of guaranteed happiness. Why would you give up on that?"

Derrick cradled Roman's face in his hands and stared into his eyes. "Because I'm in love with you," he whispered. "I don't want one thousand, four hundred, and forty minutes with you. I want a lifetime."

Roman took a shuddering breath. His Adam's apple bobbed twice, and his eyes got suspiciously bright, but he didn't try to hide.

He opened his mouth to say something, shook his head, then made another attempt to talk.

It was in vain.

"You don't need to say anything," Derrick said softly, taking Roman's hands between his and pressing them against his chest. "You've already told me everything I need to know, and I already told you nothing will change my mind about us," Derrick reminded Roman, palming the side of his face. "And, frankly, we have to do this. I'm so horny for you I don't even know what to do with myself anymore. I'm not planning on hooking up with another man anytime soon, and I know jerking off won't be enough." He kissed Roman again. "From now on, your sexual pleasure is in my hands, literally, and mine is in yours. We'll keep each other blissfully satisfied."

Roman made a noise that sounded suspiciously like a sob before burying his face in Derrick's neck. "I'd do anything to be able to give you what you want right now," he said in a harsh, muffled voice. "
Anything
."
 

"What we both want," Derrick said quietly, closing his eyes and refusing to analyze the possible meaning behind Roman's words. That would come later tonight.
 

Roman took a step back and stared at him for the longest time, his eyes pulling at Derrick until their arms were wrapped around each other once again.
 

"I feel like I've waited a lifetime to hear you say those words," Roman rasped. "And to be able to say them back to you…" He kissed Derrick's cheek, his nose, and his eyes. He hugged him tighter, kissed him on the lips, and hugged him again. "I'm in love with you, too."
 

"I know, handsome… I know…" Derrick's eyes stung with unshed tears of happiness when he added, "Let's compose ourselves and go inside. I'm ready to meet your family now."

Chapter Fifteen

As far back as Roman could remember, he'd always thought the proverbial glass was half-empty. He didn't think he was pessimistic. He was, however, a bit of a cynic. If there was a speck of a chance for things to go wrong, Roman believed they probably would.

In his opinion, romantic entanglements were particularly susceptible to failure. Emotions, personality traits, and personal agendas tipped the scale. Partners' inability to find common ground often resulted in relationship hell.

Roman ought to know.

He'd been there.

His mouth still tasted like something had died in it whenever he thought of his ex.

But, as bitter and paranoid as James's despicable final attempt at ruining his life had left him, Roman still believed in happiness and long-lasting relationships.

He hadn't become jaded or lost faith in love. If he ever did, remembering the difficulties some of his friends and family members had overcome in order to make their marriages work would get it promptly restored. Marital bliss was possible… as long as you pursued it with your soul mate. All of a sudden, Roman believed that was a viable option.

"What are you smiling at?" Derrick asked quietly.