Breaking Bro Code

Chapter 14

He dropped me onto the oversized mattress with a force that sent a jolt of electricity through my spine. I bounced slightly, the silk of my robe sliding precariously off one shoulder, but I didn't pull it back. I didn't want to hide anymore.

Roman hovered over me, his arms braced on either side of my head, trapping me in a cage of muscle and heat. He was breathing hard, the calculated calm he’d shown Nolan completely evaporated. In its place was a raw, hungry energy that made my skin prickle.

"You've got a lot of nerve, Allie," he murmured, his eyes scanning my face as if searching for a flicker of regret. "Standing up to Nolan like that. Telling him you'd rather be in the lion's den than back in his curated little birdcage."

"Maybe I'm tired of being the bird," I countered, my voice trembling but determined. I reached up, my fingers brushing the fabric of his shirt, feeling the hard planes of his chest beneath. "Maybe I want to see if the lion actually bites."

A low, dangerous chuckle vibrated in his throat. He shifted, his weight pressing me deeper into the plush bedding. "I don't just bite, Allie. I devour. You know exactly who I am. You've known since you were ten years old and following me around like a shadow. You know I don't do 'steady.' I don't do 'sweet.' And I definitely don't do 'exclusive.'"

The reminder hit me like a cold splash of water, but instead of pushing me away, it fueled the fire. The danger was the point. The unpredictability was the only thing that felt honest after the sanitized lie of my previous relationship.

"I didn't stay for a promise of forever, Roman," I whispered, pulling him closer by the collar of his shirt. "I stayed because for the first time in my life, I don't want to be safe. I want to feel something that actually scares me."

Roman’s expression shifted. The predatory smirk vanished, replaced by something deeper, something almost primal. He looked at me not as Nolan’s little sister, or as a guest he was sheltering, but as a woman who had just challenged him to a game he didn't know how to lose.

"Careful," he warned, though his voice had lost its edge, becoming a velvet caress. "You're playing with fire in a room full of gasoline."

"Then let it burn," I replied.

He didn't need another invitation. He crashed his lips against mine again, this time with a desperation that bordered on violent. It wasn't the polished kiss of a superstar; it was the kiss of a man who had been suppressing a hunger for years and had finally been given permission to feed.

As his hands wandered, possessive and sure, I felt the last remnants of the "good girl" Allie slipping away. I wrapped my legs around his waist, pulling him flush against me, embracing the chaos he represented.

Outside, the storm was still raging, wind howling against the glass of the master suite, but inside, a different kind of tempest had taken hold. I knew this was a mistake. I knew that by choosing Roman, I was stepping into a world of tabloids, heartbreak, and instability.

But as he whispered my name against my skin, his voice thick with a need that mirrored my own, I realized that for the first time in my life, I wasn't just following someone else's lead. I was the one driving us straight into the crash, and I couldn't wait to see the impact.