Chapter 107 I Love You, Sav Savannah Present. Fear. Satisfaction. Anger. Gratitude. They all collided inside me, crushing against one another until I couldn’t tell which emotion was heavier, or which one I was supposed to feel first. I only knew my chest ached with the weight of them all. He had killed a man because of what he did to me. Not yesterday. Not last week. But years ago. And he stood here now, confessing it to me like it was the most natural thing in the world. “Now you understand why I would never apologize for killing him,” Roman said, voice steady, unwavering. His gaze cut through me, daring me to flinch. “He deserved it, Sav.” The words crawled into my bones. My lips parted, but the answer wouldn’t come. Because what could I say? That I was horrified? That I was relieved? That part of me wanted to recoil but another part wanted to cling to him for never letting that man get away with it? I remembered the hand on me. The excruciating pain. The filthy words. The smirk. The press of my face against the cold, hard floor. The way my body had gone rigid while fear anchored me in place. Roman had taken that away forever. I swallowed, my throat raw. “I… I don’t know what to say.” He leaned closer, thumb brushing against my cheek with a certain gentleness. “Please. Say something. Anything.” His voice cracked, just faintly, but enough to rip something loose inside me. My breath stuttered. “I shouldn’t have yelled at you yesterday.” My words were quiet, almost ashamed. “I was wrong.” His jaw flexed, his head shaking. “No. Don’t say that. We were both wrong. I shouldn’t have raised my voice. I shouldn’t have lost my temper either.” Despite the heaviness, my lips twitched. The memory of the way we both snapped flickered in my head, and this time I caught more than anger in his eyes. I caught hunger too. Heat prickled up my neck. “That was… kind of hot though,” I admitted, my voice barely a whisper. “Prior to New Hope, I'd only seen you get mad a couple of times. And even then, it was at your staff. Never at me.” Roman froze. Then laughter broke out of him, low and rich, shaking his chest. “What?” Mortified, I buried my flaming cheeks into his shirt. What was I even thinking? Blurting out something so crazy like that? Gosh. “Forget I said that. It was ridiculous.” He hooked a finger under my chin, lifting my face until I had no choice but to look at him. His eyes softened, as he bent to kiss the tip of my nose. “You’re so beautiful.” The words unraveled me. My heart cracked open, aching. “Thank you,” I whispered. His eyes lingered on mine. He didn’t move immediately. He just looked at me like I was something worth remembering, like he couldn’t take me in fast enough. My chest tightened under the intensity of it. His gaze dropped briefly to my lips. My breath caught. The air shifted. Heavy. Charged. He leaned in slowly, giving me time to pull away. I didn’t. I wanted him too. I knew what was holding him back was what I'd said in his office yesterday. How I'd reacted afterwards. “I want to kiss you.” His hands cupped my cheek. “I want to feel you.” My breath hitched. “I want to touch you, Savannah. Can I?” I blinked. “You're not supposed to ask.” He smiled. And when his lips touched mine, it wasn’t quite a kiss. Not yet. Just a brush. A question. I answered in silence, pressing into him. Then he really kissed me. At first, it was gentle. Apology and hope pressed into soft lips. My fingers curled into his shirt just to stay grounded, while my pulse thudded wildly. His lips coaxed mine, savoring, patient. But the longer our mouths lingered, the less gentle it became. His hand slid to the back of my neck, angling me closer as his tongue brushed against mine. The spark that shot through me made me moan softly into his mouth. That sound undid him. Roman growled low, and suddenly the kiss grew hungry. Possessive. His mouth devoured mine, his weight pressing me into the bed. His hips slid between my thighs, parting them, his body nestling perfectly against me. The friction of his hardness made me gasp, my body arching to meet him without thought. He groaned, sinking deeper into the space I’d opened for him. My hands tangled in his hair, tugging him closer, anchoring myself to the fire we’d lit. The kiss deepened until I was dizzy, lips swollen, chest heaving. His hand slid up my side, cupping my breast through my tank top, thumb brushing over my nipple. The jolt drew a whimper from me, muffled against his mouth. “Take it off,” I urged in between moans. He tore his lips from mine only long enough to rip the tank top over my head and toss it aside. His gaze darkened, chest rising hard. Then his mouth latched onto me, hot and greedy, lips and tongue wrapping around my nipple. I cried out, arching, clutching at his head, desperate for more. He sucked, licked, bit — relentless — while his hand pinned my hip to keep me still beneath him. Every tug of his mouth sent sparks shooting through me, winding me tighter. My body trembled, aching for him, needing him closer. He understood my whispered plea, his mouth getting greedy. My hands were greedy too. They roamed over his shoulders, down his back, grabbing fistfuls of muscle, needing to feel him everywhere. I found his belt, fumbling. Metal clinked, sharp in the haze. I pulled it open, dragging down his zipper. His groan vibrated against my skin as I slipped my hand inside his boxers, wrapping my fingers around him. “Fuck,” he hissed, hips jerking into my palm.I stroked him slowly at first, savoring the weight, the heat, the angry veins lining the length of him. His forehead dropped to my chest, his moans muffled against me as I quickened my pace, my hand slick with his arousal. His body shuddered, every sound he made unraveling me further. The tension burned hotter, need pressing us both closer to the edge. And then—through the fire of it all—his voice slipped out. A quiet, reverent confession he could no longer hold. “I love you, Sav.” The world stilled. My hand froze. My breath ceased for a split second. I stared up at him, eyes wide, stunned. Roman’s face hovered above mine, raw, unguarded, his chest rising hard. His eyes weren’t lustful anymore. They were vulnerable. True. “You… love me?” My voice cracked. My lips trembled. I swallowed hard. “As a friend, or…?” I didn't want to get my hopes up. I didn't want to twist things. Or imagine things that weren't there. I just needed him to clarify this, once and for all. His answer was immediate, firm. “No. Not as a friend.” His thumb brushed my cheek, tender but sure. “I love you the way a man loves his woman. I love you the way lovers love each other. I love you, Savannah. More than I’ve ever loved anything in my goddamn life.” The room tilted. My heart slammed so violently I thought he’d feel it through my palm. Tears prickled at the edges of my eyes before I could stop them. “Roman…” He cupped my cheek with one large, steady hand, his thumb brushing across my skin with a gentleness that broke me further. “You don’t have to say it back if you don’t feel it.” But I did. God, I did. I felt it in every reckless choice I’d made, every night I couldn’t sleep because of him, every bruise of his voice against my ribs. Every time I'd worried about what I was to him. “I…” My throat tightened. The words shook as they left me. “I love you too, Roman.” The silence after those words wasn’t silence at all. It was thunder in disguise. His chest rose sharply, his body stilling like the ground before a quake. Something inside him broke. Or maybe it healed. His whole body shuddered, like he’d been holding that moment inside for years. He pressed his forehead to mine, eyes closed, breath uneven, before his lips found mine again.It wasn’t sudden this time. It was slow, almost cautious, like he was afraid of breaking the moment. His lips brushed mine once, twice, tasting, testing. I sighed into him, a sound of surrender, and my fingers tightened in his shirt to keep him close. That was all it took. His restraint snapped like a taut wire. How crazy it is, the way he went from best friend to fiancé… Now to the man I was in love with.