Chapter 50 A Hostile Takeover The space around was still buzzing with leftover heat. The hallway was still warm with the echo of our movements, like the air itself was holding its breath. While I struggled to catch mine. My back was still pressed into the cool wall, the chill biting against my skin that still tingled from his hands. My dress was bunched around my hips in a way that would have been indecent if either of us cared. Roman’s body caged mine in, one arm braced beside my head, the other gripping the back of my thigh as if the last intense minutes hadn’t been enough to prove a point. We hadn’t moved since it ended. We hadn’t needed to. I tried to catch my breath, my lips still swollen from his mouth. My pulse was still drumming in my ears when he finally spoke. “That’s twice.” He said quietly, almost like he was taking inventory. “And I’m done treating it like some… casual transaction.” The words weren’t loud, but they cut clean through the haze in my head. His voice was low and rough, like he’d been grinding gravel in his throat. I huffed out a laugh, trying to make light of the tension twisting in my stomach. “You’re keeping score now? Or are we doing a recap?” Roman’s gaze stayed on my mouth for a beat too long before dragging up to meet my eyes. “No.” His voice was rough, certain. “I’m drawing a line.” My brows furrowed. My mind kept wondering where this was headed to. “A line?” Roman’s hand slid higher along my thigh, fingers curling in a slow, claiming squeeze. “This—” he leaned in, his mouth brushing my ear, “—doesn’t happen again unless it’s only me. No one else gets this. No one else gets you. Only me.” I let out a short, breathless laugh. He didn't show any signs of amusement. He just watched me. “So you’re saying you want me like your GFEs and PSEs? Is that correct, Roman?” “No. Never.” His thumb brushed the inside of my thigh, slow and deliberate. “I’m putting terms on the table, Savannah.” Terms. He said it like we were mid-negotiation instead of still tangled in the aftermath of intense wall sex. My brows lifted, but my voice was steady. “Terms?” His mouth twitched, but it wasn’t amusement. It was calculation. “Exclusivity. No competitors. No open bids. You’re off the market.” My body went still, my pulse anything but. “Off the market, as in married?” My heart stuttered, “You’re seriously asking me to marry you? Right now?” “I'm not asking you to marry me.” He said sharply, “I'm asking you to be mine. Only.” I narrowed my eyes suspiciously at him. “Okay, hold on. I think I'm getting the picture here.” I continued, “You want to… continue having sex with me?” He didn't blink. “Yes.” My brows flew up to say hello to my hairline. Flashes of those possessive filthy words he was saying earlier started slapping in the face. One after the other. I tilted my head, skeptical. “You're serious?” Roman leaned in until his forehead almost touched mine, his breath still uneven. “Dead serious.” I tried to roll my eyes, to push past the intensity in his tone. “That’s not how this works, Roman.” I said, “We’re not—” “We’re not what?” His voice was sharper now, not loud but pointed enough to pin me in place. “We’re not something? We’re not allowed to be? We’re not supposed to be because we’re friends?” I looked away, but his fingers on my thigh flexed in warning. “I’m saying this doesn’t have to mean—” “It already means something,” he cut in, the words firm. “Twice in the same week, we’ve crossed a line we can’t uncross. You think I can go back to pretending your body doesn’t keep me awake at night?” My breath hitched. I didn’t answer. I didn’t know how to open my mouth without screaming out yes to his offer, at the top of my lungs. Roman’s hand slid higher, his palm warm against my bare skin. He pulled back just enough to meet my eyes, and for once, there was no smirk, no calculated distance. Just pure, unguarded determination. “I’m saying I can’t stop thinking about your body. I can’t stop wanting it. And if anyone else touches you, I’ll put them through a wall. Especially Dean.” My heart kicked hard against my ribs. His words sent my earlier scheduled plan of seducing my brother-in-law for revenge straight into the trashcan. New Hope has certainly shown me a different side of Roman. A side I'd never seen. “You’re a little possessive, you know that?” Roman’s lips curved, but his gaze didn’t soften.“No, love. I’m a lot possessive. And now you know.” My chest rose and fell, heat flooding my cheeks. His lips twitched a little. “I’ve been with several women, Savannah,” he said, his voice low, unapologetic. “But nothing… no one has gotten under my skin like you. I can’t stop thinking about your body, and I sure as hell won’t share it.” His hand came up, fingers brushing the side of my neck, the touch light yet possessive. I tried to look away. He didn’t let me. “Don’t look away when I’m telling you this. I don’t want a rotation. I don’t want ‘options.’ I want you. Anytime. Anywhere. Anyhow.” My breath hitched. The effect of his words gathered heat deep in my core. “And if I say no?” I managed to ask. Roman’s thumb dragged slowly along my jaw, his eyes narrowing just enough to feel like a warning. “Then I’ll treat it like a hostile takeover. I won't walk away. I’ll negotiate. I’ll pressure. I’ll take every inch you give me until you forget why you said no in the first place.” The corner of his mouth curved—predatory, certain. “But I’m betting you’ll say yes.” His certainty was lethal. I swallowed hard, heat flaring in my cheeks. “You’re using work terms on me now?”“It’s the only language I speak when I want something this badly.” He leaned in closer, lips brushing my ear. “And I want this body so much, I’m ready to outbid the world to keep it.” “You're quite intense.” I blurted out. His eyes didn't stray from mine. “This is how I work,” he continued, his voice steadier now, back in his territory. “In mergers, once I identify a target worth acquiring, I move fast. I eliminate competitors. I secure controlling interest. I protect my investment.” I gave a soft, incredulous laugh. “You’re calling me an investment?” A dangerous curve touched his lips. “I’m calling you the only thing I’ve wanted badly enough to risk the friendship we’ve had for years. You think I do that lightly?” My silence was answer enough. Roman’s free hand came up to cup my jaw, tilting my face up until I couldn’t look anywhere but at him. My back pressed harder into the wall as his hand on my thigh slid fractionally higher—not quite enough to restart what we'd just finished, but enough to remind me he could.“Say yes,” he murmured, his tone dipping into something almost coaxing. “Say you’re mine and I’ll make sure no one else even thinks about touching you.” I shook my head slightly, my voice barely above a whisper. “You can’t just… take me like I’m some business deal.” “Can’t I?” His smirk returned, slow and dangerous. “This is my area of expertise, after all. Acquisitions. Once I see value, I don’t let it go to market. And Savannah…” He kissed the corner of my mouth. “…you’re the most valuable thing I’ve ever had my hands on.” My knees threatened to give up, and I hated that he could feel it. His hand steadied me, his body closing any remaining space. The fight in me sagged under the weight of his certainty. “Last chance,” he said softly. “Say yes, or I start working on your weaknesses until you do. I'll keep showing up. I'll keep taking you apart until the idea of being with anyone else feels like throwing yourself into bankruptcy.” My lips parted in a mix of shock and something I didn’t want to name. I swallowed hard, caught between pride and the dangerous thrill curling low in my stomach.“You really think you can negotiate me into this?” “I don’t negotiate when I know I’ll win.” His tone was final, confident in a way that left no doubt he’d keep coming until I broke. “And trust me—I always win.” “Fine,” I exhaled, throwing my hands up. “You win. I surrender. There goes my finance vocabulary—half the terms you’ve used, I’ve never even heard before.” His smile was pure satisfaction. “Is that a yes?” I narrowed my eyes. “What's in it for me? I mean, asides your dick. And the mind-blowing sex that strangely never happens on a bed.” I added the last part quickly. “What do I get out of this?” He smirked. “Anything you want. Name it. And it's yours.” My brows flew up. “Are you serious?” “Try me.” A mischievous smile found its way to my lips as I decided to test the waters. “Okay… Let's say I want a new car. Exactly like yours. You'll get it for me?” Not even a second passed. “Done.” I gaped. “Just like that?” His smirk turned smug. “Just say the word.”