Chapter 80 I Only Need You The breath in my lungs didn’t return. Not after that casual revelation. Not after he'd said it. He had dropped the words so carelessly, like tossing crumbs on the table, but they landed inside me like an earthquake. He loved me. Or at least, he’d said it. Again. For the second time today. And that was the part that was eating me alive. Because he’d said it once before and he'd laughed it off, playing it down as a response to something snarky I'd said, like I'd only said it to entertain him. Make him laugh. Maybe that’s what it was then. Maybe that’s what it was now. But then again… maybe not. “You good, Sav?” Roman asked, his smooth, steady voice breaking through the storm in my head. He glanced at me briefly, just a flicker of his green eyes in the dim lights of the car, then turned his focus back on the road. I nodded too quickly, like a reflex. “Yeah.” What was I even thinking? Of course he didn’t mean it like that. He couldn’t. He loves me because I’m his best friend who makes him laugh. That’s all. That’s what best friends do. They say I love you after drunken nights, or after big arguments, or when they’re being sentimental. That’s all this was. Just best friend love. Just like all the times I’d told him I loved him in the past. That’s what I kept telling myself. Over and over. But my chest was tightening like a fist around my heart, because I knew damn well that what I felt wasn’t the kind of love friends were supposed to feel. And worse, I wasn’t sure if he knew the difference either. Best friends love each other. And that's probably what he meant. Nothing relating to what I had in mind. Instead of thinking about what makes no sense, it was better I channel all that energy into making sure he has absolutely forgiven me. “You’re unusually quiet tonight, Sav,” Roman noticed, his tone laced with something I couldn’t pin down—concern, suspicion, maybe amusement. “Am I?” I exhaled, trying to sound casual, but the sigh came out heavier than I intended. My eyes drifted out the passenger-side window just as we passed the ‘Welcome To New Hope’ sign— but now on the other side. The same one we’d passed days ago on our way here. Only this time, instead of butterflies in my stomach, there was a pit the size of the universe. It all came rushing back. The rehearsal dinner. The way he kissed me against that brick wall. The way his body felt pressed to mine. The way I shattered under him and let him see every part of me. Crossing into New Hope, we were just best friends who argued over playlists and laughed too loud at nothing. Now? Now we weren’t those people anymore. We were changed. Different. Confused and deliciously ruined. That car wasn’t just a car anymore. The backseat wasn’t just leather anymore. It was a shrine to lust, a siren calling me back to the moment I gave in. And now every time I sit here, my body will remember every kiss, every thrust, every moan, every whimper that slipped past my lips when he made me his. We had crossed New Hope one way as friends. We were leaving it as something else. Something that had no label. A strange cocktail surged inside me: shame, regret, lust, hunger, horror. My body and my mind were at war, each side losing, each side winning. It had only taken a few days in New Hope for me to fall into bed with a man I’d known for five years. For me to look at Roman—not as my best friend—but as someone who could unmake me with one touch. Was it lust? Was it love? Was it something else? Fear slithered through me like a snake, curling into the spaces between my ribs, sowing seeds of doubt that rooted deeper with every mile we drove. What happens now? Would Roman want to keep having sex with me? Would he go back to his usual women? Would we go back to being best friends and act like this past seven days never happened? Would he go back to acting like he didn't know what I looked like on the brink of ecstasy? Like he didn't watch me break and shatter beneath his expert hands and mouth? The thought burned. My palms felt the heat, my chest tightening. No part of me could accept that. If he suggested pretending it never happened, I would break. I’d cry for days. I’d hate myself for letting him touch me in the first place. And yet, I’d still want him. God, I wanted him even now. I wanted him so much it made me dizzy. But I wasn’t stupid. I knew what waited back home. His territory. His playground. All those women who lined up for him. He wouldn't be all over me like he was in New Hope. He'd go back to the hot bodies he was used to. Why would he still care for my body? Why would he still want me when he could have anyone? Was I just desirable because I was available? Did he only want me because I was the only option? “Savannah,” his voice cut into my spiraling. “If you’re this uncomfortable riding with me, I can call Reese and we’ll switch.” His jaw flexed, a vein ticking in his forehead. “I don’t like feeling like I’m making you uncomfortable. It bothers me” I jerked my head, panic flashing hot in my chest. “No. It’s not that. I was just… thinking.” His eyes stayed on the road, but his tone softened. “Are you sure? I understand if you’re still mad at me. I know I deserve it.” “I’m not mad at you, Roman.” My voice was small, shaky. I twisted my fingers together in my lap, guilt clawing at me. “Although I was just wondering if there was anything I could do to make it up to you. For what I did.” “You don’t need to do anything, my love.” The way he said my love made my heart slam against my ribs. He smiled gently, but the words cut me in two. I rolled my eyes, desperate to lighten the heat crawling up my neck. “Roman… maybe I can make you coffee for a week. Or cook for you. Or—” His voice dropped, a dark, sinful growl. “Or maybe you could be gracious enough to do me the honor of spreading those pretty legs tonight and letting me fuck you until you’re shaking too hard to remember what you did wrong, my love.” Air caught in my throat. I choked on oxygen, eyes snapping wide. He didn’t even look at me. His gaze stayed glued to the road, his face a perfect mask of calm. The only giveaway was the way his veins stood out against his hands as he gripped the steering wheel tighter. My mouth opened, then closed. “What? Are you serious?” My heart ricocheted in my chest, half terror, half elation. “Of course,” he said smoothly. “I hold nothing against you. But if you still wish to do something for me—forgo the coffee, the food, the little gestures—you can make it up to me by letting me fuck you so deep, you’ll feel me tomorrow every time you walk. That should clear the bill, Sav.” Heat ripped through me like wildfire. I darted a look toward the back, making sure Reese was far behind us on the road not to hear his filthy words. My hands fumbled to tuck my hair behind my ear, trying to hide the blush threatening to burn me alive.“Roman, you can’t just say things like that out loud.” He smirked and shrugged. “I was being honest, my love.” I decided to tease back, though my voice trembled. “Bold of you to think I’m taking my clothes off for you tonight.” He didn’t even blink. “Brave of you to assume I can’t fuck you with your clothes on tonight.” My soul evacuated my body. His voice. The way he said it—low, rough, and extremely lethal. A direct line to the heat between my thighs. I swallowed hard, breath shaking. “So… you still want me? Even though we’re not in New Hope anymore? What happens now?” His laugh was low and dark. “Savannah, I didn’t stop wanting you. I can’t stop wanting you. I’ll never stop wanting you.” His grip on the wheel tightened, voice dripping filth and truth. Then he gave me everything. “If your body is a drug, your pussy is my dosage. And I am a chronic addict. I can’t quit you, Savannah. I don’t even fucking want to. You’re my fix, my high, my overdose. Every time I taste you, I want more. Every time I fuck you, it’s never enough. I could split you open a thousand times and still crave you the next second. You’ve turned me into a fucking addict, and the only cure is between your legs.” My breath fled. My thighs pressed together. But he wasn’t finished. “You think I’ll ever get tired of you?” His voice was a snarl now. “Never. You’ve infected me. You’re in my blood, my veins, my goddamn lungs. I don’t need air anymore, I only need you. I need your mouth on mine, your body under mine and on top of mine, your cunt clenching around me until I forget where I end and you begin. I don’t want peace. I don’t want sanity. I don’t want freedom. I want you, Savannah. Every night. Every morning. Every fucking moment in between. I want you in every way. And I’ll never, ever stop.” To say I felt like I was on top of the world would’ve been a crime of understatement. Because nothing—absolutely nothing—came close to this. This man, this handsome, powerful man, telling me he was addicted to me. That he couldn’t quit me even if he tried. That he didn’t even want to. My lips parted, but no words came out. My body was trembling, heat pooling low and hard. “Does that answer your question, my love?” he asked, finally turning his head, his hand sliding over to rest on my bare thigh.I nodded, swallowing a smile I couldn’t contain. “Yes.” His laugh was rough and smug. “So that’s what’s been on your mind all night.” He chuckled. “You still want this old guy after all.” “Yes.” The word slipped out too fast, too needy. “I want you.” His hand squeezed, slow and deliberate, massaging my thigh but never moving higher. My skin was on fire where he touched me. “I'm all yours, Savannah.” As the car rolled closer to familiar streets, a strange sense of relief washed over me. We were back home. But there was something else too. Something dark and certain. Because no matter what happened next, I knew the truth now. Roman was mine. And I was his. At least, so I thought…