Chapter 4

Roman walked into catering and directly into what appeared to be a birthday party. Music blared, and stars mingled, some broken off in groups laughing and talking, but he couldn't see Lexi anywhere. He made his way to the table and found a giant cake with Happy Birthday Kaitlyn written in blue icing. Well, he'd be sure to wish the pretty little Diva with the two tone hair a happy birthday. In the meantime he wanted to find Lexi.

He snagged a piece of cake and a bottle of water and headed out of catering. If he knew Lexi like he thought, he'd find her hard at work getting ready for the show that night. Sure enough, he rounded the corner to the staging area and found Lexi sitting cross-legged on a crate, staring at her phone.

Careful not to startle her, he dragged his booted feet across the concrete, making noise. She looked up, and a smile slowly slid across her face. His entire body warmed with knowledge that she was happy to see him.

"Hey, handsome. What cha got there?" She eyed the plate.

"A slice of Kaitlyn's birthday cake." He held the plate out for her to inspect.

She arched a brow. "Mmm…chocolate." Then she slid over and made room for him to sit.

He eased down next to her and set the plate down beside him. "So why are you here instead of being back in catering with everyone else?"

She shrugged. "I didn't really feel like celebrating. I'll catch Kaitlyn later and wish here a happy birthday."

He nodded. "What are you watching?"

She glanced at her phone. "Oh, it's nothing." She started to slide it into her pocket.

Oh no, you don't. He reached for her hand, stopping her. "Lexi."

She froze, her gaze slowly drifting up to look at him. There was sadness in her eyes that pulled at his heart. "What has you so sad, sweetheart?"

On a sigh she held her smartphone up and pressed the Play button on the screen.

Roman leaned in closer so he could see and was surprised to realize the woman on the screen was Lexi. She was watching an old match of her wrestling fellow Diva Aksana, and she was kicking Aksana's ass.

Lexi kicked Aksana in the stomach, causing the brunette to double over. Then she grabbed Aksana by the hand and Irish whipped her into the corner. She ran at full force and slammed against Aksana, knocking the air out of the other woman. Aksana fell forward onto her hands and knees only to have Lexi deliver a leg to the back of her head, driving her face into the mat.

He slid a sideways glance at Lexi, who appeared engrossed in watching the match. Seeing her so aggressive, so full of passion for their sport, sent desire spiraling through him. If she displayed that kind of passion in the ring, just how much passion would she display in bed? "Do you miss wrestling?"

She turned her attention from the screen to him. "Yes." Her one-syllable answer held so much emotion. He set the plate aside and slipped an arm around her. Much to his surprise she leaned against him, resting her head on his shoulder. He pressed a kiss to her hair and turned his attention back to the screen in time to see Lexi deliver a running bulldog to Aksana, planting the other woman's face in the mat. "How long before Emma comes back?"

She sighed. "A couple more weeks."

"Then you're able to get back in the ring?"

She nodded. "Sparring with Kaitlyn and Nattie just doesn't give me the same satisfaction as being in the ring in front of a crowd."

"There's nothing like that feeling of knowing you're desired, huh?"

She turned her head and looked up at him. "I highly doubt I'm desired, but I'll admit that there's nothing like hearing the fans cheer the moment your music starts to play."

She didn't think she was desired? How very wrong she was, but he'd let that subject go for now. He rubbed her shoulder. "Put that away and let's have some cake."

She pushed off him. "Yeah, okay. Sitting here feeling all depressed isn't doing me any good anyway."

"Right." He picked up the cake and scooped up a little with the fork. "You'll be back wrestling in no time, so let's just focus on the positives. Now—" He held up the fork. "Open up."

She shut off the video and set her phone aside and grinned up at him before opening her mouth. Roman's arousal soared as he slid the fork into her mouth and watched as she closed her lips around it. He damn near groaned as his erection pressed against his jeans.

Her eyes drifted shut, and he pulled the fork back. "Mmm. That's so good," she cooed. "More."

Happy to oblige, he scooped another bite up and fed it to her, only this time a tiny bit of icing landed on the edge of her mouth. His gaze zeroed in on the icing as the need to taste her, if only for a moment, slammed into him with the force of a Mack truck. He stuck the fork in the cake and set the plate aside, then turned back to her.

Using his finger, he gently wiped the icing from the edge of her mouth. Her attention drifted up to his face, and he swore he saw desire in her eyes. Without a word he brought his finger to his mouth and licked off the icing. She watched him, and her eyes flared with his motion, fueling his need. He slipped his hand around her head, holding her in place as he lowered his mouth to hers.

The first sweet taste of her lips shot directly to his groin. That now familiar spark of electricity brought on by her touch, zipped through him. Her fingers danced across his skin, then curled around his biceps as she angled her head to give him more. It wasn't enough. He swiped his tongue across her lips, beseeching. On a sigh, she granted him access. God, this woman was going to be the death of him.

"Hey, Lexi? You over here?" Punk's voice carried through the corridor, causing her to pull back. As if in a trance, she stared at Roman and lifted her fingers to her lips.

"Lexi?" Punk called again.

"I gotta go," she whispered to Roman, then slipped off the crate and rushed away. "Over here."

Punk turned the corner and smiled at her. "There you are. A bunch of us are taking Kaitlyn out for a rockin' birthday lunch. You want to come?"

She glanced over her shoulder at Roman, drawing Punk's attention in the process. Punk frowned, then turned his focus back to Lexi. "You coming or what?"

"Yeah," she replied as she looked at Roman with regret in her eye. "I'm coming."

Roman waited for her to disappear around the corner with Punk before he pushed off the crate and stood. "Fuck," he muttered. Every time he made progress with her, something—or more accurately, someone—seemed to get in the way. He raked a hand through is long hair as he glanced over at the empty space. This need had for her wasn't going away anytime soon, so he'd just have to keep trying to find ways to break down her invisible walls. Eventually, she'd either tire of him and tell him to get lost, or he'd reach his goal. He just needed to be patient.