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Chapter Twenty-Seven

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“We’re here.” Roman’s masculine voice sent a tickling sensation through Chloe’s ears as he nuzzled his five o’clock stubble against her cheek.

“Erm?” She yawned, blinked and stretched. She wiped the sleepy, dazed feeling out of her eyes and glanced around. The plane was on the ground, sitting on the tarmac. They had landed safely in Paris.

“Paris...” she trailed off with a dreamy tone. “The most romantic city in the world.”

Roman shrugged. “Any city can be romantic if you make it that way.” He gently pressed his hand between her legs through her shorts, giving her a melty, tingling sensation.

“Stop it,” she whispered before the flight attendant pushed down the aisles. “We’re unloading now.”

Roman groaned into her ear as she felt the bulge in his pants pulsing against her thigh.

She gave him a mischievous glance. “You’re so bad.”

“It must be Paris,” he joked. “The romance is already having an effect on me.”

She playfully swatted at his chest. “Oh, I bet it is!”

Roman chuckled and held his hands up by his sides. “What?” He feigned innocence as Chloe continued to give him a devilish smirk.

After the grueling process of going back through customs and international security, they finally made their way back to Roman’s hotel suite. The travel back and forth between America and Europe was making Chloe feel somewhat delirious, but they were in the final stretches now. Soon, a few months of quiet downtown would stretch out before them. 

Chloe followed him inside, recognizing the familiar sights and smells that came along with life on the road.

“I swear, each hotel we go to seems fancier and ritzier than the last,” she chuckled as she paced the room, trailing her fingertips across the threads of the luxuriously silky bedsheets.

“Here,” Roman said as he plucked a mint into his mouth, throwing one to Chloe. “A token of my appreciation for the fact that you traveled back to Europe to end the tour with me.” He cast her a teasing wink.

Chloe unwrapped the mint, plopping it into her own mouth as the sweet chocolate exploded her taste buds. “I could eat about a hundred of these,” she mumbled with a mouth full.

“I’ll buy you all the mints in the world,” Roman said as he casually draped his arms over her shoulders, leaning over to give her a sensual kiss that captured her breath.

She gazed into his eyes, already becoming lost in the whirlwind of lust that he had to offer her. She pressed her lips to his again, but this time they were interrupted by a pounding on the hotel room door.

Roman groaned with frustration and trudged over to the door. “Who the hell is it?” He shouted, giving Chloe a joking smirk.

She sat on the edge of the bed and began to bounce up and down, testing its comfortability and agility.

“Your worst nightmare!” Chloe recognized Asher’s voice erupting in the hallway right before Roman let him in.

“Oh, it’s just this dipshit,” Roman mentioned to Chloe as he pointed a thumb at his fellow band members.

“That is my formal title,” Asher quipped back, never getting embarrassed by being the brunt of any random taunting.

Asher’s eyes sparkled. “I’m glad to hear that your father is on the road to recovery.”

Chloe stood up and breathed a sigh of relief. “Me too. I’m happy to be back where I belong, with my tour family.” She reached out and took Roman’s waiting hand.

Colton entered the room behind Asher. “I heard you two lovebirds were back,” he teased.

“We couldn’t stay away,” Roman jested.

“Well I’ll tell you what will happen to you if you disappear like that again,” Colton pretended to lay a punch into Roman’s gut, stopping short right before landing on his stomach.

“Yeah okay.” Roman rolled his eyes, taking it all in stride.

He had mentioned to Chloe on the flight over the Atlantic that the guys might give him a hard time, although it was all in good fun because they understood where his priorities were.

“The gang is getting ready to go to dinner at this fancy French Bistro,” Asher mentioned. “Do you guys want to join?” He raised an expectant eyebrow.

Chloe exchanged a glance with Roman. “I’m game,” she admitted. “The flight worked up my appetite.” 

“Let’s get some real food,” Roman proclaimed.

“I just need to freshen up first,” Chloe stated. “Can Roman and I meet up with you in the lobby in half an hour?”

“That’s enough time for a quickie,” Asher chortled, high-fiving Colton.

“You guys should grow up,” Roman smirked, closing the door behind his friends.

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EXACTLY HALF AN HOUR on the dot later, Roman and Chloe spilled out into the lobby from the emptied elevator. She ventured over to Emelia, giving her a hug in greeting.

Emelia patted her back, giving her a sympathetic glance. “I’m glad everything is okay with your dad now,” she stated, pushing her clutch back up under her arm.

“Me too,” Chloe nodded, pushing a strand of her blonde hair off her face.

She was wearing a similar cocktail dress like Emelia; only Chloe’s was shorter and red, not black like Emelia’s. Emelia was wearing combat boots to give her look an edge, Chloe in silver stiletto pumps.

“I really appreciate everyone’s support,” Chloe confessed “It’s so touching.”

Emelia’s cheeks flushed at the compliment. “We will always be here for you, babe.”

“Is everyone ready to go?” Trevor announced to the group, clapping his hands together to get everyone’s undivided attention.

The group proclaimed they were ready to go out on the town to have drinks and dinner. Chloe couldn’t wait to stuff herself sick with wine, cheese, and bread. What was a trip to Paris without loading her body with carbs? She could always work off the calories wrestling in the sheets with Roman.

Even the image of him between her legs, wiggling around on top of him while she rode him in a seductive way sent shivers of pleasure up Chloe’s spine. She gripped his hand as they plunged into the sea of waiting paparazzi cameras on the sidewalk outside.

“This entire restaurant shut down just for us,” Asher boasted.

“Oh wow,” Chloe said as she crossed her legs, making room for Roman sitting beside her. “That’s awesome.”

“Most of the tour crew will be there,” Emelia mentioned. “We basically reserved the entire restaurant.”

“I guess I will just have to save my jet lag for another night,” Chloe chuckled.

As soon as they arrived, the driver took them to the back of the restaurant so that they could unload in seclusion.

The restaurant was the epitome of Parisian romance. Beautiful warm hues adorned the walls. Lanterns flickered with a soft yellow glowing light on the walls. Abstract art was spread out evenly across the area. Chloe glanced around in awe of the culture. It was a privilege to be immersed in this lifestyle.

She sat down next to Roman as the waiting staff of the restaurant began to sprinkle around them, fretting and fussing over the group as they took orders with beaming smiles.

Chloe determined that there must have been at least a hundred people or more attending the party, and she was lucky to be a part of the atmosphere. She took a sip of her wine and ate the expensive cheeses off the platter, filling her belly with warm food and her soul with fantastic conversation.

She knew she had found the root of happiness and contentment in her heart as she squeezed Roman’s hand under the table. She wanted to take a mental picture of the party and the company, making sure to view it as a keepsake for the memory book stored in her heart.