Nova was tempted to close her eyes while they walked to the car but she didn't, sighing with relief when she was helped inside the car. The waiter who had taken the bottle of champagne from her was right beside her to hand the bag to her, bowing before leaving.
Her vision cleared a bit now that she was seated again, the door on her other side opening up. Although Nova was more clear-headed, it took a few minutes for her to realize that Roan had helped her into the back seat of an entirely different car.
The car they had come to the function in was a two-seater but the one they were returning in wasn't, and it had a partition between the driver's seat and the backseat.
As the car left the hotel behind, Roan made a few calls, she didn't pay any attention to the words he spoke, guilt and regret eating at her as she leaned back against the car seat. She felt bad for forcing Roan to leave his own company's dinner early just because she couldn't hold her liquor.
And even deeper than the feelings of regret and guilt was sadness, Nova was heartbroken, and her problems swarmed her like the camera flashes, stabbing at her heart. Falling asleep wasn't enough, and she doubted she would even be able to fall asleep, she needed a distraction.
Nova would have never tagged herself as a person who would try to escape her problems with alcohol but she was only human. She reached for the fancy bag, took out the wine, and then realized that she didn't have the faintest idea how to open it, not to mention that there wasn't a cup to drink it with.
As she stared at the bottle trying to figure out a solution to her problems, she felt a hand cover hers that was on the bottle. She looked over to see Roan right beside her, the interior of the car was dim so she couldn't see his expression but as he took the bottle from her, the glare of a streetlight momentarily illuminated his features and Nova could swear that she saw anger in his eyes.
"I-" She started to say and then fell off, she had no idea what she had been about to say, she just felt like she had to say something. Nova placed her hands in her lap and looked down, contrite, "I'm sorry…"
"Stop apologizing," Roan's response came quickly, a fizzing sound accompanying his reprieve, the scent of cream and peaches filling the car.
"I-" Nova cut herself off again, she had been about to apologize one more time. Uncaring about the work Lauren put into styling her hair, she pushed her fingers through her hair in frustration, having a lot to say but unable to get it past the tightness in her throat.
She could feel the words in her throat push out but she tried to hold it back, knowing that it wouldn't be words that would leave her but sobs. She was completely drained which made it all the more harder to bottle up her emotions.
The rapid onset of a possible panic attack was silenced when Roan's fingers found her jaw and tilted her face in his direction. Nova could never have predicted what he did next, her eyes widened when he rapidly closed the distance between them and sealed their lips.
A flood of champagne spilled past her lips, making Nova frantically swallow, the shock of the action making her forget her tears.
"There's unfortunately no cups in the car," Roan said without remorse, taking another swig from the champagne bottle.
The car slowed down at a traffic light, the streetlights lending the interior of the car enough light for Nova to be able to make out the hard outline of Roan's jaw. He took his time taking another mouthful of champagne for her and she knew that this was to give her the chance to turn him down.
Maybe it was the sparkling wine in her bloodstream or the hundreds of thousands of dollars in black diamonds against her neck, Nova would never know what pushed her to meet Roan halfway for the next kiss.
She tasted champagne and then Roan's tongue next, her arms slipping around his neck without her volition to pull him closer. Which was hardly necessary because Roan already had her on him by the time the car moved again.
Nova's skin was already buzzing from the alcohol so the heat from Roan's touch made her combust. Her heart was pounding, her hands buried in Roan's hair, the taste of peaches and Roan mixing to make a drink more potent than alcohol.
It didn't help that she felt his hands everywhere, on her waist, digging into her thighs, caressing her neck, pulling on her hair…
Nova broke away from the kiss first, gasping for air, her hands placed on Roan's shoulders for support. All it took was one look into Roan's gray eyes for her to realize herself and what she had done, panic on her face as she tried to get off him, an apology on her tongue.
To think that she had been so forward- Her motion was stopped by Roan holding her down…
"Where do you think you're going?"
His raspy voice made her suppress a shiver, she glanced up at him to formulate a response only to look away from the intensity of the heat in his eyes. She didn't understand it, she wasn't desirable, Levi made that very clear to her. She knew very well that her only charm was in her service; cleaning, cooking, completing her duties…
Nova closed her eyes briefly to try and come up with an answer, "I- I'm sorry," She whispered instead, opening her eyes.
+
Roan took one look at the ache in Nova's pale green eyes and cursed under his breath - Maybe firing Levi wouldn't be enough because he knew well that he had been the one to put that look in her eyes.
He couldn't bring himself to let her go when she looked like that, so he gently led her to place her head on his shoulder, his grip on her waist loosening so she could leave whenever she wanted to.
When all she did was fully rest her weight on him, it soothed his disquiet a bit. Roan was used to going after what he wanted and getting it but with Nova, he always had to hold back. He couldn't push her too hard or he risked losing her entirely.