Chapter 144

Lauren's POV

It felt like we were staring at each other for hours, though it might have only been a few seconds. Time seemed to stretch, holding both of us in that quiet tension. Roman’s gaze was steady and I could feel it pulling at something inside me I didn’t want to acknowledge. His eyes were dark, sharp, and yet strangely soft in that moment, as though he was looking past my face, past my defenses, into something deeper.

I swallowed, my heart beating a little too fast. Why did he have to look at me like that? There was a kind of intensity in his eyes, the kind that made me feel both exposed and… wanted. It made my stomach twist. My mind betrayed me by flashing to the dream I’d had about him, the one where he was shirtless, standing close enough that I could almost feel the warmth of his skin. That image burned into my thoughts like an unwelcome spark, and I quickly blinked it away, trying to ground myself in reality.

But he was still looking a