Chapter 28
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Chase woke with Ruby snuggled against him. The room was still dim, with the sunrise just peeking through the curtains.
“Hi,” she said.
“Morning.” Chase sat up to see her better. “How’re you feeling?”
“Okay. I didn’t sleep much.”
He couldn’t blame her. With the adrenaline rush of that fight with Decker combined with the LAPD raid, Chase hadn’t slept well either.
“You can go back to sleep,” he said. “Haley won’t be home for a few hours.”
Ruby’s daughter was still at Megan’s, with a Bennett Security car outside the townhouse to keep watch. Later, Chase would have to head in to work.
Until then, they had the apartment all to themselves.
Ruby bit her lip. “I’ve been awake for a while, thinking. I’ve been scared about things that might happen, but if last night reminded me of anything, it’s that we never know what could come next.”
His heart lurched. He hated that she was afraid. “It’ll be okay. The police have Decker. Jane’s working on your case. Probably as we speak.”
“I know, but I don’t want to talk about that. I want to make the most of this time with you. While we can.”
While we can. Because it wouldn’t last forever.
He wanted to be grateful for what he did have. Ruby was here with him. She wanted to be here with him. Chase’s heart longed to read more into what she was saying. As if this closeness could mean as much to her as it did to him.
But maybe this moment, and however many moments they got until the end, could be enough. Chase wanted to memorize every detail of her so he’d always remember.
As if he could ever forget.
Chase pulled her closer and kissed her softly, running his fingers through her hair.
But Ruby pulled back. “I don’t want to waste any more time. I want you to fuck me. Right now.”
Oh. Damn.
He didn’t know what the rest of today would hold, but this was a very good start. “Are you sure?”
“Very.” She palmed his erection through his pajama pants. “Please fuck me.”
He groaned, skin prickling with desire and heat. “I’ve been dying to sink my cock into you. But don’t we need supplies?” Chase tucked her hair behind her ear.
Her smile turned almost shy. “I bought some things online. I’ve been saving them.”
Ruby went into the closet and emerged with a black leather-bound box.
“Is that what I think it is?” he asked.
She sat beside him on the bed. Ruby lifted the lid, waving her hand like the model in a game show. “My very own sex box.”
She tilted the box so he could see inside. Condoms. Lube.
And a pair of leather cuffs linked by a long, thin chain.
His dick jumped. “I love that you bought that for yourself.”
Ruby picked up the cuffs and set them in his hand, the chain pooling silkily in his palm. “Did I choose well?” she asked.
“You looking for praise?”
Ruby shrugged. “I don’t mind it.”
I bet you don’t. Chase grinned, leaning in to whisper in her ear. “These are perfect. You want to wear them while I fuck you?”
Ruby nodded, tongue moving across her lower lip. “Cuff me to the bed. Do whatever you want to me.”
Shit. “If you want to play, then we’ll play.” Shivers raced down his spine.
“Yes,” she whispered. “I want that. I need it.”
Ruby had bought these cuffs for herself. She was making her desires clear, and that turned him on like nothing else. He wanted to make this so good for her.
First, they each stopped in the bathroom. Chase brushed his teeth and quickly washed up. They met back in the bedroom, still in their pajamas. The sun was higher now, and daylight spread through the room.
“Is anything off limits?” Chase asked.
“I told you I trust you.”
He used one hand to cup the back of her neck and rested his forehead against hers. Chase was afraid of betraying how much he really felt. How his heart was bursting from his chest. But Ruby’s openness with him made it difficult to hold back.
“You just tell me if there’s anything you don’t like. I want to know everything you’re feeling.”
She nodded.
Chase undressed her, then shucked off his own clothes.
Ruby gasped, her hands flying to her mouth. “Chase. Oh, god. You did get hurt.”
He looked down at himself. Dark bruises were forming on his torso where Decker had hit him. But the paramedics had checked him out, and he didn’t have any broken ribs.
“I’m fine. Don’t worry about it.” The bruises were mildly painful, and would probably be worse later based on Chase’s experience. But he was already blissed out on pleasure chemicals, euphoric from being here with Ruby.
“You sure you’re up for this?” she asked.
He leaned in to murmur in her ear. “Nothing is going to stop me from having you exactly the way I want.”
He sat Ruby down at the edge of the bed. His eyes took in her naked body. The soft curves of her hips and stomach, her small, perky breasts. Her legs were knocked together, and he resisted the urge to push them apart.
Usually, he didn’t mind waiting for gratification, but Ruby challenged his willpower every time.
He bent to kiss her, lingering to stroke his tongue into her mouth.
Then Chase went to his knees in front of her. “Give me your hands?”
She held them out, palms up. He ran his thumbs down the inside of each of her forearms. His eyes caught on her wedding ring.
She always wore it, even when they were alone. Just like he did. He could almost pretend it meant more than it did.
Chase picked up the cuffs and wound the chain loosely around her wrists, letting her feel the tiny links against her skin. The metal was already starting to warm from their body heat.
“How’s that?” he asked.
“Nice.”
Goosebumps rose all over her, and her dark nipples hardened. He licked each one.
“Oh. Do that again?”
He did, right before he sucked each one of the buds between his lips. She gasped. It made him so hot to watch her get turned on. His balls were full and heavy between his legs.
Chase gave his cock a quick stroke, squeezing the base so he wouldn’t get too excited.
He unwound the chain, pushed back onto his heels, and stood.
“Where do you want me?” Ruby asked.
“Center of the bed.”
She stretched out atop the blankets, arms above her head, legs long. Chase ran his hands down each of her limbs and back up again. In the bright daylight, he could see every freckle, every tiny hair on her skin.
Ruby closed her eyes, sighing, so he kept touching her. Dragging his fingertips along her shoulders, her waist, her hipbones.
Chase swung his leg over her body to straddle her, resting his weight on his heels. His sac brushed her stomach. She stared down at his erection. Her expression darkened with lust. “So sexy. Friends with benefits is the best thing ever.”
Chase smiled, ignoring the sting of that reminder.
Just be glad you have this much, he told himself. Even if it’ll never be more.
He grabbed the cuffs. “You ready?”
“I’ve been ready.”
“Just for that, I’ll make you wait longer.” Chase draped the chain over his shoulders. The cuffs rested on his pecs. He licked his hand and fisted his dick, giving it a few slow pumps. Ruby whimpered, and the sound made precum pool at his tip.
“Please? Enough torturing me. You are a sadist.”
Chuckling, he took the cuffs in hand again and fit one onto her wrist. He made it snug enough that it wouldn’t chafe, but not tight enough to hurt her circulation. He had to get up from the mattress to thread the chain through the bed frame, and then he attached the other cuff.
Ruby tugged on the chain. It rattled.
Chase walked around the bed to her feet. “You look incredible.”
All that naked skin, her sweet little tattoo, her hooded eyes watching him. And the cuffs binding her wrists, fixing her to the bed. An image straight from his most wicked daydreams.
He rested one knee on the mattress. “Open your legs.”
But Ruby shook her head. “Make me.”
Chase’s dick jerked. So that was how it was going to be.
His pulse sped up, the vein shaking at his throat, and his chest tightened with anticipation.
In Ruby’s leather box, he fished out a condom and tore it open. Rolled it onto his shaft.
The cap on the lube bottle flipped open. The liquid drizzled onto his cock.
Ruby was staring as he prepped. She had her knees bent and was rubbing her thighs together, like she craved contact.
When he was nice and slick, he set the lube aside. Chase got onto the mattress, grabbed her around the middle, and flipped her onto her stomach.
“Hey!” Ruby let out a small cry of indignation. The chain had twisted around. He checked quickly to make sure the cuffs weren’t pinching and her arms were in a comfortable position.
“If you’re gonna be bad, you just might get punished.” His open palm swatted her ass, more teasing than painful. Pain wasn’t what he was into, and she knew it.
Ruby giggled. But her laughter cut off when he pressed his fingers between her legs, seeking out the center of her wet heat.
“Oh,” she moaned.
“Already so wet for me.” His fingers slid up to her clit, massaging her until she was bucking against his hand. “Tell me how badly you want this.”
“I need it.”
“Then open your legs for me.”
Ruby’s smile was devious when she looked over her shoulder. “Make me.”
He crawled on top of her. Using one hand to brace himself against the mattress, he grabbed her thigh and pushed it up, forcing her knee to bend. She was wiggling around, trying to pull her legs back together. Her arms rattled the chain.
Chase easily held her in place with his body weight. The tip of his cock lined up with her opening. Ruby moaned and writhed against the bed even more. Through the condom, he could feel how soaking she was. How hot.
He bent to kiss between her shoulder blades. “You can still tell me to stop.”
“If I wanted to, I would.”
Holding her thighs apart, Chase pushed himself inside.
They both gasped.
She was tight, her channel snug around him. He snagged a pillow and lifted her up slightly to place it under her hips. His aching shaft pushed in even deeper until his balls were flush against her. Her round ass pressed into his groin.
“Fuck, Ruby. Your body feels like it was made for my cock.”
She was looking at him over her shoulder again. He trailed kisses over her cheek. He brushed the hair away from the back of her neck, and his tongue darted out to lick the beads of sweat there.
Then his hips started to pump.
“Chase, yes.”
He lifted his upper body and pressed Ruby down with his hands on her back. He used gentle but firm pressure, enough that she couldn’t move. But he could tell from the look of ecstasy on her face, her steady gasps and sighs, that she loved it.
He couldn’t get enough of seeing Ruby this way, cuffed and sprawled on the bed beneath him. She was letting him claim her in exactly the way he wanted. Letting him own her.
Last night, he would’ve killed Conrad Decker if he’d had to. If it had been necessary to protect her.
Everything he’d done the past few weeks had been for Ruby. Out of love. Friendship. And he hadn’t expected anything like this.
But getting to fuck her was an excellent benefit.
His hips thrust forward, driving his cock into her. Chase angled his body so he could watch his slicked shaft pistoning in and out. The smooth glide, the contrasting friction, felt so good it made him lightheaded.
He was desperate for her, still needing more, even though she was giving him everything.
Chase pushed her into the mattress and fucked her harder. Letting his control slip. Giving in to the urge to possess her completely. The feeling of her was driving him wild. His body slapped against hers with every thrust.
Ruby’s fists clenched and pulled against the chain. Her pants sped up, the pitch of her voice climbing. She cried out, eyes fluttering closed.
Then her body squeezed around his cock.
She tilted her pelvis to push back against him as she shuddered and moaned.
When she was done, Chase pulled out and rolled her onto her back. Her eyes were half-closed, the way she always looked after an orgasm.
“What’re you doing?” she asked.
“I want to see your face.” He pushed inside her again. Ruby’s legs wrapped around him, and he propped himself on his hands as he fucked into her.
Mine. All mine.
He was already nearly there. He held his breath as he rammed his cock inside her, making the bed thump against the wall.
Chase’s balls drew up. His cock pulsed. Spilled into the condom. The release took him out of himself completely for a blissful few seconds as he kept pumping into her.
He dropped his face into her neck and inhaled her sweet coconut-vanilla scent.
She was his. For this moment.
But if his heart could have its way, Chase would protect her and love her and fuck her and never have to stop. He would lock her down forever.
Chase lifted his head, and her expression had shifted. She looked raw and vulnerable, like her usual strength had been stripped away.
“Hey.” Chase rested his hand on her cheek. “What is it?”
Ruby blinked, and that uneasy gleam in her eyes was gone. “All good.”
“You’re sure? Was it too much?”
Her lips slid into a smirk. “I just got thoroughly fucked. Exactly what I needed.”
He gave her a peck on the lips. “Stay right there?”
“I’m chained to the bed.”
Chase took care of the condom, then removed the leather cuffs, kissing each of her wrists as he did. “I’m here to rescue you.”
“So you’re the villain and Prince Charming in this fantasy?”
“Are you saying you’re the princess?”
“Did not say that.”
But just as Chase lay down next to her, she scooted off the bed. A drawer slid open, and she pulled a clean sleep shirt over her head.
Chase propped himself up on his elbows, watching her and trying to figure out what had just happened.
Maybe it was just the stress of the fight with Decker, the raid, the questions from the LAPD. Everything they’d been through last night.
But every other time they’d given each other orgasms, she’d stayed in bed with him and cuddled. It was especially important after something as intimate as they’d just shared.
“You want some breakfast?” Ruby asked. “I think I need breakfast.” The bedroom door flew open, and she’d dashed off to the kitchen before he could respond.