Chapter 39 An I-want-you thing
CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE
An I-want-you thing
Ryker
It was a miracle I hadn’t already blown my load. While eating Ruby’s pussy, I’d subtly pinched my cock to save exactly that from happening. I couldn’t remember ever been this turned on. Maybe it was the whole forbidden element turning up the heat. Whatever the reason, I was going with it.
My thoughts lagged, struggling to keep up with the realisation that this was actually happening. That’d I’d hooked up with Ruby. That I’d just gone down on her. That she was currently jerking me off.
“You can be rougher than that,” I told her, my voice coarse and gravelly.
“Are you sure? That wouldn’t hurt?”
“Nope.”
“I won’t break your penis?”
I barked out a laugh. “No, Ruby. You won’t break my penis.”
Ruby’s uncertainty wasn’t coming from inexperience, but from the strangeness of being with someone new. Not only was I the first guy since Noah, I was the only guy other than him – and just the second to ever make her come, assuming he’d held up some dignity in the bedroom.
The fact Ruby thought she didn’t enjoy coming on a guy’s tongue told me Noah was below average in that department, which was a tragedy... for him.
When I’d told Ruby I could do this all day, I’d lied. What I’d really meant was that I could do this all day, every day, until the day I died. I’d gladly roll her back over right now and spend the rest of the day making her feel good. Fuck my dick and what he needed.
The way Ruby’s leg rested over my hip meant that each time she pumped my dick, it grazed her slick pussy. I’m guessing it was intentional, because she was only becoming wetter. One small shift, and I could be inside her – not that I would.
When I’d said I’d go as slow as she needed, I’d meant it. Besides, I had my own reservations. I didn’t want to damage this friendship either.
Easier said than done when my dick was in her hands.
“You’re big,” Ruby breathed.
Fuck. She knew how to paint a guy’s ego.
When I fused my mouth to hers, she made her signature sweet noise – a mix between a whimper and a moan. I wanted to capture the sound and set it as my alarm tone.
As I slipped my hands beneath her – my – hoodie, her sharp nipples brushed against my calloused palms. As eager as I was to see her naked, I’d have to rely on my imagination for a little while longer. Baby steps were the right approach here.
No matter how determined I was to keep everything between us the same, this had undeniably changed things. Right now, I couldn’t have been more okay with that.
With a low groan, I rocked into Ruby’s tight grip. She watched me with eagerness, her eyes wide and lips parted. I took advantage and slipped my tongue inside her mouth, hoping she didn’t mind tasting herself.
The feminine whimper I was met with sent me over the edge. I shot off in her hand, coating her stomach and mine, and making an immediate mess of my sheets. Not that I fucking cared one bit right now. I’d deal with that later.
My forehead fell against Ruby’s as I exhaled heavily, fighting to catch my breath.
I’d lost count of how many times I’d slept beside her.
It had started when we were kids, when sharing a bed with the opposite sex was innocent.
Even as we grew up – through puberty, first times and losing our naivety – sleeping beside her never stopped feeling normal, like crashing with a teammate or one of the guys.
But there was nothing innocent about what had just happened.
This shift was big. I was torn on how much to analyse it and simply let it unfold.
Ruby grinned, her eyes sparkling with amusement. “Did we really just do that?”
“Yeah, we did.”
She wrinkled her nose. “You went down on me.”
“You’re covered in my load.”
Her gaze lowered, but the mess was hidden by the chaotic tangle of blankets. Even though we hadn’t progressed beyond foreplay, my bed looked well and truly fucked.
Ruby’s playful expression fell. “Should we talk about it?”
“Probably. But how about we get cleaned up first? You take a shower and I’ll sort the bed out.”
*
An hour later, we were both showered, there was fresh linen on my bed, and we were sitting across from each other at the local diner.
Ruby eyed the menu. I’ll bet she was deciding between waffles, or eggs and bacon with hashbrowns.
“What are you getting?” she asked me.
“Probably the all-American big breakfast.”
“Of course you are. Do I want the waffles, or eggs and bacon with hashbrowns?”
Called it.
“Go the waffles. You can steal some of my hashbrowns and bacon.”
With a satisfied smile, she set her menu down.
I’d been bending over backwards my entire life to make Ruby happy. If sexual favours stayed on the table, she could have me giving up much more than my breakfast if she played her cards right.
After the waitress took our orders, Ruby started fidgeting with her napkin, twisting it between her palms. She’d done the same with her seat belt on the drive here.
It was clear she was nervous, and while there was something undeniably cute about it, I didn’t want her feeling that way. Ruby had never had a reason to be nervous around me before.
Back in high school, when girls started stumbling over their words and trying to impress me, Ruby never did.
Our relationship had never changed – not even when my voice dropped, or when she started wearing a bra, or when I found out she and Noah had gone to third base beneath the football bleachers.
“So,” she began.
“So,” I smiled back, taking a sip of my coffee.
“Are you really going to make me do all the heavy lifting here? My arm’s already sore from the hand job I gave your big dick.”
A laugh burst from me, causing me to choke on my drink. “Jesus, Rubz,” I muttered once I had my breathing back under control.
She groaned. “Fine. I’ll go first.” Leaning across the table, she lowered her voice, as if anyone around us gave a flying fuck about this conversation. “I had fun this morning. I liked doing that with you.”
“I liked doing that with you too, Rubz.”
She smiled shyly, like she liked that I also liked it. And I liked that she liked that I liked it... like, a lot.
“But it’s not just about you being my best friend, Wheels,” she added, her tone becoming serious.
“This is the first time I’ve been single since I was sixteen.
As much as everyone keeps telling me to explore and make the most of it, that’s not who I am.
I’ve always been a one-person-at-a-time kind of girl.
And while Noah didn’t make it seem that way, I’ll always want the person I’m with – whether it’s just sex or more – to only be with me. ”
The simple mention of that asshole’s name sparked the raging fire inside me – one that hadn’t been extinguished since hearing what he’d done. I still planned on making him pay somehow – though maybe I already had.
He’d be furious if he knew Ruby and I had hooked up – not that I intended to brag about that to him, or anyone for that matter. Ruby and me knowing was enough.
“I’d never ask that of you,” Ruby went on. “I know you and I view relationships differently. So perhaps it’s best if we stop this now, before emotions get involved, before feelings get hurt, and before we’re in deep enough that I have a reason to get jealous of the next girl when this ends.”
Thank fuck I hadn’t eaten yet, because the thought of either a next girl or this ending caused my stomach to knot. Neither option was on the table for me.
Ruby was right that if we left things here, after just a few kisses and a bit of foreplay, slipping back into friendship would be easy. Everything still felt the same between us. Familiar. Simple. Innocent.
But when I thought about how it felt to kiss her, I knew that feeling didn’t come from some casual hookup. It’s like the stars were in sync, or some greater force was at play. Whatever it was, I knew this was the beginning of something, not the end.
“You’re right,” I said, matching her sincere tone. “We could stop this right now and go back to just being friends.”
Ruby nodded her agreement, but the disappointment in her eyes told a different story. Good. Great. Per-fucking-fect.
“The thing is though... I don’t want to stop, Rubz. If you’re wanting to explore your newfound single life, do it with me. And on me. And to me. I can be your rebound.”
Her eyes were buzzing behind her glasses, and she hadn’t even taken a sip of her coffee yet. I’d say she was wired enough already.
“Why would you want that?” she questioned, a hint of doubt creeping through.
“Because...”
Kissing you felt right.
Waking up beside you fixed my homesickness.
Making you feel good gave me a high unlike anything I’d experienced before.
“Because I care about you, Rubz. And you can trust me.”
Her eyebrows furrowed. “If this is a pity thing–”
“It’s not,” I cut in, blunt and honest. “It’s an I-want-you thing. Do you want me?”
When she eventually nodded, small as it was, a triumphant smile stretched across my face. I wanted her and, for reasons I didn’t fully understand, she wanted me back. Why fight it?
I exhaled. “That settles that.”
Ruby’s shoulders relaxed as she chuckled. “It’s that easy, huh?”
“Look.”
Leaning across the table, I reached for her hands. Screw her no PDA rule. I needed to touch her.
“Let’s just take it day by day, and in the meantime, we can set some ground rules. Like we won’t hook up with other people.”
As she opened her mouth to respond, the waitress appeared with our orders, forcing me to drop Ruby’s hands.
Ruby wanted this – us – I knew she did. But she was also afraid, and I understood why. I was just as scared to take the risk, but even more terrified of not taking a chance on something that felt so right.
After thoughtfully thinking for a few moments, she reached forward and stole a piece of bacon from my plate. “Fine.”
“Fine?”
“We can keep hooking up. But we promise to draw the line before our friendship gets caught in the crossfire.”
Grinning, I slid a hashbrown onto her plate too. “I promise, Rubz.”