Ruby
I’m staring at a huge king-size bed, wearing nothing but panties.
When I packed my bag this morning, it never occurred to me we’d be in the same room, and I have very little in the way of sleepwear. At least I managed to shower and brush my teeth at Foxleigh before we left.
Steam billows under the door because Miles clearly showers in boiling water, and I have approximately five minutes to figure out what to do about both the clothing and the sleeping situation. I’m not sure which is stressing me more.
Except it is, because all that’s going around in my head is visions of Miles naked.
It’s only when the shower stops that I jump into action.
Luckily, there’s a couch along one wall, and searching the closet, I find blankets and more pillows. Turning it into a bed is a no-brainer. And Miles’s duffel bag is open, so I swipe a T-shirt from the top.
I’m just pulling it over my head when Miles walks out, towel around his waist, while he rubs another one over his hair. Steam curls around him. Water glistens on his skin, and his damp, dark hair is pushed back from his forehead. For one completely humiliating second, I forget how to breathe.
The spider incident was PG compared to this.
My grip tightens on the blanket I’d been about to drag onto the sofa.
I try to look away, reminding myself that if he were wearing swim shorts, it wouldn’t be any different. It’s only because the towel is so white and sitting so low on his hips that it appears way more inappropriate than it is.
Or maybe it’s me being inappropriate.
Me and my filthy R-rated mind sitting right down in the gutter can be bed companions tonight.
Miles’s voice cuts through all my dirty thoughts. “What are you doing?”
I thought it was obvious, but okay. “Making up the couch.”
“Why?”
“There’s only one bed.”
“Yeah.” He leans against the doorway like this conversation is already over. “And we can both fit in it.”
Heat climbs up my neck. “I’ll take the couch.”
“Not happening.” His answer comes instantly. Firm. Certain.
“You have matches all week.”
One thick brow rises as he ponders his next move in our game of mental chess. “So do you.”
“I’m not playing in them. You are. It’s important that you get your sleep.”
“I’m not going to argue with you, Ruby, but I’m telling you right now. You are not sleeping on the sofa.”
My spine straightens, and I fold my arms across my chest. “You are not the boss of me.”
I realize what I’ve done when his eyes drop to my boobs, and a slow grin pulls at his mouth. “Actually, Ruby, according to your employment contract . . .”
I glare at him. “Miles—”
“It literally says I am.” The smugness in his voice is unbearable. “It’s late,” he adds more gently. “We’ve got a long week ahead of us. Let’s just sleep.”
“That’s exactly what I’m trying to do.”
“Great.” He pushes off the doorway and starts toward me. “Then get in bed.”
“No—”
“Yes.”
“No, Miles, you—”
Before I can finish, he bends, hooks an arm beneath my knees and another around my back, and lifts me clean off the floor.
A startled shriek tears out of me. “Miles!”
His chest is warm from the shower, damp beneath my fingertips, and he smells unfairly good—soap and cedarwood and something that is just him. My stomach flips violently as he carries me across the room like I weigh nothing at all.
And then he drops me onto the bed. I bounce against the mattress. It’s not quite like my Silver Linings mattress, but it’s not far off. The sigh that comes out of me has me wanting to smack the satisfaction off his face.
But fuck me, it’s comfy.
Even if I wasn’t too tired, I don’t think I’d put up an argument. I’m looking at Miles standing at the foot of the bed, still wearing a towel that miraculously didn’t even shift when he carried me over here.
He’s so—
Beautiful.
I turn away, preserving my own embarrassment as Miles digs around in his duffel, extracts his pajama pants, and pulls them on.
Since I moved into the cottage, and there’s only been a thin wall between us, I’ve wondered how Miles sleeps. Which side of the bed he’s on. What he wears. What position he sleeps in. Whether he dreams or snores.
I guess I’m about to find out.
Left is the answer to my first question.
He sleeps on the left side of the bed. The mattress dips as he climbs on. His bicep bulges as he tucks his arm under his head and twists onto his side to face me. When I turn too, we’re almost nose to nose, close enough that I can smell the mint on his breath. I inch back.
“Hello, Trouble.” He shakes his head, his eyes skirting down my body. Reaching for the comforter, he pulls it up and around both of us. “Nice T-shirt, by the way.”
“Sorry.” My lips twist in a grimace. “I didn’t bring anything with me to sleep in. I forgot we wouldn’t be sleeping separately.”
“Me too,” he replies. “Let’s call it a happy accident.”
I yawn. “As long as you don’t snore.”
“I could say the same to you.” He grins, settling down into the mattress. His big blue eyes scour my face, like he’s taking inventory of my freckles, checking they’re all there. His gaze drops to my lips, and the patch of skin under his eye flickers. He’s nervous. “I was so proud of you today.”
“My first ever match . . . because of you.”
He shakes his head. “No, Rubes. Because of you.”
I warm to his compliment, even if I don’t quite believe it. “Maverick did well, didn’t he? He’s so brave. You’re turning him into an amazing pony.”
“Ruby, you’re turning him into an amazing pony.” His tone is almost sharp. “Stop putting yourself down. I don’t understand. You’re so confident in everything except when it comes to your own abilities.”
I don’t want to tell him it’s because he’s the only one who’s ever believed in me. Therefore, if I fail, I have one more person to let down besides myself. So I stay quiet and let him think what he wants. We’re quiet for so long, my eyes get heavy again.
Somewhere in the dim bedside light, Miles’s fingertips find mine under the comforter. I already know he’s going to reach for my ruby and play with it like a stress toy.
“Can I ask you something?”
“Hmm.”
“What were you thinking about before the helicopter took off?”
It takes me a second, though I don’t know why. It’s literally all I think about these days when I’m not with the ponies. And my eyes might be closed, but I know Miles stares at me intently, waiting for me to speak.
“Tell me, Rubes.”
“I was thinking about how I felt hearing you cheer me on from the sidelines,” I say, keeping my tone as casual as possible. “And afterward, when you kissed me.”
The room falls silent again, but this time, my body wakes up.
There’s an invisible energy that’s always present between us, and right now, it vibrates across my entire body.
I imagine it like one of those glass force fields we had in science class—the glass balls you touch with the neon lighting that follows you around.
“I think it’s time to go to sleep,” he whispers, single-handedly crushing me with one sentence.
But then he leans forward, pressing his lips to mine.
We’ve kissed in public. We’ve kissed in front of thousands of people. We’ve kissed in the coffee shop, and there’s the one time we kissed at home. But never in the same bed, wearing very little clothing.
Because if your relationship is fake, why would you?
Except this doesn’t feel fake anymore.
“Good night, Trouble,” he mutters, but his lips stay in place. Tentative. Like he’s giving me the chance to stop this.
Because the second mine part beneath his, everything changes. His fingers tangle with my hair as he deepens his kiss.
Heat rushes through me all at once, and suddenly he’s above me, his weight settling carefully between my thighs.
Every inch of my skin sparks alive beneath him.
My heart pounds so hard it hurts, and nothing is stopping this from going any further. The heaviness of him presses into my hip bone, and I moan.
“Tell me to stop, Ruby.”
I shake my head. I’d sooner die than tell him. “No.”
He groans, and I can’t tell if it’s a plea for me to do as he asked, or that he knows he can’t stop himself because I didn’t.
His lips drag up the column of my throat and his tongue licks across the underside of my jaw while he rises above me, biceps flexed hard to hold his weight hovering inches away from me. His eyes are nothing but navy pools brimming with lust, boring into mine.
“There’s no going back, Rubes. Once this happens, that’s it.” His blue stare pins harder, and I feel his cock twitch between my thighs. “You understand? Once I fuck you, I’m going to keep fucking you.”
“Really?” My chin juts out, desperate to bring my mouth closer to his again. Blood pounds in my ears, my heart is beating at a million miles an hour, and I’m clearly a glutton for punishment when I reply, “Because it seems like you’re not fucking me. You’re just talking.”
He stills. If it’s possible for his entire face to flare with shock, then it does.
His jaw flexes, his tongue runs along his top lip, and I know I’m about to get it.
My body literally vibrates with anticipation.
I’m so wet I can feel arousal seeping out of me.
And when he drops his lips to mine, I’m on the verge of combustion.
“Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
In less than a second, I’m flipped over.
It’s so quick that I barely manage a squeak as the air is ripped from my lungs.
Forcing me onto my knees, he pushes his hips against me.
I already know the damage his dick is going to do.
It’s all I’ve thought about since the spider incident, and I can feel it prodding me through his pajama pants.
His palms flatten against the base of my spine, rubbing small circles over my hot skin. His calluses scratch along the surface, keeping me present because I’m on the verge of blacking out.