Chapter 12 #2
“Now, hand it over and go play outside like a couple of normal kids.”
The kids share a look and then sigh as they both hand over the toys they stole.
Before they even touch my hand—or well, two hands because I need both to hold them—it’s my turn to be a deer in headlights.
The kids run past me, shouting apologies as I stand frozen at the bottom of the stairs, staring at the kitchen in front of me and trying not to glance down at the not one but two vibrators in my hands.
Two.
She has two vibrators.
Ruby Asher.
And they are in my hands.
What the fuck kind of toys did those kids think these were?
I’ve failed somewhere.
What the fuck?
Ruby’s going to kill me.
Against my better judgment, I glance down at the purple one. It has ribbed edges.
I’ll be honest. This is my first time holding a dildo, and I jumped right in with two.
Am I obsessing over the fact that there are two? Yes, yes, I fucking am. Ruby Asher isn’t as innocent as I thought she was.
And I’m not supposed to think of her this way.
Ever.
Fuck.
These days I can’t seem to stop.
I hold the purple one up; clearly, a little bravery has appeared.
I observe each side of it.
It must be a manual one, as I don’t see any buttons.
And how big is this thing? How far does she … no, no, I cannot think like this about her.
The other night was bad enough. I’ll never get the image of her on my lap or the softness of her skin under my fingers out of my head.
I can’t be thinking of her like this now.
She’s helping me by letting us live with her, and I’d have to deal with not one, not two, but three of her brothers as it was made perfectly clear at the gym today. And the kids. The kids are our priority. How would it affect them if this didn’t work out?
I let the hand with the purple vibrator drop as I glance at the other one.
Fun.
The blue one plays with her clit, too.
The image of Ruby lying on her bed using both of these at the same time stirs my cock to life. I can see her using the purple one, while the other vibrates against her—
“What are you doing?”
I spin, the blue dildo dropping from my hand.
Both of our gazes fall to the floor where it landed between us.
“Oh my God.” Nothing about her gasp helps the situation in my pants.
She picks it up and then spots the purple one in my hand.
She hits me with a glare that could murder me in my sleep.
Shit.
I hold my hands up. “This isn’t what it looks like.”
I slowly step toward her, holding out the purple dildo to her.
She takes it from me on a growl and is about to walk past me when Luca walks into the house.
“Declan, just the man I was looking for.”
It all happens in a blur.
I jump.
Ruby jumps.
Then Ruby tosses the dildos on the couch.
I move quickly to sit on them so her brother doesn’t see them and put together the fact that his sister and I were just standing in the middle of the house with two vibrators.
No way in hell am I letting that happen after the conversations this morning.
So yep. That’s me. Declan Young. A man who not only has officially held two dildos in his hand today but is now sitting on them.
I glance at Ruby, whose eyes are wide, and her mouth is dropped open. Slowly, it turns into a grin.
“Why did you need Declan?” she asks cooly, as if what just happened was normal.
“I want to take the kids to The Marina for the afternoon and then for dinner. Are you two cool with that?”
“Doesn’t that mean you need me too?” Ruby asks.
Luca shrugs. “I knew you’d say yes, so really I just need Declan to say yes for Susie.”
Both Asher siblings look at me.
Can they see that I'm sweating?
“Sounds great,” I answer quickly. “Have fun.”
The sooner he’s gone, the sooner I can stand up.
“Sweet. Bye!”
Luca walks out the door, passing Max.
“I forgot to give Declan this.” Her son holds up a tiny remote. He presses a button with his thumb, and instantly my ass begins to tingle.
Ruby erupts into laughter and takes the remote but doesn't turn it off.
I know she can hear it.
This thing is fucking intense.
And she puts it inside her.
Fuck.
That's hot.
Now I'm even harder than before.
I’m a grown man. Why do I have no control right now?
I need a shower.
I also need the people in this room to vanish so I can walk out with a bit of dignity.
She hugs Max goodbye while my kid yells goodbye through the door and then the door closes and I spring up like my life depends on it.
“So, the kids took them and gave them to you.” Ruby chuckles. She reaches for her toys, but I beat her to it.
I hold up the one still vibrating.
“Is this one your favorite?”
Her smile drops, and her gaze turns heated.
She takes a deep breath, and just when I think she’s going to have some smart-ass remark for me asking such a personal question, she simply nods.
“How often do you use it?”
I step closer, letting my curiosity lead the way.
She swallows.
“I …”
Then her cheeks turn the sexiest shade of pink as she looks away, clicking the remote off.
“I …”
“You can tell me, Ruby. It’ll be our little secret.”
Her gaze flicks back to mine.
“Our little secret can be the fact that I even own these. No one knows. Which is how it should be.”
I nod.
“So, you’ve never used these with anyone?”
She shakes her head. “Why are you so curious?”
I don't know how to answer her, so I remain quiet.
It’s her turn to step closer.
“Does the idea of them and me turn you on?”
I smirk.
Her slight hand reaches forward, taking the vibrators from me.
“You don’t have to answer me.” She looks down. “Your gray sweatpants are giving you away.”
Shit.
“To be fair, while you’ll be downstairs thinking of me and my toys, I’ll be thinking of you in these sweatpants.”
This isn’t us. This isn’t how we act.
“Fair’s fair, right?” I ask.
“Sure. Anything else you want to know before I put these back?”
The words fall from my mouth before I can think better of it.
“Do you use them at the same time?”
A slow smile forms on her lips.
The same lips that have me captivated and wishing that I would have stolen a taste of them the other night.
She takes a step backward. She isn’t going to answer me.
Then she turns and starts to jog up the stairs.
“Wait!” I call out when she gets to the top step. “I got you something.”
Now is as good a time as any to change the subject before I do something one of us might regret later.
“Okay,” she laughs. “Let me just put these away first.”
She hurries to her room as I grab the computer from my truck. She’s just reaching the bottom of the stairs when I step in the door.
Her eyes drop instantly to the box.
“What’s that?”
“I got you a new computer. While I recovered files yesterday, I have a feeling it’ll happen again. This way you’re all—”
“I don’t want it.” She crosses her arms and steps back.
“You need a new computer, Ruby.”
“Then I’ll buy one myself. I ... I don’t have anything to offer you in return, and right now I can’t—”
“It’s a gift. I don’t need or want anything in return.”
“Everything comes at a price, Declan. I can’t take it.”
“This,”—I hold the box up—“does not come with strings. It comes with you being a gifted graphic designer who built her own company, which is pretty badass by the way, who needs a computer that works. I know computers, and this one is perfect for what you want to achieve.”
She just looks at the box and then at me again. I can see in the way her mouth twists and the way her fingers drill against her arms that she’s thinking it over.
“No strings?” she asks softly.
“Not a single one.”
She nods slowly and then steps toward me.
“Can you help me set it up and back up my current files?”
I beam.
“I’d love to.”
We spend the next hour getting everything set to go so she can get to work. It’s a great distraction from the afternoon’s events.
I grab a bottle of water and head for the stairs, leaving Ruby to work alone at the table.
“Declan?” she says. I stop on the top step.
“Yeah?”
“Two vibrators.” She lifts her head and winks at me. “That’s the only way to use them.”
Fuck.
I jog down the steps to the basement to put as much distance between us as possible.
Then impulse gets the best of me and I’m coding my phone to show me the deleted message.
Ruby:
Our dry humping was short-lived, but I want to do it again.
And again. With fewer clothes. Maybe my feelings come from the fact that he’s overly good-looking.
I mean, his chest is like a rock, and I hate that I want to touch it.
I hate that I told him he had to start wearing shirts.
Add in his stupid cute smirk and the fact that he’s smart and great with Max and just …
it’s too much. It’s easier to not like him.
I need to be focused on myself and Max. If I did like him, instead of fixing my computer, I’d be climbing him like a pole and breaking my dry spell.
I drop to my bed and blow out a breath.
It’s not overly bad, but it’s not good either.
Because despite the relationship we have, if Ruby ever tried to climb me like a pole, I don’t think I could stop her.
I wouldn’t want to.