Chapter 17 #2
“Yeah. I guess the last straw was about four years ago. She seemed nice at first. Genuine. But a couple months in, things changed. It was all about money again. And when I resisted, she got mad. She threatened to make up stories about me and release them to the press if I didn’t do what she wanted. ”
“Micah.” Ruby drapes her arm around my neck and kisses my jaw. “That’s awful. I’m sorry.”
“I got my attorney involved. Once he started throwing around things like libel and slander, she backed down. I haven’t heard from her since. But after that, I was done. I decided that staying single was better.”
“That’s how I felt about Liam,” she says. “Thankfully, he didn’t try to slander me. Although, who knows, he could have tried something much worse.”
“Rue.”
“I’m trying to have a sense of humor about it. Sort of. But anyway. That sucks, Micah. And I get it. Why you wanted to stay single. And I’m sorry you had to go through that.”
“It’s not a big deal,” I reply quickly. “Not compared to the things other people go through. I’m not trying to make it into more than it is. I just wanted you to know why I haven’t dated in so long. It’s not because I’m afraid of commitment. Or that I was a player. I guess I was just…”
“Protecting yourself,” Ruby finishes. “That’s normal after you’ve been hurt.” Her gaze holds mine. “I hope you’re telling me this because you don’t think I’m the same way?”
“Of course not.” I hug her close. “Absolutely not. I’m telling you because I care about you. Because I want you to know that I’m serious about you. That when I commit, it means something.”
“And are you? Committing?”
My heart thumps hard. That’s the crux of it, isn’t it? Am I ready to commit?
But I already know the answer. I’ve known for a while. I just haven’t told Ruby yet.
“I want to,” I tell her. “I want to take you to meet my parents. I want to introduce you to my old Army buddies. I know some guys up in Sleepy Hollow, just north of here, who I think you’d like.
And there’s a guy out in Vermont who was Delta.
Ronan. I’d love to bring you out there to meet him, too. ”
“I would like that,” she says with a soft smile.
“And I want to take you on trips. We could visit all kinds of museums, and famous libraries, and find a restaurant with the very best beef Wellington. I want you to be at all of our poker nights, like Sofia is with Rogue. I want to know I’m going to see you after work and on the weekends, because that’s just what we do. ”
Ruby kisses me. “Everything you said. I want that, too.”
“And there’s something else.” Now that I’ve started, I don’t want to stop.
“I’m falling in love with you, Rue. At least, I think I am.
I’ve never been in love before, so I’m not sure how it feels.
But I know I feel more right with you than anyone else.
I know I think about you all the time. I know my heart feels bigger when I’m with you.
Maybe it’s too soon to say this. Especially with everything else going on. But—”
I’m silenced by her mouth crashing down on mine.
Turning, Ruby straddles me. Her legs come around my waist. As she kisses me, her curls brush my face.
I tunnel my hand through her hair, tilting her head back and kissing her more deeply. My dick, which should be tired after last night but isn’t, jumps to attention.
Calm down, I tell him. I just told Ruby something important. I need to concentrate on that right now.
What better way to celebrate falling in love than to have sex again? he reasons.
Fair point, I reply. But I think I need to find out how Ruby feels, first.
Although she wouldn’t be kissing me if she was upset by what I said, would she?
I should ask. But that would mean not kissing Ruby, and I’m not willing to do that yet. Not when kissing her—with her in my lap, straddling me, no less—is one of my very favorite things.
So we keep kissing. And kissing.
By the time we break apart, I’m breathing hard. Ruby’s cheeks are flushed. Her lips are kiss-swollen and damp. Her curls spring out like a halo, catching fire from the sun hitting them. Her eyes are warm honey sparkling with gold, and soft with emotion as she looks at me.
As I trace the line of her lips with my finger, I take a steadying breath. “So. What do you think?”
Her eyebrows arch up. “Think about what?”
“What I said. About committing. And all the other stuff.”
“Ah, that.” She nods thoughtfully. “Well, it is a lot to take in.”
My heart skips a beat. Shit. It was too much, too soon.
“Thing is,” Ruby continues, “I always saw myself with a certain kind of person.”
My body goes cold. “A certain kind of person? What kind of person?”
Someone who can protect her better? Someone who didn’t let her walk up to her apartment alone? Someone who would have stopped her from racing out of the condo during a flashback and potentially putting herself in danger?
“Well.” She drags out the word. “As a beginner chef, I thought I should probably be with someone more advanced. Someone who can prepare an adequate beef Wellington.”
Warmth begins to seep back into me. “Beef Wellington, you say?”
“Oh, yes.” Her lips twitch. “Do you think you can prepare beef Wellington? With the correct kind of mushrooms?”
I press my lips together to keep from smiling. “I think, if I practice enough, I could.”
“And do you think, if you practiced enough, you could make meatballs that don’t double as deadly weapons?”
This time I can’t keep my chuckle from escaping. “Yes, I think I could.”
“Okay.” Ruby’s face splits into a wide smile.
“I’m falling for you, too, Micah. I have been.
And I don’t care if you can cook. Or if your food could be used as ammunition.
I love being with you. I love everything about you.
And…” Her smile fades, turning into something more serious.
“I want a future with you. The cooking and the money… I don’t care about that. You’re what’s important. Just you.”
A sigh of relief escapes. “You had me going for a second.”
“I was just teasing,” she says. Then she kisses me. “Maybe it wasn’t the right time, though?”
I frame her face with my hands and kiss her back. “It was the perfect time, Rue. You know why?”
“Why?”
“Because that’s the kind of relationship I want. One where we can have fun together. And I love your little bluffs. But.” I tap her nose. “If I ask you to marry me one day, and you pretend you’re going to say no when you actually mean yes, I might actually pass out. So please don’t do that.”
A beat later, my heart jumps when I realize what I said.
But it’s not scary to think about. At all. In fact, I can see it. Me at the end of the aisle with Ruby all in white, walking towards me. And everything that goes with it. The smile on her face. The love in her eyes. The joy in my heart.
Yes, I could see myself marrying Ruby one day.
Thoughts work in her eyes as she looks at me. Then she taps my nose back. “I won’t. I promise.”
“Okay.” I breathe another sigh of relief. “Good.” Kissing her lightly, I add, “So. Do you want coffee? Breakfast?”
Her gaze shifts from me to the window. “Actually. I was wondering. Are these windows one-way? So we can see out, but no one can see in?”
A little surprised by her change of subject, it takes me a second to respond. “Yes, they’re one-way. Are you worried about someone seeing you in here?”
“Not exactly. But I was thinking, maybe we could have sex in here before breakfast. In front of the window?” Pink touches her cheeks.
“I love this room so much. And I read in this book about the couple having sex in a skyscraper, right against the window. I didn’t think much of it at the time.
But now… maybe it could be fun? If you wanted to try it? ”
In one move, I rise from the couch and set Ruby down in front of me. Then I slide my hand under her sweatshirt and cup her ass, dragging her flush against my body. My dick jerks against her belly, cheering silently. “Yes to both,” I reply.
Dipping my head to kiss her neck, I suck gently at her skin. When I see the faint pink mark I left behind, the possessive, caveman-esque side of me roars. “It definitely sounds like fun.” I lift her sweatshirt and pull it over her head, revealing nothing but bare skin beneath.
When I press her against the glass, she shivers. Her nipples pebble from the air hitting them. I palm one breast, rolling her nipple between my fingers. Her head tilts back as she arches towards me.
“Micah,” she moans. “Oh.”
“I think taking you right here sounds like a lot of fun,” I tell her. “And I definitely want to try it.”
Ruby’s hands come to my waistband, tugging at the waistband of my shorts. She pulls them down past my hips, and my erection springs free. Wrapping her fingers around me, she says with a hint of satisfaction, “It looks like someone else thinks it’s a good idea, too.”
“Hmm.” I tear my gaze from her breasts to look below my waist. “I suppose he does.” With a wry smile, I add, “He’s very eager. I have to tell him to calm down quite often.”
Ruby giggles. “Oh, really? Do you talk to him a lot?”
I pull her little sleep shorts down, then toss them aside.
Next come Ruby’s pale blue panties, so sheer they reveal the trimmed red curls beneath them.
“It depends. If you’re wearing my clothes?
Or you just got out of the shower, and all you have on is a towel?
Or when you’re lying in bed next to me, all naked and sexy and your hair curling all over?
Then I have to tell him to calm down a lot. Other times, he uses more restraint.”
Ruby gives my T-shirt a pointed look, and I tug it over my head obligingly. As her gaze sweeps across my body, I take the time to do the same with hers.
And no matter how many times I look at Ruby naked, it never ceases to amaze me. My brain can’t seem to accept that this perfect woman is mine.