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“I don’t think you’re a flight risk, Ruby. So, no. But if you think better of this, I would respect your decision. When I make love to you, I want you to be sure and all in.”
She smiled, and her eyes drifted down to the amber liquid in her glass. “You don’t mince words.”
“You don’t, either.”
She nodded, and her soft gaze met his stare. He reached out to touch her face with a sole finger to her cheek. She gasped, and a warm light flickered in her eyes.
“What do you want, Ruby?”
“Just a night,” she whispered, breathy and guileless. “With you.”
He sensed she needed it as much as he did. To have one night with her before his life would change forever.
Taking the glass from her and setting both of their drinks down on the nightstand, he cupped her face with his hands and gazed into her eyes. “One night, then.”
“Yes,” she said. “One night.”
And then he pulled her up to a standing position so they were toe-to-toe, her face lifting to his. He peered into warm, dark eyes giving him approval and then slowly lowered his head, his mouth laying claim to hers.
Their night together was just beginning.
Two (#u598f6169-c998-524b-ab91-0259ca9619a1)
Brooks’s touch was like a jolt of electricity running the course of her body. One touch, one simple finger to her cheek, one slight meshing of his whiskey-flavored lips with hers, was giving her amnesia about the other men in her life. Men who’d trampled on her heart. Men like Trace, who’d taken from her and hadn’t given back. Trace, the man she’d waited for all these months. She squeezed that notion from her mind.
Her time to wait was over.
Brooks’s giving and patient mouth didn’t demand. Instead, he encouraged her to partake and enjoy. She liked that about this man. He wasn’t a player of women. No, her gladiator and presumptive keeper of her virtue was a man of honor. He didn’t take. He gave. And that’s exactly why she’d decided to come to his room tonight.
She placed her trust in him.
He wasn’t asking her to bare her soul. But she would bare her body. For him.
Her fingers nimbly played with the tiny white buttons on her blouse until the material slipped from her shoulders, trapping her arms. Cool night air grazed her exposed skin.
Brooks’s sharp intake of breath reached her ears. “You’re unbelievably beautiful.”
He worked the sleeves of her blouse down her arms until they gathered at her wrists. He held her there, mercilessly tugging her closer until her bra brushed his torso. “Yeah, I like you in red.” He stroked her hair and then snapped the silky strap of her bra.
“It’s my color,” she whispered, and he smiled.
“I won’t disagree.”
He nipped at her lips then, several times, until his mouth claimed hers again. The kiss swept her into another world, where the only thing that mattered, all that she felt, was the pleasure he was giving. His tongue plunged in and met hers in a sparring match that ignited a fiery inferno within her. Whimpering, she ached for his touch. Finally his fingers dipped inside her bra to caress her nipples. Everything unfolded from there—the pleasure too great, the sighs too loud, the hunger too strong.
He worked magic with his mouth while his hands found the fastener of her bra. Within seconds, and none too soon, she was free of her blouse and restraints. Her breasts spilled out into his awaiting hands, and the small ache at her core began to pulse as he touched, fondled and caressed her. She was pinned to the spot, unwilling to move, unwilling to take a step, his invisible hold on her body too strong. Her nipples stood erect and tightened to pebble hardness. Aching for more, she leaned way back and was granted the very tip of his tongue dampening her with moisture.
“Oh, so good, Brooks.”
His outstretched palms bracing the small of her back, he answered only with a low guttural groan.
And once he was through ravaging her, he brought her up to eye level, drinking her in from top to bottom. Shaking his head, he fixed his gaze on the full measure of her breasts. She had a large bust for a petite woman and this time she didn’t mind having a man’s eyes transfixed on her. “I can’t believe you,” he muttered. “You’re not real.”
The compliment went straight to her head.
Brooks was a city dude, a man who didn’t fit in her world, yet here she was, nearly naked with him and enjoying every sensual second of it.
“I’m very real,” she breathed, closing the gap between them and lacing her arms around his neck. His erection stood like a stout monument, and there was no missing it. “And I want more.”
“Whatever the lady wants,” he said, running his hands up and down the sides of her body, his fingertips grazing the sides of her breasts. Another round of heat pinged her as anticipation grew.
He turned her around, came up behind her and slowly grazed the waistband of her jeans with his hands. His powerful arms locked her in, and his mouth was doing a number on her throat while his long fingers nudged her sweet spot. She murmured her approval, and lights flashed before her eyes. He stroked between her thighs, and a cry ripped from her throat. And then he was pulling the zipper of her jeans down, slowly, torturously, his erection behind her, a thrilling reminder of what was to come.
“Kick off your boots,” he whispered in her ear.
Goose bumps erupted on her arms.
Her legs were a mass of jelly.
She kicked her boots off obediently, and then his index fingers were inside her waistband, gently lowering the jeans down her legs. She stepped out of them easily. “Red lace panties,” he murmured appreciatively. He cupped one cheek, fitting her left buttock in his palm. He stroked her, smoothing his hand up and over, up and over. “Oh, man,” he muttered, the heat of his body bathing her.
From where she stood with her back against his chest, she felt his body shudder. Quickly she turned around. The room was dimly lit with a sole lamp, and they were cast in shadow, but there was enough light to see a deep, burning hunger in his eyes.
“Lie down on the bed,” he told her.
Her heart was pounding like a drum, beating hard, beating fast. He was a man who took control. She wasn’t one to obey so easily, but there was a look in his eyes telling her to trust him. She did as she was told and lay on the queen bed, naked but for the panties she wore.
His gaze roamed over her body, slowly, the gleam in his eyes filled with promise.
“Galahad?”
“Hmm?”
“Having second thoughts?”
He laughed at her, giving his head a shake. “Are you kidding me? You have no idea...”
“What?”
“...how turned on I am. I’m trying to keep from jumping your bones, Ruby.”
She glanced at the flagpole erection bulging in his pants. “What if I want you to jump my bones? Isn’t that why we’re here?”
He squeezed his eyes shut. “Yeah, but... I want this night to last.”
She rolled to the side and leaned on her elbow. His eyes sought the spill of her hair touching her breasts. “Come to bed, Brooks. I’m a big girl. I can take whatever you have in mind.”
“Doubtful, honey. What I’m thinking...”
She grabbed his hand and tugged. He landed on his butt in an upright position on the bed. “Do it, Brooks. But first take off your clothes.”
He grinned. “How did I get so lucky?”
“Judging by the cut of your cloth, you were probably born lucky.” She was guessing.
He grunted. And that was all the reply he gave her.
Sitting up on her knees, she helped him lift his shirt over his head and pull off his boots between kisses. Her hands sought his chest, all powerful and rippled with muscle, smooth and hard, like the planes of a solid board. She reveled in touching him, her fingertips toying with his flattened nipples.
That move landed her on her back, her arms locked by one strong hand above her head. “Two can tease,” he said.
And then he was pulling her panties down and touching her where she’d prayed he’d touch. Her body instantly responded, and soft moans rose from her throat. She undulated with each stroke of his hand, each caress of a fingertip. He kept her pinned down, covering her with his body, the soft flesh of his palm applying pressure at the apex of her thighs.
“I’m... I’m going to lose it,” she moaned, the pleasure unbearable.
“Don’t fight it, honey,” he rasped.
And then she shattered, and spasms wracked her lower body in beautiful jolts that electrified her body. Her hips were arched, and she didn’t remember how they got that way. Slowly she lowered herself and finally opened her eyes to swim in Brooks’s deep blue gaze. He watched her carefully, a satisfied smile on his lips as he unzipped his pants and removed them.
“Your turn,” she said.
He shook his head. “Our turn.”
And then he fitted a condom on his erection and moved back over her.
His hands molded her breasts. His kiss went deep, his tongue delicious and probing. “Tell me when you’re ready, sweetheart,” he murmured before kissing her again.
She ran her hands through his longish blond hair, her fingers curling around the locks at the back of his neck. Then her gaze drifted to his eyes. “I don’t think I’ll ever be more ready.”
He made a caveman sound, raw and brash, and then braced her in a protective way to roll them over on the bed. She found herself on top of him. “Set the pace, Ruby. I don’t want to hurt you.”
She bit the corner of her lip. Sure, she was petite, but Galahad worried that he was too big for her small frame. She could actually fall for a guy like this. She gave him a nod and straddled his thighs. “You won’t hurt me,” she said, fitting herself over his shaft, tossing her head back and shuddering from the feel of him inside her.
Then she began to move.
* * *
Spooned against Brooks’s large frame, with his arm resting possessively around her torso, Ruby slowly opened her eyes. It was past midnight and she’d promised Brooks she’d stay the night with him. She didn’t doubt her decision but instead smiled as he snuggled her closer and brought his hand to rest just under her breast.
“Are you awake?” he whispered, his breath warm on her neck.
“Just,” she answered. “I dozed.”
“Me, too. I haven’t been this relaxed in a long time.”
“Had a lot on your mind lately?” she murmured.
“You have no idea. But I don’t want to talk about that right now.”
His hand made lazy circles around her breast, his fingers feathery light over her nipple. Her body heated instantly. He had the ability to make her yearn, and the longing was potent. His leg moved over both of hers, and she was locked to him now, the soft flesh of her thighs meeting with legs of steel.
“I don’t want to talk at all,” he said, fisting her hair and planting kisses at the back of her neck. “Do you?”
“No.” Oh God, what he was doing to her? Her body flamed. She was going up in smoke. “Talking is overrated. Not when we could be doing better things.”
Ruby had never given herself so freely before. She’d never really been the bad girl, and everyone who knew her well knew that for a fact. She’d had only three relationships in her twenty-six years, and only the last one had really meant anything to her. The last one had hurt her.
She’d been in love.
Or so she’d thought.
But tonight with Brooks was different. It was all about having a man appreciate her. Give to her. Excite her and make her feel like a woman.
He rolled over on top of her, careful of her small frame, his hands bracing the bed on both sides of her head. She gazed into his deep blue eyes. “I want you again, Ruby.”
Ruby smiled. “I want you, too.”
He nodded and let go of a deep breath. “I was praying you’d say that, honey.”
He bent his head and touched his mouth to hers. Already the taste of him, the firmness of his lips, seemed familiar and welcome. She’d never see him again. She wasn’t in the market for a man. But Brooks would leave her with a good memory.
And then his mouth moved from her lips down her chest toward her navel, streaming kisses along the way. Her hips lifted; she was eager and willing, waiting. She didn’t have to wait long. He touched his tongue to her center and suckled her sweetest spot. She whimpered and moved wildly as his mouth performed magic. It was a torturous, beautiful few minutes of pleasure. And when she was on the brink, ready for a powerful release, he rose over her and joined their bodies. Oh...it was bliss, the best of the best as he moved inside her. And then, moments later, his eyes darkened, his body stiffened and every sensation between them intensified. He moaned her name, an utterance of pleasured pain, and then he broke apart at the seams. It was enough to turn her inside out, and she, too, shuddered with an incredible release.
“Wow,” she said once her breathing returned to normal.
“Yeah, wow,” he said, keeping her close. He kissed her forehead, stroked her hair and tucked her body into his.
She closed her eyes and waited for the exquisite hum of her body to ease her into sleep.
* * *
Brooks tiptoed back into the room, holding two cups of coffee and a white paper bag filled with muffins and buttered biscuits from the café at the inn. There wasn’t a croissant to be had in this hokey Texas town, and he liked that about this place. Clean, simple and... He glanced at Ruby asleep in the bed, her hair smooth black granite against the pillow. Beautiful. Yep, Cool Springs left him with a good impression.
The mattress groaned as he sat down.
“Is that coffee I smell?” a soft, sultry voice whispered from the other end of the bed.
“Can’t fool you,” he said, turning to find Ruby coming to a sitting position. “Leaded and dark as mud.” Apparently that’s how they made coffee in Texas. He showed her the two cups.
“I think I love you,” she said, reaching for one. She’d worn one of his shirts to bed. The thing hung down to her knees and covered most of her up, but she still looked sexy as sin.
Her lips pursed as she blew on the rising steam.
He shook his head and talked down his lust. “Got biscuits, too, all buttered up, with honey.”
“I adore you even more,” she said. He handed her one and she wasted no time. She took a big bite, chewed with gusto and then took another bite.
“You’ve got an appetite.”
