That’s all it takes.
I shatter around him, my body clenching as waves of pleasure crash over me. Percy follows moments later, his release triggering aftershocks of my own as he pulses inside me.
We cling to each other, both shaking, both stunned by the intensity of what just happened. His forehead rests against mine, our breath mingling as we struggle to return to reality.
His hands, now gentle on my back, tracing patterns in my skin. “You’re going to ruin me.”
I should climb off his lap, find my clothes, and restore some professional distance. Instead, I find myself curling against his chest, listening to his heart hammer against his ribs.
“The Wolfstone plans,” I murmur. “Were they real? Or just a line to get me into bed?”
His arms tighten around me. “See for yourself.” He gestures to the model we somehow managed not to destroy in our passion. “Everything I told you was true. I want to find a compromise, Ruby. One that respects what that land means to your people.”
I study his face, searching for deception and finding none. Just Percy—complicated, surprising Percy—looking at me with what appears to be genuine respect.
“Why?” I ask simply.
He’s quiet for a moment, his hand continuing its gentle exploration of my back. “Because some things are worth preserving,” he finally says. “Heritage. History. Connections that matter.”
I’m not sure if he’s talking about Wolfstone or something else entirely.
Maybe both.
We stay like that for a long time, my body curled against his, both of us suspended in a moment neither of us expected to find. Enemies on paper, something entirely different in reality.
Eventually, I stir. “I should probably go. I think I’ve overstayed my welcome.”
Percy wraps his arms around me, pulling me close. “Not when I’ve finally got my hands on you, Ruby Wolfhart.”
There’s a raw yearning in his voice that catches me off guard. “You have no idea how long I’ve dreamed of you.”
A rush of heat and disbelief knots low in my belly. “Me?” I blurt out, too stunned to filter the thought. “The wolf threatening to take down your empire?”
“The one who challenges me at every turn.”
The admission is startling… and oddly thrilling.
A part of me wants to deflect, to mock it the way I do everything else. But another part latches on, clinging to the weight of this moment. “And now that you have me?”
His grin is pure mischief. “Now I plan to ravage you all night long.”
He stands, lifting us both in one smooth motion, and for a second, the world tilts around me.
“Back to the bedroom?” he murmurs, pressing a kiss to my temple that feels almost too tender for someone who just said “ravage.”
“Yes,” I say, surprising myself. “I think we have more… negotiating to do.”
4
Ruby
Percy’s bed is ridiculously comfortable. Of course it is. Probably filled with the tears of evicted forest creatures and stuffed with thousand-thread-count entitlement. Yet here I am, sprawled across it like I belong here. The digital clock on his nightstand reads 2:17 AM. I should have left hours ago. Instead, I’m watching moonlight cast interesting shadows across Percy Porkwell’s surprisingly defined abs and wondering when exactly my life derailed so spectacularly.
“You’re thinking too loudly,” Percy murmurs, eyes still closed, one arm draped possessively across my waist. “I can practically hear the self-recrimination.”
I poke his side. “Don’t flatter yourself. I’m mentally drafting a scathing letter for next week’s Gazette about predator discrimination in urban planning.”
He cracks one eye open, his mouth curving into that infuriating half-smile. “At two in the morning? After three orgasms? I’m offended.”
