“Actions, not words. She’s got more queued up for you to use.”
“Oh, Tenor. I love you so much.” She tucked herself into my side, holding the phone out. “This picture is my favorite.” She giggled and peered closer. “‘Do I get one of those when I order an old-fashioned?’ No way.” She clicked out. “You know that book you left me? There’s this shower scene...”
Ruby
I was plastered to Tenor when he carried me into the house. My mind was foggy, but my body hummed. I clamped my legs around his hips.
He stopped at the island and kissed his way down my neck. “I thought I’d lost you forever.”
“I was scared.” I angled my head to make room for him. Why was I still dressed?
Why was he still dressed? I bunched up the fabric of his shirt to drag it over his head.
He straightened and gripped my wrists. “Not yet.”
My buzz faded. “Why?”
He pressed a firm kiss to my mouth. “Because I’m going to feed you first.”
We hadn’t been together for almost a month, and he didn’t want to have sex? “We’re not going to...”
He gripped my hips and lifted me to the edge of the island. My legs were spread, putting the bulge of his erection right at my center. I groaned and rocked against it.
His pupils blew wide. “We’re most definitely going to, but you’re still drunk. And we should talk first.”
Couldn’t we talk after? Was he second-guessing himself? Now that he had me, he wondered what the urgency had been. Maybe seeing Katrina again?—
He ground into me. “Get out of that pretty head of yours. I want to do this right. You’re worth it.”
That fissure in my heart closed completely. I cupped both sides of his face. “That book was so clever. I still have it.”
His lips pulled down. “I threw it away. It was useless.”
“Your sisters dug it out and talked to me about what you went through. They helped me see I wasn’t being a doormat if we tried again.”
He feathered a hand over my cheek. “They didn’t tell me.”
“Well, they brought me the book, and I read it last weekend. Good choice. You had to special order it, didn’t you?”
He dipped his head. “I stayed up all night reading it to get it to you in time for your shift.”
I wrapped my arms around his neck and planted a kiss on him. He stuffed his hands in my hair and devoured me. If we weren’t going to have sex yet, I’d take this. We could make out for hours until I sobered up.
My stomach growled, and he pulled away. He swiped his thumb over my lower lip. “Food. Since you so valiantly defended Mama’s cooking, I can throw her lasagna in.”
I groaned. “I haven’t had a good meal in weeks.”
He smiled and made sure I was steady before retrieving a small pan from the fridge and tossing it into the oven. Then he took a glass from the cupboard and poured some water from the pitcher he kept in the fridge.
He stopped between my legs. “Here. Drink up.”
“Allen pours them strong, but Madison cut me off.” I gulped the whole glass down and set it beside me. “So. My dad?”
“I can tolerate him.”
I brushed my hands over his shoulders, down his arms, and clasped his hands. “I really am sorry that my dad was your bully.”
“Small world.” He gently squeezed my fingers. “But it turns out I got the very best of him. Seeing him again made me face my past and reevaluate it. How I reacted and why.”
