She clung to me for a few more seconds, then stepped out of my embrace, and pushed her shoulder back. “I will figure it out, I always do. I need to go make sure Gramps is in bed.” Then she tugged at her bottom lip like she did when she was worried or nervous. “Are you still staying?”
Did she seriously think that anything could keep me from being with her? I had to remember the insecurities that probably came from her mother leaving her and the pain that would cause. And while it killed me that she would question whether I would walk away that night or later down the road, I understood.
I needed to make her believe.
“I’m not going anywhere, Red. Not now. Not later.” Her smile may have been a little apprehensive but I took the smile and rolled with it. “Do you need any help with your grandpa or Jett?”
“No, I got it. I’ll be right back.” Before she left the room, she leaned over and gently kissed my lips. “Thank you for being here.”
The kiss stayed with me while she was away. Not because of the desire kissing Ruby always brought forth, but because of the enormous amount of meaning it held. My feelings for her got more powerful every day and in that kiss, I felt her heart beating.
For me.
I kicked off my shoes and sat down on the bed, a mountain of pillows surrounding me, and positioned myself against the headboard as I flicked on the television to wait. The floral scent swirled through my senses, a mix of wild and sweet just like the woman who’d left the aroma behind.
It wasn’t long before Ruby returned. She stopped dead in her tracks in the doorway. A shy, unsure look crossed her face. When she’d asked if I was staying moments before, I thought it was because she was worried I would leave, but maybe I had that all wrong. What if she’d changed her mind about me staying at all?
Not one to beat around the bush, I asked.
“Do you want me here, Red?” I held my breath waiting for her answer.
She moved further into the room and closed the door. “Of course. I just wasn’t expecting you to look so good in my bed.” Her cheeks turned a rose color. “But…” When she paused, I cut in.
“Sweetheart, I want to be here for you, that’s it.” She looked relieved and disappointed all at the same time so I clarified. “Let me try again. I want you, Red, but I am perfectly content waiting.”
With that, she moved toward her dresser and took out some clothes. “That sounds nice. I’m going to change real quick.”
“Take your time,” I told her.
It wasn’t long before she opened the door, but the moment she did, I swallowed my tongue. Dressed in a cute pair of pink sleep shorts and a gray tank top that had pink lips all over it, I got a good glimpse of her voluptuous body. I had to count to ten in my head to get my body’s reaction to the sight of her under control.
Ruby was captivating.
She slowly made her way to the other side of the bed and pulled back the covers. I’d taken my shirt off but left my jeans on not wanting to make her uncomfortable.
“Are you going to leave your pants on?”
“Not if you’re okay with me taking them off?”
She smiled and it lit up the room. “You can remove them,” she said, jumping under the covers as I slipped out of them.
When I dropped my jeans and pulled off my socks, I heard an audible intake of breath. I looked up to find Ruby’s gaze on me and once again I found myself counting. Before the bulge in my boxers got any bigger I jumped back in bed and covered up.
Ruby didn’t need me lusting over her or sporting wood right then, what she needed was for me to be there for her. I settled down into the bed and brought her to my side. After fumbling a little she finally laid her head on my chest and rested her hand on my stomach.
My body hummed with a buzz of electricity at her touch.
We lay there quietly, the television playing a movie I didn’t know nor was I paying attention to because I was lost in the rightness of the moment. This woman was exactly where she was meant to be.
In my arms.
I rubbed slow circles on her lower back and thought maybe she’d fallen asleep. But then she started talking and her words crushed me.
“Maybe I’m the lucky one. I mean, my mom didn’t want me at all so I didn’t have to bear her cruelty or shitty parenting.”
Her warm breath as she sighed hit my bare chest and my heart started to crumble at the notion that the beautiful soul lying in my arms was aching so much.
“Jett was eight and I’ve heard some of what he had to endure. It makes me cringe and I want to weep for him even when I know he is safe. But now…”
