He laughed, her quick wit turning him on as much as her wriggling to escape his grasp.
"You should smile more often." She touched the corner of his mouth with a fingertip, her touch lingering. He wanted to turn his head a fraction and suck her finger into his mouth, a prelude to what he'd do to the rest of her body.
“Who are you really, Jax Maroney?" She lowered her hand and irrationally, missed her touch. "Because I'm guessing I'll need to know more about the man behind the grumpy mask considering we're married now."
She couldn't have quelled his libido harder if she tried. He didn't want to reveal anything to her. Not his innermost thoughts, fears, or desires.
The only desire he wanted to show her involved the two of them naked.
"You talk too much." He stepped into her personal space, forcing her to back up.
Excitement sparked in her eyes as her mouth curved into a wicked smile. “Talking is healthier than keeping everything locked tight.”
He took another step, and she backed up again. "I don't need you to psychoanalyse me."
"Then what do you need me for?"
"This."
He crushed his mouth to hers, her squeal of surprise quickly giving way to a low moan of pleasure. Like their kiss at the registry office, everything faded until all he could feel and taste was this woman.
His wife.
The wife he wanted tonight to be special for, no matter how much he wanted to take her up against the nearest wall.
He wrenched his mouth from hers, her dazed expression matching his.
"What are you doing?" She grabbed his lapels and shook him. "No sex, remember?"
He traced the curve of her cheek and the contour of her lips before lowering his hand. "This marriage might be a sham, but I figure you deserve a wedding night you’ll never forget."
He meant it.
He'd never met a woman so bold, so forthright, so determined to get what she wanted, even if it meant sacrificing dreams of romance and happily ever after.
While Ruby hadn't alluded to any of that fanciful emotional rubbish, he imagined she'd crave it like the next woman. And man—if half his mine workers had been any indication. Those guys hooked up with a woman and had her up the aisle and pregnant in next to no time.
Wouldn't they have a field day when they discovered the reclusive bachelor had married?
"With sentimental mush like that, you're making it mighty tough for me to keep pushing you away." She blinked and he could've sworn he caught a glimpse of tears.
Hell. He didn't handle waterworks well. He'd emptied too many tissue boxes and changed too many tear-drenched shirts with his mother after Denver had been arrested. No way would he spoil the night he had planned by making his bride cry.
"Then stop resisting and give in." He snagged her hand, tugged her inside, and kicked the door shut. "You know you want to."
Her watery smile tweaked his heart. "You're extraordinarily confident."
"You better believe it, sweetheart." He laid his hands on her shoulders, turned her around in the direction of the living room, and guided her forward. "Go relax. I'll come get you in a few minutes."
"What is this, a waiting room?" She muttered, but headed for the sofa in front of an unlit open fire.
"It'll be worth the wait," he said, the smolder in her glance over her shoulder making him stride to the bedroom in double time.
He knew she'd come around to his way of thinking. That kiss to seal the deal for their marriage arrangement had been prelude to a night she'd never forget.
He'd make sure of it.
He'd booked the Romance Package with the vacation rental company, and when he flung open the door to the bedroom, he braced for the worst. He hadn’t even glanced at what the package included, assuming whatever it entailed, Ruby would love all the hearts and flowers crap.
