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“Ruby.”

“Drive.”

I laugh under my breath and do exactly that, even though every stoplight suddenly feels personal.

By the time I pull into the driveway, I’m more than ready to get her inside. I shut off the engine, but neither of us moves. Her hand is still in mine when I look over and find her watching me.

Her gaze flicks toward the duplex, then back to me.

“My place?”

“Yeah.”

No hesitation.

We get out of the truck and cross the few steps to my porch. I fumble the key once because my hands have stopped cooperating, finally get the door open, and wait for her to step inside before following.

I lock the door and turn around.

Ruby's only a few feet away.

"You sure?"

Ruby doesn't make me wait. "Yes."

I close the distance and kiss her, meaning to take my time after spending the entire drive imagining exactly this. Then Ruby slides one hand around the back of my neck and pulls me closer.

What little restraint I brought into the house doesn't survive.

I wrap an arm around her waist and kiss her harder, feeling her body fit against mine. She pushes into me, and I take a couple of steps backward before realizing I'm the one being moved.

Her hands slip beneath my shirt again, and the feel of her palms against my bare stomach sends another rush of heat through me. She pushes the fabric upward, and I straighten long enough to pull it over my head before tossing it aside.

Ruby looks at me. Her gaze moves slowly over my chest and shoulders, and I feel every second of it.

The fact that I've been on stages in front of thousands of people and somehow this woman looking at me in my own living room can make me more aware of my body than any of them ever did is enlightening.

"See something you want?" I ask.

Her palms flatten against my chest as she steps closer. "Maybe."

I laugh softly. "Still pretending?"

"Less talking."

Her hands move lower, and that pretty much handles the talking problem.

I catch her around the waist and pull her into me, kissing her. Ruby makes a soft sound against my mouth, and when I bend and lift her, she wraps her legs around my waist.

I start toward the bedroom with her arms around my neck and her mouth still on mine. I know this house. I should be perfectly capable of walking through it without incident, but Ruby kisses me deeper, and I misjudge the hallway by several inches, catching my shoulder against the wall hard enough to make us break apart.

She laughs against my mouth. "Smooth."

"You're distracting."

"Sounds like a you problem."

I kiss her again and keep moving, one hand under her thigh while the other braces her against me. By the time we reach the bedroom, we're both breathless, and it has very little to do with the distance.