Page 76

My bedroom door is already open. Moonlight cuts through the blinds in silver lines across the black comforter. The framed albums on the walls catch the light—Metallica, Black Sabbath, a signed Motorhead print.

I try to kick off a shoe without taking my hands off her and nearly lose my balance.

Ruby laughs against my mouth. "Very smooth, rock star."

I finally get rid of it and pull her back against me. "I'm better with guitars."

"I'd hope so."

I shift my grip beneath her thighs and slowly lower her to the floor. Ruby keeps her arms around my neck as she slides down the front of me, and neither of us looks away. Her body drags against mine inch by inch until her feet finally touch the rug, but she doesn't step back. She stays pressed close, her hands settling against my chest while mine remain at her waist.

For a few seconds, we just stand there watching each other, both of us breathing harder than we were a minute ago. Her gaze drops to my mouth, then moves slowly back up. When she finally meets my eyes again, her green eyes are darker in the low light, bright with heat and completely sure of what she wants.

"Lie down."

I like the fact that she thinks she's in charge, so I sit on the edge of the bed and lean back on my elbows. She's still standing between my knees, fully dressed in her black jeans and that low-cut top that's been driving me insane all night. The tattoos on her collarbone, ferns curling toward her throat, shift as she breathes.

Then she drops to her knees on the fur rug.

The sight of her there, looking up at me with that sharp smile, makes my heart kick hard against my ribs. This is Ruby. The woman who's been driving me crazy for weeks, who argued with me on my front porch and gave me a tattoo that means more than I've admitted to anyone. And she's here because she wants to be.

She palms me through my jeans, her small hand pressing firm, and I'm already so hard it's almost painful. She watches my face as she unbuttons my jeans and pulls them down my hips. When she wraps her fingers around my cock, I have to remind myself to breathe.

"You're already dripping," she says, and when she smears the wetness with her thumb, then licks it clean, I nearly lose it right there.

"Ruby…"

She leans forward and takes me into her mouth, and the heat of it, the wet slide of her tongue, wipes out whatever I was going to say. I watch her lips stretch around my cock as it disappears into her mouth.

She takes me deep, slow and deliberate, and I groan. One of her hands cups me while the other grips what her mouth can't reach, and the coordination of it, the way she's completely in control, is maddening.

My hand finds her hair, fingers wrapping around the long red strands. She makes a sound around me, half warning, and I loosen my grip even though what I really want is to hold her there and lose myself completely.

She picks up the pace, taking me to the back of her throat, and I feel myself hitting that tight, wet heat. The fact that she doesn't pull back, that she just takes it deeper, makes my abs tighten, and my thighs go rigid.

"Fuck," I breathe. "Ruby, that's…"

I'm close, too close, and she knows it. She can feel me throbbing against her tongue. She hums, and the vibration pushes me right to the edge. My hand tightens in her hair again, and my hips start to move on their own, shallow thrusts I can't control.

"Ruby. I'm gonna…"

I pull her off, trying to get myself under control, because I want more than this. I want to feel her come apart under my hands. I want to be inside her when I lose it.

Her eyes are dark, pupils blown wide. She looks furious.

"Why did you do that?"

"Not yet," I say against her lips. "Not in your mouth."

I pull her up onto the bed, onto my lap, and she straddles me. Her jeans are still on, and I can feel the heat of her even through the denim. I flip her over, and she lands on her back with a soft gasp.

"My turn," I say.

I unzip her boots and pull them off, taking my time because I want to see all of her. I unbutton her jeans and slide them down her legs, kissing the inside of her thigh as I go. Her skin is soft and warm, and I can smell her arousal, sharp and sweet.

Her underwear is black and simple, and soaked through. I hook my fingers in the waistband and pull them off. She's bare underneath, and I can see how wet she is, glistening in the moonlight.

I settle between her legs, my shoulders spreading her thighs wide, and just look at her for a second. Ruby, completely open to me, wanting this as much as I do.