by Taryn Quinn
She was trying so hard not to grin at me, but I knew this was exactly what we needed.
The truck had been overstimulation with a side of grief. My goal had been to take her mind off things. This was two adults learning what made sex fun for each other.
I had a feeling she didn’t allow herself to have too much fun these days. She was independent, headstrong, brilliant—a hell of a combination with art in the mix. Even if I’d bet my truck she didn’t see herself as an artist.
The whole package made her endlessly fascinating. Add in the warrior steel under her porcelain skin, and I was so damn sunk.
The sun was streaming through the window, making her hair look like fire. Goddamn, she was so beautiful.
Leaning over, I flicked the button open and whipped off her jeans. They were loose and well worn enough that I didn’t have to struggle for what I was looking for. I wasn’t disappointed to find matching Batman cotton panties.
I nibbled my way along her yard of leg before I knelt on the floor at the bottom of my king-sized bed. I pulled her forward for a repeat taste of what I’d sampled last night.
The truck had been madness and darkness. I’d felt my way around to find exactly what she needed. Now this was for me.
Sunlight slashed across her skin from my blinds, letting me see every inch, every curve, and every freckle on her water-soft skin.
I hooked her knee over my shoulder and licked her inner thigh.
“Lucky.” Her voice was sharp with hesitation. I knew there as a difference between the reckless comfort of yesterday and a sun-filled today. But I wanted to show her that both were okay between us.
Both would be amazing.
I tucked my hands under her ass and lifted her hips to roll off her panties. Instead of letting her think things through—which was always dangerous with this woman—I widened her legs with my shoulders and sent her into a tailspin.
No part of her went unexplored. I wanted her taste and scent buzzing in my head. Her hips lifted so she could undulate against my tongue. I followed her lead, finding the correct combination to her lock. This lock anyway. Her heart was a much more fortified area.
But here, we were compatible in every way.
I pushed up her shirt to flip her bra up and out of the way. She arched off the bed as I held on through each buck and twist. My Ruby liked a rough hand sometimes, and today that seemed to be where we were headed.
I wanted to keep it light. To hear that husky laugh as I made her come. But as always, the desperation set in. My entire goal was to hear her crash and burn in my arms.
I drew one hand between her legs to stroke her lightly with my thumb as my tongue circled her hard clit. My beard was abrading her skin, but it only seemed to enhance her tension.
She was as tight as the strings on my guitar, vibrating on the knife’s edge of pleasure. I held her there, held back until her fingers fisted in my hair.
She lifted my head and our eyes locked. Hers were near black with temper. “I’m going to kill you.”
I laughed against her soaked slit then twisted my hand to thrust two fingers into her swollen pussy. She clamped down on my fingers, and her surprised cry nearly shook the windows.
Hearing her say my name so urgently made me stone hard. I’d tucked my own needs into a box as I focused on her, but now there was nothing but my lust fueling me as I stood and bent her knees toward her chest.
Her thighs shook and her lids dipped to half mast as her chest heaved for oxygen.
“Fuck, you are so damn beautiful.”
She reached her arms above her head in a feline stretch, her skin pink where I’d pinched her nipples and scraped at her skin with my rough hands.
Then she grabbed two fistfuls of my my hair and dragged me over her.
“Ruby, I’m too heavy.”
Instead of arguing with me, she rolled me over and straddled me, ripping at my zipper. “While I enjoyed the one-sided trip to O-Town, I’d really like to go for another round. You up to it?”
That smile I’d been looking for hit me like a punch. Sly and drunk on her own power, she curled her fingers into my boxers to draw out my cock. “There we are.” Her touch was one pulse point away from too tight.
My hips lifted in reaction. Most women were too gentle, thinking we were as fragile as their sweet softness. I let out a tortured growl as she licked her palm and stroked me hard.
“Tell me your Boy Scout tendencies are intact here in your bedroom.” She flipped off her shirt and finally reached behind herself to unsnap her bra.
My hands went right to her tits as if they were a siren’s call. Her head fell back for a moment as I caressed and cupped her.
“Distracting me,” she moaned.
“Yes.”
“Condom, Thor.”
I reached over to the bedside table and fumbled. My hands weren’t steady.
All her fault.
Impatiently, she slid off me to stretch toward the drawer to do the honors herself. “Well, well. There’s a lot more in here than a box of condoms.”
My neck heated. “I’m open-minded.”
Her eyebrow lifted when she came out with a pair of black steel cuffs. “Are you now?”
I swallowed. “Damn, girl.”
She dropped the cuffs back into the drawer. “I’ll remember those.”
“Yes, please.”
She snatched a condom out of the mess of lubricants, oils, and whatever else ended up in there. The women I’d been with in the past weren’t exactly the shy types—mostly.
She rubbed her breast across my arm before she lifted her leg to get on me like her motorcycle. She dropped the condom on my chest, then braceleted my wrists in each of her strong hands to drag my arms above my head.
“So, do you like to be the cuffer or the cuffee?”
“Take down your hair for me, Ruby.” The plea was nearly a groan. I didn’t even care. I was close to begging at this point.
“That’s not what I asked.”
“I don’t mind being under your control.”
Her eyes flashed. “Hmm.” She lowered her face to mine. When I lifted my head to kiss her, she moved out of reach. “You don’t mind being under my control, right?”
I swallowed. “I probably shouldn’t have said that.”
“Too late.”
She let my wrists free. “Don’t move.”
I groaned, but I left my hands where they were. Suddenly, I wished I’d taken the time to get a proper headboard, because I had a feeling I would need it.
She shimmied down my belly to lower her mouth just above the straining shaft of my cock. She smiled at me as she reached back to tug out her hair tie. All that fiery softness slithered around my belly as she pushed up my shirt, scraping her teeth over my skin then easing the bite with a soft kiss.
I was about ready to jack off into the air, but this time, she hauled my thermal over my head, only to leave it trapping my hands together. She positioned herself on my lap and found the condom that had fallen onto the bed.
“I didn’t get a chance to enjoy all of this the first few times we did this.”
I groaned. “Enjoy all you want.”
“I intend to.” She ripped the foil and took me in hand to roll the latex down my length. Inching forward, she rose up to her full height on her knees. And I was so very grateful for those Amazonian legs right now.
She rolled her hips as she took me. Her head fell back as she slowly lowered herself onto me, inch by torturous inch. Then she tipped her hips forward to take even more.
I struggled out of the shirt binding my hands to reach for her. She didn’t even bother trying to tell me to stay still. I sat up and wrapped my arms around her. I was too far gone to play games as we raced to the sweaty finish. She gripped my shoulders as our bodies synced up, pushing and pulling, accepting and giving.
My hand slid up her slick back to fist her hair. Her eyes flew open and our gazes locked as she rocked against me faster and faster. Sunlight
haloed her hair, turning it burnished gold. I lifted my hips to meet her. All my muscles burned, but I couldn’t stop. I wouldn’t let go until she was with me.
She circled my neck with her arms, her lips fusing to mine as I swallowed her groan. She quaked around me from the inside out. I lifted her and flipped her onto her back at the other end of the bed. Nothing mattered but driving into her slick, clasping pussy.
She gripped my hips and took each punching thrust, her hair a wash of flame around her as she accepted everything I offered. Again, we locked eyes, and again, she tried to hide in a biting kiss, but I reared back to watch her.
I cupped the back of her neck, lowering until we were forehead to forehead, my strokes short and tight. “Tish.”
Her gaze burned into me as she twined herself around me and held on for everything she was worth.
I couldn’t wait another second.
I groaned into her neck, pouring myself into her. This was what I’d been looking for all my life. A peace that had always been just out of reach.
Her arms fell away as she starfished across my bed. “I think you killed me.”
I grinned against her skin. “What a way to go.”
“What a way indeed.” She pushed at my shoulder. “Okay. Now I need real food.”
“Seems to be a focus in your life lately.”
“Gotta say I’m not used to working up such an appetite.” After sliding out from under me, she stood up and twirled around. “Jeez, did you have to throw my clothes everywhere?”
I rolled onto my side to enjoy the view. “They were in the way.”
“At least I know they didn’t land in a dusty corner. You are very clean, Thor.”
I shrugged. It was the second time she’d mentioned it. Living on the street where I never knew where I was going to lay my head left me very aware of my surroundings. I might’ve had too much shit all over the place, but everything was spotless.
She tugged on her jeans then leaned onto the bed to give me a quick kiss. “I like it.”
I drifted the back of my fingers over the Batman logos cupping her breasts. “And I like this.”
She laughed. “My brother, Rhett, sent me Batman boxers from this place. I loved them so much I joined a subscription. You should see my Thor ones.”
I growled and tried to drag her back into my bed.
Nimbly, she leaped away. “Nope. Food. A gallon of water. We can go get Butch too.” She strode down the hall. “Chop, chop, Thor.”
I rolled onto my back with a sigh. Damn, she was my perfect woman.
Maybe I’d even get her to watch some action movies with me after we went to get my dog. I missed her.
One day, she might even be our dog. I grinned. A guy could hope.
Seventeen
Ruby never took the easy route.
Formulating our game plan and starting to execute it was what we did for the next month. More than one delay hampered our progress, but she was determined to get things moving for Cohen and her family’s arrival. She was running me ragged, but I knew this was important to her.
By day, we were both working our asses off. She’d nixed the idea of a budget, and I realized just how freaking rich the love of my life was. I knew her reputation was impressive in the car business, but she was literally a genius.
The ideas she came up with for the space bent my brain. But they also excited me into changing things up. We’d nixed the idea of a bar around the post in the center of the room. Instead, we decided to use it as a table by the pool table for drinks.
But not only that, she’d designed a control center that would be built into that post. I could run electricity through there and wrap it with her fancy hub. In her business, there were a lot more modifications available than to the average homeowner. Her extra upgrades would take it all to the next level.
As eager as I was to make serious progress on the project, she wanted everything to go at the speed of light. And remodels just weren’t fast-paced in this era of lumber shortages and staffing issues, no matter how much money you tossed around.
Something she was going to learn the hard way.
I threw my phone onto the makeshift table I’d made out of leftover plywood. The blueprints and notebooks I used to keep notes and receipts together were scattered. I’d been on the phone all damn day, trying to find another crew to do the roof repairs.
“Everything okay, chief?”
I turned to Joe. He was one of the four guys Gideon had lended me for the job. He was in his late thirties, as lanky and strong as an ox. He’d become my right-hand man when it came to working long hours.
“Just got a call that the roof repair is being delayed again. Fucking weather.”
Joe pulled off his ball cap to bend the brim, his typical thinking pose. “Did you try Davey over in Syracuse?”
“Yep. I tried every contact Gideon had too. Oh, and the flooring has been backordered.”
Joe winced. “The cork floor you convinced her to get?”
I raked my fingers through my hair, dragging out my hair tie out in the process. “Yeah. One in the same.”
He whistled and settled the hat back on his head. “Not sure those kisses you distract her with are going to work this time.”
Butch trotted in with her battered avocado squeaker toy in her mouth. She wagged her tail and stared up at me until I picked her up. I set her on my shoulder where she happily curled up against my neck, her beloved toy tucked under her chest. I didn’t mind. Her warmth chilled me out a little.
“Don’t say that out loud, for fuck’s sake. She’s already going to skin me alive.”
We weren’t exactly secretive about the fact that our relationship was a bit more than foreman and client. But Ruby didn’t really like everyone knowing our business.
And I was okay with making sure I kept my hands to myself until after work hours. Most of the time. Now and then, I couldn’t help myself, especially when she got frustrated with timelines.
Ruby didn’t know the meaning of nine-to-five. We spent most evenings working on the barn after she’d already worked a full day.
Most nights, I spent in her bed. Sometimes after a tumble, sometimes we just passed the hell out. We were both pulling twelve-hour days. Butch and I had pretty much moved in, at least for the duration of the job.
I was tempted to buy a king-sized bed for her damn bedroom. My freaking feet hung over the edge. But in the end, it didn’t matter, since I woke with my Amazon curled around me most mornings.
She kept telling me she liked her space while sleeping, but she always found her way on top of me in the night. I hoped it was because she wanted to be close to me, not that her bed hadn’t been made for someone who was six-foot-four.
Oh, and a cat and a dog. Couldn’t forget them.
Joe let out a long exhale. “Well, we finished the reclaimed wood treatment on the feature wall. It’ll be ready for the shelving units, surround sound, and electronics by the end of the week.”
“How’s the upstairs looking?”
“We had to redo the second bedroom because it got wet.” Joe pointed at the ragged hole in the roof. “Want me to send Frankie up to tarp it?”
I sighed. “Yeah. Tell him to weatherproof it as much as possible.” I picked up my phone again. Now I had to find an alternative for the floor and hope it wouldn’t take more than two weeks to come in. This delay meant I couldn’t bring the furniture in either.
Fuck me.
“I’m going in the house to make some calls.” I pinched the bridge of my nose. “Text me if something else goes wrong.”
I lifted Butch off my shoulder and tucked her into the inside pocket of my jacket. Being this close to the water in November made for cold working conditions, even for me.
After gathering my stuff, I headed for her house. My phone buzzed with an incoming text from Ruby and one waiting from Dahlia, the decorator. I couldn’t take any more bad news today so I skipped the designer’s text in favor of my girl’s.
Quickly, I texted her back to bring food, hoping that would give me a bit of a buffer. I opened the front door then juggled Butch out of my pocket, and she scrambled into the living room with her toy in her mouth. Probably to terrorize Ruby’s cat.
They had a love-hate relationship. Kinda like her mama and I.
I had one ace up my sleeve, but I wasn’t sure it would be enough to combat all of the less than awesome news I had for Ruby.
I dumped my things in her brand new breakfast cove. The table was small enough for when it was just Ruby and—God willing—me in the future and could be modified with inserts for larger gatherings. The bench-style seating along the wall was where I’d hammered out the bulk of the details of this renovation. And it was where I sometimes had dinner with Ruby when I managed to get her to stop working.
At least the design improvements in her house were moving along with less drama. Dahlia McKenna was a wonder. She’d come in with her own crew to paint, decorate, and hash out furniture with Ruby. A full kitchen remodel was in the plans, but we had more important things to worry about first.
For now, Ruby was happy to fix up her space so they could eat dinner as a family, along with making sure her dad had a place to sleep when they arrived for Christmas.
Before I could even get another phone call in, Ruby sailed in with a bag of takeout from a nearby sub shop.
“Why is there still a hole in my barn roof?”
I flattened my palms on the table and took a breath. I was used to her sharp tone in the best of times, let alone now when our stress levels were rising.
Straightening, I turned to face her. “Sit down, Ruby. We need to talk.”
She crossed her arms over her chest and leaned on the kitchen island. “I don’t need to sit. And I don’t need to hear excuses about this freaking remodel. It’s been one thing after another, Lucky.”
“I know it has.” I gritted my teeth together. “This timeline is tight, let alone doing this in late fall in Central New York. Weather is hit or miss.”