He pulls away slowly, placing a quick kiss on the tip of my nose. It’s hard to reconcile this affectionate side of Link with the same cocky, self-assured goofball he normally is.
We finally hear the ding indicating that we’ve reached our floor.
He tugs my hand, moving us toward the doors as they slide fully open. I’m following, more than willingly, but he’s nearly dragging me down the long hallway.
“Slow down. If you make me trip, you won't be getting lucky tonight,” I giggle.
He looks back at me and smiles as we come to a stop in front of room 1706.
A lesser man would be fumbling with the key, but naturally, somewhere along the way he got it into his hand and pushes the heavy door open with ease.
Stepping through the threshold, he tosses the key on the nearby desk and drops my hand to stride across and flip on a lamp. I stand there assessing his room, which is nearly identically to my own. Suddenly, I’m finding it difficult to look at Link.
“Rubes,” he says in a low, sexy rumble.
My eyes dart to him. He stalks toward me all sexy and predator-like as he unbuttons his dress shirt.
“Hmm.”
“We gonna do this?”
I don’t break eye contact as I nod slowly. He stops a few feet away, just out of my space if I tried to reach for him. He shrugs out of the button-up, dropping it to the floor and he’s left in a simple white undershirt that is still tucked into his dark-wash jeans.
“Then why do you suddenly look unsure?” His raises his eyebrow and places a hand on his hip.
I find my voice this time.
“Because once we do this, things change.”
“Yeah, I know,” he agrees, like it’s nothing more than a fact.
“I don’t want no-strings-attached sex. I want something real.” My heart is pounding and the flutters in my stomach slightly overpower the lust-filled haze I was in moments ago.
He takes a step toward me and my breath catches ...
I continue, “And if we can’t handle real, we ruin the group, and that’s not okay.”
Another step. He nods. “I’ve wanted real with you for a while, Rubes.”
“You have?” I ask on a shaky breath.
His hands come up on either side of my head, fingers pushing through my hair as he crowds my space.
“Mm-hmm.” He smirks as he presses his sinful lips to mine.
And just like that, we ignite. Two years of pent-up lust at its finest. His tongue tangles with mine. My lips bite at his. His strong hands pull me closer as he slides them down my neck, my back, settling for a brief moment on my hips. Those deft fingers start to move, bunching and gathering the fabric of my dress.
Link tugs it over my head, making my world go black. I have to release my grip on his hair while he removes my dress with lightning speed. I watch it fall to the floor and Link’s shirt follows close behind. I drag my fingers down his chest, feeling his smooth and warm skin, running my nails down the hard ridges of his chest until I find the button of his jeans and pop it open.
I shove at the denim, too impatient to get it completely gone. And really, once I uncover what I’m after, I just push his boxers down and stare appreciatively while Link works for his own prize.
My strapless bra starts to fall away from my body but is crushed between us as Link’s body slams into mine, pushing me up against the mirrored door of the closet.
I brace myself against the slider, uncaring of how sturdy it is as Link wraps my leg around his hip. Off balance, I clutch at his back, the muscles shifting and bunching as he moves even closer.
Link’s mouth zeroes in on my neck as he thrusts against me and I realize that I don’t remember when he freed me of my black lacy boy shorts because we are now skin to skin in all the ways that count. His hand slides between us and when he finds me wet and ready, he pulls his head back and that god-damn cocky-ass smirk is all I see.
“You sure you’re ready for me, Rubes?” he rasps, and it’s freaking sexy-as-fuck.
“Don’t be cocky.” I pull him back to me and kiss him, nipping at his lips.
“I think you like my cocky,” he says breaking the kiss, rolling his hips against me.
“Why don’t you let me decide,” I gasp with as much sass as I can muster.
As if my wish was his command, he pushes into me and I moan my pleasure. His mouth descends on me once more and it doesn’t take long before I’m seeing stars.
Soon, we start to feel the wobble of the door at my back, the creaks and groans from taking so much of our push and pull. He lifts me up, never breaking contact and carries me to the bed.
The swoosh of air as we fall into it doesn’t even phase me. All I know is Link. I’m consumed by him, the way he makes me feel.
Chapter Sixteen
Link
My arm is wrapped around Ruby’s bare stomach. She’s warm and soft all over. Despite the fact that we fell asleep only a few hours ago, it has been some of the best sleep I’ve ever had, and I know it's for two reasons: Ruby is beside me, and I’m thoroughly worn out from all the hot, amazing sex we had. Over and over.
Instinctively, I pull her in tighter to me. I hear a small, soft sigh. If she were facing me, I’d lean in and kiss the lips it just escaped from.
I can see the alarm clock on the end table across from me and I know it is going to ring soon. I’m eager to wake her for another round, but I’m also slightly nervous that she may regret what we did.
We were both under the influence last night, but neither of us was drunk. When she told me she wanted more than just sex, I knew this was it. Our time has finally come. I just hope that she still feels the same way.
I bet a quickie in the shower before we get on with our day would be fun. Pushing her up against the granite wall, while the rain-like showerheads beat against my back.
All right, so I have a one-track mind.
I can tell by the way she’s breathing now that she is starting to wake up. I lean into her and kiss the back of her head.
Another sigh. And I’m officially ready for another go.
Propping up on my elbow, I kiss her temple, then her cheek.
A smile starts to spread across her face, but her eyes remain closed.
“I know you’re awake, Rubes,” I say, then kiss her again.
She rolls to her back and looks up at me. Her eyes blink with sleep but the smile stays firmly in place.
Good sign.
I’m a confident dude but waiting to see if the girl of your dreams regrets having sex with you — it’s enough to make any man nervous.
I brush a wayward strand of her soft red hair out of her face and lean down to kiss her lips.
A hand comes up and covers her mouth before my lips land on hers.
“Why are you covering your mouth?” I chuckle.
“Morning breath.”
“I don’t care,” I tell her, and I really don’t.
“I do,” she replies and then slides out of the bed and wraps the white sheet around her. She does it so gracefully, I’m impressed.
“I don’t have a toothbrush here,” she says, heading to the bathroom.
“Use mine,” I offer.
“Um, we aren’t to that point in our relationship yet.”
She says this casually and the flutter in my chest kickstarts. No regrets.
“When do we get to that point? We talking weeks, months, years? Or more like once we get to the point where we can pee in front of each other or fart around each other? Or, is this a once we are married kind of thing?”
She laughs from the bathroom.
“I’m pretty sure I’ll never get to the point where I’m okay with sharing a toothbrush.”
“But you could get to the point where you can pee in front of me, right? Because I can see it saving us time when getting ready to go out at some point.”
“Probably. I mean, I fart around you all the time now, so I’m already half way there.”
Wait.
<
br /> Really? I was talking about me, do girls even pass gas?
I hear her spit something out, and I assume she just used my mouthwash.
“I’m joking. And yes, girls fart.” The bathroom light flickers off and she heads back over to the bed. She hands me my toothbrush with toothpaste on it.
“How did you know I was wondering about that?” I ask as I start to scrub away my own morning breath.
“I could tell by the look on your face. It’s your confused, slightly bewildered look. It’s one of your more common facial expressions.” She climbs back into bed right as I get out to take my turn in the bathroom.
I shoot her a glare and close the door behind me. I’m not going to go ruining things just as they get started by taking a leak with the door open. While I’m thinking about it, I better make sure I put the lid down too.
After a few moments in the bathroom, I head back to the bed, and am happy to find a still-naked Ruby in it.
She isn’t ashamed of the fact that she is getting a good eyeful of Little Link.
I slide in next to her.
“No more morning breath. Give me those lips.” I thought I was eager, but she grabs my face and pulls me down to her just as quickly.
I can’t help but get hard feeling her smooth skin against mine. Her tongue in my mouth. She smells like Ruby but also a bit like me. It’s a scent that is quickly becoming my favorite.
The shrill of the alarm on the side table breaks us apart just short of that morning round of sex I woke up thinking about.
I lean over her and turn off the alarm. I settle back down in the bed with a sigh.
“Well, I guess it’s time to get started with the day,” I say, eying her.
“Yeah, it’s a big day today.”
“You get to meet your idol.”
She leans over, close to my face. “Because of you.” She kisses me.
“It’s no big deal.” I shrug.
“It is, and in case I haven’t said it enough, thank you.”
“I had to make my play at some point. Why not start with the best birthday present ever?” I brush imaginary dust off my shoulder.
And I’ve earned my first Ruby eyeroll of the day.
“You know you just set a ridiculously high standard, right? I expect each present going forward to be bigger, better and more expensive.” She looks completely serious.
“I can afford it.” I play it off, but dang, now that I think about it, I did set the bar pretty high right out of the gate.
“Whatever,” she says with another eye roll. “You know I’m not like that.” She crawls over to straddle me and leans in to give me another kiss.
“So, are we really doing this?” I ask her once I’ve got her firmly in place.
She straightens but doesn’t make a move to crawl off me.
“I’d like to.” She bites her lip.
“So, what, am I your boyfriend now?” I tease.
“If you want to be, that or you can just be my rebound.”
My eyebrows crease at that. “I don’t like that option.”
“Me neither. So, let’s look at our relationships before this as our warm-ups.” Her hands go to my chest and start their exploration.
“I think that sounds like a much better way to put it.”
“Are we going to tell the group? Or just let them figure it out?” she asks as her right hand gets dangerously close to my ready and waiting dick.
“Nah, I’m sure they all know by now.”
“That’s true.” She bites that sexy bottom lip of hers again as her hand finds her new best friend.
“But enough about that. What are your thoughts on shower sex?” I can barely make out my question coherently.
“I think it sounds like a splendid idea.” And with that she hops off me, sans sheet and crooks a finger at me to follow her to the bathroom.
Don’t mind if I do.
~~~
The day is long, but starting it the way I did, I still feel energized and on top of the world. Ruby and I went our separate ways after showering but met up again a couple of hours later for the meet and greet with Gail S. Ruby was so nervous it was cute. She was antsy and giggly leading up to her turn in line, but the woman had me in awe. She handled meeting her idol with such grace. Seeing how happy she was getting to talk with Gail, having her stuff signed, and even a couple of pictures with Gail made dropping nearly five hundred dollars on the tickets worth it.
We stay at the convention center for lunch, ordering from the food vendors instead of venturing out. I’m catching a Star Wars panel that’s coming up and I think Ruby is going off with the girls for some TV panels.
My time spent with Ruby is easy. There’s none of that awkward after-sex feel. We still feel like Ruby and Link, but the sexual chemistry clearly swims around us. I can’t help but find ways to touch her, her hand, arm, brush a wayward strand of hair from her face. Instead of shying away, she leans into each touch.
And I can’t stop myself from thinking about why we didn’t do this sooner. Maybe we weren’t ready, but I don’t know. Everything about being with Ruby just feels right.
I meet up with Dex and Simon after lunch. We head right into the panel, so there's no time for them to question me about last night. I know the inquisition is coming, it’s what we do. We are so involved in each other’s lives, it would be out of character for them not to give me a hard time about leaving with Ruby last night.
After an hour of Q&A with the full cast of the recent Star Wars movie, we emerge from the hall and decide to get a late afternoon caffeine fix.
Just as we’re sitting in the lobby of our hotel after getting our coffee, they start with their razzing.
“So,” Dex says, drawing out the word.
Lifting an eyebrow, I look at him, waiting for more.
“Yeah,” Simon adds nodding.
I eye Simon.
“Ladies, you’re going to have to give me something more than that.” I lean back on the bench and rest my arms up on the top of the seat. Dex is sitting on the same bench, Simon in a chair at the table next to us.
“Give us the details,” Simon says.
“About …”
Dex sighs. “About what went down with you and Ruby last night.”
“Something definitely went down, if you know what I mean,” Simon replies suggestively.
“I don’t kiss and tell. Sorry to disappoint you, ladies,” I offer a cool reply. I’m just messing with them. I tell them shit all the time. Probably more than they want to hear. I can’t help it. I’m a sharer.
“Bullshit, man. You overshare seventy-five percent of the time.” This is coming from Simon, who actually shares the least of the three of us, and he always acts like he’s annoyed at my sharing.
“Look at you, wanting the gossip.” I nod in his direction.
“Pssh. I know Gia will ask me for the scoop.”
“And you don’t think Gia is going to get,” I air quote, “the scoop from Ruby herself?”
“Nah, man, it’s how women work. They get the scoop from their friend, then they expect us to get the same exact scoop, but the man version of it,” Dex informs me.
Huh. That kind of makes sense.
“And when it’s the same exact scoop?” I ask.
“Nope, there is always some little detail from the man version that they zero in on, making it completely scoop worthy. They just keep asking questions,” Dex explains, but Simon interrupts.
“They will ask questions until you give them what they need to hear. And damn, they get really creative asking the same questions in different ways.”
Dex nods in agreement. “So it would help us both out, if you could just give us the scoop on you and Ruby.”
They both look at me eagerly, and I wonder how much they really want the scoop just for the girls and not for themselves.
With a sigh, I give in. “Well, we danced, went back to my room, had some fun, fell asleep, had some more fun in the shower this mornin
g. Then went on about our day.”
“I’d say you guys more than just danced last night. Things were progressing quickly. Gia and I were about to draw straws as to who was going to have to remind you guys that you were still in public.” Simon laughs.
“We got caught up in the moment, that’s for sure.”
“So, was this a one-time thing or a keep-doing-it thing?” asks Dex, the one who’s always believed in finding the one.
“Yeah, so, not to be a dick here, but I’ve got to put it out there,” Simon says, clearing his throat. “You know we are part of a pretty tight group, if you guys start to truly hate each other, you could ruin the good thing we’ve got going here.”
Oh, come on.
“Says the man who hated Morgan’s best friend for a year. Finally decides he’s interested then starts fucking around and breaks her heart. Only to then get back together with her in the end. Right, what am I thinking?” I deadpan.
“Shut up, I know what happened between me and Gia put a strain on the group. But that’s just what I’m trying to avoid here.” He throws his hands up in defense.
“I think what Simon is trying to say is, do you and Ruby have a plan to keep our group intact if this thing doesn’t work out?”
“My god, you guys. We slept with each other like, less than twelve hours ago. Slow your roll.” Really, they are being dramatic. “Ruby and I talked about it, before we knocked boots. We want to give this relationship, with each other a go.” I add, “So, you guys worry less about us and how we might mess up our group and more about what you’re going to tell your nosy girlfriends.”
Dex opens his mouth, but I beat him to it, “I’m sorry, fiancée”.
Simon glares at me. Dex just looks thoughtful.
“Okay, man. We won’t worry about it,” Dex finally says. I look to Simon for his reassurance.
“Yeah, yeah,” he grumbles.
We sit there in silence for a while and it doesn’t take me very long to start thinking about Ruby’s conversation with Mo and company. I hope they didn’t give her this much shit.
“For what it’s worth, I’m glad you two are finally facing the music,” Dex says, leaning back in his seat as he drains the rest of his coffee.
Game All Night Page 12