Cruise Page 7

  Reaching up, he grasps my hand and pulls it down in between us where we’re connected. “Make yourself feel good, Ruby, show me what you like.”

  Getting over the embarrassment I would normally feel when asked to do things like this, because I want it so fucking much, I reach down and work my clit as he presses into and then pulls out of my body.

  “Yeah, loosen up for me, let yourself go there,” he encourages me.

  When I lift my eyes up to his, I see him looking down to where I’m working myself. He’s propped up on his arms, watching everything that’s going on between us, his eyes glued to where we’re connected. The flush of his face says he likes what he sees.

  “You like it?” I ask, surprised at the question coming from in between my lips.

  “Fucking turns me on, can’t you tell?” His length grows, presses deeper into me.

  I wonder what would happen if I took my other free hand and cupped my breast with it. With that idea in my head, I do exactly what I’m thinking, but before I do, I reach forward to his mouth, holding a finger up to his lips. He obliges sucking it deep, twirling his tongue around it, before letting me go. Knowing I have his attention, I make a production out of bringing that finger to my nipple, flicking it, circling around it, and moaning deeply as I arch my back. The show I’m putting on for him is turning me on too as I see his eyes darken, as I feel his pace quicken.

  I realize that we’re both in the driver’s seat for each other. Hooking my legs tighter around his waist, I bounce against him, thrust up, closing my eyes and throw my head back. I’m feeling him touch, rub, and slide along every part of my body, letting him and my fingers play me like an orchestra.

  “Ruby, you’re so fucking hot.” His hand goes to my other breast, palming it as he buries himself deeply inside of me.

  No one has ever called me hot before, and hearing it come off his lips is enough to turn me on even more. “You’re hot too,” I whisper. “Everything about you.”

  When the pace quickens again, his angle changes, hitting a spot inside my body that no one else has ever managed to reach. “Oh fuck, Caleb, right there!”

  With a few more thrusts, I feel his body stiffen, and as he pulses into the condom, I’m right there with him. We’re both moaning, groaning, scratching, and completely decimated by what we’ve experienced as we lay beside each other, trying to slow our breathing.

  Eventually there’s a sound that breaks into my conscious. “Caleb, is that your alarm?”

  “Oh fuck.” He scrambles, trying to find where the noise is coming from.

  The sheets and covers, along with our clothes are everywhere, and eventually we find his phone under his jeans, which are under the bed. The alarm has been going off for over an hour, and he’s officially late. There’s two missed calls, and he’s trying like hell to get rid of the condom and put his pants on.

  “I hate to run, Ruby, I really do, but fuck I’m late.”

  I laugh as I watch him try to put his clothes back on and kiss me at the same time. “I wish I had the whole afternoon here with you.” He cups my face.

  “I understand. You’ve gotta go. I’ll see you soon?”

  He nods, before his face gets serious and he stops rushing. He palms my neck and forces my eyes to meet his. “I don’t take what we did here lightly, and just because I have to rush off doesn’t mean shit in the grand scheme of things. Thank you for giving me a piece of you.”

  I lean in kissing him on those lips of his. “Thanks for giving me a piece of you too.”

  He blushes, the first time I’ve ever seen him do that, before he goes back to putting his clothes on and then rushes off to work. When the door closes, I lean back against my bed and smile the biggest smile ever. I’m a supremely happy woman.

  CHAPTER TEN

  Ruby

  Today has been one of the longest days ever. It feels like every teenager I’ve spoken to has been a smartass to me, and I’m beyond ready to go home. Unfortunately, I have to submit my grades for the quarter, and it has to be done before I leave.

  My kids are doing well, and that makes me smile. History has always been one of my loves, and to know my kids are doing well with it, makes me incredibly happy. Maybe I’m doing something right. On days when I totally question it, I can look at these grades and know I’ve helped them accomplish this success.

  As a first-year teacher, this is everything I can hope for. Maybe I’m not changing lives, but more than anything, they’re listening to me. It’s enough to bring a smile to my face. Glancing at the clock on my computer, I give myself a goal of getting these all entered within the next hour. If I do, then I still have time to take a spin class at the gym. Putting in my earbuds, I crank the music on my phone and get to work.

  I’m into it, moving my head to beat as Justin Timberlake talks about summer love (hey, I like the oldies), when I feel lips on the side of my neck, the scrape of stubble against my smooth skin. I jump, but don’t scream as I smell the beard oil I gave Caleb. His arm snakes around my neck, my eyes fluttering down to check for the ink on his arm to confirm it’s him. Closing my eyes, I lean my head back against him, exposing my neck to his lips. Reaching up, I take out my earbuds.

  “Hey.” My voice is hoarse, as I feel his tongue play against the pulse beating just beneath.

  His moan is a deep sound in my ear that causes goose bumps to pop out on my arms, all the way down my body. I feel it in every part he’s touched of me. My nipples harden against the cups of my bra, my core hums with the knowledge of how only he can possess me. I’ve only had him once, but I want him again, again, and again.

  “Hey yourself.”

  God that deep growl of his is enough to make any mere mortal fall to his feet and offer to worship the ground he walks on. When he loosens his hold on me, I physically feel the loss, but turn in my chair, to look up at him as he extends to his full height. Sitting here, I’m eye level with his flat stomach, just below is his belt buckle and I can see he’s just as affected by me as I am by him. My lips are dry, and my tongue sneaks out to moisten the bottom one. He groans, reaching forward with his hand to curve it around my jaw, his thumb swipes against the wettened flesh. “So, is this how it’s going to be?” Caleb asks, that voice of his is deep, hoarse, dark.

  “What do you mean?” I’m genuinely confused, fighting to make sense of what he’s asked. Pushing back the brain fog only this man can give me, I glance up, my eyes meeting his.

  He leans down so that we’re even with one another. Immediately my gaze goes to the pink fullness of his lips. I’m hit with a memory of them being wrapped around my nipple as he thrust into my body. As his eyes flash, it’s like he knows what I’m thinking.

  “I mean–” He tilts my chin forward “–now that we’ve had a piece of each other, is this how it’s going to be all the time? Sparks flying, heart pounding, goose bump-inducing awareness between the two of us? It’ll calm down, right? Because if I get hard every time I see you, this is gonna be a problem.”

  “I don’t know,” I admit as I shake my head in his grip. “I’ve never experienced it before, you’re the first, hot stuff.” I give him a grin.

  The side of his mouth tilts in a smirk, before a brilliant smile spreads across his face. “Yeah?”

  “Yeah.”

  He nods. “I like that shit.”

  A giggle rips from deep in my throat. “I like that shit, too.”

  He laughs along with me, before he straightens up and we physically take a step apart from one another.

  “What are you doing here?” It’s not very often I see him at school.

  “Picked up Kels after her play practice at the elementary school and brought her over for Mom. Dad’s working, and Mom said something about having to get quarter grades in. I’m assuming that’s why you’re here.”

  He drags an empty chair over and has a seat. “It’s been a long day,” he sighs. “It’s nice to sit down, I’ve been on my feet forever.”

  “It has been a long
day,” I agree with him, and suddenly I’m happy that I have the option of basically sitting down whenever I want.

  “What’s your plans?” He leans forward, putting his hand on my thigh.

  I love that he always seems to have to touch me, to want to be connected whenever we’re together. “I have about ten more minutes to go here, and then I was going to hit up a spin class, but it looks like I’m not going to make it.” I frown as I check the clock. Caleb interrupting has put me behind, but I can’t be sorry to see him today.

  “Well that’s easy, come work out with me and Morgan,” he says as if it’s no big deal.

  “Have you lost your damn mind?” My voice is as high-pitched as I’ve ever heard it. “Why would I want to go embarrass myself like that?”

  He tilts his head to the side, before he huffs out a breath. “Yeah, you do spin class, we don’t. To do spin, you have to be in decent shape. Trust me, you’ll do fine with us, and you’ll get to spend time with me,” he says with a cocky grin.

  “Okay,” I agree. “Don’t make me regret this, but give me a few minutes and then we can go.”

  Cruise

  “It’s not much,” I warn Ruby as we stand at the front door of my apartment. “But I don’t really need much, since I’m not here half the time.”

  “It’s fine,” she laughs. “What you have can’t be much different than what I have.”

  What she says is true, but for some reason, I’m a little embarrassed to show her where I live. Opening the door, I enter and hold it open for her. I left a light on before I went to work, in case I had to stay late. I hate coming in to a dark house.

  “It’s very you.” Her eyes are taking in the sparse furnishings. “There’s not a lot of clutter, very no-nonsense,” she teases me.

  “You’re so funny. I’ll have you know I spend most of my time in the bedroom.”

  “Oh, I bet you do.” She winks.

  “Look at you, getting that personality.” I crowd her into the door I just closed. I allow myself a moment to capture her lips, to let my tongue tangle with hers, to feel the grip of her nails in my shoulders as she hangs on. When I pull back, we both seemed dazed, and that’s honestly the way I like it.

  “We should probably change and get that work out in.” She licks her lips, and I imagine she’s tasting me.

  “Yeah, c’mon. Maybe we should change separately.”

  “Sounds like a good idea.”

  “You take Kelsea’s room. It’s hers when she’s here.”

  Showing her to Kelsea’s room, I leave, to give her privacy before I go to my room. When I shut the door, I take a deep breath, leaning my head against it. No woman has ever affected me the way she does, and it’s throwing me off. Groaning, I let my forehead hit the door, before I go grab some clothes, and hope to God I’m not tortured for the next hour.

  * * *

  “I thought you said you weren’t in good shape,” I huff as I run on the treadmill next to Ruby’s.

  She’s keeping pace with me, possibly going a little faster. Morgan has abandoned us to work on his abs; he’s not much of a runner.

  “I didn’t think I was.” She gives me a look.

  “You just don’t give yourself enough credit. Obviously you’re in good shape.” I let my eyes linger on her ass in the pair of leggings she wears. I’m not a huge fan of workout clothes as regular clothes on women, but if she wore those all the time, I wouldn’t complain. When we finally break the five-mile mark, I slow the pace down, holding my sides as we cool our bodies and stealing glances at her as she does the same.

  “So what else do you normally do?” she asks as she holds her arms above her head, stretching them behind her back.

  “Today is pull-up day. You can hang out with us for a few more minutes and then we can go grab some dinner, or you can head back to my apartment and get changed. Your call.”

  Her eyes show interest. “I think I’d like to watch you do some pull-ups.”

  I’d be lying if I didn’t admit the fact she wants to watch this is a turn-on for me. I like that she likes my body; I enjoy hers, I want her to enjoy mine. I try to keep my head in the game as I walk over to where Morgan is, and he helps me strap the weight around my waist. He and I have been working out together a long time, we move like a well-oiled machine. I jump up, grabbing the bar and start counting my reps, feeling the burn in my arms and abs.

  “Is that as hard as it looks?” Ruby questions from where she sits in front of me. “I mean the way all your muscles are rippling, the way your veins are showing. It looks like you’re working pretty damn hard.”

  “It’s not easy,” I huff out. “But this is the best way for me to stay lean and take down those guys who like to run away.”

  “Plus he likes showing off for you,” Morgan inserts his voice in the conversation.

  “He’s not wrong, but he should totally shut the fuck up,” I groan as I finish up my reps.

  The three of us are taking a rest, drinking water, and trying to let our bodies recover slightly when Morgan looks over at the two of us. “So dinner, or did you two have something planned?”

  “When he says dinner, he means The Café,” I clue her in on what we do most nights. “You want to come with us?”

  “Sure, I was going to eat a frozen organic pizza, but I’ll take The Café any day.”

  When the two of us get back into my apartment, I grip her hand in mine. “Thanks for coming with us. It’s weird to say, but neither Morgan nor I have had a woman in our lives for a while and it’s been the two of us as best friends for the last six years.”

  “Since you joined the MTF?”

  “No, I had to do a year on the police force before I could move to the MTF. I don’t have military training like everyone else, so there were special qualifications I had to fulfill to be a part of it. Not that it really matters, I would have done whatever, but…” I shrug. “Morgan and I have always had each other’s backs when no one else was around, ya know?”

  “I get it. He’s important to you.” She wraps her arms around my neck, leaning in for a peck on the lips.

  “You’re important to me too.” I hug her around the waist.

  “We can co-exist, I promise.”

  And right then it hits me how lucky I am to have her in my life. Someone who gets it. Some women would be pissed, but not Ruby, and I’m beyond thankful she chose me.

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  Cruise

  October

  “You sure you’re okay spending the evening with my family?” I ask Ruby as she climbs into my Jeep and gets situated. “I know this is kind of moving a little quickly for us, but Halloween is a family affair in my house.”

  “No, I’m excited!” She reaches back to put her bag down in the back seat. “Plus I’m super excited to see that you’re wearing your old football uniform. And I’m excited to wear my old cheerleading one for you.”

  Truth be told, I’m kind of excited to wear it for her. I can only imagine what life would have been like when we were in high school if she had been my girlfriend. Maybe we would have fucked under the bleachers, maybe I would have had the guts to actually go all the way with someone in my house. I like to think I wouldn’t have paid attention to the rules my dad laid down, and I would’ve done whatever it took to be with her. “So is that what you’re really wearing tonight?” I question as I turn from her duplex toward my parents’ house.

  “Isn’t that obvious?”

  “With you, not a damn thing is obvious.” I give her a grin.

  “I’m really gonna be the head cheerleader to your captain of the football team. When you told me, I dug out my old cheerleading uniform, and I’ll be damned if it actually fit.”

  Immediately I’m hard thinking of the role-playing that could go in this scenario. Maybe tonight I will get a chance to fuck her under the bleachers. Not able to help it, I put my hand on her thigh. “Oh really? Where’d you come up with that idea?”

  “Like I said, as soon as you
told me you were pulling out your old football jersey and stuff, it was the only thing I could think of.” She puts her hand on top of mine. “I went back and forth on whether I should be a cheerleader or not, because let’s face it, I don’t really have the body I used to have for it, but I think I found one of my old uniforms that was flattering.”

  “Get the fuck outta here with you saying you don’t have the body for it. Your body is fucking bangin’, Ruby. Don’t let anyone tell you different. You’re perfect for me, I don’t want you to change a damn thing.” I pull her hand in between my legs, letting her feel my length. “I’m already hard thinking about you wearing it, and I haven’t even seen you in it yet.”

  I wonder if anyone’s ever told her that before, because she doesn’t quite meet my eyes. I know she had issues with how she looked before, but I want her to know without a doubt she turns me on.

  “I can’t wait to see you in it tonight.” I lean over, giving her a kiss as we stop at a red light. “Actually, I can’t wait to get you out of it, and get in you tonight.” I move my nose along her jawline, nipping at her skin.

  “Anyone ever tell you you’re a bad boy with a one-track mind?”

  “Only for you, Red, only for you.” I pull her hand up to my lips and drop a kiss on the back.

  “I kinda like how you do it only for me.”

  He pulls his sunglasses down so I can see those brown eyes of his. “I kinda like it how you lose all your inhibitions with me, and even when you try to keep it from happening, it happens. You trust me with your pleasure, and there’s nothing I value more.”

  * * *

  I am in hell.

  That’s the first thought that comes to my mind as Ruby walks out of what once was my room. The skirt is shorter than I imagined it would be, and the top hugs her body like a motherfucking glove.

  Kelsea grabbed her hand and begged her to help with her outfit as soon as she saw Ruby’s. They’ve been in Kelsea’s room for the last thirty minutes, and all I can think about is how she looked in that costume. It’s giving me thoughts I shouldn’t have around my little sister, much less my mother.