Page 55 of I Hate You More

“I do, actually.” He lingered over a particularly nice kiss, Ruby’s breath mingling with his own. As much as he’d have liked to stay there forever, she was right. The sooner he had protection, the better. Every touch of her skin on his erection was sending him closer to the edge.

Pressing his forehead briefly against hers, he added, “But it’s better if you don’t ask questions.”

Nothing could have been more calculated to elicit questions, but Ruby lay and watched as he went to the closet near the back of the room. Opening any closets in Eva and Maury’s house was a risk, and this one was no different. The moment he swung open the door, out tumbled a variety of colorful plastic toys.

“I hate to argue with a man on a mission, but are you sure that’s the best place to be looking?”

He grinned over his shoulder. “We had a water balloon fight at the beginning of summer. I’m sure they’re around here somewhere.”

“Uh-oh. Why do I get the feeling there’s a story in this?”

“We ran out of balloons after about ten minutes, but the boys wanted to keep playing. Julio said he knew where there were some more hidden inside the house.” Spencer found the plastic bin containing all the water toys and held it up in triumph. “Eva and Maury were laughing too hard to correct him. That was the first time I’ve ever been hit in the face with a water-filled condom. Hopefully, it was also the last. They hurt a lot more than regular water balloons.”

Spencer jumped as a pair of very hot, very naked arms encircled him from behind. A kiss that bordered on a bite pricked at his shoulder, and he felt himself shiver in response.

“I’ve finally figured you out,” Ruby cooed. Her breath against his neck only caused the shiver to deepen into a full-body prickle of sensation. “You like kids.”

“Of course I do.”

“And dogs.”

“Obviously.”

“And puppies. And kittens. And all things soft and fluffy.”

He’d managed to find the box of condoms by this time—the cardboard destroyed by water, but the foil-packaged prophylactics still fully functional—but something about the playful, warning note in Ruby’s voice gave him pause.

She slid her hands up his body to his shoulders and whirled him around. If he’d have been ready for it—braced against her touch—he could have easily fought her, but there was a soft, naked woman taunting him while her entire body pressed against his. Fighting was the last thing on his mind.

If he’d thought the press of her breasts against his back was bad, it was nothing compared to the way they felt against his own chest. But then she spoke.

“You’re a good man, Spencer Wilson,” she said. “Pretty please, will you fuck me now?”

He proved powerless against a request like that one. He’d never be able to say whether it was the claim that he was a good man or the way she said the wordpleasethat moved him, but moved he was. Without bothering to respond in words, he scooped her deliciously naked body into his arms and tossed her to the bed. She squealed as she landed, her legs falling open and inviting him in, the smile on her face doing much the same.

Hedidlike kids, and he did like dogs, and he did like baby animals of all species and varieties, but none of that compared to how he felt about this woman.

Without waiting a moment longer, he opened the condom and slid it along his length. Settling himself between her legs, he breathed deeply as he finally entered her. He kissed and caressed and lost himself in the sensation of Ruby wrapping herself around every part of him.

That was when thought ended and desire took over—where extraordinariness came into play, mostly because it was so simple. Ruby felt good. She tasted good. She made him feel good.

In that moment—feeling her climax beneath him, letting himself go at the same moment he captured her cries with a kiss—he knew his life could never get any better or any easier than this.

“Oh my.” Ruby lay panting beneath him, making no move to push him away. If anything, she shifted to better accommodate him, curling her body into a nest that he could settle into for as long as he wanted.

And he wanted. He wanted very much.

“I knew you’d be worth the trouble, but I didn’t realize how much,” she added as he entwined her legs with his and lay wrapped in her arms. “That was amazing.”

“I’m not trouble,” he protested. The scent of her hair filled his nostrils, mixing with their lovemaking to create an intoxicating whirl of his senses. “Youare. I knew you would be from the moment I met you.”

Her laughter shook them both, but it dislodged neither. Spencer sank gratefully into her embrace. He knew that Max was likely to wake up at several points during the night and that all three of the kids would be bright-eyed and bushy-tailed long before the sun came up, but for now, he was going to rest.

To relax. To just be himself.

“I still intend to win the dog show, so don’t get too comfortable,” Ruby warned. She also sighed and nuzzled closer, so he didn’t take offense. “I knew the first time I saw you that I wouldn’t rest until I had you. And if tonight has proven anything, Spencer, it’s that I always get what I want.”

Chapter 14