Page 44 of Keeping Knight

Ruby ducks her head. “I think I’m making things worse.”

“No.” I touch her chin, tilting her head up to look at me. “You are most definitely not making things worse. I just thought it was funny how you said it. But you’re right.”

“I am?”

“Yes.” Dipping my head, I press a kiss to her lips. “I think you’re beautiful, Ruby. No, I don’t think. I know you are. But I like you for all the other stuff I can’t see. How you look is just a perk, like you said.”

“Oh.” A slow smile curves her lips. Her gaze heats. Then Ruby grasps my shoulders, rises onto her toes, and kisses me.

It’s not a tender kiss this time. It’s demanding. Hungry.

As much as I want Ruby, I’ve been trying to let her set the pace. Knowing what she’s been through, is still going through, I don’t want to do anything that might make her uncomfortable.

That doesn’t mean I don’t kiss her. Or hug her. Or find excuses to touch her all day. I’m just careful not to let things go too far. Not yet. Not until I’m absolutely sure Ruby’s ready.

But when she kisses me like this?

I wanted Ruby before all of this happened, and in the week and a half she’s been staying with me, it’s grown exponentially. It’s not just attraction. It’s near-obsession. I think about Ruby all the time—lying in bed while I try to fall asleep, in the shower, during my workouts, when I reluctantly go into the office for something I can’t do remotely… Even when she’s sitting right next to me, I’m thinking about her. Wanting her.

Flattening my hand against Ruby’s back, I pull her against me. My erection is hard and throbbing as it juts into her belly. Her hands come to my neck, and she drags her nails across my skin, just the way she’s discovered I like it.

Ruby kisses me harder. She nips my lip, bringing with it a flash of pain, before stroking it away with her tongue.

I reach beneath her shirt to feel the silken heat of her stomach. As my hand moves to her breast, she sucks in a breath and arches her back. Her breast pushes into my hand. Her nipple tightens into a hard peak.

Ruby grabs the back of my head and holds on tightly. She keeps kissing me; her tongue thrusting desperately. Her hips press against me, moving erratically. When I flick my thumb across her nipple, she moans, and I capture the sound with my mouth.

I want her breasts bare. I want to see her nipples. Want to taste them. But she has this weird tank top bra contraption, and it seems determined to keep me out.

“Micah,” Ruby groans when I flick her nipple again. “I want⁠—”

“What?” I ask roughly.

“More. I need your hands… Oh.” Her hips push against me. Her eyes are half-lidded and glazed with desire. “More. Please.”

“Your shirt?” I ask. Because as much as I want her, I’m not doing anything to screw this up.

“Yes.” She pulls at it, but the silly thing gets stuck.

“Here.” I grab hold of her tank and pull it up and off. “I’ve⁠—”

But the sight of her gorgeous breasts steals my voice.

Ah, shit. I imagined. But this is so much more.

Palming one breast, I lower my mouth to the other. “Such a pretty pink,” I murmur before taking Ruby’s nipple between my lips. She shivers as my breath whispers over it. “So pretty.”

“Micah.” Her voice is a sultry rasp. “Oh—” My lips close around her nipple. She moans and arches her back. “Micah.”

Using my hands and mouth, I keep touching and tasting her, but I can’t seem to get my fill. She’s just so perfect—no, more than that. Exquisite.

Ruby’s hands are in my hair, alternating between tugging and stroking. At one point, her legs wobble, and I wrap my free arm around her, holding her steady.

My body aches for her. It begs to be inside her.

Oh, do I want to be inside her. I want to know how Ruby feels when I’m so deep I can’t tell where one of us ends and the other begins. I want to know how tight she is. How slick. How hot.

I want to know what sounds she makes when she’s getting close and how she looks when she comes. I want to feel Ruby come apart around me.