Page 45 of Keeping Knight

Is it too soon? The primal part of me says no. That if I picked her up and carried her to the bedroom right now, she wouldn’t protest. In a matter of minutes, I could be buried inside her.

But what about after? Would Ruby be okay with it then? Or would she wish she’d waited? Would she resent me for taking for more than she’s ready for?

I can’t risk it. Not with Ruby.

Instead, I keep touching her. Kissing her. Lavishing attention on her mouth and breasts. I remind my body that Ruby’s the important one right now, and I’m more than capable of waiting.

I’m not sure how much time passes, but it’s long enough for my cranky knee to complain and for Ruby’s stomach to let out a soft rumble. She claps her hand over her stomach and turns the cutest shade of pink. As I lift my head from her breast, she exclaims, “That’s not very sexy, is it?”

I stand, flexing my knee several times to loosen it. “It’s very sexy,” I tell her.

Her gaze shifts to my knee. Worry creases her brow. “Are you okay?” Leaning over, Ruby touches my knee. “I didn’t think. You were kneeling for so long...”

“It’s fine.” I kiss the tip of her nose. “Just gets a little sore sometimes, is all. One of the bad parts of getting old.”

“Old?” Ruby blinks at me. “You’re not old.”

“Thirty-seven. Or, as my mom loves to remind me, closing in on forty.”

“That’s not old,” she insists. “You’re only five years older than me. And I’m not old.”

“No.” I kiss her again. “You’re not.”

“And neither are you.” As Ruby’s gaze drops to her chest, she makes a little ooh face. “Oh. My shirt.”

“You didn’t mind that I took it off, did you?” I ask.

“Oh, no.” She reaches for the discarded tank, but I snag it first and help her put it back on. “I seem to recall asking you to help me get the dumb thing off. It’s just…” She glances at her bare breasts, lightly marked with pink from my kisses. “I guess I feel a little vulnerable. After the heat of the moment. With you seeing my breasts like this.”

“You don’t need to,” I reply. Hugging her to me, I add, “You’re beautiful, Rue. With and definitely without clothes. If you want to walk around without your shirt on all the time, that would be just fine with me.”

Ruby stares at me for a second. Then she giggles. “I suppose you wouldn’t mind, would you?”

I give her a wolfish grin. “Nope.”

“Then you’d have to walk around with no shirt on, too,” she points out. “To be fair.”

I nod solemnly. “Seems fair.”

As Ruby looks at me, her smile fades slightly. She doesn’t look unhappy. Just thoughtful. “You call me Rue,” she says. “Is it weird that no one’s called me that before?”

“I don’t have to say it,” I reply quickly. “It just came out. But if you’d prefer I only use Ruby⁠—”

“No, I like it.” She takes my hand and gives it a little squeeze. “It’s cute.”

“Well, you’re cute.” I tug one of her curls. “So that makes sense.”

“What about you?” she asks. “Where did Knight come from? I’ve been meaning to ask.”

A weight settles in my gut. I’m used to the nickname by now, and when my friends use it, I don’t mind. But I don’t love remembering how it came about.

“You don’t have to tell me,” Ruby adds quickly. “If you’d rather not. Or if it’s some confidential Army thing. You can pretend I never asked.”

“No, it’s fine.” Leading Ruby over to the weight bench, I gently tug her down beside me. “It’s not a secret or anything.”

She traces the line of my mouth. “You don’t look happy about it.”

“It’s not that.” Turning to face her, I continue, “I don’t mind the nickname. You know we all got one when we served. Like Nico is Rogue. Jaxon is Jester.”