Page 81 of Keeping Knight

Ruby’s gaze flares with heat. “What are you waiting for?”

“I don’t know,” I reply. Then I thrust into her again. “I’m not thinking clearly. Obviously.”

“Obviously.” Her hand comes to the back of my neck. She kisses me hard. “So, take me, Micah. Don’t hold back. I want everything you can give me.”

She doesn’t have to ask twice. “Always, Rue. Always.”

Chapter Eighteen

RUBY

“Have I mentioned how much I love your hair?”

Micah winds a curl around his finger and holds it for a second before letting it go. “I’m probably messing it up by doing this, aren’t I?” he adds with a sheepish smile. “I just can’t seem to resist.”

Given that we just had sex, and an enthusiastic round of it at that, I can only imagine the state my hair is currently in. Not great, I can say with certainty. Verging on bird’s nest territory, most likely. Whatever Micah’s doing to it isn’t going to make a difference at this point.

Patting my hair out of instinct, I reply, “You’re not messing it up. Not any more than it is already, at least.”

He kisses my forehead. “Your hair isn’t a mess. I think it looks gorgeous.”

I snort softly. “Gorgeous? I know what my hair looks like in the morning. And after what we just did? I shudder to imagine.”

“I like your hair all wild like this.” Micah pulls another curl between his fingers. “When the sun hits it, it turns all different colors. Like it’s on fire.” He kisses me again, this time on the lips. “I think that’s one of the reasons why my cooking was so bad. I kept getting distracted by looking at you.”

“Micah.”

“It’s true. Especially when the kitchen got hot. Your cheeks would get all flushed, and your curls would start springing out, and then you’d take off whatever long-sleeved shirt you were wearing, and you’d only have this cute little T-shirt on beneath. It was hard to concentrate on anything else besides you.”

Fizzy warmth blossoms inside me. Snuggling closer to him, I drape my leg over his. Then I kiss his jaw. “You distracted me, too, you know. Especially when you’d stretch, and your shirt would pull up to show these.” Reaching between us, I trace the lines of his abs. “I got very distracted whenever these made an appearance.”

Micah flexes his stomach. His voice dips. “Oh, really?”

“Yes. I kept wondering how many you had. Six? Eight? Was ten even possible, or was that just something authors made up for their books? I could never tell. Not from what I saw in class.”

“And now?” he asks. “Have you decided how many there are?” His hand comes to my breast, and he gives my nipple a gentle tweak. “Eight? Or ten?”

I arrange my features into a solemn expression. “I hate to tell you this, but I can only count eight. So I guess the ten-pack thing is only a myth.”

Micah sucks in his cheek. His lips twitch. “Only eight?” He shakes his head. “I guess I need to get on that, then. Up my daily situps.”

“Oh, I think I can manage with eight,” I tease. “Ten would probably be excessive, really.”

He grins. “Noted. Eight is fine. Ten is too much.”

I laugh. “Eight is more than enough. I don’t want you spending all day doing situps.” My smile fades as I add, “I don’t really care, Micah. I hope you know that. Yes, I like looking at your body. But what’s inside is the important thing. That’s what I love.”

“Just a perk, right?” His eyes crinkle with amusement. “Nothing wrong with some perks.” He brushes his thumb across my nipple. “Like these.”

“I suppose those would be a perk to you, wouldn’t they?”

“Yes.” He props himself up on one arm and leans over to kiss my breast. “I would definitely call these a perk. But.” His expression sobers. “Only a perk. Like you said, I care about what’s inside, Rue. Your hair and your freckles and your sexy little body? They’re incredible. But that’s only a tiny part of who you are.”

“Micah.”

As he looks at me, something dark and intense works in his eyes. “Rue. I⁠—”

But of course, because phones always seem to find the absolute worst time to ring, a familiar trill sounds from the nightstand.