“No.” Oh God, what he was doing to her? Her body flamed. She was going up in smoke. “Talking is overrated. Not when we could be doing better things.”
Ruby had never given herself so freely before. She’d never really been the bad girl, and everyone who knew her well knew that for a fact. She’d had only three relationships in her twenty-six years, and only the last one had really meant anything to her. The last one had hurt her.
She’d been in love.
Or so she’d thought.
But tonight with Brooks was different. It was all about having a man appreciate her. Give to her. Excite her and make her feel like a woman.
He rolled over on top of her, careful of her small frame, his hands bracing the bed on both sides of her head. She gazed into his deep blue eyes. “I want you again, Ruby.”
Ruby smiled. “I want you, too.”
He nodded and let go of a deep breath. “I was praying you’d say that, honey.”
He bent his head and touched his mouth to hers. Already the taste of him, the firmness of his lips, seemed familiar and welcome. She’d never see him again. She wasn’t in the market for a man. But Brooks would leave her with a good memory.
And then his mouth moved from her lips down her chest toward her navel, streaming kisses along the way. Her hips lifted; she was eager and willing, waiting. She didn’t have to wait long. He touched his tongue to her center and suckled her sweetest spot. She whimpered and moved wildly as his mouth performed magic. It was a torturous, beautiful few minutes of pleasure. And when she was on the brink, ready for a powerful release, he rose over her and joined their bodies. Oh...it was bliss, the best of the best as he moved inside her. And then, moments later, his eyes darkened, his body stiffened and every sensation between them intensified. He moaned her name, an utterance of pleasured pain, and then he broke apart at the seams. It was enough to turn her inside out, and she, too, shuddered with an incredible release.
“Wow,” she said once her breathing returned to normal.
“Yeah, wow,” he said, keeping her close. He kissed her forehead, stroked her hair and tucked her body into his.
She closed her eyes and waited for the exquisite hum of her body to ease her into sleep.
* * *
Brooks tiptoed back into the room, holding two cups of coffee and a white paper bag filled with muffins and buttered biscuits from the café at the inn. There wasn’t a croissant to be had in this hokey Texas town, and he liked that about this place. Clean, simple and... He glanced at Ruby asleep in the bed, her hair smooth black granite against the pillow. Beautiful. Yep, Cool Springs left him with a good impression.
The mattress groaned as he sat down.
“Is that coffee I smell?” a soft, sultry voice whispered from the other end of the bed.
“Can’t fool you,” he said, turning to find Ruby coming to a sitting position. “Leaded and dark as mud.” Apparently that’s how they made coffee in Texas. He showed her the two cups.
“I think I love you,” she said, reaching for one. She’d worn one of his shirts to bed. The thing hung down to her knees and covered most of her up, but she still looked sexy as sin.
Her lips pursed as she blew on the rising steam.
He shook his head and talked down his lust. “Got biscuits, too, all buttered up, with honey.”
“I adore you even more,” she said. He handed her one and she wasted no time. She took a big bite, chewed with gusto and then took another bite.
“You’ve got an appetite.”
“I had a busy day and night.”
He joined in, sipping coffee and digging into the biscuits. “Maybe I should’ve taken you out for a nice big breakfast.”
She shook her head. “This is perfect,” she said, reaching for the bag from his hand. “What kind of muffins did you get?”
“Banana and blueberry. So, you wouldn’t want to go out for breakfast with me?”
She chose blueberry. “It’s nothing personal, but showing up somewhere public at this hour will cause talk. You know what they say about small towns. All of it is true. And you don’t owe me anything, but I appreciate your gallantry.”
“Just call me Galahad.”
“I do.” She laughed before putting her teeth into the muffin.
He laughed, too, and was sorry he had to leave Ruby behind. She wasn’t like most females he’d met, and he had a feeling she wasn’t going to put up a fuss about saying goodbye.
He wasn’t entirely sure he liked that idea, but he had a new life waiting for him. His emotions were keyed up, and he was too damn confused to add a woman to the mix.
They drank coffee and chatted quietly about nothing in particular. And after they’d taken their last sips, Brooks rose from the bed and began packing his belongings. “Sorry, but I have to hit the road soon. I have an important meeting.”
Ruby rose from the bed and padded over to him. “Brooks,” she said.
“Hmm?”
She stood before him, her expression unreadable. “Don’t forget your shirt.”
Slowly she began undoing the buttons, her nimble fingers working one after another. Once done, she shrugged out of the shirt, and it fell easily to her feet. His gaze fastened on a beautiful body in red lace. “Ruby,” he said, sucking in oxygen and pulling her into his arms, her skin smooth and her muscles toned under his fingertips. “I wish I could postpone my meeting.”
“No problem.” Her eyes were soft and warm. He was never going to forget that particular deep cocoa color. Who was he kidding? He was never going to forget her. That was for damn sure. “I’ve got a busy day myself. I’ll take a shower. You’ll probably be gone by the time I get out.”
Like a fool, he nodded. That was the plan. He had to leave. Now.
He claimed her lips one last time, putting all of himself into that kiss. Then, mustering every ounce of his willpower, he turned away from her. But a thought struck, and he reached into his pocket to pull out a business card. “In case,” he said with a lift of his shoulder, “I don’t know, if you want to talk. Or need me or something.” He set the card on the bedside table.
By the time he turned back around, she had disappeared into the bathroom.
“Goodbye, Brooks,” she said just as the door was closing.
The lock clicked.
He closed his eyes. It was time to get on with the rest of his life.
Brooks pulled into the gates of Look Away
