by Ruby Rowe
I have to talk to Ben. He deserves that and then some. Once I’ve dried my swollen scarlet face and taken a few deep breaths, I pick my phone up off the counter.
Me: Room 411.
After I’ve straightened my unruly waves, I clean up the empty cookie and candy wrappers on my bed and dust off the remnants of my pity party.
I hear the hard knock on the door, and I smile. Now doesn’t seem like the time to be joyful, but maybe I’m going to have a chance with Ben after all. Maybe we really can come out on the other side of this.
Padding across the small hotel room, I open the door. Ben stares back at me, and I see the overwhelming alleviation on his face. I also notice how sexy he looks dressed casually in grey sweats and a black hoodie. The sweats don’t leave much to the imagination, and god, why am I thinking about how hot he looks right now?
“Are you going to let me in?”
“Sorry. You look … different for some reason.” He walks in, and grabbing my waist, he yanks me close.
“Maybe for once, you’re seeing all of me. You’re seeing what you can finally have without guilt or worry. Without resisting...”
I look away, but he turns my chin back to him.
“This is a habit we’re breaking right now. You’re mine–I’m yours. Nothing is going to change that.”
“Aren’t you disappointed and furious over what your dad did? Aren’t you angry at my mother?”
“Yeah, but I found out our other parents didn’t behave much better. Let’s sit on the bed, and I’ll tell you about it.” He shakes his head. “After that, I never want to speak of our parents acting like freaks again. I preferred when I thought they never had sex. I like to think the stork dropped me off on their front porch.”
Giggling, I hug him. “You always make everything better.”
Ben
Damn, the relief I feel to be holding Chloe in my arms is indescribable. We’re lying on her hotel bed as she absorbs the story I told her. It’s the one my father told me.
“I can’t believe all these years of worrying was for nothing,” she says. “That only angers me more.”
“I wish you’d told me back then. We could’ve been together all these years, and you wouldn’t have carried this burden on your own.”
Chloe shifts to her side and props herself up on her arm.
“Maybe we weren’t supposed to be together until now. Being young and less mature, we might’ve screwed it up, and then what if we never got back together?”
“True, but I could’ve done without watching you go home with so many men.”
She smiles bashfully. “Would it make you feel better to know I always pretended they were you? I always said your name, even if only in a whisper.”
Sighing, I graze the back of my hand down her cheek.
“Learning of your secret explains so much about your actions over the years. Seeing our parents together is why you rejected me as a teenager, when all along, I knew you liked me.
“What they did explains your anger toward your mom and why you retreat when our families are together. The drinking and men … it all makes sense now, but we’re leaving it in the past. At this moment, our new life begins. Our life together.”
I lean over and kiss Chloe’s forehead. “Please assure me that there will be no more running. Tell me you’re finally giving all of yourself to me.”
Straddling my hips, she gives me a passionate kiss. Her tongue slips inside, where it strokes mine, and feeling her grind against my thin sweats gets my cock hard in a flash.
Damn, I’m not letting her out of this room for a few days. I have her right where I want her, and fuck, do I ever want her.
Chloe suddenly stops kissing me and stares into my eyes.
“I’m sorry. I’ve wanted you for so long that it’s hard not to jump your bones.” She giggles, and it’s such a damn turn-on.
“You can jump my bones whenever you like.”
“I figured as much, but first, you need to hear how I feel. I love you, Benjamin Ashford. I fell in love with you right after you moved next door as a smelly boy, and I love the amazing man you’ve become even more.”
Unexpectedly, tears leak from the corners of her eyes, so I reach up to brush them away. “All I’ve ever wanted is finally possible,” she adds. “I wouldn’t dare run now.”
“Did you mean it when you said you wanted to move away from Atlanta?”
“No. I just didn’t know how I’d stay there if I couldn’t be with you.”
After I exhale more of the anxiousness that’s been compressing my lungs, I grin up at her.
“That’s good to hear. It just so happens that a stork left me on my parents’ doorstep for the purpose of loving you.” I cradle her cheek. “I mean it, Chloe. My world orbits yours.”
“If that’s the case, I need to become an astronaut so I can walk on your moon.”
We both burst into laughter as even Chloe realizes how cheesy her comment sounded.
“Chick, that was so bad. Good thing I already love you.”
“I can’t help it. I’ve heard every line in the book, so the cheesiness was bound to rub off on me.”
Her skin is glowing crimson, and the sight of her beauty steals my breath.
“You’re in luck. I really like cheese.”
“Oh, the gloves are coming off now,” she warns.
I flip Chloe over and cover her body with mine.
“You’re right; there’s no more holding back, and I plan to give you all I’ve got.”
“Promise?”
“On a block of sharp cheddar.”
“Kiss me, you cheeseball.”
“Sweetheart, you can call me Big Daddy.”
She cackles, and I see the truth in her eyes. Chloe’s finally mine. Every part of her.
EPILOGUE
Chloe
“Why did you make cards for this game?” Laurel asks Jason as we sit on the living room floor of his sister and best friend’s apartment. “We could’ve played Heads Up! on my iPhone.”
“I, uh, don’t like some of the words they use,” he says. “Just play along.” He seems nervous tonight, when he’s usually cocky.
Since Ben and I don’t know Summer or her boyfriend, Colton, very well, I was surprised when they invited us over for game night. She even told us to bring a couple of friends, so we chose Megan and Nick.
Although, I’m somewhat regretting my decision to have them tag along since they’re already working hard at spoiling our evening.
After Nick found out the reason why I’d been rejecting Ben, he forgave me. I guess I’m trying to play matchmaker here. I think he’d be a good fit for Megan since he’s so protective and loyal.
I’d like to see her with a man who’ll look out for her. She still has two years of college left, and I don’t want her to continue sleeping with random guys.
“Does anyone need more spiced punch or beer before we start?” Laurel asks. We all tell her no before she strides to the kitchen to refill her cup.
Summer seems excited this evening. She looks cute with her blond hair up in a high ponytail, and the holiday tee she’s wearing that says Be Naughty and Save Santa a Trip is too funny.
Colton, on the other hand, looks less enthused about playing games. He reminds me so much of Nick with his ball cap and southern drawl.
“Let’s play,” Jason says after Laurel returns. “Sit across from me, babe, and you’re going first. It’s guys against girls,” he adds. He sure is bossy tonight.
“Geez, OK,” she replies, trying not to spill her drink as she takes a seat on the floor.
“Pick a card from this deck I made, and hold it against your forehead so we can see the word. The girls will give you clues so you can guess it.”
“I know how to play, sweetie.”
He scratches the back of his head. “Oh, right.”
I stifle a giggle. He’s so anxious tonight.
Laurel picks up the top card and holds it to her forehead while Summer starts the ti
mer on her cell phone. The first word is wedding.
“When two people get married!” I shout.
“Uh, wedding?” Laurel replies.
“Got it,” Summer says. The next card Laurel holds up is bride.
“The woman who’s getting married,” Megan hints.
“Bride!”
“Correct,” I reply.
She holds the next card to her forehead, and the word is reception.
“This is what happens after the wedding,” Summer says.
“Honeymoon,” Laurel replies.
“No, think DJ and a cake,” I state.
She points at me. “Reception!”
“Bingo,” I chime before she holds up another card. The word is ring. Why are all these about getting married?
Oh, my gosh. Jason’s going to propose!
“Um, you wear this on your finger,” Summer says with a grin and the roundest eyes. She must know what’s happening, too.
With a wrinkled forehead, Laurel asks, “Is it a ring?”
“That’s right, babe,” Jason says before he raises up on one knee and pulls a red velvet box from his pocket. “And I have a special one for you.”
“Oh, shit,” Colton says, grinning. Squealing, Summer holds her phone up to take a photo. Jason opens the box with a trembling hand, and Laurel’s shakes, too, as she covers her mouth.
“Laurel, I can’t imagine spending one day of my future without you in it. Will you do me the honor of being my wife?”
The tears spring from her emerald eyes, and dang, I’m getting teary-eyed, too.
“Son of a bitch,” Ben mutters next to me. I shoot him a look. I know he hasn’t warmed up to Jason quite yet, but he should still be happy for them.
“Yes!” Laurel exclaims. “Of course, I’ll marry you.” She holds her hand out, and Jason slides the ring onto her finger. “We’ll upgrade it eventually,” he mumbles. “I promise.”
“No,” she says with a broad grin. “I love it.”
“I’m happy for you two,” Colton says, “but that was fast, bro.”
Jason beams at Laurel. “When you know, you know, and you can’t let that opportunity pass you by.”
I cover my chest with my hand. “That’s so sweet. We need champagne.”
“We have a bottle in the refrigerator I bought for New Year’s Eve,” Summer says.
“Cool. I’ll go get it.” I head to the kitchen and retrieve the champagne. I doubt they have a set of glass flutes, so I grab a stack of Solo cups instead.
“Princess,” I hear Nick sneer as I walk back into the living room.
“Hillbilly,” Megan replies with a scowl as she sits next to him.
“Kardashian,” he retorts.
“Farmer Nick—”
“That’s enough,” I say. “You two are impossible. Be happy for Laurel and Jason, and besides, it’s the holidays. We should be merry and bright, right?”
My sister rolls her eyes as Nick puts his arm around her and brings her in close against him.
“I’ll play nice with Megan just for you, Chloe,” he says, adding a clipped laugh after, all while she shoves him away.
“You’ll be doin’ it alone,” she replies.
Nick must be drunk already, and deciding it’s best to ignore the two of them, I pass out the cups and pour the champagne. When I get to Ben, he tilts his eyes up at me and wraps his hand around my calf.
“I love you,” he whispers.
I tilt my head to the side and smile. “I love you, too. Always…”
Glancing toward Jason and Laurel, he grimaces.
“That should’ve been us.”
“Is that what this sour mood’s about?”
He nods and looks at the floor. Thankfully, everyone else is chatting instead of noticing our conversation.
“We should be engaged first, and I was going to ask you in front of our families soon. That asshole stole my move.”
Hearing he was going to propose makes my heart want to leap from my chest, but I keep my composure.
“Then maybe we should be the first to have a wedding.”
He lifts his eyes again, and they’re as wide as his boyish smile.
“Seriously?”
I shrug. “When you know, you know.”
“I’m still gonna ask you.”
Bending down, I give him a kiss.
“You better. I’ve been dreaming of that moment ever since the smelly boy next door turned into the hottest guy in Georgia.” I wink. “You may know him. He’s also the sweetest.”
“I do know him. I hear he’s one lucky man.”
END NOTES
Thank you for reading Dick Magnet (A Ruby Romp Novella). Watch for Megan and Nick’s love story, releasing in 2019.
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Thank you to my amazing husband, Patrick. He inspires many of the juicy scenes I write.
Family and friends, I love you and appreciate your support.
Readers, thank you for giving my books a chance. I couldn’t write full-time if it weren’t for passionate book lovers like yourselves!
I feel blessed anytime someone reads a story of mine. I hope you’ll check out future releases by Ruby Rowe.
Silla Webb, I’m so happy to have you as my new PA. Your skill set is amazing, so thank you.
Nikki Cherniak, thank you for editing Dick Magnet. As always, it’s been wonderful working with you!
I want to give a big shout out to Jo-Anna at Just Write. Creations for creating the racy cover. She always produces fantastic work!
Thank you to my beta readers, Nikki Cherniak, Rachael Leissner and Karina Wade. Ladies, you always have my back.
Bloggers, I wish I could give each of you a hug. The support many of you show me is remarkable, and I’m so appreciative.
You have busy work schedules and personal lives, yet you use a portion of your precious time to help authors succeed. I can’t thank you enough.
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Happy Reading!
Ruby
