by Virna DePaul
She pulled away. “Condom?”
He couldn’t believe what she was saying. Now that this moment had come, he wondered if it would end all too quickly. No point in worrying. He would enjoy every minute as though it were his last. “In my wallet. Can you reach my pants? Because I don’t want to lose your beautiful breasts in my face.”
She chuckled nervously. Good, at least she wasn’t running far, far away from him. She reached a foot away for his pants, plucked his wallet from the pocket, took out a wrapped condom, and handed it to him. “Put it on.”
Her demand sent a shiver down his spine. “Yes, ma’am. I mean—”
“Shut up, LeBrun.” Her voice smiled in the dark, as she leaned back to give him space.
While he worked to roll the condom onto his leaking cock, he caught glimpses of her licking her fingers and rubbing her clit, as her back arched. For a moment, he worried he was going to explode before he even got inside her, but he knew he wouldn’t. He would do this right. He would satisfy her, give her everything she wanted. Without question.
“Take what you want,” Ruby said, still rubbing her clit in small circles just a hair’s length over him.
Even in the near complete darkness, Alec could see the intensity in her gaze above him. The burning and pure desire. Taking her gorgeous hips, he guided her down onto him, but not before she wrapped her hand around him to test him out. “Let’s go slow,” he said, knowing his size could be a problem. “I’m on the big side.”
“I already know what side you’re on, Alec. I saw you tonight in full bloom,” she said, meaning the moment he’d dropped his towel in front of her.
He smiled in amusement, as she dug her nails into his pecs—ah, she liked to scratch. He could get behind that—and barely gave her a moment to gasp before he raised her up and pulled her back down—hard.
She moaned, the sound of her cries carrying over the length of the field. He could already feel the muscles of her thighs squeezing around his hips. No, this wouldn’t take long for him either. They’d both wanted this for a long time.
Ruby’s head fell back, and the next time Alec drew her down, she thrust her hips forward, rocking back and forth on her clit. She moaned so deliciously, he recorded the sound in his mind to remember forevermore, in case this never happened again. He moaned at just the sound of her pleasure, the sight of her riding his throbbing dick, the whisper of night air through her fragrant, fallen hair.
“Tell me what you want,” Alec managed to say through the intensity of heat pooling in his groin.
“I want your hands on my tits. Play with them, Alec. Please.”
Please. No more demands. Now she was begging, which only fueled him further, set his desire for her even higher. God, he wished he could see her in the light. So many beautiful things he was missing, though he was grateful for the cover of darkness.
Alec cupped her breasts and ran his thumbs over her nipples, feeling the delicious hard flesh he longed to shove into his mouth. With nothing to taste, no skin to lick and essence to drink in, he panted, as he watched her. Without his hands on her hips, Ruby took over the rhythm. She lowered herself onto him until she was fully seated and then circled her hips.
Fucking hot.
She grinded against him in regular rhythms, as he watched her face in complete rapture. Loose strands of her hair had fallen across her cheeks, some stuck to the sheen of sweat across her forehead. Little gasps escaped from her quivering lips that she bit down to muffle a cry. When Alec pinched her nipples softly, she whimpered and grinded closer to her orgasm, so he did it again. Faster and faster, she picked up her pace, bouncing on top of him.
Ruby’s thighs shook, as she rode him, her moans growing louder.
“That’s it, Red. Give it to me.”
“I’m close,” she whispered, watching him carefully, looking for clues that might push her over the edge.
“Give me that beautiful, fucking orgasm, Red,” he encouraged her. “Keep telling me what you want,” he said, giving her nipples another pinch.
Ruby’s hips rocked forward. “Make me come. Make me come, Alec.”
Hearing his name used so huskily, so driven with desire, coming from the pouty mouth of one said Ruby O’Brien nearly made him spill inside of her. He needed no further instruction. He reached his hands around her ass and lifted her up to allow room for his hips to thrust up into her. Ruby’s hands fell to his chest for support, as her hair haloed her face and as she squeezed her eyes shut. Her sweet pussy clenched around his cock in the most amazing of ways. Her mouth fell open, as she moaned loud and long. “That’s it, Red. You did it. You came so good.”
Almost crying, she collapsed on top of him. Her breaths in his ear as he carried her through her orgasm made Alec’s movements uncoordinated. Ruby licked from his neck to behind his ear and whispered, “You come, too. I want you to.”
“Don’t have to tell me twice, love.” Alec held tightly onto her ass, cried out her name, and came. Waves rippled up his balls and through his entire body, radiating into Ruby. He stayed inside of her as they lay together, chests heaving, bringing warmth to each other in the crisp and now cool early morning air.
Ruby shifted and raised her head enough to look down at him. “Touchdown?”
Alec groaned.
She laughed. “Too far?”
“Way too far.” He grinned then slipped his hand behind her neck and pulled her down into a gentle kiss.
Ruby’s lame joke wasn’t the only thing that was way too far. He was way too far. The things he felt for her now, that he’d always felt, were coming to fruition. For so long, he hadn’t allowed himself to feel any of it, believing his chances with Ruby to be over.
Now, life was giving him a second chance. It was happening. Here she was in his arms. For the moment, Ruby O’Brien was a reality. Actually in his life. All he had to do now was figure out how to keep her there.
Chapter Five
Who let in the sun?
Had she fallen asleep with the windows open? Funny, it almost seemed like she was asleep outdoors. With a groan, Ruby shifted and felt socks on her feet. Socks? She never wore socks to bed. Something hard and plastic dug into her upper shoulders. Sometimes she fell asleep with a book or tablet on her chest if she stayed up late working, but that wasn’t it exactly. She shifted and tried to snooze through it.
Birds chirped.
Birds?
You know, you could just open your eyes and end this blind investigation. With a groping hand, she felt around to pat down the covers, only there weren’t any. Instead, she touched something that made her eyes fly wide-open—the fluffiness of cheerleader’s pom-poms.
How much had she drunk last night?
OH. MY. GOD. That’s right. She and Alec had gone out to eat after the game, then they’d done a couple of shots after running into Colleen, then they’d returned to the stadium to get her car, only they didn’t get her car. Somehow, despite her best efforts to keep things professional, they’d ended up having sex.
On the field!
Ruby looked around. They were outside in a courtyard that had access to the football field on one side and a door to the Bootleggers’ locker room on the other. She was lying on a pile of clean clothes knocked over from a laundry cart next to her. And lo and behold, Alec LeBrun was lying next to her. He was still holding the pom-pom, currently covering his manhood. Well, not quite fully covering it, since he was so well-endowed in the length and girth department. Her eyes traced an equally impressive set of abs up to a wide chest and then up to a familiar face and an even more familiar grin.
“Like what you see?” He flexed his chest.
Ruby screeched then threw the pom-pom at him. A myriad of emotions flew in her face. Excitement over finally hooking up with Alec, disbelief because now they’d crossed the professional line, mortification because she was naked though wearing shoulder pads and football socks.
“Wow. I barely remember putting this on last night. I didn’t think we
drank that much.” She sat and slipped out of the shoulder pads, reaching for her dress and using it to cover her upper body.
“Not that much, but we were tipsy. And delirious. And exhausted from amazing sex.”
“Wow.” Ruby covered her blushed cheeks. She looked back over Alec, who was still staring at her, half like she was a piece of fine art in a Paris museum, and half like she was a frustratingly difficult math problem. “It’s fine, Red. We had a great time. We really did.”
“Please stop staring at me like that,” she said shyly. It wasn’t that she didn’t like the attention. It was just that they shouldn’t have done this—both the hooking up and the hooking up in the outdoors where anybody could’ve found them.
Alec looked at her with honest confusion. “Why? This is a dream come true for me right here.”
“What do you mean a dream come true?” she scoffed.
“Look at you. Wouldn’t you stare if you were me?” His eyes followed the lines of her exposed body. “I mean, Ruby fucking O’Brien is lying next to me right now naked, except for shoulder pads and knee-high socks. There’s no way this is real life. It has to be a dream.”
Ruby tried to stop the grin forming on her face. “Stop, Alec. You’ve had better, I’m sure.” She reached for her purse and phone.
“What did you say?” He sat up and peered into her eyes. “You’re kidding me, right?”
She began threading her arms through her dress. It was Monday morning and time to get home, shower, and get ready for work. She’d fucked up. She’d crossed the line and slept with Alec. Worst of all, it’d happened in a field, out in the open. “Stop. I’m not one of your cheerleader ex-girlfriends. What time is it, anyway?” She logged into her phone.
“Hey. Hey. Look at me. Remember yesterday when you told me to focus? Now, you focus.” He covered her phone with his hand, then slowly began pulling away the dress, revealing her body. Hungry eyes roved over her. “You are gorgeous, Ruby. You’re hardworking, passionate, and damn, girl…you’re HOT.” With one finger, he poked her and pretended to get burned.
A slow smile unfurled on her face.
“I’m serious. You, the way you climbed on top of me last night, touching yourself…oof.”
Was this the acting Alec? The one who could get reporters to chuckle in the face of crisis? Or was he serious? Was he really that into her? Last night, he’d said he was. He’d said he’d always wanted to get with her, but then why run back into Colleen’s arms? He’d yet to explain what happened.
“You know what I was afraid of?”
“What?”
“I was scared that when I woke up, you’d be gone.”
She watched him.
Eyes were more than just windows to the soul—they were lie detectors, Ruby had always felt. And watching Alec’s eyes as he said that, she knew he was telling the truth. His other hand covered her hip, as close as he could get to her skin without actually touching.
Ruby shivered. Just above her goose bumps, Alec slid his hand along her bare leg without actually touching her. She followed his eyes, as they followed his hand like it was leading him to water after days upon days in the desert.
“Scared that this body…” His voice was just above a whisper, as his hand traced back up her leg, across her stomach, and toward her breast. “Would be missing from my life. Scared that these eyes…” His hand scooped the shape of her face without touching it. “Would go home, leaving me to deal with the fact I’d fucked up yet again.”
“I wouldn’t do that,” she said. “I wouldn’t just disappear and leave you alone.”
“You wouldn’t. But other women would. The ones you mentioned would.”
She couldn’t believe he was giving her goose bumps without even touching her. Ruby felt herself arch into the elusive touch of Alec’s palm, but he pulled his hand back just enough to make himself still out of reach. Without the ghost of his touch, her nipples hardened and Alec’s fingers flexed just millimeters from one’s peak.
“I’m scared”—his gaze moved to hers as he held his hand perfectly still—“that if I try to touch these lips, I won’t feel smooth delicious silk. They’ll disappear before my eyes.”
No, I’m still here, Ruby thought. Somehow, as crazy as this all was, she was still with him. That familiar heat was growing between her legs, slick and warm. And her heart began racing, as her nipples yearned for his touch, or tongue, or teeth grazing them. Hell, anything of Alec’s, on her tits would feel nice.
But her mind wouldn’t let her relax. It had just been a double shot of whisky, but things got crazy after that, and… “Alec,” Ruby began, “we had sex on the field, right?”
“We had great sex on the field,” Alec corrected, leading his hand down her thighs and smoothly into the cleft between them. Slowly, he began moving the pads of his fingers in slow, achingly slow, circles over her clit.
Ruby lost her train of thought and melted into the muscles of his chest. Such a wide, strong chest. She imagined waking up to it every morning. How awesome would that be? But no. She had to think this through.
“Do you realize how risky that was?” she asked.
“I do. But I thrive on risky, Red. You know that.”
“Yes, but I don’t.” A terrible thought entered her mind just then. What about when he starts acting up again, Ruby? You want to be with a man who only pulled himself together for one night, long enough to get with you? What if he goes back to the same shit as before? “Alec.” She pushed his hand away gently. “As much as this is one of my favorite places in the world and I don’t want to ruin it, we need to talk.”
Alec stared at her. “Ruin?”
She sighed. “Look, last night was amazing, but it was a mistake.”
“Wasn’t a mistake to me, Red.”
“You’re wrong. It’s bad enough we overstepped boundaries last night when we decided to throw caution to the wind and have drinks together. Fine. So we did what we did. But now, let’s think this through. Okay?”
Last night had been a fluke. Their desire had gotten away from them. Their bodies had taken over, all rationalization left in the dust. Fine. But now she—they—had a choice. They could go back to being professional, get back on track.
The man who could’ve been carved from marble, that was how hard he was, softened, muscles relaxing, as a sigh escaped his lips. “Okay. Let’s talk.”
Ruby curled up, using the dress as a blanket. “Look, last night was fun. It really was. And I’m sure right now could be really fun, too. But we can’t do this again.”
“Why not?”
Ruby didn’t know why not. In her heart, she felt a sad pang that she couldn’t give him a clear answer, but the truth was, she hadn’t known Alec for long in this intimate respect to figure out why. There was definitely fear inside of her. But fear of what, exactly, she didn’t know.
Instead, she went with the known variables. “Plenty of reasons, Alec. I mean, first of all, I’m your publicist. You’re my client. We agreed just yesterday that we needed to get your career back on track. Mine needs to get back on track, so I can prove to my father that I’m capable. And I mean, holy shit, just a month ago, you were engaged, and—”
“I didn’t love her.”
Ruby scanned his eyes, his face, again. He was telling the truth. “You didn’t love your girlfriend and fiancée?”
Alec sighed, lay back against a mound of clean jerseys, and placed his hands behind his head. From this angle, his body was even more incredible.
Focus, Ruby. “How am I supposed to believe that? People don’t just go around proposing to women they don’t love, Alec.”
“She was pregnant.”
Oh.
It was a good thing Ruby was lying down, because that thought never crossed her mind. She couldn’t say anything. All she could do was imagine Colleen with a tiny baby growing inside of her. A baby Alec had put there. She felt herself draw in.
Alec noticed her withdrawal and added, “Except she wasn�
��t.”
“What do you mean?” Ruby’s eyebrows furrowed together.
He squeezed the sides of his head, and Ruby could clearly see his anguish. “I mean, it was a lie. She lied to me, Ruby. She did it to get me to marry her, so of course, when she told me she was pregnant, I did what good guys do—I proposed to her.”
“Wow, Alec.” That must’ve been when he cancelled the date on her. He must’ve just found out because soon after, they were engaged. Holy shit. Pieces began falling into place in her mind.
“Yeah.” He nodded. “She even got one of those ultrasounds from the doctors. A fake one. I totally believed it, Ruby. I bought the whole damn lie.”
“How did you feel at first?” Ruby asked. She wasn’t sure why, but it was important for her to know how he reacted to the news that he would be a father.
“At first, I wasn’t ready for a kid. Hell, I don’t know if I’ll ever be. This career is hectic as hell. But I also knew there was no way I wasn’t going to support her. One way or another, I would figure it out. I wasn’t going to be like my dad.” He scoffed.
Ruby had never heard Alec mention his father before, not to the press, not to his friends, not to her. She could only connect the dots and realize his father had never been there for him, so, at the very least, Alec wanted to be better than that. Five hundred points for him right there.
“So I did the right thing. Do you understand, Ruby? I did the right thing. I proposed to Colleen, news got out that we were engaged, I even started a savings, planned a nursery with her, and read a fucking parenting book. No, two fucking parenting books, and all for what? It was all a fucking lie.” Anger oozed from his voice. He shook his head and crossed his arms over his chest. Ruby could see the strain of his muscles in his arms.
“How do you know it was a lie?”
He gave her a look like he wasn’t stupid. “She told me.”
“She told you?”
“Yes. The whole time we were planning a wedding, I kept thinking this isn’t right. I don’t love her. I never did. She was my girlfriend, and we made a high-profile couple, but I’d always known she wasn’t my future. So two weeks before the wedding, I made a decision. I couldn’t marry her. I would support her, be an involved father to the baby, but I couldn’t take part in a marriage where there was no love.” Alec looked at her then. Until now, he’d been speaking to the sky, as if a therapist sat there. “Do you blame me, Ruby?”
