by D. F. Jones
“Don’t. You tricked me, Brent,” she snapped. His eyes softened as he brushed her forehead with his lips. She had two choices: throw a fit and demand to be taken home, or try and have fun. He wouldn’t take advantage of her, unless she wanted him to. Ruby knew she would have to control herself. He was devastatingly handsome and kissed like a dream. She blew out a deep breath. “You have to behave yourself and I mean it.”
Brent gave her a serious look of longing for a silent moment and then said, “Ruby, I’m crazy about you. You have total control over me. I just want to make you happy. Besides, we won’t be alone all weekend because tomorrow Reed is bringing up some new girl he’s been dating. They’re spending the night.”
Brent knocked the breath out of her with that revelation. Reed had a date with a new girl, and if they were spending the night, Reed was probably screwing her, too. She didn’t know why it bothered her so much, but it did.
“What happened to Reed and Tammy?” Ruby felt weak in the knees. She wanted to kick herself for asking the question the moment it escaped out of her mouth.
Brent’s eyes darkened. Ruby had witnessed his volatile mood swings. He was mad. “Reed has never just dated Tammy. He goes out with different girls all of the time. Are you still holding out for Reed?”
Ruby punched him in the gut and walked outside to stand next to the rail, looking out at the night sky. He walked up behind her and pulled her to his chest. Ruby stiffened and gave him a mock elbow to the ribs. “You can be such a jerk sometimes. For your information, I could have had him if I wanted to, but I chose to go out with you instead.”
He spun her around. “What? When?”
“The day after you first asked me out, he showed up at the store. Reed wanted me to go out with him the night of our first date. I turned him down.” Well, technically she hadn’t turned Reed down. He had left her there, kiss-swollen, in the parking lot of the store.
Brent picked her up in his arms and twirled her around. He kicked the sliding door opened and threw her on the bed. Brent was grinning from ear to ear. “You picked me over him, really?” She didn’t have the heart to tell him she had kissed Reed, or the fact Reed’s kisses still burned in her memory. It didn’t matter; Reed wasn’t hers. And Brent said he was crazy about her.
Brent snuggled against her neck and said in a voice as smooth as velvet, “Ruby, you’re my fiery, redhead gal.” His eyes had turned a dark emerald green with specks of gold, shimmering with passion, passion for her. Passion Reed didn’t feel for her. Ruby quivered as Brent’s hand ran down the front of her midriff. His mouth hungrily covered hers, and flames seared beneath her skin. This man wanted her.
* * *
Brent wanted her, wanted to be inside of her, to taste her. To have her scream his name and tell him she loved him. Ruby was luscious and sweet, feisty and incredibly sexy. Brent couldn’t care less about the Tap It game now. Ruby was the first woman he had ever dated who actually made him think about getting married, settling down and having a family.
He nipped her full bottom lip, gently tugging and sucking on it. She stared up at him with half-lidded eyes and her mouth parted. He drank her in, kissing her slowly and lazily to savor every second his mouth was connected to hers. Brent didn’t try to ravish her as badly as he would have liked to. He wanted her to come to him willingly, begging even.
Brent felt Ruby melt beneath his touch, as little throaty moans escaped her lips. His hand held her possessively at her waist. “Make love to me, honey.”
“No, I can’t.” Ruby moistened her lips and tried wiggling out of his arms, but he held her tightly.
“Make love to me or tell me why you can’t.” He nibbled her earlobe and then ran his tongue over her lips and into her mouth. His kiss was hot and demanding as she wrapped her arms around his neck. The stroke of his tongue was warm and inviting, the circling of their tongues became faster and deeper.
Ruby took a deep breath and replied, “Reed, I can’t.” Brent pulled her arms away from him and rose slowly to a sitting position and stared down at her. His expression was full of pain and rage. Ruby abruptly sat up and touched his face. “I’m so sorry, Brent. I have no idea why I said that. I don’t know what to say.”
Brent swung his legs away from her and sat on the edge of the bed. He cradled his face in his hands for a minute. Ruby placed a hand on his shoulder and he shoved her away and stalked out of the bedroom.
* * *
Shit, shit, shit. What in the world had possessed her to call Brent, Reed? And at the very moment he asked her to make love to him. Geez, Louise. He was furious when he left the bedroom.
The den and the kitchen were both in the great room. Brent was at the stove cooking. She walked over and asked, “Can I help you with dinner?”
He didn’t reply. Brent was giving her the ice treatment. It suddenly felt like the middle of winter, in July. Ruby turned and went back into the bedroom and put on her tennis shoes. She had to go run or walk, anything to get out of the cabin. If his mood hadn’t changed by the time she returned, then she would ask him to take her home.
The night sky was lit by starlight. The summer wind was blowing hard as she ran down the winding driveway. Ruby could hear rustling in the woods and suddenly the music from Deliverance started playing in her mind. Geez, it was spooky out here. In the distance, she heard people from nearby cabins laughing and music playing in the background.
Ruby had run past the point when her side finally quit burning, and now her endorphins kicked in. Damn, why did Reed always have to creep into her thoughts and dreams? She was an idiot for calling Brent, Reed. Once she made it out to the highway, she stopped and bent over to catch her breath. Running felt good and she needed the release. Ruby reached in her pocket and held the amber stone. She thought about the drawing in the cave of the messenger holding the totem and heard a voice say, “Everything has a purpose and a time.” Ruby wondered if it was just her imagination playing tricks on her. The stone warmed in her hand.
Headlights came down the driveway and the Camaro pulled to a stop beside her. Brent rolled down his window. “Get in the car, Ruby.”
With curtness, she replied, “Brent, I prefer to walk or run back if you are going to be mad at me. I said I was sorry. You can take me home if you want to.” Ruby stretched out her calf muscles and then her hamstrings. Another car rounded the curve honking and whistling at them. Ruby threw them a peace sign.
“Get in the damn car. I’m not going to ask you again.” Brent was so mad his voice shook. Ruby watched as he gripped the steering wheel. She reluctantly got in the car and sat as far away from him as the car would allow.
“I’m not going to hurt you, woman. I have a right to be pissed. I’ll get over it. It’s funny, though; I never knew how this felt. I’ve done the same thing to other women before, but I’ve never had it done to me. Kudos, kid, you were born to play the game.” Brent parked the car in the driveway and he strode back into the cabin, slamming the door behind him.
Ruby walked into the cabin and straight through the great room into the master bathroom. She reached in and turned on the shower. The bathroom walls were lined with old barn wood and the ceiling had been painted a dark, burnt orange. The sink and bathtub were copper, and the toilet had a pull string. The shower was all white with stainless steel heads. Ruby stepped in, allowing the hot water to run over her. She poured shampoo on her hand and washed her hair and then used her lavender soap and scrubbed her skin. Ruby dried off, and before opening the shower door, she wrapped her hair up in a towel.
Brent sat on the side of the bathtub when she stepped out of the shower. Ruby watched as he slowly raked his smoldering eyes over her. She quickly took the towel off her head and wrapped it around her body. “Good grief Brent, what are you doing in here?” A thunderbolt of shock shot through her.
He raggedly said, “God, you’re so beautiful, all creamy and soft. I want to feel you next to me. I want you to love me, Ruby.” Brent pulled her into his arms, crushing he
r against him, palming the back of her head. His kiss was demanding and intense, as he took complete possession of her mouth.
Brent knew how to kiss. He was a dang expert. He growled as he probed inside her mouth, one hand cupping her face and the other one at her waist. She felt his rock-hard erection pressed against her stomach.
Ruby knew she needed to stop kissing him or she wouldn’t leave this room still a virgin. She just wanted a couple more of his hot, wet kisses. But Brent tugged at her towel, trying to dislodge it. She broke away from his kiss and pushed him off her, breathing hard.
“Don’t you want me, Ruby?” He reached for her again and she threw up her hands to stop him.
Ruby had never thought it was anybody’s business she was still a virgin at twenty. Most people her age had been actively engaging in sex since high school. Ruby wanted to choose who she gave herself to for the first time. She had the urge to laugh, but repressed it. “Brent, I do want you. But I’m not ready.”
“Why?” Brent pleaded.
“If you must know, I’m still a virgin.” Ruby wrapped the towel tighter around her as Brent stumbled back against the wall.
He shook his head back and forth in disbelief. “You’re kidding.” Ruby met his stare at eye level. “You’re not kidding. Can I ask you a personal question and you give me an honest answer?”
He shoved one hand in his pocket and used the other to push his hair off his face.
“I strive to tell those I care about the truth, always. Would you mind if I get dressed first?” Ruby walked to the linen closet and grabbed another towel.
“Yes, I do mind. I want to know if Reed was the one standing here right now, would you tell him no?” Brent took a step closer to her. He searched her eyes, waiting for the truth.
“Reed isn’t here. You’re asking me a rhetorical question, but the answer would be the same. I want to give myself to the man I love, to the man who loves me, and who wants to marry me. I want the house and the picket fence, the two kids and the dog. That’s what I want.” Ruby shivered—not from the cold, but from the fact she didn’t know if or when she would have the happily ever after in her life. She desired both Brent and Reed. But life just didn’t work that way.
Brent picked up her hand and pulled it to his chest. He got down on one knee and she sucked in her breath. “Then marry me, Ruby Jane. I can give you all of those things and more.” Ruby placed her hand on his face and then brushed the back of her fingers against the one-day stubble of his beard.
“Brent, I—I don’t know what to say. I care for you, I do. I’m just not sure I’m in love with you. I don’t want to hurt you, but you’re moving way too fast for me. We only met a month ago.” Ruby was suddenly very tired. She didn’t want to hurt him. And if he were Reed, she would have made love to him. She stood up and walked to the vanity and began to brush the tangles out of her hair.
Brent walked up behind her and slanted his head down over her shoulder, pressing his lips against her neck. “I’ll wait for you.” And then, he left her alone.
* * *
Ruby drifted off to sleep in the master bedroom, alone. As she fell into a deep sleep, she dreamed of her wedding day. She stood at the entrance to the great room at Everglade Farms, surrounded by all her family and friends. The house was decorated for Christmas and the fire crackled in the fireplace. She felt an overwhelming sense of love as she walked the short distance across the room toward her groom. As he began to turn around, she awoke.
Ruby abruptly sat up in the bed, pulling the covers around her. She was still in Brent’s grandfather’s cabin. She got out of bed and reached down and picked up her shorts from the floor. Ruby pulled out the amber stone. She glanced over her shoulder to the clock on the nightstand. It was 5:00 a.m. and the sun would be up soon. She crawled back into bed, plumped up the pillow and closed her eyes. She would sleep for maybe another hour or so and then get up. Ruby fell back into a deep sleep, dreaming of the cave, flashes of stormy weather and people screaming.
* * *
At eight o’clock, there was a knock on the cabin door. Brent opened the door and ushered in Reed and his new squeeze. He wanted to hate Reed. Brent wanted to punch his lights out, because Ruby had called him Reed. Instead, Brent said, “I have fresh coffee and pastries in the kitchen.”
Brent caught Reed looking around for Ruby. “Ruby is still sleeping. Are you going to introduce your friend?”
Reed’s expression lightened. “Sarah, this is Brent, one of my oldest friends in the ’boro. His grandparents own this place. Brent, Sarah and I work together at school.” Sarah was a slight girl with raven hair and pale skin. She looked like a pretty porcelain doll—fragile.
Brent offered her his hand and a smile. “Sarah, it’s nice to meet you. Make yourself at home, guys, while I go wake my girl.” Brent noticed Reed’s muscles tense when he said “my girl.” Hmm, so, Reed liked Ruby more than he was letting on.
Brent knocked on the bedroom door and quietly entered the room. He walked over to the bed and looked down at Ruby. She was curled up in a ball with one hand around the pillow and the other one in a fist. He sat on the bed and brushed the hair off her face, tucking it behind her ear. He lowered his head and kissed her on the cheek. “Sleeping beauty, it’s time to wake up.”
Brent gently nudged her. “Wakey, wakey, eggs and bakey.” Ruby rolled onto her back and her fist relaxed. She had been holding a piece of amber in her hand. He went to pick up the stone and she suddenly woke up.
Ruby looked at the stone and placed it quickly back into her pocket and then threw her arms around Brent’s neck, holding on for dear life.
With a look of concern, he said, “What’s this, honey? Did you have a bad dream?” Brent rubbed her back and she pressed her face into his chest.
“It was awful, terrible storms and tornadoes came up out of nowhere and a man was chasing me. Brent, I was so scared.” She sniffled in Brent’s arms while he stroked her hair.
“Honey, darling, it was just a dream. I’m here and you’re here. Not a cloud in the sky. And I would kill any man who tried to harm one hair on your head.” He lifted her chin and kissed her sweetly. He wanted to make her feel safe. He felt such protectiveness over her.
Brent scooped her up into his arms and carried her to the sliding glass doors. “See, it’s awesome outside today. It’s time to hit the water. You game? Reed and his friend Sarah are having coffee on the deck. Come on out when you’re ready.” He held her in his arms a moment longer, and as he started to let her down, she clung on to him. He said, “Sweetie, that was a bad dream. Wanna tell me about the rest of it? They can wait.” She shook her head back and forth. He brought her over to the bed and they sat down.
Brent kissed her, brushing his lips softly over hers, then nibbled and tugged on her bottom lip before gliding his tongue over her teeth into her warm, wet mouth. His fingers twisted through her silky, auburn hair. He was in love with her. Win, lose or draw, nothing could change his feelings for her now. She could do whatever she wanted to him, as long as she stayed with him.
Ruby nipped his bottom lip and then he closed his mouth over hers hard, plunging his tongue into her depths. He was probably exploiting her vulnerability, but he couldn’t help himself as she molded against his body. Brent wanted to devour her, crawl inside of her skin. He kissed her like he was making love to her mouth.
The image of her naked body from last night seared him, spurring him into a crazy frenzy, and he wanted to take from her whatever she would give. Brent skimmed his hand under her nightshirt and caressed her breast and she moaned. He began to lift her shirt over her head when he heard a knock on the sliding glass door.
“Damn it.” Brent swore under his breath. He pulled her shirt down and turned to see Reed watching them.
“Get dressed, pumpkin. I guess they’re getting anxious for the lake.” If Brent had to guess, Reed wasn’t anxious for the lake. Reed had been anxious to see what he and Ruby were doing in the bedroom—and it served Reed ri
ght for being a damn voyeur.
* * *
Ruby quickly showered and dressed for the lake. She wore a brightly colored string bikini under her blue-jean cutoffs and a Fleetwood Mac T-shirt. Ruby checked her beach bag to make sure she had her tanning oil, lip gloss, comb and sun visor. Ruby ran a brush through her hair, placed her shades on top of her head, and then walked into the great room.
Reed and his date were on the deck. Weren’t they cozy? She had her arm around Reed’s waist and he had his arm around her shoulders. Ruby narrowed her eyes and noticed Reed was kissing her dang ear. Reed’s eyes met Ruby’s and he smiled wickedly at her. Then he turned around and continued his assault on the new girl. What a jerk! She walked into the kitchen.
Ruby took a deep breath and pulled a coffee mug from the kitchen cabinet, poured her coffee and took a big gulp. Brent came in the back door with the cooler, sat it down in front of the fridge and said, “Give us a kiss and then help me with the cooler.”
Ruby wrapped her arms around Brent’s neck and he pulled her off the ground. He was in a good mood today, thank goodness! “You smell good, Brent.”
He chuckled and opened the freezer door, grabbing the bag of ice, and then slammed it on the floor so loud she jumped.
“You scared the crap out of me. What else are we taking besides beer and sodas?” She pulled drinks out of the pantry and placed them inside the cooler.
“While you slept this morning, I put the ham, cheese and pickles in separate Glad bags. Grab the chips and bread out of the pantry. There’s a brown paper bag on the bottom shelf.” He packed the rest of the drinks while she grabbed the rest of the stuff.
Twenty minutes later, they were riding down the lake’s channel, with the pontoon’s nose rising slightly out of the water. The boat gently rocked over the waves as the breeze blew Ruby’s hair. Brent was letting her drive the boat. He placed his hand on her shoulder and pointed. “When the channel splits, bear to the right.”
Reed and Sarah sat in front of the boat. Ruby liked Sarah. She had an easygoing nature about her. But every time Reed touched her face or whispered in her ear, pain shot deep inside Ruby’s chest.
