Winning Ruby Heart

by Jennifer Lohmann

  One glimpse of skin between his pants and his shirt and Ruby no longer had the patience for this game. She opened her legs as wide as they would go, clenching against the rush of cold air between her thighs. Micah would be there. Soon.

  Anticipation made the time between Micah removing his shirt and him placing his hot, moist mouth against her feel like an eternity. Cold against the outside of her legs. Hot Micah along the inside. The combination was exquisite. With his lips pressed against hers, he hummed, so softly that she could barely hear him, though she could feel the vibrations all the way from her head to her toes. All the hairs on her body answered his call.

  Then he got to work, his strong fingers moving in concert to create pleasure in her body. Ruby angled her pelvis toward him for better access, her head falling back into her pillow, her body tense and relaxed all at the same time. The movement lifted her breasts up to the air, and he cupped one in his palm, his thumb flicking her nipple at the same tempo his tongue flicked her clitoris.

  She needed to be closer to him. She pushed her hips forward. To his mouth, his tongue, his hands and to him. Micah. He was drawing every last bit of energy down to her pussy and concentrating it there as he sucked. Ruby’s muscles might still be fatigued, but any soreness was overshadowed by the pleasure shooting up her spine with each lick. Her fingers crawled down the sheets, clutching the cotton. Holding on before she drifted off into space.

  Micah walked on his hands up from her pelvis, holding on to her hip and squeezing, just slightly. His grip was strong and firm, and his fingers pressed a magic button in her belly she hadn’t even known was there. Her abductor muscles flexed around his head in response and he chuckled, which only made her thighs grip harder. Keep him there doing that, her body screamed. She moved her hands from the sheets to his shoulder, clasping on to him for fear he’d disappear on her. Or that she might float away and disappear on him.

  Finally, as it seemed her body might curl up inside itself—her extremities drained of all feeling because her energy was concentrated in a couple square inches near Micah’s tongue—everything released in a bang and she cried out. He didn’t stop his attentions, even as the waves of pleasure washed over her. Only when her soul returned to her body and her limbs weighted themselves into the mattress did Micah pull away.

  “Good?” he asked.

  “Great.” She looked down the long line of her body to see his face propped up on his hands above her pubic hair.

  “Is your mind as relaxed as your body? Because that was part of the goal.”

  She lay still, waiting for her mind to send signals in and around her body to move. The signals never came. Stillness washed over her and she sunk farther into the mattress. “I may never move again. That was better than a bath with Epsom salts.”

  Hovering at the edge of her silent mind, not quite willing to intrude but making sure she knew he was there, was the knowledge that she would wake up in the morning and wonder what she had been thinking, letting herself be open and vulnerable to Micah. But she shut the door on those darker thoughts now and released herself into the moment. She closed her eyes. The bed shifted as Micah moved off it.

  Somewhere outside herself, Ruby heard Micah’s voice ask, “Can I sleep over?” and she was aware enough to scoot to one side of the mattress to make room for him. Any consciousness beyond that moment was gone.

  * * *

  MICAH CRAWLED OUT of bed and headed for the bathroom, the doorway just barely big enough to get his chair through. Unfortunately, the space was definitely not big enough for him to shut the door. He didn’t have his toothbrush and he didn’t want to go to his room to get it, so he settled for using some of Ruby’s mouthwash. For a brief moment he considered waking Ruby so that she could brush her teeth, but by the soft snores coming from the bed, that was probably a lost cause. They would both have one-night-stand breath in the morning and could fix it then, though the addition of cheap hotel room coffee wouldn’t help. But she’d be awake for him to kiss her, which was a plus.

  Was this a one-night stand? That was the question of the hour. He had meant it when he’d said that seeing her banged up had been one of the scariest moments of his life that he could remember. And at that moment, he’d thought, If I don’t do something about this now, I may never have the chance. That had been an easy thing to say in the heat of the moment, or even a couple hours afterward while holed up in a dark hotel room sharing spicy pizza and hot looks.

  Tomorrow morning would be a whole different story.

  And, of course, there was the question of Ruby’s feelings. No matter that she’d been absent from competition for five years, she was still an elite athlete, and there was a self-centeredness that elite athletes couldn’t help. Accepting a one-sided intimacy for a little deeper sleep after a hard competition was one thing. Returning his affections was another. But begrudging her the selfishness would be like begrudging a cat for stalking laps.

  Regardless, he still wanted to know. If he were to do it all again, well... Looking back on the what-ifs of life was self-defeating at best and dooming at worst. He’d risked his career for this one night, whatever the consequences. He would know what it felt like to be between her legs, and men had risked more than a job for that kind of knowledge of a woman.

  Shaking those thoughts from his head, Micah finished getting ready for the night and then rolled his way back to the bed. Ruby’s initial acquiescence had ended, and she was again sprawled out over the entire mattress. He gave her leg a tap and she scootched over to one side of the mattress, though she left free the side of the bed that would be hardest for him to get to. Since she’d proved to be malleable once, he gave the other side of her leg a tap, this time a little harder. She snorted, shimmied a bit under the covers, then moved over to the opposite side of the bed, leaving her hand in his way.

  And he didn’t begrudge the hand any more than he begrudged her selfishness, because when he climbed into bed, she used the arm to pull him closer.

  * * *

  THE NEXT MORNING, after Micah and Ruby had been able to ignore the lingering implications of the night because of late sleeping, quick packing and cowardliness on both their parts, Micah and Amir waited next to the production van while Ruby drove out of the parking lot. As soon as her brake lights released and she pulled onto the road, Amir smacked Micah on the shoulder, exclaiming, “What the fuck were you thinking?”

  “How do you mean?”

  “How do I mean?” Amir mocked. For a small man, he packed a lot of sarcasm. “I came by your room last night to show you the cuts and you didn’t answer. Were you in the bathroom?” He shrugged. “Maybe, but I’ve been the photog assigned to you for most of your career, and this is the first time you’ve shown up at the hotel breakfast not showered and not wearing a fresh shirt. So I’m asking again, what the fuck were you thinking?”

  The same thing every heterosexual man is thinking when confronted with the naked body of the woman he loves. “Are you going to rat me out?”

  “And risk being assigned to King Ripley for the rest of this story? Not on your life. But you should turn yourself in and see if you can save your job.”

  Micah looked in the direction of Ruby’s car, but it was far gone. So, the morning after, the status of their relationship was still unsettled. He rubbed his face against the reality glaring at him through the dull autumn sunlight and waited for regret.

  It never came. And that fact was as frightening as it was exhilarating.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

  AS MICAH DROVE past his apartment building the next evening, he was pretty sure he spotted Ruby’s car sitting on the street. He pulled into the cavernous parking garage, took the elevator up to the lobby instead of his floor and rolled his way onto the sidewalk. It was Ruby’s car. She was in it, tapping her fingers on the steering wheel and looking around.

  He rolled ove
r to the passenger-side window, and she jumped at his knock before rolling down the window.

  “Are you looking for me, Ruby?”

  “Yes. Well, specifically right now I’m looking for parking. But then I was going to look for you.”

  Micah didn’t know what he had been hoping for today—or even what he might be hoping for tomorrow, or next week, or next month or next year For one of the few times in his life, he’d made a rash decision based on immediate gratification. Even if he wanted something long-term with Ruby, Amir wasn’t the only one hoping King didn’t get any closer to the ultra series than spectator. Micah’s father had said he would either have to choose Ruby or his career, or fight for both. Right now, Micah was fighting for both.

  “What can I help you with?”

  “Well, I’m not supposed to pick Dotty up until tomorrow morning and that house is empty without my dog. I was thinking...well, maybe we could get some dinner?”

  “Do you mean go out?”

  She shrugged. “Or we can stay in. Whatever requires less movement would be better for me, but I’m the one surprising you, so you can pick. Or not. You might be busy.” Her lips twisted with uncertainty. “That didn’t occur to me.”

  Ruby may have grown a lot over the past five years, but the coddled, expectant athlete was still inside her. Not that he could blame her. An intense focus on herself had been required to get to the Olympics, doping or no doping. It was probably a part of her personality that would never go away, and everyone close to her would have to learn to deal with it if they couldn’t learn to admire the power that came out of it.

  “I can go,” she said, misinterpreting his thinking as a polite refusal.

  “No. I’ll get you a visitor’s parking pass. Be right back.”

  He returned from the lobby with a parking pass. “I’ll meet you there,” he said, hoping he had enough time to double-check that his apartment wasn’t a complete disaster. He should at least be able to pick up the clothes off the floor.

  When his doorbell rang, he opened the door to find Ruby standing on the other side. The jeans and slick track jacket she wore weren’t nearly warm enough for tonight’s forecast. She moved gingerly as she stepped into the foyer and looked around. Then she spied the recliner and her shoulders dropped from around her ears.

  “Can I?” she asked, her eye on the chair.

  “Sure. Would you like something to drink?” He still wasn’t sure why she was here. If his read on her was correct, she wasn’t sure why she was here, either.

  “Yes, please.” She put her hands on the armrests and was pushing herself out of the chair when he waved her away. “Thanks.” She closed her eyes and became absolutely still, her body melting into the cushions of the chair. “I’m sure it’s rude of me to invite myself over to your apartment, take the most comfortable chair and then make you get me a drink, but I’ll get the next.”

  Sure you will, Micah thought but didn’t say. He returned with a tray of drinks, including water and beer for both of them. She perked up immediately at the sight of the beer. Even though she continued to not move, her body seemed to have more life in it.

  “I was more awake when I came up with the idea to come over here. This chair is really comfortable.”

  “I know.” Its knobbly fabric massaged sore muscles, and it had a perfect view of his television. “Ruby, why are you here?”

  “I didn’t get to see the clip last night.”

  “No. You fell asleep before your spot was on.” Micah had turned the television on for a couple hours after Ruby had fallen asleep. She hadn’t even twitched at the noise.

  “I thought maybe we could watch it together.” Her pink lips twitched from side to side, and he only now noticed how bow-shaped her upper lip was. “If you don’t mind watching it again.”

  She was lonely, he realized. He’d known she was lonely before, but this was the first time she’d sought out his attentions. Wanting her, respecting her, realizing that he loved her didn’t stop him from wondering if she was here because...hey, any port in a storm.

  “The clip’s probably on YouTube. You could’ve watched it at home.”

  “Yeah, but...”

  Micah only raised his brow. He was going to make her say it. No use risking his career on ethical charges to be nothing more than a convenient warm body.

  “I’m tired. I’ll be tired no matter where I sit, but last night, being tired with you was better.”

  “Me or...”

  Confusion overrode the exhaustion on her face for a moment before she figured out what he meant. “You. I’ll grant that I don’t have many friends, but I’m sure I could find someone to celebrate with me tonight. People love spending time with someone they can say is a winner. I’m over here because I wanted to spend time with you.”

  “Okay.”

  “Okay?”

  “Sure. You’re still suspicious enough of my motives not to say something like that unless you mean it.” The realization that he was more than simple company stroked his ego, and he reevaluated the entire night ahead of them. Ruby really was here for him as much as for herself. The night could turn very interesting if he let it.

  * * *

  AS FAR AS Ruby could tell, the one good thing about recovering from an ultramarathon was that she was too tired to show how awkward and embarrassed she felt sitting in Micah’s armchair with him looking at her and clearly trying to figure out what she was doing here. If he figured it out, she hoped he’d tell her. Thinking to herself “it seemed like a good idea at the time” didn’t actually clarify what the good idea had been or why.

  Plus, the chair was comfortable and Micah knew enough about ultra running not to expect much out of her the day after a big race. She’d considered going over to Haley’s house or calling Josh to see if he wanted dinner, but she’d dismissed those ideas as quickly as they’d come. Both Haley and Josh would expect movement out of her, and she had to save everything she had to pick up her hyperactive dog tomorrow morning. But that reasoning sold Micah—and the feelings Ruby had for him—short. When she said she was here because she wanted to be around him, she meant it. Anywhere he was, Ruby Heart could just be.

  “You make me feel like a whole person, not Ruby the athlete or Ruby the cheater or any of the other bits and pieces of me that people see instead of the whole. And I like that.”

  And he made her laugh. And he thought she looked hot when she did squats, and he looked hot doing preacher curls. Smart, driven, independent and not afraid to call her a self-centered idiot when she was being one. What more could she want out of a guy?

  Probably one who didn’t say “conflict of interest” every time their relationship teetered into something more than friends. And even that wasn’t so bad, because she admired someone who made the right decision, even if she wasn’t crazy about the decision.

  Though last night their relationship had taken a nosedive out of the friend category, and neither of them had wanted to face that fact in the morning. She still didn’t want to face the consequences, wishing instead that they could be back in a cheap hotel room, far away from any barriers to more than friends.

  “So dinner out or dinner in?” Micah asked, pleasure setting the warm tones of his voice on fire. His change of subject was fine. Ruby didn’t think she’d be comfortable baring any more of herself. Not yet. When she opened her eyes, he was looking at her with a slight smile on his face, his dimples barely visible in his cheeks. “Looking at you, I’m thinking in,” he said. “What would you like?”

  “I picked last night.”

  “No complaints about what I pick, then.”

  Ruby eased her head to the left, then slowly lifted her eyebrows. “Does it look as if I’m going to complain?”

  “Good point.”

  She was dozing when he returned.

  �
��Did you come over here to sleep?” he asked with a smile in his voice. He parked his chair next to the couch, and with interest she watched him maneuver from his chair to the couch.

  She liked seeing his body move. She liked watching bodies move and muscles interact in general, but both Micah’s limitations and his athleticism made his body all the more interesting. Like the way he controlled the swing of his legs by the movements of his upper body—and how he made it look effortless and an everyday occurrence. Which, she reminded herself, it was for him. To be too impressed—to focus on him being unusual—was to miss the point that this was his life and he was going about it. He winked; she’d been caught staring again.

  “No, I didn’t just come here to sleep. I’ll perk up with a little food.” She scooted up higher in the recliner, as if her sitting position would emphasize her point.

  “I’ll turn on the race interview and you can doze through that for a second time.” She cocked her head at him in confusion and he laughed. “Last night, I watched some television after you fell asleep. Come sit by me.” He patted the cushion beside him. “Tonight’s TV options will be more exciting.”

  “Okay. I promise to stay awake through something more exciting.”

  “If you’re really good, maybe we can up the excitement level even more.”

  “A board game?”

  “That’s not really what I had in mind.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

  IT BECAME CLEAR to Micah that he may have had all sorts of interesting ideas in mind, but Ruby wasn’t going to be able to participate in any of them. She stayed awake as they watched the interview about her assault, but she moved through the air in his apartment with the dogged determination of someone trying to trudge through waist-deep mud. They could have a repeat performance of last night, but if Micah was going to risk his career again, he wanted Ruby able to participate. When he’d suggested they go to bed, she hadn’t argued.

  Once on the bed, Micah lowered his shoulder and lifted his head so he could kiss Ruby softly on her lips before she tucked herself into the crook of his arm. The bed creaked as she rolled over onto her side, throwing her arm around him and shifting it to find her most comfortable spot. Her arm started as a heavy weight between his collarbone and his nipples, changed to a bare tingle and then disappeared.