by Lily Harlem
I thought of my ring, nestled safely in my purse.
“I should have asked that the other night, before…” Ruben squeezed my fingers a little. “Sorry.”
“No apologies. I wouldn’t have, well, I wouldn’t have…you know…if I still felt married. But it’s more complicated than that, I don’t feel unmarried.”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, it’s not like we stopped loving each other and went separate ways. He left, but not because he wanted to, because of that damn bad luck you were talking about.”
We paused and crossed the road.
Once safely on the other side and with the cinema in view, I continued. “Till death do us part, that was what we promised each other. We’ve parted, I accept that now, and I’ve also accepted that I’ll never stop loving him, but the heart is a wonderful thing…” I glanced at Ruben as a whip of wind picked up and flattened his gray polo shirt to his pectoral muscles and flat stomach. “There’s lots of room for love in any one heart, of that I’m certain.”
Chapter Ten
The Bond movie was everything it promised to be—full of action, hot men, sexy ladies and a blast of explosions at the end. Ruben had stayed true to his word, and we’d snuggled on the back row in specially designed seats for couples—without the armrests—and munched our way through an enormous tub of butter popcorn.
Stepping outside, into the dark street, I felt a flurry of cool air flick my hair, wrapping it around my cheek.
“Whoa, it’s getting wild.” I said, ducking my head and wishing I’d brought a jacket.
“Shall we get a taxi?” Ruben asked, pointing at a queue of about nine couples waiting at the empty rank.
“No, we’ll be fine, it’s only a few minutes, isn’t it?”
Ruben glanced at the sky. A streak of lightning lit the tall buildings opposite.
“We should get going,” he said as a stormy gust pushed his hair from his face, sending it backward in a soft wave.
We reached for each other’s hands and scurried in the direction of home. But within minutes the first big pellets of rain hit me, soaking through my blouse and onto my skin.
“Ah, yuk,” Ruben said, increasing his pace. “We’re going to get seriously wet.”
I jogged to keep up with him. Several raindrops struck my face, and I said a silent goodbye to my mascara.
Another bolt of lightning brought the dim street into illumination. It was closely followed by a bellow of thunder that rattled through my chest.
I squealed then laughed at my surprised reaction. Ruben tightened his grip on me and broke into a run, weaving us around the trees on the avenue and past several wheelie bins that had been put out for the next morning’s collection.
Soon it was hard to see through the torrential downpour. My hair was plastered to my head, my skinny jeans stuck to my legs and my blouse splattered to my body. The rain smelled fresh as it washed away weeks of dry dust baked onto the pavement and garden walls. It felt welcomingly cool as it sloshed against me and seeped onto my flesh, finding every gulley and dip on my body to drizzle into.
Ruben turned the corner onto my street and glanced at me with a worried frown. “Are you okay?”
“Never better,” I said, grinning and tugging at my sodden blouse.
He returned my smile and pushed a lick of hair from his eyes. “Come on, we’re nearly there.”
We splashed through puddles, pelting spray high up our legs. Another loud giggle burst from me. I felt like a kid playing out in the rain again. Purposely, I headed for an extra large puddle and stomped through it.
Ruben laughed, steered us to the next dip in the pavement, which held a large expanse of water, and we did the same again, in synchrony. Water burst upward hitting my thighs.
A car went past, the sound of its tires on the liquid surface of the road a noise I hadn’t heard for weeks. It sent a puddle arcing our way. Just before it sprayed us the brief image of the slash of raindrops streaking in front of its headlights burned into my mind. We grabbed each other and turned away. I nestled my head in the crook of Ruben’s shoulder as we hollered our fake rage at the driver for soaking us.
A fun memory logged into my new register of Katie’s happy times.
Ruben hurried us along, until eventually we splashed up to the entrance of my flat. We dashed in. Although being wet to my underwear, I couldn’t see how another few seconds in the downpour would make any difference.
I was out of breath as I hunted for my key and climbed the one set of stairs to home. It was hard to even see into my bag; water was streaking down my face and my hair was hanging in rats’ tails around my eyes. Eventually I found the key and shoved it into the lock.
“Phew, thank goodness,” I said, stepping into my flat.
Ruben hurried in behind me and shut the door.
“I’ll grab us some towels,” I said, dashing to the laundry pile. I retrieved a couple of freshly washed pink towels that smelled of fabric conditioner and passed one to Ruben.
He took it and dropped it over his head, rubbed vigorously. I did the same to mine and toed off my sandals at the same time. I dabbed my face, collected an oasis sitting in the groove of my throat and patted beneath my eyes, hoping I wasn’t displaying a panda look.
Ruben buried his face in the towel then dropped it to one side. “I don’t think I’ve ever got so wet so fast,” he said, trying and failing to flatten his now fluffed up hair.
“It was fun,” I said. “I’d forgotten how much I like to splash through puddles or how much I enjoy a good storm.”
As I’d said the last word a tremendous boom, accompanied by white light, filled my flat.
I jumped and let out a slightly hysterical squeak. “Well, that’s maybe a bit too close for comfort.”
Ruben smiled, but then the smile fell. His gaze dipped and he stepped up to me. “Did you know your blouse is see-through?”
“Is it?” I glanced down, automatically pressing my arm over my breasts.
He caught my hand, tugged it to my side. “The best type of blouse as far as I’m concerned.”
My white blouse had indeed turned transparent, highlighting my white cotton bra and the small pebbles my nipples had become in the cool rain. I could just make them out, dark disks beneath white material.
“Ruben, I…”
Suddenly I was face-to-face with him. He’d picked me up, arms tight around my body and our chests pressing together. My bare feet were dangling.
I put my hands on his shoulders and stared at his face. His lashes were still heavy with water and had become tiny triangular points. A large drip was rolling from his right temple into the fuzz of hair by his ear.
“I think it’s time,” he said, his lips almost touching mine. “To pay my debt.”
Beneath his wet clothes, his body felt hot and hard. There was also a seriously sexy glint in his eye that held determination and lust—a delicious combination.
I pushed my hands through his damp hair and kissed him. Was vaguely aware of him walking, heading to my bedroom, as our tongues weaved together. I slanted my head, deepened the kiss, and he moaned gently, feeding me more of what I wanted.
Ruben Strong.
He set me on the edge of the bed, his mouth not leaving mine. I was wet, turned on, scared and excited. It was like living in a cloud, someone else’s life. But it was mine. My life. And I was here with Ruben, gorgeous Ruben who was acting like he was more than ready to give me what I was owed.
He kissed across my cheek, his hands busy roaming down my chest and my stomach, seeking out my fly button.
I tugged at his top, wanting the wet material out of our way.
He paused to fist it between his shoulder blades and drag it over his head.
His chest was beautiful, the hair damp and flat with rain, his nipples, like mine, taut and hard. I looked at the scar, smooth and pink, and the neat trail of hair that feathered across his stomach and disappeared into his jeans.
“Say yes
,” he said, kissing my right breast through my top and bra. “Katie, say yes.”
“Yes,” I murmured, laying fully back and trying to push at my trousers. “Yes, Ruben, yes.”
He kneeled between my legs, helped me drag my jeans past my hips and over my buttocks. Peeling away the tight material that was clinging to my skin. He worked fast, his hands gripping and tugging the denim downward.
Eventually they bunched at my ankles and with a final jerk were off.
He shoved them aside and kissed my knee then my thigh, his lips and hands warm on my cool, damp flesh.
I dropped back on the bed again, folded my arms over my face. This was the first time I’d been this intimate with another man. Matt had always said he loved giving me oral, but would Ruben? What if I wasn’t what he expected? What if all those supermodels and glamorous girls had been his type and I just wasn’t up to his standard?
“Lift,” he murmured, his breath a hot breeze on my lower stomach. He gripped the waistband of my little white knickers.
I did as he’d asked. Let him pull them down my legs then over first one foot then the other, my arms still over my face.
“Katie, look at me,” he said, running his hands up my inner thighs, his thumbs sweeping very near my intimate folds.
I gasped, tensed.
“Katie.” He stilled.
I pulled my arms away. Looked down.
He was staring up at me from between my legs, his eyes wide, pupils dilated and a hint of redness on his cheeks. “I’ve been thinking of this moment for days,” he said. “Giving you the same pleasure you gave me, but if you don’t…”
“Yes,” I said, touching his cheek, the one with the mole. “I want you to, it’s just…different.”
“I know.” He dropped a kiss to my inner thigh then shifted upward and set one over my small strip of pubic hair. “But you know you talked about we, us?”
“Yes.”
“Then let’s be us.” His eyes were earnest, his longing almost tangible. “Let me make you come, Katie. Because we’re so good together, and I just have to be with you, touching you, tasting you.” He shut his eyes, poked out his tongue, and wound the tip into my folds, spreading the soft flesh and gently searching.
“Ahhh…” My spine stiffened. A weight grew in my pussy, a good weight, one that needed feeding.
He found my clit and created a delicious suction. He suckled some more and rotated the small bead with his tongue.
I gripped the sheet. “Oh…”
Ruben searched out my entrance, one finger toying with me in delicate strokes and probes. He found it and pushed in, his slide to knuckle-deep easy.
I was wet for him, a different type of wet to the rain. This was sexy wet just for him and made the rich, filling sensation all the more welcome.
Keeping my eyes open, I watched his head moving, his hair shifting and his long, straight nose burying in my mound. I curled my toes and moved my hips in time with his ministrations, loving the almost forgotten sensation of building to climax. After a few minutes he increased the pressure and the speed.
Red-hot darts of lust rocketed through me, every nerve on high alert. I let my head fall to the bed, shut my eyes and grabbed his hair. I wanted to shunt my pussy into his face, ride his hand. “Oh, God, yes, Ruben, don’t stop, it’s so good.”
He added another finger, applied pressure to my G-spot. The density of the sensations multiplied. I thrashed my head from side to side, drew up my knees and fastened them against his shoulders.
He suckled my clit harder, working it with his tongue and increasing the pace at which he pounded my G-spot with the tips of his strong fingers. The point of no return besieged me. I held my breath, allowed blackness and bliss to consume my body for a few sweeter than sweet seconds until an avalanche of release crashed through me.
I pulled at Ruben’s hair, bowed from the bed, dug my heels into his back. I wanted more yet it was too much. “Ah, that’s it, oh, oh…”
My pussy was spasming around his buried fingers, my clit bobbing in his mouth. Soft, juicy noises filled my ears along with the sounds of my ragged breathing and racing pulse.
“Please,” I said, squirming. “Please, that’s it…” I needed to catch my breath, orientate myself. Damn, that had felt good. Mind-blowingly good.
He released me, pulled his fingers from my pussy and sat back on his heels.
I shunted myself onto the bed fully, pressed my legs together and flopped backward on the pillow. After allowing another orgasmic shiver to control my body, I released a whimpering sigh.
A warm glow of satisfaction nestled in my core.
Ruben was up and over me, his hand against my cheek. “Are you all right?”
“Yes, oh yes.” I smiled up at him. His face was damp, his cheeks a deeper shade of red. “Thank you.”
“Bloody hell, don’t thank me. That was incredible, you are incredible. So responsive.”
“Well, it’s been a while. I suppose some tension had built up.”
He kissed me through a self-satisfied smile, and I tasted the sweet muskiness of myself.
His wet jeans skimmed my thigh, and I touched the waistband of them and broke the kiss. “You should get out of these wet things.”
“So should you.” He plucked at a button on my blouse. “You’ll make the bed damp.”
Another shock of thunder blasted down. The window rattled as a fresh torrent of rain barraged the pane.
“It’s horrible out there. Bed is the safest place for us,” I said, quickly removing my top and bra. I needed skin on skin, the touch of his body against mine. Him leaving now wasn’t an option. I’d known all along it wouldn’t be.
“Good plan.” He shucked off his jeans and boxers and then stooped for his wallet.
“Don’t worry about it,” I said, guessing he was retrieving a condom.
“But?”
“I’m on the pill, it suits me for other reasons.”
He put his wallet on top of his trousers. “And we’re so out of the game we’re both clean.”
I nodded, and we slipped beneath the covers as another roar tumbled across the sky and shook the lampshade.
The bottom sheet was cool on my bare skin, and the duvet fluffed over me with a waft of soap-powder-laced air. Ruben pressed up to my side, his nakedness sending a shiver of longing through my entire body.
He stopped moving against me. “Katie?”
“I’m fine.” I slid my hand around his waist, turned and faced him. “I just never thought when I was with Matt that I’d one day be in bed with another man.”
“I’m so sorry. I—”
“No, don’t be sorry, Ruben. It’s not your fault.”
“I know, but if he hadn’t died I wouldn’t be here.”
A stutter of air caught in my throat. How true that was, but not in the way Ruben had meant it. I slid my hand from his waist up to his chest, rested the heel of my palm over his left nipple.
“Do you still feel like he’s with you sometimes?” Ruben whispered, touching my cheek.
“Yes.” I could feel his heart right now. “Sometimes, when I’m in that hazy moment between sleep and awake, before I remember that he’s gone, I imagine he’s with me and it feels so real.” I gave a sad smile. “It’s just my brain playing tricks on me, cruel tricks.”
Ruben scrunched his eyebrows together, as though what I’d said had hurt him too. “That must be difficult.”
“Yes, but…” A realization dawned on me. “It’s happening less and less, since I met you.” I swept my fingertips over his collarbone, drew a circle on his rounded shoulder then traced a line up his neck to the corner of his jaw. “You make me feel like I have a reason to get up in the morning again.”
His eyes flicked a little as he looked between mine. “And you make me feel like I truly am alive again. For so long I was just living in a wrecked shell. Even after the op, it was months before any kind of normality returned, but now, this, here.” He pushed my hair back fr
om my forehead, touched his lips to the tip of my nose. “There were plenty of times when I never thought I’d make love to a woman again. And a beautiful one at that. Right now I feel like the luckiest man on earth and I wouldn’t change a thing about my past because it’s all led to this moment, here with you.”
A familiar tingle stung my eyes. I blinked and swallowed.
“Don’t cry.” He kissed my cheek, his prickly chin a tiny bit sharp.
“I, it’s just complicated.” I gripped his other arm, felt his biceps tense. “I’m happy to be here with you, but still, I would change Matt dying in a heartbeat.”
“Of course you would. I know you would, so would I.”
“But—” Would he, though? If he knew the truth?
“Shh,” he said. “Let’s live for the here and now and this new way to be ourselves, but together. Katie and Ruben back from Hell.”
“Yes.” That made sense, this was the new me. Ruben was the new man in my life. There was still a connection to the old Katie, but it was Ruben holding me, touching me, comforting me. And I was bloody glad to see the back of Hell, not a place I intended visiting again.
But damn, Ruben was hot. Not only that his hard cock pressing into my thigh was beyond tempting. Despite my recent orgasm, another wave of longing rushed through me. Longing for closeness, connection, us finding our pleasure together.
“Ruben,” I said, winding my legs with his and feeling the hairs on his shins tickling my flesh. “Make love to me.”
He pressed his lips against mine. “With pleasure.”
He shifted, and I parted my thighs, let him settle between them.
His weight above me was a fresh sensation, one I’d missed for so long I’d forgotten how it felt. He took his weight on his elbows, cupped the nape of my neck in a gentle squeeze and stared down at me.
