by Virna DePaul
“I need you, Alec,” she panted. “Please, I need you.”
“I got you.” He took ahold of his length and pressed it against her slick entrance. Slowly pushing inside her, they both groaned as he filled her. Ruby felt completely stuffed, down to her toes and fingers, so good and so full, she couldn’t stop imagining him as some forest beast taking her completely, making her his.
Once he was inside her to the hilt, he didn’t move. They both savored the feeling of being joined together again. Why had she been fighting herself for so long? This was pure bliss, this becoming one with Alec. She gasped, squirming, but he held her so tightly she couldn’t get him to move.
“Alec,” she begged. “Please.”
He pressed his forehead against hers. Then he pulled out before thrusting back inside her. Waves of pure bliss rushed throughout her body, and she couldn’t stop herself from making desperate, animal-like noises as he took her with relentless strokes. She grabbed his head and brought him down for a kiss as he pounded inside of her. Their tongues played, and she bit and nipped his lip, sucking on his tongue. It was alarmingly messy, but that was what Ruby liked about it—the raw fucking.
She didn’t care that her back rubbed against the rough wall, or that the sound of their lovemaking could be heard by any of the lawn people outside trimming his hedges. At this point, she didn’t care if Coach or Vincent or Heath or anyone on the team heard them. She didn’t care if Siri was listening in either. She only felt completely satisfied that she was back in Alec’s arms and nowhere else.
“Fuck, baby,” he muttered, and his cock twitched inside of her, as he gritted his teeth and began to come.
She held him close, loving the way he surrendered himself to her embrace. This strong, vibrant, cocky man became putty in her hands when they were together. Her heart soared at that thought—just like I’m his?
He’s mine.
He dropped to his knees, laying her on the floor, which made her gasp. Then she inhaled a sharp breath when he placed her foot on his shoulder, dropped to his elbows, and parted her folds, kissing her with hot, wet licks that sent her flying. He was relentless, flicking her clit with the tip of his tongue, pushing one finger and another inside her clenching sheath. The sound of her wetness only increased his fervor, and the sounds of his lips sucking and laving her only made her climb toward a second orgasm that much quicker. When it hit, it was almost painful in its intensity. She bit her lip to keep from screaming out loud, but her body shook so hard that Alec held her firmly in his arms.
Ruby wrapped herself around him, her mind soaring and body totally sated. When she finally came down from her high and Alec held her breasts close to his cheek, she let herself doze, feeling safe and cared for. There was nothing else. Only his body as he entered her. Only his cock as he plunged deep inside of her. Only his grunting and his animalistic possession of her, as he spilled his seed deep into her with a passion so complete, she nearly felt she was dreaming.
He claimed her.
And she let him. Because he’d won her, fair and square.
Ruby didn’t give herself to random men easily. She didn’t give her body or heart to anyone for that matter. But Alec had sworn to protect her. Sworn to adore her and treat her the way she should be treated, and for that, she would follow him to the ends of the earth.
Chapter 12
That evening, on his way to practice, Alec sat in the Bootleggers’ parking lot and stared straight ahead. There were still twenty minutes before practice and he hadn’t talked to anyone since the news hit this morning. He knew exactly how most people would react. Heath and Kyle would be supportive about his dating Ruby, Coach would tell him to be careful, and Colleen…
Well, Colleen had been texting him all day at various intervals, though he’d done an excellent job of ignoring her. Aside from seeing her name pop up on his notifications, he hadn’t delved into her texts to read any.
Quickly, he glanced at her last text, not wanting to give her any more energy than was necessary. She had texted: Hope you’re happy.
Actually, yes, he wanted to tell her. More than he’d ever been, and things had only gotten started. But so far, he’d gotten Ruby to go out with him, had gotten her into his bed, and both had been part of his dreams. He could only imagine the amazing things to come.
But more important than Colleen was his mother. How could it be that twelve hours had passed since the first website SportsBlog.com had reported about him and Ruby, it’d been shared a thousand times all over Instagram and Twitter, yet Mom hadn’t found out yet?
If he waited any longer, she’d give him an earful.
In the solace of his car, he called his mom and waited. She answered almost immediately. “I was wondering when you’d call me. I’m the last to find everything out, as usual.”
Damn, she’d already heard. Alec winced. “Sorry, it’s been a hectic day.”
“Too hectic to call your mom up and tell her you’ve been dating someone new, I guess.” She sighed. The sounds of pots and pans being shifted around the kitchen sink echoed in the background. No matter how many housekeepers he hired for his mother, the woman insisted on handwashing every night after dinner.
“Mom, why don’t you let Celia do the dishes? I got her so you wouldn’t have to do any manual labor.”
“What’s wrong with manual labor, Alec? I’m not allergic to it. And I’ve told you a thousand times, it gives me something to do. Besides, I let Celia go home early and you’re avoiding my question.”
“Actually, you never asked a question.” He chuckled under his breath. It was his job as her son to give her the hardest time possible, always. “But I did call you before you called me. Don’t I get any points for that?”
Mom’s voice softened. “Well, when you put it that way.” That was the beauty of his relationship with his mom. She would get her beef out right up front then give up the ghost. She could never be mad at him for too long. “So, tell me what’s up, Alec. And please don’t say it’s a publicity stunt, because that would break my heart.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, I hope to God you’re really dating that girl, not just pretending to date her to improve your popularity ratings, or my hopes and dreams would be crushed.”
Alec’s jaw nearly dropped. Since when had his mother held an opinion on the matter of Ruby O’Brien? “Wait, you want me to date Ruby?”
“Alec, I’ve never met her, but from everything I hear, she’s exactly the woman you need. Hardworking, no-nonsense…a girl to keep you in line.”
“I-I couldn’t be any more shocked right now,” Alec scoffed, rubbing his chin. “How do you know anything about her if you’ve never met her? I think, in the last twelve months, I’ve maybe mentioned her to you like…three times? And all three have been about how she’s given me hell when I haven’t behaved.”
“Exactly. That was my first clue. Also, several of your teammates’ moms are fond of Ruby. One mentioned she thought Ruby would be perfect for you. I have to use the pieces I’m given, Alec.”
And this was why he could never pull any wool over his mother’s eyes. “Mom, why don’t you have your own private investigation company again? With the way you pry information out of other people… Good God, woman. You and Nana both.”
“Good thing I do, or I’d never know what’s going on with you. About football and other things, sure, but not about your love life.”
It was true. As much as Alec adored his mother and called her on a weekly basis, he never told her about his romantic involvements. She’d been through enough for one lifetime with Alec’s biological father leaving when he was a baby, all the way through his college years, when she struggled financially, sometimes working three jobs just to support him. It just seemed, to him, that his mother wouldn’t want to hear about his personal train wrecks.
Besides, there was never anyone to tell her about. He had never even mentioned Colleen, until he had to, when she told him about the “baby.” And t
hat had made Alec realize he couldn’t marry Colleen. He’d never even invited her to come meet his mother.
“Because there’s never been a love life to talk about.”
“Hmm.”
The sound of water running then his mother sighing seeped into the line. He could tell she was finishing up in the kitchen to get comfortable in her chair where she usually watched a previously recorded Hallmark movie, never on the Sunday when it aired, because Sundays were reserved for watching him on TV.
“So, Ruby O’Brien, huh? Irish, I take it?”
“Irish descent, most likely,” he replied, realizing he’d never asked Ruby. Suddenly, he wanted to find out everything there was to know about her. “With gorgeous red hair and blue eyes.”
“Of course.”
“What do you mean, of course? I’ve never gone out with a redhead before.”
“Yes, you have.”
“When?”
“In pre-K. Sonia Jones had red hair.”
“Mom, Sonia Jones was four years old.”
“She had red hair, Alec. And she was the first girl I could tell you really, really loved, even at that tender age. You would come home and talk nonstop about her, then one day, I found my roses cut right out of the vase. The same ones you had given me for Mother’s Day. But come Monday morning, they became Sonia’s roses.”
Alec threw his head back and laughed. “I did not.”
“Yes, you did.” He heard the smile in his mother’s voice. “And the teacher called me after school to tell me it was sweet what you did, but you really shouldn’t bring anyone roses unless you had enough for all the girls to share.”
“Are you serious?” Alec laughed. “That’s so wrong.”
“And that’s how I knew I had to watch out for redheads. Or girls who loved football, either one. That day, I cried like a baby.”
“Why?”
“Because I knew one day, it’d be for real. Maybe not Sonia, but some day, someone else would steal your heart, and I wasn’t ready for that.”
“No one will ever take your place in my heart, Mom,” Alec replied.
“I know that, Alec. And when the right woman comes along, I won’t mind sharing your heart with her one bit.”
Why hadn’t he ever made that connection with Sonia Jones before? He’d completely forgotten about her being redhead and how much he followed her around the playground, so much that poor Sonia had told her parents, and the next day, Mrs. Brenfeld moved his desk to the other side of the room.
“So, you haven’t been by in over a month,” Mom said, taking him further along on this guilt trip. “I have some things I need your help with, unless you’re too busy for your dear old mom?”
“No, ma’am. Never too busy. I’ll come by this Saturday. What do you need from me?” Alec heard the first whistle blow and knew he had to get going soon or practice would start without him.
“The porch screen is torn in one corner,” she said, “and the dishwasher keeps getting stuck on the same setting. A bunch of things. I have a whole honey-do list for you.”
“I’ll be happy to take care of those, Mom. Listen, I gotta go. Just wanted to be the first to tell you about Ruby, but I guess I failed you. At least I was the first to tell you that it’s real. Not a publicity stunt. Does that get me anything?”
“A knuckle sandwich.” She laughed. “I know, honey. I’m just giving you a hard time. She’s the one, by the way.”
“What?” he asked, shocked that she would make such a proclamation without even knowing her. “The one?”
“Yes. The one, the love of your life…”
“How do you know that?”
“Because,” she said with all-knowing motherness. “You gave Sonia my roses, and now you gave this Ruby my scarf.”
“Your scarf?” He had to think for a minute. Oh, right. The scarf from this morning. The reporters had already posted the pics from this afternoon. “Damn.”
“Damn is right.” She laughed. “And, Alec?”
“Yes, ma’am?”
“Bring Ruby on Saturday. I want to meet her.”
Chapter 13
Ruby stared at her laptop screen, trying to focus on work, but her mind raced with a million different thoughts. The biggest one burning her brain: if it wasn’t love, then what was it?
It was difficult for Ruby to consider that maybe she was falling hard for Alec LeBrun, but what else could it be? She thought about him nonstop. He made her feel so loved, he cared about her, even bragged about being with her, treated her so nicely, and he was amazing in bed. And out of bed, too. The back patio, the wall in his room… Check, check, check, check!
But for how long?
What if he was being a total sweetheart now, only because he was going through a good period? Because she’d agreed to date him? What guarantee was there that he wouldn’t resort to childish antics again when things didn’t go his way? There was no way she could date the old Alec, the Alec who just made headlines a couple of months ago. And not for good reasons. How could she be sure he’d always be the man she needed him to be?
There were no guarantees.
It was still early, she reminded herself. Romantic feelings were one thing—true love was something else entirely. Even though she’d only had one real boyfriend in her life, she knew enough not to trust those initial honeymoon feelings. Though several friends had called her during the day to find out the juicy bits about dating Alec LeBrun, she couldn’t honestly tell any of them what she was feeling in her heart.
One phrase kept repeating itself: Yep, it’s true! Let’s see where this goes.
Yes, it was too early to tell if she loved him. She was going to have to test him out and see. Give herself time to grow into loving him. Find out what he was really made of. That’s what any sensible woman would do, and Ruby was a sensible, practical woman. No need to jump to conclusions and claim love just yet.
That was her plan, and she would stick to it, she told herself.
Shaking the thoughts from her mind, she went back to putting together a PR plan for another client. She kept reading the same sentence over and over again, because all she could think of was Alec’s laugh, Alec’s smile, Alec’s face between her legs, his eyes whenever he looked up at her, his tongue lapping her up and taking her to that point of no return.
“Fuck, Ruby,” she chastised herself. “Concentrate.”
As if she needed further distraction, her phone rang. Annoyingly reaching for it, she stared at the screen. Her father. “Ugh, don’t feel like dealing with this right now,” she mumbled, but she had to. He was also her boss. “Hey, Dad. Kind of in the middle of something.”
“How’s my sweetheart doing?”
“Your sweetheart is working her ass off.”
“Yes, she is. Saw the pieces on you and LeBrun this morning. I gotta tell you, pure genius, Ruby. How you guys walked out of that restaurant looking like you’d been dating for months is beyond me. Maybe you should’ve gone into acting?” He was in a rare jovial mood, which she knew had to do with the Sports Armour offer.
“Ha, yeah. Totally.”
“You heard from Sports Armour about the news?”
“No, I haven’t, but our meeting is in a few days, and the rep just emailed me the paperwork, so I’m assuming it’s all still a go. I’ll let you know how it goes down then, okay?”
“Yep. Let me know. Oh, and, Ruby?”
“Yes, Dad?”
“I appreciate you going through all this just for the firm.”
“What do you mean?” The firm?
“The whole Alec LeBrun thing. I know you would never be caught dead dating a guy like that, and he doesn’t deserve you. But you’re doing it for me, and I appreciate that.”
Ruby nearly choked on her coffee.
Was that what her father thought? What would he think if she confessed she actually did have feelings for Alec? That she was purposely dating him? That she could conceivably see herself in a long relationship with him? That
she had possibly begun a love relationship with him and hadn’t told him yet? Maybe she underestimated her father, but she felt for certain he’d be disappointed in her.
He said it himself—he doesn’t deserve you.
Well, now she knew what her father truly felt, and that only made things more complicated. She wasn’t sure if Alec deserved her quite yet—it was too early to tell, but she knew she loved being around him. He made her smile and feel like her true self. He took her out of her head and made her have fun. He made her take down her hair!
There was enough going on in her mind without her father’s opinions adding to the mix, so she cut the conversation short. “Sure, Dad. We all benefit from this, don’t we? I’ll talk to you later.”
Hanging up, she leaned back in her chair and blew out a long breath. Man, this was getting crazier by the day. Take it one day at a time, she told herself. That was all she could do. A moment later, her phone rang again, and she answered brusquely. “Ruby speaking.”
“Hey, Red.”
“Alec!” She caught the excitement in her own voice, felt it change tones from annoyed publicist to grinny, goofy girl in love. She toned it down before his ego got any bigger. “How are things on your end? Your tight end. Ha—get it?”
“You made a funny, Red. That’s so cute.”
“Shut up. Tell me what’s up.”
“My mom. She wants to meet you when I drive up to see her this Saturday. Want to come with me?”
“Saturday, as in three days from now? But we’re getting ready for the Sports Armour meeting.”
“That’s not till Monday. Come on, Red. A drive to Charleston, just you and me in the car. I’ll even steal a Ferrari for the joyride. It’ll be fun.”
