The It's Kind Of Personal (Complete 6 Book Series)ies

by Anna Brooks

  If she only knew. “Really?”

  “Yes.” Her feet fall to the floor and she reaches down to grab hold of my dick through my shorts.

  “Whatever I want?”

  “Umm, hmm.”

  “If I told you I wanted you to get on your knees so I could fuck that pretty mouth? What would you say?”

  Her tongue darts out to moisten her lips and she nods.

  “That’s not an answer, angel.”

  “I’d say okay.”

  “Okay?”

  “Yes.”

  I grab her wrist and gently bend her arm so it’s behind her back. “Do you want my cock in your mouth?”

  “Yes.”

  I reach for the waistband of my shorts and push them down to my ankles, then do the same to her jeans. She slides her hand under the waistband of my boxer briefs and the moment her hand wraps around me, I fall forward and slam my mouth to hers.

  She pulls her arm out from behind her back and pushes my boxers down and I do the same to her. “You first, baby, but it’s gonna be fast because just the thought of your lips wrapped around me is too much.”

  “Fast is good.”

  My fingers slide across her hipbone to her wet center, and without a warning, I press two of my fingers inside her.

  “Oh, God.” Her hips thrust up and her fist tightens around me.

  I use my other hand and rub circles around her clit, not quite giving her everything she needs. Her breath comes out in lustful pants, needy and desperate for release, but I continue avoiding her swollen bud.

  “Please, Pierce.”

  Selfishly, I don’t know how much longer I can hold off, so I press my thumb on her clit and increase the pace of my fingers fucking her tightness. In a matter of seconds, her walls grip my fingers and her hand around my cock stills as she explodes and screams my name. There is absolutely nothing better in this world than hearing that.

  Her eyes slowly open and a wicked smile curves her lips before she falls to her knees and sucks me into her warm, wet mouth without warning.

  My body goes into another dimension at the contact. “Fuck, Ruby. Shit.” If I thought this was going to make my knees weak, I would have at least lain down.

  I begin to lean forward to grip the concrete wall so I don’t fall over, but when I lift my hand, I see her juice covering it and stick my fingers in my mouth to suck it off. Her sweet flavor hits my tongue, and I don’t have time to warn her that I’m about to come, but she takes it all down her throat like a fuckin’ champ. Completely spent, and after years of anticipation, I fall to the ground and pull her into my arms.

  “That was phenomenal, baby. Fuck, that was good.”

  She nods against my chest, and I kiss the side of her head.

  “One taste of you and I couldn’t hold back anymore … you’ve got me so far gone, Ruby. I’m never letting you go. I hope you know that.”

  Ruby’s cheeks are flushed and her hair a big rat’s nest. Our chests heave from the erratic breathing. She stares at me, her obscure eyes not moving from my own. Her eyelids slowly lower as she blinks, and when they flutter open again, certainty replaces the confusion that was in them moments ago.

  “Come meet my mom.”

  I can’t help the chuckle that escapes me, that that’s the first thing she says to me after I came in her mouth.

  “Sorry, I know, I know. But I want you to come with me tonight.”

  I laugh again and she giggles along with me. “Oh, my God. I was thinking about how I never want to let you go either and part of me is that aspect of my life. So it just popped up.”

  Again, I laugh, and she shakes her head. “Shut up. You know what I meant.”

  “I do. Sorry. You’re just so cute, and I can’t help that I have sex on the brain with you.”

  I reluctantly stand up and we both fix our clothes. Our toes are practically touching, so it’s not much distance for me to lean and kiss her swollen lips. “Let’s go.” My pinky finger locks with hers, and she follows me out, grabbing her bag on the way.

  I wait for her to pull out ahead of me and get stuck behind a slow driver at a four-way stop. Ruby’s taillights fade as they round a corner ahead, and a text lights up when I’m at the stoplight before her house.

  Angel: No parking spots in back. Park in the street, sorry.

  I have to turn around in the cul-de-sac and park across from her apartment. When I walk down the driveway that runs along her building to where she normally parks, a man’s voice causes me to walk a little faster. I turn the corner and find Ruby talking with a man who looks pissed off. Her eyes catch mine, and I immediately hurry to stand next to her, wrap an arm around her waist, and take a step back from the guy.

  “Who are you?” he asks.

  “This is Pierce.” She puts a hand on my chest and gives me a weak smile. “Pierce, this is Eddie.”

  “Who are you?” I ask, not giving a shit that she knows him. The way he’s looking at her, leering almost, is making me want to punch his pretty boy face.

  “I’m Ruby’s husband.”

  Chapter 19

  Ruby

  “HE’S YOUR WHAT?” PIERCE doesn’t take his eyes off Eddie, but he’s clearly directing the question at me.

  “It’s not like that, Pierce. I can explain, I promise. Damn it, Eddie.” I try to pry Pierce’s fingers off my waist and separate myself from him because I need to get Eddie out of here, but his fingers hold firm. “Can you please go and we’ll talk later?”

  “No. You talk now,” Pierce insists.

  “He won’t hurt me. Just let me get him gone.”

  “I’m right here, Ruby. Don’t talk about me like I’m not standing three feet in front of you.”

  “Shut up, Eddie. Why did you come here anyway?” This is not how I wanted the night to go. I thought Pierce was finally going to meet my mom, that we’d start moving forward with our relationship, but then Eddie had to go and ruin it. “I told you I never wanted to talk to you again.”

  “Well, life doesn’t always work out how you plan it, now does it?” Eddie’s voice resembles one of a teenage girl throwing a tantrum.

  “Oh, please. Don’t even try to play the pity card. You—”

  “Will someone tell me what the fuck is going on?” Pierce interrupts me, and the anger in his voices causes a chill to run down my spine. “Ruby, I swear to Christ, you need to start explaining before I lose my shit.” He steps into my line of vision — his chest heaving, his jaw locked tight, and his focus solely on Eddie … ready to strike, maim, murder.

  “Got yourself a possessive one, Ruby. That surprises me.” Eddie winks at me. “’Cause, ya know, you never liked that shit in the bed—”

  I don’t even see Pierce’s fist; it flies so fast, striking Eddie’s face. Pierce grabs me and pushes me a couple of feet away; I stumble and scrape my palm on the side of the building so I don’t fall.

  “One more word about her like that and I’ll shatter every bone in your fucking face.” I hate to admit that Pierce pissed off is hot, but damn, my panties are soaking right now. I know Eddie wouldn’t even be able to push Pierce, let alone hit him, so I’m not worried about that.

  I scurry to get between the two of them, knowing Pierce is about to do something he’ll regret. Eddie’s harmless; I’m not afraid of him in the least. “Eddie, please just tell me what you want so you can go.” Pierce pulls me back so I’m leaning against his strong chest. To show him support, I reach back with one hand and hold onto his leg.

  Eddie wipes a drop of blood off his cheek and shakes his head. “Damn it.” He takes a handkerchief out of his coat pocket and holds it to his face to absorb some of the blood.

  My hair flies around my face from the heavy breaths Pierce is taking. I’ve never seen him so mad before.

  “Here.” Eddie reaches in his suit coat and pulls out an envelope and a pen with his other hand. “Sign.”

  “Why didn’t you just mail them?” I grab the papers out of the envelope.


  He looks over my shoulder to Pierce and then back at me. “I wanted to see you one more time.”

  “Ruby …” Pierce warns, his patience being tested.

  “These are divorce papers.” I hold them up for Pierce to see. “He was supposed to mail them, but …” I shrug and sign my name, flipping through the seven-page document in record time. I have nothing for Eddie to take, and I don’t want anything from him, so it was pretty straightforward. As soon as I’m done, I fold them back up and hand them to Eddie. “Here. Good-bye.”

  Pierce picks my purse up from the ground and hands it to me. I turn to walk inside, but Eddie grabs my arm. “Wait.” He releases it right away and holds his hands up in surrender as Pierce steps closer to him.

  “I just wanted to say I’m sorry, okay? You didn’t deserve things to happen the way they did, Ruby. I hope you find happiness.” Eddie looks down and walks back a couple of steps, then turns and gets into the big black SUV that I didn’t even notice when I first pulled into my spot.

  Before I even get the key into the lock, Pierce walks away and puts his hands on his hips. He closes his eyes then tilts his head up and takes a few deep breaths. My forehead hits the door a couple of times before I twist my body to lean on the door, pissed as hell I have to explain this to him now. I wanted to do it on my terms when I was ready.

  “If you’re not going to be able to talk to me in there,”—he points to the building—“then you’re coming home with me, ’cause you’ve gotta tell me what the hell that was.”

  “I know.”

  “Well?” He crosses his arms.

  “Let me just run in and check on my mom, then I’ll come to your place. I don’t have my own room since it’s only a two bedroom, so there’s not a lot of privacy.”

  “I’ll wait for you out front.” He swivels on his heels, mind set.

  “That’s inconvenient, Pierce. I don’t want you to have to drive me back here later.”

  His legs stop so fast that his upper body sways forward before he turns around to backtrack. He cages me in with his forearms on either side of my head and bends his knees so we’re face-to-face. “You are never an inconvenience, Ruby. You’re everything to me, and I’d do anything for you … whenever and wherever. This isn’t about a ride. It’s about me having you with me. I need you to be with me.”

  Unable to hold his intense gaze, I close my eyes, amazed I’ve found such a wonderful man, one who is giving me the benefit of the doubt without a second thought. And I get to tell him the dirty details of the shit storm that is my life. “I should have my car, though, because once you know the truth, you might want me to leave.”

  “No,” he snaps. “Look at me, angel.” I reluctantly open my eyes again. He rubs his nose against mine. “That’s not going to happen, Ruby. That’d never happen. Trust me, okay? I just found out you’re married and I’m still here, aren’t I?”

  He’s right. But I don’t want to give in to the fact that this might be a reason he doesn’t want to be with me anymore. I wanted to prolong this so I could be happy a little while longer … wanted to make more memories so I could continue to scribble my stories down. But I can’t be selfish anymore.

  “I’ll be right out.”

  Mom’s still up when I walk in and she smiles eagerly. “Ruby, I’m so glad you’re home.”

  “Hi, Mom.” I sit on her bed, across from the chair she’s sitting in. “Have a good day?”

  “Yes, it was great. Lucy and I made these blankets.” She holds up one of those fleece tie blankets. “Here, this one’s for you.”

  I take the one adorned with flowers and rub the soft material on my cheek. “Thanks, Mom. It’s great.”

  “I’m glad you like it. Do you know when your brother is going to be home? I want to give him his.” She pats the folded up blanket with green and brown Army camouflage on it.

  I wish I had the energy to do more right now, but with Pierce being outside, I disgust myself with what I’m about to say. “Probably not for a while. He had to work late. Why don’t you go to bed so you can give it to him in the morning?” Horrible. I’m a horrible person to want her to sleep so I can go off and talk to Pierce.

  “That’s probably a good idea. I am tired and my hands hurt from tying those knots all day.”

  I shoot Pierce a text telling him I’m going to be a few minutes longer than I thought, then help my mom get ready for bed. Once she’s tucked in and her eyelids heavy, I shut her door and meet Lucy in the kitchen.

  “She’s almost asleep. I’m going to go to Pierce’s if you’re okay with it. Eddie showed up with divorce papers and Pierce was here because I was going to introduce him to Mom, but now I need to go explain to him why I never told him I’m married.”

  “Oh, Ruby.”

  “It’s okay. He’s waiting, though. Call me if you need me.”

  “Of course, of course.” She pats my arm. “Take all the time you need.”

  Normally not a hugger, and I surprise Lucy when I pull her into my arms. “Thank you. I don’t know what I would do without you.”

  She squeezes me back. “Same here.”

  Pierce is leaning on his car, ankles crossed, looking down at his phone. God, he’s so sexy, and the best part is he doesn’t even realize it. I had encountered so many men at the casino who were so cocky. How they walked, what they wore, the way they treated people. Like just because they were blessed with a sharp jawline they were better than everyone else. I appreciate the male body as much as the next woman, but something is so unbelievably sexy about a man who doesn’t flaunt it.

  Pierce tucks his phone in his pocket and opens the door for me. I slide in the cool leather seat and track him until he’s sitting next to me. Once he pulls away, he reaches over and grabs my hand, his fingers tapping my palm. We don’t live that far from each other, apparently, so a short but silent ten minutes later, he’s helping me out of the car and leading me to his condo.

  “Want something to drink?” He tosses his keys on a small table right inside the front door and walks directly into the kitchen.

  “No, thanks.”

  The fridge light shines in the dark space, and he leans over to flip on a light switch then grabs a bottle of water and walks to the open concept living room. “Come sit.” He drinks about a quarter of the water and caps the bottle then tosses it on the floor by his feet.

  I sit on the opposite end of the couch and fiddle with my fingers. “So I suppose you want to know why I’m married, huh?”

  “Yeah, that would be nice, Ruby. I think I deserve that, don’t you?”

  “Yes, absolutely.” I slide off my flats and cross my legs. “The first night I met you was one of the best of my life. I already told you a bit about how I grew up, so you know that I was sheltered, I guess. Anyway, the week before that, I’d just turned eighteen and I was dying to get out of that place.”

  “Where were you going to go?”

  “I don’t know. College, maybe. I’d applied to some and gotten in, but every time I brought it up, my dad brushed it off. I didn’t even care if it was college or not, I just wanted to leave.”

  “Why didn’t you?”

  “Fear. You have to understand. I didn’t know anything else. I had dreams about what I would do, but when it came down to it, I didn’t have money of my own. I had Stan on my ass, and my dad refused to discuss a future for me, so I was just stuck, I guess. I threatened to run away so many times, but every time I built up the courage to do it, Stan caught me.”

  He sits up a little straighter. “You don’t cross me as the type of person who lets people push her around.”

  “When you don’t know any better, it’s hard to change your ways. It wasn’t until I got older, I’d say sixteen-ish, that I realized how fucked up my life was. Anyway, all this is neither here nor there.”

  “Yeah, it is, Ruby. It helps me understand you better.”

  “Well, anyway, as I was saying, that first night on the roof was just … I don’t even have any wo
rds. It opened up an entirely new world of possibilities. So the next day, I had to meet my dad for a dinner. I did this all the time, played the role of obedient daughter while he schmoozed clients. When I went to his suite, I was greeted by him and … Edward Tellano.”

  “Eddie?” Pierce asks with an edge in his tone.

  “Yup. I was never informed that this was something other than a normal dinner, so when Eddie and my dad walked away, my mom pulled me aside and begged me to behave. She knew I felt trapped and that I was ready to run.”

  I remember telling her before all that happened that I’d die before I let myself become like her, living in a casino for the rest of my life but not actually living. Her eyes welled with tears, but I ignored it, determined to do better for myself yet not knowing how. Praying she’d help me and wishing she’d be the mother I always wanted her to be. But no, she was the perfect submissive wife, just as my father wanted her.

  “Ruby?” His voice stirs me out of my memory.

  “Yeah, sorry.” I shake my head and continue. “So as I was talking to my mom trying to figure out what was going on … I kind of suspected, but then Eddie’s dad came in and asked where his future daughter-in-law was. Then I knew for sure what was happening. I can’t tell you why I stayed or why I went along with it, but I did. I didn’t have a choice when it came down to it. My dad had hands in the police department, and when you have as much money as he does, people did whatever he wanted.”

  “Jesus.”

  “Yeah, well, Eddie was coming to collect me the following afternoon, so the second night we had on the roof was the last night—”

  “Hold up.” He stands and paces in front of the coffee table. “You knew that night what was going to happen, and you didn’t ask me for help or tell me so I could figure out a way for you to get out of it?”

  “You don’t understand, Pierce. I didn’t know any better, and Stan threatened me all the time to stay away from guys. If he ever saw me talking to one, they’d get kicked out of the casino with bruises they didn’t come with. I didn’t want you to get hurt ’cause of me, but if I would have been smarter, then yes, I would have told you.”