“Okay. Three. Two. One.” Ruth counts down and we press play at the same time. I see the intro sequence to the movie reflect in the lenses of her glasses, just a split second out of time with the movie playing on my own TV.
“This is my favourite,” Ruth says over the intro music with a happy sigh. She pushes her bowl out of view and tugs a fuzzy blanket up around her shoulders, nestling into the corner of the sofa with a peaceful smile on her lips.
I’ll admit it: I spend more of the movie watching Ruth than the TV. I love the way she still laughs at every joke, even though she’s apparently seen it hundreds of times. I love the way she still gasps, frowns, smiles through every twist and turn in the plot like she has no idea what’s coming.
And, okay, fine. I enjoyed it, too. I didn’t expect to, but the peppy blonde underdog caught me, and I found myself rooting for her unexpectedly. It’s a surprisingly enjoyable movie, and I see why Ruth loves it so much.
Watching her watch it only makes me miss her more. The sound of her laugh is high and tinny through the speakers of my phone, and the vivid flashback to hearing that laugh from the passenger seat of my truck damn near knocks me sideways.
It’s not just my hormones falling for this woman anymore. I don’t think it ever has been. But now I know for damn sure: it’s my heart, too.
Chapter seventeen
Everett
Two days later, Ifinally make the drive out to Austin to the airport, and hurry through the mass of slow walkers until I reach the Welcome to Austin sign opposite the arrivals door. I bounce impatiently on the balls of my feet. Despite my—admittedly, quite small—height advantage over most of the people in here, I find myself on tiptoes, peering through the crowd for a glimpse of Ruth as people begin to filter into the arrivals hall. It’s another ten agonising minutes of waiting before she appears like a desert mirage, tan skin glowing beneath her grown-out bangs. She pushes them out of her face with the back of her hand before she spots me, and she moves like a ninja through the hordes of people until she’s standing right in front of me. My mouth goes dry and my skin feels tight, like I could burst out of my own body at any second.
It’s like we choreographed it. First, we’re face to face, eyes locked. And then suddenly, she’s in my arms and our lips are colliding in a bruising kiss. As first kisses go, this one is easily the best I’ve ever had. It’s hard and passionate, tongues sliding together hungrily, battling for dominance. I moan into her mouth, a deep rumble from my chest that I can’t hold back as I get my first taste of Ruth’s tongue rubbing against mine. Her lips quirk against mine, smiling into the kiss, and I pull her closer, grip her hips tighter.
The way my body, heart and soul feel like they were made solely for this woman in my arms is enough to take me out at the knees. I take a tiny step to the side, widening my stance just slightly and trying to stay upright.
“Hi,” she breathes, breaking the kiss to come up for air. Her lips are pink and swollen, cheeks flushed, and she’s never been more beautiful. “Is this okay?”
“It’s more than okay, baby girl. Fuck, it’s good to see you.” I dip my head to steal another kiss before taking her hand and leading her back to my truck.
Mercifully, there’s no traffic, and we make it back to the ranch in record time. This time, I make straight for my cabin, and unload Ruth’s bags into my hallway before we swap the truck for an ATV I’d left outside earlier.
For as long as the terrain allows, I drive it with one hand on the wheel and the other tangled with Ruth’s, until we reach my favourite spot on the ridge.
“God, it’s beautiful out here. I almost forgot how big the sky is.”
We’re on the ridge in the middle of the property, almost at the point where the working ranch ends and wilderness begins. From here, you can see across the plains and halfway out to Austin. We brought the side-by-side ATV out here. We have two of them, and they’re perfect for getting us across the ranch together. I round the vehicle and offer a hand to help Ruth out, and she hops down to the dirt.
“You’re beautiful,” I say. “Come here.”
I pull her to me, slipping my hand down and gripping her waist. I pull her body against mine and use my free hand to toss my hat on the ATV’s bench seat as I dip my head to hers. All I’ve been able to think about since meeting her at the airport is getting another taste of her lips, the cherry gloss, the sweet caramel and coffee flavour ofher tongue. My cock stirs in my pants as she opens her mouth for me, moaning into the kiss. I sweep my tongue inside, licking against her lips and her tongue, exploring, claiming.
Fuck, I’ve never known a kiss like this. It’s hot and it’s all-consuming, and it makes my head spin with the overwhelming need to be closer. I spin us around, backing her up against the side-by-side and bracing a hand on the vehicle beside her head. I press my thigh between Ruth’s legs and grab her ass, squeezing the firm muscle in my hands and forcing her down on my leg. Good lord above, if this woman’s mouth doesn’t kill me, I think her body will.
She whimpers as I press harder, and I return it with another moan. My cock is already hard between us, pressing into her belly, and I know she feels it from the way she arches into me. She rubs herself against my thigh, seeking friction from the worn denim covering my legs. Fuck, I’m so wound up, so turned on, and all we’ve done is kiss—finally—and now a little dry humping.
But this woman, what she does to me… it’s something I’ve never known. No woman has ever made me feel so utterly spun out, so thoroughly enchanted, so wildly and completely hung up on every single word. No woman has ever made me so hard after just one fucking kiss.
A moment ago, there were so many thoughts in my head. Things I could tell Ruth about the ranch, about the land we’re on. Things I want to show her while she’s here, places I want to take her. All the things she makes me feel, the unfamiliar, dizzying emotions she’s stirring within me. But with her lips on mine, her legs straddling mine, her hands pawing greedily at the fabric of my flannel shirt as she flings it from my shoulders and tosses it to the ground… all I can think isRuth.
Ruth breaks the kiss to gasp for air, still rocking against my thigh, and with her lips against mine, she moans lowly. She rocks harder, twisting her hips against me, and I apply upward pressure with my thigh. I can feel a damp spot forming, her arousal soaking through both her shorts and my jeans.
“You like it when I’m between your legs, baby girl?” I can barely speak, my voice low and rumbling as Ruth makes my head spin. She hums a happy agreement, running her hands down my sides, slipping them under my tank top and back up to my chest, her fingertips warm against my bare skin. Flames ignite everywhere she touches. Her red fingernails rake lightly over my skin and fuck, what I wouldn’t give to see them wrapped around my cock later. I raise my hands to her waist, tugging her tank top from the waistband of her shorts and sliding my hands beneath it. Her skin is so soft and warm, and I tease my fingertips along her ribcage, brushing her skin with the pads of my thumbs. She shivers at my touch as I seal my mouth against hers again.
I bring my hands higher to find the strap of her bra, and with deft fingers, I unclip it and flip it out of the way. Her tits are small and perfectly round, with nipples pointed and hard and begging for my attention. I rub them with my thumbs, squeezing her soft skin in my palms. A perfect fit.
She rides my thigh, rocking against me as I tear my lips from hers, kissing a wet line along her jaw to her ear, licking the spot just below it and sucking the lobe into my mouth. Each flick of my tongue elicits a gasp or a breathy whimper and I smirk against her skin, pressing open-mouthed kisses down the column of her throat to the hollow between her collarbones. I can’t help but imagine what it would feel like to have her riding my cock, squeezing me, head thrown back with the same look of ecstasy on her face as she has now, as I scrape my teeth lightly along her throat and jaw.
“You’re fucking soaked for me, baby girl,” I whisper with my mouth beside her ear. “And I’ve barely even touched you.”
“Ev,” she breathes. Her whole body is trembling as she presses her core into my thigh, rocking against me. I pull back to look at her, then crash my lips to hers again. I can’t get enough of her mouth. Fuck, she’s gorgeous, mewling into my kiss, coming undone like this in my hands.
“What would I find if I slipped my hand inside these shorts, hmm?”
