“I could say the same to you.” He grins, settling down into the mattress. His big blue eyes scour my face, like he’s taking inventory of my freckles, checking they’re all there. His gaze drops to my lips, and the patch of skin under his eye flickers. He’s nervous. “I was so proud of you today.”
“My first ever match . . . because of you.”
He shakes his head. “No, Rubes. Because ofyou.”
I warm to his compliment, even if I don’t quite believe it. “Maverick did well, didn’t he? He’s so brave. You’re turning him into an amazing pony.”
“Ruby,you’returning him into an amazing pony.” His tone is almost sharp. “Stop putting yourself down. I don’t understand. You’re so confident in everything except when it comes to your own abilities.”
I don’t want to tell him it’s because he’s the only one who’s ever believed in me. Therefore, if I fail, I have one more person to let down besides myself. So I stay quiet and let him think what he wants. We’re quiet for so long, my eyes get heavy again.
Somewhere in the dim bedside light, Miles’s fingertips find mine under the comforter. I already know he’s going to reach for my ruby and play with it like a stress toy.
“Can I ask you something?”
“Hmm.”
“What were you thinking about before the helicopter took off?”
It takes me a second, though I don’t know why. It’s literally all I think about these days when I’m not with the ponies. And my eyes might be closed, but I know Miles stares at me intently, waiting for me to speak.
“Tell me, Rubes.”
“I was thinking about how I felt hearing you cheer me on from the sidelines,” I say, keeping my tone as casual as possible. “And afterward, when you kissed me.”
The room falls silent again, but this time, my body wakes up. There’s an invisible energy that’s always present between us, and right now, it vibrates across my entire body. I imagine it like one of those glass force fields we had in science class—the glass balls you touch with the neon lighting that follows you around.
“I think it’s time to go to sleep,” he whispers, single-handedly crushing me with one sentence.
But then he leans forward, pressing his lips to mine.
We’ve kissed in public. We’ve kissed in front of thousands of people. We’ve kissed in the coffee shop, and there’s the one time we kissed at home. But never in the same bed, wearing very little clothing.
Because if your relationship is fake, why would you?
Except this doesn’t feel fake anymore.
“Good night, Trouble,” he mutters, but his lips stay in place. Tentative. Like he’s giving me the chance to stop this.
Because the second mine part beneath his, everything changes. His fingers tangle with my hair as he deepens his kiss.
Heat rushes through me all at once, and suddenly he’s above me, his weight settling carefully between my thighs.
Every inch of my skin sparks alive beneath him.
My heart pounds so hard it hurts, and nothing is stopping this from going any further. The heaviness of him presses into my hip bone, and I moan.
“Tell me to stop, Ruby.”
I shake my head. I’d sooner die than tell him. “No.”
He groans, and I can’t tell if it’s a plea for me to do as he asked, or that he knows he can’t stop himself because I didn’t.
His lips drag up the column of my throat and his tongue licks across the underside of my jaw while he rises above me, biceps flexed hard to hold his weight hovering inches away from me. His eyes are nothing but navy pools brimming with lust, boring into mine.
“There’s no going back, Rubes. Once this happens, that’s it.” His blue stare pins harder, and I feel his cock twitch between my thighs. “You understand? Once I fuck you, I’m going to keep fucking you.”
“Really?” My chin juts out, desperate to bring my mouth closer to his again. Blood pounds in my ears, my heart is beating at a million miles an hour, and I’m clearly a glutton for punishment when I reply, “Because it seems like you’re not fucking me. You’re just talking.”
