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Heath felt as though his head was swimming. He couldn’t see straight. All he could think about was being alone with Ruby. “Here’s the problem.”
“Okay...”
“We wait until midnight. Which is going to be hard for me because, right now, I want you so bad that I can barely form coherent sentences.”
“I don’t know. You’re doing pretty well for yourself right now.”
He laughed, which at least helped to loosen the tension in his body. “Just listen a second.” He pulled her even closer, flattening his hand against the center of her back and holding her flush against him, if only to soak up more of her body heat. “The problem is that I’m going to kiss you when the clock strikes twelve. And once that happens, I’m not going to want to stop. And as much as I would love to give this town some more to say about me, they’d start saying those things about you, too, and I can’t live with that.”
She bit down on her lip, staring up into his eyes. “You are a mystery to me, Heath Thurston, but I do love watching your mind at work.”
“So? Can I convince you to skip the countdown to midnight and come back to my place now?”
She unleashed half a grin, eased up onto her toes and planted a soft, wet kiss on his lips. “I’ve been waiting all night for you to ask.”
Seven
Ruby felt as though her entire body was on fire. Heath was that hot. And she wanted him that badly. At any other time in her life, this might have been the perfect time to start thinking about nonsexy things, if only to force herself to cool down a bit. But she didn’t want to douse the flames inside her. Not this time. They made her feel alive. She didn’t want to keep pressing Pause on her own existence. So, for tonight, she’d focus on kindling the blaze.
“This is us,” Heath said as he turned off the main road. They were far away from where Ruby lived, in one of the parts of Royal where the parcels of land grew impossibly large, cattle roamed the rolling hills, and the sprawling homes were often as grand as they were expensive. This was a place of permanence, reminding Ruby of Heath’s ties to this town, which was ironically where Ruby had gone when she needed to start over.
As they got closer to Heath’s place, the house came into view. It was an impressive property, clad in river stone with a tall pitched roof above the center porch and entrance, which hosted double glass-paned doors and a circular wrought-iron chandelier. It struck her that this was where almost all of Heath’s history had been written, the past that still haunted him. She hoped that crossing the threshold would mean that she could better understand him. “It’s beautiful, Heath. Absolutely gorgeous.”
“Thanks,” he said as he clicked a button on the dash of his car and eased the vehicle into the three-bay garage. “It’s home. The only one I’ve ever known.” He shut off the engine and turned to her. “Ready to see it?”
“It’s so wonderful that you’ve lived here your entire life. I’ve moved around too much over the years.”
“Staying in one place isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.” He led her inside, through a mudroom and into the kitchen, which was nearly the size of Ruby’s entire cottage. It had beautiful black Shaker cabinets, white marble countertops with gray veining, and a wide porcelain farmhouse sink with a window above it overlooking the property. “And I’m sure you’ve been to all sorts of exciting places. You’ve probably traveled more than I have.”
“I doubt it. I’ve never even been out of the state of Texas.” It was a little embarrassing to admit, but she couldn’t help but be honest. She took this chance to set her handbag and wrap on the kitchen table, which was situated in a large bay of windows.
“You should let me take you somewhere.” He reached for her and ran his fingers down the back of her bare arm as he admired her, which made her feel as though she was floating above the floor.
“Like where?”
He shrugged and clasped one of her hands. Then the other. “Anywhere you want.”
“New York?”
“Sure.” He slyly grinned and tugged her a little closer.
“San Francisco? Miami?”
“Of course.”
Heath was offering to open up the world for her, which was such a generous gesture. If only he could understand how she felt about it—part of her wanted nothing more than to strike out on an adventure, but there was another part that craved the reliable comforts of home. A home like this one that felt as though it was never going anywhere. “Your bedroom?”
A low groan left his throat and he pulled her closer. “I thought you’d never ask.” His lips fell on hers and there was this magical moment where she lost all sense of time and place, and nothing else existed other than Heath, his strong hands caressing her back, and the way his tongue sought hers in a warm and giving kiss. She did not have a care in the world right now and it buoyed her like nothing she’d experienced in a long time.
She popped up onto her tiptoes, stretched out her arms onto his shoulders and dug her fingers into his thick hair. She deepened their kiss, and he countered, making her whimper with desire. He wrapped his arms tighter around her, but then one hand dropped to her hip and gathered the skirt of her dress upward, taking a fistful of the garment. His fingers reached her bare thigh, and she gasped as though he’d just burned her, but it was the most pleasurable feeling she’d experienced in an eon. A man’s touch. She needed more of it.
“I thought we were going to your bedroom,” she said, breathless.
“Where are my manners?” With that, he reached down and swept her into his arms, holding her tight.
She wrapped her arms around his neck and set her head against his chest, craving his warmth and relishing the safety of his arms.
He wasted no time walking through the house and to his bedroom. He planted a knee on the bed and set her down gently. She kicked off her heels, then reclined and swished her hands across the duvet, which was soft and silky. “This feels amazing.”
