AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Ruby,” he growled quietly.
Retreat! My brain screamed at me.
Retreat! I shook my head sharply.
“No. No, no, no, no, no. We are not doing this.”
The tension slowly left his body and I watched as he took a deep breath, forced his fists open, and rubbed his palms down the long length of his thighs.
My eyelids drifted to half mast.
“Ruby,” he laughed this time. “You’re saying no but you’re not making it easy to switch tracks.”
“Put your thighs under the table,” I whispered without thinking. My mouth fell open. “Shitfuckdamn! Can we forget I just said that?”
“No,” he said, smiling warmly at me. “That I cannot do. What do you say we get out of here? There’s somewhere I want to take you.”
I stood, shifting my weight from one foot to the other. “Um. I’m not sure. Maybe we should just head home.”
“Yeah?” He asked, his eyebrows arched in question. “You ready to face your yiayia? Or would you rather time your arrival home for when she’s asleep?”
I thought for a moment. I didn’t want to hear any lectures tonight. My yiayia excelled at a lot of things. Unfortunately, respecting personal boundaries wasn’t one of them. “Where are we going?”
He laughed and held out his hand to me. I stared at it. Leaned toward it. Then turned, picked up my purse, and grasped it in front of me with both hands. His proffered hand hovered in mid air between us. Waiting.
I shifted on my feet, undecided. I watched his face, not wanting to hurt him but unwilling to act as a couple.
He stepped forward and gently disengaged one of my hands from my purse, then drew it through the crook of his arm.
I raised my eyes to his face to find his gaze soft and warm on mine. I smiled tentatively and curled my fingers lightly around his bicep, and he smiled back at me. His bicep was hard beneath my fingers. I inadvertently squeezed and he huffed out a laugh.
I rolled my eyes at myself but left my hand where it was.
Outside, the sun was almost a memory. I could smell the first hint of autumn in the air as Vander walked me to my side of the car. I released his arm and turned to get in, but he left his hand on the handle without opening it. I looked over my shoulder to find his face bent close to mine over my shoulder.
“Ruby-mine,” he murmured.
I dipped my chin to my chest, avoiding his gaze. Resisting him, this close to him, was an exercise in futility. Could I really cut him out of my life? Knowing he lived only fifteen minutes away? Inside my freaking safe zone?
I leaned back, ever so slightly, against him. I felt his chest expand against my back with his indrawn breath. “I don’t want to go down this road again, Vander,” I admitted.
His other hand came around and he flattened his palm against my stomach. My head fell back involuntarily to his shoulder.
His big hand splayed over my womb, pressing me back tighter against his warm, solid frame. I imagined him over me just like this. I nearly moaned but I bit it back at the last second.
His lips brushed along the side of my face, his short beard a delicious tickle. He kissed the shell of my ear, his warm breath sending tingly warmth across my chest and tightening my nipples, his deep, mellow voice a caress.
“We’re going down a different road this time, Ruby-mine.”
I found my voice, and it came out strong. “I don’t trust you,” I stated.
“You will.”
He released me and opened my door, waited until I swung my legs into the car, then shut the door and strode around to his own side.
