Yes, Master, page 17
Jesus, he loved her. When had that happened? She’d snuck into his heart and had cozied up in a nice warm spot there. It shook him for a minute, but he couldn’t stop the smile that crossed his face either. He quickly finished his shower and turned the water off. After he dried off, Drake tied the towel around his waist, then went back into the bedroom where Ruby still waited in silence.
He walked over and sat down beside her. “You wanted to talk?” Drake asked.
Ruby bit her lip and looked down at the floor. “Connie thinks you’re a love-’em-and-leave-’em type of guy.”
The little meddler. He’d thought Ruby’s friend liked him. “Connie doesn’t know me as well as she thinks.”
Ruby’s gaze shot to his. “What are you saying?”
“This isn’t a fling to me,” he told her, as he ran a palm down her hair, loving the soft texture against his skin. “It’s not like I’m just killing time with you until something better comes along. You mean more to me than that. I care about you, Ruby.”
She let out a breath and closed her eyes tight. “I care about you too.” She opened them again, and if anything, she looked even more concerned. “I’m acting totally out of character getting so involved so quickly. Spending a weekend with a man I only just met . . . that’s not my usual MO, Drake.”
“I hear you, but we aren’t strangers,” he explained, as he let his hand drift down her back, soothing the tight muscles. “We’ve known each other for a year now, Ruby. It just took us a little while to go from point A to point B.”
She snorted. “We barely talked, though, until that night you showed up on my deck.”
“Luckiest night of my life,” he murmured, as he leaned close and kissed her lips.
She slapped his chest. “You had another woman that night, remember?”
“I remember sending her home because my head was all clouded with thoughts of a beautiful redheaded voyeur.”
She laughed and scooted away. “Hey, it’s not my fault you brought the party out in the open where anyone could see.”
“One thing’s for sure,” he whispered as he moved closer and caged her in with his arms around her body. “I’ll never bring you out in the open.”
She swallowed a few times. “Oh?” she asked, her voice a little wobbly.
“Your lovely body is strictly for my viewing pleasure, baby.”
“Drake,” she breathed out, then in another heartbeat, Ruby found herself flat on her back, with Drake sprawled out on the bed beside her. She reached for him, pleased when her fingers connected with the warmth of his chest.
“I love your soft touches,” he groaned.
“It’s been too long since I’ve had you inside of me,” she complained. “Please hurry.”
“Impatient little thing,” he crooned as he reached between her legs and stroked her clit with tender care. Ruby was always amazed that a man so big and strong could be so utterly gentle.
“Get up on your hands and knees for me, baby,” Drake quietly ordered.
Ruby obeyed, her blood racing, her body on fire with anticipation. Moving behind her, now on his knees, Drake stroked the seam between her buttocks with his index finger. A moan erupted from deep within and he let his finger drift back and forth over her puckered opening.
He leaned over her and kissed the base of her spine. “I want to fuck your ass, Ruby. Do you know how sweet and tight it’ll feel?”
“Yes,” she answered. “Oh, please, I want you there so badly.” Her voice had gone hoarse with need long ago.
Drake reached out and grabbed a tube of lubricant off the bedside table. After spreading a small amount on his finger, he penetrated her, little by little, until the digit was buried deep inside her anus. She shuddered and pushed against him. His finger moved in and out, fucking her with slow precision.
Just as Ruby started to think she could take no more of his teasing, one of Drake’s big, warm hands clutched her hips. He told her to hold still, but Ruby couldn’t do as he bid this time. She was too eager for his strokes. When he squeezed her bottom, Ruby fairly shook with need.
“I thought I told you to hold still,” he growled. Suddenly and without even a hint of warning, he spanked her. The sting sent her into another realm. Ruby couldn’t concentrate on Drake’s words. Only the way he made her feel. So alive. So filled with heat and passion. Thankfully he didn’t wait for a reply, only swatted her four more times.
“Fuck, you make me crazy,” he bit out.
Ruby moaned and wriggled, her breasts swelled and her sex grew damp. His finger pumped her ass, while he spanked her over and over. Her pussy juices soaked her inner thighs and her bottom stung.
“Mm, you’re all pink, baby.” He smoothed a palm over her hot flesh. “And so damn pretty.”
When he slid his finger back and forth over her swollen nub, Ruby felt every heated touch. He was slow at first, then faster. Soon a second finger joined the first and Ruby went wild. She gyrated against Drake, while he tormented her clit. When he leaned down and bit her hip she lost it.
Her climax came from somehwere deep inside. Ruby screamed hard and loud, her back arching as her body flew apart. Everything she thought she knew about sexual pleasure seemed to pale in the wake of what she’d just experienced. Drake’s rough voice just barely broke through the quagmire of her mind.
“Son of a bitch, you’re gorgeous when you come,” Drake murmured as he moved his fingers out of her and cupped her dripping mound. “Look at me, baby.”
She turned her head, already limp and sweating from her orgasm, but when she saw the intensity, the insane yearning etched into his not-so-perfect features, her body went from sated to hungry all over again.
“You are mine. From this moment forward, you belong to me.”
Ruby didn’t know what to say or how to respond. She wanted to be Drake’s woman. And she wanted to lay claim to him. But when the heavy weight of his cock entered her bottom, Ruby’s thoughts scattered.
He leaned down and kissed her shoulder. “Easy now,” he whispered. Ruby rocked against him when his tongue flicked over the sensitive spot behind her ear. “You’ll enjoy this, baby, trust me.”
“Drake,” she warned.
“I’m not the wild card you think I am. Let me have your trust, Ruby, and I swear you will never regret it.”
As if unwilling to wait for a reply, Drake began to stroke her hair and smoothed a palm down her arm to her hip, where he cupped her bottom and kneaded the plump flesh. She melted. Drake must have felt her surrender as he slowly glided his cock deep inside her ass until he filled her completely.
His engorged length stretched the tight passage, but not so much that it hurt. It was like nothing Ruby had ever experienced. When Drake thrust two fingers inside her pussy, caressing the silky inner walls of her vagina, tears sprang to Ruby’s eyes. The beauty of what they were doing sent a rush of rapture through her.
With each inward stroke from Drake, he pulled his fingers outward. Her muscles held them both tight. She squeezed her buttocks and Drake cursed.
“Ah God, Ruby,” he muttered. Suddenly he shoved forward once more, driving her into the mattress and spilling his hot come deep. The jets of hot come fueled her own orgasm. She came all around his fingers, shouting his name.
Drake stayed still inside her until the last shudder, then he tugged his fingers and cock free. Ruby collapsed onto the bed. He brushed her damp hair from her face and kissed her cheek.
Their weekend together had gone so well, and Ruby knew it was time to take things to the next level with Drake. She loved him. It was time to get the words out in the open and see where it would lead. It was Tuesday evening and they were scheduled to go out to dinner in an hour. Plenty of time to drop the L-bomb and wait for the fallout.
As Ruby knocked on Drake’s front door, though, the roar of an engine from behind snagged her attention. She turned in time to see Drake getting out of his SUV. He was limping and he looked as if he’d just gone a few rounds with a raging bull. Her heart slammed against the wall of her chest at the sight of him. He had scrapes and cuts along his cheekbones and dirt stuck to his hair.
“Oh my God, what happened to you?” She rushed to his side and wrapped an arm around his middle, offering support.
“Took a spill,” he bit out, as if it hurt to talk. “It’s no big deal.”
Ruby froze. “Wait, a what?”
He shoved a hand through his hair and spoke so softly she very nearly missed his words. “I had a race today. Sorry, I meant to tell you about it, but I sort of forgot until the last minute. A friend had to remind me.” He smiled down at her, but Ruby could tell it pained him to do so. “I’ve been a bit preoccupied lately.”
Oh God. “You wrecked your motorcycle?”
“Dirt bike, and yeah. But it wasn’t bad.” He wiggled his fingers. “See? Nothing broken.”
They slowly and carefully made their way to the house, and Ruby waited for him to unlock the front door and enter. When he bent to take off his shoes and slip out of his knee and elbow pads, Ruby’s stomach did a somersault. He could’ve been killed. So easily, he could’ve died. The fact he wasn’t taking this seriously scared Ruby more than anything. Suddenly Ruby was thrust back in time to that horrible moment when she and her mother had received the news of her father’s accident. He’d been taken from them, and all because of his thrill seeking ways.
Drake gingerly lowered himself to the couch, then looked up at her. “Just give me a minute and I’ll be good as new.” He reached up and took hold of her hand, then stroked a finger over her knuckles in a tender caress. When he turned it over and placed several small kisses in her palm, Ruby’s heart melted.
“I-I can’t do this,” she admitted. “I don’t know why I thought I could, but I can’t.”
She tugged on her hand and Drake released her. “Do what? What did I miss here?”
Ruby stepped away from him, and her legs threatened to give out on her at the confusion in Drake’s gaze. “Spontaneity I can handle. But a blatant disregard for your life?” She shook her head as tears threatened to spill down her cheeks. “I can’t live like that, Drake.”
He stood, suddenly looking a whole lot less injured and seriously pissed. “You’re breaking things off because of a little accident?”
Ruby couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “A little accident? There is no such thing as little accidents when it comes to motorcycles, Drake.” He started to speak, but Ruby was a runaway train. “My father was the same way. Always needing adventure. A thrill seeker, like you. Right up until the day he died. I was twelve years old when I was told about my dad’s skydiving accident. Do you know what it’s like to watch your mother cry herself to sleep night after night? It’s something I’ll never forget, Drake. Never.”
“God, I’m so sorry, baby, I didn’t know,” he murmured. “But I told you before, Ruby”—he stepped closer, all but caging her in, between the door and the solid wall of his muscular body—“I’m not the daredevil you think I am. I’m not like your father. I do take precautions. I’m smart about it, I promise you.”
“I can’t believe you just said that to me. Did you look at yourself? Your precautions need some serious work.” How could he not see the dangers in racing? The thought of losing him to one of these “spills” threatened to shatter Ruby. She turned, ready to run before the waterworks began, but Drake halted her with a single powerful arm around her waist.
“Hey, slow down. I’m fine, baby. There’s no need to be upset.”
She swiveled on her heels, her eyes going wide at his crazy remark. “And what about the next time? Or the time after that? I can live with your love of motor cross, Drake, but I can’t live with you taking this”—she indicated the scrapes on his face with a wave of her hand—“so lightly.”
“So, that’s it?” He released her and pushed a hand through his hair. “You’re giving up and walking away?”
Would he care if she did? That question nagged her like no other. “I don’t know. I need time to think.”
“I won’t let you give up on us, Ruby,” he growled as he cupped her face in his hands. “I’m not built like the Bryans of the world. I care about you, and I know you care about me.”
“Please,” she said, just barely holding back the tidal wave of emotion. “I need time to think.”
He sighed and released her. “I’ll call you later. Okay?”
Ruby nodded, then turned and raced out the door, determined to be out of his sight before the dam broke. She didn’t stop until she reached her front porch. It took three tries before she managed to open the door. Once inside she dropped her forehead against the wall and let go completely.
Several minutes later, the ringing of her cell phone pulled her out of her misery. She grabbed it off the coffee table and read the number on the screen. Her boss. She hit SEND, and then her day suddenly got much worse.
10
Ruby felt like she was making her way through a dense fog. She tried opening her eyes, but flinched when a burst of pain shot through her head. Why did her head hurt so badly? With a little effort, she slowly blinked her eyes open. The light still hurt, but it became bearable as she got accustomed to it. A hospital? And Drake sat in a chair next to her bed, his head bent and arms propped on his knees.
She pressed a hand to her forehead and felt a bandage there. “What happened?”
Drake’s gaze shot to hers. “Just relax, baby, everything is going to be all right now.” He took her hand in his and kissed it tenderly, stroking his thumb over her palm. Her confusion must have come through loud and clear because he asked, “You don’t remember what happened?”
Ruby frowned. Thinking made her head hurt worse. “No.”
“Last night after you left my place you were called in to work. Some emergency or something. But you didn’t make it there. You were in a car accident.”
Her eyes grew large as jumbled images zipped through her mind. “Someone ran a red light. I think.”
“Yeah. You scared the daylights out of me, baby.”
“Me too,” a feminine voice said from the doorway.
Ruby looked past Drake to find Connie standing just inside the hospital room. Her eyes were bloodshot and swollen. She’d obviously been crying. “I’m sorry,” Ruby muttered, hating that she’d worried everyone.
Drake stood and bent over her. “Hush, it wasn’t your fault.”
Connie rushed across the room and came to stand on the other side of the bed. “Drake is right. It wasn’t your fault that jerk ran a red light.” She paused before adding, “And I called your mom. I told her you were in the hospital, but it wasn’t critical. She’s leaving on the first flight.”
“I’ll call her.” Ruby knew her mom would want to hear her voice. “Thanks for doing that.” She closed her eyes briefly, allowing the darkness to soothe her. “I feel like a semi smashed into my face.”
“That would be the air bag,” Drake explained. “There’s a lot of bruising, but it probably saved your life.”
She opened her eyes to see Drake’s apology shining in his beautiful eyes. It was starting to come back to her, little fragmented pieces at a time. She remembered Drake showing up all banged up. She’d been angry with him. Scared out of her mind because she’d been afraid he’d end up like her father. They’d argued. Oh God, she’d been ready to leave him. How could she ever consider leaving him? She reached up and cupped his face in her palm. “I’m sorry.”
“For what?”
“I was so mad at you last night.”
He shook his head. “There’s plenty of time to talk about all that. First, you need to rest.”
“When you didn’t wake up right away, we . . .” Connie’s voice shook with emotion, and a tear trickled down her cheek.
Ruby tried to smile, but her cheeks hurt too much. She reached over the bed rail and took Connie’s hand in her own. “I’m fine, though. Soon, I’ll be out of here and you’ll be back to raiding my fridge.”
Connie’s lips quivered. “I love you, but if you ever scare me like that again I swear I’ll paddle your butt.”
Feeling incredibly weepy, Ruby said, “I love you too.”
She nodded. “I’ll go get the nurse and tell her you’re awake.”
After Connie left, Ruby’s gaze went back to Drake. He was so quiet, watching her intently. She took his hand in her own and squeezed. “I’m okay now. You don’t have to worry.”
He winced and closed his eyes tight. Ruby couldn’t tell what he was thinking, and that worried her. “This has been the longest twenty-four hours of my life,” he muttered.
The doctor came into the room with a nurse in tow, disrupting the moment. As he ordered tests and scans to be scheduled, he also informed her of the dangers of a severe concussion. Lastly, he took her blood pressure and ordered some medication for the throbbing pain behind her eyes. When he asked everyone to leave so Ruby could rest, her hopes plummeted. She’d wanted to talk to Drake. To tell him how she felt. She didn’t want to wait another second to tell him that she loved him.
When Drake only stood there with his arms crossed, all but daring the poor man to try and remove him from the room, the doctor just heaved a sigh and accepted the inevitable. Soon, Ruby and Drake were alone. She reached out to him and covered his hand with her own. “We need to talk,” she said, remembering the argument they’d had before all this happened.
Drake nodded and sat on the edge of the bed. “I never want to see you like that again. Ever.”
Overwhelmed with emotion, Ruby’s eyes filled with tears. Drake leaned over her and kissed them away one by one. When she had herself under control, he lifted away and stared down at her. Ruby could only imagine what she must look like. Oh yeah, she was a real prize.
Drake swiped at the remaining tears and whispered, “What is it, baby?”
She stared at Drake and faced the truth. “I love you, Drake.” He opened his mouth to speak but she stopped him. “You don’t have to say anything. I know we both started this relationship out of . . . out of mutual desire, so I don’t expect any more than that from you.” She lowered her head, suddenly exhausted. “I just don’t want to go another second without telling you how I feel, that’s all.”
