She gathers up the mass of green silk, exposing her bare legs from mid-thigh to her white tipped toenails. It’s more of Ruby than I’ve ever had the pleasure of witnessing, and it only makes me want more. I want to see all of her. I want to trace the contours of her body with my fingers, with my tongue. I want to feel her against me. Beneath me.
No.I can’t think of her like that. She’s not mine. She’llneverbe mine.
“What the hell are you doing?” I ask.
She doesn’t respond, barreling past me into the water until she’s submerged all the way to her neck. She kicks off the bottom and floats to the center of the pool, treading water. The swells of her generous breasts threaten to spill out of the top of her soaked gown, and I can just make out the shape of her hard nipples beneath the fabric.
“Come on, Grumpy. The water’s perfect.”
I shake my head. “I’m fine here.”
“Party pooper.”
“I’d rather be a party pooper than drive home in wet jeans.”
“So, take them off,” she says matter-of-factly.
“Not a chance in hell.”
My jeans are the only thing between Ruby motherfucking Hayes and the raging hard on pushing against my zipper, and I’m not about to add the complication of proximity to the mix. I’m more than happy to play the passive bystander this time—it’s nothing new for me where Ruby’s concerned. No matter where I am or what I’m doing, if she’s there, I’m watching. She’s always had an unshakable hold on me.
My headlights illuminate the scene playing out in front of me like it’s my favorite fucking movie. Ruby climbs onto a rock and stands beneath the spray, the water cascading over her. The dress sticks to her like a second skin, and I can see every curve and valley of her luscious body, like the winding country backroad that brought us here.
She directs her megawatt smile at me, and for a moment, the entire world disappears. It’s just me and Ruby in the middle of the woods.
No expectations.
No obligations.
Just the two of us and the light reflecting off her glisteningskin. She’s looking at me like I might be worth something, and whatever's left of my heart falls at her feet.
For a moment, I let myself imagine what it would be like to hold her, to kiss her, to call her mine. I only allow myself that one moment before I’m reminded why it will never be my reality.
The soft trill of crickets fills the air, and a quiet peace settles over us. Ruby floats back to the middle of the creek, where the full moon overhead reflects on the surface like the spotlight Ruby was always meant to have. This is who she is—who she’s destined to be.
Ruby has a future all mapped out for herself, and it doesn’t include her ex-boyfriend’s brother or the small town she’ll be leaving in her rearview, no matter how much I want it to.
Chapter 6
Let Him Cook
? Stay a little longer - Brothers Osborne
Ruby
“Dad? Why is Ruby Lynn Hayes sleeping on the couch?”
My head lolls against the pillow, and I slowly blink my eyes open. Sunlight filters in through massive picture windows, momentarily blinding me. Once everything comes into focus, I don’t recognize my surroundings. Before I can try to make sense of it, the faint smell of bacon hits my nostrils, and my stomach growls at the prospect of food.
“Shhh. Come here, buddy. We don’t want to wake her.”
Liam.
“Too late,” he says.
I tilt my head in the direction of the voice, and a set of piercing green eyes is staring straight into my soul. “Hi.”
Propping myself against the arm of the couch, I glance around what I can only assume is Liam’s house and return my gaze to Aiden, who is standing near the massive reclaimed wood coffee table.
