Page 31 of Deception and New Direction (Ranger Shield Security #3)

I wasn’t sure if he needed a response or not, but I gave him one anyway. “ Yes .”

My voice was quiet but firm, leaving no doubt I was serious.

He continued to look at me, as though he were assessing what I’d said.

Did he need more?

Go big or go home, I guess.

“I…” I paused. This was even harder than I’d thought it would be. “ Jack , I’m … I ...”

“I love you too, Ruthie ,” he said, reading my mind and saving me the embarrassment of telling him and not having it reciprocated.

“You love me?” I asked, barely above a whisper.

“Yeah, Ruthie , I love you. And I know you feel the same but just have a hard time saying it.”

My mom had told me she loved me when she was alive. But no one else had—certainly not my father. Sure , Ellie , Cat , and Val had jokingly said it as friends often did, but not in the same way Jack had said it just now.

I knew I loved him too. I had just been too afraid to say it. I wasn’t afraid now. This man had shown me what love truly was, and I wanted him to know I loved him back.

“I love you, Jack ,” I told him and leaned up to kiss him.

Seconds later, I was up and wrapped around his waist and transported to his bed.

He kissed me softly as he removed my clothes. His movements were slow and methodical…and torturous.

“Jack,” I practically begged him to go faster.

“Zip it, Ruthie ,” he said. “ The woman I love just told me she loved me back. I’m gonna enjoy this moment, and no begging or witchcraft trickery from you is gonna make me move faster than I want to.”

I didn’t think it would ever get old hearing him say he loved me.

I moved to sit up so I could slide my hands under his shirt, lifting it up as I ran my hands over his perfectly carved chest. If they made molds of his chest and sold them, he could be rich.

His gaze moved back to mine, and he paused for a moment. I gave him a small smile back, but there was something burning in his eyes that I didn’t know what meant. I didn’t know what he was thinking.

“What?” I asked him softly. “ What’s that look for?”

“I really want to take you bare, feel all of you, but I know we shouldn’t,” he said, his honesty coming through, even though it was strained.

“I’m on the pill,” I told him as I ran my hand up his arm that was still at my side, over his shoulder, and up his neck. “ I got tested after I moved here, and you’re the only person I’ve been with since.”

He closed his eyes and put his forehead to mine. “ I was tested regularly in the military, and I haven’t been with anyone other than you since I got home.”

Wow. I guess the illusion I had in my mind about him being a playboy was just that—an illusion and not rooted in any sort of reality.

“Are you sure, Ruthie ? We can wait.”

I knew he meant it too. His eyes communicated to me that he would wait for me for whatever I needed, but I didn’t want to wait.

I told him as much. “ I don’t want to wait.”

“Fuck—what you do to me, woman.” His voice was gravelly and raw.

“Jack…” I didn’t know what else to say, but I hoped my voice conveyed what I needed him to know.

“God, when you say my name like that, I would give you the whole world if you asked.”

Ohmigod, did he just say that?

He lifted my hands and stretched them out behind me on the bed. His left hand reaching to intertwine his fingers with mine while his right hand delicately brushed along my side, creating goose bumps along the way.

He lined himself up against my entrance, and I trembled at the excitement of feeling him—all of him. I had never had sex without a condom before. I knew it felt better for the man, obviously, but had no idea what to expect for myself.

The anticipation was killing me. “ I’m ready, Jack .”

He slid inside me slowly, as if to savor every moment.

“Fuck, Ruthie . You feel so damn good.”

“Jack,” I moaned in response, feeling the same thing he likely was.

“You’re so damn hot and wet, I’m not going to last.”

He pulled out, stared down at me, and then slid back in slowly. He did this over and over again until I felt like I was going to combust.

“Let go, beautiful,” he said to me. “ Give in and just let that feeling roll through you.”

I did, and it felt amazing. My orgasm tore through me, and I felt like I died a little, but in a good way. I had never felt so much pleasure course through my body. I felt like I lost seconds—maybe even full minutes—of time before I came back to Earth .

Jack groaned out my name, and I felt his release inside me before he collapsed to my side and rolled me on top of him.

I rested atop him, completely satisfied and in a glowing state of bliss. His hand stroked up and down my back slowly, almost to the point of tickling. I relished his soft caress over my skin.

“Stay with me,” he asked quietly.

“Okay,” I responded. “ Though you do realize I haven't gone back to the other bed in weeks, so you're not asking a lot.”

“Let me clarify. Move in with me,” Jack asked me, his fingers softly brushing over my cheek.

“I’m already here and have been for more than two months, Jack ,” I told him.

“I know, but when you get your boot off in a few days, you won’t need to stay here anymore, but I want you to. So , I’m asking you to move in with me,” Jack asked. “ Close out your lease at the apartment and move in with me.”

It felt nice that he’d asked me, and I also genuinely loved his house. I had been helping more and more with the renovations, and it felt good that he took my opinions and suggestions to heart and often went with them, but I worried about what to do if things didn’t work out between us.

“Don’t you think we’re moving too fast?”

“No, honey, I don’t,” he responded immediately. “ I’ve lost my parents, my grandma, and several friends overseas. I’ve learned the hard way that life is short. I’ve also learned to recognize what’s important in life and to go after those things. You are one of those things, Ruthie .”

He caressed my face softly as he slid his thumb gently over my lips.

“So if you need more time, I’ll wait for you to catch up. I’m patient,” he said—he really wasn’t patient, but I chose not to call him out on that. “ Especially knowing what you’ve been through, which has led you to have trust issues. But I’m not going anywhere.”

“I’m sorry you lost so many people,” I told him.

“I know how you can make me feel better,” he said as I looked up at him and noticed he was grinning lasciviously. “ You can give me that mouth.”

I gave him my mouth and then a lot more. After satisfying ourselves again, I fell asleep snuggled up to Jack , feeling content for the first time in a very long time. Maybe ever.