Page 30

Chapter Thirty

Griffin

Seven weeks later

“Nope. No clothes allowed on Tuesdays.”

It was like I hadn’t even spoken. Ruby shot me a dry look, pulling one of my T-shirts over her head, the sleek line of her naked body disappearing underneath clothing that was far too big for her. I frowned as she walked away.

“That’s a house rule, birdy,” I called after her.

“Not one I agreed to.” Her head popped back around the corner of the door. “Besides, this isn’t my house. If you’d like to walk around naked, feel free, but you might traumatize Eileen when she gets here.”

I let out a disgruntled sigh, settling my head back down onto the pillow and closing my eyes again. The sound of her footsteps coming back into the bedroom had me peeling them open. Her hair was wild around her face, like it always was after she woke up.

She split her time between my place outside of Denver and her home in Welling Springs, adjusting her work schedule so that her days off allowed us to have three straight days together. She arrived with Bruiser on Saturday evenings, after closing up the library at noon. Sundays, we went to Denver’s home games together—the only ones I was attending, given my stupid broken arm meant I couldn’t play until after Thanksgiving.

On Mondays, she worked remotely at my house, and I’d happily conceded one of the extra bedrooms to become her office. Not long after, during one of her return trips to Welling Springs, I had floor-to-ceiling bookshelves installed, then handed her my credit card and told her I didn’t think she’d be able to fill them in two weeks.

It took four days, and her triumphant smirk when she slid the last book into place made me so fucking crazy that I slung her up over my shoulder with my good arm—ignoring the screaming pain in my rib in a way that would piss off my doctor—and marched her right back to our bedroom, her breathless laughter filling the room until I commanded her to sit over my face and let me kiss between her thighs until she screamed my name. It was a tactic that I’d found very successful.

And since Tuesday was my day off during the season, I was trying to institute a mandated no-clothes, sex-only day. I had a bit of convincing to do.

“See, I knew you’d change your mind about naked Tuesdays.” I patted the empty side of the bed. I’d spent four eternal weeks sleeping in a recliner with that evil sling on my arm and now dedicated a substantial bit of energy to trying to be in bed with her as much as humanly possible. “Come back in, birdy. We don’t have to be at the airport for another hour.”

Instead of taking pity on my poor morning hard-on, Ruby tossed something at me—not the shirt, unfortunately—and I caught it before it hit me in the face.

My lip curled at the sight of the sling.

I hated that fucking thing and would burn it at the first-possible chance.

Holding her gaze, I dumped it right back onto the floor. “That is not sexy, and not what I was hoping to start my day with.” I sat up and motioned for her to come closer. “You. Come here.”

Ruby set a hand on her hip, and it bunched the T-shirt up just enough around her waist that I got a mouth-watering glimpse of her thigh. “The doctor said you have to wear it. I know it’s feeling better, but—”

“My arm is fine.” It hurt like a bitch the night before, but there was no way I was admitting that now.

She narrowed her eyes. “I know what your pain face looks like. Don’t you lie to me, Griffin King.”

I growled. “It makes me crazy when you say my full name. Get back in bed, baby.”

Ruby stayed right where she was. “I will if you put the sling back on.”

“You know what’s not feeling better?” I pointed to the bulge underneath the sheet. “He’s not. I can finally do normal sex positions and sleep in bed with you, and I’d like to set a record for most times getting you off in a week, okay? This is practically a charitable endeavor on my part.”

Her eyes never strayed from mine, but she rolled her lips in, trying to hide the smile that threatened. “Do not try and distract me. You promised me you’d be a good patient.”

I flexed my arm as I reached out to her—it was still slightly skinnier than the other, since the permanent cast had come off the week before. “I am a good patient. The best. I did all my PT this week, didn’t I? You should come give me a kiss as a reward.”

Ruby’s grin broke free, and when she leaned down to plant a kiss over my waiting mouth, I knew I had her. “You really should have warned me about how much affirmation you need. I might not have agreed to this cohabitation deal,” she said against my lips. What a crock of shit. She always wanted it, just as bad as me.

My hand curled around the back of her thigh, fingers tickling lightly up underneath the hem of the T-shirt.

Slowly, I pushed my hand up, and when I found her slick between her legs, I nipped at her bottom lip. “You should have warned me how insatiable you are. I would’ve made you move in sooner.”

I surged forward and clutched her around the waist, swallowing her surprised squeak with an open-mouthed kiss as I deposited her on my lap. Ruby’s sigh of concession had a smile breaking open over my face, and she slung her arms over my shoulders as we kissed lazily.

After a few minutes, my hands coasting up the length of her back underneath the damned T-shirt, Ruby pulled away with a dazed expression. “We don’t have time,” she moaned.

I kissed her again, deeper this time, my hand digging into the mass of her hair. “Yes, we do.” She tugged at the sheet, the only thing separating us, and heat surged through my veins. Got her. “And once they get here, you’re going to be impossible to please.”

She pulled back, eyebrows arched. “Me?”

With a hum, I leaned in to nip along the line of her jaw, slowly working the T-shirt up with my hands. I would make Naked Tuesdays a thing, so help me. When I pulled it up over her head, she sighed, fixing me with a mock glare when I grinned in triumph.

“Yes, you,” I told her. “It’s not my fault we have sex all over the house. I won’t be able to boost you up on the island. Or have you in the pool after dark. Or on the kitchen table. You love it when I do that,” I whispered against her lips.

“I do.” She pushed one of my hands up to cover her breast, arching her back when I dragged my thumb over her hard peak. Watching her face when I teased her there was one of my new favorite hobbies because her breath always hitched in the most delightful way. I ducked my head and kissed along the length of her scar.

Ruby dug her hands into my hair and tightened her fingers, tugging my head up so she could slide her mouth over mine in a searing, impatient kiss.

My girl.

We’d come a long way in seven weeks. There was no hiding what we wanted from each other, and through some difficult, emotional conversations, Ruby admitted that her greatest fear was leaving me behind—hurt and alone.

That fear might never go away, but every single day we spent together, it made us both realize that happiness wasn’t some lofty goal we were forever chasing. It wasn’t trying to heave the imaginary boulder up over the barrier and be done with it.

Happiness—true joy—was soaking up the tiny moments we had with each other, seeking contentment in living everyday life with a person we loved, no matter how long that might be.

Forever wouldn’t be long enough, not if we had another fifty years, but even what I’d had with her was the best time in my entire life. The car accident, and broken arm, had turned out to be a strange gift of time for the two of us. I wasn’t living most of my waking hours with the team; instead, I got to spend most of my days with her. Football would be there when my arm healed, but getting this much time early in our relationship was fucking gold.

In between physical therapy and time in the gym, helping the team review film, my life was coming home to Ruby, helping her make dinner (or as much as I could with only one good hand), taking baths and swimming and napping and watching movies and taking Bruiser for daily walks. It was checking the progress on the gardens and spending quiet days in Welling Springs, sharing muffins on the bench while we watched the space transform into something even more beautiful.

Everything about our life was beautiful.

Maybe it was more beautiful because we didn’t know what the future held, but God, I wasn’t taking anything for granted.

Not making a mess in the kitchen because I couldn’t crack an egg with one hand or having her at my doctors’ appointments, not falling asleep next to her, and definitely not moments like this—where we so easily got lost in each other.

Tightening my grip in her hair, I angled my head to deepen the kiss. The slick winding of my tongue around hers had her whimpering into my mouth.

“Come on, baby,” I told her. “Let’s start this morning right.”

Eyes locked on mine, Ruby lifted up, sinking down over my length, and we groaned in unison. My arms wrapped around her waist while she worked herself slow and sweet against me. It wasn’t fast and it wasn’t hard. It was a torturous build, each rock of her hips and dent of my fingers in her flesh had my heart hammering behind my chest.

Mine, it said. She was mine. And I was hers.

She tipped her head back and let out a decadent sigh as she came, and I fixed my mouth on her neck, groaning my own release against her skin.

Ruby slumped against my chest, burying her face into the side of my throat. “Naked Tuesdays might not be a bad idea,” she murmured.

I smacked the side of her ass. “I’m very smart. I keep telling you this.”

She pulled back to grin at me. “Too bad we can’t start today, huh?”

“Why not?” I couldn’t think straight with her still warm and tight around me. She pulled up with a hiss, and wouldn’t you know it ... it was the perfect height. I tugged her closer so I could kiss the tip of her breast again, licking across her chest to give the same treatment to the other.

Ruby laughed, cupping my face so she could kiss my forehead, then the tip of my nose. “Forget scarring Eileen—your niece and nephew might not appreciate a nudist household when they get here.”

Shit. Sex with this woman scrambled my brain something fierce. You’d think I’d be used to it, but I still wasn’t. All she had to do was smile at me, and I swear, I forgot my own fucking name.

I blinked. “Right. They’re landing in”—I glanced at the clock with a wince—“forty-five minutes.”

Ruby picked up my sling off the floor and handed it to me. “On.”

“Bossy,” I grumbled.

“I’m taking a shower first.” She paused before entering the bathroom. “Do not join me, because you know what’ll happen.”

I gave her a grave nod as I stood from the bed. “Insatiable, I’m telling ya.”

Ruby sighed. “Put the sling on.”

Before she walked away, I grabbed her hand and swung her back in my direction, cupping her face with both hands. “I love you.”

Her eyes softened. “I love you too.”

We kissed, Ruby’s hands sliding along my stomach. I swept some stray hair off her face. “Thank you for pushing me to ask for the visit.”

She touched my chin with her thumb. “I’m glad he said yes.”

“Me too.” I wrapped her in a hug, sighing happily as I rested my chin on the top of her head. Ruby pressed a kiss to my sternum. “It’ll be a good week. Do you think they’ll like the rooms I set up?”

Ruby smiled. “They’ll love them.” She glanced over at the clock and grimaced. “Come on. If you keep your hands to yourself, we can save time and shower together; otherwise you’ll smell like me when you pick them up.”

I bent at the knees and swung Ruby up into my arms as she squealed in shock. “If you keep your hands to yourself, birdy, I’ll be very put out.”

Ruby wrapped her arms around me as I strode to the bathroom, her mouth curled into a contented grin. “What am I going to do with you, Griffin King?”

I rested my forehead against hers. “Just love me, baby. That’s all I need.”

“That, I can do,” she whispered.