Page 50 of Save Me (Maxton Hall #1)

She looks up at me through half-closed eyes. “Isn’t this what couples do when they make up?”

“Are we a couple?”

“Well, I’m not having you as a friend with benefits. I don’t want that.”

I grin. “Friend with benefits?”

“You know what I mean.”

“How can anyone have an IQ like yours and then come out in all seriousness with a phrase like ‘friend with benefits’?” I murmur in amusement, which earns me a punch in the guts. I groan with pain. “I preferred it when you were using your tongue.”

Another punch, then she works her way back up again until her face is only a hand’s width from mine. “Do you really think it’s wise to be that cheeky this soon?”

I feel as though my pounding heart is going to burst my rib cage any second.

Ruby is straddling me, her upper body pressed against mine, the buttons on her blouse scratching my skin slightly.

My hard-on presses almost painfully against the cloth of my trousers, and I shut my eyes for a moment as Ruby shifts her hips.

I want her.

I want her more than I’ve ever wanted anything.

“I’m whatever you want,” I croak, meaning every word. “Friend, boyfriend, friend with benefits, anything.” I don’t care what my parents say or what lies ahead in the future. Ruby’s right—we have the present. And I can’t deny what I feel for her a second longer.

“Anything? Really?” she whispers.

“Anything,” I repeat, running my hands up her thighs.

Something glitters in Ruby’s moss-green eyes.

As I run my thumb over the inside of her thigh, I hear her gasp for breath.

A triumphant smile spreads over my lips.

She’s incredibly sensitive. I repeat the movement, but higher up this time.

Ruby shuts her eyes. She looks gorgeous with her wavy hair; long, dark lashes; and her cute blouse with its bow at the collar.

I’d love to pull on the black ribbon, but I don’t dare.

If we’re really going to the next level, then it’s for her to take the next step.

As if she’d read my thoughts, Ruby leans forward until her mouth is close to my ear.

The next moment, her lips run along the rim of it and down, and she takes my earlobe between her teeth.

My body reacts violently to her. I have goose bumps all over, and the arousal is making me almost dizzy.

She keeps on teasing me, trailing kisses down my throat and sucking at the crook of my neck.

I swear under my breath.

Ruby pushes away from me, looking at me seriously. “Don’t you like that?”

“Yes.” My voice is rough and scratchy with desire. “Yes, I like it.”

I wanted to give her time and not rush her, I wanted to be patient and act like a gentleman, but…

I can’t any longer. I want to show her what she does to me.

My hands tremble as I take hold of her face and press my lips against hers.

Ruby groans with surprise as I roll over and pin her firmly beneath me.

The moment I press my erection against her, she gasps in my mouth and clings on to my back.

If she’s like this already, I can hardly wait to be inside her.

The next second, she strokes the shirt off my arms until it falls to the floor beside the bed. Her hands wander over my back, hesitantly at first, and then she gently scratches her nails along my spine until she reaches my bum and squeezes it.

“Shit, Ruby,” I growl.

“I’ve wanted to do that for so long,” she replies, giving me a slap. I laugh breathlessly into her neck and bite her gently in revenge. She reacts by wrapping her legs around my hips and pressing herself more firmly against me. Fuck’s sake, is she trying to kill me?

I lean back a little, then take the ribbon at her collar between my fingers.

I look her in the eyes as I slowly pull on it.

Ruby gulps hard and watches, as if in a trance, while I undo the buttons.

She sits up so that I can slip the blouse off her shoulders.

I don’t know where I throw it; I only have eyes for Ruby.

The light of the lantern outside casts pale stripes over her skin and the skin-tone bra she’s wearing.

Ruby’s body is beautiful—curvaceous and soft in all the right places.

It’s obvious at school that Ruby knows exactly what she wants—apparently, she’s the same in bed, and that’s making my throat dry out.

I lean down and dot a row of kisses over her cleavage. I put my hands around her breasts and stroke them, which makes Ruby gasp with surprise. I’m longing to rip the rest of her clothes off her body and sink into her, but I hold back.

This is our first time. I want us both to remember—years from now—how good it was.

So I take it slowly as I explore her upper body.

I run my lips and teeth over every inch of skin, lick across her breasts, and hold her tighter.

I move further down and run my teeth over the arch of her ribs.

Her hushed gasps and the way she tenses are like a guidebook to her body.

As I reach her waistband, she digs her fingers in my hair.

Questioningly, I look up at her. She has me in her hand; it’s for her alone to decide what happens next.

“Keep going,” she whispers, almost inaudibly.

I don’t need any further invitation.

First, I pull off her shoes, then her socks.

Ruby watches me, a slight smile on her lips.

Then I unzip her trousers and help her pull them off her legs.

After that, she’s lying there in front of me, in her underwear, and I hold my breath.

I don’t know what I did to deserve this.

Not a clue. Perhaps that’s what people call karma.

Goes something like: Hey, is your whole life going to shit?

Well, to make up for that, here’s the most amazing girl in the world.

She’s forgiven you and likes you and even though you don’t deserve it, she’s letting you get her undressed.

Or something.

Whatever Ruby’s reason might be for letting me do this—I’m going to show her how highly I value her.

I lean down and kiss my way up her legs. Then there’s no more thinking, only feeling. I run both hands over Ruby’s hips. I gently stroke her sides, run my hand over her belly, to the top of her knickers. Ruby’s breathing faster and heavier.

Keep going . The echo of her words sounds in my head.

I keep going. I hook my finger into her knickers and pull them down.

She’s in front of me nearly naked, and I can’t think straight anymore.

I don’t hesitate another second, just start to draw a teasing trail along her groin and down.

As I press my mouth to her middle, Ruby swears loudly.

She buries her hands in my hair again, and for a moment, I don’t know whether she wants to push me away or pull me closer.

I move my mouth, press a kiss onto her heat.

As I let my tongue flicker out, she squirms, and I press a hand onto her belly to hold her firm.

I enjoy the way she scratches her fingers over my scalp and shows me where she wants me and how hard.

As her breath comes faster and her legs stiffen, I slip a finger into her wet heat.

I suck on her and move my finger slowly and regularly.

It doesn’t take long for Ruby to cry out my name and rear up beneath me.

I keep on licking and kissing her until the waves rolling through her body gradually lessen.

She’s right out of breath as I eventually let go of her and slide up the bed so that I can look at her.

Her hair is tousled, and her cheeks are red.

She’s staring at the ceiling, and it takes a few minutes for her breathing to get back to normal.

Then she wraps her arms around my neck and grins at me.

“You totally have to do that again,” she says.

I grin back at her, resolving in my mind that I’m going to spend an entire night sometime with my head between Ruby’s legs.

“Your cheeky mouth comes in very handy down there.”

I shake my head and look at her, then press a soft kiss on her lips.

Ruby doesn’t allow the kiss to stay on the surface.

No, she pulls me closer and slips her tongue into my mouth.

I’m surprised by the stormy way she kisses me.

Apparently, she likes the taste of herself on my lips.

She wraps a leg around me and presses against me.

A hot tingling shoots through my body, and I groan into her mouth and thrust up with my hips, which makes Ruby give an “oh” of surprise.

The next moment, her hands are on my belt.

Her movements are clumsy and driven by lust. I can’t believe how much I like to see her this way.

After she’s undone my fly, she wants to push my trousers down, but I stop her.

“Hold on,” I say, pulling my wallet from my back pocket.

I open it and pull out the condom. I lay it on the pillow, then take off my trousers and socks.

I drop everything beside the bed, then I’m on top of Ruby again.

I slide my hand behind her back and undo the catch on her bra.

I help her to slip it off, and then there isn’t even a millimeter of fabric between us.

Ruby groans quietly as I take her breast in one hand and start to stroke it.

I love the way she responds to my every movement. I’ve never been with a girl like her before. Her reactions make me so horny that I can hardly bear it. When she’s under my boxers, pulling them over my bottom, I nearly lose my mind.

“How do you want me?” I whisper, kissing my way up to her face again. I stroke her hair off her face and run my fingers over her jaw. I want to show her with every touch how much she means to me.

“Just like that,” Ruby breathes, tenderly stroking my back.

I nod and reach for the plastic wrapper.

My hands are shaking as I roll the condom onto me.

Ruby rests on her elbows, watching my every movement with curiosity glittering in her eyes.

Without hesitation, I take her hand and wrap it around my shaft.

It twitches in her hand, and Ruby looks at me with dark eyes.

I cautiously move our hands up and down, pressing firmly.

She swallows hard. I let go of her hand, and she starts to move it on her own, doubtfully at first but then with increasing confidence.

I pant as she clasps exactly the right spot.

“Ruby…” I whisper.

The next moment, she lets go of me and lies down again.

Her dark hair is fanned over the white pillow, and her green eyes are sparkling like something in a dream as I cover her body with mine and take over the place between her legs.

It happens almost by itself; I glide my tip inside her and hold my breath as Ruby sighs beneath me.

She’s incredibly tight but wet enough that I dare to cautiously press forward.

I touch her cheek, stroke her bottom lip with my thumb, then press my mouth onto hers.

I kiss her slowly and with feeling as I pull out of her a little, then cautiously thrust into her again.

At that moment, Ruby shifts the angle of her hips—and the resistance eases.

I sink my full length into her, and we both groan.

A thought is trying to fight its way through the layers of emotion to the surface of my mind, but I can’t quite grasp it.

There’s no more room in my head. It’s full of Ruby, the taste and the heat of her, surrounding me.

I thrust again, and Ruby pants breathlessly.

She wraps a leg around my hips, and I hold on to her thigh.

It feels so perfect that I wish we’d done this sooner instead of scattering boulders in our path.

I dig my fingers into her thighs and hold her still while I try to find something approaching a steady rhythm.

Ruby’s hands are all over me; she leans down and kisses my chest, presses into me with every stroke, as though she can’t get enough of me.

I feel the same. She feels so good that it’s bloody hard not to lose control of my movements.

“You’re shaking,” she whispers, running her hand up my back. She holds on to my shoulders while I kiss the spot behind her ear and slowly thrust into her.

“Because I have to control myself.”

“Is this the James Beaufort who breaks waterbeds having sex?” she asks breathlessly.

I bite at her throat. “I already told you it wasn’t a waterbed.”

Ruby ignores my words and wraps her other leg around me too.

She moves her hips so that I slip deeper inside her.

I groan, and, almost by itself, my body follows her indirect instructions.

I put a hand on the nape of Ruby’s neck and hold her so that her head doesn’t bang into the bed.

Then I press into her, harder and faster than before.

Ruby scratches my back and with every movement, makes sure that I gradually lose control.

It doesn’t take long for the headboard to whack audibly into the wall, and I can no longer suppress the sounds coming from deep in my chest. Ruby’s breathing faster than ever, her nails digging into my skin.

Her eyes are shut, but I just have to see what’s happening to her.

“Look at me,” I pant.

She does as I say, and our eyes meet. The connection between us is more intense than ever.

I can’t look away, and Ruby seems to feel the same.

We’re moving in unison, as if we were made to do this very thing.

I thrust into her, again and again, until I find a place inside her that makes her groan loudly.

Her muscles contract around me and suddenly it’s too much.

The bed isn’t creaking loudly enough to drown out our noises as we climax together.

My world explodes, and all that’s left is a universe of colored stars and lights, where there’s no room for anything but Ruby.