You Rock My World (The Blackwells of Crystal Lake 3)

“Remember the first time we had sex?”

What the… His eyes flew open, and slowly, the floor beneath him materialized. His fingers dug into the face pillow and held on as if it were a life raft and he was drowning. He didn’t answer because he couldn’t.

“It was in your daddy’s boathouse. The last night of the summer before senior year began. Do you remember?”

Images flashed before him. Naked limbs. Long blonde hair snaked around his body. Wide blue eyes filled with trust. His hand on her stomach.

Get. Your. Shit. Together.

With a hell of a lot of effort, Travis centered himself. He needed to get in the game before Ruby scored the first goal. And damned if she wasn’t well on her way.

“You were a virgin.”

Her hands stilled.

“You were scared.”

She made a noise, like she’d unlocked something caught in her mind, and he kept going, not fighting the images anymore.

“It was raining, and we’d just come back from across the lake. Sunday barbecue at Bookers’ cottage. You were wearing that baby blue bikini, the one that was my favorite, underneath a white dress.”

“I remember that dress,” she whispered. “It belonged to my mother.”

“I knew I was in trouble the moment we tied up in the boathouse. You pulled that dress over your head and your hair got all tangled up in it. I had to help you. You were shaking. I think I told you we could wait, but you didn’t want to.”

“No.” Ruby’s hands lay on his skin, but they didn’t move. “I wanted to know if everything I’d heard was true.” She paused. “I wanted to know what it felt like to have you inside me.”

Travis’s heart was beating so loudly, it was a soundtrack inside his head. His dick was as hard as a rock, and he moved again, painfully aware that he was so close to the edge, he might not make it out of this room intact.

“What are you doing, Ruby?” he asked, voice rough and barely controlled.

He couldn’t do this. He hadn’t come to play games. He knew what she was up to. Ruby was trying to divert him from his mission. She was trying to use sex to get him off his game, and it had almost worked. But he hadn’t come here to have sex with her.

He’d come here to make her see that this thing that still existed between them, it deserved another chance. He deserved another chance.

Travis pushed himself up and turned over in one smooth movement, catching Ruby by surprise. She took a step back and nearly tumbled onto her ass, but he grabbed her and pulled her to him. She was half on the bed with one of her legs braced on the floor, the other pretty much in his lap. Her hands splayed across his chest, the oil coating her fingers slick and warm. She looked down, and he followed her gaze, a tight smile in place because, hello, his dick was saluting them both as if it were the Fourth of July and he was the most patriotic man on the planet. The blanket she’d used barely covered him, not that it mattered.

She was breathing heavily but didn’t turn away when he cradled the side of her head and, with a bit of pressure, slowly pulled her gaze back to his. God, she was so beautiful. He noticed her pulse beating at the base of her neck and the thin sheen of sweat on her forehead. Beneath the thin white T-shirt, her nipples pebbled—she was just as worked up as he was. He inhaled deeply, taking in the most basic scents known to man, the kind that couldn’t be replicated. The kind that could drive a guy crazy.

It was primal. Want. Need. Desire.

It was all wrapped up in a heady mixture that circled them both like a hungry predator. Watching. Waiting to see who would break first.

“What do you think I’m doing?”

“I didn’t come here for sex. I want you to know that.” He measured his words carefully.

Her eyes widened, and she licked her bottom lip, but she held his gaze and didn’t look away.

“I call bullshit, but whatever. I’ll play along. What did you come here for?”

“You wouldn’t take my phone calls or return my text messages.”

“You’ve got to be kidding me.” She blew out a long breath. “And coming here? Taking Lisa Booker’s spot without my knowledge was the lightbulb going off in your brain? You thought this was the best place to have a conversation?”

He shrugged. “You didn’t leave me much choice.”

She pursed her lips, then opened her mouth. But then slammed it shut again without saying a word. The silence grew heavy and hot. It infiltrated his pores, and he shifted, still hard as a rock and more uncomfortable than he’d been in his entire life. This right here was his moment, and he needed to get it right.