Rebel (Renegades 2)

He closed his hand on the railing an inch from hers. “I don’t think I told you how adorable you looked on set today. ”

Humor tickled Rubi’s gut. “Jeans and a T-shirt? That’s adorable?”

“Tight little jeans that hugged your awesome ass. That diamond in your belly button teasing me. And a T-shirt that clung to every last perfect curve. Then there were those pretty toes of yours. I might be pushing that friend boundary a little here, but what I’ve got planned for those sensitive toes has given me a hard-on I’ve been living with all damn day. “Now I’m really crossing the line…because we’re alone…and because I really want sex…” He took her wrist, covered her hand with his, and pressed her palm to the front of his slacks, then curved her fingers over his package. “And I’m hoping you do, too. ”

Rubi gasped and pulled back, but Wes’s heavy hand covered hers and guided it along his length. His entire length. Which kept going. And going. She thought she’d gotten a good feel for him at the club while he’d been grinding against her ass, but…no. She was getting a literal firsthand take of the thickness, length, hardness, and heat of his cock.

A wickedly urgent need closed her throat. Oh, yeah, she wanted sex.

“Baby,” he said, his voice soft. “Are you drooling?”

Rubi’s mind righted from its sideways slide, and she found herself feeling him through his pants, no help from Wes necessary, although his hand still covered hers. Christ, he felt…delicious. A heavy weight lay at the bottom of her belly, casting heat between her legs.

“I…um…” She lifted her gaze. His expression was tight with desire. “Might be…”

Wes laughed, the sound rolling into a groan as he pulled her hand away. “Just one of your many benefits. ” He threaded their fingers and brought her hand to his mouth for a kiss. “To do with as you please. ”

A laugh curled in her throat. He might be acting sweet now, but she’d seen his many sides, and she’d bet he could be a very intense lover. She’d never thought any man would be too much for her to handle, but something about all his facets made her wonder.

His free hand lifted, and he skimmed the back of one finger along the curve of her breast at the corset’s edge. The featherlight touch sent gooseflesh across her chest. Her nipples puckered, and the crimson leather showed every last curve of the hard nub. He watched the reaction with a hunger she felt all the way through her.

“You are so sensitive,” he murmured. “If I dropped to my knees, would you take pity on me?”

Want swept through her in a fierce wave. Her eyes fell closed as she whispered, “There would be no pity involved. ”

Air whooshed over her skin, and she opened her eyes. Wes was on one knee in front of her, one hand still gripping the railing, his other sliding around her waist. Rubi gasped at his touch. Every inch of her skin tightened in a ripple of pleasure.

His body remained perfectly still, his hand adding the slightest pressure to her lower back and drawing her belly toward his mouth. His warm breath touched her like fingertips, and she watched as he tipped his head, lowered those golden lashes, and opened his mouth against the strip of skin exposed beneath the edge of the corset.

Something tender and impossibly warm squeezed her heart so hard her chest ached. Something that definitely didn’t fall into the friend or sex category. Then the sensation of his mouth on her skin registered, and white-hot lust slid low, pooling between her legs.

“Oh hell,” drifted from her mouth in a desire-filled exhale.

A door downstairs opened, and Jax’s and Lexi’s voices touched Rubi’s ears, dragging her back from the blissful place Wes had taken her. Somewhere she desperately wanted to stay. But all her doubts from the past washed in, cooling her heat.

She combed a hand through his hair, slid her fingers under his chin, and lifted his mouth from her belly. With regret thickening her throat, she ran her thumb over his rough cheek.

“Find a girl tonight, Wes,” she told him, serious, resolute. “Because I can’t do this. Nothing’s going to happen between us. ”

“You can. I know you can. ” Wes released the railing and rose. His voice was soft and understanding as he drew her close and kissed her lips with a murmured, “Plenty has already happened between us. And it’s just the beginning. ”

“Wes, get down here,?

? Jax said from the bottom of the stairs. “Lexi and Rubi need to work. And you need to get your ass to Lure before Bolton does something stupid. ”

He turned and started for the stairs. With his foot on the top stair, he glanced back over his shoulder, but his gaze didn’t slide down her body as she expected. “Come keep me company when you’re done here. ”

“No. I need some space. ”

He held her gaze, and she swore she could see the reality of their situation solidify in his eyes. He glanced toward the floor and gave one nod before turning away and trotting down the stairs.

Rubi’s entire chest swirled with confusion, frustration, and loss.

She didn’t hear the words Wes and Jax exchanged, but she flinched when the door to the shop shut, signaling Wes’s departure.

Lexi climbed the stairs, picked up another style of lingerie, and wandered over to Rubi. “I’ve always stayed out of your sex life, haven’t I?”

Her gaze tore from the location she’d last seen Wes and jumped to Lexi. “What?”