“Grew up on a—”
“Farm,” she finished for him, crossing her arms with a laugh. “I’ve heard. ”
The wind sprayed sprinkles across the deck, and Rubi turned inside.
“I’ve been wanting to see your house,” Wes said. “Is it as amazing as Jax’s?”
He stepped into the kitchen, and Rubi called Rodie in, then closed the door behind him.
A slow, low whistle slid through Wes’s teeth. “Damn, girl. ”
Rubi glanced over the awesome kitchen space. Working at home, she spent a lot of time looking at the black-and-gold granite counters, polished slate floors, and rich walnut cabinetry, and never got tired of it. She’d lived in a lot of nice places, all around the world, but this—this was the only one that had ever felt like home.
He ambled in, sliding one of those talented hands across the smooth granite island at the center of the kitchen. “I knew you made bank with your apps and programs, but…not quite this much. ”
“It’s not mine. I thought you knew that. ”
He glanced at her as he neared the table in the breakfast area. “For as well as we know each other, it seems there’s a lot left to learn. Whose is it? Do you rent?”
“It’s one of Dolph’s two dozen homes. ” Rodie wandered to Wes’s side, and he absently leaned down to scratch his ears, creating that blissful look on Rodie’s face. Wes had definitely passed the Rodie test—one more reason for Rubi to fall for him. “I moved in a year ago, when my condo building was converted into luxury town homes, which I didn’t want to buy in to. He’s never even stepped foot in this house since he bought it. It was vacant for years before I moved in. I don’t even know why he keeps it. I never planned on staying, but…now I love it. I don’t want to live anywhere else. I’ve tried to buy it from him, but…” She shrugged. She really didn’t want to get into that now. “Maybe he’ll let go of it someday. ”
“I could see how it would be hard to leave a place like this. ” Wes laid the rig on the table. “It still so weird to hear you call your father Dolph. ”
“It’s a strange nickname for Rudolpho, but everything he does is strange. And honestly, I think he changed it because Rudy is too close to Rubi and he’s always wanted as little to do with me as possible. ”
“No, I mean… Never mind. ”
“That I don’t call him Dad?” she asked. When Wes nodded, she said, “Well, he’s never been a father, let alone a dad. I’d never call him either. ”
Reaching in the nearest cabinet, she pushed aside the Advil and pulled down a bottle of Tylenol, offering it to him. Then grabbed water from the fridge, returning to hand him the bottle.
With Rodie snuggling up to Wes like he was a long lost friend, Wes popped and downed the pills. She glanced at the rig, taken aback by its streamlined construction. “Let me go change, and we can talk about this. ”
When she turned, Wes caught her arm and pulled her into his body. She tensed, her hands pressing against his warm chest.
“You’re wearing more than you were at the club. A hell of a lot more than that corset last night, which was mind-blowingly hot, by the way. Tell Lexi I’ll be her first sale. ”
She slanted a saucy smile. “You’d look amazing in red. ”
He snorted a laugh, turned her toward the table, and eased her in front of him, wrapping her in his arms and setting the water on the table. With his chin on her shoulder, both of them looking down at the rig, he pressed his face to the curve of her neck. “I’d buy it for you,” he murmured against her skin. “But I’ll wear red if it turns you on. ”
His mouth eased over her skin while Rodie tried to push in between them at their feet. She relaxed into Wes. Her eyes slid closed, head tilted back to rest on his shoulder. She felt enrobed in his heat, his strength. She felt safe and loved and appreciated—things she’d never felt in a man’s arms before. She’d felt sexy, desired, and needed—physically—with men in the past, but this was so different. So deliriously decadent.
And she was in deep, deep trouble. Because she wanted him more than she wanted to turn him away. His warm, hard chest pressed to the thin shirt on her back. He kept his hips against hers, his erection riding the low curve of her spine, and she wished there was nothing between them. Wished she could feel the length of him at her back, skin to skin.
“God you feel good. I feel like I haven’t seen you in days,” he said, his chin on her shoulder again. “Did you get enough space?”
“Wes…” That little burn of panic started along her breastbone. “I…don’t know what I’m doing. I usually know exactly what I want. But I’m so torn, and I’m confused. It’s not fair to you—”
He turned his head and kissed her, just a press of lips to shut her up. But the kiss turned instantly hungry, like that one taste had given them both reminders of what they’d been missing. Wes’s tongue searched her mouth, and Rubi didn’t resist like she should have. She tilted her head back and opened to him, relishing the sound of need vibrating in his throat. Then he pulled away just as quickly as he’d kissed her, leaving her lightheaded and lost.
“Oh, yum. You taste like chocolate. ” He pressed his face to her neck again, one hand deep in her hair, clenching, releasing, clenching, as if he were trying to get hold of himself. Then pulled back and looked into her eyes. “Baby, try not to think too much, okay? Let’s just enjoy being together for now. ”
She returned her attention to the table, but his body was still plastered to the length of hers. “I can’t think like this. ”
“Focus, precious. ”
Ten