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

ned her. He didn’t sit too close. But then he didn’t sit far enough away for her to be able to ignore the pull either. She wondered if he felt it as strongly as she did. He grabbed a remote, and music filled the air, making her smile as she relaxed against the seat.

“The Eagles,” she murmured. “Good call.” It was her favorite band ever. “You really did think of everything.”

“It’s all in the details.”

She nodded. “It is.” She took a sip of wine. “Where do you live when you’re not here? When you’re not playing hockey?”

He didn’t seem surprised by the question and shrugged. “I have a condo near the arena. Had a place in LA that I bought on a whim, but I sold it last year. I think I slept in that house maybe two weeks out of the entire five years I owned it.”

She knew the whim because Google was her friend. The whim’s name was Ursula, and she was a Swedish model who’d made the cover of Sport’s Illustrated three times. The swimsuit edition.

“I’m surprised,” she said after a while. “About the condo.”

“Yeah?” He leaned back. “Why?”

“You never seemed the type to settle in the city. At least not in a condo. I guess I pictured some fancy estate out in the suburbs.”

He was quiet for a few moments. “It’s just a place to put my head at night. I guess I don’t really think of it as home. I’ve always thought of buying something else when I was ready.”

“Ready? For what?”

His eyes were unreadable. The hairs on the back of Ruby’s head stood on end, and her heart started racing.

“For a family.”

He seemed surprised at his own words and looked away, his gaze drawn to something on the water.

“When will you be ready?” Sweet Jesus. Had she really spoken the words aloud? It was the sight of him earlier, holding that baby, that had her insides all knotted up.

Travis looked back, and she swallowed thickly. Yep. Her mouth had somehow acted on its own accord, and now everything was on the table. Could he see the yearning in her heart? Hear the want that colored the air between them? Feel the ache in her soul? The one that had never gone away?

“Oh God. That was a stupid thing to say,” she said quickly, holding up her wineglass. “Too much of this.”

Travis set his beer down and moved toward her. God help Ruby, but she was frozen in place. Not that she wanted to move. That was a thought she didn’t want to analyze, because it would force her to think, and right now, she didn’t want to think. She wanted to close her eyes and lose herself in this night. In this moment. In this man.

She slammed her eyes shut because she didn’t want him to see what was there. She wanted him. Badly.

His hand slid into the tangle of hair at her nape, and his long fingers cupped her gently. She felt his breath on her cheek and inhaled as sharp, hot need swept through her body. It had been so long since she’d felt such a reaction. There’d been other men. Of course there had. Some had even been great lovers, and some had been just okay. But when want and need and desire intersected with love, it made the physical reach an entirely different level.

Love. God. That word. Was it possible she was still in love with Travis? After all this time? After all the pain and hurt?

“I feel like right now, I’m home.” His voice was rough. Heavy with emotion. “Ruby, you’ve always been home to me. Even when I was too stupid to know it.”

His mouth trailed a line of fire along her jawline and then made its way up until he swept the sweetest kiss across her lips. She opened beneath him, wanting more, but he pulled away and rested his forehead against hers.

“I want you,” he whispered fiercely. “I want every single fucking inch of you. But, Ruby, we gotta be sure. I don’t want to screw this up. So if you’re not sure, I’m cool with that. You can sleep below, and I’ll—“

“Stop talking.”

She shook her head and got up before blowing out the candle on the table. Their boat was in darkness, save for the muted lights thrown from the few moored boats with people aboard.

“Ruby.”

“Stop. Talking. Travis.”

She pulled the white dress over her head and tossed it to the ground. She was doing this. She was jumping the hell out of a pothole, and she was going to enjoy every damn minute of it.

“Are you sure?” he asked hoarsely.