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

“I see that.” Her voice was barely above a whisper. She started walking toward her car. “Are you coming to my place?” She turned to look at him.

“Do you want me to?”

She didn’t answer right away, but then nodded. “Yes. I think we need to talk.”

He watched her for a few seconds, hating the distance between them. A distance that hadn’t existed twenty minutes ago.

“Okay.”

She nodded, got into her car, and he walked to his truck. They could have been strangers on the street, the divide between them was that big. By the time he revved up his engine, she was gone, her taillights small embers of red in the dark. He sat in the truck for a good long while, listening to the engine rumble, listening to the doubt that crowded his mind.

Today had been wrong pretty much from the get-go. Something had shifted, and it wasn’t anything good. Ruby was right. It was time for a talk. He took his time on the drive over, thinking of the things he wanted to say. Things that had been on his mind for a while now. Things she didn’t want to hear.

It was then he realized a big one. Something life changing. Something that was probably going to kick him in the ass.

Travis Blackwell loved Ruby Montgomery. This wasn’t just about making things right or exploring an intense physical attraction. He’d given his heart to her over ten years ago. A heart that still belonged to her. There was a reason he’d never found someone else. Hell, he hadn’t even looked.

Because there was no one else.

He pulled into her driveway and was up her steps before the last rattle of the engine was heard. He didn’t bother to knock. He strode inside, absently patted Tasha on the head, and called for Ruby. She didn’t answer, and then he spied her sandals in the middle of the foyer. A few feet farther, her dress.

Travis followed the trail like Hansel after breadcrumbs, picking up the items as he headed to the great room at the back. Her bra was tossed onto one of the wing chairs near the garden doors. Pink and delicate. He glanced up. Her silky, barely there underwear hung from the door handle.

The door was cracked open.

Like a bloodhound, Travis headed outside. The moon hung low over the lake, spilling soft light over the entire yard. She was there, in the shadows near the edge of her deck. He saw the curve of her cheek, the soft swell of her breast.

“Come here.” Her words were spoken slowly, a hint of seduction coating them like candy.

Travis swallowed hard. His body responded immediately, and it took some effort to override the desire coursing through his blood. They needed to talk. He couldn’t do this anymore. Not until they cleared the air.

“You come here,” he commanded, hands fisted at his side, jaw clamped so tight that pain radiated up the side of his face.

She didn’t hesitate. Ruby walked like a cat, long, lithe limbs and soft, padded feet. Her body was slowly revealed to him, the shadows receding as she moved into the moonlight. A breeze lifted her hair, and it billowed around her, a moonbeam halo that made her look like a goddess. Was she aware of the effect?

She stopped in front of him and licked her lips, her eyes on the bulge between his legs. He was so damn hard and filled with an urge to possess. It made it difficult to concentrate. To organize his thoughts and get the words out. The ones he needed to say. The ones she needed to hear.

“Ruby, we need to talk before we…”

But her hands were at his waist and she went for the zipper. “We’ll talk tomorrow,” she whispered.

“I really think…”

She was on her knees, her soft, warm hands on his cock. She looked up at him, her eyes in shadow, her mouth glistening as her tongue slowly swept across her lips. She was killing him. And she knew it.

His hands found their way to her head, his intention to push back—to take a second and clear his head—but she closed her warm mouth over him.

And he was done.

Chapter 22

Ruby was dreaming the kind of dream you didn’t want to let go of. She was floating. Weightless. Riding the midnight sky. Languishing under a tropical sun. Awash in warm sensations and hedonistic thoughts. The dream was so real. The colors vibrant and alive. The images incredibly erotic.

She shifted slightly and gasped. A slow smile curved her mouth, even as her sleep-heavy eyelids struggled to open. That sweet ache, the one that started deep within and pulled hard, made her moan. It had a rhythm. A cadence that was older than time. Her hips began to move, and slowly she became aware. Mr. Sandman let go, and she realized a few things.

First off, she wasn’t dreaming.

Secondly, Travis was inside her.