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

It was Thanksgiving weekend, and she was packing up the house she’d grown up in. Getting it ready to sell as soon as she could. She glanced around, taking in the worn linoleum, the tired wallpaper, and the well-used furniture. This house held her past. It held her history. But it was only part of the story. A small part.

“What about this?” Travis walked into the kitchen holding a small white box in his hands. He’d flown in after a game the night before and wasn’t expected back in Detroit until the following evening. They were expected for turkey dinner at his dad’s place, but had decided to work on this house for a few hours before they headed back out to the lake.

“What is it?” Curious, she walked over and peered inside the box. “Oh my God. Where’d you find this?”

“Your bedroom.”

A sly smile touched her mouth. “My bedroom is off-limits. You know the rules.”

Travis laughed and grabbed her close. “Those rules don’t exist anymore. Hell, they didn’t exist when they existed. How many times did I sneak in your window so we could get busy when your dad was out here drinking his beer, watching Jeopardy?”

She laughed. “Too many times to count.” She reached into the box and retrieved a delicate gold ring. It was thin, barely enough gold to matter, with a small opal centered around diamond chips.

It was her promise ring.

“I gave you that after our first summer together.”

“I remember,” Ruby replied slowly, sliding the ring onto her finger, more than a little surprised it still fit. “We’d got into a fight because Marlene wouldn’t stop flirting with you, and you seemed to like it.”

“So you decided to get back at me by going to the drive-in with Pete McMillan.”

“I did.”

“To make me jealous.”

She laughed. “It worked.” But the laughter died at the look in his eyes. They were dark and intense, and suddenly, the air was charged with an electricity that had her hair standing on end.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

He set down the box. “How am I looking at you?”

Mouth dry, she held her breath when he bent forward and planted a kiss at the base of her neck. Her pulse went crazy, and she saw the half smile. He trailed kisses along her jaw and teased the corners of her mouth. She tried to turn to him, but he wouldn’t let her. He grabbed her arms and held them over her head, and then nuzzled between her breasts.

“Travis,” she breathed, arching into him. He yanked her top down, exposing her bra, and she groaned as he opened his hot, wet mouth over her nipple.

“We’ve never had sex in the kitchen,” he growled against her. He lifted her up and put her on the countertop.

His words penetrated the fog, and she shook her head. “Jesus, Trav. If Mrs. Davis is out back, she can see us from here.”

“Don’t worry about Mrs. Davis.” He kissed her then. A deep, intense, sensual kiss that spread tingles along her limbs and had her body humming an erotic melody. He tugged on her jeans, and she lifted her hips to help him. And by the time he had them down to her ankles, they were both breathing hard.

“Let me see you,” she whispered, tearing at his Henley. He lifted it over his head, and she sighed at the sight of all that muscle and definition. Her hands splayed across his chest, and she held on as he lifted her butt and positioned himself between her legs.

She looked into his eyes, and her heart jumped. She couldn’t tear her gaze away. Not when he eased himself inside her. Or when he began to move. Slowly. Then faster. She held his gaze until his eyes darkened like coal, and he rocked into her. Until her own cries matched his, and he collapsed against her.

Long moment passed, filled with deep breaths and accelerated hearts.

“Shoot,” he said, leaning close with a wicked grin.

“What?”

“Mrs. Davis.”

Ruby nearly fell off the counter. “You’re kidding? She’s out there?”

Travis chuckled. “Yeah.”

“Yes, you’re kidding or yes, she’s out there.”