Page 48 of I Hate You More

“I know enough,” he said, his voice ragged. She wasn’t sure if it was the kiss or the dog reference that caused that sharp edge, but she liked it either way. This was the sound of a man who let no challenge go untested, who treated Ruby as his equal in his resolve to get the better of her.

“You told me nothing I did would move you,” she pointed out. “‘I’m determined not to let you get to me today.’ Those were your exact words.”

His defense was a simple and powerful one. “You said ‘please.’”

Not unsurprisingly, this response set her pulse alight. It was true. She’d asked him to kiss her, and he had—deeply and thoroughly and with so much intensity that her knees started to buckle. How had she not realized it before? Spencer wasn’t a man who required a green light or danger word to get started. There was no need to play games and throw porcupines into the ring. Even the thrill of competition was an unnecessary burden.

With this man, all she had to do was ask.

Twining her arms around his neck, she pulled Spencer in for another kiss. This one washerdoing and hers to control, deep and unrelenting, not just their mouths but their bodies entwined. She couldn’t get close enough to him, her legs entangled with his and her hands curling in his hair. If it had been possible to climb him, she’d have done it, curling up in his arms and refusing to leave until all her desires had been sated.

A low hum escaped the back of his throat as he accepted this assault, but he didn’t stop kissing her. He shifted his position instead, the entire length of his body drawing closer until she was pressed against the window between the rooms. The sudden shock of that pressure—of his hips holding her in place, of her inability to do anything but let him—sent jolts of pleasure through her, but she wasn’t so lost to propriety that she was willing to enact this scene in front of children.

“Um, I know I talk a big game, but I’m not actually a fan of exhibitionism. Especially where minors are concerned.” She tilted her head to indicate the window. “Maybe we should take this somewhere else for a few minutes.”

He laughed, his breath a whisper against her cheek. “Don’t worry. It’s a one-way mirror. You didn’t think I’d kiss you like that in front of myfather, did you?”

“I’ve seen you do a lot more scandalous things than that.”

“I could say the same thing about you.”

His casual mention of that day in his house only turned Ruby’s limbs to liquid all over again, but she forced herself to remain standing. There were couches in here and a cot and a perfectly good wall that she could be pressed up against, but the deep tug of desire would have to wait. Not only were there people in the next room, but she was intrigued enough by the one-way mirror to change course.

“What is this place, anyway?” she asked. “It looks more like a rec room than a dog kennel.”

If Spencer was disappointed not to continue their tryst, he didn’t let it show. He ran a hand through his hair and followed her gaze over the furnishings.

“That’s close to what it is, actually,” he said. “As soon as Caleb and I were old enough to be trusted to take care of the puppies, it was our shared job. This was only meant to be the showroom, a place where we could bring a puppy out to meet a potential buyer, but we liked it so much out here that we practically moved in.”

She gestured toward the cot. “I heard about the sleepy puppy times.”

He coughed heavily. “They got lonely at night. They needed me.”

She didn’t believe him for a second, but she allowed the comment to pass. There was too much to see here—too much to learn. Even though she’d been spending quite a bit of time inside Spencer’s home, he treated that place like it was a battleground. His childhood bedroom had felt much the same, with a line down the middle and carefully delineated spaces for the brothers. Spencer’s had been predictably neat and organized, with books and toy models lining the shelves. Caleb’s had been much more haphazard and boasted a lot fewer academic posters on the walls.

Out here, however, there was no sign of the fractured relationship between the brothers. It looked like a place where a pair of teenagers could hang out, take care of puppies, and be themselves. Together.

Spencer must have been thinking along the same lines because he cleared his throat and said, “I’m sorry about earlier, when I jumped on you for talking to my mom. It’s a tricky subject because Caleb and I aren’t exactly getting along right now.”

“No kidding?” She laughed and, after a brief check to ensure that the boys were still enthralled with the puppies, lowered herself onto the overstuffed couch along the far wall. It sank under her weight, embracing her like a well-worn hug.

Instead of joining her, Spencer leaned against the wall next to the window and crossed his arms. Ruby would have liked to have him next to her—near her,on topof her—but this was good, too. She could see every line of his expression, watch as his eyelashes fluttered and said all the things that he wouldn’t.

“Are you ever going to tell me what the feud is about?” she asked. “Therealfeud, not some made-up nonsense about whose turn it is to pick up the dry cleaning.”

He hunched one shoulder. “I can’t.”

“I’m a good listener,” she promised. “And there’s not much in this world I haven’t already seen or heard. Believe me, some of the girls I met growing up had families that made my mom look like a saint. Few things have the power to shock me.”

“It’s not that. Iwantto tell you, I really do, but Caleb would never forgive me.” He hesitated. “Things are already difficult between us. I can’t make it worse.”

There was something so earnest in his face that her heart gave a lurch. For a man who normally did his best to look impassive, there was an awful lot of emotion in those dark-ringed eyes.

“Whatever it is, I’m sure it can be worked out,” she said.

His breath came out in a soft huff. “I’m not. Maybe, if I had a few more months with him, a few more weeks, even…”

Ruby jolted to her feet. Instead of lurching this time, her heart all but stopped. She’d known that something was wrong, but she hadn’t realized it went that deep.