Page 71 of A Tempting Seduction

“Carrying me around like I weigh nothing.”

I grinned, heading toward her bedroom with Ruby secure in my arms. “For goodness sake, woman, I'm a foot taller and outweigh you by at least eighty pounds of muscle. I should hope I can carry you twelve feet across a room. If not, they'll take away my man card.”

Ruby laughed, the sound warm and husky, and perfectly Ruby. But when I set her down beside her bed, the laughter faded into something deeper, more intense.

“Ford,” she whispered.

“I'm here.”

I reached for her slowly, giving her every opportunity to change her mind. But Ruby stepped into my arms willingly, her hands sliding up my chest to frame my face.

“I want to touch you,” she said softly. “All of you.”

Her fingers found the hem of my sweater, tugging it up and over my head. I let her learn me slowly, her hands mapping the planes of my chest and shoulders with reverent touches. When she pressed her lips to the center of my chest, right over my heart, I thought I might lose my mind.

“Your turn,” I said roughly.

Ruby hesitated, then nodded. I hated seeing that moment of hesitation. But I knew it wasn’t going to be words that would reassure her, it would have to be actions. Actions and probably time. I found the zipper at the back of her dress, easing it down with careful precision. The fabric whispered to the floor, pooling around her feet in a puddle of green silk.

My breath caught at the sight of her. Black lace and satin that made my mouth water, so different from the practical cotton I'd touched that night on her couch. This was Ruby dressed for seduction. Ruby, who'd planned this evening as carefully as I had.

She was beautiful. More beautiful than I'd imagined, and I'd spent a heck of a lot of time imagining. Voluptuous curves and pale skin, a landscape I wanted to explore with my hands and mouth until I knew every inch of her.

“You're perfect,” I breathed.

“I'm not.”

“You are to me.” And she was. She fit me. My big hands had something to hold onto. To caress, to mold, to pleasure.

I clasped her waist and stroked upward to cup her breasts. They were perfect, but I wanted to touch skin. I was dying to see the color of her nipples. In my fantasies I was sure they were a pale pink that easily flushed dark after I sucked them. I reached behind her to unfasten her bra.

“No.” She was no longer whispering, and I saw fear in her eyes. I wanted to kill that sucker of a fiancé of hers.

“Okay, sweetheart, whatever you need. You’re in the driver’s seat.”

“Can we lie down?”

I picked her up and lowered her onto the bed. Once again, I saw that flash of wonder on her face. I was going to carry her as often as I could if it would get me this kind of reaction. I sat down on the side of the bed and took off my shoes and socks, lining them up beside her nightstand. Then I stood up and took off my jeans. She watched my every move, her eyes darkening with desire.

I pulled out my wallet and took out the two condoms I’d been saving for this night and put them on her nightstand. When I turned back to her, she gasped, and I laughed as I saw her staring at my erection that my briefs couldn’t contain. Then I was the one sucking in my breath as I watched her lick her lips. I thought I might lose it.

“Can I lie beside you?” I asked.

“Goodness, yes,” she moaned.

As soon as I was beside her, she started to touch me. That was fine, it would keep her busy while I focused on her generous breasts. I understood what the problem was. Somehow society had convinced women that every man liked smaller, perky breasts, but what she didn’t understand was, I was just turned on by her. By Ruby. The fact that her body was all large and luscious, and my preference, was icing on the cake. I only pulled down the cups of her bra, so her breasts were still supported, and groaned at the sight.

“Goodness, Ruby, you’re gorgeous.”

Her eyes darted up to study my expression and what she saw must have reassured her. Her arms wound around my neck as I began to kiss and lick her breasts, unable to pick my favorite. I gloried in her whimpers of pleasure and finally covered one of her nipples with my lips and sucked hard, laving it with my tongue.

Ruby cried out. I wasn’t sure if it was pleasure or pain, but since her nails dug into my scalp and she clutched me closer, I figured I was doing something right.

I continued licking and sucking, growing harder with every passing second. But I wasn’t done. There was someplace else I was more eager to taste and touch. I eased my way downward, loving the feel of her soft silky skin as I kissed my way to the top of her black lace and satin panties.

I looked up and caught her dazed expression. “I don’t know, Ruby, these are nice, but I miss the cotton. I really think the bunny pattern was the best part.”

“Ford…” she cried out. “You weren’t supposed to notice.”