Riskier Business (Crossing the Line 0.5)(2)

Ruby was forced to lean her weight onto the pool cue in her hand when her legs would no longer support her. “I need to know exactly what harder entails before I agree to the bet.” The temptation to hear more proved too much. Ruby suspected the more she pushed, the longer he would make her wait for satisfaction, but then curiosity had always been her downfall. “I deal in specifics.”

“I don’t appreciate being questioned,” Troy murmured against her ear. “But I’ll make an exception since we’re getting to know each other.” He moved to block her view of the bar. Gripping the front waistband of her jeans, he twisted it hard in his fist. Denim, already snug against her center, squeezed tight around that incredibly sensitive part of her until she gasped. Suddenly, release loomed so close, she knew if she moved her hips in either direction, she’d come right where she stood, in a bar full of people. A sensual, knowing smile played on his lips. “You want specifics? Fine. I’m going to f*ck you in the shower. The neighbors can’t hear you scream quite as loudly in there. I’m going to nail you, over and over, against the wall. Until you can’t think. Or stand. Or speak.” He twisted the denim even tighter and Ruby moaned into his shoulder. “Then I’m going to go down on you, lick the spot I just satisfied, pick you up, and do it all over again.”

Troy released her waistband and Ruby slumped against the stool beside her. He maintained eye contact with her as he bent over the table and sunk a solid in the side pocket. As she watched, pulse jackhammering in her ears, Troy cleared the table of every ball except for hers, before knocking in the eight.

“Get your jacket.”

…

Ruby tossed her jacket onto the kitchen table, watching warily as Troy did the same. On the ride from Brooklyn back to Manhattan, he hadn’t spoken to her once, communicating instead through discreet touches and hidden glances in the backseat of the cab. A hand brushing across her breasts, a soft growl beside her ear. The air between them practically vibrated, the electric hum matched by her own anxiousness. Still, the part of her brain that managed to think clearly around a sexually charged Troy had decided he wouldn’t win the game quite so easily.

“Nice place you’ve got here,” Ruby remarked casually, catching the slight twitch of his lips. She ran her fingers over the square red candles arranged in the center of the table. “I would say it needs a woman’s touch, but it looks like somebody beat me to it.”

Flash of amusement long gone, Troy rounded the table purposefully, crowding her against it. “Speaking of a woman’s touch…” He took her hand and pressed it against his straining fly. “I’m done waiting for yours.”

As he leaned in to kiss her, Ruby drew back quickly. His low sound of frustration made her stomach muscles clench. Teasing a hungry Troy was like juggling a stick of lit dynamite. Too bad she was about to clue him in to the fact that his plan to pretend they didn’t know each other had backfired. “Just a minute, big boy. I don’t sleep with men I just met.” She leaned back on the table, letting her shirt ride up to expose her belly. “I’m going to need a little convincing.”

A muscle worked in his jaw. “Convincing.”

Ruby bit her lip and nodded. “I need to know what kind of man I’ve allowed to bring me home.”

Troy’s gaze dropped to her bare midriff. “You should be careful what you wish for.” He braced himself with hands on either side of her hips, then bent low to let his warm breath fan across her belly. Such a simple action, yet Ruby’s lips parted on a shaky sigh, thighs tightening on top of the table. Before she could guess his intention, he bared his teeth and ripped open the button on her jeans. He hit her with blistering eye contact, maintaining it as he drew down her zipper, painstakingly slow, with his teeth. Her shuddering breaths echoed in the kitchen as Troy straightened to his full height once more. “You want to know what type of man I am, Ruby?”

“Yes,” she whispered.

So fast she didn’t have time to react, his big hand disappeared inside the opening of her jeans, shoving her panties aside to impale her with his middle finger. When Ruby automatically moaned and tipped her head back, legs opening in a silent plea, Troy sucked in a breath. “I’m the kind of man who makes you this goddamn wet before he’s even touched you.” He withdrew his hand and turned toward the bathroom, pulling his shirt over his head as he went. Seeing his broad, sinfully defined back revealed, Ruby’s pulse sped up even faster. “When you’re ready to stop playing games, come get in the shower.”

Ruby stripped off the last of her clothes, leaving them in a pile outside the bathroom door. She could hear Troy on the other side, pulling back the shower door and stepping under the pounding spray, interrupting its flow. Eager to see hot water spill down his back, soak his body, she nudged the door open with her toe. Her breathing went shallow with anticipation, heat mingling with impatience in her belly. She’d waited long enough. Couldn’t wait any longer to be taken by him.

She took a single step into the bathroom and stopped, concern overriding every other emotion. Troy stood naked beneath the coursing water, hands braced high against the tile wall. His shoulders and back, so flawlessly sculpted it ached to look at them, were unusually stiff. Rigid with tension. He’d bowed his head forward slightly, but Ruby could see his eyes were closed. His jaw tight.