Chapter 30

“This is so cozy,” Ruby said as Rafe climbed into the bed of the truck.

His lips tipped into a sheepish smile. “I hope it will be comfortable enough. I hadn’t really planned on camping.”

“Right.” A stab of guilt hit Ruby in the gut. She’d probably made this whole endeavor much more complicated than it needed to be. “How long would it have taken you without me?”

Rafe shrugged. “Depends on how fast I felt like running.” He gave her a slow grin. “But I was feeling keyed up, so pretty fast.”

Nerves fluttered low in Ruby’s belly. Being Rafe’s friend, not some weird pervert who keeps throwing herself at him, was going to be a lot harder if he kept looking at her like that.

After dinner they’d driven a few more miles north and then pulled off the road and parked beneath the towering pines. He’d filled the bed of the truck with sleeping bags and worn comforters, making a nest for Ruby to snuggle down into.

The sky was clear and filled with bright stars. Ruby lay on her back and breathed in the damp forest air, avoiding Rafe’s gaze. The night was mercifully cool after another hot day and she was thankful for the blankets. With her head propped on a rolled-up sleeping bag, Ruby marveled at the inky blackness above her. It was a rare, clear night with the storm clouds finally gone and the stars were bright against the darkness.

Crickets and cicadas buzzed around them, the tree frogs adding their peeps and chirps. The forest felt full and alive and so did Ruby. Sure, they were trying to track down dangerous wolves, but Ruby was hard pressed to think of a better day than this one.

She smiled up at the night sky, remembering the horrified look on Rafe’s face when she’d called him “buddy” at the diner. Her wolf-man was not so keen on being her “buddy”. Good. She hated the idea too. But she also hated every guy that wouldn’t take no for an answer. She wouldn’t be one of those guys.

She burrowed down deeper into her nest. The truck shifted with Rafe’s weight as he lay down beside her.

“This okay?” he asked even though their arms weren’t even touching.

Yep, perfectly okay except for the fact that she could feel the heat radiating off of him and smell his comforting sawdust scent and picture his beautiful body … but it was all perfectly okay. She could be a gentleman.

“Yes, very comfortable. Thanks.”

He shifted and his shoulder brushed against hers. Solid. He was so damn solid.

“Rafe.” Her voice was breathy, giving her away completely, but she charged forward. “I need to apologize for something.”

She kept her gaze at the stars even as she felt Rafe turn to look at her. “Ruby, I told you before, you have nothing to apologize for.”

“No. I do. I just … I think I misunderstood you before or maybe pressured you … I’m not sure…”

He shifted again, propping himself up on his forearm to look down at her. “What are you talking about?”

“I thought we both needed to get things out of our system, but maybe it was just me. And I’m really sorry if I made you feel pressured or weird or, I don’t know … objectified? It happens to me all the time at work and I never meant to…”

“Ruby, stop,” Rafe growled, his silver eyes flashing. “Goddamn it,” he swore, sitting up. Ruby followed and sat facing him in the dark. He shook his head, his hair brushing across his shoulders.

“I’m the one who should be sorry, Ruby. God, I never meant to make you feel that way. I want you so fucking bad.” He breathed out the words on one pained sigh. “I want you, but I thought it was better for you if I kept you away, safer.”

Ruby pushed the hair from his face, pressing her forehead to his. “I want you too. You are not dangerous to me.” She whispered the words and he drank them in.

“Walking away from you last night was the hardest thing I’ve ever done.”

Ruby held him tighter, digging her fingers into his hair. “Then don’t walk away tonight.”

He hesitated a breath longer before bringing his lips to hers. The touch was so soft she could barely feel it. She whimpered and Rafe’s mouth tipped into a smile. “So last night wasn’t enough to get me out of your system?” he asked, his words skating across her skin.

She huffed a small laugh. “Not even close.”

Rafe groaned and tugged her into his lap. She straddled him, the nest of blankets tangled around her legs. She rocked into his rigid cock and he finally claimed her lips with his own, biting and licking until she opened for him. He tasted like vanilla and summer and home.

He kept a hand behind her head, holding her close and another on her ass, holding her closer. She was pinned against him, his arms locking her in place. The feeling of being caught zinged through her. She liked it, being captured by this man. This man who could hurt her but never would.

She rocked again, wrapping her arms around Rafe’s neck and he deepened the kiss, licking into her, tasting her. They kissed like that, slow and languorous like they had forever, while fireflies lit up around them like nearby stars.

When Rafe finally pulled away his lips were swollen and his eyes dark with desire. His hair was mussed from her fingers and his breathing was fast and shallow. He looked positively feral and it made Ruby want to run. Run so he could catch her.

“God, Ruby,” he murmured, running a thumb over her sensitive lips. “You are so fucking sexy. I’ve lived so long without you … and I’ve never … I…” He swallowed hard, pain crossing his expression.

“It’s okay,” she whispered. “It’s okay.”

He sat up, looking away from her face. “We can’t … I’m sorry … not yet.” He breathed deep, waiting for her response. The nervous furrow of his brow nearly broke her.

“We’ll do whatever you want,” she said, running a hand over his chest.

“It’s just, it’s complicated.”

Ruby nodded. “Complicated werewolf stuff?”

“Yeah,” he said with a relieved smile. “Complicated werewolf stuff.”

“Okay, we’ll wait.” Ruby tried to move off his lap, but Rafe held tight to her hips.

“No.” His fingers dug into her flesh. “I want to eat you again. Like last night.”

Heat flared in Ruby’s gut. “Oh.”

Rafe kissed her again, his tongue flicking over hers, mimicking what he’d done between her thighs the night before. Ruby moaned, but pulled back.

“Just to be clear,” she said, her voice low and needy, as she squirmed in his lap. “We can’t have … uh … intercourse because of werewolf reasons but everything else is on the table?”

Rafe huffed a laugh. “Intercourse?”

“Fine,” Ruby said, nibbling on his lower lip. “We can’t fuck, but hands and mouths are fair game?”

Rafe’s smile turned wolfish, his eyes lit up like the stars. “Yes, exactly.”

She didn’t have time to ask why or to care before Rafe had flipped her onto her back and made quick work of her shorts and underwear. If the man wanted to go down on her again, who was she to argue?

And God, did he want to. He licked her like he was starving, like she held life’s secrets between her thighs, like he’d waited for her forever. She grinned up at the night sky. Damn, he was good at that. Ruby ran her fingers through Rafe’s hair, needing something to hold on to before she floated off into the stars above them.

He looked at her, his silver eyes flashing in the dark, his hands on her thighs, holding her open to him and Ruby got the very unsettling feeling that maybe this wasn’t just lust. That maybe this thing between them wouldn’t be solved by orgasms—although orgasms never hurt. The way he looked at her with not only hunger in his eyes, but something else, something softer, something like…

Rafe tore his gaze away and stroked her clit with his tongue until Ruby’s back bowed off the bed of blankets.

“You like that, brave girl?” His voice rumbled against her flesh and she whimpered. He repeated the move with his tongue, applying more pressure this time, licking her with broad, flat strokes.

He squeezed her ass with one hand and slid a finger into her with the other. Finger fucking must be allowed, she thought, nearly giggling before her breath was stolen by another finger joining the first.

Rafe groaned, his fingers working in long slow strokes and already she felt so full. “Is it okay?” he asked, his silver gaze watching her reaction, his other hand running over her thigh.

“Yes, very.”

He smiled and she needed him closer. She tugged him up to her face, his fingers never stopping their tortuous movements. His lips were soft and warm and wet. She licked them clean and Rafe growled against her mouth, dipping inside with his tongue, salty and sweet at once. He propped himself on his elbow with Ruby tucked into his side. His thumb traced her clit as his fingers thrust faster, but he didn’t take his lips from hers, kissing and thrusting and holding her until she came hard against him, her cries filling the still night air.

Ruby slumped down onto the blankets and Rafe stayed propped up next to her, his own breathing nearly as hard as hers.

“Shit, Ruby,” he murmured, leaning down to nuzzle into her damp hair and kiss along her neck. “You are so beautiful.” He brought his fingers to his mouth and licked them clean, making her hot all over again.

“You’re very good at that,” she sighed.

His lips tipped into a smile. “Glad you enjoyed yourself.” He had begun to trail kisses down her neck and chest, so he whispered the words against her skin. “This should go.” He tugged at her shirt until she laughed and pulled it off.

He kissed along the top of her bra, groaning to himself. “God, these tits. So fucking perfect.”

“Yeah, they’re pretty good as tits go.”

Rafe peered up at her, his laugh skating over her flesh. “They’re amazing.” He reached around and undid the clasp, freeing her breasts to the night air. “Perfect,” he crooned as he sucked on one nipple and then the other, his tongue worshiping her all over again.

“Rafe,” she gasped, the sensation too strong, like torture.

“Mmm?” He didn’t look up from his ministrations, just sucked and licked, the heat building between her legs again. She slipped her hand down her stomach to where she needed more, more friction, more everything.

Rafe groaned when he realized what she was doing, but didn’t stop teasing and biting and sucking and Ruby thought maybe he was right, her tits were perfect because right now they were making her feel amazing. It didn’t take long between Rafe’s beautiful mouth and her own hand before Ruby came again, sharp and strong and sudden.

“Fuck,” she breathed and this time Rafe collapsed next to her, pulling her in close. Ruby let herself snuggle into him for a minute before she realized what was wrong.

“Why are you still dressed?”

Rafe’s laugh rumbled through her. God, she loved that laugh already. When did that happen? Sometime between Rafe holding her purse and making her come, apparently.

Ruby sat up and looked down at him in the dark. He was still smiling. He looked happy and young. No sign of his murder face. This Rafe looked sweet and kind, like his insides were finally reflected on the outside.

She pushed the hair out of her face. “I’m serious. Get naked, wolf-man. I want to see you.”

His eyes sparked. “This was just for you, Ruby.” He ran a finger down her arm and she shivered.

“You said hands and mouths were allowed.” She held up her hands in front of her, turning them back and forth for him to admire. “And I have those things too.”

Rafe’s gaze darkened, imagining the possibilities.

“So, strip.”

He sat up, his eyes only leaving hers long enough to pull the shirt over his head and reveal all the glorious muscle underneath. Ruby kneeled in front of him, her hands on his shoulders. “Isn’t that better?” she said, leaning in to kiss him again.

His hands traced over her back, dipping over the curve of her ass and back again.

“This ass drives me crazy every time you wear those short skirts,” he growled.

She laughed, kissing him again. “Is that what you thought about when you followed me through the woods, my ass?” she asked, breathless.

“Tried not to,” he said and bit her bottom lip. “But it didn’t work.”

She moaned, the feel of his fingers barely touching her driving her wild.

“Is that what you wanted, brave girl? You wandered through the woods hoping the big bad wolf would find you?”

She couldn’t help the whimper that escaped her, the wetness that coated her legs. His words were so close to what she’d fantasized about for months.

“Not the big bad wolf,” she breathed. “You.”

Rafe pressed his forehead to hers, his hands still tracing her curves, still barely touching her when she wanted him to grab and push and hold.

“And what did you want me to do when I found you?” he asked, his voice like distant thunder.

Ruby swallowed hard.

“Everything.”

Rafe groaned and cursed under his breath, his hands finally gripping her tight and pulling her to him.

“Ruby, I… We…” He struggled for the words and maybe she should have let him find them, maybe she should have let him try to explain but she didn’t want it to end, this night, this moment, this whatever this was between them. She wanted to hold on to it for as long as possible. She didn’t want him to pull away from her again.

“This is perfect, Rafe. This night is perfect.” She pulled back so he could see she was serious. This sex was the best she’d ever had and whatever was holding him back from the rest was something they could work out later.

The pain was back on his face, the furrow back between his brows. She wanted it gone. Just for tonight, she wanted him happy. She tugged at his waistband.

“I want to make you feel good,” she whispered.

A tremble went through him at her words. “Ruby—”

“I want to.”

He held her gaze, his eyes black with desire. The shift in his expression was so subtle she would have missed it if she hadn’t been staring at him. His restraint was snapping. She could see it with every twitch of his muscles, with every clench of his jaw. He was done denying himself, at least for tonight.

“And how are you going to make me feel good, brave girl?” he rasped, barely above a whisper and Ruby grinned.

“Well, first I’m going to suck your cock.”