Ruby Tuesday (8 page)

She put the guitar down and reached up, kneading her neck in an attempt to rub out some of the stiffness. He rose and stepped behind her, massaging the kinks.

She leaned her head forward and groaned. “I can’t tell you how good that feels.” He grinned, and then looked toward the stairs that led to the pub below. Her siblings had come up at various points during the day. Riley had brought them both a plate of tonight’s dinner special. He looked at the empty plates on the coffee table and tried to remember consuming the food. At the time, they’d been so engrossed on finessing the words of the chorus they’d been working on, he honestly couldn’t recall now what they’d eaten.

“What time is it?” she muttered as he continued to rub her delicate neck. She was soft, her skin so pale she was almost translucent. He glanced at the clock on the wall.

“Just after ten.”

“Pop and Riley should be up in a bit,” she said. “Tris and Ewan will keep the pub open until midnight. Guess we should clean up.” He looked around at the living room. “How the hell did it get so messy?” She laughed. “You seem to share my bad habit of scattering paper everywhere when you write. My family goes mad when I’m in the zone because I tend to lay waste to every room in the apartment.”

“In the zone? Is that where we were?”

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“Wasn’t it?”

“Yeah, I guess it was. I generally do my writing alone. I don’t think I’ve ever been in the zone with another person.” He had composed a few lighthearted numbers with the other members of The Universe, typically when they were drinking on the tour bus and feeling punchy late at night. They’d even released a couple of them and they were quite popular party songs. All the serious music the band performed, he’d written on his own.

“I’ve never been there with someone else either.” She rose from her chair and turned to face him. “It was nice having the company in there.” She rose up on tiptoe to place a soft kiss on his cheek. For reasons he couldn’t explain, the platonic nature of her light buss pissed him off. When she began to retreat, he reached out and pulled her back to him, roughly.

“Sky.”

“There are limits to everything, gypsy.” They were nose to nose, but he refused to let her go.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“You don’t want to have sex. We won’t. But that doesn’t mean I won’t kiss you.

Real kisses. I have limits, too, and the main one is I can’t sit beside you day in and day out and not touch you. It’s just not possible.” He bent down and punctuated his words with a hard, deep kiss.

“So we’re going to draw a line in the sand and hope the tide doesn’t wash it away? I don’t think I can handle this, Sky. I’m not as experienced at casual affairs as you are.”

“Even if I promise it’ll be fun?”

She laughed at his joke, as he’d intended. He wasn’t about to get into a discussion of casual anything with her. For one thing, he was really starting to like her, which was playing havoc with his plans to seduce her. He hadn’t lied about respecting her. She was one of the most genuinely giving people he’d ever met. Her work at the preschool and the nursing home proved that and he’d spent most of the morning listening to her 60

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sister and pop sing her praises. The funny thing was, he didn’t think they even knew they were doing it. They’d just drop these little tidbits about Teagan into normal conversation without realizing they were drawing a picture in his mind of an incredibly kind woman.

Teagan needs to find someone else to serve at the soup kitchen Saturday.

Did Teagan remember to take back the laundry she’d done for the widow across the street
who’d had her water turned off?

Mrs. O’Malley called to see if Teagan would pick up a prescription for her on the way home
from the preschool.

All day long he’d listened to their commonplace chatter and with each word, he found himself more and more fascinated. He nuzzled his nose into her neck, breathing in her scent—honeysuckle?

“You’re incorrigible, Sky.”

“Incorrigible in a ‘you can’t keep you hands off me’ kind of way?”

“Argh,” she groaned. “Why do I have the sneaking suspicion if I looked up ‘player’

in the dictionary, I’d find a picture of you?”

“If that’s true, then it merely proves my point. This will be fun. Play with me, Teagan.” His words came out more seriously than he’d intended. He’d meant to keep things light and fun and he fully intended to ignore the part of him that said he wanted to be closer to her for reasons far more important than just sex.

“I want a promise from you, Sky,” she said, resisting him when he tried to pull her in for another kiss.

“What promise?”

“Promise you won’t let things go too far. I mean, I know how to say no—”

“So I’ve learned,” he interjected.

She grinned. “Promise you’ll always stop when I say we’ve gone far enough.” 61

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He loosened his grip on her waist, reaching instead for her hands. “Teagan, I would never take advantage of you. Never take you without your consent. I promise.”

“Okay. Teach me something fun.”

Her words—followed up by her lips rubbing against his cheek—opened the floodgates and the desires he’d been holding at bay all day emerged with a vengeance.

“What about your pop and sister?” he asked.

She glanced back at the clock. “It’s ten fifteen. The restaurant closes in fifteen minutes and then they’ll clean up. We have about an hour.” He grinned, thinking of all the things he could do to her in an hour. “Just the same, I’d prefer to give us a bit of leeway should they finish early.” He took her hand and led her to her bedroom. It was tidy and tastefully decorated considering how different she and Riley were. He’d almost expected to find a line drawn down the middle, one side covered in peace signs and flowers, the other decorated with pictures of naked men on Harleys.

“Which bed is yours?” he asked.

When she hesitated, he touched her face, drawing her gaze to him. “I meant what I said. I stand by my promises.”

She pointed to the twin bed on the right and he shook his head. It was going to be a tight fit. He let her lead him to the bed, nearly choking when she sat down in front of him. Her face was level with his cock and he watched with disbelief as she reached up to stroke him through the tight jeans.

“Looks crowded in there,” she said, grinning up at him.

“Yeah, well, it’s gonna have to stay crowded. You let him out and all bets are off.

Tonight is about teaching you how to play. How to have fun.” She looked as if she wanted to argue so he cut her off at the pass, kneeling before her and pulling her into a long, wet kiss. He loved the taste and texture of her mouth.

Her soft lips and sweet smells reminded him of Sunday dinners at home after months 62

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spent on the road. Her hands caressed his face and he savored the rough feel of the calluses left on her fingertips from years of playing the guitar.

He decided to do a bit of exploring and slowly slid his hands beneath her loose shirt, his palms itching to hold her breasts again. They filled his hands nicely, the perfect size, and he swallowed her cries when he lightly cupped and squeezed the fleshy mounds. He continued the kiss, playing with her breasts until the temptation, the need to see them, grew too great.

“I’m going to take off your shirt,” he whispered when he pulled his lips away to taste her cheeks, her neck. Grasping the hem, he pulled the filmy material over her head and was greeted by the vision of some of the sexiest underwear he’d ever seen.

“Jesus,” he murmured, a smile escaping as he studied her deep violet and pink bra.

Her breasts were pushed up and peeking over the top. She was a veritable rainbow even under her clothing. A flush covered her chest and he glanced up at her face, watching as the blush colored her cheeks as well.

She put her hands on her face to hide it. “Curse of a true redhead. Damn blushing.”

“I like it,” he admitted. It had been a long time since he’d made a woman blush. The innocence of the gesture was captivating.

“The bra or the blush?” she asked, her voice laced with humor.

“Both, Ruby.”

She giggled at his irreverent use of her father’s pet name. “Leave it to you to take something sweet and innocent and twist it into something completely sexual.” He slipped the straps of her bra off her shoulders, tugging the lacy material down until her rosy nipples slipped out. “Jackpot,” he whispered. She started to laugh, but the sound was cut off on a harsh gasp when he took one of the tight nubbins into his mouth and sucked.

“Oh God,” she said. Her hands clasped his head, her fingers threading through his hair almost painfully. It was clear she didn’t know what she was doing, but he felt even 63

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more blood rush to his rock-hard cock. Damn, but he loved it rough. He sucked on her nipple harder and was rewarded with a sexy groan. He reached up and pinched her other nipple, wondering if she would be averse to a bit of the rough stuff herself. She threw her head back as he squeezed and he wondered for a moment if she wasn’t actually on the verge of an orgasm.

“Teagan?” he asked.

“That feels so good,” she said before he could question her response. “No one’s ever—”

Her words faded away on a loud gasp when he repeated the motion. He switched sides, sucking on the opposite breast. When he nipped at the tight tip, she nearly bucked off the bed. The woman was a firecracker, poised and ready to blow.

He moved quickly, dragging his hands under her skirt while sucking on her breast.

He wondered if she realized what he was doing until she spread her legs apart, offering herself to his wandering fingers.

He could feel the dampness of her pussy through her panties, but he didn’t trust himself to remove them from her completely so he merely thrust the material between her legs aside, dragging two fingers along her drenched slit.

She trembled and moaned, but he was determined to hold to his promise.

“Teagan.”

Her head rested on his shoulder, her body shaking with need. He wanted to give her what she wanted, but he had to be sure. “Teagan, look at me.” She lifted her head, the green in her eyes reminding him of a forest at dawn. “I want to make you come with my fingers. Just my fingers, I promise.”

“Hurry,” she whispered and he grinned. He kissed her lightly as he slowly pushed one finger into her pussy. She cried out and he marveled at how tightly she clamped his finger. For a moment, he cursed the promise he’d made. This woman would feel like heaven around his cock.

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He pushed his hips against her bed, trying to find some pressure for himself, something to relieve the ache building in his balls. He pulled his finger out and added a second, using the two digits to slowly fuck Teagan into oblivion. It only took a few shallow thrusts and the pressure of his thumb on her clit to push her over. Her climax seemed to radiate from every part of her body as she trembled in his arms. Her inner muscles throbbed almost painfully against his fingers and he pressed his cock into her bed frame harder, her orgasm threatening to push him into one of his own.

He was shocked when he felt her hand drift down to touch the front of his jeans, applying more of the pressure he needed so desperately. He looked at her, confused until she spoke.

“Close your eyes. I’ll help you,” she whispered, rubbing her hand along the front placket of his pants. His eyes drifted shut of their own accord under her talented fingers.

“Imagine I’m on my knees in front of you. I’ve got your jeans open and I’m taking your cock out.” She squeezed him through his jeans just below the head and he moaned. The hot breath accompanying her words nearly scorched his cheek as she whispered in his ear all the things he wanted her to do to him.

“I’m taking you in my mouth now. You’re pushing your cock between my lips.” She pushed again, harder this time. “You’re fucking my mouth, moving in and out, so hard, so fast. I’m swallowing the head of your cock now. So deep. You’re so deep.” Her words, the images she drew, were driving him mad. He began to push against her hand, lacing his fingers with hers, holding her in place as he thrust faster and faster.

“God,” he groaned. “I’m going to come.”

“Give it to me,” she whispered. “Feed me. I want to swallow your cum. All of it.”

“Christ,” he cried, his cock erupting, the sticky semen coating his boxers. “Fuck.” He struggled to catch his breath as her arms held him, his head resting between her gorgeous tits.

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When he’d gathered his wits about him, he looked up to find her studying him anxiously. “I…I didn’t think it was fair that you should suffer tonight because of me and my old-fashioned principles.”

Her words triggered something in his mind and a thought—a terrible, obvious thought—clicked into place. “Teagan. Are you a virgin?” She blushed again, this time her discomfort obvious as she bit her lower lip.

“You are.” The answer was written on her face. Christ, she was innocent?

“Don’t look at me like that.” She pushed him away and stalked across the room.

Even with her back to him, he could see she was trying to return her bra to rights before she put her blouse back on.

He stood slowly, his pants uncomfortable with the sticky semen coating them.

“Like what?”

“Like you’ve just committed some ghastly crime. I may not have done the actual deed, but believe me, I’ve done plenty of other stuff. How the hell do you think I know about blowjobs?”

He pictured her sucking another man’s cock and his vision suddenly clouded red.

“Is that right? So what we just did—”

“Wasn’t anything new to me,” she finished.

His eyes narrowed. It may not have been new to her, but it sure as hell felt new to him. “I see.”

“Just because I’m saving myself for the right man doesn’t mean I’m not having a bit of fun along the way.”