His Risk to Take

They didn’t need to. Everything she needed to know communicated itself through Troy’s eyes. With a single glance, he told her he wasn’t going anywhere. He would be back, day after day, to torment her.

Some mornings, he looked her over impatiently, as though he wanted to throw her over his shoulder and carry her back upstairs. Those were the times Ruby found it hardest to keep walking. Her need for him grew stronger by the day, and she sensed he knew it.

He started calling her on the phone, waking her up in bed. Once, when she finally answered against her better judgment, he’d rasped, “Let me in, baby. Now.”

She’d been forced to take a cold shower before leaving the apartment for class that day.

As the week wore on, his presence started to comfort her. She stopped seeing her mistake and the subsequent pain he’d wrought every time she looked at him. Instead, she started looking forward to the mornings, when she could memorize his image and carry it with her all day. She started to believe in what he’d said, that he wouldn’t allow them to end. That he would come back every day until she realized it.

One thing, she already knew for certain. Her plan to get over him had died in its earliest stages. As long as he kept showing up, looking sexy, sleep deprived, and determined, her feelings for him would only continue to intensify. This was the man who’d tracked her down at school and brought her home. Held her tightly while she slept as though she might vanish. She didn’t want to punish him any longer. His reasons for walking away hadn’t been selfish, but that’s precisely how she was acting. Selfish. Punishing him—and herself in the process.

Not anymore, Ruby decided as she sprung out of bed that morning, feeling more like herself than she had in days. After throwing on her robe, she padded toward the window with a smile on her face, anxious to get her first look at Troy.

He wasn’t there.

Ruby’s stomach dropped to the floor. She pulled up the window and leaned out, looking for his car down the block, but it was nowhere in sight. With shaky hands, she closed the window and stood very still in the dim apartment. The first thought to pop into her head was, Oh, God. I waited too long.

Her second thought? Screw that.

She pulled her cell phone out of the charger and dialed Troy’s number while pacing in front of the window. He answered on the first ring. “Hey, I’m—”

“One week? One week was your limit? You said as long as it takes, so where are you?” She swallowed around the tightness in her throat. “You said I was your pain in the ass. Well, get your ass over here so I can be a pain in it. Maybe you gave up after one week, but I haven’t. I miss you, okay? I miss you, and you’re supposed to be outside.”

“Ruby,” he broke in. “Look out your window.” She spun around in time to see him pull up at the curb and get out of his car, still holding the phone to his ear. “I just hit a little traffic.”

“Oh,” she managed lamely. Before she could ponder the intelligence of going outside in freezing weather wearing a thin robe and no shoes, she dropped the phone and flung open her apartment door. She ran down the stairs and out of the building. Troy stood on the other side of the door when she pulled it open, devouring the sight of her before she jumped into his arms.

“Christ, I missed you, t—”

Her mouth cut him off. She wrapped her legs around his waist and kissed him, pouring everything she had into it. He returned the kiss with a tortured groan as he backed her into the building hallway and began ascending the stairs with her clinging to his tall frame. They didn’t come up for air until they were inside her apartment and Troy kicked the door shut behind them.

“Maybe I should have hit traffic sooner,” he mumbled against her mouth, making her laugh.

Desperate for the feel of his skin, she slipped down his body and immediately began removing his clothes.

She peeled off his jacket and shirt as their mouths slanted over each other’s greedily. Her anxious fingers worked his belt buckle, a moan passing through her lips when she felt the thick ridge behind his fly. When she paused to brush her palm over it, Troy’s head fell forward against the door above her shoulder.

“God, please touch it. It hurts so bad,” he growled, freeing himself from his pants. “I’ve been going mad every morning, knowing you were up here all naked and soft. I’ve got to have you now, baby. Let me have you or I’m going to lose my mind. I can’t think. I can’t think.”

Ruby let her robe drop to the ground, and within seconds, he’d levered her against the door and thrust deep, their groans of relief colliding between them.

“I thought you gave up,” she said unsteadily, her mouth moving on his bare shoulder.

Troy went still, forcing her to look him in the eye.

What she saw there made her heart pound loudly in her chest. He kissed her lips softly, then turned and walked them toward her bedroom. He laid her on the rumpled sheets and came down on top of her, propping himself on his elbows. “I would have stood out there waiting forever. Don’t ever doubt that.” He pushed his hips forward, and Ruby gasped. “You’re going to give me sleepless nights, Ruby, and I’m signing on for it. I’ll have way more sleepless nights without you.” He leaned down and kissed her neck, started to move. “We’ll argue, and then we’ll make up. And every time, we’ll be stronger for it.” His intense expression softened. “It’s simple. You’re for me, Ruby.”

“I’m for you,” she breathed.

Troy smiled, took her hands, and held them over her head as his rhythm increased. “Now. We’re going to stay in this bed until I get tired of hearing you say you’re mine. It’s the only thing allowed out of your mouth for the next several hours. Is that clear?”

Eyes fluttering closed, she nodded. “Yes.”

He nipped her bottom lip. “Follow the rules.”

“I’m yours, Troy. I’m yours. Yours.”