I pushed against his chest, he stumbled backwards, and I darted for the stairs.
“She may have already ran.” My heart rates spiked at the idea. “Corbin was showing her some old footage of your streaking days.”
Motherfucker!
Clearing the last four steps, I slid on the handrail and almost landed on my ass. Gripping the doorframe, I righted myself and what I found made me feel sick. Corbin and Xavier stood near the desktop computer, one on each side of Ruby. But it was what was on the screen that terrified me.
“Oh my God.” I hung my head and instantly wanted to kill my brothers. What in the fuck were they thinking? “That is hilarious.” Ruby’s words shocked me. “I’ve heard about this video but truth be told I never looked it up. Now I wish I had.”
I wasn’t sure what exactly it was that laced her voice. Interest? Humor? Whatever it was it wasn’t disgust as I had feared.
Releasing the doorframe, I crossed my arms over my chest and waited. Xavier was the first to see me and the other two slowly turned around when they’d noticed he was no longer participating in the video replay.
Corbin appeared pleased with himself, which put him on my radar. I’d get him back, and he’d never see it coming.
Ruby pressed her lips together tightly but the need to control her laughter could not be shielded as her cheeks hollowed and she lost control. Laughter bubbled in her chest and she hurried to cover her mouth with her hand.
“You enjoy the video?” I couldn’t help but smile. She did that to me, her smile, her laughter, it was contagious.
“Come on.” She lowered her hand and pointed to the computer. “Who wouldn’t? That is epic.”
Walking across the room, I hooked her around the waist and began to drag her toward the stairs. She didn’t hesitate, which I loved. She’d obviously grown more comfortable with me.
When we made it to the bottom of the stairs I paused, her chest pressed firmly to my own. With her head tipped back, her eyes on mine, I held her gaze. “You bring the movie?” It was time to change the subject. There was no reason to linger on my humiliation. When she nodded, still looking up at me, her eyes dancing over my face, my eyes, my mouth, I knew I’d managed to regain some kind of control. “Let’s go upstairs.”
Again she focused on my mouth and her lips parted slightly. When the tip of her tongue slid crossed her lips to moisten them I knew she was back with me completely. In that second I wanted to kiss her. I’d wanted to from the first time I saw her sitting only a few feet away in the darkness of the porch. Her lips were perfectly heart shaped, plump, and I just knew they’d feel so soft against my own.
Her throat bobbed as she swallowed hard and I used all the restraint I had left to turn her around and lead her up the stairs. From this angle I got the perfect view of her ass, swaying with each step she took, and I bit my lip. This was fucking torture, taunting me, tempting my control to break.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Ruby
I thought I would be nervous, but I wasn’t. I thought my focus would be on what not to do, trying my best not to embarrass myself, but the thoughts hadn’t even crossed my mind. Being here in Jay’s room, in his space surrounded by all these college guys and all their crazy, I felt comfortable.
Truth was at home I lived a life where I was constantly worried of disappointing someone. Always trying to ride the thin line, fearful of stepping out for even a second, so this felt like I could finally relax. I could be me, and I knew he wouldn’t judge me. He’d made that clear. He’d long forgotten about me jumping to conclusions and we’d started over. This time around I made a promise to myself. I would just feel and not question it. Fear was okay, questions were acceptable, and mistakes, they were nothing more than a learning curve. No judgment to follow.
“What movie did you bring?” He sat down on the bed and I paused in front of the large entertainment stand. A large stereo system, a huge tv, and so many DVDs lined the shelves.
“From the looks of it we could have just chosen something here.” I ran my finger along the cases and looked back over my shoulder at him. I didn’t miss how his gaze roamed over my legs and then moved back up to meet my own.
The way he looked at me, it made me feel desirable. That was something I’d never felt before. It was such a high. I wasn’t the seductive type, but he made me feel like I could be. A shift in my thoughts, the way my body reacted when he was near, I loved how he made me feel and he hadn’t even touched me. We’ve not even kissed.
“I enjoy action movies, thrillers too. Thought maybe you’d want something different.”
With that I turned completely around and held out the movie I’d chosen to bring with a big smile on my face.
“Honestly?” He chuckled and slid to the end of his bed, standing up. His shirt pulled tight over his chest and it was my turn to look him over appreciatively. “Saw?”
When he grabbed the case and looked up at me, I shrugged. “I’m sure you’ve seen it more than ten times but―” Looking back at his collection, I just felt stupid.
“Not for a long time.” I met his gaze once more, sure he was only saying that for my benefit. Stepping in even closer, he placed
