“You don’t get on your knees for anyone.” Troy sucked her neck hard enough to leave a mark and reached his hands around her front to unbutton her jeans. “Except for me. You’ll get on your knees and use that smart mouth on me. Correct?”

“Correct.” She shuddered, pushing her ass against his lap. Her entire body shook in anticipation of him finally being inside her. She bit her lip to stop herself from screaming at him to hurry, knowing he would find a way to make her sorry for making the demand.

“That’s right. You will. Anytime I want it. Yes?”

“Yes. Yes.”

He jerked her jeans down her legs, past her knees, and she stepped out of them. When nothing happened for long moments afterward, she turned to look at Troy questioningly, only to find to his eyes riveted on what he’d uncovered. Then she remembered. This morning, she’d eschewed her silky underwear for the black boxer briefs he’d given her Friday night.

“You’re wearing my underwear.”

She felt a flush creep up her neck but quickly crushed any embarrassment. “So what?”

He slid his hand down the flat of her stomach to disappear inside the briefs with painstaking slowness, as if he wanted to savor every touch of her skin. Long fingers inched closer to where she needed them to, taking much too long to get there. He cupped her in his palm, then pushed her forward with his body until the juncture of her thighs was wedged more firmly between his hand and the table.

His voice vibrated sensually near her ear. “Do you have any idea how much it turns me on, knowing something of mine has been cradling your sweet pu**y all day long?” Without warning, he thrust two thick fingers inside her with just enough force to make her cry out, bring her up on her toes. He didn’t move them, only held them there, high and tight inside her. Ruby’s head fell forward on a moan that was equal parts frustrated and relieved. He’d finally filled her. But she needed so much more from him, and he seemed determined to take his time. “You walked around with your naughty secret all day, didn’t you? Did you think of me while you sat in class wearing my underwear?

Did the thought of me get you all wet, baby?” His thrust his fingers deeper. “Answer me or you’ll get no more.”

“Yes! I got very wet.”

He rewarded her honest answer by stroking her clitoris with his thumb. “Fuck my fingers until I’m satisfied with your answers. What happens next depends on how happy they make me.” With his hand still trapped between her and the table, she began pumping her hips against the solid pressure of his fingers, whimpering as his thumb continued its unyielding assault. “What did you think about in class, Ruby?” She released an impatient sob. “Answer me, or I’ll remove by thumb.”

“No. Please, don’t.” She sucked in a shaky breath, trying to divide her focus between talking and his insistent torture of her damp, needy flesh. “I thought about w-what would’ve happened if I’d stayed the whole night,” she breathed, her words running together. “I thought about waking up…wondered what you would have done.”

“Should I show you?” he growled.

“Yes.”

In the blink of an eye, he removed the hand between her legs and spun her around to face him.

Her backside hit the surface of the table hard, and he pushed her legs open forcefully. Troy deftly rolled on the condom, and drove himself home inside her in one powerful thrust. Ruby’s scream mingled with his shouted expletive. Before she’d fully registered his ample size filling her so completely, he began to move.

He rolled his hips down at an angle, his swollen length making contact with her clitoris with each frantic pound into her.

When her head fell back on her shoulders, Troy sunk his fingers into her hair and tilted her head back up until she looked him square in the eye. “As long as you’re with me, I don’t want some punk thinking he has the right to touch your gorgeous face. If you want to be touched, you tell me where, and I’ll take care of it. I’m the only one who touches you now, Ruby. Me.”

Ruby tried to think, reason through the pleasure, but her mind wouldn’t allow it. She could only concentrate on Troy’s calculated dismantling of her defenses. He guided her down with his body until her back arched on the table’s surface, and then he straightened again.

“Stay right there. I want to see every inch of your body when you come. It’s going to happen soon, baby.

I can already feel your pu**y tightening up on me.” His feverish eyes were hidden almost completely by his eyelids, pleasure blanketing his sensual features as he continued to drive into her at a wild pace. Once again, he dipped his thumb between her legs to massage

her in that perfect spot, sending her hurtling toward release.

“Oh God, Troy. Oh God! ”

As she writhed and shook on the table, Troy gripped her knees and pushed them wider to accommodate him. Leaning down over her, he buried his face in her neck, his thrusts increasing in their intensity until she could feel the table scraping on the ground underneath them. He swelled larger inside of her, his groans of satisfaction getting louder and more guttural with each forceful movement of his big body.

When he finally reached completion, her name was a growl against her neck before he sunk his teeth into her shoulder. She cried out, grateful for the shock of pain because it brought her back to earth. To where Troy lay on top of her, struggling to regain his breath, their bodies locked together like two puzzle pieces.

He pulled back to look at her. “Are you still here with me?”

Nodding, she reached up and cupped his cheek.

“I’m here.”

Relief transformed his face before he scooped her up and carried her to the bedroom. When he laid her down on his bed, she scooted under the covers. Troy climbed in beside her and pulled her up against his bare chest, sighing as their heads hit the pillows.

Ruby waited, knowing their conversation from earlier was far from over. She didn’t want to think about the ramifications of their mutual connection to Lenny Driscol or Troy trying to send her away. Simply wanted to lay there in his arms and collect her scattered thoughts. Behind her, however, she could feel tension slowly building in his hard frame and knew what would eventually come to shatter their momentary peace. So she shattered it first.

“What do you want Lenny for?”

Troy sighed. “You know I can’t tell you that.”

Her heart lurched. “Because you’re afraid I’ll clue him in?”

“No, dammit. The less you know, the safer you’ll be.” After a long silence, Troy continued. “At the very least, you have to let me put surveillance on you. For your own protection. I won’t be able to concentrate otherwise, knowing you’re out there. Vulnerable.”

She turned to face him. “No. I’m sorry, but no. I appreciate you wanting to protect me, but I know these people. If they want to come find me, some unmarked vehicle won’t stop them. They’ll spot it a mile away, just like I would. It’ll only make things worse for me in the end.”

“You have an incredibly shitty image of cops.”

She brushed the hair from his forehead. “Maybe I used to.”

Troy turned his head to kiss her hand. “I can’t budge on this. You have to meet me halfway. My preference would be to lock you in a safe house.” A corner of his mouth quirked up at her look of horror, but quickly flattened. “I can’t even protect you myself because I can’t be seen with you.”