Confusion mixed with eagerness to see what he had planned. What had he meant by making her earn it? Without thinking, she leaned forward and placed her upper body flat along the table, putting her backside on display in front of him. He rewarded her with an uneven groan, palming her ass with his callused hands, kneading the flesh with ungentle fingers. “Does this feel good enough for you, or would you rather I make it hurt?”

Ruby’s head dropped forward onto the table’s surface with a whimper. The answer left her mouth before she could analyze it or change her mind. “Make it hurt.”

With his right hand, Troy picked the pool cue off the table. Behind her, she could hear him unscrewing it, separating the smaller, thinner top from the thick base. Not knowing his intentions only served to heighten the anticipation. His roughened breath, his own obvious excitement, shot liquid warmth through her. A moment later, Ruby felt the cue’s top half tracing over the curve of her bottom. The cool, smooth wood felt foreign and soothing moving across her fevered skin. Then, in a move she didn’t anticipate, Troy brought down the thin shaft of wood in one hard swat on her ass.

She sucked in a breath and let it out with a shudder.

Nerve endings snapping, pulse drumming like mad in her ears, all she could think was again. “More.”

“There’s always more, baby.” He repeated the action exactly ten more times, bringing the wooden shaft down to snap against her sensitive flesh until she couldn’t decide where the pain ended and the pleasure started. It became the sole focus of her entire being.

Each swat elicited a moan from her throat in the form of his name. Just when it became too much, when she thought she might combust from the tornado of sensations taking place within her, he stopped. Then the smooth, glossy wood slipped between her thighs until one end rested on the table, the other in his hand.

“You found out what my limits are today, didn’t you?” He skimmed his free hand up her back, then down to rest beside her hip. “Now we’ll test yours.”

Very slowly, Troy drew the cue back and forth, sliding the midsection of the wooden shaft against her damp flesh with perfect accuracy, angling it just enough to put pressure where needed. Ruby’s legs threatened to give way beneath her, every part of her now focused on the slick friction passing between her legs. She tipped her head back and closed her eyes, imagining what an erotic image they created, Troy using her pool cue to pleasure her body. His touch, the harsh words uttered from his lips, corrupted her little by little, and she loved it. As if he was calculatedly ruining her for anyone else, any touch beside his own. He wanted to find out how much she could take. And he was using pool, the thing she loved most, to teach her a lesson.

“You like that, don’t you?” Troy’s voice sounded raw, sensual. “I can tell by the way you’re working those f**k-me hips. You’re going to work them exactly like that for me later.”

“Yes,” she said on a choppy breath. “I will.”

All conscious thought fled as he began twisting the cue as he stroked, teasing her in a new way. With a whimper, she undulated her hips, her body hurtling toward release. Her breath came in little pants, thighs shaking, ni**les tightening painfully as Troy’s movements pushed her closer to the edge. Then all movement of the cue ceased, the pressure gone. Ruby cried out in protest, her head falling forward.

“Want more?”

“Yes. Please.”

The slippery pressure returned, and once again, he used the cue to rub her past the point of reason, stopping just before she could orgasm. When he’d repeated the same torture three more times, Ruby tried to turn around, to lash out at him with her fists, but he merely pressed her against the side of the table and tossed the pool cue aside. In one, swift motion, he seated himself deep inside her, nearly toppling her forward onto the table. Ruby screamed at the unexpected filling of her body. Her muscles clenched tightly around him, shuddering as she finally came.

“I can’t get into that damn head of yours,” Troy growled against the back of her neck. “You’re so goddamn determined to keep me out. But your body knows who it answers to. It answers to me, doesn’t it?”

Ruby had only begun to recover when Troy pulled himself almost completely out of her body, then thrust home once more, pushing deep enough to bring her onto her toes. “Troy. Troy.” She repeated his name over and over, unaware of what she was trying to say or how many times she said it.

“Let me in, Ruby,” he ordered, sliding deep once more. He wrapped her hair around his fist and pulled her upright. Kissed her neck sweetly. “Let me in.”

With a sob, Ruby’s head dropped back onto his broad shoulder. “I’ve let you in more than I’ve ever done before. With anyone.”

“It’s not enough. I want it all. I need everything you have.” Releasing her hair, he gripped her hips in his hands and began driving into her at a pace that stole her breath. Dizzying pressure stole through her once more as her body worked to answer the increasing demands of his. Behind her, Troy groaned as he neared his own peak, his length swelling even thicker inside her, stretching her to accommodate him. “Give it to me. Just surrender everything, baby.”

His grated command, combined with the punishing fingers digging into her flesh, sent her flying. Her shaking body milked his as he released inside her with a final groan of her name. He rested his forehead in the center of her back, bathing her in harsh exhalations of his breath. Ruby’s entire body felt liquefied, utterly replete, and if the table hadn’t been supporting her, she would have been in a heap on the floor. Suddenly, Troy’s impassioned words came back to her, bringing tears to her eyes.

Let me in. I want it all.

She hadn’t even been capable of answering him.

He’d begged her to open herself to him emotionally and she’d remained silent, denying them both something special, acknowledging this incredible connection between them. Years spent rebelling against being labeled a coward now seemed stupid and meaningless.

She’d been one tonight. Still was. Something broke inside of her. She managed to prevent any tears from escaping, but a small sound slipped past her lips.

The mouth tracing her back stilled. “Ruby?” Troy pulled her up gently by the shoulders and turned her around to face him. He searched her face, blue eyes bright with worry, raising his warm hand to cup her cheek like she might break. “Jesus.” He sucked in a breath. “Did I— Are you hurting?”

With a shake of her head, she rushed to reassure him. “No, you didn’t hurt me.”

He deflated in relief. “Then what is it?”

The words died in her throat. She wanted to make him promises, tell him she wouldn’t take any more risks with her life. But it wouldn’t be true. She still had one more thing to do. If she tried to explain her reasons to Troy, what she planned to do for him, he wouldn’t understand. He’d take it as a blow to the ego, or worse, he’d find a way to detain her. She’d been brought up to believe deeds, not words, proved your worth to someone else. Perhaps that logic didn’t apply here, between them. But it would always be an absolute truth in her world.

She’d come to care for him deeply in such a short space of time. His life was now in danger. She could prevent him or any more of his colleagues from getting hurt. Prevent him going through the pain of losing Grant all over again. It all seemed black and white to her, when to Troy it would be a giant mess of gray.