I release her.

It’s the last thing on earth that I want to do, but I’m playing a longer game. 

Ruby started all this—today’s struggle between keeping it cool and giving in to the heat—in that second-floor bedroom. She knew exactly what she was doing, and it was such a transparent cry for me to do exactly this that I’m not surprised when she gives in immediately. 

It’s gorgeous, the way she breaks her own rules to get what she wants.

But if I had to wait all day to get what I wanted, she’s going to get a taste of that, too.

When I take my hand away she bites her lips, leaning toward me. The air in the back of the town car is thick with anticipation. I’d bet every dime in my offshore bank accounts that Ruby’s nipples are hard beneath her dress, but I’m not going to search them out. I’m not going to roll them between my fingers until she gasps.

Not yet.

I give her an indulgent smile. “That was beautiful.”

She shakes her head, confusion written on her face. “Beautiful?”

“Those words, coming out of your mouth...” I close my eyes for a moment, savoring the memory of them. “Beautiful.”

“Then what—”

“No, no.” I hold a finger to my lips. “Stay quiet.”

Ruby crosses her arms over her chest. “What game are you playing?”

I lean closer, murmuring into her ear. “What game were you playing, back in that bedroom?”

She blushes a deep red. “I wanted—”

“I know what you wanted. And you’re going to get it.” I pull back. “But not right now.”

“You’re sadistic.” 

“I’m really not.”

“There’s enough room back here to—”

“To fuck?”

Ruby meets my gaze, fire in her eyes. “Yes. That exactly.”

“Ruby, it’s hardly safe for me to take you in the back of a moving vehicle.” I’m so close to her that I can see the goose bumps rise on her neck when I breathe against her skin, but I don’t press my lips against the creamy expanse there.

“Safe enough.” Her words are forced out against a breathless background.

I shake my head, slowly, deliberately, so that she can’t help but notice the movement out of the corner of her eye. “I could never risk your safety over…”

“You risked it on the way here.”

“You know very well that we stopped before anything really happened.” Her hands clench into fists in her lap, but she works to relax them. “I can see how agonizing this must be for you.” She grits her teeth. “I’m willing to bend the rules…this once,” I say, watching her carefully.

Ruby tips her head back against the seat, blue eyes meeting mine, pleading. “To do what?”

“Spread your legs.”

She bites her lip, moving her knees apart without a single moment of hesitation. “Like this?”

I purse my lips. “Not quite.” Then and only then do I reach for her, putting my hand against her knee and pulling gently outward, one inch, then two, then three. Ruby arches her back, her hands rising from her lap to cling to the edge of the seat behind her. “Like this. Keep them that way.” I keep my tone casual. There’s no threat of punishment there, but she tenses anyway, locking her legs into place.

Yes. 

I’ve never had any use for the kind of dominance that some of the men in my social circle prefer. I don’t need a special room dedicated to sex furniture or whips or chains. I’d rather keep things simple: a length of soft fabric and my voice. For some women, that’s not enough. For Ruby, I have the sense that it will be everything. I almost laugh but swallow the sound. Between the two of us, things will go so much deeper than that. They already have.

I had to rush before, when I finger-fucked her, panting and trembling beneath me. 

Now there’s no rush.

I trace a path up the inside of her spread thighs with one fingertip against her smooth, flawless skin. Her knees shake—she’s struggling to keep them spread so wide, but not willing to give in to her instincts. “Oh…” It’s a little moan. Ruby closes her eyes. That, at least, she can give in to.

How long do I take to work my way up to her panties? Not more than a minute, maybe two, but by the time I make contact with that damp fabric she’s breathing hard. When my fingers brush over that layer between my fingers and her folds, she gasps, her legs moving apart another half-inch, but I don’t stop there. Ruby is wound so tightly that she groans in disappointment.

No. Instead, I bring my other hand up under her skirt and hook my fingers in the waistband of those panties, yanking them down. When they stretch too wide between her legs I wrench the fabric between my hands, tearing it with one quick motion. They’re abandoned on the floor of the town car in an instant.

We’re still twenty minutes away from my penthouse, and Ruby is beside herself. Her ass is pressed firmly against the seat of the town car and her juices are already trickling down between her legs. With her legs spread wide for me, I can see her delicate pink folds. She rocks her hips, showing me more, then less, and opens her eyes to meet my gaze.

“What game are you playing?” Her voice is a raw whisper.

I lean back in and plant a single kiss on her neck. “This game.”

I start with my hand above her knee and take my time moving up and up and up toward her pussy. Ruby bites her lip but she can’t stop small, begging mewls from escaping, and I don’t want her to. The sounds send spikes of pure need through every part of me. I want her at that same level when we arrive at the penthouse, and I know how to get her there.

My fingers make contact, and she moans low, opening wider, her hips asking me to fill her.

I don’t.

I put my thumb against her clit and rub, one slow, slow circle.

“Here’s the game,” I murmur into her ear. “Don’t come.”