Chapter 21 BRAND NEW

Chapter 21 BRAND NEW
As the morning light slipped in through the curtains, soft and golden across the sheets. Ruby stirred slowly, her body sore in the sweetest way and when her eyes opened, Leslie was right there beside her. His chest rose and fell steadily as his features relaxed. 

She shifted closer, a quiet smile tugging at her lips. Her gaze trailed over the broad expanse of his chest, down the line of his abs, lower where the sheet tented slightly over him. Heat bloomed in her cheeks. She glanced back at his face. His eyes were still closed.

Ruby tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, her hand reaching to trail his bare chest. 

But his fingers wrapped around hers firmly, catching her mid-motion as she trailed lower.

His eyes cracked open as he turned to her, locking onto hers with that same intensity that had undone her all night.

Ruby’s smile deepened, her pulse quickening at being caught. She twisted her hand free with a soft glance, and she placed her hands flat on his chest. Her fingertips traced over warm skin, feeling the steady beat beneath.

Leaning in, she let her lips hover near his ear, her breath brushing him hot and teasing. Her voice dropped to a sultry whisper. “Good morning.”

Leslie’s eyes narrowed slightly, his mouth curving in the barest hint of a smirk 

She breathed him in. Her fingers drifted slowly, almost absently, from his chest up to his neck, and into his hair. Leslie’s eyes closed, feeling her.

Her eyes lifted and caught his face, his lashes dark against his skin, and his lips parted slightly.

Ruby’s chest tightened. Her words slipped out in a soft, disbelieving whisper. “You spent the night here? With me?”

At her touch, his eyes opened, hazy at first, but as soon as they landed on her, clarity sharpened in them like she was the only thing worth focusing on.

He melted into her touch yet again, and in the same heartbeat, he moved over her, caging her against the mattress. His lips crashed against hers claiming her lips and stealing her breath before she could even inhale. Ruby gasped into his mouth with her heart hammering, and she clutched at his shoulder as though she feared he might vanish.

When he pulled back just enough to speak, his breath feathered across her lips. “You asked me to,” he murmured with his eyes burning into hers. “So I did.”

Ruby’s lips curved faintly at his words, but her eyes shimmered with something softer. His weight pressed her into the mattress, his warmth sinking into her, and she felt her heart stutter under the force of his kiss.

Her hand slid up his jaw, holding him there as if she could keep him from pulling away. 

Leslie pulled back but their lips still brushing as Ruby whispered, “I didn’t think you would.”

His gaze locked onto hers, dark and unwavering, and for a heartbeat she swore the world fell away. His thumb stroked along her cheek with surprising tenderness for a man who had just wrecked her body through the night.

“Ruby… you’re my woman,” he said.

Her chest rose sharply, disbelief tangling with the ache of desire that burned hot in her belly. Fingers threaded into his hair, clinging, as if needed to anchor herself to him. 

This storm of a man who left her undone with both words and touch. 

Leslie drew in a steady breath, his hand slipping toward the nightstand. “I’ve got something for you.”

Ruby’s lashes fluttered as she propped herself on her elbows. The sheets falling loose around her bare shoulders. 

Her heart stuttered when he pulled out a small box tied neatly with a white ribbon. It had the shape of an engagement box, and panic flooded her chest before she could stop it.

“Here. Open it,” he urged, his mouth curling into a smile that made her even more unsteady.

She hesitated. Her voice was barely audible. “Leslie… this isn’t, is it?”

“Go ahead,” he murmured with his eyes glinting. “Open it.”

Her breath caught as she tugged at the ribbon with trembling fingers, and when she lifted the lid she blinked in shock. Not a ring. A key sleek resting in it. Her gaze darted back to his and widened with disbelief.

“A key?” She glanced at it without taking a second look, or taking it out. “You’re already giving me a key to your apartment?”

Leslie chuckled softly  as he slid a hand around her neck and pulled her in close, his lips brushing hers between kisses.

“There’s no need for that,” she whispered, trying to laugh it off, “I already said I would be yours.”

His smirk deepened. “It’s a car key, Ruby and my apartment needs a password, maybe a fingerprint not a key.”

Her brows shot up, and she leaned back to search his face. “What?”

Ruby reached for the box, taking it out.

“A Range Rover Mansory. It's brand new.”

The sheets slipped further down as she sat upright, her breasts bare to his gaze and rising with each shallow breath. His eyes flickered down instantly, lingering with hunger and his lips twitching into a wolfish smirk.

“You bought me a car?” she asked.

“Why not?” His voice was casual, but his stare burned at her tits before meeting her eyes. “Yours broke down. I hate seeing that loser drive you to school.”

Ruby pushed her hair back with a shaky hand and swung her legs over the bed, scanning for her clothes. Her underwear, anything but found nothing. Then, the realization hit her that she was utterly bare under his gaze and that thought sent heat crawling up her throat.

“He is not a loser,” she snapped, defiant despite her exposed state. “His name is Nick Conan. He’s my ex-boyfriend, and he isn’t doing anything wrong.”

Before she could continue, Leslie’s hand caught her wrist and turned her back to face him, his other hand gripping her neck firmly, forcing her to look up at him. His presence pressed against her, suffocating and addictive all at once.

“Sweetheart,” he drawled, his voice low and rough with warning. “I’m not the type to sit around listening to praises about another man. Especially not from my woman.” His grip softened as his other hand slid from her wrist down the length of her arm, trailing heat in its wake before resting at her hip.

Ruby’s pulse spiked. Her hand clutched his bicep, her other palm flattening against the hard plane of his chest. Her eyes locked with his, taunting softly despite the tremble in her voice.

“Why? What are you going to do if I say I prefer him driving me?”

For a moment his gaze darkened with a storm gathering. Then, with a scoff and a shake of his head, he let her go. “Loy will drive you to school. Or you’ll drive yourself. Don't dare test me, Sweetheart.”

He turned away, walking toward the bathroom without a backward glance, every line of his body taut with control.

Ruby gasped, her chest heaving as she watched him disappear into the shower. Her eyes fell back to the key on the bed. 

Her stomach twisted with something she couldn’t name. No man had ever made her feel so desired, this… claimed. It was maddening and yet her body still ached for him.

Ruby padded softly to the bathroom. When she pushed the door open, steam spilled out to greet her. And there he was, water cascading down his body. 

Ruby stepped inside, the heat immediately wrapping around her. Her eyes dragged over Leslie’s body, slowly from his thick, corded neck to the cut of his shoulders, the ridges of his abs beaded with water. 

Her thighs pressed together involuntarily when her gaze dropped lower, over his waistline and down to what stood proudly at the center of him. His cock looked heavy, thick and wet. It made her pulse skitter. She caught herself staring, but couldn’t look away.

“Ruby,” Her head snapped up, meeting his eyes. “Do you want something?”

Her throat worked as her gaze darted back to him, then lower again. “Can I shower with you?” she asked, voice soft but bold at once. She didn’t wait for an answer.

She moved under the spray, water sluicing down her skin as she stepped closer. The heat of his body mingled with hers until their wet skin brushed. 

Her back grazing his chest and her curves gliding against the hard planes of him. Her butt brushed against his cock, and she felt it twitch. A shiver zipped through her spine.

She turned to face him, her hair dripping and clinging to her skin, her body now completely soaked. Without hesitation she lifted her hands to his chest, fingers trembling as they touched him.

Leslie’s reaction was instant, his hand shot up, gripping a fistful of her wet hair. He tugged her head back with a force that made her gasp. Her eyes flickered up, locked with his. His glare was molten, water dripping from his face.

“What are you doing?” he asked, his voice growling over the sound of the shower.

Ruby’s chest rose and fell sharply, droplets sliding down between her breasts. “Just wanted to shower with you,” she murmured, her lips parting as her heart hammered.

His grip stayed on her hair, his thumb brushing the nape of her neck like a silent warning and a caress all at once. 

“Sweetheart,” he rasped, eyes darkening, “you’re being too touchy. And I can’t promise to control myself.” His jaw flexed, water running off the curve of it. “Not with you. Not ever.”