Page 122 of Lessons in Heartbreak

“That’s a house rule, birdy,” I called after her.

“Not one I agreed to.” Her head popped back around the corner of the door. “Besides, this isn’t my house. If you’d like to walk around naked, feel free, but you might traumatize Eileen when she gets here.”

I let out a disgruntled sigh, settling my head back down onto the pillow and closing my eyes again. The sound of her footsteps coming back into the bedroom had me peeling them open. Her hair was wild around her face, like it always was after she woke up.

She split her time between my place outside of Denver and her home in Welling Springs, adjusting her work schedule so that her days off allowed us to have three straight days together. She arrived with Bruiser on Saturday evenings, after closing up the library at noon. Sundays, we went to Denver’s home games together—the only ones Iwas attending, given my stupid broken arm meant I couldn’t play until after Thanksgiving.

On Mondays, she worked remotely at my house, and I’d happily conceded one of the extra bedrooms to become her office. Not long after, during one of her return trips to Welling Springs, I had floor-to-ceiling bookshelves installed, then handed her my credit card and told her I didn’t think she’d be able to fill them in two weeks.

It took four days, and her triumphant smirk when she slid the last book into place made me so fucking crazy that I slung her up over my shoulder with my good arm—ignoring the screaming pain in my rib in a way that would piss off my doctor—and marched her right back to our bedroom, her breathless laughter filling the room until I commanded her to sit over my face and let me kiss between her thighs until she screamed my name. It was a tactic that I’d found very successful.

And since Tuesday was my day off during the season, I was trying to institute a mandated no-clothes, sex-only day. I had a bit of convincing to do.

“See, I knew you’d change your mind about naked Tuesdays.” I patted the empty side of the bed. I’d spent four eternal weeks sleeping in a recliner with that evil sling on my arm and now dedicated a substantial bit of energy to trying to be in bed with her as much as humanly possible. “Come back in, birdy. We don’t have to be at the airport for another hour.”

Instead of taking pity on my poor morning hard-on, Ruby tossed something at me—not the shirt, unfortunately—and I caught it before it hit me in the face.

My lip curled at the sight of the sling.

I hated that fucking thing and would burn it at the first-possible chance.

Holding her gaze, I dumped it right back onto the floor. “That is not sexy, and not what I was hoping to start my day with.” I sat up and motioned for her to come closer. “You. Come here.”

Ruby set a hand on her hip, and it bunched the T-shirt up just enough around her waist that I got a mouth-watering glimpse of her thigh. “The doctor said you have to wear it. I know it’s feeling better, but—”

“My arm is fine.” It hurt like a bitch the night before, but there was nowayI was admitting that now.

She narrowed her eyes. “I know what your pain face looks like. Don’t you lie to me, Griffin King.”

I growled. “It makes me crazy when you say my full name. Get back in bed, baby.”

Ruby stayed right where she was. “I will if you put the sling back on.”

“You know what’s not feeling better?” I pointed to the bulge underneath the sheet. “He’s not. I can finally do normal sex positions and sleep in bed with you, and I’d like to set a record for most times getting you off in a week, okay? This is practically a charitable endeavor on my part.”

Her eyes never strayed from mine, but she rolled her lips in, trying to hide the smile that threatened. “Do not try and distract me. You promised me you’d be a good patient.”

I flexed my arm as I reached out to her—it was still slightly skinnier than the other, since the permanent cast had come off the week before. “I am a good patient. The best. I did all my PT this week, didn’t I? You should come give me a kiss as a reward.”

Ruby’s grin broke free, and when she leaned down to plant a kiss over my waiting mouth, I knew I had her. “You really should have warned me about how much affirmation you need. I might not have agreed to this cohabitation deal,” she said against my lips. What a crock of shit. She always wanted it, just as bad as me.

My hand curled around the back of her thigh, fingers tickling lightly up underneath the hem of the T-shirt.

Slowly, I pushed my hand up, and when I found her slick between her legs, I nipped at her bottom lip. “You should have warned me how insatiable you are. I would’ve made you move in sooner.”

I surged forward and clutched her around the waist, swallowing her surprised squeak with an open-mouthed kiss as I deposited her on my lap. Ruby’s sigh of concession had a smile breaking open over my face, and she slung her arms over my shoulders as we kissed lazily.

After a few minutes, my hands coasting up the length of her back underneath the damned T-shirt, Ruby pulled away with a dazed expression. “We don’t have time,” she moaned.

I kissed her again, deeper this time, my hand digging into the mass of her hair. “Yes, we do.” She tugged at the sheet, the only thing separating us, and heat surged through my veins.Got her.“And once they get here, you’re going to be impossible to please.”

She pulled back, eyebrows arched. “Me?”

With a hum, I leaned in to nip along the line of her jaw, slowly working the T-shirt up with my hands. I would make Naked Tuesdays a thing, so help me. When I pulled it up over her head, she sighed, fixing me with a mock glare when I grinned in triumph.

“Yes, you,” I told her. “It’s not my fault we have sex all over the house. I won’t be able to boost you up on the island. Or have you in the pool after dark. Or on the kitchen table. You love it when I do that,” I whispered against her lips.

“I do.” She pushed one of my hands up to cover her breast, arching her back when I dragged my thumb over her hard peak. Watching her face when I teased her there was one of my new favorite hobbies because her breath always hitched in the most delightful way. I ducked my head and kissed along the length of her scar.

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