He pressed her into the sofa, kissing her lips, her neck, the tops of her breasts. When he picked her up, she knew he was taking her from the small parlor to the adjoining bedroom. She didn’t stop him. There was nothing on earth that she wanted more than to be with Ford. She had nursed her childish dreams for so long that now the reality was everything to her.
He shrugged off his suit jacket, but her fingers trembled as she tried to rid herself of her own clothes. Her thoughts raced, and she tried to focus on what was about to happen, but she pushed it from her mind. She knew what lay before her. She would go to New York and find a life onstage, but tonight, this was all she wanted.
Ford knelt before her and unbuttoned her dress quickly while Ruby smiled shyly at him. She stood before him now wearing only her chemise and drawers, which were laced lined with a pink ribbon.
“You are so lovely,” he said as she touched his cheek and moved her hand through his hair.
“Ford.”
He stood before her and removed his shirt as she pulled the chemise over her head. She looked away nervously, as she had never had a man look at her before. She was completely naked to his gaze, and it unnerved her.
She tried to move to the bed and away from his gaze, but he pulled her to him. His hands caressed her back and then moved farther down to cup her bottom.
“Just like that night,” he murmured into her ear. “Only now you are a woman.”
She closed her eyes. She remembered that night as if it were yesterday. The water all around them and his hands cupping her as he did now. She had wondered if this day would ever come. She had thought he might be married with children by now, but no. He had said so over dinner. No one had tempted him to marriage.
And yet here he was, touching her and talking to her as if they were a married couple about to consummate their love. Though they were not married, they were about to be joined together, and she was about to give Ford her virginity. She would never regret it.
He was kissing her again. This time with more passion and heat as she wrapped her arms around his neck. He backed her up to the bed, and they fell together in a tangle of limbs. When Ruby felt his tongue twirl and tease one of her nipples, she bucked against him.
He smiled down at her. He kissed her belly, her thighs, and was suddenly breathing against her most feminine part.
“Ford, no!” she cried out.
He didn’t say anything, only continued to move his hot breath over her until he replaced it with his tongue. Ruby trembled and then closed her eyes, giving herself up completely to the man she had loved for so very long.
With her legs splayed open, Ford deftly touched a finger inside her warmth and then replaced it with his tongue. Alternating between the two, he watched as Ruby bucked against him and moaned. He finally unbuttoned his trousers and kicked them off, covering her naked body with his own.
The feel of his naked body against hers was intoxicating, and Ruby opened her legs wider to accept his body.
“Don’t be frightened, darling,” he whispered.
Ruby shook her head, and her eyes sought his. “I’m not.”
Using one arm to brace his weight, he moved slightly to the side and used his other arm to take his cock in hand. She was wet and ready, but he knew it would be her first time, and he didn’t want to cause her any additional pain. Moving slowly, he guided himself inside her.
She was very tight, as he expected, but also slick from his attention. She closed her eyes as he moved deeper inside her.
“Ruby,” he said softly as he felt the tightness of her body completely surround him.
She relaxed and accepted him, and felt the sharp pain as her virginity was no more. She moved her legs up to surround him, and he glided his cock gently in and out of her, allowing her to get used to the intrusion of him.
She held him tightly to her as he took one nipple in his mouth and then kissed her neck and bit it lightly. She gasped aloud as a wave of exquisite pleasure crested over her, and it was then that he pulled out of her, emptying himself into his palm with a groan.
Ruby lay on her back in the bed as Ford moved about the room. He cleaned himself off with the pitcher and basin and then pulled on his trousers. When he returned to the bed, Ruby was on her side watching him.
She looked lovely with her blond hair tousled and her gray eyes bright in the dark room. She looked like she had just been made love to. He swallowed lightly and came to sit at the edge of the bed.
“Ruby . . . I—”
“Can I have my chemise?” she asked.
He looked around and found it on the floor. He handed it to her.
“Thank you.” She pulled the garment over her head.
“Ruby, I don’t know what to say.”