“Really? What changed your mind?”

Humor touched Bennett’s lips. “I decided to bide my time and see how it’s all going to end. Which man will finally put his finger on the button that will kill us all?”

“You think a man will end the world? Isn’t that a little sexist?”

“It’s a lot sexist, and historically, there’ve been many women who’ve started wars or at the very least led armies to continue ongoing ones or invade other countries. Elizabeth I of England, Isabella I of Spain, Catherine the Great, and if you want to go back further in time, Zenobia of Palmyra not only conquered Roman Arabia, she invaded Egypt and Anatolia. Demagogues undeniably come in both genders; however, when it comes right down to it, when it comes right down to destroying the world because of greed or pride or religious beliefs, or the need to simply dominate, no, that will be a man.”

“Wow.”

“What?” Bennett said, flinching back her head. “Does that surprise you?”

“A little. Like I said, it’s definitely sexist.”

“Perhaps, but don’t take it the wrong way. I don’t hate men. Quite the opposite, actually. I like men. I find them enjoyable company, but I’ve also lived a long time. I was around when only men could get an education or own property, and a woman’s worth was measured only by her ability to birth children or fix a roast. I watched as the suffragettes marched, demanding the right to vote when it should never have been a question. And when World War II ended, and the men came home, the women who had taken up jobs as nurses or manufacturing ammunition, building planes and ships, and driving supply trucks, were suddenly once again forced to take a back seat to the men. So, yes, I suppose, in a way, I am sexist, but it’s not without merit. Trust me.”

“I do.”

“Good,” Bennett said, rolling closer to Ruby. “And now that we have that out of the way, care to trust me a little more? Say…with your body?”

Ruby smiled as she climbed on top of Bennett. “I thought you’d never ask.”

The kiss began slowly, a casual start to something that would soon be far from casual, and when Ruby parted Bennett’s lips with her tongue, Bennett welcomed the invasion. When the woman was beautiful, and Ruby was, and when the woman was good in bed, and Ruby was, there’d never been a time when Bennett’s body hadn’t reacted. She’d get wet and wanton, and her body would pulse, and she’d return the lust with the same ferocity, except at the moment, Bennett wasn’t wanton or wet, and the only pulse was the one she could hear throbbing…in Ruby’s neck.