He proved powerless against a request like that one. He’d never be able to say whether it was the claim that he was a good man or the way she said the word please that moved him, but moved he was. Without bothering to respond in words, he scooped her deliciously naked body into his arms and tossed her to the bed. She squealed as she landed, her legs falling open and inviting him in, the smile on her face doing much the same.

He did like kids, and he did like dogs, and he did like baby animals of all species and varieties, but none of that compared to how he felt about this woman.

Without waiting a moment longer, he opened the condom and slid it along his length. Settling himself between her legs, he breathed deeply as he finally entered her. He kissed and caressed and lost himself in the sensation of Ruby wrapping herself around every part of him.

That was when thought ended and desire took over—where extraordinariness came into play, mostly because it was so simple. Ruby felt good. She tasted good. She made him feel good.

In that moment—feeling her climax beneath him, letting himself go at the same moment he captured her cries with a kiss—he knew his life could never get any better or any easier than this.

“Oh my.” Ruby lay panting beneath him, making no move to push him away. If anything, she shifted to better accommodate him, curling her body into a nest that he could settle into for as long as he wanted.

And he wanted. He wanted very much.

“I knew you’d be worth the trouble, but I didn’t realize how much,” she added as he entwined her legs with his and lay wrapped in her arms. “That was amazing.”

“I’m not trouble,” he protested. The scent of her hair filled his nostrils, mixing with their lovemaking to create an intoxicating whirl of his senses. “You are. I knew you would be from the moment I met you.”

Her laughter shook them both, but it dislodged neither. Spencer sank gratefully into her embrace. He knew that Max was likely to wake up at several points during the night and that all three of the kids would be bright-eyed and bushy-tailed long before the sun came up, but for now, he was going to rest.

To relax. To just be himself.

“I still intend to win the dog show, so don’t get too comfortable,” Ruby warned. She also sighed and nuzzled closer, so he didn’t take offense. “I knew the first time I saw you that I wouldn’t rest until I had you. And if tonight has proven anything, Spencer, it’s that I always get what I want.”

Chapter 14