The front door creaked open at eight in the morning, letting in the harsh glare of the sun. My legs felt like they were made of lead, and every step I took sent a dull, throbbing ache straight through my core—a filthy, lingering reminder of the hours we’d spent pinned against the damp earth behind the privacy hedges.

Mom was already in the kitchen. She spun around as we walked in, her arms crossed tight over her chest.

"Well, look who finally decided to grace us with their presence," she snapped, her eyes darting fiercely between Jacob and me. "I spent half the night wondering if you two had wrapped the car around a tree or just fled the state to avoid explaining why my twenty-year-old bourbon pulled a vanishing act."

Jacob didn't miss a beat. He looked exhausted, but in a rugged, totally satisfied way, his shirt still rumpled from the sticky heat of the night. "Ruby was worked up, dear. I figured it was better to take her out and let her blow off some steam at the twenty-four-hour diner instead of letting the two of you scream at each other all night."

Mom blew out a long, frustrated sigh, her icy glare thawing just a fraction. "A diner? For the entire night?"

"We drove around. Talked," Jacob lied smoothly, his voice a calm, steady anchor. "She knows she messed up. Don't be too hard on her."

"Fine," Mom muttered, turning back to her coffee. "But you're both on my shit list. I’ve got over sixty emails to catch up on because I was up all night worrying. Jacob, the garage is a disaster, and Ruby, you look like you’ve been dragged through a hedge backward. Go clean yourselves up."

I didn't need to be told twice. I bolted for the stairs, but as I squeezed past Jacob in the narrow hallway, his large hand brazenly swept over my lower back—a brief, hot touch that made my breath hitch in my throat.

I reached my bedroom, practically slamming the door and heavily leaning my weight against the wood. But before I could even begin to peel off my grass-stained clothes, the knob turned. Jacob slipped right in, the lock clicking shut behind him.

"She's holed up in her office," he murmured, his massive frame instantly crowding my space and pinning me flush against the door. He leaned down, his nose grazing the side of my neck where the skin was still tender. "You’re still wearing those clothes from the yard. You reek of me, Ruby."

"Jacob, she's right downstairs," I breathed, my heart hammering like crazy against my ribs.

"She thinks we spent the night eating greasy diner food and discussing your 'attitude problem,'" he rasped. His large hand slid rough and fast under the hem of my shorts, going straight for the swollen heat he’d wrecked just hours ago. "She has absolutely no idea I was buried to the hilt in you while she was standing on the patio screaming your name."

He didn't give me a choice. He shoved my shorts down just enough to make room, his thick fingers slipping inside in a sharp, possessive thrust that instantly turned my knees to water. He was checking his handiwork, shamelessly marking his territory in the harsh light of day. I had to bite down hard on my own knuckles to keep from crying out as he ruthlessly toyed with the aching sensitivity he’d created.

"Clean up," he commanded softly, withdrawing just as abruptly as he’d invaded. "I want you downstairs for dinner tonight. I want to see exactly how well you can keep our dirty little secret while you’re sitting right across from her."

Dinner that evening was pure torture.

Mom sat at the head of the table, her laptop flipped open next to her plate, her face bathed in the harsh blue light of the screen. "Rachel sent me six emails today. Six! Does she think I don't have a life outside of that firm?"

Jacob sat directly across from me, calmly cutting his steak. "Maybe she just knows how fiercely dedicated you are, dear. Right, Ruby?"

I kept my head down, trying my hardest to focus on moving the pasta around my plate, but my hands were shaking. Suddenly, under the cover of the tablecloth, I felt a firm, heavy pressure against my shin. Jacob’s bare foot began to slowly, deliberately slide up my calf.

My breath caught in my throat.

"You okay, Ruby?" Mom asked, not even bothering to look away from her screen. "Your face is flushed again. I swear, you must have caught a bug being out all night."

"I'm fine," I squeaked, my voice sounding tight and totally unnatural.

Jacob’s toe hooked the edge of my denim shorts. He didn't hesitate. He pushed higher, the rough pad of his foot gliding mercilessly over the skin of my inner thigh. I gripped my fork so hard my knuckles turned bone-white.

"She probably just needs more... hydration," Jacob suggested smoothly, his pitch-black eyes dancing with a cruel, wicked light as they locked onto mine. "A long, exhausting night like that really takes a lot out of a girl."

He reached my sweet spot, his foot pressing firmly right against my aching, swollen core. I let out a sharp, involuntary gasp, instantly camouflaging the sound with a frantic coughing fit.

"Ruby, honey, chew your food," Mom murmured absentmindedly. "You're acting so strange today. Honestly, Jacob, what did you two even talk about for all those hours?"

"Life," Jacob replied effortlessly, his foot settling into a slow, agonizing grind against my clit that made my vision completely blur. "Responsibility. Knowing the consequences of taking something that doesn't belong to you."

I stood up so fast that my wooden chair shrieked in protest against the floorboards. "I... I lost my appetite. I'm going to bed."

I didn't stick around for a dismissal. I practically sprinted up the stairs, my entire body feeling like it was on fire. I stripped off my clothes in record time and scrambled under the cool sheets, my limbs shaking from the sheer nerve of his game.

I lay awake for hours, my pulse racing as I listened to the old house settle around me. Eventually, I heard Mom’s footsteps padding up the stairs. I heard the heavy click of her master bedroom door closing. Afterward, the house fell dead silent.

At exactly 2:00 AM, my bedroom door slowly creaked open.

The hulking silhouette filling the doorframe was unmistakable—broad and way too big for the frame. Jacob stepped inside, pushing the door shut with a soft thud.

He stalked over to the edge of my bed, the mattress groaning as it dipped heavily under his weight. He didn't speak right away; he simply reached out, his calloused hand securely cupping my jaw. His skin was cool to the touch, carrying the rich, intoxicating scent of the expensive bourbon Mom was convinced we had completely drained.

"I couldn't stop thinking about you during dinner," he whispered, his rough thumb lazily stroking the line of my jaw. "The way you were so helplessly squirming in that chair. You wanted me to take you right there on the dining table, didn't you? Right in front of her?"

"Jacob..." I breathed, entirely defenseless against him.

"She’s out cold, Ruby. I made sure." He slid his hand down my neck, finding the hem of my silk nightgown and slowly dragging it upward. He paused the exact second his fingers brushed bare skin, realizing I wasn't wearing anything underneath. A low, dark chuckle vibrated through the quiet room. "Well, look at that. You didn't even bother putting panties on. You were just lying here, waiting for Daddy to sneak in, weren't you?"

I reached out, grabbing the front of his shirt as I forcefully pulled him down to me. The guilt was certainly there, gnawing at the edges of my conscience, but the hunger was so much louder.

He shifted, dropping heavily to his knees right between my parted legs. His large hands mapped the curves of my body like he owned me. He leaned in close, his lips hovering a tantalizing inch from mine.

"Remember the rules, little bird," he breathed, his gravelly voice dripping with a dirty promise. "No screaming this time. We’re inside the house now. And I’m going to make sure you have a very hard time staying quiet."