Ruby's Fantasy

by Cathleen Ross

Jake’s expression hardened. ‘What’s this really about, Ruby? You saying you don’t need a man? You don’t want me?’ His hands dropped from her shoulders.

  ‘Jake, I want to be with you because I like you. I don’t want to need you. There’s a difference. I’ve found needing a man means I have to pay the piper and I refuse to be like that.’

  His deep blue eyes gleamed with intelligence. ‘I don’t see it that way. The way I’m trained, loyalty is everything. I’ve always worked as a unit. You do what you say you’re going to do and you survive. You need your buddy to watch your back. One slip up, you die.’

  ‘This is not a war zone.’ She didn’t want to hurt him. She didn’t. But he had to understand how things were for her.

  ‘Believe me, you have set up shop in a war zone. Don’t be fooled by the pseudo gentility here and the posh names of the nearby suburbs. You don’t know The Cross like I do. Predators live here. Pure evil exists here. The inhabitants will eat you alive without me to protect you.’

  ‘But I’m used to handling things myself, doing everything for myself.’

  ‘So you keep saying.’ His expression changed from his serious demeanour and he gave her a cheeky grin.

  ‘What’s so funny?’ she asked suspiciously

  ‘I live right next door.’ He pointed to her kitchen where a wall divided the other semi from hers. ‘I heard you in the bath yesterday. The walls are thin. Sound travels. Sounded like you needed me big time.’

  A hot flush raced up her throat and she felt it scour her cheeks. ‘You…live…next door? You mean upstairs?’

  ‘You want me bad, Princess.’

  She felt her mouth drop open.

  ‘I heard you calling my name.’

  Ruby clapped her hands to her cheeks. ‘That’s so embarrassing.’

  ‘Hope you’re impressed with how well I answered your call.’ He glanced at his watch again. He leant forward and gave her a swift kiss. ‘The glass company will be here in twenty minutes. I’ll see you downstairs.’ He flashed her a devastating smile, turned and walked down the hallway to the stairs that led down to her shop.

  Chapter 5

  Jake and his business partner, former commando Gray, otherwise known as Ghost, fitted the heavy security screen door to the front of Ruby’s shop. Next to him, the glass company men cleared away the remaining broken glass and prepared the windowsill for the new pane.

  Jake rubbed his forehead for a moment. Something was eating at Ruby. He got it. She had trust issues. Clearly money was one of her hot buttons too, but it wouldn’t take a lot to improve her security.

  He didn’t take chances. He had a prenatal sense of danger, an edgy sensation that resonated up and down his spine, the type of feeling that had kept him alive in Afghanistan. If he had a hunch something wasn’t right, he obeyed his instincts, and his buddy, Ghost, followed him, since he’d saved his arse numerous times in Ghan.

  ‘Morning, gentlemen. Have some trouble here?’ asked a passerby Jake recognised as Abe Malouf, the owner of a strip joint and club situated next door to Ruby’s shop.

  Jake gave him a nod. Ghost grunted before fitting the drill bit into their tool. ‘Give me a moment, Ghost. Abraham, can I have a word?’

  The club owner pulled a packet of cigarettes out of his pocket and lit one. He drew back hard and his eyes narrowed. ‘The blonde upset someone?’

  Jake could see dark circles under the man’s eyes. His skin was pallid and he had a paunch, a legacy from long night hours and little exercise. From updating the club’s security, Jake knew Abraham had a network of relatives that stretched through The Cross and beyond. His club held regular strip shows, which weren’t Jake’s thing, but Abe was keen to keep the bikie domination of the drug trade out of his club because it brought in the cops and Jake was more than happy to assist by installing top security measures. ‘Looks like it. I was hoping you could help me with a lead. A man with a spider tattoo on his face climbed in the shop front window last night. Description fit anyone you know?’

  Abraham paused to consider before shaking his head. ‘Come down to the club. Ask my bouncers. They’ll be back on tonight. I also need you to check the security device over the bar on the second floor. It’s not recording. Had some complaints from customers last night about the service and I went to see for myself what was going on. Couldn’t play the recording back to check it.’

  ‘I’ll come by later. Thanks.’ Jake shook his hand, but the club owner didn’t move on.

  ‘Good looking woman bought the property. Nice neighbour to have.’

  ‘Better looking than you, Abe.’

  Abe snorted. ‘Bound to draw some notice.’

  ‘Yeah.’

  ‘Blonde. Great legs.’

  ‘Yeah.’

  ‘Saw you sniffing around there. She hot stuff naked?’ Abraham said.

  Jake clamped his lips. Yes. Damn good and he wanted to get her clothes off again, but that was none of the club owner’s business.

  Abe gave him an assessing look. ‘Think she’d be interested in auditioning? We have a spot free. Easy work. Just has to dance semi-naked in a cage.’

  ‘No! Not that sort of girl. She’s a sweet country girl,’ Jake said through clipped lips.

  ‘Single?’ Abraham asked.

  ‘Taken,’ Jake said.

  ‘You sure she’s sweet?’ Abraham’s face wore a leer and he looked over Jake’s shoulder as if he were fantasising about Ruby.

  Jake shifted. The only man who was going to pay attention to Ruby was him. ‘Not the right type for you. Real girl next door.’

  Abe raised bushy eyebrows. ‘Glad she’s next door to me. That Dom dress and whip she’s carrying are sensational. Got several Macquarie Street merchant bankers looking for that kind of action. She could turn some real money dressed like that.’

  ‘Huh?’ Jake turned just as Ruby walked up to him. He felt his jaw drop and he swayed on his feet. Instantly, he got hard as a stone. With commando-trained speed, he moved in front of Abe so that the man couldn’t see her.

  ‘Nice tits,’ Abe said.

  Jake heard a chuckle behind him as he shielded Ruby from Abe’s gaze. No matter that he was a client, he wanted to ram his fist into the club owner’s face and only years of discipline restrained him.

  Even Ghost, his mouth open, sat back on his haunches, his drill cocked high.

  Ruby was laced into a black leather corset that pushed up her breasts so that they tipped over the corset barely covering her nipples. The outfit was pulled severely in at the waist and finished with a short skirt that flared over her hips and stopped just below her panty line. Her perfectly shaped long legs went on forever. On her feet she wore black stilettos and in her hand she carried a riding crop. Her blonde hair was piled high on her head, so that when she came close, she reached his eye level. When he met her stare he saw that Ruby had her eyes rimmed black like she meant business.

  ‘So Jake, how long do you think these modifications will take? I want the shop open.’ She tapped the whip on her thigh.

  Jake was about to reply. Well he would have except his tongue had stuck to the roof of his mouth. Instead, Abe moved beside him and stuck out his hand. ‘Morning, neighbour, I’m Abe Malouf.’

  Ruby took his hand and gave it a shake. ‘I’m Emerald. I own the costume shop and this is my design,’ she said waving her hand down her body.

  ‘Works for me,’ Abe said.

  Ghost grunted.

  Emerald? What the hell? ‘You mean Ruby,’ Jake interjected. There was no way he was going to let her take on her sister’s persona and put herself in danger. Wasn’t last night enough?

  ‘I think I know my own name,’ Ruby shot back.

  ‘I don’t think you do.’ Anger blasted through him like a bullet. When he got her alone, he was going to make it clear that she was not to pretend she was her sister or to leave the store without him. Putting herself as bait was stupid.

  ‘Out of my way, Jake. I have business to discuss with Abe,’ Rub
y said, whacking him with the riding crop on the thigh.

  ‘Now you’re talking,’ Abe said as his gaze sat hungrily on her breasts as he licked his lips appreciably.

  ‘Like hell you do,’ Jake said. His hands itched to snatch the riding crop and put it to work on her derrière. It looked like she’d grown her sister’s bossy personality and he didn’t like it one bit. A growl rolled from his throat. He had a whole lot to say to Ruby about survival in The Cross but she turned her back on him and walked down the street, stopping in front of Abe’s club with the nightclub owner following her like a dog on heat.

  Cars honked. Passersby swivelled their heads, their gaze moving from the top of her blonde curls, over her curves, down to her sensational legs.

  Where was the Ruby he knew? The one who’d clung to him last night when the creep with the spider tattoo had frightened her; his Ruby who had experienced her first multiple orgasm in his arms? Oh hell. Last night had clearly given her confidence.

  What had he set loose?

  Someone had to know something about Emerald and if Ruby could talk to the nightclub workers, she might find where her twin had fled and why. Emerald had told her that strippers from the club next door regularly came into the shop to buy gear. There was no way she could sit day after day wondering what had happened to her sister. ‘I’m glad I met you, Abe, because I have a proposition for you,’ she said, sounding more confident than she felt.

  ‘That’s good because I have a proposal for you, too,’ Abe said.

  A shiver inside cooled her bones.

  Behind Abe, a few feet away out of hearing distance, Ruby could see Jake glaring at her. How long before he stormed over? ‘I’ll ask first, if that’s okay? I have terrific outfits in the shop that I’d love to show to your strippers. I want to make a time and invite your girls into the shop.’

  Abe’s eyes narrowed and he rubbed his thigh, the sweat of his palm leaving a stain on his trousers. ‘I have a better idea. You come to the club with your outfits and demonstrate the clothes, let everybody see how they peel off.’

  ‘Come into the club?’ She looked at the Pink Pussy Club behind with its glitzy neon sign and gaudy posters of semi-naked women with implants glued onto the blacked out window. Heat flared her cheeks and she was glad she had on a lot of makeup. From the way Abe was gazing at her, he already had stripped her off in his imagination.

  ‘I don’t model the outfits.’

  ‘This your usual daywear?’

  There was something distinctly predatory about Abe Malouf but she wasn’t going to heed the warning vibes that resonated through her. Her twin needed her. ‘I’m strictly professional.’

  ‘I’ll clear the bar.’

  ‘A professional in costume design.’ Ruby grit her teeth.

  She saw Jake pacing in front of her shop. No wonder his fists were clenched and a deep frown creased his face. He hadn’t taken his gaze off her for a second and in a moment he’d be storming over.

  ‘You can use the poles to demonstrate,’ Abe added.

  ‘No!’ She snapped the crop.

  Abe raised an eyebrow. ‘You know you could really make some high end money doing that stuff. I have a better idea. There’s a big cage hanging from the roof in the bar. You dance, peel off the lingerie and I’ll make sure your order book is full.’ Sweat made Abe’s forehead glisten.

  ‘Not happening.’ Whack! She slapped the riding crop against the wall.

  Abe raised his eyebrows.

  Somehow she had a feeling that Abe’s idea of an order book and her idea of an order book weren’t the same thing.

  Steely determination drove her to find her sister. ‘Forget the cage. Forget the poles. I want a private room. Women only.’

  ‘You’ll get it,’ Abe leered.

  Suspicion rippled up her spine and she wasn’t fooled. The nightclub owner was so quick in his acquiescence, that she couldn’t get rid of the feeling that he’d change the rules in a heartbeat.

  ‘What time?’ she asked.

  ‘Come at eleven p.m. The club’s pumping then. The strippers will be in their change room. You can demonstrate there. Wear that outfit. Dom work is good business now. You’re the sexiest woman I’ve ever seen and a lotta women have passed through my club.’

  Ruby pointed the riding crop at his face. ‘Let me spell this out for you. I’m not a stripper. I’m coming to sell lingerie and showgirl outfits. Nothing else.’

  Abe’s back straightened at her tone but his gaze remained fascinated on her breasts. ‘You’re making me hard.’

  ‘You’re making me angry. Hey, I’m up here,’ she said, pointing to her eyes.

  Abe’s head snapped up. His black eyes narrowed. ‘The last woman who was mouthy with me regretted it.’

  Ruby stared him down aware of the threat in his tone. She’d take risks for Emerald. ‘Get used to liking lip because that’s all you’ll be getting. I don’t work for you. I’m coming to your club to demonstrate my products. There’ll only be women in the room.’ Anyone who ran a well-known club like Abe’s survived in The Cross by relying on muscle, but she had to be tough, too. She’d faced down bullies before.

  ‘It’s a waste not to share your potential,’ he said.

  ‘Do we have a deal?’

  ‘You could make good money my way.’

  ‘I’m promoting my business not my body.’

  Abe held out his hand to shake. ‘Pity. I have customers who’d like you.’

  ‘Tough.’ She resisted taking it, but his clammy palm clamped on hers. Her inner voice told her the man was lying to her, yet he was offering her a way in to his club and she had to take it for Emerald’s sake. ‘I’ll see you tonight,’ she said, extracting her hand from his.

  Ruby turned and strode towards Jake who looked at her with questions in his eyes. It was about time he learnt she wasn’t a needy woman who expected a man to save her at every turn. It wasn’t that she was ungrateful. No one had been happier to see him than her when he’d been there last night, but the thought of giving up her independence and relying on a man was not her style. She and Emerald had clung together through their rocky teen years fighting off the drunks when her father was too high to do it and her twin was the only one she trusted. Letting anyone else in would mean having to trust a man.

  Jake stood outside the shop, his arms folded in front of him. One of her blonde curls had fallen down and curled enticingly over her ear. Determination to know why she had shaken Abe Malouf’s hand made his jaw clench and his hands fist. When she sauntered towards him all attitude and sex, he fought the urge to put her over his knee and spank her until he unlocked her secret.

  He’d called her a “girl next door” and here she was dressed in that made-for-sin, black corset with her perfect, firm breasts, clinched in waist and long, long legs. From the way she had taken on a dominatrix persona, the woman should have been an actress.

  A rush of lust settled uneasily over his anger. Restraint. He needed it. He strode inside, closed the new security screen door behind him. ‘You realise putting yourself out there like bait is one of the stupidest things you could do? You need to stay off the street.’

  Ruby’s chin jutted up and her eyes narrowed. ‘My twin is missing. Someone around here must know something. I’m going to find out.’

  ‘Stay away from Abe. He has no respect for women. The only way he likes to see a woman is naked and subservient.’

  ‘So what makes him different to you?’

  Jake strode over and gripped her shoulders. ‘That’s a low blow. The difference is I happen to care about you.’

  ‘My experience of men is that they all just want to get laid.’

  ‘Don’t you put me in the same box. For Abe you’re just another piece of meat to sell. He’s nothing like me.’ Ruby had a way of shutting down when threatened and he hated it.

  Ruby tried to push his arms from her shoulders. ‘Let me go.’

  ‘No.’ He pulled her in close, imprisoning her with his arms and bro
ught his lips down on hers, full of hunger and raw anger at her accusation. She tried to close her lips but he bit on the fleshy curve until she surrendered, though her body remained tense. Blood thumped in his heart and sheer heat and the closeness of her made him hard, but this wasn’t about sex for him. She had to know he cared.

  His tongue licked her teeth, searching for a way into the intimate recess of her mouth. She tried to bite him but he pulled back.

  ‘Stop fighting me,’ he ordered her.

  ‘No!’

  Her tone was husky and he knew he was breaking down her resistance. Her lips looked red and swollen and he brought his mouth down on hers again. This time she didn’t resist. Instead, her tongue teased his, searching and intertwining. Her body moulded to his and she reached behind the back of his neck as she kissed him back.

  When he pulled away she was breathing fast. ‘I know you want me, but you need to know what I feel for you is not just about sex. If it were, I’d have taken you last night.’

  ‘I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said you were like Abe. I’m worried about my sister. It’s making me crazy. Look, Jake, I’m not getting mixed up with Abe. I just want information. If I don’t put feelers out how am I supposed to find out anything?’

  ‘You don’t go flaunting yourself dressed in next to nothing to a man like that. He’ll treat you like a hooker. You stay safe and let me ask around.’

  ‘I can’t just rely on you. This is my twin. She needs me.’

  ‘Emerald doesn’t need you dead. It’s time you learnt that I can look after you. We might be minutes away from the centre of Sydney but the law in this place is like the Wild West. No one’s ever been able to tame The Cross. The people who stay in business and alive here have cunning like you’ve never experienced.’

  Her hands went to her face. ‘Emerald and I don’t spend much time apart and I’m lost without her even if she does wild things that send me nuts.’

  ‘I’ve already asked Abe if he knows a man with a spider tattoo on his face. I have a network that stretches through The Cross. You don’t need to talk to him.’

  ‘How do you know it’s not Abe who frightened Emerald?’