Jake turned to see Abe leering at the screen as he walked towards him.
‘I’ve fixed the last monitor. It just needed an adjustment.’
‘Yeah, I see you’ve positioned the camera real good. Could almost lick that girl’s tits from here.’
‘Don’t tempt me,’ Jake growled, uncomfortably aware of his own erection. ‘You know I don’t believe in paying for it. I like my women willing.’
‘The more you pay the more willing they are,’ Abe said.
Jake managed to pull his own gaze away from the screen. ‘I spoke to John, your bouncer. He said the spider-tattooed man who smashed the shop window next to me has come to the club with one of your wealthy clients. The client uses the services of the lap dancers.’
‘Got a few of those.’
‘I need to go through your electronic security files to see if I can locate him.’
Abe hadn’t turned from the screen. Instead he fiddled with the controls. ‘Wish she’d spin around again so I can see her tits bounce.’
‘You hear what I said?’ Jake shoved his hands into his pockets, pulling his jeans out to ease the pressure. He was as uncontrolled as a teen.
Abe waved his hand at Jake. ‘Yeah, sure. Have whatcha need. See if you can narrow it down and we’ll get the bugger. Don’t want some jackass to scare this girl off. Gives good lip, this one. Makes me want to put her over my knee. You know the best way to stop a woman talking?’
‘Spare me the details.’
‘She’s got a lush mouth. Nice and soft. What a cute arse. Could grab it and prise it apart. I’d like a piece of that.’
‘You won’t be getting any peace if you make a move on her because she’s my “piece”.’ Jake frowned as his gaze moved from Abe to the scene. Raw anger hit him. ‘Hell!’
He moved closer to Abe and stared again. The woman flung off her policewoman’s hat, bowed to the audience in the change room so that the screen was filled with her perfectly toned butt and long legs. The same legs that had been wrapped around him.
Abe glanced at him. ‘Your neighbour’s hot in that wig.’
‘What is she doing here?’ Jake clenched his teeth and fought to stay calm. Abe chuckled. ‘Guess she doesn’t know she’s your “piece”. Got her to demonstrate her gear here. What a great body.’
Jake’s hands clenched into fists. He strode from the room before he did something to Abe he regretted. He shoved the stripper’s change room door open and whipped Ruby around to face him.
She stood staring at him, the whites of her eyes showing. ‘Jake! What are you doing here?’
Too angry to speak; too furious to reason, he picked her up and slung her over his shoulder semi-bare arsed.
Ruby screamed. ‘You put me down, Jake Steele.’
‘Like hell.’ He strode towards the door.
‘You don’t have the right.’ Ruby writhed, trying to free herself.
He brought his hand down on her bottom with an uncompromising smack.
‘Ow!’ Ruby howled and thumped his back with her fists.
The redhead with the beehive’s mouth gaped. ‘I’m going straight to her shop tomorrow if wearing her stuff gets that reaction. That is one hunk of a man.’
The rest of the girls sighed.
Ruby sank her long fingernails into Jake’s back outraged at his treatment of her. ‘You put me down, you hear?’ Her wig had fallen off and the tie had come undone leaving her blonde hair streaming around her face. Worse, her nipple tassels were slapping her cheeks like a reprimand as Jake stormed from the club. Even hanging upside down she could see people laughing, others gawping at the sight of her wearing nothing but nipple tassels and a g-string in the street of The Cross while Jake stabbed his key code into his front door.
In any other suburb someone would have called the police by now. In The Cross, it was just another night. Perhaps people thought she was acting out some sort of caveman fantasy because although the men leered no one offered to help her.
Once he’d punched in his number, Jake kicked in the door so that it rammed hard against his shop wall. His naked aggression silenced her making her whole body slump and yet, instinctively she knew he wouldn’t hurt her. But he was mad. Seriously so. Every muscle in his frame felt rock hard with fury and she could feel the ribbons of his back tense under her hands. The bulk of the muscle in his arm kept her pinioned over his shoulder.
He bent and put her on her feet.
She made for the open door but he reached over and slammed it. The blue of his eyes was so dark they became sharp, navy gems. ‘Open that door. I’m leaving.’
‘Get upstairs or I’ll sling you over my shoulder and carry you again,’ he growled.
‘Since when do you get to give me orders?’
‘Since you were crazy enough to go out on the streets wearing nothing.’
She sensed he was barely holding on to his wrath. His face had become sharp planes of anger and his lips looked pinched. Several of the buttons had popped on his shirt revealing very toned, bulging pectoral muscles and ripped abs.
‘Fine, have it your way.’ It didn’t take much to work out that he meant what he said and she was determined to preserve the last bit of dignity she had left, which wasn’t easy wearing nipple tassels. She walked through his office and climbed up the stairs to his apartment above. When at the top she turned so that he, following a few stairs behind her, was face to face. ‘Who gave you permission to barge in and carry me out like some Neanderthal?’
‘I outlined the rules for your safety for good reason. I don’t recall dressing like a stripper being part of them.’
‘Just for the record. I went out dressed in more than this.’
‘A hot cop outfit. What were you thinking of drawing attention to yourself like that?’ A muscle ticked in his jaw.
‘I was determined to find out what happened to Emerald until you barged in.’
‘So you take your clothes off and provide entertainment for Abe?’ Colour deepened at the vee of his throat.
His words took the wind out of her for a moment but she’d known with all those screens it was a risk she’d had to take. ‘Listen here. You don’t get to shove me in a safe little box.’
‘I won’t have to. The way you’re going you’ll be in a coffin.’ His gaze flicked over her.
‘I don’t like you ordering me around.’
‘It’s to keep you alive,’ he growled.
‘You think you’re the only one who knows how to investigate? I would have told you what I had planned but I knew you wouldn’t like it, so I didn’t.’
His head reared back and his eyes narrowed. ‘You can’t keep your plans to yourself.’
‘I do because you’re so controlling.’
‘For a good reason.’ Veins bulged in his neck.
A flare of anger shot through her. ‘I put up with my drunken, irrational father telling me what to do. I don’t like being ordered around.’
‘You’re in danger.’ Jake put his hands either side of her face. ‘Protecting you is what I do. I’m good at it. I’m not going to let you get hurt.’
‘The security is enough.’ It was like she was being sucked into her past. Watched. Ordered. Dealing with male anger. ‘Anyway, how do you know Tattoo Face is coming back?’
‘I can’t be sure, but I talked to the bouncer. There’s more to this than meets the eye, but I haven’t worked it out yet. If Tattoo Face wants you, he’s going to have to come through me.’
Ruby wobbled on her feet as a wave of anxiety hit her.
Jake wrapped his arm around her waist and propelled her towards his bedroom. ‘Don’t put yourself at risk again. You stay with me from now on. I’m guarding you twenty-four seven.’
‘What? Where am I sleeping?’
‘In my bed.’
‘With you?’
He raised his eyebrows.
‘From the way you’re looking at me, I don’t think I’ll be getting much sleep.’
‘Sleeps overrated.
’
From the doorway, Ruby looked around Jake’s bedroom. Like the lounge area, the room had all the cornices removed, was freshly painted in an eggshell colour and had a nude abstract painting hanging above the bed. The bed itself was the focus of the room, big with crisp designer linen she recognised but could never have afforded to buy.
Once in his bedroom, he pulled her close, wrapped one arm round her so that the heat of his body warmed her bare skin. He stroked her hair with his free hand and nuzzled her throat. ‘It’s okay to lean on me. I’m not like your father. You need to learn to trust me.’
His voice was so gentle, so compelling, that she put her arms around the back of his neck.
‘You don’t know what it’s like. Without Emerald, I feel so alone.’
‘You have me now.’ He kissed the top of her head and stroked her back, his fingertips moving over the nodules of her spine.
‘You make me feel safe. Safer than I’ve ever felt before even in the midst of this craziness.’ She stared into his eyes.
He bent and kissed along her collarbone. ‘I mean to make you feel more than that.’
Jake held her close, aware of her silky skin against his body. He’d frightened her. Great work. Yet she had to know the truth of the danger she was in because she was too cavalier with her safety. People who lived an everyday life didn’t always comprehend the savagery that could happen. He did. He knew it all too well.
‘You’re cold. You need to lie down,’ he said, releasing her to sweep back the doona cover of his bed. Ruby did as he asked, sliding herself sinuously across his bed.
How did she get to be so perfect? He turned off the bedroom light and clicked on a bedside lamp, which gave the room a pleasant glow.
Jake undid the remaining buttons on his shirt and yanked at his belt. He couldn’t get the memory of her dancing out of his mind. The way she moved, the sensual way she peeled off her clothes.
‘I know it’s bad. No normal person throws a brick through a window. I guess that part of me was secretly wishing it was a one off crazy person’s action, even though I knew deep inside it’s more. I haven’t heard a word from my twin. That’s not like her.’ Her tongue was starting to run off on its own and she was shivering.
Jake kicked off his shoes, pulled off his jeans, boxers and shirt.
‘You’re naked.’ Ruby pushed her hair away from her face, her eyes wide and staring.
‘So are you.’
‘I’m wearing something.’
‘Not for much longer.’
Her smile reached her eyes. ‘You going to seduce me?’
‘Right now I’m trying to work out whether the tassels need to be pulled off or whether I have to lick them off.’
‘Is this your method of distracting me?’
‘It worked last night.’
She let out a long sigh. ‘I’m glad you’re here.’
‘Me too.’
He lay down beside her and curled his body around hers. Reaching down, he grabbed the sheet and doona cover and pulled it over them. ‘So you’ll finally listen to me and let me protect you?’
‘You asking me or ordering me?’
‘Ordering you seems to make you do the opposite.’ He lay on his side running his hand down her side, stroking her arm, his fingers running over the curve of her waist and the roundness of her hip.
‘It’s a family trait, stubbornness, but it was the only way I survived. Going it alone, making my own decisions, protecting Emerald.’
He rolled her onto her back and kissed her eyelids. ‘You’ll survive this too with me by your side.’ He’d put his life on the line to make sure she did.
Chapter 7
Relief flooded Ruby when Jake wrapped his body around hers. He smelled of soap and aftershave, his physique warm and hard. At the moment Jake seemed bulletproof and having him close calmed her nerves. When he brought his lips down on hers, she opened her mouth to receive him. His kiss was deep and possessive, his tongue trailing lightly over her teeth before mating with her tongue. He was hot and hard and she could feel his cock pressing against her flesh and she wiggled trying to position herself.
‘Impatient, Ruby?’
‘You were satisfied earlier this evening.’
‘It’s going to take a lot more time with you to satisfy me. That was only the beginning.’
What did he mean? Hadn’t she already made it clear this was not a long term thing? The trouble was she couldn’t think straight while he was caressing her with his hands, lips and tongue.
Ruby put her hand between his legs, running her fingers up and down his shaft. He was large, hard and ready. She wanted to open her legs there and then. She yearned for him. But he didn’t give in to her signal.
Instead, his hand moved to the nipple tassels and he played with them, pulling slightly so that her breast rose. ‘I couldn’t take my eyes off you when you were dancing. You seemed so familiar, but with that wig, it took me longer to get the disguise.’ He bent and licked around the base of the tassel.
Ruby squirmed and giggled. ‘It’s not easy to fool you.’
‘Wonder if these can be licked off?’
‘The adhesive glue is non toxic. It said so on the packet.’
He edged his fingernail under the base and licked the skin.
‘That tickles and it’s going straight between my legs.’
‘Is that a complaint?’
‘Hardly.’
‘Good.’ He laved the skin of her breast until the adhesive side became wet and he slowly peeled the first tassel off her breast. He flicked the tassel over the side of the bed. ‘One down, one to go.’
Ruby clenched her thighs together. The sensation of Jake’s tongue was maddening. He laved around her second breast, slipping a fingernail beneath the rim of the base again.
She pressed her pelvis against his thigh as desire rushed through her though Jake seemed to enjoy taking his time.
He gently peeled off the second tassel and flicked his tongue over her nipple. ‘This would have to be the sexiest outfit I’ve ever seen.’
‘I thought you liked the Dom outfit.’
‘I liked the look but I don’t go for a woman with balls. I prefer you soft, sexy and sated.’
‘I can do the soft and sexy.’
He laughed and she saw a flash of white teeth. His fingers slid under her g-string. ‘I’ll work on the sated.’
‘Oh.’ Her eyelids shuttered when he found her clitoris. ‘You’re good at that.’
‘You’re completely waxed.’ He began to stroke her up and down in a rhythmic fashion.
She didn’t bother arguing with him. What he was doing to her felt too good.
When Jake inserted two of his fingers into her and ran the pad of his thumb over her nub, tension coiled in the small of her back. Her hips undulated to the rhythm of his fingers until a rush of heat built inside her. He was so gentle with her, so giving. He continued to caress between her legs while grazing his lips along her collarbone finding the place where it met her shoulder.
Her orgasm hit her and her whole body arched as she cried out, the sound guttural and deep to her ears. Finally he released her, leaving her dazed and panting as she tried to catch her breath.
Jake reached over to his bedside table drawer and pulled out a condom, ripped the packet open and rolled it on. He moved over her, pulled the g-string aside, positioned himself between her legs and eased himself into her, inch by swollen inch. She opened herself wide, rocking slowly, welcoming him in a way she never had before.
He groaned as he rolled his hips, grasped her knees then placed them over his shoulders. She was wide open to him allowing him to plunge in. Deep.
Ruby gasped.
Jake was large.
She could feel herself clenching around him, savouring every thrust. Her fingers clutched his back and she loved the feel of his rock-hard torso as he took her.
He shuddered and groaned. His hands moved to clench her bottom as he came deep inside her.
Finally, his breathing slowed as he eased out of her. He rolled off her but one hand kept a grip of her waist.
She lay on her side watching him as he took in deep breaths. Sweat beaded on his temple but his body still had a stealthy quality about it as if he never rested. ‘That’s the first time I’ve enjoyed sex,’ she said quietly.
He raised his hand and caressed her face watching her. ‘What stopped you before?’
‘I don’t know.’
‘Ruby?’
‘It just didn’t feel so good. I thought it was me.’
‘There’s nothing wrong with you. You’re so responsive. Maybe you weren’t in the right headspace.’ His lips twisted in a grin. ‘Or you were with the wrong man.’
For a long moment she felt he was looking into her heart with more understanding about her than she had of herself.
Ruby rolled on her back and looked at the ceiling. ‘I held out losing my virginity until I was twenty-one and then I was disappointed. Sex wasn’t what I thought it would be. I wanted passion, excitement like I’d read about.’
‘And now you have it.’ He stroked the curves of her body.
‘Yes.’
He leant forward and kissed her lips. ‘It helps when you care about the person, Ruby. I’m going to make sure you keep enjoying it.’
How long did Jake think this relationship would go on? She’d made it clear, when Jake found out what was behind Emerald’s disappearance and her twin was safe, she was planning to go back to the mountains. Although The Cross was fascinating, she couldn’t live in a place that was so built up and full of vice.
‘Come have a shower,’ he said.
‘It’s late. I’m tired.’ She’d had a shower before she went to Abe’s club and she liked the scent of him on her skin. She stretched and yawned, wanting to curl up into a ball next to Jake and fall asleep. It had been a long day and her nervousness from going into Abe’s club seemed to slam her with exhaustion now it was over. The image of the man with the spider tattoo flashed before her eyes. Ruby tensed. Jake was right to tell her of his suspicions, but fear made her blood run cold.
‘I haven’t had my fill of you. I can’t get your stripping routine out of my head. It was unbelievably sexy.’ He opened the bedroom drawer and took out another condom.
Ruby's Fantasy Page 9