‘That’s just sex, Sam,’ she said, glad Red was too young to understand a word they were saying. ‘You can get that from anyone.’
‘You’re wrong, it wasn’t just sex.’ He let the squirming toddler down beside a beach ball he was trying to reach. ‘It was incredible and I want it again.’ His voice grew rough. ‘I want you again.’
Ruby’s heart thundered inside her chest, her whole body leaning towards his even though she hadn’t moved. ‘What happened to your credo of not mixing business with pleasure?’ she asked huskily.
A sparkle entered his eyes. ‘For you I’m willing to make an exception.’
Red made a sound of frustration and Sam bent to scoop the toddler into his arms once more before sauntering back towards the house, the puppy on his heels.
‘I’m not, Sam,’ she called after him with belligerent finality.
Sam turned back slowly, a wry smile curving his lips. ‘And that’s your choice.’
Ruby gnashed her teeth together at his easy capitulation. If it was her choice, why did it feel more like a battle? A battle she was waging with herself?
Frustrated, she stared out at the tranquil view but quite unable to take it in. If it was her choice, how was it that every day she saw him, every minute she spent with him, she wanted him more? And what would happen if she did the unthinkable and gave in to the chemistry between them again? Who would be there to catch her if she fell?
CHAPTER SEVEN
THE FOLLOWING MORNING when Ruby stepped into the kitchen she felt bright and eager to start the day.
Sam was wrong. It was a lot less complicated to ignore the attraction between them, not more so. She’d done it all night at dinner the night before and she’d had a great time.
She’d been civil to Sam, talking with him and laughing at his jokes, listening to him and Tino recount stories of their childhood and not even noticing the way his black shirt had turned his eyes the same colour and hugged his muscular chest to perfection. Nor had she trembled when he’d accidently brushed up against her while they’d done the cleaning up together, and her heart definitely hadn’t beat faster when she’d bid everyone goodnight and felt Sam’s dark gaze trained on her the length of the hallway that led to the bedrooms, staring at the ceiling for an hour afterwards until she’d heard his heavy tread take him to his own room.
And if she could truly convince herself of all that she’d consider dropping law to follow Molly into the theatre.
The problem was that she had no idea how to switch off her emotions around Sam. Nothing in her past experiences had equipped her to deal with how she felt when she was in his arms, and it was nothing short of terrifying.
Not expecting to find anyone up, she came to an abrupt halt in the doorway when she noticed Sam sprawled out asleep on the wide modular sofa.
She must have disturbed him because he stirred, groaning as he rolled onto his side, blinking inky black lashes as he looked across at her. Yawning, he rubbed his belly, his T-shirt riding up in the process, making her breath hitch.
As if he caught the sound, his gaze gave her a thorough sweep, making her aware that she was wearing nothing but a silky nightshirt over cotton panties.
Should have dressed first, idiot, she berated herself.
‘You can come in, Ruby,’ he rumbled sleepily. ‘I won’t bite.’
Unfortunately Ruby remembered that he did. Right on that sensitive spot where her neck joined her shoulder. ‘I thought maybe Redmond would be up. I was going to take him so Miller and Valentino could sleep in together.’
‘They’re not here.’
About to head back to her room to put more clothes on, Ruby stopped and swung around to find Sam sitting up, his long legs wide apart, his broad shoulders hunched slightly forward as he stroked Kong’s ears. ‘What do you mean, they’re not here?’
‘Miller received a phone call early this morning saying that her mother is in hospital. Since Red was already up, they decided to head back to be with her.’
‘In hospital? Is she okay?’
‘She fell on her way to the bathroom. Suspected broken wrist and ankle.’
‘Oh, that’s terrible.’ Ruby stared, stunned. ‘I should call her. Check how she is.’ Halfway across the room to retrieve her phone, she stopped. ‘Wait. They took the yacht?’
‘They did.’
‘So how are we going to get back?’
‘I told Tino I’d take care of it.’
Ruby’s eyes narrowed. ‘You’d take care of it. What does that mean?’
Sam passed a hand through his hair, stifling another yawn. ‘It means I’ll take care of it. I didn’t want to worry Miller with the logistics. She was frazzled enough.’
Ruby rubbed her forehead. He might not have wanted to worry Miller, but she really didn’t like the idea that she was now stranded at the beach house with Sam. Alone. ‘What time was this? Why didn’t anyone wake me?’
‘It was about five-thirty. No one wanted to wake you.’
‘They woke you,’ Ruby countered. ‘Why not me?’
Sam glanced at the ball of fur at his feet and scowled. ‘Tino and Miller didn’t wake me. He did. Apparently mutts don’t keep normal sleeping hours.’
Any other time his disgruntled scowl might have been endearing, but Ruby wasn’t in an affable mood. ‘So we’re stranded here?’
‘I hardly think you can call us stranded. I can phone any time and charter a boat to come and pick us up.’
‘So why haven’t you done it already?’
Sam gave her a narrow-eyed look, clearly not liking her tone. ‘I don’t know, Ruby,’ he drawled dangerously. ‘Maybe because it’s only seven in the morning and even charter companies have operating hours. And I fell back asleep. Is that a good enough reason for you?’
Ignoring his rhetorical question, she scowled as he pushed to his feet and ambled into the kitchen. Ruby unconsciously tracked his movements, mortifyingly aware of everything about him from his broad shoulders all the way down to his muscular thighs and well-shaped feet. A curl of heat smouldered deep inside her.
‘Want a coffee?’
Aware that she’d been caught staring, she blinked, irritation at her own lack of self-control overriding her embarrassment. The man knew how good-looking he was. It wasn’t as if he wasn’t used to women staring at him.
‘No.’ She raised her chin. ‘What I want is to go home.’
Ignoring her statement, Sam started fiddling with the dials on the coffee machine.
‘Did you hear me?’ she asked briskly. Now that Miller and Valentino weren’t here to act as buffers she saw no reason to continue to hang around and pretend that she and Sam were going to be able to get along.
‘I think the charter company in Circular Quay heard you,’ he said, not bothering to turn around.
‘Good.’ Ruby tapped her foot to keep a lid on her escalating emotions. ‘I hope they send someone over quickly.’ She crossed her arms over her chest, glaring at his broad back. ‘Did you plan this?’
Sam turned slowly towards her, his expression inscrutable. ‘Did I plan what?’ His tone was low and silky and clearly annoyed. ‘Miller’s mother’s accident?’ He placed the flats of his palms down on the granite bench between them, a dangerous glint darkening his eyes. ‘Yeah. I took my private jet over to her house early this morning, knocked her down in her hallway and made it back in time to let Kong out for a toilet break. Not bad, eh?’
Ruby pressed her lips together at his sarcastic tone, determined to keep a lid on her temper. ‘That wasn’t what I meant and you know it. I was talking about Miller and Valentino leaving. If someone had woken me I could have gone with them.’
‘My apologies,’ Sam said in a voice cold enough to freeze liquid nitrogen. ‘It wasn’t that you thought I’d injured an old lady in my quest to have you, just that you think I’m so desperat
e to get you into my bed that I’d orchestrate Miller and Tino leaving without you. Is that it?’
Okay, put like that, it did seem a tad...hysterical. Not that she’d admit as much to him.
‘Such a high opinion of me, Miss Clarkson,’ he continued with ruthless precision. ‘What will you accuse me of next? Kidnapping? Unlawful imprisonment? A man could get at least twenty years for any one of those crimes with the right lawyer.’
‘Don’t be ridiculous,’ she snapped, rubbing her brow.
‘I’m not the one being ridiculous, angel. You are.’
She knew that. She was just too strung-out to care. ‘And stop calling me angel.’ When he did it reminded her of how it had felt to be pressed up against his hard, hot body. And how it would feel to be there again.
‘You know, I’m not sure if I should live down to your clearly heinous opinion of me and drag you into the bedroom to have my way with you, or walk out of here and let you find your own way home.’ He glared at her so hard Ruby felt like a bug under a microscope. ‘Now, do you want a damned coffee or not?’
‘Yes, I want a damned coffee.’ She needed something to get through the debacle of being stranded in this beautiful house, in this beautiful beach setting, with a man who drove her crazy.
‘And just so we’re clear,’ Sam said with deadly emphasis, ‘I don’t need to resort to underhand tactics to seduce a woman.’ He slapped a mug down on the bench in front of her but didn’t let go when she reached for the handle.
‘I’m very upfront and honest about my needs.’
‘And I’m not?’
‘Not even close.’
Ruby gripped the handle of the mug, unconsciously registering the warmth of where he had held it. ‘Well, at least you can’t accuse me of breaking a promise,’ she said, turning her back on him.
‘Excuse me?’
‘Forget it.’ She wished she hadn’t said anything because she could hear that she’d piqued his interest.
‘That was a pointed comment. Explain it.’
‘No.’
She put the mug to her lips, her eyes going wide when he rounded the bench to stand in front of her.
Run, an inner voice whispered, fast.
‘Let me put it another way,’ he warned softly. ‘You’re not leaving this kitchen until you explain yourself.’
‘Really?’ She lifted her chin belligerently. ‘And what if I don’t?’
‘Then you might well be able to charge me with kidnapping and unlawful imprisonment.’
Ruby thought about her options, deciding by the determined jut of his jaw that they were most likely limited. ‘Fine.’ She huffed out a breath. ‘You want to know what I meant, I’ll tell you.’ She took a quick, fortifying sip of coffee, which was irritatingly delicious. ‘Two years ago you walked me home, kissed me breathless and then made some banal promise to call me and never did. Not only that, but the next day I also find out that you escorted another woman to the polo.’ Her lips pursed in a moue of distaste. ‘I always wondered if you told her that you’d been locking lips with me the night before or if you just moved on without a thought?’
Sam frowned. ‘I didn’t take anyone to the polo. I went alone.’
‘You either think I’m completely daft, Sam, or you have an appalling memory.’ She rolled her eyes at his deepening frown. ‘Skinny? Beautiful? Redhead? Ring any bells?’
‘Ruth Simons?’ He stared at her. ‘She wasn’t my date. She approached me to say hello, we talked about old times and then we went our separate ways. And no, I didn’t mention that I spent the night before kissing you breathless because it would have been none of her damned business.’
Was he telling the truth?
A litany of her father’s broken promises spiralled through her head:
‘See you at your softball game this weekend, Rubelicious!’
‘Let’s go out for your birthday this year, somewhere special for once...’
‘I’ll call you tomorrow, pumpkin. I promise.’
And her mother’s time-honoured advice: ‘If you let men walk all over you, Ruby Jane, they’ll treat you like a doormat for ever.’
‘It doesn’t matter,’ Ruby said, confusion and uncertainty replacing the flush of anger that had driven her emotions higher. ‘None of it matters.’
Refusing to let her retreat, Sam stepped into her personal space, looming over her. ‘I think it does.’ His astute gaze held hers. ‘I was wrong to say that I’d call you and then not follow through. I hurt you, I think. I’m sorry.’
Shocked by the sincerity of his apology, all Ruby could do was stare up at him.
‘It’s okay,’ Ruby whispered, hating the thready quality in her voice that clearly depicted the hurt she hadn’t wanted him to see. ‘It’s not as if it has any bearing on the here and now.’
‘It clearly does or you wouldn’t have mentioned it.’ His hands came up to curve around her shoulders. ‘And you need to know that I was intending to call you. I just...’ He grimaced. ‘I got cold feet at the last minute. I can’t explain it other than to say that I wasn’t ready for you back then.’ His gaze held hers, his voice low. ‘I’m not sure I’m ready for you now. But I know I want you. More than I’ve ever wanted any other woman before. And you want me too. I can see it in your eyes.’ His hands slid to her neck, the roughened pads of his thumbs tilting her chin up. ‘Feel it in your touch, in the way you tremble against me, like now. Why is it so hard for you to admit it?’
Ruby grabbed his wrists, unsure if she meant to dislodge his hold or press it closer. ‘Because it doesn’t make sense... Because nothing good can come from it... I don’t know.’ She shook her head. ‘I can’t think straight when you’re this close to me. All my good sense seems to fly straight out the window.’
‘Mine too.’
His lips came down over hers in a hard, hungry kiss that whispered of hot nights and silk sheets. A kiss that seduced and mastered at the same time as it tempted. Ruby sank into it, a low moan vibrating up from deep inside her. His tongue swept into her mouth, bold and confident, sending sensual sparks to every available nerve ending in her body. Her fingers forked into his thick hair, her body arching into his. This was what she wanted. What she craved.
‘Yes,’ he murmured, his hand rising to cup her breast, his thumb tracking over her aching nipple. ‘Yes, Ruby, kiss me like that...just like that.’
Ruby quivered against him, her fingers slipping beneath the hem of his T-shirt to flatten against his taut abdomen. Her body hit sensual overload as the memory of how good it felt to have him inside her collided with the reality of dense, rock-hard muscle in the flesh.
At her quicksilver response the kiss grew even hotter, becoming more like a duel between two highly strung adversaries. A duel of competing desires. Punishing and claiming. Demanding and giving. Fierce, and yet sweetly tender at the same time.
Sam’s hands on her body were sure and strong as they shaped her, his mouth sucking at her neck and making her skin pebble with greedy anticipation. Her own hands were busy learning his shape, working over his chest and revelling in the feel of all that taut, hot muscle.
‘Sam—’ Her voice broke as he bent and gently bit down on her nipple through her silk nightshirt, her body aching with a primal need that threatened to overtake her.
Sam muttered something under his breath, an oath, and then suddenly he was pushing her away.
‘Dammit it, Ruby.’ He held her at arm’s length, his breathing as uneven as hers as he fought to get himself under control. ‘I want you badly but I distinctly told you that the next time this happened it would be because you asked for it.’
Ruby blinked up at him, her passion-drugged senses taking longer to come online than his.
‘Is that what you’re doing?’ he said gruffly. ‘Are you asking me to kiss you? To make love to you?’ He stabbed a hand through his h
air. ‘Because there’s only one place this is headed, and if that’s not what you want then you’d better let me know now while I still have self-control enough to stop.’
Ruby’s lips felt swollen and tender, her nerves strung so tight they vibrated beneath the surface of her skin. She did want this. But she didn’t. The conflicting desires made her feel as if she had a split personality. One telling her to go for it. The other telling her she was heading for a fall.
Sam shook his head, clearly reading her indecision for what it was. ‘Don’t bother answering that. It’s written all over your face.’
‘Where are you going?’ she asked as he stalked away from her.
‘To call a charter company to come and take you back to Sydney.’ He looked at her over his shoulder. ‘That is what you want, isn’t it?’
He didn’t wait for her answer and Ruby paced the large kitchen space, her bare feet slapping against the cool, hard tiles. What she wanted was about ten hours to pull herself together. And then another ten to give herself a stern talking-to. Her body still throbbed from where he had touched her, her legs as wobbly as an uncooked pudding.
She knew she was doing the right thing in not giving in to her desire for Sam, but that feeling was difficult to maintain when her heart went into overdrive every time he walked into a room. He was everything she shouldn’t want and did. And when she was in his arms she simply forgot that she worked for him and that he would walk away from her when he was done. She forgot that he got under her skin like no man before him and threatened everything she thought she knew about herself.
‘When?’ His harsh bark sounded loudly in the silent room. Ruby turned to see him stalking towards her, his phone to his ear. He stopped well short of her, his cool gaze holding hers as he listened to whoever was on the other end of the line, his strong thighs braced apart, muscles taut, a brooding scowl drawing his brows together. He looked like a walking advertisement for a gloriously pumped-up demigod in his prime.
Ruby’s heart leapt inside her chest. The same giddy rush she had felt in his presence two years ago welled up inside her. ‘When what?’ she asked, her voice husky.
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