“You’re right, Yvette,” Mark said. “The last thing we need is a distraction like this, not now.”
“Like what?” Jake asked. “It’s just a girl. Remember?”
He looked up. “What do you mean?”
“If she’s just a girl, it’s not a big deal. Shouldn’t affect the music.” But Jake’s raised brow indicated that he was waiting for Mark to argue.
“Would you two stop making so much out of this?”
Jake threw up his hands. “Dude. We’re not.”
“Good,” he said, turning back to his notebook. For some reason he thought if he could just finish this song, he could get both the music and Ruby out of his system. As it was, both were frustrating pieces he couldn’t quite work out.
The doorbell woke Ruby up. “What the hell?” she muttered, glancing at the clock. It was 8:30 a.m.; who would be ringing her doorbell this early on a Sunday?
She wrapped her robe around her T-shirt, slipped into her fuzzy pink slippers, and padded to the door. “This better be good,” she said into the call box.
“I usually am.”
“Mark?” She jerked back as if the box were on fire. Then, she took a deep breath and pushed the call button again. “What are you doing here? I thought you were in L.A.”
“I came to finish what I started last night. If you’re willing to behave, that is.”
Instantly, her body came to life. After they’d hung up last night, she’d been too annoyed to finish herself off. Instead she’d gone to bed frustrated and had slept fitfully, dreaming about sex. And with each dream she’d woken just before climaxing.
And now the source of all that frustration wanted to come up and complete the job?
“I can’t believe you didn’t call back last night.”
“I told you. It hurt me as much as it hurt you. Now, let me up.”
“You are such a…”
“Sexy beast?”
“I was thinking asshat,” she said and pushed the button, opening up. Again. Too bad he was such an irresistible asshat.
She left the door open so he could let himself into her flat. She refused to greet him until she’d brushed her teeth, gone to the bathroom, and combed her hair. When she was finished, she found him in her kitchen, looking through the cupboards.
“Coffee filters?” he said as he shut a drawer.
“Make yourself at home.” She pulled a box off a shelf and handed it to him. “Here.”
He grunted a thank-you.
She said, “It’s eight-thirty.”
“I know. Why do you think I need coffee so badly?”
She tightened the belt of her robe and leaned her hip against the counter. “Tell me about L.A. About this private party.”
He put a filter in the coffeepot and, from the container on her counter, poured a huge pile of her best French roast directly into the cone. “It was just a show. The usual.”
“That’s all? I’m an event planner, remember? I live for this stuff!”
“Do you? You love your job that much?”
“Most of the time. So tell me what it was like.”
He glanced up. “I dunno. It was a big party for some movie studio. Dinner and champagne. Fancy.”
“So,” she said. Getting information out of him was like pulling teeth. “What songs did you play?”
“The usual.”
After a minute she realized that was all he was going to say about the party. She pulled two mugs from a cabinet. “Well. Thanks for last night,” she said sarcastically.
He gave her that lopsided grin, the one responsible for the flutters in her belly. “Maybe I was too harsh. But I’m very proud of you for not masturbating without me allowing it.”
Glaring, she put her hands on her hips. “What makes you think I didn’t?”
“Oh, baby. You’re wound so tight I’m waiting for your head to explode. I know you didn’t get yourself off. But, I think all that waiting has taught you a valuable lesson. Now, you deserve a reward for your good behavior.”
“Are you serious? You just show up here on a Sunday morning and expect me to get on my knees and thank you?”
He winked. “You don’t have to thank me, but I’d love to see you on your knees.”
“You’re… you’re…” She threw up her hands. “Words fail me.”
Calmly, he filled both mugs with steaming black coffee. “Am I right? Did you finish, Ruby?”
She crossed her arms in front of her chest and said, “Finish what?” But she knew what he was talking about.
He looked at her, and his eyes were serious despite his nonchalant tone, his casual stance. “Yourself. Did you hang up and masturbate? Did you climax without me?”