“Meg, none of those things mean he’s having an affair.”
A wistful look in her eye, Meg was staring at a baby in a stroller. Ruby knew Meg and Emmett had been trying to have kids, but she didn’t want to ask Meg about it, not now.
When the stroller had passed, Meg looked back at Ruby. “Then what does it mean?”
Pausing, Ruby remembered Mark’s words about people accepting who they were. “Meg. Is it possible there’s something Emmett wants? Something he’s afraid to ask you for?”
“Like what? He knows I’ll do anything for him. With him.”
“Are you sure he knows that?”
Meg shook her head. “Absolutely. I mean, I think so.”
“What if… what if there was something Emmett wanted to do, something he was embarrassed to admit. Maybe he’s looking for it in porn.”
“Which brings me back to my point with the homosexual porn! He’s gay.”
Ruby touched her friend’s hand. “Okay, let’s just take a breather here. Tell me exactly what you saw, with the porn.”
For the first time Ruby could remember, she saw her friend look uncomfortable. But, ever the trouper, Meg spoke anyway. “There were a lot of men… and some women. A few women. But the women were…”
She squeezed Meg’s hand. “What? You can tell me.”
Meg lowered her voice. “They were all the things Emmett doesn’t like. They were bossy, overbearing. Humiliating, even.”
“Oh, sweetie.” She tried to look reassuring. “How do you know he doesn’t like those things?”
Meg looked taken aback. “He’s told me so.”
“Okay, but what someone likes in real life doesn’t always transfer to the bedroom.” Ruby was beginning to think she was a perfect example. After all, she loved being submissive in the bedroom, but none of her business associates would ever describe her as such.
“And,” Ruby continued, “just a couple of weeks ago you yourself were asking me about spankings. If I were to jump to any conclusions based on what you’ve said, I’d say it’s not you that needs a good flogging. Maybe it’s him.”
Meg froze. “What are you saying? You think my husband wants to be dominated?”
Ruby raised a brow. She’d started to suspect Meg had a dominant streak, and now she wanted to make sure her friend was comfortable discussing the possibility with Ruby. “Would that bother you?” she asked.
“No, of course not. It’s just… I never would have guessed he might like it. I mean… I bought that paddle for him to use on me, if he wanted to.”
“But would that be okay with you? If Emmett was the one who wanted to get spanked?”
“Yes!” Meg said loudly. “I mean, yeah, sure.”
“Me thinks she doth protest too much,” Ruby said, grinning.
“Actually,” Meg said with a wink, “I didn’t protest at all.”
Ruby gave her friend a playful nudge. “You dirty birdie.”
Meg leaned back and smiled. “Hey, I can’t let you have all the fun, can I?”
They sipped their coffee and after a few minutes Meg looked up. “I just wish he wasn’t hiding this from me.”
Mark’s words echoed in Ruby’s mind. “Sometimes a person has to accept who they are before they can share it with someone else.”
“True.”
They drifted into their own thoughts. The fact was, Mark was right. She did like being spanked. She did like to be kinky. Ash had been the start of it, but it was Mark who’d fleshed out that part of her. Now, she seriously doubted she could just let it go when things with Mark inevitably fizzled.
“You’re thinking about Mark, aren’t you?” Meg asked.
“How did you know?”
Meg crossed her legs. “Just a hunch.”
“He was gone when I woke up this morning. All I found was a note saying the band needed him.” Ruby tried to sound as if she didn’t care.
“I guess that’s the way it is when you date a rock star.”
“We’re not dating,” Ruby said.
“No?”
“No way. It’s temporary. In fact, I’m going out with James after the fling.”
“Finally!” Meg exclaimed. “It’s about damn time.”
“Yeah,” Ruby mumbled. She should be ecstatic. So why did the thought of kissing another man, having another man touch her like Mark had, make her stomach churn?
Still, she refused to bury this craving just because Mark wasn’t around.
But she couldn’t help but wonder: Did she like to be spanked? Or did she just like to be spanked by Mark St. Crow?