Chapter
Twenty-Eight
Mark opened the door to his hotel room and blinked. What looked like a thousand candles gleamed at him from every corner of the room. And on the small sofa was Ruby, wearing the red lingerie he’d bought for her all those weeks ago. Her nipples were hard peaks under the lacy bra, and the skimpy panties showed off her gorgeous legs. Her skin gleamed like white silk in the candlelight, and her hair fell in a dark, shining mass around her shoulders.
And she was his.
“You have them,” she said.
“Have what?” He threw his jacket onto a chair, trying to get a grip. Lust was a river raging through his blood, and he was trying to gain control of himself.
“Those.” Ruby glanced at two photographs leaning against a wall in the corner. They were the pictures he’d bought that day in San Francisco, the pictures of Ruby.
He shrugged. “Of course I do. I take them everywhere I go.” He crossed the room and went to his suitcase. “Along with these.” Pulling a scrap of pink silk out of the bag, he grinned.
Her eyes went wide. “Mark! Those are the panties I locked in the loaner car!”
“Yeah. You should have seen the mechanic’s face when I had him unlock the glove box and I pulled these out.”
“Oh my God. I’m so embarrassed.”
“Don’t be. The guy was impressed.”
“Anyway.” She patted a spot next to her, indicating for him to come sit. He dropped the panties and was beside her in seconds, kissing her, holding her.
Pulling back, she said, “Mark, we need to talk.”
Silently, he waited.
She took his hand in hers and stroked her thumb across his skin, much as he’d done to her a hundred times. “I want to try and make this work.”
“Me too, baby.” He cupped the side of her face with his palm. “So fucking much.”
“But the way we started was so much, so intense… I’m afraid you think I’ll always be submissive.”
“I don’t understand.”
She smiled. “Here’s the thing. You helped me uncover my sexuality.”
“And it was damn fun.” He leaned in for another kiss, but she dodged.
“Focus, please. I feel like, because of how we started, you have the upper hand. So far, it’s only been me showing my vulnerabilities. Me letting you be the one in charge. Me being submissive.”
“I don’t think of you as a submissive woman, Ruby, not outside the bedroom.” He nuzzled her ear. “And sometimes not inside, either.”
“I’m sure you don’t think you do, but I need to be sure. And before we go any further, I also need to know you trust me enough to show me your own vulnerabilities.”
He brushed a lock of hair out of her eyes. “If only you could see what I see.”
“A woman willing to do anything for you? Anything at all?”
“A woman who chooses to let me be in control for her. A woman strong enough to give up that power.”
“But—”
“Do you think I’m the kind of man who is attracted to weak women?”
She shook her head.
“Because let me tell you something. I was attracted to you the minute I saw you across a crowded room, bossing people around.” He smiled. “Even before our eyes met. I saw you licking your martini glass, and I was hard. I saw your smile, and my heart actually beat faster. Then I heard your laugh, and I was toast. Fucking toast, Ruby.”
She was staring at him, her cheeks flushed, her breathing fast. “But—”
“The first time we talked you had me reciting music titles. You were the boss, remember?”
He wrapped a strand of her hair around his finger. “When you submit I see such an amazing power in you, in your eyes. In your smile.”
Her eyes searched his, looking for the genuineness in his words.
“It’s true,” he said. “When you give yourself to me, you glow with strength. It’s because you know that, with just one word, I’ll stop. You are comfortable in that power. And it’s a beautiful thing.”
Her eyes had gone dark; her chest was flushed red. His words were getting to her. And fuck it, they were getting to him, too.
He leaned in until his mouth brushed hers. “You are so much stronger than you give yourself credit for.”
“I know that now,” she said against his lips. “Which is why I need you to let me do something. To you. With you.”
“Whatever you want, baby. Whatever you want.”
She kissed him back, more forcefully now, and his entire world became his sweet Ruby. Her tongue licking his lips, her mouth opening so she could push her way inside his. Her hands on his head, clutching him to her in a tight grasp.