Bound to Please (32 page)

“Yes, of course.”

“Well, we’ve kind of been experimenting to get past all of that.”

“Oh.” Ruby’s face warmed as realization dawned on her. “
Oh!
”

“Yeah, and that day I was just… playing a role. That day was ‘the sexy businesswoman takes a lover’ role. He was my male prostitute.”

“Wow,” Ruby said, nodding. “I’m impressed with your creativity.”

“Hey, it finally convinced me to get glasses. To, you know, look smart.” Meg laughed, and after a second she said, “Oh, Ruby. I’m so sorry. It must have been awful for you to think that Emmett was cheating.”

She felt her eyes water. “It really was, but I’m so happy I was wrong.”

“Me too. But I promise things are better than ever, and guess what? I’m pregnant!”

Ruby squealed. “Oh my God! Congratulations!”

“Thank you. Now, Ruby. Yvette is Mark’s oldest, best friend. Trust her. Go to Mark.”

After she’d said good-bye, she flipped her phone shut. She wanted to go home, but her ticket had been one-way. She needed to find a computer and book a return flight, but she just didn’t have the energy quite yet. So she went back to join Yvette, who was now using her beer bottle as a pretend microphone and humming a Bon Jovi tune.

Ruby snapped her fingers twice in front of Yvette’s face.

“Sorry,” she said, taking a swig from her beer. “The eighties are back, ya know.”

“So I hear.”

“Anyway, he won’t go through with it. Shagging those chicks, I mean.”

“How do you know?”

She plopped the empty bottle on the counter. “Because I know
him
, and he only wants you. You know,” she said, pointing a finger at Ruby, “loving you scares the shit out of him. He thinks if he commits to a woman it’ll be the end of his career. Of the band. And he doesn’t want to turn into his father.”

Ruby laughed wryly. “God, we spend so much time trying not to become our parents, we totally lose sight of who we actually want to become.”

“Cheers to that, sister!” Yvette saluted her with the beer bottle.

She studied the gorgeous woman for a moment. “What about you? You’re willing to risk him having a relationship with someone who lives so far away? Someone who will demand his attention? Because I promise I’ll be demanding.”

Yvette’s gaze sharpened. “I love Mark. I want to see him happy. You make him happy, happier than I have ever seen him. So I’m willing to take the chance. I’m willing to encourage
him
to take that chance.”

Shaking her head, Ruby took in her words. “But—”

“No buts.” She snatched a pen and a napkin from behind the bar and scribbled a number onto the crinkly paper. “Now, you scurry on up to room 2025 and rescue that man from himself.”

Her heart started thumping in her chest. Yvette’s words were pumping her up, making her want to go to Mark. But could she really barge in on him like that?

“Listen, Ruby. Mark is probably the best man I know, and, frankly, if I swung that way I’d have nailed him down long ago for myself. But he’s still just a man, and sometimes men need their asses kicked.” She pushed the napkin toward Ruby. “So I encourage you to go forth and kick some ass. Everything else will fall into place.”

Ruby’s fingers shook as she looked at the napkin.

“Go.”

Ruby hopped off the barstool. She had no control over the future. What she did have control over was the present, and she wasn’t going to let Mark go just because he was scared.

“Thank you, Yvette.”

She smiled. “No problem. Just make sure you have him in the lobby by eight. I kinda need him for the show later.” Grinning, Yvette swigged her beer.

She gave Yvette a quick hug and hurried to the elevator. As she rode up to the twentieth floor she thought that even if Mark had done something with those women she’d forgive him. Because despite all they’d done together, he’d never promised her anything. They had made no commitments, no promises. Cringing, she realized she’d made sure of that.

But, if they were going to try to make it work, that would have to change.

Finally the elevator doors opened and she burst into the hallway. But her dash to Mark’s door slowed when she caught sight of two familiar women walking toward the elevator. She pretended to study a rather hideous landscape painting but watched the girls out the corner of her eye.

Red Miniskirt twisted a blonde curl. “I can’t believe he asked us to leave.”

Black Miniskirt smacked her gum. “I know. I’ve always heard Mark St. Crow was a real animal.”

The rest of their words faded away as Ruby’s heart swelled with relief. Yvette had been right. He hadn’t been able to go through with it. She jogged silently down the carpeted hallway. She didn’t need the napkin to tell her where she was going, and seconds later she was pounding on his door.

And then that door was opening and he was there, looking down at her, brown eyes wide with shock behind his glasses.

“Ruby! What are you doing here?”

She stepped inside and closed the door behind her. Meeting his gaze, she swallowed. “Yvette made me.”

He looked confused and then horrified by what she must have seen leaving his room. “Nothing happened,” he said fiercely.

“I know that, you idiot. And I know why you blew off the party. Not that I’m over it, but I’m willing to punish you later. Now, just hold me.”

He yanked her to him, hugging her so tight she could barely breathe. Closing her eyes, she let him hold her, wanting to stay in his arms forever.

“I love you, Mark, and I’m sorry about those things I said the night of the party.”

He pulled back, his eyes a warm brown as they bored into hers. But still he remained silent.

“I hope you can forgive me,” she whispered, tears running down her cheeks.

“You had every right to be mad.” His expression turned downright sheepish, and he pulled something from his pocket. It was the necklace she’d dropped outside the theater into the homeless man’s hat.

She put her hand to her mouth. “Where did you get this?”

“A little birdie brought it to me.” He clasped the necklace around her neck. “I love you, too, baby, and I’m not letting you go. Ever again.” And then he kissed her. But this time it wasn’t the Mark she knew. This man was urgent, clumsy even as he started pulling off their clothes. His fingers seemed unsteady as he undid her bra, slid her panties down her legs. That slight show of vulnerability caused her to quiver everywhere, made her toes curl. Made her love him even more.

It took him longer than usual to rip the condom open; he finally used his teeth, spitting a tiny silver piece on the floor after it eventually gave way. She watched him roll the sheath onto his erection, vowing to get on the pill as soon as she could. Her chest ached from the want to feel that part of him inside her, skin-to-skin.

The thought had her pussy dripping, making her slick and sticky and so ready for him.

He backed her against the door. “You’re mine, Ruby Scott.” He said the words into her hair, against her lips. “I want you to tell me that you’re mine.”

“I will, but we need to talk—ah!”

Her words were cut off when he lifted her, wrapped her legs around his waist, and pressed the length of his cock to her damp pussy.

She gasped. “We can talk later.”

“Mine.” He plunged into her, her back sliding a few inches up the door as he did so. With her nipple between his fingers he twisted until she cried out; the sharp pain shot right through her, and she ground down onto him to soften the ache.

She felt his sweat, soaking into her skin in hot drips. His back was slick under her fingers and she couldn’t get a grip, but it didn’t matter. She didn’t need to worry about falling; he held her securely in his arms.

Using the door for support, he made love to her as he whispered things he’d never told her before, hotly against her ear.

“Baby, you smell so fucking amazing. I never told you this, but I took a bar of soap from your bathroom, and I—” He pulled out, drove in again. “I use it when I masturbate. That scent gets me so goddamn hard. You get me so goddamn hard.”

“Oh, God… yes.” She was on fire, every inch of her burning up.

“I love you so much, Ruby…” The words sent a frisson of lust through her, landing between her legs.

He twisted her nipple again, sending her to the very edge of climax. “Mark, I’m going to…”

He pulled out, thrust again. Later, they could take their time, but now she needed him to let go, to show her uninhibitedly how much he wanted her.

“Fuck me, Mark. Make me come for you.”

“Yes, come for me now, baby. Come for the man who loves you, the man you belong to.”

“Yes,” she cried, exploding into a million blissful pieces. “I belong to you, Mark.”

“Oh, Ruby,” he whispered. “Ruby mine.” He drove into her one last time, his pelvis to hers, his heart to hers. She felt him inside her, his cock jumping in tiny jerks as he came.

As he sank against her, she ran her hand over his smooth scalp. That first night at Meg’s she’d wondered how his head would feel beneath her fingertips. The answer was, it felt like home.

He pulled back. Sometime during their frenzy he’d lost his glasses. Now his eyes were dark and warm as he searched her gaze.

He carried her to the bed and tenderly placed her under the covers. Lying next to him, she silently stroked his chest, his stomach, his angular hip bones. The hotel was quiet this high up, and the feel of his fingers combing through her hair combined with the rhythmic sound of his breathing nearly put her to sleep.

“Oh, shit,” she said after a while, glancing at the clock. “It’s seven forty-five. I promised Yvette I’d have you back in the lobby by eight.”

Groaning, he held her tighter. “Crap. I wish I didn’t have a show tonight. Will you come?”

She raised her heavy lids to meet his gaze. “Of course. I would love to see you play,” she said, suppressing a yawn.

“I forgot you’ve been traveling.” Placing a soft kiss on her temple, he chuckled. “There will be plenty more shows. Just stay here tonight, rest up. I’ll be back soon.”

“No, I really want to go.” She pushed herself up.

Kissing her, he didn’t stop until she was lying back down. “Seriously. Stay here and get some rest.” He nipped her earlobe. “You’re going to need it later.”

“Okay,” she said. “And when you get back we need to talk. About things…”

She was asleep before he walked out the door.

Chapter
Twenty-Eight

M
ark 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.”