Ruby Rose (15 page)

“I’m going to tell Evan the truth. There is nothing to be ashamed of, and I have no plans of upsetting him. This article is going to give Domestic Discipline the voice that's been lacking in the media.”

“If you truly believed that, then you would’ve already told Evan.”

She saw the disapproval in Melanie’s face. “I know all of this. It’s that I’m scared. I don’t want to upset Evan. Things are going so well.”

Melanie got up and grabbed a box of cereal as she spoke. “It’s time. I may not know everything about relationships, but I know that you keeping on this way will make you lose Evan.”

****

All day Ruby got a strange vibe from Evan. Something just felt a bit off. Her shame in keeping a secret had started to play with her mind, and the conversation she’d had with Melanie that morning didn’t help. She kept wondering if maybe Evan knew about her secret and just didn’t say anything. Maybe Evan was waiting to see how long it took for Ruby to come clean. Maybe his publicist had gotten wind of it, since Harold was already trying to shop the book, and it was about to blow up in her face. This lie made her sick to her stomach.

After they finished having a quiet lunch at a café and got in his car, Evan leaned over and kissed her passionately, instantly putting Ruby’s mind at ease. This wasn’t an act of a jealous or angry boyfriend.

“That was nice,” Ruby purred after the ravenous kiss. “I get the feeling that something is on your mind. You don’t seem yourself today.”

“I have a surprise.” He smiled before leaning in and giving her another small peck on the cheek.

Her mind raced, searching for clues in Evan’s facial expression. Thankfully, it didn’t appear as if he knew anything about her deception. So from this point on, it could be anything and Ruby would be happy.

“What? I love surprises!” Ruby clapped her hands together like an excited little girl.

“You’ll have to wait and see,” he said. “I want to take you there.”

Ruby squinted her eyes and pushed out her lips in a pout. “Fine.” She buckled her seatbelt. “But you’re driving me crazy.”

As soon as Evan parked the car in a large lot by a warehouse building, he turned the car off and leaned against his door to face Ruby.

“Where are we?” Ruby tried hiding her anxiousness.

“Okay, you know I get photographed a lot for my… profession… if you call it that.”

Ruby nodded. “Yeah?”

“There’s a photo shoot inside that I have to do.”

Ruby’s eyes narrowed a bit. “And this is a surprise? Why didn’t you just tell me that you had to work?”

“We both have to work.”

Ruby stared at him, clueless.

“The photo shoot is for both of us. The magazine wants a spread of us as a couple.”

Ruby sat motionless, stunned by the idea.

“I knew you’d be nervous. But trust me, okay?” Evan said while reaching for Ruby’s hand.

Ruby’s eyes widened. Her face burned as if on fire. “No way! I can’t do that. I’m not a model.”

“I’m not a model, either.” He leaned over to kiss her. “But you’re beautiful and I want you by my side. I’ll be with you every step of the way.” Evan grazed his lips across Ruby’s. Grabbing her face with his hand so Ruby had no choice but to stare into his eyes, he added, “I want the whole world to know that you’re mine.”

“And if I say no?” she asked.

“I won’t force you. I’ll go inside and cancel.”

“You can’t just do it without me?”

Evan kissed her again, meeting her eyes. “No, because this was meant for me to do with you. But the choice is yours.”

She stiffened and nibbled on her bottom lip. “Okay, I’ll do it. But promise me that I won’t look like an idiot.”

“You’ll be perfect.”

Ruby’s mind spun into overdrive. She had no idea how to pose for a picture. Did she smile, or look sexy, or try to pull off sultry? Then her thoughts came to a screeching halt. Was this a BDSM magazine? Was she coming out to the whole world that she was engaged in a Domestic Discipline relationship? She tightened her jaw and stared out into nothing in front of her. Her pulse beat so fast that she thought she might have a heart attack. How would this look for her article?

“What’s wrong?” Evan asked.

“Is this a BDSM magazine?”

“Yes. Is that going to be a problem?”

“Well… uh… yeah, I kind of think it is.” She turned to stare at Evan. “I’m not sure I’m ready to be… well to be…open.”

Evan looked crushed. “I guess I just thought that since you and I were—” Evan shook his head and reached to open the door. “Never mind, I’ll go cancel the shoot. It was stupid—”

“Wait,” Ruby interrupted. “You’re right. We are.” She reached for Evan’s hand. “I’d be honored to be by your side. Let’s go do this.”

Evan tensed up.

“What’s wrong?”

Evan shook his head. “I’m not sure. I just get the feeling sometimes like you aren’t telling me everything. Like you’re holding back.”

Ruby stared at him for a moment. The door had opened. This was the time to just blurt it all out. Confess everything and hope to god that they could move on. This was the time… but the shoot. They had work to do.

“Ruby? Are you keeping our relationship a secret from someone? I didn’t think about the fact that maybe you haven’t told everyone in your life about me when I scheduled the shoot. I guess I just assumed that everyone knew.”

Ruby’s eyes narrowed, not understanding at first. “What?” She shook her head violently. “No, no! I’m not keeping you secret at all. I swear.”

Evan didn’t say anything.

“What’s the matter?” Ruby couldn’t read the expression on his face.

“I just get the feeling sometimes that there’s more.”

The door was opened even wider. Now. Now.

Ruby took a deep breath. A large enough breath to jump in the deep end. “Harold,” she said. “Well, it’s not exactly what you think.” She hesitated, nerves racking her body.

She watched Evan’s expression change slightly. “I think I know what’s going on.”

“You do? I wondered if you did. I’m so sorry for keeping this from you.”

“Why didn’t you tell Harold that I spank you? Do you think he’d have a problem with that? Do you think he will think I abuse you?”

The lump in Ruby’s throat sunk to the depth of her stomach. Ruby realized that Evan was completely off base. He had no idea the real truth about Harold. She shook her head. “No, that’s not it. Harold knows all about you and me. Well, I haven’t exactly gone into detail with him that you’ve spanked me. But I’m pretty sure he can connect the dots.” She smiled. “You are after all, Evan Steel.”

Evan looked confused. “Then what? What’s going on?”

Overwhelmed with guilt and fear, Ruby sat motionless. Twisting her fingers together, she tried to drum up the courage to confess. She’d felt so many unfamiliar emotions since she’d met Evan, yet none compared to what she was feeling now. The fear of losing him made Ruby realize just how important Evan was. If she were standing right now, the emotions would certainly bring her to her knees.

Evan kissed her temple softly. “Hey, whatever it is, can’t be that bad. You’re pale.”

She looked down at her hands, picking at the loose skin around her cuticle. Every ounce of her courage dissipated by the second. There was no way she could let Evan out of her life now. The thought suffocated her, gripping her beating heart. She sat in the car feeling dazed.

“Ruby, what’s going on? You’re scaring me.”

Ruby attempted to give a reassuring smile. “It’s no big deal. Silly really.” She reached out and patted Evan’s leg. “Let’s go get this shoot over with, and then I’ll tell you all about it.”

Chapter 17

Walking through the door of the photo shoot, Evan could almost feel the buzz of the room. The intensity of the energy almost seemed to knock him over with the power. This was a part of the whole celebrity craze that Evan really enjoyed. It was fun to get all dressed up and pose in cool and interesting positions. The backdrops always blew him away, and he always loved the photographers. He just hoped that Ruby enjoyed it as well.

As usual, Evan’s heart raced at the sight of Ruby. He loved Ruby’s natural beauty, but seeing her all glammed up was a surprising change. Evan bent down and kissed her in the makeup chair. It was supposed to be a reassuring hello kiss, but, unable to restrain himself, he kissed Ruby passionately until the makeup artist cleared her throat.

Ruby pulled away immediately, playfully pushing Evan to the side. “You’re going to mess up my lipstick.”

“I can’t help it.” Evan smirked, pulling away with a sigh. “You’ve gone from the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen to the sexiest woman I’ve ever seen.”

“I hardly recognize myself.”

Evan laughed, lacing his fingers into Ruby’s. “It’s amazing what they can do, but with you they had it easy.”

The shoot went really smoothly. It was easier than most, and definitely more fun. Ruby was a natural. Every time Evan glanced at Ruby, he would catch a smile or a twinkle of an eye. It appeared that Ruby enjoyed it just as much as he.

“Are you getting tired? Do you want me to ask for a break?”

Ruby shook her head. “No. This is a lot of fun.”

Evan glanced at the clock on the wall. It had been several hours, and Ruby didn’t seem fatigued at all. With her focusing this much, the shoot was bound to be complete any minute.

Evan decided to make the shoot a little more intimate and brought Ruby’s hand up to his lips and kissed it. He immediately forgot about the room full of people and the flashing photos. He put his arms around Ruby’s waist and pulled her close. “You’re a real natural. I think you may have found your calling.”

Ruby nodded in agreement. “I have. I’ve found my calling as your girlfriend. I’m enjoying this because I’m with you.”

There were a lot more people than Evan expected in the studio when they finally wrapped up. Apparently they had scheduled another shoot directly after theirs. He knew the magazine was doing a full spread on the whole gang, so he wasn’t surprised when he saw other people showing up.

Evan liked watching Ruby mingle with his friends. Ruby seemed to blend in with the group effortlessly. They were becoming Ruby’s friends, too. Selfishly, Evan hoped Ruby would create a whole new life here in Seattle and would decide to stay. The more friends she had, the better. This was a topic they hadn’t discussed, mainly because Evan was scared of what the outcome would be. The thought of Ruby leaving killed him. But he wouldn’t dwell on that right now and ruin a perfect day.

Gage came up from behind, laughing, and put his arm around Evan’s shoulder. “So what the fuck? You replace us for some lovey-dovey shots?” he teased.

Evan shrugged. “What can I say? Do you blame me?”

Gage playfully shoved him. “One word. Pussy whipped.”

Ruby walked up and wrapped her arms around Evan. “That’s two words.”

Adam walked up to the laughing group. “Holy hell, Ruby! You look amazing.”

Ruby blushed and snuggled closer to Evan’s side. “Thanks. It was fun, but I’m not sure if I’m cut out for all of this.”

Even though everyone seemed to be in great spirits, Evan was ready to call it a day. He wanted to have some alone time with Ruby. “Well, our job is done. We’re gonna get out of here.”

“What?” There was a note of disappointment in Adam’s tone. “Hang out for a while.”

“Let’s get some drinks and show Ruby how a real photo shoot should happen,” Gage added.

Evan pulled Ruby closer to him by the waist and she leaned her head against him. “It’s been a long day. Ruby's tired.”

Ruby’s head shot up and she punched him playfully on the arm. “Hey, you can’t put this on me. I’m not tired.”

Evan smiled. “I think someone might be looking for a spanking.”

Ruby laughed and Evan turned,
teasingly
crossing his arms in a stern look.

“Let me get our stuff and we can go,” Ruby said as she kissed his cheek. Turning toward the guys she added, “I better get Evan to bed… he’s tired.” With a giggle, Ruby walked off.

“Hi, Evan.” The familiar voice he had grown to hate loomed behind him.

He was quiet for a second, hoping she would go away. “Maxine.”

Maxine walked around so she faced Evan directly. “It’s been a long time.”

“What do you want?” He didn’t want to be mean, but the last thing he wanted was any unnecessary drama with Ruby. Even talking to Maxine encouraged her enough.

“I’m not going to say I told you so, or try to make you feel worse, if that’s what you’re thinking. I just want you to know I’m here for you. I’ve always been here for you.”

Evan sighed impatiently. He had no idea what she was talking about and didn’t even feel like asking.

“Maxine, I’m not in the mood for your games. I’m done working right now, so I’m leaving.”

“Evan, no matter what, we used to be friends. You’re still a friend in my eyes. I don’t know how Ruby could do that to you, but I know you were really blinded by her. So if you need someone to talk to now, I’ll always be someone you can count on.”

She wasn’t making any sense. The possibility of her being high or drunk was a likely scenario, so Evan had no desire to continue the conversation. “Whatever. I’m going to go find Ruby.” He turned and walked away, leaving Maxine with Adam and Gage.

No sooner had Evan started to walk away than he heard Adam call after him.

“Evan, can you come back here for a second?” Adam asked.

“I got to go.”

“No fucking way!” Evan heard Gage confronting Maxine. “You’re just trying to stir the shit
.
”

“I’m not making this up. Go ahead and ask her. Ask Ruby for yourself,” Maxine defended.

Evan walked back toward them, annoyed. “Ask Ruby what?”

“Maxine says that Ruby is a reporter working on an exposé,” Adam blurted out.

“Maxine, you have no idea what you’re talking about. Get your facts straight before you start spreading rumors.”

“Oh, so you’re aware that she works for a magazine? That she's here to get insider information?” Maxine asked with a smirk.

“Shut the fuck up, Maxine,” Gage shouted. “You’re such a bitch.”

“Fuck off, Gage. I didn’t do anything wrong. I’m not the slut who’s using Evan for a scoop.”