The Shameless Life of Ruiz Acosta (8 page)

She laughed. ‘Quite a shock to my system. I was an only child used to doing what I was told.’

‘And Lucia was a very different animal?’ Ruiz’s lips tugged. He understood.

How had she become best friends with the most attractive and outgoing girl in the school? Thinking back, Holly remembered Lucia not just being high spirited and up to mischief half of the time, but so incredibly warm, and interested in everyone—not unlike her brother, Ruiz. It was a tribute both to their good nature and to their brother Nacho, who had brought them up.

‘Lucia and I made quite a team,’ she explained. ‘We egged each other on and skated a very thin line between total exclusion from the school and one of our crazy ideas taking off. Lucky for us, one of our ideas worked so well we managed to get a whole pile of money from a government educational grant to develop our ecological project.’

‘Was that where the green hair came in?’

‘Are you accusing me of deliberately dying my hair green?’

‘Should I be?’ Ruiz said wryly.

‘It may have had something to do with it.’

‘So, in summary you were both holy terrors?’

‘You don’t know the half,’ Holly agreed.

‘Which is perhaps just as well,’ Ruiz commented, his ruggedly handsome face creasing in a rueful grin. ‘Well. I suppose I should turn in. Thanks for looking after our mutual friend.’

‘Don’t you want some ice cream?’

‘Ice cream?’

‘When it’s this late and you don’t want to start eating proper food again, ice cream fills a gap, I find.’

‘Does it?’ Ruiz said in a tone that made her toes curl. She was already rifling through the freezer box by this time, shaking convulsively and not with cold. She had never led a man on before. But this was new Holly, and there was a first time for everything …

Holly licked her lips when she found the carton of ice cream she was looking for. He realised then that had any other woman done that he would have interpreted the request as she would have wanted him to, but with Holly it was different. She was different. Meanwhile, Bouncer might not be the talking dog, but the big mutt had a very eloquent way of expressing himself. Currently stretched out in a contented sprawl snoring softly, Bouncer had clearly forgotten all thoughts of sore paws and looked as if everything in his world was going to plan.

Ruiz took up every available inch in the kitchen. There was no way past his bed-ruffled, barely clad form unless he backed out of her way. Stretching up, she tried reaching for two bowls, then, spotting something else, she changed her mind and grabbed a pack of ice-cream cornets instead. But now her hand was shaking so much she couldn’t get the ice-cream scoop to connect with the contents of the tub.

‘Here, let me help you with that,’ Ruiz offered. ‘If we put the scoop in boiling water first—’ He stopped. ‘Holly? You’re really shaking. Are you cold?’

‘Yes,’ she exclaimed, grabbing the cue Ruiz had given her like a life raft. Could desire do this to you? She had no idea what desire could do, having never felt anything to compare with this before. With her ex she had been so pathetically grateful that he noticed her at all that her own passion had never really come into it. She had been too busy trying to please him, to keep him, to keep his interest—

‘Why don’t you turn the heating up, while I serve the ice cream?’ Ruiz suggested, sounding as normal as ever, as if two people clad in nightclothes—one of them barely clad at all—could have a companionable chat in the middle of the night without feeling as incredibly aware as she did. Could she squeeze past him without touching? She glanced at the climate control on the wall, knowing she wasn’t even remotely cold, but it was too late to admit that now.

‘Come on,’ Ruiz prompted, pressing his muscular form back against the side to let her past.

Was he kidding? This was a really bad idea. She was hardly experienced enough to play flirting games with Ruiz, let alone rub past so much muscle. But she would have to …

Sucking in her stomach, she braced herself. Avoiding contact was impossible. Ruiz tried to help, but she still got stuck. ‘This is a tight squeeze,’ he observed dryly.

She tried to reach over him to the control, conscious all the time of his hot, hard, naked thigh pressed up against her. ‘You’re taking up all the space. I can’t reach anything. You’ll have to move.’

Please, please move—

Ruiz didn’t move a muscle. ‘I thought you said you needed warming up?’ he commented.

‘I do—’ Her hand flailed about searching for the elusive heat control, while her gaze never left Ruiz’s dark, amused stare. He might well look like that when her body had somehow moulded itself around his without any input from her at all.

‘Shall we forget about the ice cream?’ he asked.

Her breath hitched in her throat as Ruiz dipped his head towards her, but she had called it wrong. Instead of kissing her, as she had thought he might, he dabbled ice cream on her cheek. Exclaiming with surprise, she pushed him away. ‘You—!’

Ruiz seized her wrist and drew her close. ‘Don’t wipe it off,’ he said, frowning. ‘What a waste …’ She trembled uncontrollably as he moved her hand away and licked the ice cream from her face. She was still reeling from this when he dabbed some more on her neck. ‘This is delicious,’ he observed as coolly as if they were sharing a meal in a café.

Sweet sensation streamed through her veins, making her more reckless and excited. She reached one hand out, cautiously feeling for the tub, but Ruiz saw what she was doing and dodged out of her way, and the best she could manage was a glancing blow to his cheek. ‘How’s your temperature?’ she demanded, backing away to a safe distance.

‘Red hot,’ Ruiz assured her.

CHAPTER SEVEN

Have you ever felt that you were about to do something you might regret and yet were utterly powerless to stop yourself? Well, that’s where I am now. I could do with a gang of you turning up at the penthouse to drag me back from the lustful brink. But I should warn you that if you do I might not be all that pleased to see you.

Tomorrow’s another day? Yes, and I might need a hug by then. Maybe I’ll know what sex can be like when you choose the right man, but we all know that for every good thing that happens there’s the flip side of the coin, so I could be about to make the biggest mistake of my life.

And the playboy? The reason I’m telling you this is because there’s a look in his eyes I haven’t seen before, and after months of telling myself I don’t need men I suddenly thought, Do I want to spend the rest of my life wondering what I’ve missed?

COULD she remember all that? She could hardly race to the laptop now. ‘The writer of this column is otherwise engaged and seems likely to be so for quite some time’ was one heck of a headline, but was this moment something she wanted to share with the world? ‘How is it possible I’m covered in ice cream while you have a magic ring of protection around you?’ Holly demanded excitedly, playing for time. She shrieked as Ruiz prowled closer, while he just grinned and shrugged.

Why was she out of ammunition? Holly’s chaotic thoughts refused to assemble into a coherent form as she backed away. It wasn’t a fresh tub of ice cream she needed, but a long, cold shower and a few miles’ distance between them. What had she been thinking? That she could play games with Ruiz and there would be no consequences? ‘Okay. I give up.’ She raised her hands in defeat. ‘You’re better at this than I am—’

‘What do you expect with three brothers and a sister? I’ve been having food fights since I could lift a spoon.’

An only child could only dream of having this much fun, but at least Ruiz had ceased hostilities for now. She breathed a sigh of relief as she tried to retrieve a blob of ice cream that had landed on her chest before it could trickle any lower. But this brief pause in the ice-cream war didn’t mean she liked losing. Sneakily reaching for the tub, she launched a counter attack, and, though Ruiz had the reflexes of a fighter pilot, she managed to score a hit on his mouth.

‘You’ll pay for that,’ he warned, wiping his lips with the back of his hand.

Holly sincerely hoped so. The fears that had haunted her for so long had been consumed in the fire burning in Ruiz’s eyes. It was enough to make anyone hot and reckless. She held her breath as he prowled closer. Seconds ticked away and then they both launched an attack at the same moment. A fast and furious battle ensued. Ruiz was so much stronger and faster than she was, but she was fast enough, and fiercely competitive. Everything became a blur of limbs and flying ice cream. She managed to put the island counter between them, a barricade that gave her chance to draw breath. Lifting her chin, panting and gloating, she taunted Ruiz across the gleaming stretch of granite.

He vaulted over it. ‘Now what are you going to do?’ he said, holding her in front of him.

She hummed, glaring at him defiantly. Struggling was pointless. Ruiz’s grip was light, yet firm, while she was consumed by excitement and covered in sticky ice cream. This was hardly the moment to assume the moral high ground. Resting back in his arms, she began to laugh.

‘What?’ he said.

Every part of her was tingling and aware. She was free. ‘Nothing you need to know,’ she said, straightening up to deliver a challenging stare into Ruiz’s eyes.

He had never wanted her more. His virtuous resolutions to steer clear of Lucia’s friend were history. He was more interested in licking Holly clean. He kissed her cheek, her neck, tasting her, and then he tasted her some more. ‘You’re delicious,’ he commented as she wriggled in his arms, helpless with laughter.

‘And so are you—’

He wasn’t prepared for her whipping up his tee, and holding it while she licked the sugared cream from his chest. He sucked in a sharp breath and his surprise didn’t lessen with the look she gave him. Her eyes blazed with fire and the sort of confidence he knew was buried deep inside. ‘Kiss me,’ she demanded fiercely, making it sound like a challenge as she locked her hands behind his head.

A challenge? This was a pleasure. The kiss was long and hot and deep. She tasted warm and sweet, and fiercely female. There was nothing girlie, soft, or vulnerable about Holly now. This was an equal match between a woman intent on claiming her mate, and a man who rejoiced in her strength as he lifted her.

She had never done anything remotely like this before—had never clawed at a man’s clothes, hungry to feel his naked body hard against her. There was nothing delicate or tender happening here. She was burning up from the inside out.

Buttons from her pyjama top flew across the kitchen and skittered across the floor as she yanked Ruiz’s top over his head. He only paused briefly to protect them both, and then he took over, resting her on the side as he pushed the top from her shoulders and the pyjama pants from her legs. His clothes dropped to the floor. Excited sounds escaped her lips. Ruiz’s naked torso was stronger, harder, warmer, more beautiful than even she had imagined. The wide spread of his muscular shoulders was enough to turn her on, but it was the look in his eyes that really did it for her, because that promised more excitement than she had ever known. Holding Ruiz’s darkening gaze, she traced the pattern of muscle and sinew from his breastbone to his shoulder, then down over his biceps to his forearms, and on to his hands and the lean, elegant fingers. ‘Now,’ she whispered urgently.

He brushed his mouth against her lips—a promise that wasn’t enough for her now. ‘Don’t tease me,’ she warned him. But he did, brushing his lips and his stubble against her neck and her cheek, and then her lips, promising, always promising, yet pulling away before she could taste him. He repeated this until her body was a furnace and she was wild for him.

As Holly pressed herself against him he tested her and found her ready. He still took his time, teasing her for as long as he had with kisses. She moaned with need when he gave her the tip and then exclaimed with disappointment when he took it away again. She shivered and opened herself more for him, pressing her thighs back as he touched her, crying when he paused. He dipped again, a little deeper this time, and then retreated. She was so moist, so warm, so completely ready for him, but even with the thought of that tight wet grip waiting to claim him banging at his brain he knew it would be better for her if he made her wait.

‘I can’t stand this,’ she raged in a shaking voice.

‘You have to,’ he whispered. ‘It will be all the better for it—’

‘Really?’ she exclaimed, and, arching forward without warning, she took him. She took him. He gasped and shuddered with surprise, slammed by an overload of sensation. ‘Steady,’ he cautioned as her fingers bit into his buttocks. ‘If you do that,’ he warned as she bucked and arced against him, ‘it will all be over too soon—’

She ignored him. Screaming out his name, she plunged headlong into the first climax. It was a battle to hold her in place as she thrust her hips frantically to claim each wave of pleasure as it hit her. ‘You’re so big,’ she groaned with satisfaction as the storm subsided.

‘I aim to please,’ he managed to say wryly, keeping up a steady rhythm until she was ready to start again. ‘I trust that wasn’t a complaint,’ he added in a husky whisper against her mouth, unable to resist the temptation to kiss her again.

‘A complaint?’ she murmured when he released her. ‘
I
trust that was just a sample?’

He laughed. She was ready for more and this time she didn’t want any distractions. Taking him in an even firmer hold, she ground out, ‘Don’t tease me—Don’t wait—Don’t stop—’

‘You’re incredible,’ he said. And it was true. He’d met his match.

They feasted on each other, and neither of them tired. He persuaded her to hold her thighs back so he could increase her pleasure. It was then he discovered that she loved to watch. ‘You’re quite something,’ he murmured, accommodating that wish too. Arranging her comfortably with one leg over his shoulder and one tiny foot on the counter, he worked steadily to keep her hovering on the edge, but this was the hottest woman he’d ever known. Could
he
hold on? ‘I’ll tell you when,’ he instructed, staring deep into her eyes.

Her retaliation was swift and fierce, ‘Don’t make me wait,’ she warned him. ‘Don’t you dare make me wait—’

‘Now,’ he commanded, taking her with a firm, deep thrust. The sound of her voice—the language she used—all of it increased his pleasure tenfold and this time they rode the storm together, inventing a new erotic dictionary along the way.

They must have been unconscious for a few moments, Holly thought as she slowly came round to find Ruiz resting against her, breathing steadily, still holding her safe in his arms.

‘What?’ he murmured, raising his head to look at her.

A sudden rush of doubt swept through her at the thought of what they’d done. Without the same hunger driving her she had too much time to think.

‘Holly?’ Ruiz prompted, sensing the change in her.

‘Nothing,’ she said. But there was something wrong, and they both knew it. A game that had started out so innocently had turned into something so much more.

‘Do you regret it?’ Ruiz asked with concern.

‘No, of course not.’ Reaching up, she closed her eyes and kissed him, but the doubts refused to go away.

‘You’re not frightened of me, are you?’ Ruiz demanded softly when they broke apart.

Nothing could be further from the truth. She wasn’t frightened of Ruiz. She was frightened of her feelings for him.

Cupping her chin so she couldn’t avoid his gaze, Ruiz demanded, ‘Is there someone else?’

That was so ridiculous she laughed. ‘There’s no one else,’ she exclaimed. But Ruiz was partly right, even if he was wholly wrong. She was completely here in the moment with him, but the past couldn’t be erased, and she couldn’t forget that when her ex had come on the scene she had been so grateful, so thrilled by the attention he lavished on her, she had fallen for it—for him—to the extent that she would have trusted him with her life. Fortunately, she had only trusted him with her bank card, but her small pot of savings had disappeared just the same. No wonder she doubted her own judgment now.

Ruiz eased her carefully down, making sure she was steady on her feet before he let her go. ‘Forget him,’ he said in a voice she had never heard him use before. ‘Whoever he was he can’t hurt you now. I won’t let anyone hurt you, Holly. You have to learn from the past and move on. Don’t you think you can? Why not? When we first met you weren’t sure you could make it as a journalist, but look at you now. Where has that woman gone?’

‘On permanent vacation?’ She smiled wryly to make light of it, but Ruiz wasn’t in the mood for a joke and told her so. ‘It’s time to give yourself a break, Holly.’

‘And it’s time you stopped being kind to me for your sister’s sake,’ she fired back, knowing even as she said it that she was allowing the past to spoil things for her.

‘You think I’m being kind to you?’ Ruiz said.

‘What can I think when you’ve already told me that being kind to me for Lucia’s sake is what you feel obliged to do?’

‘You’re twisting my words. You should have more confidence in yourself Holly.’

She dragged in a shuddering breath as Ruiz’s lips brushed her cheek and then her neck, and finally her mouth. She wanted nothing more than to believe him.

‘You’re still too serious,’ he said, drawing back to look at her, but then his wicked mouth tugged in a smile, ‘and here was me thinking I had done everything possible to make you smile.’

She huffed and relaxed a little. Everything they had shared was reflected in Ruiz’s eyes. It was both arousing and terrifying.

‘More ice cream?’ Ruiz suggested, refusing to be drawn into her dark mood.

‘You’re very bad.’ But her voice was trembling as Ruiz’s lips brushed her neck.

‘It’s your turn to lick me clean,’ he observed, staring down at her with a mock-stern expression on his face. ‘You started this game and now you have to finish it.’

She laughed. Holly touched him in a way no other woman had. He was so acutely tuned in to her he could feel all her hopes and fears, and not for the first time wished he could meet the man who had hurt her so badly. He wanted to keep her safe—

Safe from him?

He brushed that thought aside as she stared at his lips. He had never felt this way before. He had always held his feelings in, knowing Nacho had had enough to contend with bringing up three brothers and a sister. Holly had always kept her feelings in—they both had; that was their bond.

‘What are you thinking?’ she said quietly.

That Ruiz the fixer had always managed to fix himself, but now there was Holly in the frame. ‘Are you refusing to finish this game?’ The heat was rising. He could see it in her eyes. He wanted Holly to forget the past with all its false promises and disappointments. ‘As it’s you I’ll permit the use of a clean cloth rather than your tongue,’ he teased. ‘I realise now that licking is only for the advanced class.’

‘Don’t you take anything seriously?’ she asked, wondering how she was supposed to resist a man whose eyes were always so warm.

Ruiz pretended to think about it. ‘The health of my polo ponies? I take that sort of thing very seriously indeed. But ice cream fights?’ His lips curved in a wry smile as he shook his head. ‘Sorry to disappoint you, Holly.’

‘What are you doing?’ she said as he drew her close.

‘Now I know you’re not that naïve.’