It was much better than being trapped like an animal.
The doors opened, and I walked inside. “I forgot my keys.” Bosco was there before I left, so I assumed he was still in the house. He usually left around this time to work out on another floor. On rare occasions, he had to head down to the casino to do some bookkeeping.
I didn’t hear a reply. “Bosco, are you home?”
No answer. He must have left already.
I headed down the hallway and went into the bedroom. The walk-in closet contained mostly my stuff now, from the clothes I brought with me to the cocktail dresses he picked out. There were a few pieces of lingerie hanging from the rack, new additions to my wardrobe. He’d probably picked those out recently.
I knelt on the floor and searched for my keys. “Ugh…where the hell are they?”
His deep voice sounded from the living room, full of irritation. The elevator beeped when the doors closed behind him. “What does she want?”
I stiffened at his tone, knowing he was pissed about something. I rarely heard him speak that way, only when something was truly digging under his skin. I was on my knees in the closet, moving through the pile of dirty clothes that sat there. The keys must be underneath it.
“What’s so important for us to talk about?” He must be on the phone because I didn’t hear a second voice. He paused for a long time, listening over the line. Then he gave another response. “Fine. Let her up.”
Let who up? Who was she?
I felt awkward listening to this without telling him I was there. But then I remembered how he spied on all my conversations with Vanessa like he had every right. It was petty of me to sink to his level, but since he sounded so pissed, I didn’t want to interfere. What if this woman was actually a threat? I might make the situation worse.
He hung up then sighed loudly, so loudly I could hear it in the bedroom.
The elevator doors opened, and the beep accompanied it. Then the sound of heels tapped against the hardwood floor. She was walking slowly, making a subtle entrance despite the way she’d pissed him off from the lobby. Then her voice emerged, seductive, cold, and sexy—all at the same time. “You look tense.”
Just from the sound of her voice, I could tell she wasn’t some random acquaintance. Bosco had made it sound like the only time women came to his apartment was for fucking. Ronan hadn’t even stopped by since I’d started living there. The only person I ever witnessed in this penthouse was Bosco Roth. His security detail stayed in the lobby.
His tone was clipped. “What’s so important, Ruby?”
I stayed on the floor of the closet, but my curiosity was getting the better of me. I shouldn’t care what this woman looked like, but my imagination made her seem like the most stunning woman in the world. She had confidence, enough confidence to hold her own in his penthouse.
That was a little scary.
I left the closet and the bedroom, creeping down the hallway barefoot so my movements wouldn’t make a sound. Bosco obviously had no idea I was there because he would have called out to me by now.
I got to the end of the hallway and peeked around the corner.
I didn’t like what I saw.
Ruby was in skintight jeans and heels, her legs even longer than mine. With black hair and lustrous eyelashes, she was a gorgeous woman with curves anyone would envy. Her lips were painted dark, and she wore a large diamond necklace around her throat. Her black top hugged her waist, and there was a zipper that went all the way from the top to the bottom. She propped one hand on her hip and stared at Bosco with a mixture of hatred and desire.
Skank.
I didn’t like her one bit.
It would be stupid for me to be jealous, but I didn’t like that woman standing in my living room like she owned it.
Well, his living room.
Bosco was in his running shorts and t-shirt. He’d obviously been on the other floor working out when his men called from the lobby. He moved his hands into the pockets of his shorts, keeping a few feet away from her. His back was to me, broad and muscular in the gray cotton.
She moved her body slightly from left to right, like she was teasing him with the subtle shake of her hips. She didn’t respond to Bosco’s question, holding the silence like this wasn’t her first time. Without any confirmation, it was clear she’d been in his penthouse before—and definitely in his bed.
I already hated her.
When she didn’t say anything, Bosco spoke again. “Ruby, what is—”
“I miss you.”
I was about to rip that pretty hair off her scalp.