As if the universe knew I was thinking about using my phone, it vibrated with an incoming message.
Fuck me! It was the lower half of Ruby’s body, her pants bunched around her knees, exposing her gorgeously bare pussy at the delta of her thighs. Her plum colored panties dangled on her finger.
“The, uh, grilled Bavette steak?” A male voice interrupted.
I nearly dropped the phone as the waiter auctioned off my plate of food, his gaze flicking over my screen. I slammed my phone in my lap and glared up at him. “I had the steak.”
He slid the plate before me and gave me smile that said, “You lucky fucker.”
I shot him back one that said, “Your tip is in jeopardy.”
He was gone by the time Ruby returned from the restroom. She dropped down into her chair, her expression pleased, as if thrilled she’d met my challenge.
“Looks good enough to eat,” I said. Then I picked up my fork and knife and cut into my steak. Her gaze dropped down to her own food, and I left her to wonder which one I was talking about, her dinner or the image she’d sent of her amazing body.
Eating dinner with her tonight was a new kind of foreplay. The activities on the agenda for this evening hung overhead, pressing anticipation and desire down on us until it was all we could talk about. It was all I could think about.
But discussing it at the table was an exercise in frustration. It was hard to keep our excited voices low and the language from becoming too explicit. Occasionally, she would glance around to check if anyone was listening in. Did she want to be caught? Would that bring the same rush to her as it did to me? She’d been a bit of an exhibitionist in law school, so I assumed that interest had grown with her other tastes.
She practically vibrated on the drive back to my apartment, twisting in her seat to face me. “Were you into all this stuff back when we were together?”
I shook my head. “I mean, I was interested, but . . . I wasn’t comfortable yet with being that guy.”
Although my eyes were on the road, I pictured surprise on her gorgeous face. “You are now?”
“Yeah. At least, I think so.” I put as much seduction into my tone as I could manage. “I guess we’ll see, won’t we?”
Out of my peripheral vision, I watched her body tighten, and I enjoyed her response. It all turned me on so much. How she matched me. The potential to become these new versions of ourselves and to go down that path together. Sharing our desires so candidly seemed to interrupt our issue of communication, and I hoped it wasn’t temporary.
“And you?” I asked. “Were you into this at Randhurst?”
She pressed her lips together. “I was interested.”
That’s all she’d say about it, and we were quiet the rest of the short drive.
I eased my Range Rover into my parking spot. I hustled around the car, but of course she beat me on getting her own door open, and she smiled brilliantly. So pleased with her accomplishment.
“You should let me be a gentleman now.” My tone verged on sinister. “Because I won’t be when we get upstairs.”
We strolled into the elevator, and when I slapped the button for my floor, she stared at the glowing circle intently. “Penthouse, huh?”
I rubbed a hand on the back of my neck. “Yeah.”
It wasn’t like my place was amazing, but it was pretty sweet. A one-bedroom, one-bath luxury apartment in the River North district. Nine hundred square feet which cost me over three grand a month in rent.
On top of Sharon’s hush money, my father’s firm had offered me an enticing salary, followed by a nice acceptance bonus when I’d taken their offer.
Coming back to Chicago wasn’t supposed to happen. Every decision my parents made was driven by the almighty dollar, and I’d sworn for years I wouldn’t become them. Yet, here I was, working for them, back under their thumb.
Ruby followed closely as I strode to the end of the hall, her boots thumping along swiftly on the hard floor. We moved with eager purpose. Her breathing was rushed as I slid my key into the deadbolt, turned the lock, and pushed the door open.
When she went to step inside, I threw my arm out and grabbed the doorframe on the other side, blocking her entry. “Maybe I want to fuck you right here in the doorway so the neighbors can see.”
A female voice rang out from inside my darkened apartment. “Guess I’ll just be going, then.”
Chapter
TWENTY