A stream of hot coffee shot from his nose, leaving dragon fire in its wake. “Excuse me?” His voice was unintentionally harsh. Rue was a man who went for what he wanted…most of the time, and he wanted Lena, but holy hell, that was wholly unexpected.
Hell yes was parked on his tongue about to launch from his mouth when Lena’s words halted it.
“Oh crap, sorry. That came out all wrong, I didn’t mean to terrify you. I meant pretend boyfriend, but it was stupid anyway. Just forget it.” Lena gathered her belongings, broken and otherwise, dropped some money on the table and shuffled past the whimpering dog guarding her feet to exit her seat. “Don’t worry about replacing my items, I think we’re even. Your mortification is more than enough payment for what this beautiful girl did by accident.”
Rue watched in silence while Lena reached down, buried a hand in the dog’s fur and muttered something to her and the pup wagged in response.
It wasn’t until she was out the door that Rue’s body reacted to her words. Tossing more bills on the table, he bolted out after her, almost leaving the dog behind.
“Wait, Lena. It’s not like that.” He caught up with her as she stared down at her non-responsive phone in clear frustration. “Please, let me drive you home and we can discuss your proposal.” Being her fake boyfriend was better than being her nothing, and Rue refused to let her just exit his life as nothing more than an accident on a sidewalk.
3
Lena
Lena’s embarrassment at Rue’s terror was the absolute worst. Lena couldn’t see well, but she wasn’t so blind she’d missed his reaction.
The minute she’d thought up the whole hair-brained scheme of fooling her father, she knew it would fail. Even if she’d managed to hire a man from the Internet, a man who had sex for money, he probably would’ve reacted much the same way Rue did.
It didn’t hurt as much as it once did. Lena was used to the stares, the looks of pity, and the disgusted sneers. Rue, however, caught her off guard. She’d actually let herself think he kind of saw past her scars and eye patch. Not that he didn’t notice, that was impossible, but it felt for a fleeting moment like he didn’t care.
What a fool you are sometimes, Lena. You just let a dog blind you to the man. She almost laughed at her choice of wording . . . almost, but she had to suck it up because she needed Rue. There was no way she’d ever be brave enough to call a stranger. Rue was her only hope, and the way his dog responded to her would really sell it to her dad.
Plus, she would enjoy having the dog around. She’d already taken up her post at Lena’s side. As soon as her hand brushed her fur all the worries of the world melted away. Dogs were magical, and she could use some magic in her life.
“Okay,” she mumbled as she straightened to her upright position. It was more for herself than Rue.
“Excellent.” Rue sounded pleased, which caught her off guard yet again. “May I?” he asked from beside her. She knew exactly what he was asking.
“Yes, thank you.” She thought what the heck, they might as well start now, maybe it would have a more natural feel in three days that way. Deep down, Lena just wanted to indulge in the fantasy of being desired. Looping their arms together, they walked toward what she assumed was his vehicle.
She clicked her tongue and the dog padded along at her side. Rue reacted. She could feel it through their contact, it was amusement with a hint of disbelief.
With a slight lean forward, Rue spoke to the dog. “You know, girl, you’re going to give me a complex if you continue to ignore me like this. Although, I can’t say I blame you.” Rue lowered his voice conspiratorially. “She could make me follow along at her heel too if she asked me nicely.”
Lena giggled and playfully slapped his arm. “Stop. No need to throw compliments my way now, but remember that when I need you to.” A pang of loss hit her in the gut. Realizing once again, she would never have that for real in her life ruined the fantasy. The dog and Rue both halted, causing her to stop.
“Here we are.” Rue’s voice was softer than before but held an edge of something she couldn’t—wouldn’t—identify. There were key sounds and door sounds, and as Lena went to step forward toward the white, open door she could see, the dog leapt in front of her. “Good girl,” Rue praised and took Lena’s arm. “I’m sure you can see, but it’s a truck so step up higher to get in than you would a car.”
Rue helped her get situated but stayed there, even after her seatbelt was fastened. She sensed him looking at her face, but it felt different than the stares she got from others. His hand on her cheek startled her so deeply she jerked her head back. This close she could make out details on Rue’s face and they took her breath away. Rue was a devilishly handsome man. His eyes were dark, his nose wide and manly, while his cheeks were lightly covered in stubble.
Against her better judgment, her hand landed on his face. It was the first time she’d touched a man since her accident.
His eyes closed and he leaned into her touch and she relished every microsecond of it, committing the moment to memory. Rue’s eyes opened and he stared into her soul as his face got closer. Is he . . .
His lips answered a question she dared not asked aloud. This wasn’t like the kisses she’d shared before, or maybe it was and she’d just forgotten what they were like because it had been so long. It seemed different somehow, more connected. The kiss ended all too suddenly. Rue pulled back his lips and leaned his forehead to hers. “Know that any compliment I ever give you is because I want to, not because I’m playing a part.”
A deep inhale flooded her entire being with his scent. Rue smelled faintly of fresh cut wood and something that conjured up cool, early winter days.
When she breathed out, he breathed in and vice versa. They were creating their own weather pattern it seemed and a storm was about to break over them. One she was terrified to get caught in but wanted to dance in all the same. A bark beside them broke the spell. “All right, that’s my cue.” Rue leaned back and closed the door.
Lena’s mind reeled. Her fingers ghosted across her lips where his had just branded hers. Physically the kiss wasn’t as deep as the kind she’d experienced with her high school boyfriends or her one serious adult relationship. It wasn’t that kind of kiss at all, but it had been more intimate than any of those, even when they’d previously led to sex.
Why had he kissed her? It felt as if he’d genuinely wanted to, but who would want to kiss her now? She was missing an eye and no matter how blinged or blended the eye patch, it was still a freaking pirate patch. Not the mention the scar that ran across her nose, misshaping it along the way, and across her other eyelid, then off her face toward her ear. Add in the stitch scars and Lena felt like a regular Frankenstein.
Her doctors had been so amazed, she’d even been written about in medical papers. They said one millimeter difference in the angle of the rebar and she would’ve lost her life.
Deveroux. Just the thought of the man she just met, pulled her from that dark spiral she headed down every time she relived her accident.