‘Good, because I don’t think I can move right now.’
Ruby stroked her hands over the taut muscles of his back and broad shoulders, a smile curving her mouth. ‘Nice to know I have that effect on you, since you do the same to me.’
There was a peaceful silence.
Lucas finally propped himself up on one elbow, his free hand lazily stroking the curve of her cheek, his expression suddenly serious. ‘I wish I could see you more clearly.’
There was a note of wistfulness in his tone that plucked at her heartstrings.
‘I can tell when you’re smiling, but that’s about all.’
Ruby brushed his lower lip with her index finger. ‘I have more freckles since we got back from Greece.’
‘Where?’
‘On my nose.’
He bent down and kissed the bridge of her nose. ‘I’ve always found your freckles kind of cute.’
He placed another kiss at the corner of her mouth, setting every nerve on high alert.
‘In fact, there’s not a part of you I don’t find irresistibly attractive.’
And his mouth came down to cover hers again.
During the early hours of the morning, Lucas woke from a deep and restful sleep to find Ruby nestled against him, fast asleep. He ran an idle hand up and down the silky skin of her arm, breathing in the honeysuckle scent of her body, feeling her fragrant hair tickling his nostrils where her head was tucked below his chin. He never failed to marvel at the texture of her skin, the sweet taste of her lips, the sensual warmth of her body. He couldn’t get over the way she responded to him with such enthusiasm and delight. His desire for her hadn’t abated at all—it had become more fervent.
He began to drift back to sleep, but then a worry began to nibble at the wainscoting of his mind...
He had done something he had never done before. He had extended a fling with a lover. Not only extended it, but left it open-ended. Before now, even if he hadn’t actually told a lover their end date, he had always had one sketched in his mind. But with Ruby it was as if his playboy rulebook had been torn up. He had ignored his own rules, put them to one side, in order to indulge in a fling that wasn’t like any other fling he’d had before.
Was it because she wasn’t a stranger he had met in a bar? She wasn’t a casual lover—someone who wanted a good time not a long time? Ruby was after the damn fairy tale, and yet he was drawn to her by an irresistible force he couldn’t explain, let alone control. Was it because he already had a relationship with her? One that went back years? Was that what was making it so freaking hard to define a timeline? Or was it the mind-blowing sex between them that kept getting better and better?
He couldn’t remember having a partner who was so in tune with him physically. He was no stranger to good sex—great sex, even. But with Ruby it was on a whole new level. Was it because he couldn’t see her but only feel her? Because he could only taste and smell and touch her? Had his other senses intensified the experience, making him wonder if making love with anyone else was going to be as good, regardless of whether he got his sight back?
Ruby murmured something and nestled closer. He felt something in his chest flare open, and a sensation of warmth seeped into all the cold corners of his guarded heart.
Careful, buddy, don’t let things get too serious. Don’t get too close. A fling is a fling, no matter how long or short it is. Stay in control.
Lucas dismissed the warning of his conscience. Of course he was still in control. He wasn’t going to let things get out of hand just because he had extended the timeframe on his relationship with Ruby. He might be enjoying the explosive chemistry between them, but that didn’t mean he was losing control of his emotions.
Heneverlost control of his emotions.
Falling in love was something that happened to other people, not him. He had a line drawn in his mind and nothing and no one was going to make him step over it. Ruby might be refreshing and endearing and super-sexy, but he wasn’t going to suddenly morph into a knight in shining armour.
Not now. Not ever.
Not possible.
CHAPTER NINE
RUBYWELCOMEDHERbest friends and business partners to Rothwell Park the following day, along with her catering team. Once her team were busy setting up in the kitchen she met with Aerin and Harper in the less formal of the three sitting rooms, for a quick catch-up over drinks and nibbles.
‘These look scrumptious,’ Harper said, reaching for one of the savoury tartlets Ruby had prepared earlier. ‘There goes my diet. I’m so hungry I could eat a horse and chase the rider—and maybe the saddle and bridle wouldn’t be safe from me either.’
‘You don’t need to diet,’ Aerin said with a tinkling bell laugh. ‘I think you look amazing right now. Your skin is glowing and your hair is so shiny. Have you had a treatment?’
‘Yes, I was thinking so too,’ Ruby said. ‘I don’t think I’ve seen you look better.’