Total pages in book: 107
Estimated words: 102071 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 510(@200wpm)___ 408(@250wpm)___ 340(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 102071 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 510(@200wpm)___ 408(@250wpm)___ 340(@300wpm)
Time to talk to her about the harder stuff. If not, this would be Rosalinda and the Medici job all over again.
That conversation would start like this…
“Just look,” I said, gesturing to the vast sea.
She gazed toward the water. “It’s gorgeous.”
“It is. And I’m showing you to make a point.”
“Okay?” She parked her hands on the railing.
I turned to her and met her eyes, fueled by remnants of frustration or hurt, but also by this new, powerful desire for her to know me. “Yes. I’m showing you this because it’s beautiful. Because you love the water. Because you are an outdoor girl through and through. Because I know these things about you.” I took her hands and clasped them in mine, squeezing. “I know already that the water calms you. I know the sunshine is like some kind of magic to you. And I know you love your mother with a fierceness that can move mountains. You’re like this warrior princess who’d go to battle for her, and even though I’ve never met her, I can picture her. I imagine she is the gentlest, kindest person in the world who wouldn’t hurt a fly, and you fight for her. Not because she’s the kind of woman who won’t fight for herself, but rather because she chooses not to. Am I right?”
Ruby swallowed down obvious emotion as she answered, “Yes. You’re right.” Her voice was soft. A warm breeze blew by, stirring up the ends of her pretty blonde hair. The moment was becoming romantic, fast.
As the waves lapped the shore in the distance, and boaters skipped over the blue waters, I clasped her hands tighter. “But what do you know about me?”
She parted her lips but didn’t speak.
“Ruby,” I said, fixing her with a sharp gaze, and then asked again, needing to set her straight, desperate to avoid another on-the-job mistake. “What do you know about me?”
“That you like ice cream?” She said it like a question.
I smiled but only briefly. “That’s a good start. What else?”
“That you like sweet things,” she said, squinting as the sun shone brightly overhead.
“Keep going.”
“That you’re motivated by your family.”
“Good. And?”
“And you hate it when bastards get away with anything.”
I tapped my finger to my nose. Bingo. “Know what else?”
“What?”
A knot of discomfort clogged my throat. But I pushed past it, speaking plainly, honestly. “I once dated a woman who nearly cost me a job. She tried to steal the artifact we’d teamed up to find.” The memory of how foolish I’d felt when Rosalinda stole it from under my nose haunted me. “I’d trusted her. I’d thought she cared about me. She’d only cared about the prize.”
Ruby’s eyes swam with sympathy. “I don’t even want the prize for me,” she said, raising her chin, meeting my gaze. “I’m after Eli to do right by my mom. To do what’s fair.”
“But it seemed this morning that you were playing me.” My tone turned rougher. “That when you saw me at the café, you were all sexy-snuggly because you thought I’d run. And outside the gallery, you were pretending to get cozy when you put your hands in my shorts, but you were only searching for stones even after I told you there weren’t any.”
“I was,” she said, dipping her face.
Nope. She needed to look me in the eyes. I let go of her hands, tucked a finger under her chin and raised her face. “Don’t fuck with my feelings. You know I want you. You know I like you. Just don’t fuck with me,” I said, as clear as if I were giving an order to my troops.
“I’m not. I won’t. I’m sorry.” Her tone was full of contrition.
That knot unwound. “So tell me the truth. Do I seem like the type of guy who’d screw you over?”
She sighed but smiled softly. “No. You don’t seem like that kind of guy.”
I brushed the back of my fingers against her cheek. Her skin was soft, and she smelled so good, like coconuts and the beach. “You tell me what kind of guy you think I am.”
She leaned into my hand. “A good guy,” she whispered, her voice breathy while her eyes never strayed from mine.
I was glad she’d said it. That I hadn’t put those words in her mouth. “A really good one,” she added, angling her hips, her body seeking out contact. I tugged her against me so the only thing she felt was how damn ready for her I was.
She drove me wild. She was a pistol, a fiery, sexy, determined, tenacious woman who made me crazy, and who I wanted fiercely at the same damn time. I backed her up against the railing, pressing my hard-on against her and caging her in with my arms. “Are you sure about the man in front of you?”