“Ruby?”
“Huh.” She blinked and glanced up at her paralegal, Angela. “Oh sorry.”
“Your phone’s ringing.”
“Crap.” She glanced at her cell phone on her desk and smiled as she saw who the caller was. She hit the message option saying she couldn’t take the call right now and would call back. But she couldn’t stop the grin on her face.
“Everything okay?” Angela asked.
“Yes, fine.” More than fine. Her pussy clenched, still feeling the aftereffects of Lucian to her insides. She squeezed her thighs together. “Ah, go ahead and go over that brief and check the citations. I will be leaving shortly, and I’ll see you on Monday.”
“Okay, get some rest. I think you’ve been working too hard.”
“I’ll try.” Angela spoke the truth. She had been working hard but her inattentiveness had little to do with that. It was also way out of character for her to be so distracted, but it couldn’t be helped. Lucian had blown her mind last night. And, again this morning.
She’d barely been able to crawl out of bed and then he’d joined her in the shower. That was the memory that had her staring off into space all day, unable to hold any thought other than him and last twelve hours they’d shared together. She shook her head. What did it all mean? Yes, he’d told her he’d missed her, and said he was sorry. Used all the right things to make her heart feel good. Like maybe the boy she’d idolized and crushed on still resided inside the man she found herself intently attracted too. Who was she kidding? She’d had a crush on him as a kid and those feelings hadn’t changed. They’d just matured. And wonder of wonders, he seemed to be feeling the same way.
The thought of seeing him again soon had her smiling. They’d agreed to meet at the yoga studio together to sign up for classes in person instead of calling. She hoped this would work and they’d meet the Beckers. Ruby felt positively if anyone could help them, the owners could. If she and Lucian could get the owners to open up and talk to them, take Lucian on as a student, they’d have some kind of real lead. He’d confided in her he really didn’t know much about his powers; only that he was a Maji. He been too young and stupid to listen to his mother at the time when she wanted to teach him.
He was the key to the getting the couple at the yoga studio to help figure it all out, she felt sure of it. If they were really lucky, they’d point them in the direction of the abductors.
She picked up her cell and returned Lucian’s call.
“Hey, baby, I miss your sweet heat around my cock already.”
She giggled. She never giggled. God, could she even remember the last time she’d felt this way about a man. Never.
“I just saw you a few hours ago.”
“I know. I’ll meet you in front of your building in about an hour then we can head over to the yoga studio.”
“That works.”
“And Ruby, just so we’re clear, afterwards you’re coming back to my place for the weekend.”
“I didn’t agree to that. I’m really busy right now, Lucian. Between Todd’s case and another trial for next week I’ve got to work this weekend.”
“Then bring what you need with you to my place. I’ve got Wi-Fi you can work from there. I’ll even set up space for you in my office. I’ve got work to do myself. My company doesn’t run itself. But I want to spend more time with you, Ruby. I think 15 years apart is enough.”
“And whose fault is that?”
“Mine. And you’re never going to let me forget it. I want to put all this shit behind us and focus on us getting to know each other again. So far, I love what I fucking see. And I’m proud of the woman you’ve become. Not that I had anything to do with it, but I’m still proud of you.”
“I do forgive you. You weren’t that much older than I was. Your mother had just died. I know how that can effect an adult, much less a child.”
“I am sorry about your father. Sorry I believed all the lies. You are special. Always have been, especially to me. I’m glad you came back into my life, Ruby. More than you’ll even know. I won’t screw it up this time. I’ll see you soon.”
Ruby hung up the phone but stopped smiling as she finished working on her arguments to get Todd out of jail. Hopefully this trip to the yoga studio would be helpful and she, with Lucian’s help, would be able to find the real culprit or culprits behind the kidnappings. The investigator she’d hired said the owners seemed clean. The people he’d spoken to who knew them claimed they were just as shaken up about Emma’s disappearance as everyone else. She hoped they could be trusted.
She grabbed her bag and doubled checked her Smith & Wesson 9MM G19. A nice compact pistol, which she was licensed to carry was nestled nicely inside. She knew she’d feel better having that with her, even with Lucian’s crazy powers. However, that was not the only reason she reached for her bag. Something else nestled in there. She reached in and took out the oblong object.
One of Lucian’s cigars. She’d taken it from him this morning. He’d smiled when she’d picked it up after it had fallen out of the jacket he’d tossed on the floor the night before. She took it out now, placed it under her nose and inhaled. Funny, she’d never enjoyed the scent of tobacco before, but it reminded her of him. It always would now, her cigar king.
She returned it to her purse and pulled up the files she needed to make sure she’d saved them to the document folder on her laptop. She’d need them if she was going to stay with Lucian for the weekend. And she would. Were they moving too fast? Perhaps. But after what had happened in her life, the way she lost her father before his time, the way Lucian had lost his mother, life just seemed too short to be ruled by fear. She wanted to explore this connection between them and knew herself to be woman enough not to run from her attraction to him or his to her.
She’d finished packing up her laptop and grabbed her coat when her phone pinged. Glancing over at it, she saw she had a text. “What the hell?”
This was not a number she’d ever think to see show up in her message box again. She’d tossed Wilson Fenmore the fucking III out on his ass a year ago. Wilson was her ex, and an attorney who handled commercial law for big resort developers and made a shit load of money doing it. Too bad he also carried the monikers: cheater, liar and son of a bitch. He’d been screwing his paralegal. She caught them in his conference room one night when she stopped by to surprise him when he had supposedly been working late. He was working alright. Working his tongue on the woman’s clit.
Ruby grabbed her things and stormed out of her office, not even bothering to read his text. She’d do that on Monday. She’d like to block him, but her firm sometimes did business with his. Thankfully, they’d never had to work with each other or see the other. So, hell if she knew what he wanted. If something to do with business, she’d pass it on. Anything else, he knew what he could do with himself. As she stepped off the elevator into the lobby, she saw a familiar face. Crap, maybe she should have checked that text after all.
“What do you want?” she asked Wilson as soon as she got off the elevator, stopping right in front of him since he blocked her way.
“Well, hello to you too, Ruby.” He leaned forward as if to embrace her, but she took a step back. “You’re looking fine, but then you always do.”
“Cut the shit. What do you want?”
“I see you didn’t read my text.”
Ruby pulled out her phone.
It’s been a year. So much has happened. I made a mistake and I’ve paid for it all this time. I miss you. I’m downstairs. I want to take you to lunch. Let’s talk.
She frowned at him. “Hell-to the-no!”
“Now Ruby, don’t be like that.” He raised his hand and took her arm. “I came to take you out to a late lunch. We really do need to talk. I really have missed you.”
“I am not forgiving you. You mean shit to me. And I’d rather have lunch with a crocodile. Wait... I won’t even have lunch with a crocodile, so why would I have lunch with you?”