‘Do they know you have this view of them?’ he asked.
She shrugged. ‘They’ve chosen a lifestyle I prefer not to be a part of. It’s that simple.’
‘Ruby...’ he waited until her eyes met his ‘...we both know it’s not that simple.’
Shadows chased across her face and her mouth trembled before she firmed it again. Before he could think twice, he reached out and touched her hand.
She swallowed hard, then pulled her tablet towards her. ‘How many people will I be catering for at your event?’
He told himself he wasn’t disappointed by her withdrawal. ‘Are we back to all business again?’
‘Yes. I think it’s safer, don’t you?’
Narciso couldn’t deny the veracity of that. Dredging up his past was the last thing he’d intended when he’d boarded his plane. And yet, he resented her switch to all-business mode.
‘If you say so,’ he replied. ‘You think you can handle a VIP dinner?’
‘I believe in my talent as much as you believe in your abilities as the Warlock of Wall Street. If I say I’ll rock your socks off, I will.’
A reluctant smile tugged at his lips. ‘A confident woman is such a turn-on.’
She glared at him. ‘If you say so,’ she replied sweetly. ‘Is there a guest of honour that I should pay particular attention to?’
‘Vladimir Rudenko. I’m in the last stages of ironing out a deal with him. He’s the VIP guest.’
She started to make another note when her tablet pinged. He heard her sharp intake of breath before she paled.
‘What is it?’
‘It’s nothing.’
The blatant lie set his teeth on edge. ‘Don’t lie to me.’ He reached for the tablet but she snatched it off the table.
‘It’s a private thing, all right?’
‘A private thing that’s obviously upset you.’ He watched her chest rise and fall in agitation and experienced that disconcerting urge to help again.
‘Yes, but it’s my problem and I’ll deal with it.’
Before he could probe further, she jumped up. ‘You said I could use the bedroom if I wanted. I’ll go finish making my notes now and get some sleep, if that’s okay?’
It wasn’t okay with him. Nothing had been okay since he met Ruby Trevelli. But short of physically restraining her, an action sure to bring brimstone upon his head, he let her go.
‘We won’t be landing for another six hours. I’ll wake you before we do.’
She nodded quickly. ‘Thanks.’
He watched her walk away, her short, tight black dress framing her body so deliciously, his groin hardened. He couldn’t suppress his frustrated growl as the bedroom door shut after her.
The image of her lying in his bed haunted him. But those images were soon replaced by other, more disturbing ones as his thoughts turned to their earlier conversation.
His father.
He shoved a hand through his hair. He’d come so close to revealing the old, bottled-up pain. Hell, he’d even contemplated spilling his guts about Maria.
Maria. The tool his father had used to hammer home how much he detested his son.
His laptop beeped with an incoming message. Casting another glance at the bedroom door, Narciso pursed his lips.
The next six hours would be devoted to clearing his schedule.
Because once they were in Belize, he would devote his time to deciphering the code that was Ruby Trevelli and why she had succeeded in getting under his skin.
SHE WAS WARM. And comfortable. The steady sound drumming in her ears soothed her, made her feel safe from the erratic dreams that still played in her mind.
But she wanted to get warmer still. Wanted to burrow in the solid strength surrounding her.
The heart beating underneath her cheek—
Ruby jerked awake.
‘Easy now, tigress. You’ll do yourself an injury.’
‘What the hell...? What are you doing here?’
‘Sharing the bed. As you can see, once again I managed to restrain myself. And this time we’re both fully clothed. That means I win brownie points.’
‘You win nothing for letting yourself into my bed uninvited.’
‘Technically, this is my bed, Goldilocks. Besides, you were muttering in your sleep and tossing and turning when I looked in on you. I had to make sure you didn’t sleepwalk yourself out of an emergency exit in your agitation.’
Ruby tried to pry herself away from the inviting length of his warm body, but the arm clamped around her waist refused to move. ‘I wasn’t that agitated.’
Silver eyes pinned hers. ‘Yes, you were. Tell me what upset you.’ His voice was cajoling, hypnotic.
She wanted to tell him about the undeniable threat in the email that had made a shaft of ice pierce her nape and shimmer down her spine. The loan shark had stepped up his threat level, implicating her mother.
Ironic that Narciso, the world-famous playboy and media mogul, had no idea who her mother was but some two-bit loan shark who inhabited the dregs of society knew who Paloma Trevelli was enough to threaten to break her legs if Ruby didn’t reply with a timescale of payment.
Her reply had bought her a few more days but there was no way she intended to tell Narciso what was going on.
‘I told you. It’s my business to handle.’
‘Not if it will potentially impede your ability to perform your job.’
‘I can cook blindfolded.’
‘That I would pay good money to see.’ He pulled her closer, wedging his thigh more firmly between hers so she was trapped. Some time during sleep, she’d curled her hand over his chest. Now, firm muscles transmitted heat to her fingers, making them tingle.
Awareness jolted through her when his lips drifted up her cheek to her temple. ‘If we weren’t landing in less than thirty minutes, I’d take this a step further, use other means to find out what’s going on.’
‘You’re operating under the assumption that I would’ve permitted it.’
He
