be right up.’
There was nothing in his tone to suggest that this was going to be anything more than a courtesy call, but Holly’s heart turned over at the sound of a knock on the door. ‘Well?’ Ruiz demanded, walking in.
Her brain seized up. Right now she just wanted to look at him. There’d been a Ruiz-drought in her life and now she just wanted to drink him in. Big, refreshing gulps! Propping one lean thigh against the desk, he stared down at her, frowning. ‘I hope you haven’t brought me up here for nothing?’
‘No …’ Her senses were full of him. She loved it when he glowered, and Ruiz was close enough for her to feel the warmth of his body and smell the soap he’d used in the shower.
‘Why aren’t you working?’ he asked, straightening up.
‘I am,’ she protested.
‘Well, work faster,’ Ruiz prompted, ‘and remember that when you leave this room your work stays here. Agreed?’
She loved it when his lips firmed. ‘Agreed,’ she said faintly.
‘Louder, Holly.’
‘Agreed.’
‘That’s better,’ Ruiz murmured. ‘Now come here. We haven’t said hello to each other properly yet.’
She stood. Taking a couple of small, prudent paces forward, she stretched out her hand to shake his.
Ruiz took hold of her and dragged her close. ‘Hello, Holly,’ he murmured, laughing down into her eyes.
She stared into the dark, amused eyes, and then at the firm, sexy mouth only a whisper from hers. ‘I thought you said this room was to work in,’ she protested without much force.
‘It is,’ Ruiz agreed. ‘Here’s your next headline.’
His kiss took her breath away. It was both fierce and tender. Two dams had burst at once, she thought as Ruiz swung her into his arms. ‘You can’t do this in the office.’
Shh you crazy woman, and savour the moment!
‘I can do anything I want, anywhere I want,’ Ruiz assured her. ‘Just so long as you want it too …’
‘All I want is you,’ she said softly, opening her heart when caution couldn’t save it.
‘If you’re sure?’ He held her above the sofa. ‘I can always leave you here to work.’
‘You dare,’ she said, feeling excitement spring inside her. ‘And you know what they say about too much work.’
‘I know what I say,’ Ruiz commented under his breath.
‘Where are we going?’ she said as he carried her towards the door.
‘To bed,’ Ruiz said bluntly. ‘This might take some time and I’m not confident the sofa springs will hold up.’
She could hardly breathe for anticipation as he strode down the landing with her in his arms. Opening a door at the end, he walked into a spacious room and kicked the door shut behind them. He carried her straight over to the bed and she barely had time to register that this was a very different room again: elegantly furnished in the Italian style rather than in the heavy traditional manner of the rest of the house. ‘I like a man who knows what he wants.’
‘And a woman who knows how to give it to him.’
She wouldn’t argue with that, Holly thought as her breathing quickened. Ruiz’s bed was big and firm, and had been recently dressed in crisp white linen. She was sure she could smell sunshine coming off the sheets. Lowering her onto the bed, he joined her and then, cupping her face, he kissed her. ‘You’re in a rush,’ she said, fighting to catch her breath when he released her.
‘Would you have me any other way?’
‘Absolutely not,’ she admitted. And then, because she was a glutton for punishment, she added, ‘How about me?’
‘Stop hiding behind the column,’ Ruiz said frankly.
‘And live a little?’ Holly suggested.
‘No.’ He paused. ‘Live a lot.’
Her body responded urgently as Ruiz kissed her again. She loved the feel of his arms around her and the touch of him beneath her hands. She loved the taste of him and the smell of him, warm, clean and musky with rampant maleness. ‘I’m so glad you invited me.’
‘Don’t play prim with me.’ His lips tugged in a grin. ‘I know what you want.’
‘Seriously, Ruiz.’
‘Seriously?’ he queried, stopping her with a kiss. ‘I know what you want. And you should know by now that I’ll call you any way I have to, as loudly as I have to, from as far away as I must.’
She wasn’t used to this feeling, this safe, sure, happy feeling. Maybe Ruiz was right and this was living. It was certainly risking everything for one man. And it was better this way. She stared into the dark amused eyes and knew then that for her this was the only way.
‘Now stop trying to kid yourself and me,’ Ruiz told her in a husky voice. ‘We both know you’re a very bad girl. So, what’s holding you back, Holly?’
‘Nothing,’ she said, moving down the bed.
She took her time tracing the lines of Ruiz’s muscular thighs. Then, pulling up his top, she traced the band of muscles across his belly. As her fingers trailed lower she had the satisfaction of hearing him suck in a fast breath. ‘Was the belt really necessary,’ she murmured. Cupping the arrogant swell of Ruiz’s erection over the fabric of his jeans, she directed a teasing stare into his face. ‘Is all this for me? You shouldn’t have.’
Holly gasped out as Ruiz swung her underneath him. ‘But I have and I will,’ he promised as he began unbuttoning her shirt. ‘And if you can’t give me a very good reason for keeping me waiting for this, I shall just have to pleasure it out of you.’
‘Oh, no. Please don’t do that,’ she murmured, watching as Ruiz reached back to tug his top over his head. Tracing the formidable muscles on his chest, she turned her attention to his jeans. ‘You are massively overdressed,’ she complained, wrestling them off him. And massively erect, she discovered with excitement.
‘And you are as forward as I remember.’ Ruiz paid her back by whipping her top off and tossing it away.
‘Lie on that bed, Señor,’ she warned, stripping down to bra and pants. ‘There is some unfinished business requiring my immediate attention, and it cannot wait.’
‘Go easy, señorita,’ Ruiz growled. ‘I’ve been waiting a long time for this.’
‘Are you saying the renowned playboy has lost his self-control?’ she taunted, kneeling over him.
‘I’m saying that with you it might be impossible to hold on.’
‘Don’t
