Ruby's Fantasy (7 page)

‘Come into the club?' She looked at the Pink Pussy Club behind with its glitzy neon sign and gaudy posters of semi-naked women with implants glued onto the blacked out window. Heat flared her cheeks and she was glad she had on a lot of makeup. From the way Abe was gazing at her, he already had stripped her off in his imagination.

‘I don't model the outfits.'

‘This your usual daywear?'

There was something distinctly predatory about Abe Malouf but she wasn't going to heed the warning vibes that resonated through her. Her twin needed her. ‘I'm strictly professional.'

‘I'll clear the bar.'

‘A professional in costume design.' Ruby grit her teeth.

She saw Jake pacing in front of her shop. No wonder his fists were clenched and a deep frown creased his face. He hadn't taken his gaze off her for a second and in a moment he'd be storming over.

‘You can use the poles to demonstrate,' Abe added.

‘No!' She snapped the crop.

Abe raised an eyebrow. ‘You know you could really make some high end money doing that stuff. I have a better idea. There's a big cage hanging from the roof in the bar. You dance, peel off the lingerie and I'll make sure your order book is full.' Sweat made Abe's forehead glisten.

‘Not happening.' Whack! She slapped the riding crop against the wall.

Abe raised his eyebrows.

Somehow she had a feeling that Abe's idea of an order book and her idea of an order book weren't the same thing.

Steely determination drove her to find her sister. ‘Forget the cage. Forget the poles. I want a private room. Women only.'

‘You'll get it,' Abe leered.

Suspicion rippled up her spine and she wasn't fooled. The nightclub owner was so quick in his acquiescence, that she couldn't get rid of the feeling that he'd change the rules in a heartbeat.

‘What time?' she asked.

‘Come at eleven p.m. The club's pumping then. The strippers will be in their change room. You can demonstrate there. Wear that outfit. Dom work is good business now. You're the sexiest woman I've ever seen and a lotta women have passed through my club.'

Ruby pointed the riding crop at his face. ‘Let me spell this out for you. I'm not a stripper. I'm coming to sell lingerie and showgirl outfits. Nothing else.'

Abe's back straightened at her tone but his gaze remained fascinated on her breasts. ‘You're making me hard.'

‘You're making me angry. Hey, I'm up here,' she said, pointing to her eyes.

Abe's head snapped up. His black eyes narrowed. ‘The last woman who was mouthy with me regretted it.'

Ruby stared him down aware of the threat in his tone. She'd take risks for Emerald. ‘Get used to liking lip because that's all you'll be getting. I don't work for you. I'm coming to your club to demonstrate my products. There'll only be women in the room.' Anyone who ran a well-known club like Abe's survived in The Cross by relying on muscle, but she had to be tough, too. She'd faced down bullies before.

‘It's a waste not to share your potential,' he said.

‘Do we have a deal?'

‘You could make good money my way.'

‘I'm promoting my business not my body.'

Abe held out his hand to shake. ‘Pity. I have customers who'd like you.'

‘Tough.' She resisted taking it, but his clammy palm clamped on hers. Her inner voice told her the man was lying to her, yet he was offering her a way in to his club and she had to take it for Emerald's sake. ‘I'll see you tonight,' she said, extracting her hand from his.

Ruby turned and strode towards Jake who looked at her with questions in his eyes. It was about time he learnt she wasn't a needy woman who expected a man to save her at every turn. It wasn't that she was ungrateful. No one had been happier to see him than her when he'd been there last night, but the thought of giving up her independence and relying on a man was not her style. She and Emerald had clung together through their rocky teen years fighting off the drunks when her father was too high to do it and her twin was the only one she trusted. Letting anyone else in would mean having to trust a man.

Jake stood outside the shop, his arms folded in front of him. One of her blonde curls had fallen down and curled enticingly over her ear. Determination to know why she had shaken Abe Malouf's hand made his jaw clench and his hands fist. When she sauntered towards him all attitude and sex, he fought the urge to put her over his knee and spank her until he unlocked her secret.

He'd called her a “girl next door” and here she was dressed in that made-for-sin, black corset with her perfect, firm breasts, clinched in waist and long, long legs. From the way she had taken on a dominatrix persona, the woman should have been an actress.

A rush of lust settled uneasily over his anger. Restraint. He needed it. He strode inside, closed the new security screen door behind him. ‘You realise putting yourself out there like bait is one of the stupidest things you could do? You need to stay off the street.'

Ruby's chin jutted up and her eyes narrowed. ‘My twin is missing. Someone around here must know something. I'm going to find out.'

‘Stay away from Abe. He has no respect for women. The only way he likes to see a woman is naked and subservient.'

‘So what makes him different to you?'

Jake strode over and gripped her shoulders. ‘That's a low blow. The difference is I happen to care about you.'

‘My experience of men is that they all just want to get laid.'

‘Don't you put me in the same box. For Abe you're just another piece of meat to sell. He's nothing like me.' Ruby had a way of shutting down when threatened and he hated it.

Ruby tried to push his arms from her shoulders. ‘Let me go.'

‘No.' He pulled her in close, imprisoning her with his arms and brought his lips down on hers, full of hunger and raw anger at her accusation. She tried to close her lips but he bit on the fleshy curve until she surrendered, though her body remained tense. Blood thumped in his heart and sheer heat and the closeness of her made him hard, but this wasn't about sex for him. She had to know he cared.

His tongue licked her teeth, searching for a way into the intimate recess of her mouth. She tried to bite him but he pulled back.

‘Stop fighting me,' he ordered her.

‘No!'

Her tone was husky and he knew he was breaking down her resistance. Her lips looked red and swollen and he brought his mouth down on hers again. This time she didn't resist. Instead, her tongue teased his, searching and intertwining. Her body moulded to his and she reached behind the back of his neck as she kissed him back.

When he pulled away she was breathing fast. ‘I know you want me, but you need to know what I feel for you is not just about sex. If it were, I'd have taken you last night.'

‘I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said you were like Abe. I'm worried about my sister. It's making me crazy. Look, Jake, I'm not getting mixed up with Abe. I just want information. If I don't put feelers out how am I supposed to find out anything?'

‘You don't go flaunting yourself dressed in next to nothing to a man like that. He'll treat you like a hooker. You stay safe and let me ask around.'

‘I can't just rely on you. This is my twin. She needs me.'

‘Emerald doesn't need you dead. It's time you learnt that I can look after you. We might be minutes away from the centre of Sydney but the law in this place is like the Wild West. No one's ever been able to tame The Cross. The people who stay in business and alive here have cunning like you've never experienced.'

Her hands went to her face. ‘Emerald and I don't spend much time apart and I'm lost without her even if she does wild things that send me nuts.'

‘I've already asked Abe if he knows a man with a spider tattoo on his face. I have a network that stretches through The Cross. You don't need to talk to him.'

‘How do you know it's not Abe who frightened Emerald?'

‘I was watching him when you told him your name was Emerald and I corrected it to Ruby. He didn't seem to click that there are two of you. Didn't seem interested. Besides if you annoy Abe, you'd know about it. He's old school Kings Cross. You irritate him, he'll get one of his bouncers to take care of it.'

‘Nice.'

‘It works for him. He's spent years carving out his territory. Thugs around here understand the power of a fist and if they're stupid enough to show disrespect to Abe, they feel it.'

‘Whatever happened to calling in the cops?' she asked.

‘A lot of cops get kickbacks from the club owners. Keeps them from raiding the clubs too often. That's how it works here and it always has,' Jake said matter-of-factly. ‘So stay out of his way and don't solicit his attention.'

‘Are you always this over protective?'

‘Yes.'

‘But you hardly know me.'

He took her in his arms and pulled her close. ‘So you keep saying, yet your body melds into mine like it's meant to. When I said leave it to me, I meant it.'

‘It's too hard. I'm used to looking after myself,' she said, looking up into his eyes.

‘In this jungle, men have the power. This place runs on corruption and muscle. Women who have protectors stay safe otherwise the predators move in.' He knew what she was going through missing her twin, more than she realised. Raw pain gripped his chest and he blotted out the thought of his younger brother gunned down in front of him. He'd sworn to protect him. Given his word to his parents. He had to make this right for Ruby because he couldn't make it right for his brother. He stared down into her eyes and saw a shimmer of a tear so he brushed it away with his thumb.

‘You're like some superhero who takes over. I'm not used to that.' She gave him a watery smile.

He'd pushed her. Pushed her as hard as he could without alienating her. ‘I've missed things in the past. Made mistakes. I want to make this right for you.' Remmy's face rose in front of his eyes. Blood. Holding his brother's broken body. Trying to stop the bleeding. Impossible. ‘I promise on my life I'll keep you safe.'

‘What is it?' Her hand went to his cheek.

He turned from her, powerless to deal with the grief of his brother. ‘I want to test the equipment I've installed. Go behind the desk. Feel underneath, find the button and push it. The door will unlock. That way no one comes in here unless you want them to.'

‘You tell me to trust you, but you shut me out, too.'

He put his hand up to stop her moving close. Her face was open and gentle but if she gave him sympathy it'd tear him apart. ‘Can't talk. Not now.' Out of the blue, memories of Remmy's death would seize him by the throat.

Her mouth tightened but she didn't press him, instead she did as he asked, pressed the button under the shop counter and the security door clicked open. ‘It works well.'

He glanced up at the camera situated in the corner high up where it couldn't be tampered with. ‘Everything is done. I'll be right next door monitoring your every move. Careful when you bend over in that skirt, Ghost is working with me today.'

‘He doesn't say much, does he?'

‘Ghost?'

‘Yes.'

‘Ghost is a ghost. Knows more about technology than anyone. One of the best undercover operatives too. No one notices him and that's how I like it. Don't be fooled by it, he's deadly when he has to be and he acts fast. Can't speak in front of women though.'

‘He barely said hello to me.'

‘He grunted. That's a good response for Ghost. Don't be offended, that's just how he is.'

‘Fine. I've got all the instructions. No going anywhere without you. No talking to Ghost. You guys coming out of the army are all about rules.' She tapped her fingers on the counter top. ‘I've got a few of my own. I don't like owing money. Write me up the account.'

‘I'll do it later.'

‘Jake!'

Why'd she have to look so hot dressed as a Dom? He swore he'd never been so affected by a woman until he'd met Ruby. When he looked at her, when she demanded something of him, he could forget his grief. He strode over and backed her up against the counter with his body frame. ‘Are you prepared to do anything to extract it out of me?'

‘Are you prepared to bend over?' she asked.

‘Me bend over? Not likely. Keep that sexy act up and I'll have you over the counter.'

Her large blue eyes widened.

‘I have work to get on with. Let's have dinner tonight. I'll fix the account for you then,' he said.

A frown creased her brow and her crystal blue eyes clouded. ‘Dinner will have to be early. I need to catch up on my beauty sleep,' she added, examining her fingernails.

Jake's bullshit detector buzzed and a siren went off in his mind. He knew a lie when he heard one and she was a terrible liar. He hoisted her up off her feet, placed her on the counter and stood between her legs so that his chest pressed against hers. The deep scent of roses and leather made his nostrils twitch and his erection throb. ‘I want to spend the night with you. I have to keep you safe.'

She blinked. ‘Not tonight.'

‘And why is that?' he asked.

She slapped her hands on his chest. ‘I'm not accountable to you. Just because you spent one night playing protector doesn't mean you have rights over my body.'

‘How about we get to the truth? Are you doing something tonight you don't want me to know about?' he asked.

‘How about you put me down?' Her hand reached for her riding crop.

‘Use that thing on me and I'll put you over my knee and spank you. I don't care who walks into the shop.'

‘You wouldn't.'

‘Try me.'

He slapped his hand on hers and she released the crop. He picked her hand up and forced it up to his lips, kissing her palm, the inside of her wrist and up her arm.