Chapter 9
9
H ow could a week of work feel like a month?
It could when you had to go through every single report and piece of evidence in a half dozen cases and basically idiot proof them.
She wasn't even a lawyer, but somehow it had fallen to her to 'fix.'
Aubree sat back against the cushions of her couch and groaned.
"So sore..."
Thank goodness she had another day before she was going to see Ruben. She just wanted a little bit of time to work out the pain in her back. Being at The Refuge, she'd had access to the pool every day, but since she'd been back home and, on the job, in her limited capacity, that hadn't been available to her.
Her phone rang and without turning, she reached out a hand and picked it up from the cushion beside her.
Aubree brought it up so she could see the screen.
RUBEN
She touched the screen to accept the call and sank further into the cushions behind her.
"Hey."
"Hello, there."
She loved the sound of his voice.
It wasn't nearly as amazing and rumbling as it was in person, but it was better than nothing.
"What are you up to?"
She lifted the phone closer so she could hear him better, but there was a curious silence from his end.
Worried that she'd lost the call, she looked down at the screen and saw his name still displayed across the screen. "Ruben?"
"Yeah, I'm here. I was just wondering if you were talking to someone else."
Aubree frowned and rubbed at her forehead with her fingers. "I feel like I'm missing something."
"Like our date tonight?"
"Our date?" Aubree looked up at the clock on the wall and then shook her head. The clock would only tell her the time. "It's Saturday?"
Another silent pause came from the phone before she heard him reply softly. "Yes?"
"You sound as sure as I am." She groaned. "I swear it's still Friday. I got home and I've been going over my paperwork and... Wow. I must sound like a total loon."
"No," he chuckled on the other end of the call. "I know what it's like to be tired and days start to blend together."
"I'm sorry. I'm a mess."
"So," she heard him hesitate, "are we not seeing each other tonight?"
"I'm gross!" She winced. "I'm not fit for company."
"You're gorgeous."
"And you're too nice."
"Aubree, if you'd rather do this another day, I'm okay with that."
She opened her mouth to say something. What? She didn't know.
"If you don't want to see me at all, that's... that's okay, too. I'm not going to push."
"No, I do." She groaned, hating that she'd make a mess of things. "I'm just a mess. And exhausted to boot. I don't think I'd be able to stay awake much longer. I thought it was almost going to be time to crawl into bed. On Friday!"
She drew her legs up onto the couch and dropped her forehead onto the heel of one hand. "I’m messing this up. I'm so sorry, Ruben."
"Hey, don't apologize, Aubree. I'm not going to pressure you to do anything."
Tears blurred her vision. "I've been working all week on these cases, and I thought I could get it all done before I fell asleep on Friday. Which apparently was last night. You really should find someone who isn't... what does Pablo call it? A Hot Mess."
"Are you hungry?"
As if on cue, her stomach growled like a snarling cat.
"That's not fair." Aubree grumbled at him. "I think I'm always hungry."
"So that's a yes?"
She chuckled a little. "Yes. I'm hungry, but-"
"Why don't you let me bring you by something to eat and we'll reschedule if that's something you want to do."
"I don't want to disappoint you." She bit into her lip worrying that he'd take one look at her and go running for the hills. "I'm a mess and I think I've been up longer than twenty-four hours."
"Do you have something you can eat, Aubree?"
She looked up at the half kitchen in her studio apartment and tried to remember what she had in her refrigerator or in her measly pantry. Aubree wanted to get up and check, but her back was aching. Searching her memory she couldn't remember the last time she'd gotten supplies. Her mother had offered to go shopping for her, but Aubree, determined to be a grown woman had told her she didn't need the help.
Great Expectations? No, she'd had the Best Intentions and messed it up.
"No." Oh God she hated to say that out loud, but what else could she say. "I'm a mess."
"So can I bring over something for dinner?"
Her stomach growled again. "Please?"
"What do you want?"
"I'll let you choose," she felt her cheeks heat up. "I feel like I'm ruining your night."
"Not at all, Aubree. I just want to spend some time with you. If it's just having a meal, I'm happy with that."
"Do you have any allergies? Or foods you can't stand?"
Aubree shook her head and smiled when she realized he couldn't see her gesture. "I haven't met a food I don't like yet. I'm pretty sure that comes along with the badge. I can eat anything you want to pick up."
"You're making this pretty easy on me."
"You mean, I've made a mess of this. I'm just happy you haven't washed your hands of me just yet."
"You'll see how determined I am, Aubree, but seriously. If you're exhausted tonight. That's fine. I'll bring over some food and when you're done eating, I'll head out. It'll be nice to see you again."
"Do you need my address?"
She swore she could hear him smiling in the silence from his end of the call.
"You gave it to me before you left The Refuge."
The memory flooded back, and she sighed at herself. "I think my memory is getting worse, not better."
"Don't be so hard on yourself," he insisted. "You've been back to work for a week. You've got to give yourself some time to get back into the structure of your day. And the hours. I bet they've got you loaded down with casework."
"How..." She smiled at his words. "You're just reading my mind now?"
"Not reading your mind, but I remember when I was healing up from my back injury, they brought me all kinds of work to make me feel like I had a purpose. With me it was just a shit ton of forms. You've got case files you're working on. Find a good place to stop and I'll be there in... about twenty minutes."
"Twenty?" She frowned at the thought. "That's really quick."
"Well, I had a feeling you might want to stay in tonight. So I ordered the food right before I called."
Smiling to herself, she sighed and stretched out her legs. "Let me guess. You were a Boy Scout, weren't you?"
He laughed and she smiled right along with him.
"An Eagle Scout, actually." Ruben's laughter slowed. "I can't wait to see you. Bye."
The phone call ended, and Aubree reached for the stack of papers for the last case file, wondering what she could get done before Ruben arrived.
Shaking her head, she decided to change her plans.
Putting her hand on the armrest of the couch, she got up on her feet, happy that her back wasn't hurting all that much. A quick stretch was all she needed before heading into the bathroom.
Stepping into the shower, she turned the water on and made it as hot as she could stand it.
She was going to take a shower and put on some clothes and maybe even run a brush through her hair.
She might have ruined a chance for a romantic date, but she was going to make an effort because she wanted Ruben to know that she cared.
When he got to the door, Ruben was about to reach for his phone when he realized he was holding the drink carrier with one hand and the food bag with the other. Turning his body to the side, he bumped his elbow against the door. "Yeah," he grumbled at himself, "bang on the door like an idiot."
He waited for response, hoping that she hadn't changed her mind about letting him in.
While he stood there, trying not to second guess the order he'd made, he remembered an old song that his grandparents used to listen to when he was a little kid. The chorus was kind of simple with his grandfather or grandmother taking the first part and the other echoing back.
So he stood outside the door, humming to himself rocking from one foot to the other as the lyrics played in his head.
"Young love... Mmmmhmmm… First love... Hmmmhmmm... Filled with-"
"Dinner and a show?"
He almost choked on the next lyrics, turning around to face the door.
Aubree was standing just inside with one hand on the door and the other on the frame. "I like this."
Ruben tried to hide a smile, but it didn't work. "I was just thinking about a song my grandparents used to listen to. They'd dance around in the kitchen and sing with each other."
"They sounded like they were a lot of fun." She stepped back and gestured for him to follow her in. "I bet you loved spending time with them."
"I did." He stepped inside and she held out her hands to help. "I've got this," he gave her a wink. "Where should I put it?"
She turned and gestured to the couch and table near her half-kitchen. "I cleared some space and took a shower."
He leaned in and while he was initially confused, he held his lips less than an inch away from hers for a moment. She smiled and leaned in, pressing her lips against his.
She leaned into it and the kiss lasted a little longer than he'd intended but he wasn't going to argue.
When she leaned back, she gave him a cheeky grin. "It was worth dragging myself into the shower to get a kiss like that."
He gave her a half shrug as he moved to the table. "I hate to break it to you, Aubree, but shower or not I was going to try for a kiss."
"Well," she brought out some plates and utensils from the cabinet, "I'm glad I showered because I wanted that kiss, too."
He let out a breath. "Careful what you say, Aubree. Words like that are going to make me want to let dinner cool first."
Her smile told him she might not be too upset by that.
“But,” he leaned in for another peck of a kiss, “you’ve got to be starving.” He untied the handles at the top of the bag and opened it up on the table. "Let's feed you first."
Aubree leaned in and breathed in the scents from the containers. "Oh, wow... That smells amazing."
Later, when they'd sampled all of the dishes he'd brought with him, Aubree leaned back against the couch cushions and looked over at him with a satisfied smile on her face.
"You know how they say the way to a man's heart is through his stomach?"
Ruben looked up at her with the last bit of his sandwich halfway to his mouth. "As a guy, I'd say they were right."
Aubree lifted a pickle that she'd peeled out of her sub sandwich and dangled it over her mouth. "It works for me, too." She dropped it into her mouth and chewed like she was in heaven. When she was finished, she looked at him and he saw the spark of humor in her gaze. "You feed me, and I might have to keep you around."
He'd wiped his hands on his napkin while she was dangling the pickle over her mouth, and he reached out to get a hold of her hips.
A moment later, he had her in his lap.
"I'm happy to feed you whenever you're hungry," he smiled at her.
Aubree rubbed her hand over her belly. "I'm stuffed right now," she sighed.
He shrugged. "Give it a little while. If you're hungry later, I could go get you something."
She yawned and groaned halfway through it. "Oh..." She covered her mouth with her hands and grumbled. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to-"
He reached out a hand and combed his fingers through her hair, watching the change in her expression. "I've been waiting to do that since the day we met."
"You have?"
He grinned at her. "Absolutely. You have amazing hair."
"It tangles up like crazy."
"I'll help you brush it if you want."
"You?" She reached out her hands and touched his chest. He could feel her fingers moving over the planes of his body and it made him feel like a live wire. It made him want.
Want to feel.
Want to touch.
Want to love.
Aubree looked at him as if she was discovering something sweet. "I'd let you comb my hair. It's something I love to have someone else to do. When I was waiting for the surgery to fix my back injuries, I'd go to a hairdresser just to have someone wash and comb my hair. I'd never known how many back muscles it takes to do either and when I tried to do it for myself, it hurt like crazy."
"Well, I'll do it just for fun. Just let me know when you want me to do it."
She cuddled up against his chest and leaned into his embrace. "There's a whole lot of things I want you to do with me."
The sound of her voice, the gentle heat of her gaze and the way her hand moved over his chest, all seemed like they were done to drive him insane with arousal. But he could feel the honest hunger in her touch, too.
"Aubree, honey?"
She didn't lift her gaze from his chest. She worked her fingers down over his t-shirt and under the hem of it. "Mmm hmm?"
"You know I'm not expecting anything, right?"
Smiling at him, she looked up into his eyes. "I know you don't, but that doesn't mean that I don't want to do them."
He heard her words, and his brain was working to understand them, but he was also dealing with the lack of blood and oxygen getting up into his brain.
"Do you," she put her palm against his belly and skimmed her skin over his, "want to do them?"
He bit down hard on the inside of his cheek, trying to keep his need under control.
"I would love to do them," he was struggling to keep the blood rushing through his ears at a dull roar, "but I don't want you to think that's the only reason why I'm here."
"I know that." She leaned in against his chest, her head on his shoulder. "It's part of the reason why I feel like I'm falling for you."
Ruben didn't know what to say to that.
He looked down at Aubree and saw the way that her eyes were drifting closed.
"You're falling for me?"
Aubree's hand moved up and settled on his chest, her fingertips stroking his skin. "Mmmhmm."
She shifted again and her hip rolled against his erection.
Torture.
Of the best kind.
He waited until she fell asleep and then he shifted them both, so they were both comfortable. It took him over an hour to fall asleep after her.
He spent his time combing his fingers through her hair and trailing his fingers up and down her back.
It was odd. Feeling her raised scars through the soft fabric of her shirt was almost like feeling his own scars along his spine.
They'd both suffered in different ways, but they'd suffered and come back from that pain.
Ruben looked over at the piles of paper and the folders where she kept her case information. He knew that she was still forging her way back from her pain and her fears, but she'd made great strides. And he knew that she wasn't going to stop until she was healed again.
He just wondered if remaining a law enforcement officer was going to be in the cards. She had the dedication to do it, but he had a feeling that the job wasn't going to make it easy for her.
But he knew that no matter what the job had in store for her, he wanted to be there beside her and help however he could.
She might be walking better on her feet, but he'd be there for her to lean on when she needed it.
Aubree shifted against him and half-roused herself. "Ruben?"
He combed her hair back from her face, loving the feel of her thick wavy hair against her fingers. "Yeah?"
"You stayed?"
She sounded a little confused.
"Yeah, I stayed." He could have said that he stayed so she wouldn't roll off of the chair. He could have said a lot of things, but he didn't want to give her excuses, just the truth. "I wasn't ready to let you go."
She opened her eyes just the littlest bit, peering up at him in the dark of the room. "Ruben?"
"Hmmm?" He felt her hand move up and down his side, likely seeking his warmth.
He reached above his head and drew down the blanket from the back of the couch. He tucked it around her, and she sighed, her arm wrapped around his chest.
She hummed softly. "Mmm glad you stayed."
"Me, too."
He felt it when she fell back asleep. The subtle tension in her arm eased and her shoulders relaxed.
Ruben looked down into her face and smiled. Awake or asleep, she was insanely beautiful.
He couldn't believe that he was there beside her.
"I dreamed of this someday," he spoke softly as he trailed the backs of his fingers against her cheek. "Having someone sleeping beside me. But nowhere in my dream did I ever imagine the peace that I feel when I'm touching you."