Chapter 24
CHAPTER 24
BECKETT
G etting Ruby off his mind during the day was becoming a bit of a problem. No matter where he was, what he was doing, she was just… there. Hovering at the back of his consciousness with that mischievous little smile.
She was with him through his morning meetings. Through his sit-down with Jonas to go over The Dragon’s end-of-year numbers to ensure there was nothing in there that would upset her, although there was always something she found to pick on.
And now, when he should be going through the pile of emails Sonja had screened for him, instead he found himself staring out a window, thinking about Ruby. About seeing her again. Taking her somewhere expensive for dinner where he could spoil her a bit.
Would she enjoy being spoiled? After her reaction to the tip he’d left, he wasn’t sure.
Maybe somewhere nice, but not too nice, then. Somewhere she would feel comfortable. Somewhere she could relax.
As he was mulling over his options, his phone buzzed on his desk, distracting him from Ruby for the time being. His interest piqued when he saw the name on the screen and he hit the button to answer the call. “Holden. To what do I owe the pleasure?”
“I’m calling to hold up my end of the bargain.” Holden’s tone was undeniably smug. “I have no idea what you did last night, but Frankie was actually halfway cordial with me at the club.”
“Really?”
“Yup. So whatever’s going down with you and Ruby, it’s working. I called Preston this morning and you have a face-to-face meeting with him next Monday at 8 pm. Dinner at The Magnolia Parlor. I didn’t think you’d mind me scheduling on your behalf.”
Excitement pounding through his veins, it was all Beckett could do to keep himself from jumping up from his chair and fist-pumping the air Breakfast Club style. “I’ll make it work. I owe you big time for this, man.”
“Don’t worry about it. Even if Frankie hadn’t come around, I would have done it for you. What are friends for?”
“Thanks. Seriously. When we have Preston Kingsley all wrapped up in a shiny red bow, I am buying you the biggest, most expensive bottle of whiskey I can get my hands on, legally or not.”
Holden’s laughter roared through the speaker. “I bet Killian could lend you a hand either way.”
“Probably. I need to get going, but again, thanks.”
“Don’t mention it. See you round.”
They ended the call and Beckett gave into the fist-pump urge.
It was going to be a great fucking day.
Ruby
Beckett
Still on for dinner at 7?
Butterflies dancing in her stomach like a middle-school girl with a crush, Ruby grinned down at her phone as she typed out a response to Beckett.
Ruby
Yup. Where are we going? Do I need to dress fancy?
Nope. There’s a place about 30 minutes from here that makes a fantastic burger. Are you good with me driving that far or would you rather meet me?
God, she loved that he thought to ask. A lot of so-called Doms in her experience would have expected her to simply fall in line with whatever they decreed. Which was why none of those Doms had lasted more than a scene or two with her before running for the hills.
I’m good with playing passenger princess.
Perfect. I’ll pick you up at your place at seven, as planned.
Sounds good.
The sound of someone clearing their throat jerked her attention up from her phone, and heat infused her cheeks at the sight of Nancy, the co-worker who had been assigned to train her for her new assignment, staring down at her with a stony expression. “Phones aren’t allowed at your desk, Ruby.”
“Really?” That was news to her, though it probably shouldn’t surprise her. It wasn’t like she got to spend all day at the coffee shop on her phone, either. “Sorry, I didn’t realize.”
“Uh-huh. Are you ready to get back to work or do you need to text your boyfriend back?”
He’s not my boyfriend. The denial sat heavy on her tongue, but she held it back and offered up a sugary-sweet smile instead. “Nope, he can wait. What’s next on the list?”
Four hours later, she was finally on her way home, with her head so stuffed full of brand-new knowledge she thought it might burst. She downed a couple Tylenol and a bottle of water before heading to her bedroom to stand in front of her closet.
Beckett had said burgers, and he’d specifically told her not to dress fancy.
But what if his definition of fancy and hers differed like a lot ? Jeans and a cute top would work for most burger places she knew of, but he said they were heading out of town. Thirty minutes out of town.
What the hell was thirty minutes outside of Charleston?
The internet was of no help in that regard since she had no idea which direction they would be going for that thirty minutes.
In the end, she settled for swapping out her top for a sweater in a deep cobalt blue that never failed to give her a bit of an ego boost. Plus it was soft enough she could almost imagine it was cashmere, which was one of the few luxuries she missed from her old life.
She added a pair of sapphire drop earrings that had been a Christmas splurge for herself with the generous bonus Braden had gifted her before the holidays. The more logical, realistic side of her had cried a bit when she’d swiped her debit card, insisting that money would be of better use in her meager savings account, just in case. But the part of her that had always had a weakness for shiny things had been positively gleeful over them for days.
And honestly, what was the point of living a life on her own terms if she didn’t get to enjoy it every now and again?
The buzzer for her front door sounded just as she was spritzing herself with the perfume Tara had given her for Christmas—another gift she hadn’t been expecting, and one she’d had to fight back tears over when she’d opened it.
A quick check of her phone told her she still had a good ten minutes before Beckett was supposed to show up, and she rolled her eyes as she hurried over to hit the button to unlock the front door. “Come on up, I’m still getting ready.”
Keeping an ear out for his knock, she headed back to her bathroom to do… something with her hair, she wasn’t exactly sure what. Obviously she didn’t have time to straighten or curl it, since Beckett was already here.
Which meant pulling it up again somehow, and since they were just going for burgers, she’d had to settle for brushing it out and putting it back up in a ponytail.
She was so caught up in getting the bumps out, she completely forgot she was supposed to be listening out for Beckett. Until a dark shadow fell over her bathroom, sending her heart rate through the roof as she spun around to face the intruder.
Her very handsome, very annoyed-looking intruder.
Shit.
“What the hell are you doing in here?” she snapped, drawing her own annoyance around her like a cloak to protect against all the Daddy vibes being sent her way. “Don’t you know how to knock?”
Arms crossed, one eyebrow raised in a look that nearly had her whimpering, Beckett leaned against the doorframe. “I did. You didn’t answer. So I tried the door. Imagine my surprise when I found it completely unlocked.”
Double shit. “Umm…”
“You are very, very lucky this falls outside our previous negotiations, little girl. Otherwise you would be making the drive to Lost River on a very sore, very hot bottom.”
Guilt crept up her spine, coiling around her stomach as she dropped her gaze to the floor. “I didn’t know it was unlocked,” she mumbled.
“That’s marginally better than leaving it open on purpose, I suppose. But I’ll admit my palm is still itching to spank some sense into you, Ruby Red.”
Blurring the lines. She knew damn well letting him punish her for something that happened outside of the club was blurring the lines, more than was healthy or wise for either of them.
But the submissive in her, the part that was desperate to please, to be told she was a good girl, wanted the punishment. Craved the cleansing it would bring, even if it opened the door to something potentially disastrous.
No. There’s a reason we put those boundaries in place.
Silently lecturing herself, she forced her gaze back up to his. And saw the twin to her own need reflected in his dark eyes. As much as she might want to be cleansed, it was clear he wanted to be the one to give her that cleansing.
And because that need was so strong in both of them, she forced herself to nod. “It won’t happen again. Promise.”
Silence stretched between them, thick with unfulfilled promises. “All right. But if you keep putting your health and safety at risk like this, Ruby, we’re going to have to renegotiate.”
That was the last thing she wanted, even if some part of her was screaming for her to do exactly that. “Noted.”
His smile flashed, quick and boyish, and it was such a complete one-eighty from the stern expression he’d had a moment ago it nearly made her head spin. “I have a present for you.”
Just as it had when he’d scared the shit out of her when he’d first appeared in her doorway, her heart went off to the races. “I don’t need presents, Beckett.”
“Presents aren’t about need, they’re about want. And besides, it’s really more of a present for myself, anyway.”
Consider her interest piqued. “What kind of present?”
His smile deepened into something wicked. “The kind that keeps your mind on me and what I’m going to do to you when I finally get you back in my bed tonight.”
There were those butterflies again, going wild in her stomach. “Oh?”
“Mmhmm. Put your hands on the sink, please.”
Everything in her wanted to obey. Everything except that one little voice in the back of her head, screaming that they were crossing a line they couldn’t uncross. “We aren’t at the club.”
“Consider tonight, and only tonight, an extension of the club.” He stepped forward, crowding her, filling her senses with him so that the rest of the world was blocked out and she couldn’t think straight. “Or use your safeword and I’ll back off. Time to choose, Ruby Red.”
Safewords. Right. She had them for a reason. “Yellow.”
To her immense relief, he took a step back, giving her the space to think. “All right. What’s wrong, baby?”
Baby . There was that endearment again, the one that made her heart feel like it might actually explode.
Pushing that aside for the time being, she focused on the more immediate issue. “I’m not saying no. I just want to know what you mean by making tonight an extension of the club.”
She braced for his annoyance at her for not simply obeying, and the relief that flooded her when approval flashed in his eyes nearly drove her to her knees. “Good girl for asking questions. You don’t have to call me Daddy if you don’t want to while we’re out. But if you’re a brat, as you tend to be, there will be consequences. And when I give you an instruction, I expect you to obey. Just like if we were at the club.”
“Okay. But you’re not expecting me to be on my best behavior because we’re in public? You’re not worried about me embarrassing you?”
Something flickered in the dark brown of his gaze, and she nearly took a step back from the ferocity of it. But then it was gone, as quickly as it came, and he nodded. “No, baby. I want you to be your same sassy, funny, amazing self. With the understanding that any misbehavior will result in a punishment. But I don’t want you to change who you are, in private or public. Understood?”
“Yes, Sir. I’m sorry if that’s an annoying question, but I needed to ask.”
“You don’t have to apologize. I’m proud of you for asking for clarification.” He hesitated, clearly weighing what he wanted to say next. “ If I ever get into another romantic relationship with someone, I will want—no, need—a certain level of control. It’s who I am, and I won’t ignore that part of myself again. Not even for someone I love. But I will never ask someone to give up their autonomy, to become a mindless robot for me. If I was looking for a partner, that isn’t what I’d be looking for.”
The hurt beneath his words was practically screaming at her, begging her to dig deeper, to uncover those wounds and heal them. “If I ever get into another romantic relationship, I will need a lot of boundaries. I don’t mind rules, but I won’t be controlled. I won’t be trapped. Not again.”
Closing the short distance between them again, he cradled her face in his hands, dropping his forehead to hers. “One day, you’re going to tell me about him. And then I’m going to find him, and I’m going to rip his heart from his chest for what he did to you.”
“You don’t even know what he did to me.”
“I know he put that look in your eyes. The one that reminds me of an animal ready to run or fight for its life. And that alone is enough for me to know I want him ended.”
Those lines were becoming more and more blurred by the second. And it was becoming harder and harder to care. “He’s not the kind of man you fuck with, Beckett. I dare say he’s even richer than you. And he has some very powerful friends.”
“You let me worry about me, Ruby Red.” Still cupping her face, he nudged her head back to take her lips in a slow, sweet kiss that made her heart do a lovely little roll in her chest. “For tonight, it’s your call. We can go to dinner, just two regular people enjoying a meal together, and then we can go back to my place for the night.”
“Or?”
“Or, you can let me own you. Just for the night, Ruby. Just a little taste of what we’ve both been trying to pretend we don’t want.”
One night. One night of stepping outside the little box they’d built for themselves. The one she’d been so adamant they stay inside.
But they still had boundaries. They were just… expanding the box a bit. And really, what damage could one night do?
“All right. Just for tonight, I’m yours.”