Chapter 4
Chapter
Four
RUBY
NIGHT CAP
Amari took his tools into the basement, and I finished my meal. I stared out the window, replaying our dinner conversation and the roller coaster of emotions it pulled from me.
Instead of putting my bowl and glass in the dishwasher, I washed them by hand to buy time and think. As the almost scalding water began to burn my hands, my mind wandered.
It was almost dark, and the roads would be bad. Although the quiet and stillness of the night outside should have brought me peace, the quickening descent of the snow reminded me of who I once was and the passion that ruled me.
Amari should have been at his home enjoying the warmth of his hearth, yet he chose to stay with me. His presence in my home was safe yet dangerous.
I tried to process the polarity of that but had a hard time making sense of the turmoil I felt inside. He made my heart race in ways I hadn’t felt in years.
As it always did this time of year, my mind jumped to my Christmas angel, LaRue.
Tears blurred my vision as I remembered how delicate she had been.
She didn’t stand a chance in a world that was so cruel.
I held her close to my heart, praying for and singing to her every day for the ten days of her life, willing her to live as the new year began.
I’d trade my life for what could have and should have been in another time and another place with Larenz Starks, a man who promised me the world but didn’t have it within himself to give me.
I wiped my eyes with my wet fingers.
Don’t break down. Keep it together until Amari goes home.
For a second, I wondered if I should change clothes before he came upstairs. The robe I wore wasn’t exactly demure.
Amari Snowden reminded me of what the intimacy of a fine man felt like.
I was fully aware that he was peeking at my dainty bra and biting his pretty lips when I leaned over to show him my repair list. Like the flirt I used to be, I touched his strong shoulder and stood still as he tilted his tempting body closer.
I reached into my robe and rubbed the moisturized skin of my stomach with my hands, imagining what it would feel like for Amari to caress me the same way and tell me how silky soft it was. I took a cleansing breath and wiped my hands on the cloth nearest me.
My eyes lingered on the open door to my basement. I needed to see Amari again.
I finished cleaning my kitchen and walked to the basement. I held the rails of the somewhat rickety staircase and adjusted my eyes to the dim light. Although I’d cleaned the area with household cleaner, the smell of dusty old furniture and boxes still met my nose.
“Amari?” I called out to him, ducking my head and tipping into the space as if I wasn’t familiar with it.
Slow movement in the corner caught my eye when I descended the bottom three steps.
“Over here.” Amari’s deep voice sent a tingle down my spine.
When my foot hit the basement floor, I sucked in my breath as unexpected warmth met me.
“Why is it so hot down here?” I called out in the direction of Amari’s voice, fanning my face with my hands.
My eyes continued searching for Amari, whose head and shoulders were the only parts of his body visible behind a stack of tall boxes in the corner. When he took a big step from behind the boxes, I gasped audibly.
His flannel shirt was unbuttoned, revealing a glistening, fully tatted chest that confirmed how fit he was.
He wiped his hands on a cloth he held. Instead of paying attention to me as I openly ogled him, he concentrated on the cloth.
Sweat dripped from his mocha skin and glistened in his beard as he furrowed his thick eyebrows.
His dark mood made my heart race, alerting me to the intensity that drew me to him.
He finally raised his eyes to mine as I continued to stare.
“I’m sorry.” I darted my eyes toward the small basement window near the ceiling as if I’d walked in on Amari naked.
He wiped his brow with another towel that must have been in the bag he brought downstairs. If he was aware of how flustered his open shirt made me, he didn’t let on since he did nothing to cover his broad chest.
“No need to apologize. The furnace blower motor is broken. That’s why it’s so hot down here. I can fix it, but it might take a couple of hours to cool the basement off.”
I still wasn’t comfortable looking Amari in the eye. Instead, I examined my nail bed and raised my voice so he would hear me over the periodic thump that interrupted us.
“What’s that noise?”
“The gas water heater. It’s nothing to be alarmed about, just annoying.”
That wasn’t on my list of items to fix. There was no telling how many more broken things he’d find at my house if he kept poking around.
“The roads are getting worse, so you might want to go home. I’d hate for you to get stuck.” I pointed to the snow-covered window above us.
“Hold up. I’m coming to you.”
I kept my eyes on Amari’s big, socked feet as he moved closer.
When he was inches away, I finally lifted my eyes to his.
He was mysteriously attractive in the semi-darkness as the faint shadows in the room highlighted his profile.
His beautiful teeth formed into a magnetic grin that drew me to the perfection of his features.
He was ruggedly handsome with the kindest of eyes.
I bit my lip and squeezed my legs together to stop the unexpected tingling that threatened to have me lying on the basement floor like a wanton hussy. I wiped my brow and rested my hand on my throat as my pulse raced.
Amari swiped that brand new microfiber cloth across his forehead so slowly I thought he wouldn’t ever stop wiping small beads of sweat from his face.
When he pressed the cloth against his chest and lowered it to the top of his navel, I sucked in my breath, tempted to grab it and finish the job for him.
He took a big breath, too, and exhaled too slowly for it not to be intentional.
His chest lifted so gracefully I couldn’t resist the urge to watch him breathe. Amari was gorgeous in every way.
“It’s really hot in here.” He had the nerve to remove that darn cloth from his damp body and dangle it in my face like a carrot on a stick.
From inches away, I became aroused by his lingering manly scent.
Like the undisciplined woman he was forcing me to be, I lifted my hand toward the cloth and grabbed the bottom of it with my fingers before lifting it to my nose. When I inhaled and exhaled several times, he gently tugged it, dangled it away, and slowly stuffed it in his back pocket.
Amari stepped closer to me and bit his lip. We stood like that, him looking down at me and me looking up at him, waiting for God knew what to happen. Minutes seemed to pass.
“I’m not leaving you alone during this storm. There’s no telling what else might need to be fixed that you don’t realize is broken. Storms like this also might bring a power outage. I’d never forgive myself if you were stuck alone for however long this storm lasts.”
My mind raced for any reason to throw Amari’s sexy self out of my house and not cave in to whatever voodoo he tossed on me.
“I have plenty of blankets and candles, so I’ll be okay.” The words tumbled from my mouth.
Amari came even closer and leaned toward my ear. Without him saying a word, my breath caught.
“That’s not enough if the temperature drops below freezing. This house is too old to keep you warm. The power might not come back on for days. I’d rather take you home with me if you won’t let me stay. As a precaution,” he added quickly.
Amari’s breathy words folded me like a blanket.
“Okay.”
Who is this woman?
My thin voice shocked me as I agreed to Amari’s authoritarian yet logical proposal.
Although my instincts told me to withdraw from him, as I usually did around men who asserted themselves, I didn’t want to.
I adored a protective man who could take charge of a situation in a crisis and tap into the submissive side of my personality that I repressed more than I liked to.
If Amari told me to huddle with him in his truck for the night, I’d do it without question.
“This could take a while. Do you want to go upstairs? I can come up when I’m done.”
“No. I prefer to stay down here with you.”
Amari smiled and nodded, pointing to a love seat in the corner of the room.
I walked to it and eased into it with a straight back. I held my hands in my lap like a puppy awaiting further instruction from her master.
Instead of going back to work, he joined me on the couch and stared at me.
I sat as still as possible, meeting his eyes and taking in the silence of the dimly lit room. I wasn’t afraid or even anxious as the flicker of the pendant lights cast shadows across the unfinished basement.
“Are you okay?” Amari’s low voice stroked my ears and pricked my heart as he rested his hand on my knee.
I didn’t flinch.
“Yes. I’m glad you’re here.”
I wasn’t lying. Amari made me feel safe.
“It’s my pleasure to take care of the things that need a little extra attention in your home. Just let me know what you need.”
Hold up. Was he talking about the house repairs or me? Nothing in me doubted that Amari knew how to treat a woman. His words tapped into raw emotions that I thought died with my precious baby.
“You’re a kind man.”
The words tumbled from my mouth as his closeness overtook my senses.
“You’re a woman who deserves kindness.” He tilted his head so close to my neck, I felt the warmth of his breath on my skin.
“Thank you. I’m glad you aren’t leaving.”
“You already said that.”
“Did I?”
My eyes widened as my mind turned to mush.
“Yes.”
“I said what I said.”
My words were bold. From Amari’s quiet presence at my dinner table to the strong, comforting way he presented himself in my basement, I wanted to spend more time with him and fly deeper into his orbit.
I missed and needed joy, laughs, and smiles from someone whose presence made me want to crawl into his arms like a cocoon.