Luke
Luke
L uke had to admit that he found the little snoring sounds that Ruby made to be absolutely adorable. “What the hell is wrong with me?” he whispered to himself. He found just about everything she did to be either sexy, hot, or adorable and that wasn’t his style. Hell, he’d only just met Ruby today, even if he had been following her around like a damn puppy since she started at McTavish Enterprises. He just needed to remember to leave out the part about practically stalking her around the office. He didn’t want to scare her off before he even got his chance with Ruby.
It had been a bit of a drive but heading out of town to the safe house that Ranger found for them was a good idea. He had to admit that he was looking forward to spending some one-on-one time with Ruby, even if that’s not what their little trip was about. Keeping her safe was his top priority and if that led to her falling into his bed, so be it.
He pulled onto the unmarked road that led back to the house that Ranger had secured for them. His friend had texted him repeatedly over the past few hours, even asking the dreaded question, “Are you there yet?” a few times. Ranger was almost as bad as Ruby about asking him that, but he wouldn’t tell his friend that. He knew that Ranger was trying to help them, but this was his mess to figure out. The problem was, Luke knew for sure that if Ranger hadn’t involved himself, he wouldn’t be able to figure out who was following him all these years later—or even if it was the same people.
He parked in front of the house and looked around, making sure that they hadn’t been followed back to the property. Ruby stirred next to him, stretching and yawning. He shamelessly let his gaze run over her body and she smiled up at him.
“Were you just checking me out?” she asked.
“I was,” he admitted. “You good with that?”
“I’m not sure how I feel about that, honestly,” Ruby said. “I think that I’m going to need time to get used to it.”
“That’s fair,” Luke agreed. “And before you ask again, we’re here,” he said, nodding to the house. She turned and looked out the window and nodded.
“It’s cute,” she said. “Where are we, exactly?” she asked.
“We’re in the middle of nowhere, just where we need to be. I think that we’re off the beaten path enough that no one will come out here looking for us.” Luke assured.
“And if they do?” Ruby asked.
“If they do, then we’ll know it. This place has a state-of-the-art security system already in place. Plus, I still have this,” he said, patting the gun in his shoulder holster. He’d leave off the part about having two more guns in his trunk, along with a few knives. That was his world—not hers and he was sure that Ruby wouldn’t understand his need to travel with so many weapons.
“I’d love a bath,” she breathed. “I feel like we’ve been in this car for days, not just hours.”
“Well, let’s get in and you can have your bath while I call Ranger to let him know that we got here.” He got out of the car and grabbed their bags out of the trunk as Ruby climbed out of the passenger side. She still looked groggy, and cuddly from sleep and all he wanted to do was pull her into his arms and carry her into the closest bed.
“You just did it again,” she said.
“Did what?” he asked.
“Checked me out.” She giggled as he rolled his eyes and followed him up to the porch that spanned the front of the cabin.
“I’d love to tell you that it won’t happen again, but I’d totally be lying, honey,” he admitted. There would be no way that he’d stop checking her out. He couldn’t seem to help himself and honestly, she didn’t really seem to mind it.
“At least your honest,” she teased. “I appreciate that attribute in a person.” His mother liked to tell him that he was honest to a fault as if that was a bad thing, but he never could hold back the truth. It was what made him good at his job. Most big companies wanted a security team that would come in and feed them some bullshit about how safe and secure they already were. He didn’t bullshit people like that. If Luke saw a problem, he let the company’s owners know about it.
They explored the house and when they found the master bedroom with an adjoining bath, she tossed her bag onto the bed and smiled over her shoulder at him. “I’m going to soak in that tub until my fingers and toes shrivel. Is that okay with you?” she asked.
“Yep,” he agreed. “I’ll call Ranger.” What he really wanted to do was ask her if he could join her, but he was sure that she’d tell him to get lost.
He finished bringing in their bags and toured the house, checking to see what security measures that he was working with. It seemed to have adequate security, but he didn’t want to take any chances, so he set up a few rudimentary ones of his own. He even set up one of his favorites from when he was a kid—putting some cans he had found in the pantry under the windows. It would at least alert him if someone tried to get into the house, the rest would be up to him, and since he had practically brought an armory, he was pretty sure they could handle just about anything thrown his way.
After he finished his task of securing the house, he decided to call Ranger. His friend picked up after a few rings and he sounded grumpy enough that Luke was betting that he had just woken him. “Yeah,” Ranger grumbled.
“Hey, sorry to call so late,” Luke said.
“It’s not late, I’m just exhausted,” Ranger insisted. It was nearly midnight and he had to admit that he was tired too.
“I just wanted to let you know that we made it to the safehouse. It’s a great place, thanks Ranger,” he said.
“Not a problem. Listen, have Ruby call Millie tomorrow morning to let her know that she took off with you,” Ranger said.
“Did you let her know what was going on?” Luke asked.
“I did, and I don’t think she believed me,” Ranger said. Luke couldn’t help his laugh. Millie didn’t seem like the trusting type, and he could just imagine her giving Ranger some shit.
“It’s not funny,” Ranger insisted. “I told her that Ruby would call and explain everything in the morning.”
“I’ll have her call Millie,” Luke agreed.
“Great,” Ranger said. “I’m going to stick around here and keep an eye on her. Plus, it will give me time to do some research to figure out who might be trailing you.”
“Thanks, Ranger,” Luke said. “Stay in touch.”
“Always, man,” Ranger assured and ended the call. Luke tossed his cell onto the kitchen counter and started for the master bedroom, sure that Ruby would be done with her bath by now. He walked into the bedroom and Ruby screamed, pulling the towel over her curves, but the damage was done—he’d already seen most of her.
“I’m sorry,” Luke lied. “I thought that you might be finished your bath.”
“I was,” she mumbled, trying to finesse the towel to stay in place around her body. “But I didn’t have my pajamas in the bathroom and well, these towels are way too small for me.” She was right, the towel was blissfully too small, and he was loving every minute of watching her try to cover her curvy, sexy body.
“I’m sorry that I walked in on you, but I won’t complain about the size of that towel,” he teased. “In fact, it’s kind of cute watching you squirm around trying to cover yourself. You’re not doing a great job of it, by the way.”
“Did you see me?” she asked.
“Would you like for me to lie and tell you that I didn’t?”
“No,” she whispered. She turned the cutest shade of pink, and he couldn’t hide his chuckle. “Don’t laugh at me, Luke.”
He hated that she thought that he was laughing at her. He’d never do that. Finding her naked in the room made him hot as hell, but he wasn’t sure what he should and shouldn’t say to her. Did she even feel the same way as she had back at her apartment? When they were together there, she seemed to be into him. The way that she kissed him made him think that she might want more, and he was certain that he did.
Luke crossed the room and pulled her into his arms, happy that she willingly let him. “I’m not laughing at you, honey,” he promised. “I’d never do that. I’ve already told you that you’re hot as hell. I haven’t changed my mind about that, Ruby.”
“You still think I’m hot?” she asked.
He smiled and dipped his head to gently kiss her lips, grabbing handfuls of her bare ass. “It’s only been a few hours since we left your apartment, and I haven’t changed my mind about you, Ruby. I’m sorry that I walked in on you and made you feel uncomfortable.”
“You didn’t make me feel uncomfortable,” she fibbed. He kissed her again and she let her towel slip a bit more.
“Does this make you feel uncomfortable?” he asked, kissing her once more. She let out a little breathy sigh and shook her head. “How about this?” he asked, sliding her towel down her body, and running his hands over her taut nipples. God, she was beautiful, and Luke was sure that he was pushing her, but he didn’t care. He needed more from her.
“No,” she stuttered, “that doesn’t make me feel uncomfortable.” Luke walked her back to the bed, and when her knees hit the mattress, he pushed her down onto it. He loved the way that she watched his every move, not taking her eyes off of him. It was sexy the way that she licked her lips as she looked him over as if she might eat him alive—something he’d be totally for.
Ruby had seemed to forget all about her lack of a towel to cover her body. In fact, it lay next to her on the bed, revealing every sexy inch of her body.
“I’m not really sure what to do now,” she said. He was standing over her, looking over her every curve when he realized that he must have been just standing there for a few minutes now. Of course, she was worried about what the next move should be since he hadn’t made one yet.
“You don’t have to worry about what to do, Ruby. I’ll tell you. And if you don’t like something that I do to you, you’ll need to tell me. Are you good with that?” he asked.
She shyly smiled up at him and nodded. “I’m good with that,” she agreed. He kissed his way down her body and settled between her legs, not bothering to ask her if she was okay with him eating her pussy. There was no way that he’d be able to hold back from tasting her. It had been all he could think about since their little make-out session at her apartment.
“Luke,” she whispered, trying to close her legs to him. He held her thighs and looked up her body to find her watching him.
“Ruby, if this isn’t all right, tell me,” he said. “But I want to taste you.”
She laid her head back and groaned, causing him to laugh. “Fine,” she mumbled.
“I promise, you’re going to like it, honey,” he assured. He gently bit the fleshy inside of her thighs that led to her sweet pussy, and she moaned. He was going to make this good for her, no matter how much she wanted to protest.