Chapter 4 #2
“The solarium?”
“That’s what the realtor called it. It’s just a living room, really. But I have plants in there, since it’s the room that gets the most sun.”
She looks at me for a long moment. Then she nods and gives me an actual smile. “Okay. That would be nice.”
I couldn't help noticing how cute Ruby looked in my clothes last night, but I tried really hard not to.
She was hurt, after all. Scared. Traumatized. My only concern should have been taking care of her.
But shit, does she look good in them.
I can’t explain it. But there’s just something about seeing her swamped in my clothes—my old Army sweatshirt hanging halfway down her thighs and her fingers barely poking out from the sleeves—that strikes a chord deep inside me.
With it brings a bone-deep need to protect. To comfort. To hold her in my arms and wipe away her tears when she cries. To take away her pain.
It’s not just that, though.
As I watch Ruby walk into the kitchen, looking so damn vulnerable and sweet in my sweatshirt and shorts, a surge of possessiveness comes over me. I like her in my clothes. Not just because of how she looks in them, but because they’re mine.
“I know I look silly,” Ruby says. She pushes a sleeve up, but it almost immediately falls past her fingers again. “I think I could wear this as a dress.” A moment later, her cheeks go pink. “Shoot. That makes me sound ungrateful. I’m not. At all. Your sweatshirt is great. It’s soft and warm and...”
“Comfy?” I offer with a smile.
She brightens. “Yes. Comfy.” Joining me at the counter, she looks down at the two bowls of oatmeal I’m putting the final touches on.
More elaborate than the plain oats I usually have, I’ve added brown sugar, a bit of cream, a sprinkle of cinnamon and nutmeg, and, for the final touch, a dollop of Nutella.
Gourmet cooking, it’s not. But I didn’t want to just hand Ruby a bowl of plain oatmeal, either.
“Micah.” Her gaze jumps up to mine. “This looks great. Thank you.”
I shrug. “It’s just oatmeal. With a few things added.”
“It looks good to me,” Ruby insists.
She reaches for one of the bowls, but I pull it out of her way. “I’ve got them,” I tell her as I balance both bowls in one hand. “You don’t need to do anything.”
Her chin takes on a defiant tilt. “I think I can manage a bowl of oatmeal.”
“I know you can. But you don’t have to.” Nodding at the coffee maker a few feet down on the counter, I add, “There’s fresh coffee. Sugar is in the jar to the left. Creamer’s in the fridge. I have plain or sweetened. Why don’t you make your coffee while I handle the oatmeal?”
Ruby glances at the steaming carafe of coffee.
“How did you find time to do all of this? I didn’t think I was in the shower that long.
” She tugs a damp curl, and I watch with fascination as it springs back when she releases it.
“Usually I spend ten minutes messing with my hair. But without my usual products, it took less time.”
“Messing with your hair?” Before I can stop myself, I touch one of her curls. “Your hair looks perfect. It always does.”
Ruby laughs. The sound loosens the band that’s been wrapped around my chest since I found her last night. “My hair only looks that way because I mess with it. If I don’t use special products and my diffuser… Well. You’ll see when my hair dries without it.”
“It looks perfect,” I repeat. “Just as it is. But tell me whatever you need, and I’ll make sure to get it later.”
A faint pink moves across Ruby’s cheeks.
Her gaze falls to my chest and lingers for a second. The pink deepens.
Because she’s thinking about earlier, and still feels uncomfortable about it?
Or did she like what she saw, and now she’s remembering?
I’m not a vain guy by any means, but I’ve been told by more than a few women that I have a good body. I should, really, given how much I work out for my job. But surely Ruby wasn’t thinking about my body in the aftermath of her nightmare. She was just startled to see me without my shirt on.
Although. Am I really going to pretend I’ve never seen her give me an admiring glance when she thinks I’m not paying attention?
Or that I haven’t done the same? Just because I haven’t asked her out doesn’t mean I haven’t noticed how pretty Ruby is or wondered how her sweet little body would look naked.
The thought of Ruby naked is enough to wake my eager dick up. Quickly ducking behind the kitchen island, I send a silent but stern command for it to settle down. Not now, I tell it. Sex is very much not on the table. So, settle back down.
Thankfully, Ruby’s been occupied with preparing her coffee, so I don’t think she noticed anything. Mug in one hand, she sets the creamer back in the fridge with the other, closes the door, and turns to me. “Do you need some coffee, too?”
“I already had some,” I reply, “while I was cooking the oats. So I’m all set.” Gesturing at the doorway to our right, I add, “The solarium is just through here.”
“Okay.” She waits for me to go ahead, then follows close behind. “I don’t think I’ve ever been in an apartment with its own solarium.”
An itchy feeling comes over me. “It’s just another room. It’s nothing special.”
“Just a room?” Ruby asks as soon as I flick on the light.
Her gaze sweeps across the expansive room, along the sculptures and furniture and paintings my interior decorator picked out, past the plants lining the window, to the sweeping view of the city.
She snorts softly. “This isn’t just a room, Micah.
It’s…” She looks around again. “It’s beautiful. ”
“It’s nice when the sun comes up.” Touching her back, I guide Ruby towards the couch near the window. “Other than that, I don’t spend much time out here.”
Ruby settles onto the couch and tucks her legs pretzel-style in front of her. “I bet the sunrises are amazing from here.”
“They’re pretty nice,” I agree. “Although I still prefer watching the sunrise over the ocean, instead.”
She takes a sip of coffee and winces slightly as she swallows.
“Ocean sunrises are the best. When I was a kid, my parents used to take me to Maine every summer. Ogunquit. We’d go out on the rocks and watch the lobster boats while the sun rose.
” A sad expression moves across her face. “Those were really good times.”
I know that Ruby’s dad passed away last year, and that her mom’s been gone since she was twelve. So thinking about old vacations with them has to be bittersweet. My hand comes to her leg without thinking. “I bet they were.”
Ruby stares out the window at the brilliant golds and oranges rising.
“Yeah.” She sets her coffee on the table beside the couch and picks up her bowl of oatmeal.
“So.” Turning slightly towards me, she says, “I didn’t ask last night.
With everything else going on. But I heard you mention to one of the paramedics that you had medical training.
Was that something everyone had to do? To be a Ranger or a Delta, I mean? ”
“Oh, no.” Leaning back, I loop my arm over the back of the couch. “I was a medic first. Combat medic, more specifically. Then, when I joined Delta, I served as the medic for our team. It was only later that I got into dog handling.”
Ruby’s amber eyes brighten with interest, shifting to a molten gold. “How did you get into that?”
It takes me a second to answer, because my attention slips to the bruises around her neck. They’re darker than last night. The purplish shade is more lurid. And the sight of them fills me with rage.
Breathing deeply against the anger, I raise my gaze to meet hers.
“I worked with a handler, and I was intrigued by the relationship he had with his dog. The way they worked together… it was like they were teammates. So I started asking him questions. How he got into it, the training he had… then I convinced my superior to let me take some certification courses.”
“Did your dog go with you everywhere?”
“Not everywhere. It wouldn’t have worked on some of our missions. But when he could, he did.”
“But then you left the Army.”
I nod. “I did. About six years ago, now. Rogue wanted to start up Fox & Falcon. And he had the idea of me heading the canine services division. It was an opportunity I couldn’t pass up.
Working with my best friend, my Delta teammates, I could work with dogs all the time…
and the timing ended up working out perfectly.
Sampson retired right before I separated from the Army, so I had first choice of adopting him. ”
Like he knows we’re talking about him, Sampson comes into the solarium, nails clicking on the ceramic tile. He walks over to us and sinks onto the floor with a soft huff. Ruby reaches down to pet him. “And now you’re both here.”
“Now we’re both here,” I agree. “And I’ve never regretted it. I loved my time in the Army. But I think this is the right place for me now.”
Ruby gives me a long look. An unreadable emotion works in her eyes. “I’m glad you’re here,” she finally says. “I know that.”
My heart gives an uneven thump. Then I reach for her hand. “I’m glad I’m here, too.”