Chapter 23
"Come back to bed."
Ruby turned her back on the dazzling view of Melbourne's city skyline from the floor to ceiling window and padded back towards Jax.
He lay on his side, propped on an elbow, his chest bare, the top sheet draped provocatively low over his torso, and she wondered how she'd managed to tear herself away in the first place.
He slept after their frantic sex to banish the worries of their reception, but in the aftermath of their blissful encounter she couldn't wipe the events of the evening.
She couldn't sleep, not when this pretend marriage may be on the verge of falling apart.
She had to do something.
"Cold?" He ran a fingertip up her arm, lingering in the hollow of her elbow, tracing tiny zigzags that zapped her in a major way.
But she couldn't afford to be distracted. Not when she had to come up with a solution.
Convince her social circle this marriage was real.
Gain acceptance for Jax.
Save Seaborn.
Three problems interlinked and she couldn't solve one without influencing the other.
"No, I'm fine." She perched on the edge of the bed. "At least, I will be when I figure out what to do."
"About?"
"Everything."
Smart guy, she didn't need to elaborate as he sat up and captured her hand.
"We could cut our losses before this goes further."
Her heart sank. She'd known he'd wanted to do that earlier yet she’d dragged him up here anyway, trying to obliterate their problems with mind-blowing sex. Monumentally stupid. Ignoring their problems wouldn't make them vanish any more than wishing for a miracle to save Seaborn.
“Is that what you really want to do?"
He nodded, his penetrating gaze not leaving her. "Makes the most sense."
Annoyed by his capitulation, she snatched her hand out of his. "So I lose Seaborn, you can’t go global with your mine, and we look like a couple of A-grade idiots." She shook her head. "Wrong solution."
"What do you want me to do?" He braced against the headboard, his expression thunderous. "I'd rather sell myself at an outback bachelor auction for charity than face a roomful of those stuck-up pricks again."
Despite her dire predicament, she couldn't help but smile at the image of her gruff, moody husband standing in front of a crowd of women eager to buy him.
"This isn't funny," he said, crossing his arms, impeding her view of his glorious chest.
"No, it isn't. Maybe I'll have to volunteer for an auction too? Though who'd want a jewellery designer…" She trailed off, struck by an idea so far out of left field she leapt off the bed.
"What—?"
"That's it!" She swooped down and planted a swift kiss on his lips, enjoying his wide-eyed shock. "You're a genius."
Some of his sternness faded. "I know that, but what's got you so excited?" He smirked. "Apart from me?"
She bopped him on the head. "Seaborn should have an auction. Loads of hype. Exclusive pieces only. The biggest jewellery auction Melbourne has ever seen."
She paced, ideas peppering her with every step. "Using social media to build anticipation. Short lead in time. Next week maybe? Market it as a great opportunity to pick up exclusive Seaborn signature pieces at a fair price. We’d need a stunning venue. Melbourne Town Hall maybe? Or—"
"Whoa, slow down." He swung his legs over the side of the bed and she hoped the sheet wouldn't slip. She could do without the distraction. "Wouldn't something like that take weeks to organise?"
She waved away his rationality. "I've got contacts. It can be done."
She paced the suite, excitement making her skip every second step. "I can do this. Put Seaborn back on the jewellery map and raise some much needed funds in the process."
She snapped her fingers. "Why didn't I think of this before?"
His mouth eased into a sexy grin that packed a wallop. "Because I inspired you."
She blew a raspberry. "You made some smart-ass remark about outback auctions, I was the genius who came up with it."
He patted the side of the bed. "Why doesn't the resident genius get her cute butt back here and we can brainstorm some more?"
Thankful he'd moved past his funk—the one that had him threatening to walk out on this marriage before it had begun—she returned to the bed and flung herself into his arms. He tipped backwards with a grunt and she straddled him.
"Want to see what other genius ideas I'm capable of coming up with?"
He growled in pleasure and tugged her down so her face was mere inches from his.
"You love being on top, don't you?" His warm breath fanned her ear, his lips toying with the lobe, and she wiggled, enjoying his tortured groan.
"Being in control is good," she said, bracing over him, eager to lower herself onto him.
"Tell me about it." He reversed their positions so fast her head spun. "There, that's better, back on top where I belong."
She swatted his chest. "Control freak."
"You love it when I'm commanding and forceful," he said, his hands starting at her shoulders and sweeping down, palming her breasts, circling her stomach, grinding her clit until she writhed, desperate for release.
"Commanding. Forceful. Got it. Ooh…" Heat streaked through her as he splayed her legs, dipped his head, and tongued her until she almost passed out.
He took his time licking her, driving her crazy. Her head thrashed from side to side, her fingers fisting in the sheets as he drove her closer to the brink with every sweep of his tongue, with every plunge of his fingers inside her.
Mindless from the pleasure, tension coiled her muscles until she couldn't bear it. She reared up, bracing on her elbows to watch him drive her to the brink and beyond.
His gaze locked on hers as the tip of his tongue circled her clitoris for a final time and she came apart, screaming his name.
There was no smugness in his dark eyes, only satisfaction, and as he grabbed a pillow and slid it under her hips, she knew something important had shifted between them.
She'd never had a guy look at her the way Jax had just looked at her.
As if he could see right through her defences to her soul.
She should be terrified. Instead, with delicious aftershocks pulsating through her, all she could think was how connected she felt to him at that moment.
“Are you still calling me a control freak?" He knelt between her thighs, bronze, broad shouldered, magnificent.
Her pelvis arched in a purely reflex reaction. "Yeah, but the way you dish it out, you can control me any time."
"My pleasure." His eyes glittered with lust as he made quick work of protection and eased into her with a long, slow thrust.
She clenched around him, welcoming, needy, missing him the moment he withdrew, desperate for more.
He obliged, gripping her hips and sliding into her again and again and again, each thrust accentuated by her elevated position with the pillow under her butt, each thrust driving her closer to the edge.
"Faster," she urged, wrapping her legs around his waist, her hands gripping the headboard for leverage.
"I'm the one in charge," he said, his wicked grin exacerbating her anticipation as he continued to slide in and out with torturous finesse.
"Jax, please," she gritted out, her pelvis lifting clean off the pillow to meet him thrust for thrust, clamouring for another release.
"Seeing as you asked so nicely…"
He picked up the tempo, slamming into her, the air punctuated with soft pants and longing groans as they crested the edge together on a yell and fell into blissful oblivion on the other side.
Jax collapsed on top of her and Ruby was only too happy to hold him close.
Yeah, something had definitely changed between them but with her body sated and her mind foggy, she didn't dare determine what.