Three Sweet Nothings (Blindfold Club #5)

by Nikki Sloane

  Time dragged while Ruby was gone and I only had her list to keep me company. Should I text Joseph? I could send him a picture of her answers, but even though he didn’t know her, doing that felt like a violation of her trust, which was the whole point of this thing.

  As if the universe knew I was thinking about using my phone, it vibrated with an incoming message.

  Fuck me! It was the lower half of Ruby’s body, her pants bunched around her knees, exposing her gorgeously bare pussy at the delta of her thighs. Her plum colored panties dangled on her finger.

  “The, uh, grilled Bavette steak?” A male voice interrupted.

  I nearly dropped the phone as the waiter auctioned off my plate of food, his gaze flicking over my screen. I slammed my phone in my lap and glared up at him. “I had the steak.”

  He slid the plate before me and gave me smile that said, “You lucky fucker.”

  I shot him back one that said, “Your tip is in jeopardy.”

  He was gone by the time Ruby returned from the restroom. She dropped down into her chair, her expression pleased, as if thrilled she’d met my challenge.

  “Looks good enough to eat,” I said. Then I picked up my fork and knife and cut into my steak. Her gaze dropped down to her own food, and I left her to wonder which one I was talking about, her dinner or the image she’d sent of her amazing body.

  Eating dinner with her tonight was a new kind of foreplay. The activities on the agenda for this evening hung overhead, pressing anticipation and desire down on us until it was all we could talk about. It was all I could think about.

  But discussing it at the table was an exercise in frustration. It was hard to keep our excited voices low and the language from becoming too explicit. Occasionally, she would glance around to check if anyone was listening in. Did she want to be caught? Would that bring the same rush to her as it did to me? She’d been a bit of an exhibitionist in law school, so I assumed that interest had grown with her other tastes.

  She practically vibrated on the drive back to my apartment, twisting in her seat to face me. “Were you into all this stuff back when we were together?”

  I shook my head. “I mean, I was interested, but . . . I wasn’t comfortable yet with being that guy.”

  Although my eyes were on the road, I pictured surprise on her gorgeous face. “You are now?”

  “Yeah. At least, I think so.” I put as much seduction into my tone as I could manage. “I guess we’ll see, won’t we?”

  Out of my peripheral vision, I watched her body tighten, and I enjoyed her response. It all turned me on so much. How she matched me. The potential to become these new versions of ourselves and to go down that path together. Sharing our desires so candidly seemed to interrupt our issue of communication, and I hoped it wasn’t temporary.

  “And you?” I asked. “Were you into this at Randhurst?”

  She pressed her lips together. “I was interested.”

  That’s all she’d say about it, and we were quiet the rest of the short drive.

  I eased my Range Rover into my parking spot. I hustled around the car, but of course she beat me on getting her own door open, and she smiled brilliantly. So pleased with her accomplishment.

  “You should let me be a gentleman now.” My tone verged on sinister. “Because I won’t be when we get upstairs.”

  We strolled into the elevator, and when I slapped the button for my floor, she stared at the glowing circle intently. “Penthouse, huh?”

  I rubbed a hand on the back of my neck. “Yeah.”

  It wasn’t like my place was amazing, but it was pretty sweet. A one-bedroom, one-bath luxury apartment in the River North district. Nine hundred square feet which cost me over three grand a month in rent.

  On top of Sharon’s hush money, my father’s firm had offered me an enticing salary, followed by a nice acceptance bonus when I’d taken their offer.

  Coming back to Chicago wasn’t supposed to happen. Every decision my parents made was driven by the almighty dollar, and I’d sworn for years I wouldn’t become them. Yet, here I was, working for them, back under their thumb.

  Ruby followed closely as I strode to the end of the hall, her boots thumping along swiftly on the hard floor. We moved with eager purpose. Her breathing was rushed as I slid my key into the deadbolt, turned the lock, and pushed the door open.

  When she went to step inside, I threw my arm out and grabbed the doorframe on the other side, blocking her entry. “Maybe I want to fuck you right here in the doorway so the neighbors can see.”

  A female voice rang out from inside my darkened apartment. “Guess I’ll just be going, then.”

  Chapter

  TWENTY

  What the fuck? I fumbled a hand over the light switch, clicking it on, and took in the situation as Ruby stifled a gasp. Was the cause my apartment, or the woman curled up on my couch?

  “What are you doing here?” I demanded.

  Payton blinked against the sudden light and looked sheepish as she threw the blanket off her lap. She stood, pressed a button on the remote, and an image froze on my flat screen. “Dominic’s in Helsinki until Tuesday, and our internet went out as I was binging on Stranger Things. I didn’t think you’d mind if I came over since you didn’t answer any of my texts.”

  “What texts?” I dug out my phone. Shit, there they were. I must have missed them during dinner, too distracted by Ruby and our discussion. “Oh. It was loud at the restaurant.”

  The women eyed each other with interest as I led Ruby inside and the door shut behind us. Payton had a pleasant smile, trying to play it cool, but she seemed thrilled at my progress on the New Year’s resolution. “Since my brother’s not going to introduce me, I’m—”

  “Payton,” Ruby said. “It’s nice to meet you. I’m Ruby.”

  Payton’s gaze swung to me, curious. “You used to know a girl named Ruby.”

  “Yes,” I said. “This is her.”

  My sister’s curiosity was replaced with surprise. As we’d become closer over the last year, I’d mentioned my past relationship with Ruby, and Payton had seized on it. Although I didn’t confess how exactly things ended, she knew it hadn’t been good.

  “It’s nice to meet you, too.” Payton’s voice was even, but gone was her typical warmth. Which knocked me back a little. I’d never seen my sister protective of me. She moved toward us, then swung to her right, where my washer and dryer shared a little room with my coat closet. “I’ll grab my coat and let you two get to the fucking.”

  “Oh, God,” Ruby whispered so quietly, I barely heard it. Her face was pure mortification.

  “She didn’t say it to embarrass you, I promise. That’s just how she is.”

  Payton reappeared, cinching the belt closed on her long coat. “Have fun.” Her gaze locked onto mine. “Call me tomorrow? We can grab lunch.”

  It sounded far more like an order than a request, but I let it slide with a nod. She wanted details on what was happening between Ruby and me, and her sisterly concern was kind of nice. Her attention moved to Ruby, critical and evaluating, but Ruby was either unaware, or taking it in stride.

  “Should I leave the door open?” my sister teased.

  “You’ll have to ask your brother,” Ruby fired back. “It was his suggestion.”

  Something dangerously close to respect flashed in Payton’s eyes. My sister could be an intimidating woman, but Ruby held her ground.

  “Closed would be fine,” I said. “Hope your internet’s working when you get home.”

  She waved the comment off. “I’ll swing by Evie and Logan’s place and see what they’re up to. Now that they have the baby, they never go anywhere.”

  She was avoiding going home to an empty apartment. “Aw, did the big bad TV show scare you?”

  Her face said she’d been busted. “Watching it in the dark was a bad idea,” she muttered. Then she nodded goodbye and left.

  My sister’s presence had completely derailed my plans and I struggled with how
to get back on track. Ruby peered up at me, her expression echoing my thoughts. I helped her out of her coat, and went into the laundry room to hang both of ours up, leaving her to wander further into my place.

  She stood in my living room, surveying the cobalt blue couch Payton had been occupying.

  “It’s a bit much, huh?” I asked. The room was whites, chrome, and grays, with the large couch a gigantic punch of color. It wasn’t what I would have picked, but I could live with it. “The place came furnished.”

  “Oh.” She surveyed the room.

  The space was modern and clean, and had been renovated just prior to my move in date. I wasn’t sure about the couch, but the rest of the apartment was cool and somewhat sexy. The view of the Chicago River snaking below wasn’t bad either. Under the orange-yellow hue of city lights, one of the bridges was rising to allow a boat to pass beneath.

  “Your sister’s really pretty.” Her voice was hushed. “I thought you weren’t close with her.”

  “We weren’t. When I moved back, I started hanging out with her and her husband.”

  “That’s nice.”

  “Want something to drink?” I asked as I turned off the television Payton had left on.

  Ruby’s gaze didn’t leave the windows. “No, thank you.”

  Okay, now what? I went to a cabinet, pulled down a bottle of bourbon and a glass, got some ice, and poured myself two fingers’ worth. Normally, I drank my bourbon neat, but tonight I wanted my drink cold to contrast the hot woman before me.

  “This is awkward,” she said, turning just enough to give me her profile. “Like, I know we’re supposed to get naked, but I’m suddenly not sure how to do that.”

  As I sipped my whiskey, I gave a silent thank you. It was the ‘in’ I needed. My voice firmed up. “You let me worry about the how. Take off your boots.”

  My command was a match being dragged against the striker strip of a matchbox, igniting the desire in us. Her eyes heated. Lust flared wildly.

  She leaned over, grabbed a heel in a hand, and tugged the black boot off, followed by the other. I stood there, sipping my bourbon, but drinking her in more. She padded on her sock-covered feet to the laundry room and set her shoes inside, then looked at me expectantly, awaiting further instructions. Jesus. How did something so simple have such an impact on me?

  I cast one long finger down the hall toward my bedroom, keeping my expression authoritative, and I watched her throat as she swallowed hard. Her brown hair swayed gently down her back as she went.

  My bedroom wasn’t large, and the bed took up the majority of the space. I left the lights off, but the shades were open, so plenty of light from outside filtered in through the wall of windows to our right. It cast a large block of pale shadows over the wood floor and the thick white rug the bed was set on.

  I’d thought this room was sexy before, but knowing what was going to happen here made it infinitely more so.

  I rested my tumbler of bourbon on the dresser as Ruby turned in place to face me. When her lips parted to say something, I placed my finger over her mouth, stilling them. Her eyes were inquisitive and beautiful. I’d swear on a stack of Bibles she’d grown more stunning in the last five years.

  I dragged my finger over her chin, drawing a slow line down her neck. She took in a deep breath, her gaze locked onto mine, and when I reached the neckline of her sweater, I splayed my fingers out, pressing my hand over the swell of her breasts.

  Down my hand continued. It trailed painfully slow, inching toward her waist.

  Her eyes flared with lust and she sighed when I slipped my fingertips beneath the hem of her top and skated them over her bare skin. Then I followed the path I’d drawn down her body, only this time in reverse, lifting her sweater as I went up.

  Her arms rose without a command from me, and the bulky top was peeled away, revealing her plum colored bra. Her nipples strained against the lace, already begging for me to touch her. I cast her sweater aside, took in the sight of her in a bra and her skinny black pants for an appreciative moment, and then dipped my head down to bring our lips together. Her eyes fluttered shut for the impending kiss.

  Oh, not yet, Ruby. I wanted to keep her guessing. Whatever we did tonight would set the tone for our partnership going forward.

  I grasped her elbow abruptly and pulled her stumbling along, until we reached the window and I had her flattened to the glass with a loud bang. She gasped against it, and the sharp noise of surprise from her was a surge of adrenaline. I hooked my arm under her elbows, pulling her arms back and forcing her to arch into the glass. It left my other hand free to grab the back waistband of her pants and stretch them over her ass, yanking them down.

  It took a second jerk until I was satisfied and the pants were left wadded at her knees, exposing her naked lower body. Excitement lit me up as I mentally prepared for what I was about to do.

  I slapped my palm against her left cheek, and I didn’t hold back either. There was a loud crack, and she jolted with a grunt. A sweet mixture of discomfort and satisfaction.

  “This fucking ass,” I said, striking her other cheek with the same intensity. “You want me to spank it raw?”

  “Yes,” she breathed.

  I pulled her elbows together tighter, hard and high, which had to be uncomfortable, but she didn’t ask me to stop. Her shallow, hurried breaths were wordless pleas to continue. I crushed my chest to her back, bringing my mouth beside her ear. “Yes, what?”

  I traced the tip of my tongue over her neck and up, licking her all the way along the edge of her ear.

  Did her whole body shudder? “Yes, please.”

  I rewarded her with another spanking, only this time I left my hand against her heated skin. I pushed down, sliding my fingers between her legs and finding her pussy wet and hot.

  “Oh, God,” she groaned. Her hips pushed back into my hand so she could grind on my fingers, but I wouldn’t have it. Her pleasure was mine to control. Mine to give.

  I released her with a shove toward the floor, and my tone was dark. “On your hands and knees.”

  She couldn’t seem to get to the floor fast enough, encumbered by her half-down pants, but her knees thudded to the rug, and she launched forward onto her hands. I bent and gripped the ankles of her leggings and yanked them off, leaving her naked except her delicate bra. She was all smooth, pale skin, pink between her legs, and my gaze swept over the exaggerated curves of her hourglass figure.

  “Goddamn, Ruby,” I said when I leaned over and rubbed a circle on her damp clit.

  She was so fucking wet, and it was like my touch was sending sparks along her body. She twitched and bowed. I half-expected her to purr with satisfaction. It was so hot, I began to sweat and reached for my drink.

  The oaky bourbon slid down my throat, and I took a knee beside her hip. She was trembling, and worry stopped my heart. Oh, shit, had I been too harsh? Had I fucked this up? “You okay?”

  Her head hung down until her chin was buried in her chest, and her long curtain of hair draped to the floor. “Yes. God, yes. I don’t know why I’m shaking.”

  Relief poured through me, followed by a strange sensation. Not warmth, or strength, and it took a long moment to place. It was power.

  And it felt really fucking good.

  She was a vision like this. Sex on display. Waiting for me.

  There was a flinch when I set my glass on the flat spot of her lower back, directly centered between her hips.

  “Oh shit, that’s cold!”

  “Quiet. That bottle of bourbon was expensive,” I said. “I’m trusting you to stay still as I do this, and not waste any of it.”

  She seemed to solidify, eager to meet my challenge.

  I anchored myself by putting my left hand on her hip. “Are you ready?”

  Chapter

  TWENTY-ONE

  Of course I didn’t leave Ruby any time to answer my question. I brought my hand crashing against her, and the slap of my palm against her skin was loud. The sound
seemed to register to her before the sting, and the amber liquid sloshed inside the glass, sending the ice cubes rattling noisily.

  The next spanking I approached from the side. I slapped so that I swatted across the cheek, and quickly swung back the direction I’d just come, gripping a handful of her pink skin to keep her hips from rocking away from the blow and tipping my drink. The sight of my fingers clenching the perfect, round globe of her ass was sexy.

  “Fuck,” she whispered. Her palms were flat against the ground, but her fingers were bent, as if trying to dig into the rug. She wasn’t shaking anymore. She held perfectly still.

  “Good girl,” I said, picking up the drink and taking a sip. Condensation had begun to form on the sides, so it left a glistening water ring on her skin. I made sure to set my drink back in the same place. Breath left her in a quiet hiss at the cold.

  I spanked her again. And again.

  We made a song with our sounds. My hand would smack, the ice would clatter in the glass, and sighs of satisfaction came from her. I didn’t let up until her skin was flushed red and moans fell from her mouth like a waterfall.

  I’d stop occasionally to savor my bourbon along with her reaction. I was in awe of how she enjoyed it. Thrilled at how much I liked giving her what she hadn’t experience before. She’d been too afraid to ask for it, but always craved this. If she could trust me to take command of her desires, how long would it take for her to trust me with her heart?

  The thought was so distracting, I brought my hand down on her too low, and my fingertips connected with her swollen clit. She yelped with surprise and jolted, making the glass tip forward onto its side. As it rolled off and dropped to the carpet with a thud, ice and the last sip of bourbon dribbled on her back. It snaked glistening lines over her curves and dripped off her sides.

  “Fuck, that’s cold!” She pushed back so she was sitting on her heels, sending the ice speeding down her back like a luge. The cubes bounced on the rug and skittered across the hardwood.

  I put my hand between her shoulder blades and wiped downward, smearing away the wetness of my drink. She was silent as I collected the ice cubes in the glass, but her head turned to watch me. As I met her gaze, her head snapped forward, as if unsure she had permission to even look at me. Her hands rested on her thighs, and once again, she simply waited for my next directive.