"But he doesn't have a brother," Ruby protested.
"He does now."
"You haven't worked undercover in years," Earl said grimly. "I can't let you do that, but it's a good idea. I'll send one of my guys in."
"Are you kidding me? I'm a P.I.! I'm undercover every single day, and if anyone's going to protect this little lady, it's going to be me."
Chapter 5
Earl finally agreed, but the crime scene was still crawling with police, and Patrick decreed that he and Ruby would stay in a hotel until the house was free of investigators and the funeral was over. Ruby needed clothes and essentials for a couple of days, so Patrick followed her around a large department store while she shopped.
He'd never done anything quite like it, and as he watched her, he admired how kind she was to the sales clerks and how decisive she was about her purchases. As he carried out the larger packages and left her guarding them while he hailed a cab, he found himself wishing they were returning to a home they shared. It shook him, but he couldn't deny how much the idea appealed to him.
Though he was eager to get Ruby settled into the hotel, he wanted to view the crime scene, so he had the cab swing by her house. While she waited in the taxi, he hurried through the rain and into her home, flashing his P.I. badge as he passed the policeman at the door. He did so with such authority, the young officer assumed he was one of the detectives and didn't stop him. Approaching the room in which the murder had taken place, he peered through the door. It was predictably bloody, and the broken crockery and general mess suggested a violent struggle.
"Hey, Bill. How long will you be here?" he asked the supervising detective, Bill Hammer, a former colleague. "Watching you is almost making me homesick."
"Patrick? Fancy meeting you here!"
"I'm helping Mrs. Rogan."
"Lucky guy. I've seen her picture."
"How long do you think?" Patrick repeated.
"We should be done here tomorrow afternoon."
"That crime cleanup crew, are they still around?"
"You mean Blackstone's. Yep, they're still in business."
"Blackstone's! That's it. You got their number handy? I'd like this to be cleaned up before Mrs. Rogan comes back."
"Sure."
Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out his notebook and a small pencil and scribbled the information.
"Here. Ask for Johnny. He's really on the ball."
"Great, thanks, Bill. Looks like it was pretty violent."
"Yeah. It must've been a helluva fight."
"Okay, I'll let you get on. Thanks for letting me check it out."
As he walked swiftly back to the waiting taxi, he wondered if a warning rough-up had gotten out of hand. Maybe Al wasn't going to be bullied and fought back. It was a feasible theory, and one he'd share with Earl.
The hotel Patrick had chosen was in midtown Manhattan. It was small but comfortable, and most importantly, Patrick knew the manager. Ned Fielding was an older, reserved man who ran a tight ship. They'd be safe there, and as the cab drove through the dark wet night, Ruby looped her arm through his and leaned against his shoulder.
"Are you all right?"
"You've done so much for me, Patrick, so much more than I expected. I don't know what would have happened if you hadn't stepped in."
"All part of the service," he replied, wishing he could wrap her up in his arms.
"I doubt that. I can't imagine you volunteer to play bodyguard to every woman who walks into your office."
"Not every woman who walks in to my office is married to a prominent businessman who has just been murdered," he said, lowering his voice.
"Ah, no, I suppose not."
"Besides, I'm not one to leave a damsel in distress."
"It's all so unreal, but I guess I must be coming to terms with it. I know who should make the funeral arrangements. Al's accountant. He and Al were very close. I just need to call him when we get to the hotel."
"That's a load off, and speaking of the hotel, here we are!"
"The Mansfield? That's odd."
"How so?"
"The Mansfield Theatre is where I met Al. Now, on the day that he's gone, I'll be staying in a hotel called the Mansfield."
"That is odd."
"Do you believe in fate, Patrick?"
"Not really," he said with a slight frown. Then staring into her eyes that looked almost silver in the dark light, he added, "But I think I'm starting to."
Her full luscious lips parted in a warm smile. Patrick felt his heart skip. She was sliding under his skin, and there wasn't a darn thing he could do about it.
"It's pouring. I don't have an umbrella," he managed. "We'll have to run into the lobby. Be careful, you don't want to trip."
"Aye, aye, Captain."
She'd replied with an impudent wink. It had done nothing to settle his hardening member, and trying to ignore it, he picked up her small suitcase and they scurried across the sidewalk. In spite of their quick run, when they burst into the hotel lobby, they were dripping.
"Your rooms are adjoining, as you requested," Ned declared as he met them and led them to the elevator. "And there's a bottle of wine and some snacks waiting for you. It's getting late, so if you want dinner, you should head into the dining room."
"I couldn't eat anything," Ruby said wearily. "But that glass of wine sounds good."
"These rooms are quiet," Ned promised as they exited on the third floor. "But you know the streets of New York never sleep. Even back here, you'll hear the odd siren."
"Thanks, Ned, I appreciate this."
"Anything for you, Patrick. I hope you both have a good night's rest."
Unlocking the door, Ned handed Patrick the key. Ruby moved inside, but leaving the shopping bags and boxes just inside the room, Patrick checked the nearby exits and fire escape before joining her. When he walked in and closed the door behind him, he found Ruby had taken off her coat and was standing in the middle of the room.
"Ruby? Are you all right?"
"Can I ask a favor?"
"Sure," he replied, moving slowly towards her.
"Would you please hold me?"
Moving swiftly forward, he opened his arms, and as she leaned against his chest and melted into him, he closed his eyes and breathed in her intoxicating perfume.
"It's been a tough day," he muttered.
"Yeah, and I used to think opening nights were rough."
"It's going to be okay. You'll be safe here. You'll be safe with me."
"I believe you," she murmured, gently pulling back and gazing up at him. "Thank you for helping me."
Her eyes were shining, and though most of the lipstick had long since left her pouty mouth, her full lips were just as inviting. Suddenly, as if they had a life of their own, his fingers were diving into her thick hair, his mouth was consuming hers, her breasts pressing against his chest, and she was returning his kiss with an urgent need.
"Patrick," she breathed as she broke away. "It's been so long."
"Since?"
"Since I've felt like this."
"Me too," he breathed. "From the moment you walked into my office, I couldn't think straight."
"Even though I was hysterical and I put a paper sack with a bloody stiletto on your desk?"
"Are you kiddin'?" he said with a wicked grin. "It was the highlight of my day."
"So, uh, what happens now?"
"If I was a selfish bastard, I'd rip your clothes off and ravage you, but…" he said with a heavy sigh. "I think you should probably soak in a hot tub, get a good night's sleep, and make sure you feel the same in the morning. The drama might be clouding your judgment."
"Nothing is clouding my judgment," she purred. "I know exactly how I feel. The only thing I'm worried about is Salerno and Cavelli. How are we going to catch them?"
"We aren't going to do anything of the sort. You leave that up to the cops and me. I do the undercover thing better than Batman when he's being Bruce Wayne."
"But aren't I th
e bait?"
"No, I'm the bait. They may come knocking on your door, but I'll be answering it. I don't want you anywhere near them. Clear?"
"Aye aye, Captain."
"Again with the captain? I mean it, Ruby. Do you remember my warning?"
"How could I forget?"
"Repeat it."
"If I don't do as I'm told, you'll spank me."
"That didn't sound very convincing. Don't you believe me?"
"Sure I believe you."
"Then why do I think you're fighting a smile?"
"Because it's funny. I can't help it."
"I haven't seen you smile since we met, and I'm glad, but do you really think being spanked is funny?"
"Uh…yeah," she replied, surrendering to the grin.
"It can be," he chuckled. "But if I spank you for being a bad girl, I'm not sure how funny you'll find it."
"Me? A bad girl? You jest."
"I'm fairly certain you can be a very bad girl, Ruby Rose. You know what they say about an ounce of prevention," he declared, and grabbing her wrist, he dropped on the bed and yanked her over his lap.
Chapter 6
Ruby let out a loud squeal and was rewarded with a sharp smack.
"Stop that noise. Do you want Ned banging on the door?"
"What do you expect?" she demanded, looking over her shoulder. "You took me totally by surprise."
"No, I didn't," he declared, smacking her again. "You knew this would happen. You wanted it to."
"I don't know what you're talking about," she protested, beginning to vigorously squirm against his hold. "I wanted no such thing."
"Ruby, Ruby, my goodness. Now you're lying, and keep still before you hurt yourself."
"This is absurd."
"A minute ago, you thought it was funny. Why aren't you laughing?"
"I didn't know I'd feel so…"
"So what? Embarrassed?"
"Yes, and awkward. Let me up!"
"Oh, no, you're not going anywhere. I'm going to spank you for lying, and I'm going to spank you because it will help you."
"Help me? Help me how, exactly?"
"You'll find out. Now stop yelling and no more wriggling."
"This is ridiculous!"
"Shush, behave," he scolded, delivering his hand with three sharp smacks in quick succession.
"Ow!"
"Do I have to gag you?"
"No, sorry, please don't."
"Yell out again and you'll give me no choice. Understand?"
"Yes, yes, I understand."
"I won't spank you hard," he said firmly, raising his leg and placing it over the backs of hers. "Just enough to get your attention and help you."
"You already have my attention, and what's this help you keep talking about? You need to explain."
Ignoring her efforts to distract him, he raised his hand and brought it down with three more sound slaps on her opposite cheek.
"Ow! Ow!"
"I won't tell you again. Next time you let out a howl, I will gag you."
"Sorry, it's hard not to."
"I'm sure you'll manage, but if you must, bury your face in the bed."
Delivering his flattened palm from cheek to cheek with an easy rhythm, he was tempted to raise her skirt and gaze at her lingerie. He found corsets and panty girdles incredibly sexy, and peeling them off to gaze at a woman's naked charms gave him an erotic charge, but he held back. The time would come, and the spanking wasn't just about making sure she knew who was boss, it was to ease the tensions of the day, and he could already feel her sinking into his lap. When he paused to smooth his hand over her luscious curves, he heard a heavy sigh.
The smacks had hurt, but as she'd surrendered, the awkward embarrassment had faded and a different feeling had swept her up. The tough, no-nonsense, roguishly handsome private detective had tantalized her.
"That's enough," he suddenly declared. "I'll rub you for a minute, then we'll have a lie down."
His hand began smoothing itself over her curves, and she closed her eyes, luxuriating in the comforting attention. It was divine, and she found herself wishing his touch was on her skin. A second sigh washed over her, and it was only a minute or two later that he kicked off his shoes, lay back, and brought her into his arms.
"I shouldn't ask you this," she murmured as she settled against him.
"You can ask me anything."
"No, it's wrong."
"Why don't you let me be the judge of that? If it is, I can always spank you again."
"This isn't funny."
"I wasn't joking."
"You'll think badly of me."
"Is this a female thing?"
"What does that mean?"
"Yep, it's a female thing. Ruby, baby, you want to ask me, so ask. I won't walk out the door, I promise."
"Will you stay with me?" she whispered. "I know it's wrong, but I don't want to sleep alone."
Her urgent request didn't surprise him. She'd endured a harrowing ordeal and she was still scared, and the spanking had created a unique intimacy between them.
"Sure, and I'll do my best to behave, though I can't promise."
"You don't think I'm a bad person for asking?"
"Not at all. This isn't Victorian England. It's 1938 and we're in New York. Besides, I'll sleep better knowing you're next to me."
"I need to take a bath or a shower or something."
"Go ahead."
"I don't want to leave."
"I promise I'll be here when you get back."
"I can't believe you just spanked me."
"Why? Wasn't it hard enough? Isn't your backside stinging?"
"You know I didn't mean that."
"Was it so terrible?"
"Uh, no, it wasn't terrible at all, it was…"
"Can't find the words?"
"It's not easy. It's strange. I feel better."
"I know, baby. That's how it works."
She yawned, then let out a long breath.
"I can't do it. I have enough energy to change, but not to take a bath."
"I'll go into my room and come back in five minutes."
"Thanks, Patrick. You can be such a gentleman."
"Hey, I'm doing it for me. If I watched you take your clothes off, I don't think I could control myself."
He started to move off the bed, but she grabbed his arm.
"Yeah?"
"I need to tell you something."
"Another female thing."
"What?"
"Fellas, if they want to ask something, they just ask, and if they want to tell a guy something, they tell him. Females, they start with, can I ask you or can I tell you?"
"Never mind," she muttered, releasing his arm and flopping back on a pillow.
"You sure look good when you pout."
"And you sure know how to kill a girl's mood."
"Tell me, go on, tell me what's on your mind, or do I have to—"
"Don't you dare say it!"
"Then tell me."
"I'm really glad I came to see you, I'm really glad about, uh, everything."
"Even your warm backside?"
"I can't believe I'm saying this, but yeah, even that."
He paused, but only for a moment, then leaning over her, he grabbed her wrists and pinned them on either side of her head.
"Your warm backside is just the beginning!"
Chapter 7
Ruby had never believed she'd find love. True love. Heart-stopping love. The kind of love she'd heard her friends titter about. When they talked about their knees growing weak and butterflies in their stomach, Ruby found it confounding. There was the almighty orgasm, but she didn't need a man for that. She had to pleasure herself during intercourse, if she wanted to climax, and she found all that grunting and groaning distracting. She'd finally concluded there was something fundamentally wrong with her. A worker bee had failed to install a particular passion switch, and she had left the factory defective.
Now, everything had cha
nged.
Now, she knew exactly what her friends meant.
Patrick McGuire made her knees weak. Patrick McGuire made her heart thump. Patrick McGuire made her pulse race. When he'd pinned her wrists and murmured, your warm backside is just the beginning, she suddenly found she couldn't breathe, and her stomach had done an almighty flip. Staring at the door separating their rooms, she let out a longing sigh.
"I don't want you to be a gentleman," she mumbled. "And I don't want to be a lady."
Sliding off the bed and moving across to one of her packages, she lifted the lid and retrieved a long, pink, satin nightgown, and as she began to undress, she made a decision; she'd be naked underneath. It was sinful but she didn't care, and maybe, if she was lucky, at some point during the night…
On the other side of the door, Patrick was pacing around the room muttering to himself.
"How could I have agreed to sleep in the same bed with her? That was stupid, but I couldn't say no, the poor girl needs me. I'll just have to keep my back to her and stay on my side of the mattress."
But even as he tried to convince himself he'd be able to resist her charms, he knew, once lying next to her, it would be incredibly difficult. Ambling to the bed, he sat down, peeled off his shirt, then rested his elbows on his knees and clasped his hands together.
He couldn't do it. He couldn't be in the same bed with her.
"I'll stay here and leave the door open," he murmured, rising to his feet and taking off his trousers. "She'll feel safe with the door open, and I'll know if she has any unwelcome visitors, though there's a slim-to-none chance of that."
He'd just laid his trousers over the chair against the wall, when he heard a gentle knock. Realizing he was still wearing his socks, he half-hopped, half-walked across the room as he pulled them off. A woman had once told him, a man in his socks and boxers was about the most unattractive thing she could imagine. Boxers and an undershirt could be sexy, but not boxers and socks. Slightly out of breath and determined he would not be sharing Ruby's bed, he opened the door.
"Hi," she said softly, gazing at him, her blue eyes inviting more than a perfunctory response.
He could feel his resolve melting away. Standing before him was a goddess, cloaked in shimmering pink. The thin, silky satin nightgown was floating around her body, highlighting every curve, her nipples were pressing urgently against the flimsy fabric, then his eyes fell to her lips, her unbelievably lusciously kissable lips.
Hero Undercover: 25 Breathtaking Bad Boys Page 18
