by Tessa Bailey
…
Troy lifted her with one strong arm, and her legs automatically wrapped around his waist as if she’d been made for him. As though they’d performed this same dance a thousand times even though it felt new, exciting, arousing. His stride sure and confident, he ascended the stairs toward her apartment. Ruby tried to focus on him, kissing his neck and breathing in his scent to calm her racing heart, to no avail. She’d never met anyone who could see through her so easily. Call her so accurately on her bullshit. It made her want to trust him. Never tell him another lie. He’d only known her a matter of days and yet, knowing her background working for the criminal he was tracking, he’d trusted her enough to leave her alone in his apartment that morning. Found a way to let her retain her freedom even though she had potentially damning information to use against him. Ruby felt a desperate need to repay that trust. Troy thought she was worth more than whatever money she could earn in a single night. Time to prove it.
She’d never brought anyone into her apartment.
When she’d left her father to his own devices on the road to return home, she’d finally found her own space. Unlike the drab, impersonal motel rooms she’d been frequenting, this was her home. Sharing it with something else was a big step, but it felt right. She wanted the memory of him in her bed, his scent on her pillow. To share a part of herself with him that she’d kept hidden for so long.
Troy came to a stop at her door and let her slide down his body. Feeling suddenly self-conscious, she averted her gaze to dig the keys from her pocket.
“Hey,” he said, tipping her chin up, frowning when her smile trembled. “I think this is the first time I’ve ever seen you look nervous.”
Shrugging, she tried to appear unaffected by his observation and failed. “I’ve never brought anyone here before. Or whatever.”
Something primitive flashed across his face as he moved closer. “Except me.”
“Except you,” she whispered a second before his mouth locked itself to hers, draining every ounce of tension wrought by the interminably long day from her body.
Until that moment, she hadn’t realized how much she’d needed him to kiss her. The last hour had left her tense, reminders of her past life making her feel exposed, like an imposter. She drew strength from the contact of his hungry lips. It made her feel whole in a way that nothing else ever had. It should’ve alarmed her how easily his mouth commanded her mood, but the sensations it elicited left no room for her to care.
He pulled away, keeping his gaze locked on her mouth like he couldn’t contain his need for more.
“Let’s get inside before I peel off those jeans and take you hard against this door.”
Biting her lip to refrain from begging him to do just that, Ruby turned and pushed open the door.
Schooling her expression, she whispered to him. “Just keep your voice down. I don’t want to wake up my husband.”
Behind her, Troy tensed. “You better be joking.”
Ruby threw him a wink over her shoulder and flipped on the overhead light. She turned to Troy to gauge his reaction. He scanned the room, landing on everything within seconds, eyebrows lifting in surprise.
Attempting to see the apartment through his eyes, she looked at the unfinished pool sticks and spec sheets pinned to all four walls and drills, glue, and tools stored neatly on every available surface. The entire back wall was lined with finished pool cues of varying size and brightly colored wraps.
Troy carefully pulled a cue down from the holder.
He turned it over in his hand, then threw an amazed glance in her direction. “You make these?”
She swallowed. “Yes.”
“You make them here? In the apartment?” He shook his head in disbelief. “They’re amazing.”
Relieved for something technical to focus on, she spoke quickly. “Some of it, like the wrapping and varnishing, I do here. I rent a wood lathe at a local guy’s shop for the actual carving of the maple.” She shifted uncomfortably. “I’m saving up for my own lathe. They’re expensive so…”
He closed the distance between them. “So you hustle.”
Ruby nodded seriously. “I’ve already got a business model worked out. As soon as I get my degree, I’m going into business for myself. I want to do this right.”
She met his gaze. “I’m not going to hustle forever.”
“Of course not.” Cupping the sides of her face, he half smiled in a way that made her heart rate stutter.
“God, don’t you know how incredible you are? You can do anything you want.”
A powerful feeling spread through her chest, one she didn’t have a name for. He believed in her. And at that moment, she didn’t need anything else. Just this man standing in front of her, looking down at her like he couldn’t believe his luck at having met her. It humbled Ruby. Made her want to be as amazing as
Troy seemed to believe she was capable of being. She’d revealed her dream to him, one she’d never shared with anyone, and he’d accepted it, praised it even. He didn’t tell her to stick to what she knew, or stop trying to aspire to unrealistic dreams. She’d never in her life experienced that kind of unconditional support. It made her want to reveal everything about herself, to just lay all the good and bad at his feet to let him pick through the debris.
“Thank you,” she said, not surprised to find her voice sounded shaky. Turning her head, she kissed his palm. “Are you up for one more adventure tonight?”
Chapter Ten
Ruby peered down at her hand, swallowed up by Troy’s larger one as they walked through the alley behind her building. She hadn’t revealed their destination, yet once again, he’d trusted her enough to follow her back down the stairs and out into the night. Around them, steam rose from subway vents in the concrete, televisions flickered in people’s windows, and wind whipped past them in steady gusts. All familiar to her.
Home. Noticing how he inspected every dark corner of the alley suspiciously, looking for any sign of trouble, she elbowed him in the ribs, smiling playfully.
“You look fully prepared for an alien attack.”
He pulled her into his side protectively. “Please, for the love of God, don’t tell me you walk through here alone at night. Or during the day, for that matter.”
“Okay, I won’t tell you that.” She grinned at his warning look. “Although, it would make us even for scaring me half to death earlier.”
“You deserved it,” he grumbled. “I swear, you’re going to give me an ulcer. I’m too young for an ulcer, Ruby.”
“It’s not much farther,” she said. “Soon we’ll be safely inside where you can scold me for my recklessness and manhandle me into promising I’ll do better.”
“I’m only mildly appeased.”
“Mmm. We can do much better than that.” When he tried to lift her off the ground into his arms, she squirmed out of his grip and jogged toward a padlocked door located along the brick wall of the alley. “Here it is.” She pulled a thin, metal object from her pocket and inserted it into the lock. “Don’t look now, but here comes that ulcer.” With a few calculated twists of her wrist, the lock popped open. She removed it from the metal loop and opened the door, gesturing for him to follow as she walked inside.
“Jesus,” he groaned, dragging a hand down his face.
“A little warning would be nice before you involve me in a felony.”
“And ruin the surprise?” She flipped a switch on the wall. Over their heads, a dozen lights came on, illuminating a deserted tavern. “Oh, good, they haven’t cut off the power yet.”
Troy circled the room, the wooden floor creaking beneath his feet. Furniture sat neatly arranged in sections, and portraits of famous Irish writers lined the walls. It felt as though moments before, it might have been filled with people. He came to a stop at the full-sized pool table located in the center of the space.
“All right, what is this place we have forcibly entered without permissio
n?”
Ruby dug a few quarters out of her jacket pocket before hanging it on the back of a high stool. “The Wicked Monk Tavern. Closed down about a month ago. It’s still cleaned regularly because they’ve been showing it to prospective buyers.” Sending him a wide smile, she rubbed her hands together. “Feels like the heat’s been left on, too.” She crouched down and placed the quarters in the slot of the table. The balls sped down, landing with a crash, and she began to rack. “Fancy a game?”
“What the hell.” He shrugged off his jacket with a heavy sigh. “I’m already an accomplice. Might as well make it worthwhile.”
“That’s the spirit.” Ruby stood and jiggled her ever-present yoga mat, dislodging both halves of the stick inside. Quickly, she screwed the ends together and moved around the pool table to stand in front of him, holding it out for him to take. “Your break.”
Watching her suspiciously out of the corner of his eye, he took the stick. He grabbed a cube of blue chalk off the rail, quickly chalked the tip, then leaned down to line up his shot. “This isn’t the stick you used the first time. That one had a burgundy wrap.”
Behind him, her eyebrows shot up. “You remember that?”
“Yeah,” Troy said in a low voice, sending the cue ball down the table to break the tight rack. Two solids rolled into different pockets, and he straightened. “I remember everything about you that night.”
With well-hidden shock, she watched him round the table, sinking another three balls, his form and execution well beyond that of a beginner. She couldn’t help the smile that tugged at her lips. “Why didn’t you tell me you could play?”
He shrugged in the act of chalking his cue. “You didn’t ask. Besides, there’s a lot we still don’t know about each other, right?”
Ruby’s good mood dwindled. Obviously, despite the mild improvement in his attitude toward her, he still hadn’t gotten over his earlier anger. She took a deep breath, sensing she would be revealing more about herself than she had already. In a way, she felt she owed him some honesty. “What do you want to know?”
“In what capacity did you work for Lenny Driscol?”
“Wow. Straight to the point. Don’t you at least want to know my favorite color first?”
“I already know its green.” He sunk another ball.
“Look, you don’t have to answer if you don’t want. Nobody’s forcing you.”
There it is. The challenge. She hated that he’d played that irresistible card even as she respected it. Crossing her arms over her middle, she steeled herself for his reaction. “I guess I should start from the beginning.”
Troy’s head came up, a look of surprise crossing his face. He hadn’t expected her to talk, Ruby guessed.
“My mother left when I was very young. So young I can’t remember her.” She blew out a heavy breath.
“My father, Jim, has always made his living playing pool. When she left, he couldn’t afford day care or a babysitter, so he took me with him. I grew up in pool halls. Even after I started going to school, they were where I spent my nights and weekends.”
Troy stayed silent, listening intently from across the table, pool stick forgotten in his hand.
“We went on the road during summer vacations.
Stayed in a town long enough to make some money, then moved on. Eventually, it became too much. Too many wildcards when you walk into an unfamiliar place.” She saw Troy’s hand tighten on the stick and decided not to elaborate on that. “We came back to Brooklyn, and my father hooked back up with Lenny.
For a while, everything was great. Lenny found cash games, sent me and my father in, and we gave him a cut of the winnings. Then one time, Lenny shortchanged my father. They argued… It got ugly.” She shrugged, trying to hide the hurt at being abandoned. “My father went back out on the road, and I stayed here.”
“He left you,” he stated angrily. “Yet you continued working for Driscol?”
Ruby nodded. “Pretty much the same gig, only
Bowen started coming with me. He stepped in if things got out of control.”
“How often did that happen?” Troy’s voice cracked like a whip, making Ruby flinch. She held little appreciation for the look on his face. Not judgment exactly, but something resembling incredulity at her decision making. She had the sudden urge to tell him exactly how bad it had been. To see how much truth he could handle before walking away. She held no regrets about anything in her past, and it was time he knew it.
Whether or not he could accept it would be up to him.
“Often,” she finally answered, her chin coming up. “The final match I ever played for Lenny ended in a brawl. Bowen has been a fighter his whole life, but even he couldn’t take on the eight men who wanted a little revenge for having a girl make them look like Grade-A assholes on their turf. I barely escaped out the back door in time. Spent the night hiding in a Denny’s parking lot.”
Troy tossed the stick onto the table, and she watched it roll to a stop against the rail. He rounded the table in her direction, fury blanketing his expression.
“Did you tell me that little story just to piss me the hell off?”
Ruby straightened her spine, resenting the excitement that flowed through her over what his intentions were. What he would do when he reached her. “Yeah. Maybe I did.”
He pulled her body against his. “Well, it fucking worked.” His mouth stamped over hers, cutting off her surprised gasp. Ruby couldn’t resist moaning when his hands sunk into her hair, tugging her head to the side so he could slant his mouth over and over across hers.
When he pulled a little harder than necessary on the long strands, she bit his bottom lip in reproof, but it only made him deepen the kiss, his tongue licking into her mouth with a possessive growl.
“Do you know why you wanted to make me angry?” He spoke directly against her parted, panting lips. “Because you know it makes me hard. You know it makes me hot to fuck.” He tilted his hips and pushed against her, demonstrating the effect of her words.
“That means you’re hot to get fucked. Good. Too bad you’re about to get much more than you bargained for, hustler. Turn around.”
She hesitated. Not because she didn’t want to turn around, but she didn’t feel like giving in to his order so easily. With an impatient noise, Troy gripped her waist and whirled her until she faced away from him.
Her breath shuddered in and out, sounding loud in the empty bar, betraying her need for him. He worked the button of her jeans, then slid his big hand down the inside of her panties. Ruby’s stomach and thighs tightened as if on command. She cried out as he dipped two fingers inside her, then spread the wetness in achingly slow circles around her clitoris. “You can make this a lot easier on yourself by agreeing. No more disappearing. No more dangerous situations. None of it. Agree to it, Ruby. Now.”
Biting her lip, she shook her head. “I can’t.”
He pushed his long fingers inside her, high and tight, forcing her midsection against the pool table. She thought she might have called his name, but couldn’t be sure. “I protect what’s mine. Are you denying that you’re mine, Ruby? I’d seriously advise against it.”
“N-no, I’m not denying it,” she panted, and was rewarded by the continued massaging where she desperately craved his touch. Her head fell forward, her palms supporting her weight on the green felt.
Suddenly, the sweet pressure disappeared, and she felt her jeans and underwear being pulled roughly down her legs. Sobbing in anticipation of what was to come, she pressed back against him and circled her naked bottom against his lap. “Please, Troy. I want it.”
He leaned down and spoke harshly next to her ear. “Not yet. Not even close. Congratulations, you’ve pushed me past my limit today. When I decide you’ve earned it, you’ll get it fast and rough. Not a second before.”
Confusion mixed with eagerness to see what he had planned. What had he meant by making her earn it? Without thinking, she leaned f
orward and placed her upper body flat along the table, putting her backside on display in front of him. He rewarded her with an uneven groan, palming her ass with his callused hands, kneading the flesh with ungentle fingers. “Does this feel good enough for you, or would you rather I make it hurt?”
Ruby’s head dropped forward onto the table’s surface with a whimper. The answer left her mouth before she could analyze it or change her mind. “Make it hurt.”
With his right hand, Troy picked the pool cue off the table. Behind her, she could hear him unscrewing it, separating the smaller, thinner top from the thick base. Not knowing his intentions only served to heighten the anticipation. His roughened breath, his own obvious excitement, shot liquid warmth through her. A moment later, Ruby felt the cue’s top half tracing over the curve of her bottom. The cool, smooth wood felt foreign and soothing moving across her fevered skin. Then, in a move she didn’t anticipate, Troy brought down the thin shaft of wood in one hard swat on her ass.
She sucked in a breath and let it out with a shudder.
Nerve endings snapping, pulse drumming like mad in her ears, all she could think was again. “More.”
“There’s always more, baby.” He repeated the action exactly ten more times, bringing the wooden shaft down to snap against her sensitive flesh until she couldn’t decide where the pain ended and the pleasure started. It became the sole focus of her entire being.
Each swat elicited a moan from her throat in the form of his name. Just when it became too much, when she thought she might combust from the tornado of sensations taking place within her, he stopped. Then the smooth, glossy wood slipped between her thighs until one end rested on the table, the other in his hand.
“You found out what my limits are today, didn’t you?” He skimmed his free hand up her back, then down to rest beside her hip. “Now we’ll test yours.”
