by J. S. Scott
“I can handle both,” I argued. “And paying you back for what you did for me comes first.”
“I don’t give a damn about the money,” he rumbled as he met my gaze.
“It matters to me, Jett,” I answered honestly. “I need to feel good about myself, and that won’t happen unless I do something to pay you back.”
“Can’t you ever just let somebody do something for you and just say thank you?” he asked gruffly. “I’m not keeping track, Ruby. And I wouldn’t take it even if you tried to pay me back.”
“Then I just won’t draw a paycheck, and I’ll eventually work enough to pay you,” I answered stubbornly.
“You’re cleaning, doing laundry, and cooking me meals. I hope you’re deducting all of those hours as work,” he snapped, sounding slightly injured.
“That’s nothing. It’s something I’d be doing if we were roommates or if I had my own place.”
“Add it to your hours worked,” he demanded in an irritated tone. “You’re going to need those hours because I suppose you’re going to throw this in my face, too.”
He reached into his pocket and tossed me a small book the size of my hand.
I picked it up, recognizing the object immediately.
“I found it on the kitchen counter,” he explained. “Since it’s a national bank, all I had to do was drop in and make a deposit.”
I turned the worn paper book around in my hand. Even though I was pretty sure the bank no longer issued the books, I’d had it since I was a kid. “It’s my savings account book, but there was nothing left in it.” I’d drawn every penny I could from the account when I’d left Ohio. It had only been a couple hundred dollars, but it had helped in the very beginning to buy food and a few other things I’d needed.
“There’s money in there now,” he muttered.
I opened it, but I didn’t see a recent deposit, which made me more certain that the books were obsolete. All he’d probably needed was the account number.
I looked at him, astonished. “Why?”
He stood up, but his emerald gaze was still pinning me to my chair with its intensity. “Because if something should happen to me, I have to know that you’ll be okay. Your days on the streets are done, Ruby. If I get hit by a truck tomorrow, you’ll still be okay.”
I wanted to tell him that I wouldn’t be okay if something happened to him. I’d be devastated. Because he was more important than his money.
“I’m not your responsibility, Jett. I’m a grown woman.” My reply came out harsh because I was still not good with thinking about his demise.
“I’m making you my responsibility because I want to,” he answered in a graveled tone. “And I need to know you’re going to be okay even if I’m not around.”
“Why?” I asked hesitantly, not even wanting to consider any day that didn’t have Jett in it.
“Because I fucking care about you, Ruby. Don’t you get that?”
I shook my head. “I don’t think that I do understand.”
What Dr. Romain had said during our first day of counseling drifted through my mind.
My uncle hadn’t protected me. He’d hurt me. And we were related.
But Jett, somebody who had only met me several weeks ago, was concerned about my future?
I wasn’t sure how to reconcile that.
But I finally answered, “Please understand that nobody has ever cared about me since my parents died, Jett. Nobody has ever tried to protect me over the years that I’ve been homeless. Nobody really cared.”
“I fucking care,” he answered in a clipped baritone. “You can accept that or not. You don’t have to spend the money if you don’t want to. But keep it because it means something to me. It gives me peace of mind.”
I looked at his tense expression, the muscle in his strong jaw twitching with irritation right before his face went completely blank. He started to walk away from the table, probably headed for the office where the computer equipment was set up.
I’d hurt him.
I knew it.
And that was the last thing I wanted to do to Jett.
My heart was aching as I cried out, “Wait. Please don’t run away.”
I jumped up from my chair and moved in front of him. My pride and confusion wasn’t nearly as important as what he’d done for me.
My vision was blurred as I looked up at him, but I refused to cry. “I admit that I’m not sure how to deal with somebody who cares, but what you did—nobody has ever done something like that for me except my parents who opened that account for me a few decades ago. Thank you.”
“Is that the end of your protest, Cinderella?” he asked as he raised my chin gently with his fingertips.
“I won’t spend the money unless I need to,” I warned him.
He nodded curtly. “I can live with that.”
“But please know that it means a lot to me,” I requested as I took his hand from my face and held it tightly.
He twined our fingers together. “I also did it so you’d feel safer. I guess I wanted you to know that you’re always going to be okay. Nobody can take that security away from you, Ruby.”
My heart was racing as I felt his warm breath on my face. I wanted to sink into Jett and stay there, absorbing his strength.
One of his motives in depositing money in my account had been just for me. So I’d realize that even if something happened, and he wanted to get rid of me, I’d always have funds.
Yes, getting dumped back on the streets was a really big fear for me, but I was getting more and more comfortable with the fact that Jett was never going to do that. “You didn’t have to do that,” I said in a whisper, my voice failing me as I looked into the eyes of the kindest man I’d ever known.
“I wanted to,” he corrected hoarsely.
His whiskey-smooth baritone skittered down my spine and landed directly between my thighs. In that moment, I wanted nothing more than to have Jett kiss me.
His lips were inches from mine, and I was mesmerized by being so close to him. We stood like that for a moment. When I realized he wasn’t going to make a move, I made one of my own.
I wrapped my hand around the back of his neck and pulled him down to meet me as I rose up on my toes.
Our lips met awkwardly, but Jett immediately took control. Pulling our fingers apart, he wrapped both arms around my waist, bringing me closer while he ravaged my mouth.
I moaned against his lips as I put my arms around his neck, needing to press my body against his to become submerged in his heat.
I was disappointed when he finally pulled his mouth from mine, but when he started to explore the sensitive skin of my neck, I let out an animalistic sound of need that I’d never heard come from my lips before.
“God, Ruby, I want you so damn much,” he said huskily, his breath wafting over my ear, and making me ache for so much more.
“I need to touch you,” I pleaded, tugging at the hem of his T-shirt.
All I wanted was to explore his bare flesh, and I yanked until he finally pulled the T-shirt over his head and dropped it on the floor.
My hands were all over him, running over every gorgeous muscle of his torso, getting drunk off the feel of his hard body before he pulled me against him again.
His hands stroked down my back until they landed on my jean-clad rear and squeezed.
I froze, my mind suddenly flooded with memories I’d just wanted to forget.
“Don’t,” I said in panic. “I can’t do this. I can’t look at the scars—” I broke off to twist my body away from his, desperate to get out of his hold.
He let me go the moment he realized that something was wrong.
We were both panting as we stared at each other.
“I’m sorry,” I said breathlessly right before I sprinted toward my bedroom so I could be alone to tr
y to clear my head.
But I was afraid that I couldn’t outrun my thoughts, and no amount of time alone would ever get them out of my mind.
Ruby
“We can leave for Seattle tomorrow,” Jett informed me in a polite but distant tone a few days after my meltdown.
After what happened, I had managed to get my head together, but my relationship with Jett had irrevocably changed, and I was still mourning the gruff but sweet Jett who had been present before I’d flipped out on him.
We’d just finished dinner, and I set a dessert plate in front of him that contained a pretty simple pastry I’d made earlier in the afternoon.
“I thought we were waiting to make sure we didn’t need to give more statements.”
He shook his head, but he didn’t look at me. “Your kidnappers took a deal. They agreed to plead guilty to lesser charges. They’re testifying against one of the bigger fish above them in the food chain.”
I sat down across from him since my rubbery legs didn’t seem to want to hold me up. “Then it’s…over?”
“It’s over,” he verified. “The two of them aren’t getting out of jail time, but with lesser charges they might eventually see the light of day before they die.”
“Thank God,” I said in a shaky voice as I pushed my dark hair away from my face. “I didn’t want to have to testify. Honestly, I didn’t even want to give another statement.”
“You got your wish,” he said flatly. “Can you be ready to leave tomorrow morning?”
“Yes,” I answered, grateful that I’d be able to start my life somewhere else.
Since I really, really didn’t want to have to go through my whole history with another counselor, Dr. Romain, who I now called Annette by her request, had agreed to doing video sessions when I moved with Jett to Seattle, so I wouldn’t really miss any of my counseling.
“Are you sure you still want me?” I asked hesitantly.
“Of course I’m sure,” he answered brusquely.
“I know you’re angry—”
“I’m not mad at you, Ruby. I’m pretty much pissed off at myself. It never should have happened,” he said firmly.
“I wanted it to happen,” I told him quietly.
Annette and I had already discussed my involuntary reaction, and she’d told me it was normal. But it didn’t feel natural to me to reject Jett in any way. Not anymore.
He finally looked up and pinned me with his turbulent gaze. “No, you didn’t want it to happen. I think you feel like you owe me something, and maybe you didn’t want me to feel rejected. But the last thing I want from you is a pity fuck.”
I was shocked into silence. Is that what he thought? That I was willing to screw him to survive?
There was silence in the kitchen for a moment.
Me…because I was still trying to figure out what exactly Jett had meant by his comment.
And Jett…because he was devouring the pastry I’d put in front of him.
“Jesus, this thing is good. What is it?” Jett asked.
“It’s just a simple puffed pastry with fruit and a cream cheese mixture topped with powdered sugar.”
He pointed to the half empty dish as he said, “There’s nothing simple about this dessert. It’s fucking amazing.”
I wanted to address what he’d said about me rejecting him, but it was the first easy conversation we’d had in a few days, and I didn’t want to ruin it. “I could do a lot better, but I don’t have everything I need for complicated stuff.”
“I’ll get you anything you want in Seattle if you can keep making these,” he said right before he swallowed the rest of the sweet treat.
I smiled at him. “I love to bake. I’ll make whatever you want. Even if you have a small kitchen, I can still do a lot with the right ingredients and a few other pans and accessories.”
He dropped his fork on the empty plate and picked up the mug of coffee I’d given him before I’d dropped off the dessert. I truly believed that pastry was best with a fresh cup of coffee.
He set the mug back in place once he’d downed half of it. “My kitchen isn’t exactly small,” Jett said in a careful voice.
I hadn’t meant to insult him in any way. “Seattle is expensive. I was researching since I’m moving there and the average rent for a one-bedroom is over two thousand dollars. I’m sure the average person doesn’t have a chef’s kitchen or anything elaborate.”
He looked at me with a guilty expression. “I’m not exactly an average person,” he stated.
I folded my arms, wondering if he was going to start gloating about what a great tech guy he was again. “Then what are you?”
His eyes were intensely focused on me as he said, “I have a chef’s kitchen, Ruby. I have a downtown penthouse that’s built on two levels and bigger than most houses in Seattle. I have an up-close-and-personal view of the Space Needle out some windows, and the Puget Sound from the others.”
I looked at him in confusion. “But that has to be a seven-figure home. I didn’t know your business was that big.”
“It’s an eight-figure home, and I can easily afford it.”
“What are you trying to say?” I knew Jett wasn’t delusional, but I was confused.
“Ruby, what kind of computer did I buy you?” he asked in a careful tone.
“A Lawson,” I answered obligingly. “One of the best laptops on the market, according to almost all sources.”
“It is the best,” he said gruffly. “I should know because my two brothers and I own the company. Me, my brother Carter, and my brother Mason are partners and the owners of Lawson Technologies.”
My brain tried to process what he was telling me, and my mind balked. Yeah, his last name was Lawson, but that last name was fairly common. But if he was one of the owners of Lawson Technologies, he’d be one of the richest men in the world. Lawson was an international tech company, and one of the giants.
I racked my brain for any information I had retained in my memory about the company. I didn’t know much about Lawson, but I did remember reading that one of the headquarters was in Seattle.
“You’re really one of those Lawsons?” I squeaked.
He nodded, not taking his eyes away from my face.
“Then you’re one of the richest guys in the world?” I asked.
He nodded again.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” I questioned, feeling a little hurt that he hadn’t told me everything. Being a Lawson of Lawson Technologies was a pretty big deal.
He shrugged. “I guess I wanted you to like me without the billionaire stuff.”
“I’d like you either way,” I informed him. “You’re a pretty likable guy. But it kind of freaks me out that you’re that rich. And it hurts that you thought that I was that superficial.”
“I don’t,” he explained. “That was how I felt in the very beginning, and after that, it really didn’t seem to matter. I’m sorry. I should have told you earlier.”
I glared at him. “I would have felt a lot better knowing I hadn’t put you into a difficult situation when you’d shelled out so much money for me. Not that it would have changed the fact that I owe you, but I wouldn’t have felt quite as guilty if I’d known that you were going to be okay without it until I could pay you back. I was afraid I’d left you with no savings.”
“I told you it wouldn’t break me,” he argued.
“I thought you were just being nice,” I admitted.
He grinned at me, the cocky grin I hadn’t seen in the last few days. “Do I have to apologize because I’m really, really rich?”
I folded my arms in front of me. “I suppose not. You already said you were sorry that you didn’t tell me earlier.”
I thought about some of the things he’d said, and it all made sense now, including his claim of being the best cybersecurity guy in the wor
ld. Since he owned Lawson, and they were known as the best, then his claim was definitely valid.
I felt a little silly that I hadn’t put all the facts together earlier, but who expected a guy as influential as Jett to be on a rescue mission?
Okay, maybe that wasn’t fair, but most guys like him were schmoozing with other rich guys, not helping the homeless personally.
“Does it really matter?” he asked.
I thought for a minute. Did it make a difference about how I felt about Jett?
After careful consideration, I decided it really didn’t matter. But it was nice to know that helping me didn’t break him.
I shook my head. “Not to me. But I’m guessing I’ll get a room with a view in Seattle?” I joked.
He nodded with a relieved expression. “Best views in the city,” he admitted. “Am I forgiven, then?”
I shrugged. “I’ll let you know. I’m still trying to absorb the fact that I’m hanging out with one of the richest guys in existence.”
“You’ll get used to it,” Jett answered gravely.
“What’s it like in Seattle? Does it really rain all the time?”
Jett looked pretty happy that I’d changed the subject. “No. It’s overcast most of the winter, but it only rains about fifty percent of the time,” he answered with humor in his voice. “The traffic is horrible, but the food is fantastic, especially if you like seafood. And if you’re a coffee lover, you’ll find a coffee shop almost anywhere in the city. It has plenty of water and there are mountains on the opposite side of the city, so it’s good for almost any kind of activity you want.”
“Do you like it there?”
“I do,” he admitted. “It’s different from living in Colorado, but Seattle has a life of its own, and there are computer nerds everywhere.”
I laughed. “So you fit right in,” I teased.
He shrugged. “Pretty much.”
I stood and started collecting dishes. Jett got up to help just like he always did.
Honestly, Jett seemed pretty normal for a man who had so much money. Maybe that was why I never really connected the dots with him.
As I loaded the dishwasher, I tried to wrap my head around the fact that I’d been staying with one of the most influential businessmen in world.
