“Is he involved in your daughter’s life?” he asked.
Ruby shook her head. “He died.”
“Oh. I’m sorry...”
“Don’t be.” She pushed her ice cream aside. “I should go pick up Maya.”
It was only three. She said earlier she had until five.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t know you don’t like talking about him,” Damon said.
“It’s all right. It is a mood-changer, though.” She smiled, albeit forced.
“Is your family still in Wisconsin?”
“My mother is here. She moved here shortly after I did, and that makes Chicago home.”
She must be close to her mother. Seeing she still wanted to leave, Damon didn’t try to keep her any longer. “I’d like to take you out again, maybe for dinner,” he said.
She smiled, although the residual distaste over bringing up her ex still lingered. Actually, distaste wasn’t the right word. Apprehension was more appropriate. She was afraid. As well she should be. Mercer was dead, but his band of criminals weren’t.
“I’d like that,” she said.
Damon was both elated and filled with guilt over misleading her the way he was. He had way too much interest in her. He had a job to do, and yet, this felt like a real date. When he should be pretending, he didn’t have to. Honestly, he felt attracted to her the moment he met her. He thought he could keep that under control, but now, being with her like this, he worried he wouldn’t be able to. What was worse? Pretending or not? Either way, the day would come when she’d learn his true identity. She’d be hurt. And so would he, if he allowed any feelings to grow.
He walked with her back down the street.
“Have you been following that story about the Coltons?” she asked.
She did so to make conversation, but she had no idea the bombshell she had just dropped on him. Luckily, the media didn’t focus on Damon and his brothers. They focused on Erik and Axel Colton, and Carin, of course. So far. Damon wasn’t in the limelight while he worked undercover, and his brothers were more concerned over the damage Carin would cause if her suit were successful. Damon himself was curious of his new cousins and had no interest in taking anything from them.
“No, not really,” he said.
“They have cousins they never knew about, and Dean Colton’s mistress from way back when is going after their inheritance.”
“Sounds like an evening soap opera,” he joked.
Ruby laughed. “Money attracts all sorts, apparently.”
“I’ll say.”
“Money was never that important to me. I was more interested in finding someone I could be happy with. I mean, everybody needs money to survive, and I don’t want to be the one who struggles to live comfortably, but it doesn’t have to be in excess.”
“I couldn’t agree more,” he said, having had similar thoughts about his father and grandmother. He felt a bond grow between them, as though they were magically linked in this moment. And the attraction he had so far been able to temper began to slip from his grasp.
They reached the bookstore, and Damon faced her.
“I’m glad we did this,” she said.
“Me, too.” The urge to kiss her overcame him. It should be a tactical move, but seeing her full lips and eyes that no longer held that haunted look, he’d do it for more than that. He couldn’t deny it. Managing to restrain himself, he kept it chaste and leaned in for a kiss on her cheek.
Getting a whiff of her sweet scent and being so close to her beautiful eyes, something changed in an instant. He could see the heat go into the way she looked up at him. He shifted just a bit and pressed his mouth to hers. Soft at first, the lightning-fast reaction in him and what he felt in her response made him kiss her harder.
Ruby slid her hand up his chest to the back of his neck and kissed him with equal fervor. A few seconds later, she began to withdraw.
Stepping back, she put her hand to her mouth and stared.
“Yeah,” he said. “I wasn’t expecting that, either.” What an understatement. They were explosive together. How was he supposed to conduct his investigation with that kind of knowledge?
After a few seconds, she lowered her hand and pointed toward the bookstore. “Now I really need to go.”
“Yeah. Good idea.” In a few more seconds he’d be doing his best to take her home with him.
“M-my car is parked in the back.”
“I’ll walk you there.” Although it was still afternoon, he didn’t like the idea of her alone in the back of the building, which was essentially an alley.
“No, no.” She briefly waved her hand. “I’ll be fine.” With her palm toward the sky and eyes going up, she said, “Daylight.”
He chuckled. “Sorry. Chivalry isn’t dead for me.” And it wasn’t. He just needed to meet a woman who appreciated that about him. Or, at the very least, recognition that it wasn’t an attempt to rob her of her independence but, rather, respect her for her exquisite beauty, inside and out.
Damon had given up trying to find that a long time ago, but it was still nice to fantasize.
“It is for most men,” she said, smiling.
Still grinning, he said, “Dinner tomorrow night?”
“How about Friday? I have class tomorrow night.”
“Okay. You want to give me your address so I can pick you up?”
“Pick me up here.”
She still didn’t trust him. He could deal with that. “Seven,” he said.
“Seven it is.”
She smiled and breathed a few deep breaths. He felt the same, still breathless. What would happen after dinner on Friday...?
Snapping out of that fantasy, he remembered Mercer’s followers. Ruby wasn’t aware of Damon’s knowledge of the danger she could be in.
“I’ll walk you to your car,” he said.
Her smile warmed, obviously touched by his show of what she perceived as chivalry.
They walked in silence with enticement charging the air. Too soon, they reached her car door. She faced him.
“Well,” she said, “until Friday.”
“Not unless I come get my coffee in the morning,” he said.
She breathed a short laugh, one full of sexual awareness.
Things would be a lot different now. Their acquaintance had gone from platonic to a wide-open road of possibilities.
“Thanks for walking me to my car.” Still smiling, she got into the driver’s seat and looked at him as she started the engine.
Damon stuffed his hands into his pockets and couldn’t subdue an answering grin, knowing it was flirtatious and revealed how good he felt because of her, because of being with her the way he had been this afternoon.
She lifted a hand in farewell, and he took his right hand out to answer. He stood there for several seconds, long after she disappeared down the street. Turmoil churned in his guts. These feelings were too strong after just one innocent date. He was undercover, and she was his primary target for gaining the upper hand on Mercer’s criminal followers. The two would surely clash into an unfavorable ending—for him and for Ruby.
Chapter 2
Damon had taken Ruby to the movies once and dinner twice. Now he took her to Matthiessen State Park, about an hour-and-a-half drive from Chicago. He planned on a picnic and maybe a hike afterward. People who weren’t from Chicago probably would never guess there was a place with beautiful rock formations, trees and wildlife a relatively short drive away. Growing up in Wisconsin, she and her family would take vacations up north. Her grandparents had a house on Long Lake. This place reminded her of that.
Reaching the picnic area, Ruby helped Damon spread a tablecloth and unload the cooler and a bag he used in lieu of a basket. The table was secluded in trees, and she could hear a stream nearby. A careful look around and she could see water through branc
hes and undergrowth. A path had been trampled down where others had gone to partake in the beauty or perhaps fish. The path where they had just walked was visible but about fifty yards away. She could see people passing by, but this was a private place.
“Have you been to this spot before?” she asked. How had he known to bring her to this table?
“I did some reading and got a map. A very friendly park ranger told me about this table,” he said.
“It’s so beautiful.” And so much more special with him. Their dates had progressively drawn her closer to him, or at the least, much more interested in taking this further. She sensed he felt the same. One could never be sure at this stage of a relationship, however. What she felt might not have the same meaning to him. And she had vowed never to let her guard down until she was 100 percent certain she was with the right man.
“What did you make us?” Ruby had never been with a man who prepared her food. Kid had either taken her out or brought food in.
“Club sandwiches with avocado, chips, coleslaw and fruit,” he said, handing her a paper plate with a wrapped sandwich. “Nothing extravagant.”
Extravagant enough for her. The gesture was what counted. She took out two sodas and the coleslaw. The coleslaw had come from a deli, but the clubs were homemade. He grinned. “I’m not a very good cook.”
Laughing lightly, she sat on the bench across from him.
Eating a bite of the delicious sandwich, she said, “You’re an excellent club-sandwich chef.”
“Thanks. Just don’t ask for anything gourmet.” He chuckled at her teasing.
“I bet you could follow a recipe if you had to.” Anybody could do that.
Content just being with him, Ruby took in her surroundings, listening to birds and the stream and feeling a soft, warm breeze under a clear blue sky.
“I haven’t been to a place like this in so long,” she said.
“What other places does this remind you of?”
“My grandparents had a house on Long Lake in Wisconsin. We used to go there all the time. Then my dad died, and everything changed. My mother took us there but not as often. She was pretty heartbroken. We all had a hard time getting past that.”
“What happened to him?” Damon asked.
“He got brain cancer,” she said. “Brain cancer is ruthless and indiscriminate. We found out, and he lived less than a year. None of us had time to process his illness, and then he was gone. Just gone.” Ruby shook her head slowly and looked out across the park, remembering how terrible the whole ordeal had been.
“That must have been awful,” he said. “I’m sorry.” He reached over and put his hand over hers.
She met his eyes, appreciating the gesture. The I’m sorrys never helped. His touch did.
“We seem to have loss in common,” he said. “Not the connection I’d prefer, but...”
“You mean your mother?” she asked.
“Yes. She was alive and well one moment, and in an instant, she collapsed and died,” he said. “I don’t know what’s worse, having time to struggle through a terminal diagnosis or losing someone close to you quickly.”
“I don’t, either. I suppose I’d have to think of the person who is about to die. Going quickly, they don’t suffer.”
“They also don’t have time to get their affairs in order. I would hate to leave things unsettled for my family to deal with.”
“I think it would be easier if none of us had to die at all,” she said with a smile.
He chuckled. “Immortality, never aging.” He nodded. “Yeah. I could do that.”
They ate in silence awhile.
“Where are you from in Wisconsin?” Damon asked.
“A little town called Neenah.”
“And your mother followed you here?”
“Yes. She lives with me now. Having Maya around really helps her. She loves being a grandmother,” Ruby said. “She never had any interest in remarrying.”
“Some people get it right the first time,” he said.
“They did. My sister and brother and I had a really great childhood up until my dad died. I have so many fond memories. My parents never argued. They talked things through. They were strict but not overly so. They wanted us all to be disciplined and develop good life habits.”
Damon fell silent, and she sensed he didn’t like talking about his childhood. “Do you have any good memories?”
“Sure. My brothers and I were close. We did a lot together. Rode bikes. Played sports. We were ordinary boys.”
“Have you ever been married?” she asked.
“No. My father and uncle taught me how to get it wrong. I don’t plan on doing that.”
Ruby liked the sound of that.
“What happened with Maya’s father?” he asked.
Why was he so interested in that? Was he being cautious and only wanted to know why they ended? Or did he have another motive?
“Why do you want to know?” she asked.
Lowering his head, he looked contrite when he met her eyes again. “Sorry. Just curious, I guess.”
“Curious?” He seemed more than curious. He seemed to want details, and that she could not give him.
“Yes. I can see it’s upsetting to you,” he said. “But I don’t want to push you. Really. I’m sorry.”
After studying his face a while and unable to determine if he was being genuine, Ruby stood. “We’re done with lunch, right? How about that hike you promised?” She forced a smile.
Damon stared at her for a few seconds. “Yeah. Sure. Let’s put all this away and go for a hike.”
Ruby felt a flash of guilt. Did he deserve an explanation? She was beginning to have very strong feelings for him. If he was as good and decent as she sensed, she didn’t want to blow it. But talking about Kid reminded her of how terrified she had been when she was with him and how afraid she’d been of his friends. Damon must see her fear. She was beginning to feel obligated to tell him about her ex-boyfriend, Maya’s father, which was absurd because she didn’t have to tell him anything. She was just getting to know him. Maybe she just needed more time. And more time with Damon appealed to her no small amount.
* * *
Damon walked beside Ruby in a state of frustration and guilt.
His personal feelings for her were seriously interfering with his ability to conduct his investigation. He had spent so much time trying to melt her defenses, and yet she showed no signs of softening. And more and more, he was becoming convinced she didn’t know enough to be worth all of this effort. He also worried his efforts were too personal and not in the best interest of the undercover case.
While he suspected Ruby didn’t know anything about Kid’s operation, he had to be sure. He was getting pressure from his boss to move the case forward and to do that he needed to determine if in fact Ruby did know something. In order to do that, he needed to know more about her relationship with Kid. He needed to get her talking.
As they hiked along the path, passing rock formations and trees, Damon struggled to find a way to broach the subject of Kid again. She got so upset every time he tried, he wondered if he should let it go and not push as he’d said earlier. But this investigation was going nowhere as long as she refused to open up about the creep. He stopped walking, making her do the same. He put his hands on her shoulders. “Ruby, I know you don’t like talking about your ex, but it makes me wonder why. Can you at least tell me why?” he asked.
After looking past his shoulders a while, she finally said, “I just don’t like talking about him.”
That wasn’t enough. He already knew that. “But why, Ruby?”
“He wasn’t a good man.”
“In what way? Was he abusive?”
“Please don’t ask me about him anymore.”
“I just want to know about him,” Damon said.
&nb
sp; “Well, I don’t want anyone to know about him. He almost ruined my life. And Maya’s. I’m glad he isn’t around anymore.”
“What happened to him?”
Ruby’s lips pursed, and she turned back toward the direction they had come. “I’d like to go home now.”
Damn. He’d pushed her too hard. Or had he? She was always so reluctant to talk about Kid. Vague, even. Why? The only logical answer was fear. Someone had to make her face her issue with the man.
He caught up to her. “I can see you’re afraid, Ruby. That’s why I can’t let it go. I’m concerned about you.”
Ruby stopped, and they faced each other again. She seemed to search his face for some kind of sign. What was it? That he was being honest? Thankfully, he was.
“Don’t be. I’m all right.”
He angled his head dubiously, raising his brow in a lighthearted way.
She smiled slightly. “As long as people don’t keep asking me about Kid, I’ll be all right.”
That wasn’t what he wanted to hear. “I don’t mean to upset you. I don’t mean to keep badgering you. But you should talk about him, what happened between you. It might help you, not hurt you.”
“I’m not ready for that,” she said.
What she didn’t say was she wasn’t ready for that with him.
“Fair enough, but that’s not going to make me stop worrying about you,” he said. “I’ve grown to care about you, Ruby.”
Her eyes softened even more. “I care about you, too.”
He heard the truth in her voice and already knew the truth had tumbled out of him. A warm energy mingled between them. He saw it in her eyes and the tiny curve to her lips. He felt the same reaction in him.
Taking her hand, he walked with her down the path, glancing over at her and catching her own glances.
Back at Damon’s Jeep, he began to feel letdown that this day would now come to an end. They had already loaded the picnic supplies in the back. He opened the door for her, but put his hands on the frame to stop her from getting in.
She tipped her head up and faced him.
Colton 911: Temptation Undercover Page 2
