Riskier Business (Crossing the Line 0.5)(4)

Troy knew from experience he had to handle the situation very carefully. Knowing Ruby, her mind was already racing behind her stunned features. Weighing options. Making plans. Her first instinct would be to keep him out of whatever her father wanted her to do. Over my cold, lifeless body. His first obstacle would be her stubborn desire to keep him separated from her past. She was her past. It had shaped her, molded her, made her streetwise at too young of an age. Since he wanted every single part of her, keeping him out of it wouldn’t be happening.

His second obstacle would be making sure she didn’t get sucked back into her old life. While he knew Ruby was too smart to resume the illegal activities she’d worked so hard to leave behind, family could be a powerful thing. Ruby had always been too loyal for her own good.

Apprehension churned in his gut. Something in Jim Elliott’s confident swagger, his casual smirk, told Troy he had an ace up his sleeve. For now, he needed to push his dark fears aside and focus on Ruby. One hurdle at a time. It was how they approached every problem that came along with a cop and a hustler being in a committed relationship. Careful compromise.

He cupped her face, tipping it upward. Unfocused eyes looked right through him, until he brought their foreheads together. “Hey. Everything is going to be okay. We’re going to talk about this, but I need you to look at me. Actually look at me.” She blinked once, nodded. Slowly, awareness crept back over her features and Troy’s panic eased slightly. “I’m not going to try to talk you out of meeting with him.”

A dark eyebrow arched. He had her attention now. “Really.”

“Yes. We both know you’ve already decided, anyway.” Her gaze darted away and Troy bit back a sigh. “My only condition is you don’t shut me out. I go with you. You and I deal with whatever he says together.”

A battle waged inside Ruby. He could see it in every tense line of her body. She squeezed her eyes shut, shaking her head. “No,” she choked out. “No, Troy. You have to let me handle this. He’s my father. Nothing he says will convince me to go back. You’ll have to trust me on that.”

He’d been expecting this, Troy reminded himself. No need to feel this pain over her trying to close him out. Her need to protect him, protect those she cared about, was simultaneously her greatest strength and weakness. He’d anticipated it. He’d lived through it once before. And his memory of almost losing her the first time remained too fresh. So he’d come prepared to play hardball. “You keep me involved, Ruby, or I get him put away.” He ignored the shocked betrayal radiating from her. “I trust you to make the right call, but I don’t trust him. I will find a way to keep you safe. How I accomplish that is up to you.”

She wanted to be mad at him, he could tell. But it wouldn’t stick. Not when he’d let his walls drop, let her glimpse the fear on his face. He hid nothing. It was the only way to get through to her. Let her see his determination to protect her. How much he loved her. Her rigid posture softened gradually as they stared hard at each other. A breath shuddered past her lips. “Dammit. This feels too familiar. We’re not back in that place already, are we?”

His grip on her arms tightened. “No. We are not back there. We’re here. We’re stronger.” He slid a hand through her hair, spoke against her temple. “We’ll be weaker apart. Don’t let him separate us.”

“Troy—”

He cut her off with his mouth. Perhaps it was wrong, but he was so close to gaining her acceptance that he used the last, and most powerful, weapon in his arsenal. It couldn’t be helped. He was desperate. For her promise and her body. Deepening the kiss until she moaned low in her throat, Troy braced his hands on either side of her head. He dipped his knees and dragged his wet body up against Ruby’s, tempting her back with the feel of his ready cock between her legs, sliding up her belly. He meshed them together, chest to thigh. We’re one, baby. We’re stronger together. When Troy curled his hands beneath her knees with the intention of levering her against the tile wall once more, she broke away.

Breathing heavily, lips swollen, she looked too goddamn beautiful for words. My woman. “Wait. I-I just want to say…I know it wasn’t easy for you, telling me this. To not try to talk me out of the meeting. Thank you.” Her mouth moved over his, robbing his clarity. “You’re right. This is nothing like last time. We’re better.” Hearing those words coming from Ruby felt like a balm to his soul. It comforted the insecurities he still harbored over keeping her. It must have shown, because her eyes softened. He leaned into her hand as she stroked the side of his face. “Were you feeling out of control today, Troy?”

Jaw clenched, he nodded, but didn’t answer. Couldn’t answer. She’d nailed his issue squarely on the head. It was no secret between them that he craved control. Usually, he took it in the bedroom, but it often reached into other aspects of their life together. Something he’d been working on. It hadn’t been easy for him today, relinquishing the need to handle her problem without troubling her for one second with it. He’d managed to be completely open with her, knowing it was right. But he wouldn’t pretend that having her recognize and appreciate his difficult position didn’t fill him with male pride.

Nimble fingers played on his chest, stroked down over his abdomen. His breathing harshened, echoing through the shower. Her mouth followed the path her fingers made, licking at water droplets, until she dropped to her knees in front of him. From her kneeling position, she looked up at him with complete trust, mingled with need. “Take back your control, Troy.”