Revealing Ruby (Bound and Determined #1.5)(24)

Derek leaned back against the pillows. “You have grown quiet.”

“I am not sure what else there is to say. I took all the money I had and bought a brothel. I’ve been here ever since, queen of the night.” She tried to laugh, but was afraid the sound fell flat.

Lifting a hand, Derek placed it upon her cheek and turned her face until they were eye to eye. “We all have choices to make and sometimes they are not the ones we want. You have done well with what you were given.”

Had he read her mind? She tried to turn away, but he held her still, staring into her eyes, into her soul. Could he see the doubts that lingered there?

“I have tried. It is not an easy life and I know that society will never understand. I was not the one who made the rules, who decided that a woman in the city could be a wife, a maid, or a whore. And without references the choice drops further. I can only look out for my girls, not change the world they are born into.”

Derek stared at her solemnly for a moment, his eyes filled with understanding. But then something happened. First the corner of his mouth quivered as if he had a tick. Then his eyes crinkled. A snort escaped. And then another. He looked away and pressed his lips tight. She could see the effort he made, in the deepening color of his skin, and the single tear that fell from one eye.

And then he let it go.

He was laughing, laughing at her, at her heartfelt confession.

She pulled back, affronted, but he caught her arm and held her. The struggle to suppress his mirth was clear. He was nearly choking with the effort, but it did not calm her.

Struggling, she attempted to move across the bed.

“No, no. Be still.” He coughed loudly, trying to get out the words. “You are taking it wrong.”

“Then how should I take it?” Her voice sounded brittle.

Taking a great gulp of air, he finally succeeded in holding back his laughter. “I was just comparing the crimson-haired seductress I first met with the angel who came to my bath and then realizing that in truth you are a crusader. I would never have imagined that, but I do respect it. And I do believe you watch out for your girls. And I do know that circumstance determines the choices we have. I know it better than most.” The humor faded even from his eyes as he spoke.

Only as it seeped away did Ruby realize how much she had enjoyed his momentary pleasure despite it being at her own expense. He did not smile enough. In fact, this might have been the first genuine grin she’d seen since meeting him. She was almost sorry he had stopped.

Leaning forward, she kissed him lightly on the corner of his mouth. “I am not quite sure I understand, but given that we have only tonight, perhaps we should concentrate on the fun and not the sadness. You do not need to know the torrid pieces of my life and I do not need to know yours.”





Chapter Eight


Perhaps Ruby—or Emma, as she’d named herself—was right. Perhaps they should put deep thoughts and feelings back in the box and concentrate only on the pleasure of the moment. In the morning he would leave to look at textile mills in Manchester, and take care of that other matter he tried so hard to avoid thinking of, and Ruby would—Ruby would go on being Madame Rouge.

He was not sure why the thought made him frown. He’d planned this trip long before he set sail from Rhode Island. It could change both his destiny and that of his family. And as for Ruby, of course, she would go on being Madame Rouge. What other choice was there? It wasn’t as if he wanted to take her with him. No, it certainly was not.

He quickly shuttered the image of her spread across his captain’s bed. A woman like Madame Rouge would never be happy onboard ship. And why was he even thinking such thoughts?

He turned his mouth and met her kiss full-on. Pressing lips tight, slipping his tongue between her teeth and into the waiting warmth. Her own tongue met his and the dance began. Parry. Thrust. Parry.

He pulled back and stared down at her desire-fogged eyes and swollen lips. God, she was perfect.

Bending again to the kiss, he let himself grow lost in it. His own mind fogging with the sheer pleasure of the moment. Warmth and moisture. Skin and velvet. The feel of sweet breath against his cheek. The swirl of tongues. This was what made life worth living. He could have stayed here, lips locked together forever.

The thought was enough to pull him back.

Kissing. He was only kissing and he was prepared to stay here forever?

That couldn’t be right.

No matter what his mind and his brain were telling him, a man needed more.

Only it didn’t feel that way.

He drew back again. Ruby’s head lifted from the pillow following him, her hands reaching out to tangle in his hair.

It brought the smile back to his face. “Eager, aren’t you?”

Her blurred eyes looked back at him and then she grinned. “I hoped to get you smiling again. It is quite becoming on you. You should do it more often.”

“I don’t often find reason to smile.” And that was far too true. Life was hard and demanded constant work. There was little time in the day for frivolity.

“And yet you choose to smile for me. I will forgive you all for that compliment.” Her eyes lit with an inner glow. Her hands fell from his hair and she pushed herself up until she reclined against the high mound of pillows, white damask surrounding creamy flesh. Those magnificent breasts slipped from the sheets again and yes, he was a man and a man did need more than kisses. Those rose-pink nipples cried out to be suckled and nibbled. He could see the faint imprint of his teeth from earlier and his cock throbbed at seeing his mark upon her.