Revealing Ruby (Bound and Determined #1.5)(5)

He’d caught the motion, she saw it in an instant. He knew what she felt, what she wanted.

The cherry tart had been play and flirtation, arousing but harmless.

This was beyond that.

“I am sorry, Captain Price. I do not indulge myself with patrons.” They were the same words she always said, but this time she had to force them from her lips, her mind full of that dragon tattoo.

“Never?”

“Never.”

He turned away and stared at her shelves of books, his eyes skimming the titles. “Well, give me the name then and I’ll be off. I wouldn’t want to put you out now, would I?”

How had he made that last bit sensuous and inviting? She should have found it off-putting, but something in his tone wrapped about her, made her want to assure him that she’d welcomed his visit.

“I’ll write it out for you. Just tell her I sent you and Mrs. Hawkes will take good care of you.” She slid her feet back to the floor, wishing that her shoes were not pushed under the chaise, and walked to her desk. Slipping a piece of paper from the drawer, she wrote out the information. Hearing him rise from his chair, she had to fight the urge not to turn.

—

Derek Price stared at the madame’s ass as she bent over her desk. It was full and round just the way he liked, something a man could truly grab on to. The current fashion might be for more slender curves, but he’d always liked a woman who looked like a woman. And this one certainly did.

He wondered briefly what she’d do if he walked up behind her and leaned into her, pressing his prick tight into those proffered globes. He allowed himself the briefest fantasy of pulling up her skirts and getting on with it, but held himself back. His cock was already pressing tight against his flap and he didn’t need any more discomfort. Hell, the whole reason he’d spent the previous evening with the girl, Tilly, had been to avoid these situations.

Despite the welcoming looks the madame—Ruby, she’d said her name was—had been sending his way, he’d gotten the feeling she was serious about never f*cking her clients. It was a pity, but he’d faced far worse things over the years. If she was not willing another girl would be.

Still, it was a mighty fine ass.

Ruby finished writing and turned, holding out a scrap of paper.

And those were mighty fine tits. A man could get lost between them. He did hope they were not due to padding. He’d been disappointed more than once when a corset was removed. And what were her nipples like? Rosy? Brown? Large? Small? That was another thing you never knew until you saw.

She cleared her throat and his eyes jumped up to her face. She raised a brow. Blast. Even with a woman like this it didn’t do to be caught staring at her goodies.

Granted her eyes were almost as pretty, the color of a tropical sea as the sun began to set.

“Here. If Mrs. Hawkes cannot help you I am happy to make another suggestion.”

“You’re sure…?” He took the offered note, allowing their fingers to brush.

“Very sure.” She turned and walked to the door, clearly leading him out.

“I will want my money back. I don’t pay for what I don’t receive.”

“I will speak to Tilly, but I make no promises. Again, if you had paid me it would be a different story.” She spoke calmly, as if the minutes of flirtation had not existed between them.

“I am sure it would be.” He allowed a trace of innuendo to darken his voice. Tilly had been fun, a great relief to his frustration, but Ruby—now, Ruby would have been more.

Still, he tightened his lips. His concern was with Thompson. He needed his mate, his friend, to recover from this dark spell. Many a seaman had a wooden leg and it could be taken care of right here in London if only the man would allow.

If only he had more time. He was due tomorrow and could not delay here for long. He’d promised he’d go up while the Dawn’s Light was being reloaded and he could not afford to tarry. He might not welcome the trip and its probable outcome, but it could not be avoided. He’d promised his father and he refused to disappoint the man, not again.

Blast.

He shot Ruby, and her magnificent bosom, one last look and strode out the door.

—

That had not gone well. Ruby let out a loud sigh, unmindful of who heard. Her afternoon was ruined. She glanced at her book and her tea. The tea was undoubtedly cold and the book had lost its attraction for the moment. It was hard to get lost in someone else’s life when her own had dangling ends—and she was not going to think of anything else that dangled, or didn’t.

She would have to have Tilly found and gauge what had happened. She’d never known the girl to be dishonest, but then she’d never known her to seek employment outside of the house. Closing her eyes, she pinched the bridge of her nose.

There were days that she truly wondered why she’d entered the profession. Oh, not really. She knew exactly why she’d made the choices she had. Of the choices she’d been presented with she’d made the right ones, only there were some days when she wished the world could have been different, wished that the dreams she’d had at seventeen could have been real. And then there were days when she was very glad to have been free to make choices, to not have been stuck with the man she had chosen at that age.

Now that she’d gotten to know men so well it was impossible to imagine living with one for a lifetime.