‘Stop joking around. You have to get up. Get dressed.’
Sam yawned, not seeing the problem. After making love and talking for most of the day he was completely sated.
Not that they’d talked about anything important. Like what would happen once they returned to Sydney. He’d thought about it after Ruby had fallen asleep earlier on and he knew he wanted things to continue between them once they got back. No doubt she would see it as a complication but it didn’t have to be. The truth was he liked her. He liked spending time with her in bed and out, he liked her sass and her fire, he liked her professional confidence and the way she pushed herself and others to help those in need.
His gaze softened as he watched her searching for something under the bed. He especially liked seeing her laugh when his dog slobbered all over her face, and he loved her skyscraper-shoe collection. Why would he want to give that up and move on before he was ready?
‘Sam! You’re still in bed!’
Seeing her panic, Sam wondered if he shouldn’t be doing the same thing. Certainly he hadn’t been overly comfortable disclosing his feelings about his father as he’d done earlier, but then he hadn’t been nearly as uncomfortable as she had been talking about hers. He wondered if he shouldn’t be more alarmed about how much he had shared with her, and then became distracted by her sweet curves.
‘Calm down,’ he said in a reassuring tone. ‘Tino already knows you’re here.’
Kong barked at the door and Ruby nearly jumped out of her skin. ‘Yes, but he doesn’t know I’m here like this—with you! He thinks we’re working on a case.’
‘So what? He’ll figure it out in time.’
‘I don’t want him to figure it out. If someone at the office should find out...’ She left the rest of the sentence hanging but Sam got the general gist and didn’t like it. He rolled out of bed and yanked on his board shorts, trying not to become irritated. ‘My brother isn’t indiscreet and last time I checked he didn’t work for me.’
‘I still don’t want him or Miller to know about...’ Her hand waved between them as if she was at a loss for words, and that infuriated him even more. ‘I mean, one night at a party is explainable—sort of. But this...’
‘This?’ Sam wondered how his voice remained so calm when his head felt as if it might explode.
‘This weekend.’ She angled her stubborn chin higher. ‘It’s between us and no one else.’
‘Let me get this straight.’ Sam stalked towards her, a dangerous smile on his face. ‘You want me to be your dirty little secret going forward, is that it?’
She frowned. ‘No, that’s not—’
‘Good.’ He tunnelled his fingers into her hair and tilted her face up for a hard, brief kiss. ‘Because I don’t operate that way.’
* * *
But in the end he had operated that way. He’d closed Valentino’s curious glance down with just a look and carried their bags onto the yacht. Fortunately his brother wasn’t a stupid man and had taken the hint, making small talk to fill the lengthening silence.
Apparently he’d sent Sam a text that morning informing him that he’d collect both him and Ruby a little earlier than planned, which Sam would have known if he’d bothered to check his phone. As it was a public holiday, he hadn’t seen the need. And he’d been too busy. Too busy making love with Ruby and catching up on sleep he hadn’t got the night before.
A tight sensation settled in his chest as the yacht skimmed over the increasingly choppy waves. He could only ever remember wanting one other thing as much as he wanted this woman. Back then his father had been out of reach. Ruby wasn’t. Was she?
And what exactly did he want from her?
He brooded over the question as he watched her. He might not know exactly what he did want, but he knew what he didn’t—and that was for her to continue to treat him like a leper after the weekend they’d just indulged in.
He scowled as the yacht finally steered a course into the brilliantly bejewelled Sydney Harbour. The wind whipped Ruby’s hair back as her face lifted to the bright sunshine and the tight sensation worsened. They’d barely exchanged two words since Valentino had picked them up. Instead Ruby had questioned his brother about how Miller’s mother was, and whether or not she needed anything; basically acting as if she hadn’t spent the last two days coming apart in his arms.