Yet despite this, he was walking away...
It was too much.
‘Don’t you dare walk away from me!’ she exploded.
He stopped and turned back to face her, his expression disbelieving.
‘I beg your pardon?’ he bit out.
‘You heard me,’ she retorted.
‘I thought I must have been mistaken,’ he said coldly. ‘So what’s your problem?’
‘My problem,’ she threw at him. ‘I don’t have the problem here. You’re the one with the problem. I can’t work out if you’re some kind of masochist, a sadist, or a coward.’
His nostrils drew together as he sucked in sharply. ‘I would think carefully before you say any more, Ruby.’
She tried to rein in her temper but she simply couldn’t.
‘Good grief, what’s wrong with you? Are you going to deny the way you looked at me a minute ago? Trust me when I say I know that look. You wanted to make love to me. And I wanted you to, more fool me. I was ready to jump into bed with you just like that,’ she said, clicking her fingers at him. ‘I was yours for the taking. But what did you do? You bolted.’
His eyes darkened to a stormy blue, his hands curling into fists by his sides. ‘I was trying to be a gentleman,’ he ground out. ‘More fool me. But you’re wrong about me wanting to make love to you,’ he went on grimly. ‘I didn’t want to do anything to you that smacked of love. I wanted to have sex with you, Ruby. I wanted to ravish you senseless. That’s why I walked away. Because I knew a nice girl like you wouldn’t want that.’
Now it was her turn to suck in sharply.
His admission was not only surprising, it brought with it a measure of guilt, plus a huge wave of temptation. Ruby knew she should step back and think about the consequences of what she was about to say, but she was beyond that. She wanted Sebastian on any terms.
‘You’re wrong about me,’ she said, desperate with desire for him. ‘I’m not as nice as you think. I’ve had sex without love in the past. Please don’t walk away, Sebastian. Not tonight. I need you, just as much as I think you need me.’
‘I doubt that,’ he muttered. But he didn’t walk away. Instead, he covered the distance between them with a few swift strides, sweeping her up into his arms just as she’d imagined earlier, his mouth swooping down to crush hers.
His kiss was savage, his lips demanding. But, oh, how she loved it, opening her mouth to the thrust of his tongue, her body already aching to feel the thrust of hard maleness pressing up against her stomach.
The kissing continued as he wrenched the housecoat off her shoulders, his hands dropping to her thighs, taking the hem of her T-shirt with them as they travelled up to her bare buttocks. There he cupped her bottom, kneading the soft flesh till she was moaning into his mouth. He didn’t stop kissing her, even when he lifted her up; didn’t stop as he carried her upstairs to his bedroom. Once there, he tipped her back onto the bed, spreading her legs and leaving her exposed to his gaze as he stripped off his clothes.
Ruby just lay there like that, stunned by her level of arousal. She wasn’t used to this kind of need. This degree of wanting. This kind of sex.
She could hardly wait.
And neither could he, by the look of him. Once he was naked, her arms reached out to him and he fell into them, groaning as he did so. He entered her swiftly, his thrusting urgent but, oh, so satisfying. Ruby came with a rush, stunned by the intensity of her orgasm, calling out his name as the first spasm struck. He stopped for only a second to stare down at her before returning to his frantic rhythm. His climax was just as strong, his body shuddering at length. Finally, he collapsed upon her, his head buried in her hair.
His ragged breathing took ages to calm, by which time Ruby’s whole body had surrendered to a deeply drugging peace. The craving was gone, at least for the moment. Before she could think, or experience any regret, she fell fast sleep, oblivious to the not so nice feelings that would face her when she awoke.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
SEBASTIAN WOKE FIRST, shocked to find himself still on top of a sleeping Ruby.
Oh, dear God, he agonised. What have I done?
He groaned as he carefully withdrew, then, without looking back, he headed for the shower. There he stood under the jets of hot water for ages, his head pressed against the tiles, his thoughts whirling.
He should never have gone to her door last night, should never had said those stupid words.
I think you’re lovely too...
Of course, he hadn’t expected her to react the way she had when he’d walked away. My goodness, she’d been furious with him. And the things she’d said, the things she’d accused him of being...
What were they? A sadist, a masochist and a coward.
Sebastian knew he wasn’t a sadist. But he had to admit that he’d suffered from a degree of masochism ever since Ruby had come to live with him. He’d been permanently aroused whenever he was around her. Last night, the dinner with his mother had been sheer torture, having to sit there and watch Ruby all evening, watch her and want her.
He hadn’t imagined for a moment that she was as attracted to him as he was to her. She’d certainly hidden it well. But the moment she’d revealed her own hunger for him he’d been lost. Totally lost. He could still feel her lips, her tongue, her hot, wet body.
Sebastian hadn’t experienced that kind of passion since...since never, he suddenly realised. Sex with Jennifer had never been wildly spontaneous like that. It had been good. Of course it had. But there had always been an element of control. On her part. Not his. She’d liked to put aside special times for lovemaking. She’d never indulged in a quickie. Never been so overcome with desire that she couldn’t wait.
Thinking back, Sebastian accepted that whilst Jennifer had loved him, she’d never really needed him. Not in life, or in death. But that hadn’t made losing her any easier.
That brought him to Ruby’s last accusation. That he was a coward.
Sebastian sighed. Maybe there was an element of truth in that accusation. After his experience of losing Jennifer, Sebastian had withdrawn into a shell from which he hadn’t emerged for a long time. Even then he hadn’t been able to consider a relationship with another woman, settling for one-night stands and the occasional holiday fling. He’d always kept these encounters well away from home, so that nothing could come back to haunt him.
Sleeping with Ruby broke all the rules he’d been living by.
Common sense demanded that he ask her to leave. But how could he possibly do that? Maybe, just maybe, he wouldn’t have to. He suspected Ruby might do the deed for him and just quit.
And maybe she wouldn’t. Sebastian obviously found it hard to read her because she’d shocked the life out of him last night. Thinking about her explosive passion still amazed him.