The Way You Are (10 page)

Chapter 19

Ruby finished rolling the last meatball and set it in the casserole dish. She poured the sauce over them and turned to check that the oven had properly heated.  Satisfied at the reading, she opened it and set the dish on the rack to cook.

She opened the refrigerator door and noticed a bottle of Chardonnay chilling. Pulling it out, she rummaged through the drawers looking for a corkscrew.

“Let me help you with that, Ruby.”

She turned as Garrett came up behind her, his body close to hers as he reached into the next drawer.

Her heart skipped as she felt the heat from him, and a chill ran down her spine despite it.

Taking the bottle from her, he set it on the counter and worked the corkscrew in. A moment later, the cork popped, and he reached up into the cabinet to pull down a wine glass. The muscles rippled under his skin with each movement, and she tried to tear her gaze away but found it difficult.

“Here you go,” he said, handing her a full glass.

“Thank you,” she murmured and took a sip, realizing the glass wasn’t actually glass.

“What is this?” she asked.

“Polycarbonate.”

“What’s that?”

“Bulletproof material.”

She studied the glass. It looked like a real glass, but it actually bent slightly.

“I’m confused,” she said as she squeezed the container. “Why does this house contain bulletproof glasses?”

Garrett grinned and leaned against the counter opposite her. “This is Joe’s getaway, right?”

“That’s what you said.”

“Well, Joe’s an important guy who probably has a lot of people after him.”

“Like who?”

Garrett looked around the kitchen as he formulated his answer, and her cheeks warmed and stomach tingled as she stared at him. Visions of their lips meeting danced before her, and a wave of desire rolled through her, sending a chill up her spine. The gorgeous man really threw her hormones into overdrive.

“Sometimes the less you know, the better off you are. And in this situation, I think that about sums it up. I don’t know much about Joe’s business, and I work for him. You’re a client, so I don’t feel right sharing what little I do know with you.”

They stood in silence for a moment as she sipped her wine, and he turned to her, his honey-colored gaze shining under the kitchen lights.

“What I can tell you is that this place is a fortress. The windows are made out of the same material as the glass. The walls are reinforced with steel plates and beams. There’s a gun in every room. Joe didn’t take any chances when he built this house, and if a glass can stop a .22, why not drink out of it?”

“That would be really amazing if a glass saved a life.”

“Things like that happen, especially in the military. Guys are saved by crosses, metal lighters … things like that.”

“Incredible,” she murmured, taking another sip as her imagination ran wild with thoughts of a glass stopping a bullet.

“So, what did you decide for dinner?” he asked changing the subject on her.

“Swedish meatballs. They’re in the oven now.”

“Cool. I can’t wait to try them.”

She heard Savannah barking outside. “How did Zach lose his sight?”

Garrett’s face hardened, and gone was the friendly man she’d come to know. The hard ass military guy had taken his place.

“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have asked,” she blurted. “It’s none of my business.”

His face softened and he shook his head. “Quit apologizing, Ruby.”

“You looked like you were so angry, I thought I asked a bad question.”

“No.” He took a deep breath before he continued. “Zach lost his sight in Guatemala. If I looked upset, it’s because it brings back bad memories for me.”

Taking a sip of wine to quench the questions, she let him continue.

“I was in charge of the unit when the explosion that blinded him happened. I feel responsible.”

Ruby started at him. She couldn’t image the weight of having someone else’s life in her hands, and her respect for Garrett grew even more. Her life had been so cushy; her biggest worries had been her embarrassments. “Why do you think him being blind is your fault?”

He shrugged. “Because something didn’t feel right that night, and I should have listened to my gut and pulled out my men.”

She stared at him, unsure of what to say, so she sipped more wine.

“So, it is my fault. I should have—”

Placing her hand on his forearm, she shook her head. “Garrett, one thing I’ve learned is you can’t let the ‘should have’s’ and ‘would have’s’ rule the present. There’s a lot of things that we all should have or wished we would have done, but we didn’t. What’s important is the here and now and our future decisions. We can’t live in the past.”

He stared at her a long while, and then glanced down at her hand resting on his arm. She let it slide off and back to her side. Clearing her throat, she wondered again if she’d said the wrong thing.

“You’re right,” he whispered.

A tension brewed between them, an entity she had never felt before. Her heart beat quickly, and suddenly, she became quite warm.

“But sometimes, we need to right our past mistakes so that we can go into that future without the guilt,” he continued.

She nodded, wishing she could come up with something from her own life to share with him, something that would help her make her point. However, what did the daughter of a billionaire oil tycoon have in common with a soldier who grew up in the projects of New York? Her problems were trivial compared to what Garrett had been through since the day he’d come into the world.

“Let me know when dinner is ready, okay?” he said, giving her hand a squeeze.

As he left the kitchen, she sipped her wine and wished she had the words to soothe Garrett, but she didn’t. What did she know about being in the military, or having someone else’s fate hanging in her hands? Nothing. She only wished she could find a way to make him see that Zach’s blindness wasn’t his fault.

Chapter  20

“Well, we’ve got
Chess
,
Uno
, or
Sorry
,” Garrett said.

Dinner had been just short of magnificent, and he needed to let his belt out a notch. Ruby had turned out to be not only a sweet, caring woman, but one hell of a cook. If she kept serving them meals during her stay, he’d have to lose a good five to seven pounds by the end of the week.

“Out of those, I’d like to play
Sorry
,” she stated.

“I’ll watch,” Zach quipped.

Garrett rolled his eyes. “Fine.
Sorr
y
,
it is.”

He stood and brought the game over to the dining table. The temperature had dropped, and the heat from the fireplace in the living room warmed the kitchen. “What color, Ruby? Red?”

“Oh, please,” she huffed. “No. Give me green.”

“Green, it is.” He chuckled, took red for himself, and shuffled the cards.

They played as Zach stroked Savannah.

Ten minutes later, no one could ever accuse him of stacking the deck as Ruby kicked his ass. She had every pawn out of
Home
, while he only had one.

He drew his next card, smiled, and set it down on the stack.

“Dammit!” she exclaimed as she read the
Sorry
card that would send one of her pawns back to her home spot on the board.

She drew her card and moved one of her pawns.

Garrett’s next card also read
Sorr
y
.

“No-o!” Ruby wailed as she threw her head back and laughed.

He chuckled at her competitive streak, sending another one of her pieces back to the starting square.

“The competition is getting thick in here,” Zach commented while taking a swig of beer.

Garrett now had three pawns out, while Ruby had two.

He glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. She smiled, obviously enjoying herself as she sipped her wine, her cheeks pink as she ran her fingers through her hair.

They each drew a couple more times, and then it became Ruby’s turn again. She flipped over the card, squealed, and set it down. “Yes!” she yelled, standing so fast, the table wobbled, sending the game pieces all over the floor.

Gasping, she placed her hands over her mouth, a look of horror coming over her face. “Oh, no!”

He burst out laughing. Ruby looked as if she’d just committed a horrible crime instead of messing up a silly game. “Relax, Ruby. It’s okay.”

Zach chuckled. “I guess the game’s over?”

She plopped down in her chair and put her head in her hands.

Garrett bent down and picked up the board and set it down on the table. He then placed his hand on her forearm. “Ruby, it’s okay. It’s just a game.”

She sighed and smiled, setting her hands on the table. “I know that, Garrett, but I was going to
win
. I
never
win at
Sorry
, and there I was kicking the big, bad Marine’s butt.”

He laughed again as they both got on their hands and knees and cleaned up the cards and pawns.

“We’ll play again, Ruby. But I’ll tell you this—I don’t go down without a fight.”

She grinned, and he couldn’t help but check out her cleavage as she crawled around on the floor toward him.

“Game on, Marine. Game on.”

Chapter 21

Ruby poured herself a cup of coffee and gazed out the kitchen window at the white winter wonderland.

Zach came in the kitchen and she smiled. “Good morning, Zach.”

“Hey, Ruby. I smell coffee.”

“Yes, I just made some. Can I pour you a cup?”

“That would be lovely, thank you.”

She turned and grabbed a cup from the cabinet and poured. “Do you take cream or sugar?”

“No. Just black, please.”

He sat down at the table and she placed the cup in front of him.

“There you go. Can you believe it snowed last night?” she asked while taking the chair across from him and then sipped her coffee.

“Really? Imagine that.”

“I know. It seems so crazy because yesterday was such a nice spring day. I’m sure it will melt off, though.”

“How much is there?”

“Probably about four or five inches.”

“Savannah will want to play in it.”

Ruby smiled. Growing up in Dallas, she rarely saw snow. Frankly, she couldn’t wait to get out and play in it, too. “I’ll be happy to take her out.”

“I’d like to toss a few snowballs around, as well.”

Garrett walked into the kitchen rubbing sleep from his eyes. As he glanced at them, he seemed surprised to see the two of them up.

“Good morning,” she said, feeling her face warm. Why did he affect her so much? She felt like a schoolgirl when around him, and her cheeks seemed to be in a perpetual blush whenever she looked at him.

“Good morning,” he mumbled, and headed for the coffee.

“It snowed last night, Garrett,” she said, hearing the excitement in her voice.

“Who could have ever predicted that?” he asked.

“I never would have, that’s for sure,” Zach answered. “It was such a beautiful day yesterday, and to imagine we’d get snow.”

“It’s crazy,” she chimed in.

Garrett grinned at her as he sat down. “So, no horses today, either.”

“I know. It’s best not to ride in the snow, especially when we’re not familiar with the area. If we get off trail, we could get lost very easily.”

He looked relieved. “Okay. So what’s on the agenda?”

“Well, I’m going to take Savannah outside for some play time, and that’s about it. Maybe we can watch a movie later. I saw we have the stuff so I can make some homemade chicken soup, so I was going to get that in the crockpot as soon as I finish my coffee. Then, I’m really not sure.”

As she glanced over at Garrett, her cheeks warmed further as she realized she prattled on, just like the Blue Jays outside.

He smiled at her, and Zach chuckled.

“It sounds like a full day to me,” Zach commented while sipping his coffee.

“Me, too. Snowball fight, it is,” Garrett said, winking at her.

Grinning, she took another long drink of her coffee. She’d never been one to back down from a challenge, which had been exactly how her mother got her to go to those stupid fashion shows in her childhood years—with a dare or a challenge.

“Come on, Ruby Rose,” she’d sa
y.
“I dare you to go and find clothes that you actually like.”

That had been a challenge she could accept. However, a snowball fight sounded far more fun and exciting than watching a bunch of twigs prance up and down a runway in clothes that she’d never fit into.

“You’re on, Marine.”

“You should start calling him Honey,” Zach commented.

She studied Zach for a moment, noting his sly smile. “And why is that?”

“Look at his eyes. They are the exact color of honey that you’d see on any shelf in the grocery store.”

Turning her gaze to Garrett, she realized Zach was correct.

“I’m going to make some snowballs,” Zach announced, standing. He took Savannah’s handle and whispered, “Outside.” The dog led the way.

Ruby heard the front door shut and glanced over at Garrett. He stared at her and she squirmed, goose bumps traveling up her skin.

His gaze raked over her, and she became extremely uncomfortable. She didn’t think he’d hurt her by any means, but what she saw in those light eyes troubled her and made her uneasy. If she wasn’t mistaken, she looked at a man who desired a woman.

“I’m going to go outside,” she blurted as she stood, unsure of her feelings about the situation.

Yes, she did find Garrett very good-looking, but what did he see in her? A fat, semi-attractive girl he could lay? Maybe she should call Joe and ask for a reassignment.

“I’m right behind you,” he called as she pushed through the front door, not bothering with a jacket but grabbing some gloves hanging from the coat stand by the door.

A snowball smacked her in the stomach, and she looked up at Zach laughing and wondered how he had such perfect aim. As another one came sailing her way, she moved to the left, fell down the stairs, but quickly recouped. She gathered the snow and launched one at Zach, hitting him square in the chest. For a moment, guilt set in as she realized she had just launched a snowball at a blind man, but he quickly retaliated, erasing any remorse she had.

Savannah ran around in the snow, barking and trying to catch the snowballs being lobbed around the clearing. One hit Ruby in the back of the head, and she turned to see Garrett behind her, leaning down to make a new one. Another one from Zach barely missed her.

“No fair!” she yelled. “You two are ganging up on me!”

That didn’t stop Garrett as one from his direction whizzed by her face.

She ran for the trees and hid behind one almost wide enough to block her frame. Leaning down, she packed the snow into a ball and threw it at Garrett as he approached her, hitting him in the face.

She laughed, giving away her hiding spot, and he yelled, “You’ll pay for that, Ruby!”

As he bent down to refill his arsenal, she ran as best she could deeper into the woods, trying to quit giggling. She heard footsteps behind her and glanced over her shoulder. Garrett came at her, laughing and breathing almost as hard as she did.

As she looked forward again, she saw the fallen tree, but didn’t have time to do anything about it except brace for impact and hope the snow didn’t hide something sharp. She landed face first into the snow, and then rolled over.

“You okay?” Garrett asked as he loomed over her.

“Yes. Just my klutzy ways.”

He laughed and sat down next to her, breathing hard. “You’ve got good aim.”

She smiled and sat up, their shoulders touching. “Thank you, but I think it was just luck.”

He peered at her a moment and then shook his head. “You have a hard time accepting compliments, Ruby.”

“You think so?”

“Yeah, I do.”

Their gazes locked, the quiet of the winter wonderland almost deafening. In the distance, she heard Savannah barking, but it seemed millions of miles away. Garrett looked at her the same way he had in the kitchen, and nerves clinched her gut.

“Can I ask you a question?” His voice sounded barely above a whisper.

She nodded, unable to speak, her breath caught in her throat.

“Have you ever wanted something so bad, but knew you shouldn’t want it?”

She shrugged, thinking the only thing she had ever really longed for was independence from her family. All of her other needs and wants had been met without any effort on her part. “I don’t know.”

“Well, let’s say you did. Would you try to take it even if you shouldn’t?”

She cleared her throat, unsure of where the conversation was going. “If I did, would I be breaking any rules? Would I go to jail?”

He grinned. “No jail time, but maybe bending some work and personal rules.”

“I guess it would depend on how bad I want it. If the reward outweighed the consequences, then yes, I would take it.”

He nodded and leaned forward, placing his hand behind her neck, threading his fingers through her hair. His lips lightly brushed hers, and he whispered, “I think the tradeoff will be worth it.”

His mouth claimed hers, his tongue urging her lips to part as her head spun.

What in the world was going on? The big, bad, drop-dead-gorgeous Marine wanted to kiss
her
?

Apparently so.

Her mind reeled with the consequences of their actions. Certainly, there had to be rules established by Joe that he was breaking, and what about her feelings, her delicate ego? What did he want from her?

She acquiesced and parted her mouth, their tongues engaging in a slow dance. Sighing, she let go of all her questions, fears, and doubts, shut her eyes and laced her arms around his neck, giving herself over to the experience. Her whole body shuddered as he pulled her closer.

He tasted of mint and coffee, and she explored the hard planes of his shoulders and biceps as they embraced, their kiss quickly heating. Gently, he laid her in the snow and stretched out next to her. He took her hands in his right and pulled them up above her head, holding them there. As their tongues dueled, she quivered at his touch, his hand running down her ribcage, to her hip and over her thigh. She moaned as desire bloomed in her belly, her need for him exploding within her.

Gently, he kneaded her breast through her sweatshirt as he peppered her face with slow kisses. Despite lying in the snow, her body heated further, and she wouldn’t have been surprised if she opened her eyes to see the snow around them had melted.

He let go of her hands, and she immediately touched his chest, feeling the warmth of chiseled muscle beneath his turtleneck.

“Holy hell, Ruby,” he whispered against her mouth. “I’ve wanted this since the second I laid my eyes on you, and it’s even better than I’d imagined.”

He kissed her again as her fingers trailed down the ridges of his stomach to the belt buckle, afraid, yet wanting to explore more.

His hand slipped under her sweatshirt and t-shirt, his touch leaving a trail of fire on her skin, making her shiver. He palmed her breast, gently rubbing her hardened nipple until it became a tender peak as desire flooded her. As far as she was concerned, they were going to have sex right there in the snow.

He pulled up her shirt and sweatshirt, exposing her torso. Lowering his head, he licked her nipple through the silky fabric of her bra, and he chuckled as she held on to him, not letting him raise his head.

As the blood pounded in her ears, she gasped at the sensations tearing through her body. Every touch of his hand and swirl of his tongue clouded her thoughts more and more, making her desperate to take all of him.

Suddenly, to her right, a twig snapped, bringing her out of her reverie.

Garrett heard it as well and sat up, pulling her sweatshirt down at the same time. Savannah and Zach came into view. The dog whined, then sat down, staring at them.

“Garrett? Ruby?” Zach said.

Horrified they’d been caught, she struggled to her feet. Garrett stood first and then extended his hand to her. “Yeah, man. We’re right here.”

“Is everything okay?” Zach asked.

Ruby tried to control her breathing and smoothed down her sweatshirt.

“We’re fine. Ruby took a fall and we were just taking a minute to get her bearings.”

“Are you okay, Ruby? You didn’t hit your head again, did you?”

She pulled a twig out of her wet hair, her butt now freezing in the cool air. “No, I’m fine.”

“I kept calling for you guys, but you didn’t answer. I got a little worried and told Savannah to find you.”

Ruby glanced around, wondering how a blind man could maneuver through a forest while she couldn’t seem to stay on her feet.

“Thanks, man, but we’re cool. Let’s head back to the cabin.”

“Savannah, home,” Zach muttered, and the dog stood and turned.

Garrett glanced over at her and she saw the same disappointment in his face that reverberated throughout her whole being.

They waited until Zach had walked a few feet away, and then Garrett whispered, “I couldn’t help myself, Ruby. You make it hard to keep my paws off you.”

She gazed up at him as he rested his hands on her shoulders.

“What do you want from me?” she whispered. Now that the heat of the moment had passed, her thinking had cleared.

He leaned in, his breath hot on her cheek. “I want my tongue to trace over your bare nipples. I want to taste you. I want to fuck you gently, then  fuck  you hard. I want to see you riding me until you scream in pleasure. I want to take you any way you’ll have me, Ruby. That’s what I want.”

His tongue caressed her earlobe, sending another jolt of need throughout her body.

“You just let me know if you want it, too. My guess is that you do.” He hooked his forefinger in the waistband of her jeans. “I bet if I were to slide my hand down these jeans, I’d find you hot and wet and ready for me.”

With that, he turned and walked away.

Stunned and briefly appalled, Ruby watched him for a moment. No one had ever talked to her that way. As she followed him, her eyes trained on his ass, she smiled. Although he’d been crude, almost to the point of rudeness, she’d liked it.