I drag my mouth down the line of Ruby’s collarbone, working down inch by inch until my mouth closes over her nipple. One swirl of my tongue and she’s arching back, a gasp escaping from between her pretty lips. My cock throbs in anticipation. I’m so close to claiming her. 

I work one hand between her legs, putting a gentle pressure on her inner thighs. “Spread for me.” The words, growled into her ears, make her tense—but only a little, and then she’s opening wide for me, slick and hot and—

An alarm rings nearby, an insistent buzz, and Ruby’s eyes widen. I take my fingers away from her slit to grab for the phone and she mewls in frustration. “What is that?” Her voice is breathless, tinged with irritation.

The buzzing gets louder as I fumble with the phone. Where the hell is the button to stop all this, to silence it? Nothing on the screen makes any sense. Something must have gone wrong with it in the middle of the night, because I can’t read anything on the screen or even on the casing. Ruby pushes herself up on her elbows, a frown on her face, and I flip it over. There are no buttons, and now the buzzing is accompanied by a shrill ring. Damn it. Damn it.

I surface from the dream with a cold rush of reality down my spine and groan into my pillow.

Who the hell is calling right now, and why?

The light filtering through the floor-to-ceiling windows of the master bedroom is a dusky gray, tinged with pink. It’s early as hell, and yet my phone is still ringing on the bedside table. I want to throw the stupid thing to the floor, shatter it into a thousand pieces, and go back to that dream, but it’s already fading.

“Fine.” I snatch the phone from the table and squint at the screen. It’s a number I don’t recognize. Wonderful. Someone privileged enough to have my number has cost me the most vivid dream of the last decade. 

I swipe angrily across the screen and slap the phone to my ear. “Hello?” At this hour of the morning, I’m not about niceties.

“Oh, thank god.” The voice on the other end of the line, low and sweet, is filled with relief. “This—is this Levi Blake?”

“Yes. Who is this?”

“It’s—” The woman breaks off and takes in a big breath. Hopefully she’s realizing that this hour of the morning is hardly appropriate for phone calls, much less a full conversation. “This is Ruby Ashworth.”

I’m up on my elbow in an instant, trying to stifle a laugh. “No, it’s not. Who is this?”

“Ruby Ashworth.” Her voice is a little uncertain, and a moment later I find out why. “I’m—” She swallows audibly. “I didn’t realize how early it was. I can call back later.”

“No.” I snap my lips shut, listening for the click of the line going dead. “I’m awake. Is something the matter?”

I can’t believe she’s calling. For one thing, it is five thirty in the morning. For another, I was trying to call her bluff back at the estate sale. Most times, when I start to walk out the door, whoever it is will rush after me, and then we can get to the real negotiating. For Ruby to hold out for almost a full day means… I’m not totally sure what it means, but I’m impressed. 

Ruby lets out a laugh, short and on the edge of being bitter. “My estate sale was a total flop.”

“Aha.” I fall back against the pillows, running a hand through my hair. “So you do need me after all.”

She sighs, and there’s a pause—one heartbeat, then two. “Yes. I guess there’s no other way to put it.” There’s another short pause, like she’s busy swallowing her pride. “I wanted to talk to you about the offer you made on the contents of the house.”

“At five thirty in the morning?”

“I was in a little bit of a rush.”

“I’m dying to know why.” I really am. I gave her that card yesterday. There was plenty of time to call at any one of the decent hours between then and now.

“If you must know…”

“I must.”

“If you must know,” Ruby begins again, “I was worried I’d lost your number.”

“Did you lose my card?”

“I didn’t…lose it so much as throw it away.”

“But you got it back?” An image of Ruby digging through some dumpster hidden on her family property’s grounds makes laughter bubble up in my chest.

“The cleaning crew hasn’t been through yet.”

“Let me get this straight.” This conversation is not at all what I was expecting when I realized Ruby was the person on the other end of the line. It’s too familiar, like we’re not perfect strangers, and a wave of heat moves through my chest. Maybe it’s the early hour of the morning, but what the hell do I care? I’m going to go with it. I’ll go with it until she decides she hates me again. “You rushed downstairs and dug through a waste bin to find the card I gave you, and then you called me immediately…in case I’d disappeared?”

Ruby laughs again, and this time it’s not bitter. It’s disbelieving. “It wasn’t that simple.”

“You rushed…outside?”

“I’m not living at my parents’ house anymore, Mr. Blake.”

“I think we’re at the point where you can call me Levi.”

“Oh, are we?” I can hear the amusement in her voice. 

“You did call me and wake me up at five thirty. That must mean we’re close acquaintances, at least.”

Her sigh is a little heavier. “I’m not sure I want to be close…acquaintances with the man who…never mind. It looks like I might not have much of a choice.”

“Like I said. You need me.”

“I need to talk to you, yes.”

“Where are you right now?”

“At—” I can practically see her shaking her head. “I’m at my apartment. Where are you?”

“At my penthouse. I can meet you in forty-five minutes, if you want to discuss the estate.”

There’s a silence. “You really don’t have to do that. I’m assuming you have an office, or a…a showroom of some kind. I could stop by on my lunch break tomorrow or Tuesday, and—”

“Ruby Ashworth, you woke me up at this ungodly hour, and now you won’t even meet me for breakfast?”

Another laugh that sends a jolt of pure joy through my veins. “You have a fair point. Where should we meet?”

I name my favorite breakfast place.

“Okay. Forty-five minutes?”

“I’ll see you then.”

The line goes dead, and I climb out of bed and head for the master bathroom. 

Next on my agenda: find out how badly she needs me.