tea. I’ll be right back.”
She glanced around the room as Thomas left, trying to look anywhere but at Garrett.
“Did the raccoon scare you?” he asked, his voice gruff.
“Yes,” she whispered, picking at the blanket covering her. “I’m such a klutz.”
“The raccoon was my fault. I aired out the house earlier and forgot to shut the window. I’m sorry about that.”
“Did … who found me?” she asked, wanting to know who had seen her naked, and who hadn’t. She might die of embarrassment.
“I did.”
A beat of silence ensued as she wondered how many of them it had taken to lift her to the bed? She wasn’t going to ask that. Oh, God. Where was that tornado?
“Why are your cheeks so red?” he asked. “Are you feeling okay?”
“I’m just embarrassed,” she mumbled, wishing he wouldn’t talk to her in such a harsh tone.
“Nothing to be embarrassed about, Ruby. I’ll leave you alone so you can get dressed.”
She nodded and watched him leave. Broad shoulders covered in a white t-shirt tapered down into a tight waist, a very nice butt, and long legs that carried him with confidence and purpose. She bet he’d never end up passed out on the floor after meeting a raccoon.
The door clicked shut and Ruby sat up. She winced as her head pounded, and she felt the knot in back.
“What a way to make a good first impression,” she mumbled as she stood. “Nice one, Ruby. Nice one.”
Chapter 13
Garrett sucked down a beer as he stood in the kitchen, staring out into the dark night, the visions of Ruby’s nakedness still front and center in his mind. He had the urge to fuck, plain and simple. He didn’t know if his bear was responsible for the primal desire, or if it was Ruby.
“Did you check in on her?” Zach asked.
He caught his friend’s reflection in the window. “Yeah. She’s sleeping.”
“Did you want to take shifts on monitoring her tonight?”
Before leaving, Thomas had said that Ruby needed to be woken every hour just as a precaution. Tomorrow afternoon, Joe’s personal physician would arrive to check her out.
“Yeah, probably. Why don’t you take the eleven, and I’ll do midnight. I’m going to need my patience with her tomorrow.”
Zach went to the refrigerator and grabbed a beer. He popped the top and leaned against the counter. “Why do you need patience? She seems like a nice person.”
“She’ll show her true colors at some point.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means that she’s just playing nice right now. I’m sure under there is a raving bitch.”
“You’ve spoken maybe a few dozen words to her, spent about an hour with her, and you can come to that conclusion?”
Garrett sighed and turned to Zach. “Look, I’ve known people with money like her, and I’ve never met a nice one. All are snotty douchebags who look down on everyone else.”
“You aren’t being fair to her, Garrett. You know nothing about this woman. Your assumptions could be completely off.”
“No, I’m right.”
Zach grabbed a cookie out of the cabinet. “Do you remember when you and I went out to Jake’s Lounge when we came back from our second tour in Afghanistan?”
Garrett thought a moment and realized he’d spent a lot of time at Jake’s as there wasn’t a certain time that stood out. “Not really.”
“We got shitfaced, Garrett, and we had a brief moment of clarity and decided to walk home instead of drive. Two white women were walking toward us, and then they crossed the street before they reached us. You said they did that because you’re black, and white women always thought of criminals when they saw a black man walking down the street at night.”
He vaguely remembered the incident. “And?”
“We got into a fight about it because I noticed they happened to walk into a restaurant on the other side of the street, and them crossing had nothing to do with you.”
It all came back to him. “Yeah, I remember that now. And I still think they were
She glanced around the room as Thomas left, trying to look anywhere but at Garrett.
“Did the raccoon scare you?” he asked, his voice gruff.
“Yes,” she whispered, picking at the blanket covering her. “I’m such a klutz.”
“The raccoon was my fault. I aired out the house earlier and forgot to shut the window. I’m sorry about that.”
“Did … who found me?” she asked, wanting to know who had seen her naked, and who hadn’t. She might die of embarrassment.
“I did.”
A beat of silence ensued as she wondered how many of them it had taken to lift her to the bed? She wasn’t going to ask that. Oh, God. Where was that tornado?
“Why are your cheeks so red?” he asked. “Are you feeling okay?”
“I’m just embarrassed,” she mumbled, wishing he wouldn’t talk to her in such a harsh tone.
“Nothing to be embarrassed about, Ruby. I’ll leave you alone so you can get dressed.”
She nodded and watched him leave. Broad shoulders covered in a white t-shirt tapered down into a tight waist, a very nice butt, and long legs that carried him with confidence and purpose. She bet he’d never end up passed out on the floor after meeting a raccoon.
The door clicked shut and Ruby sat up. She winced as her head pounded, and she felt the knot in back.
“What a way to make a good first impression,” she mumbled as she stood. “Nice one, Ruby. Nice one.”
Chapter 13
Garrett sucked down a beer as he stood in the kitchen, staring out into the dark night, the visions of Ruby’s nakedness still front and center in his mind. He had the urge to fuck, plain and simple. He didn’t know if his bear was responsible for the primal desire, or if it was Ruby.
“Did you check in on her?” Zach asked.
He caught his friend’s reflection in the window. “Yeah. She’s sleeping.”
“Did you want to take shifts on monitoring her tonight?”
Before leaving, Thomas had said that Ruby needed to be woken every hour just as a precaution. Tomorrow afternoon, Joe’s personal physician would arrive to check her out.
“Yeah, probably. Why don’t you take the eleven, and I’ll do midnight. I’m going to need my patience with her tomorrow.”
Zach went to the refrigerator and grabbed a beer. He popped the top and leaned against the counter. “Why do you need patience? She seems like a nice person.”
“She’ll show her true colors at some point.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means that she’s just playing nice right now. I’m sure under there is a raving bitch.”
“You’ve spoken maybe a few dozen words to her, spent about an hour with her, and you can come to that conclusion?”
Garrett sighed and turned to Zach. “Look, I’ve known people with money like her, and I’ve never met a nice one. All are snotty douchebags who look down on everyone else.”
“You aren’t being fair to her, Garrett. You know nothing about this woman. Your assumptions could be completely off.”
“No, I’m right.”
Zach grabbed a cookie out of the cabinet. “Do you remember when you and I went out to Jake’s Lounge when we came back from our second tour in Afghanistan?”
Garrett thought a moment and realized he’d spent a lot of time at Jake’s as there wasn’t a certain time that stood out. “Not really.”
“We got shitfaced, Garrett, and we had a brief moment of clarity and decided to walk home instead of drive. Two white women were walking toward us, and then they crossed the street before they reached us. You said they did that because you’re black, and white women always thought of criminals when they saw a black man walking down the street at night.”
He vaguely remembered the incident. “And?”
“We got into a fight about it because I noticed they happened to walk into a restaurant on the other side of the street, and them crossing had nothing to do with you.”
It all came back to him. “Yeah, I remember that now. And I still think they were
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