RUBY'S POVA loud knock at the door made me jump so hard I nearly fell off the bed. My heart shot into my throat as the pounding came again, more insistent this time. I froze, staring at the door like it might explode. Was that someone here to finally end me?“Calm down, Ruby,” I muttered to myself, though my voice was anything but calm.My eyes darted around the room for something, anything to defend myself with. My gaze landed on the first thing I could grab: a pillow. A soft, white, useless pillow. Fantastic.With the pillow gripped tightly in my hands, I tiptoed toward the door. The knocking hadn’t stopped. It was steady and firm, and with every knock, my heart beat faster.I swallowed hard, held my breath, and flung the door open. I raised the pillow high above my head, ready to attack whoever dared to….“Ruby?”Dominic’s deep voice interrupted the chaos in my brain. I froze mid-swing, eyes wide as I stared at him.He stood there, one brow raised, his lips twitching with amusemen
DOMINIC'S POVI woke up to darkness around me. The room was quiet except for the faint sound of Ruby’s soft breathing beside me. I turned my head to look at her, and there she was, curled up on her side, her red hair spilling over the pillow like ink. Peaceful.I didn’t know how I’d ended up here, sleeping beside her. Most of the women I’d brought into this house never got more than a few hours of my time. I always left them sprawled out on the bed. Whatever we usually did was fleeting and meaningless. But this felt different.Ruby had a way of cracking through my walls without even trying. She always made me feel like I could unburden myself. Like I didn’t have to be the ruthless Dominic Rutherford everyone expected me to be.Sighing quietly, I sat up, careful not to stir her awake. My mask had slipped while I was sleeping, so I shifted it back to my face. I stared at her for just a moment longer before I swung my legs off the bed and stood. The floor was cool under my feet as I cros
DOMINIC'S POV It felt like I'd been waiting for this moment from the day I learned about Ruby's ex husband.Gabriel's house was dead silent, except for the faint creak of his old armchair as I leaned back and tapped my fingers against the armrest. The window was open, letting the cool night air along with the soft glow of moonlight. This was unusual. I wasn’t usually the type to wait, because I preferred action. But tonight, patience was the key.The bastard deserved this. Every single bit of it.Julia’s call to Ruby had been the final straw. I couldn’t let him think he had any leverage over her. Gabriel Volkov needed to know exactly where he stood in this game, and it was miles beneath me. This was personal now.A car engine purred outside, its tires crunching against the gravel. I straightened in the chair and glanced at my wristwatch. Right on time. My source had told me Gabriel would be back from the club around now. A creature of habit, that one. Too predictable for his own good
DOMINIC'S POVI stepped into the house by nine that morning. The familiar quiet house greeted me, though I could feel someone’s presence before I even looked up. My eyes shifted to the foyer, and Ruby stood there.She stood barefoot, wearing an oversized blue button-up shirt that looked like it could swallow her whole. Her red hair was swept up into a messy bun, and for the first time since I’d met her, she looked soft. No dresses, no heels, no layers of carefully applied makeup. Just her. And damn, she looked good.The frown pulling at her lips was a clear warning. "Dominic, where have you been?"I shrugged off my coat, hanging it on the rack. "Out.""Out?" she repeated, crossing her arms. "That’s the best you’ve got? It’s nearly up to ten in the morning.""Good to know you can tell time," I said dryly, striding past her and toward the bar. I needed a drink, something to wash away the remnants of my anger of Gabriel.She followed me. "Dominic, I’m serious. Where were you?"I grabbed
RUBY'S POVI zipped up my suitcase two days later and stepped back, surveying the room one last time. It felt strange, leaving this space that had somehow become familiar in such a short amount of time.A bodyguard was already waiting at the door. Without a word, he reached for the bags.“Thank you,” I said quietly, handing them over.He gave a brief nod and turned, leading the way out. I followed, shutting the door behind me and stepping into the hallway. My steps slowed when we passed that particular door. The "Keep Out" placard was still hanging there like a challenge, daring me to ask questions I wasn’t sure I wanted answers to.Then the door opened.Dominic stepped out, closing it behind him. He wore a black shirt which was unbuttoned at the collar, sleeves rolled up to his elbows, as if he’d been working on something private.Ever since our conversation two days ago, I had been cautious around him. When he told me he’d gone to Gabriel’s house, threatened him, and nearly crossed
RUBY’S POVDominic opened the car door and stepped out first. The wind whipped his shirt against his chest as he turned and reached for my hand. I grabbed it and stepped out.I wore a short white bodycon halter-neck dress, and so the sudden cold made me shiver. But the sight before me made me freeze in place. The private jet was white with gold around its wings and nose, sleek and very massive. Its wings stretched out as if it could take over the whole sky. The initials of DR was painted along its side.“This is yours?” I asked.Dominic glanced down at me. “It’s actually the company's."I rolled my eyes. "So.... technically yours.”"If you say so." He muttered.Before I could respond, his hand moved to the small of my back. The feel of his fingers against my bare back was warm and distracting. A tingling sensation spread from where his fingers rested, and I shivered again. I tried to focus on the plane, the tarmac, anything other than the way my body seemed to react to his touch.He l
RUBY'S POV"Would you like to try something crazy?" He asked.A smile bloomed on my lips. "If it's skydiving, let me just say that—""No. Come here, Kitten." He murmured.It wasn't the nickname so much as the sound of Dominic's voice that forced me to really look at him. His blue eyes had gone dark with desire, and he was running a finger lazily up and down my hand.I shifted closer to him, and Dominic reached for his own glass of wine. He took a sip, then turned back to me. I waited for him to swallow that mouthful of wine, but he didn't.Wait, was he…I opened my mouth instinctively as he leaned closer to me. Dominic captured my lower lip in his teeth, tugging on it, silently begging me to open even wider for him. And open I did.As he kissed me, he poured a delicious mouthful of the liquid into my mouth. It was so unexpected and so hot, that I gasped in surprise.“Do you want more?” he whispered.I glanced down the aisle, half-scared that one of the flight attendants would see us.
DOMINIC'S POVHer confession had left me speechless. Ruby was staring up at me with those large green eyes, her dress undone at the front to reveal her boobs, her hair flailing out on either side of her face like an inferno. She was my gorgeous little secret."I shouldn't have said that." She apologized. "Shut up." I cut her off and kissed her again.Her tongue glided over the seam of my lips, then retreated, teasing, tormenting me further. My body was strung tight, had been since we'd kissed on the way here.I moved away from her, even as my body screamed in protest. Apparently, she felt the same because her hands immediately went for the snap on my jeans. Ruby unbuttoned my jeans and helped me push them, along with my boxers, down to the floor. I kicked the clothes aside and came back to her.Then kneeling on both sides of her chest, I held my dick ready."Squeeze your boobs together, Kitten." I ordered."Wait." Ruby reached into her bag and pulled out a bottle of what looked like
Dominic’s POVThe past week had been hell for me.I barely left my study, barely ate meals, barely spoke to anyone. My days blurred together. I'd stopped going to the office and moved my work to the house. It was endless hours of staring at my laptop, pretending to work when all I could think about was Ruby. The house was too quiet without her. Too empty.I didn’t even know where Ariel was half the time. Not that she’d come looking for me, after our last conversation.Tonight was no different. I sat at my desk, peering at the screen, but the words meant nothing. My coffee had gone cold beside me. My body ached from sitting too long, but I didn’t move.The door creaked open."I said I don’t want to be disturbed!" I snapped. "I told the house manager that I don't want to be disturbed!""Nice to see you too, Dad."I exhaled slowly and brushed a tired hand against my face. "Ariel, I'm sorry. I thought you were someone else."She stepped inside, balancing a tray in her hands. "I brought yo
Ruby's POVI had one peaceful sleep after some days, and I could say that I slept like a baby, or maybe, like a log of wood. Who knows?It did not matter how I slept, as long as I was able to forget everything that had happened these past few days.Now I was awake, but I felt too lazy to get out of bed. I just wished it was not morning already. I closed my eyes again hoping I could fall asleep again but then came some noise outside my room.Sliding into my slippers, I walked towards the door and pinned my ear against it."Do you think she's okay?" Someone asked. I immediately recognized the voice as Lilac's.A heavy sigh, then Ariana replied. "I don't know, Lilac. She appeared at my front steps yesterday, looking like a bat out of hell. She's sleeping in there right now.""This is why I don't like powerful men like Dominic." Lilac grumbled. "They think they can do anything they like to anyone."I shook my head slowly as I listened to my friends. I knew they were only looking out for m
Ruby's POVThe darkness seemed like it would swallow me whole, as I could not see anything in front of me or behind me. I was terrified, perhaps because I had not stepped out of my cage for a while.I sighed and glanced around; the road was dark. Mid drive to my condo, I'd told the Uber driver to stop. I wasn't sure I could afford to stay in that silent house, all by myself. I just might run mad. I'd paid the Uber driver and now I stood by the roadside, with four bags and no car in sight.I needed my friends tonight.I'd tried to call Lilac and Ariana, but neither of them were picking up. I couldn't blame them; it was eleven at night. Lilac was an early sleeper, and Ariana would most likely be binge watching New Housewives of New York or some such show on Netflix.The wind blew West, sweeping my hair off my back. I felt like someone would come out of nowhere, and pull me by the hair, so I threw the cap of my hoodie over my head and wrapped my arms around myself.Dominic would surely
Dominic’s POVThe drive home that evening felt longer than usual. Streetlights flashed past in a blur, but my mind was stuck in one place.I kept thinking about Rosalie. In my mind, I saw her smirk and heard her threats. The way she had moved close to me, whispering filth in my ear like she actually thought I wanted it. The way she had suggested sex to me.I had agreed. I had said yes to her, because I wanted to protect Ruby from the truth. But the moment we stepped into that hotel room, I knew I couldn't do it. Not with her or with anyone else. Not when Ruby existed and she was a part of my life now. I had never been attracted to any woman since Ruby came into my life.Rosalie had been livid, as I'd expected. She spat out her threats, said she’d tell Ruby the truth, that I had been lying to her from the start. But I didn’t care. Let her tell Ruby. Let the whole damn world know.Because nothing, no secret or lie, was worse than betraying Ruby like that.I gripped the steering wheel ti
Ruby’s POVThe office felt off that day. I couldn’t quite put my finger on it, but something wasn’t right.It started when Dominic walked out of his office and called for Rosalie.I barely looked up from my computer when he did it at first, but then Rosalie’s response made my head snap up."Coming, Dominic!" She purred.Dominic?!I turned to him, expecting him to correct her, to tell her to keep it professional. But he didn’t. He didn’t even look at me. He just stood there, staring straight ahead, then turned and walked back into his office. The door closed behind him.I turned to her in surprise. Rosalie smirked, flipping her hair over one shoulder. She stood from her desk, adjusting her blouse like she wanted to make sure she looked perfect before going in.My stomach twisted."What the hell is going on?" I demanded, marching over to her side of the office.Rosalie just chuckled. "Things are changing in this office, Ruby," she said sweetly, grabbing a folder from her desk. "You migh
Dominic’s POVI turned off the ignition and glanced at Ruby. She hadn’t moved or even spoken a word to me. She just sat there, staring out the window like she wasn’t really seeing anything."Talk to me, Ruby."She said nothing."You can’t keep this bottled up," I tried again. "I know you’re hurting."She scoffed, but it was barely audible. I could tell she was hurting. She had been hurting for three days since Julia died. I didn't understand why she still felt so much emotion for a person who ha stabbed her in the back, but I tried to reason with her anyway."I see it," I continued. "You pretend when you’re around others, but I know you. You’re not okay."She shifted slightly but still didn’t meet my eyes."You’ve barely slept," I said. "You don’t eat properly. You look like a ghost of yourself."Her fingers dug into her lap. "Drop it, Dominic.""I’m not dropping it.""Well, I’m not talking."I exhaled sharply. "Julia’s death...."Her head snapped toward me. "Don’t.""You need to let
Ruby’s POVThe smell of coffee pulled me from sleep. I blinked against the morning light and turned to the side to see Dominic sitting beside me. He was eating breakfast in bed. He lifted a forkful of scrambled eggs and grinned."I figured the smell would wake you up," he said. "Thought it’d be a nice way to start your day."I groaned and smacked his arm. "You are a villain in my life!"He chuckled and waved another fork heaped with some bacon close to my mouth. "You want some?"I rolled my eyes and sat up. "I don't like you, Mr Rutherford."Dominic smirked and bit off the bacon. "Are you coming to work today? You know I’d understand if you needed some time off, after everything that happened last night."I didn’t even need to think about it. "No. I'm not staying away from work."He raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure about that, Ruby?""Staying away will give nasty people like Rosalie the chance to talk all kinds of trash about me," I muttered. "And I can't have that."Dominic sighed an
Dominic’s POVRuby pulled back. Her lips were parted, her eyes searching mine."Why did you do that?" she asked."Don't blame me, Nurse Ruby." I let out a faint smile. "Dizziness from the injury."Her brows pulled together like she didn’t believe me. Before she could say anything, footsteps sounded from the hall. We both turned.Ariel stood in the doorway with her arms crossed. She lifted a hand and waved it lazily. "Oh, don’t stop on my account."Ruby let out a breath and ran a hand through her hair. I turned back to my daughter. "What are you doing awake by this hour?"Being disorganized, I didn't realize she left before.She leaned against the doorframe. "Your lousy car woke me up.""It's lousy because six men were tearing It apart." I frowned. "And you never wake up for that."She shrugged. "I had a restless sleep anyway."I studied her. There were faint shadows under her eyes. She wasn’t lying.Ariel’s gaze dropped to my arm. "Are you okay, dad?""Yeah." I nodded. "Ruby handled t
Ruby’s POVThe car ride was too quiet. Ariel sat beside me, but she wasn't saying anything, which was unlike her. Her arms were crossed and her lips were pressed together. The streetlights outside flashed over her face, and I saw the worry on it.“Are you okay?” I asked.She shrugged. “I guess.”I waited, but she stayed silent. That wasn’t like her. “What’s on your mind?”She exhaled sharply and stared at the roof of the car. “What’s happening? Why did we have to leave the dinner so fast?”I gave her a small smile. “Nothing you need to worry about, Ruby. Your father just didn't want us to stay too long at that place.”"Oh, give me a break!" Her eyes rolled. “I am not a child, Ruby. I know my dad is always dealing with dangerous people. It's in his line of work.”I shifted in my seat. "Well...."“That’s why my mom died." She continued. “Because of the kind of people he worked with. They wanted to get at my dad, so they killed my mum."I hesitated. She looked at me like she already knew