So? That’s exactly who I am, Ares told himself savagely. Why try to fight it? Why let himself be tempted to be different, when it could only lead to vulnerability and pain?
“You lied to me,” she whispered. “I actually was starting to believe…”
Her voice trailed off. Turning, Ruby fled, leaving him standing alone amid the crowds of beautifully dressed people on the dance floor.
“Ruby!”
She didn’t stop. Crowds parted magically for her, as they’d always parted for him. But it wasn’t due to wealth and power. They parted for Ruby’s light. For her brilliant beauty. The bright fuchsia of her dress was like a beacon flying through a sea of gray dresses and black tuxedos.
Setting his jaw, Ares went after her. As she burst out of the museum and into the warm summer night, she looked back and saw him behind her. Pulling off her strappy sandals, she started running on the sidewalk.
Barefoot, she was surprisingly fast. He followed grimly in his Italian leather shoes, getting surprised looks as he ran past people in his tuxedo. She’d always been athletic. He remembered her snowboarding past him on the mountain. She reached the mansion a full four seconds before he did.
“Ruby!”
“Stop following me,” she bit out, heading up the sweeping staircase.
“We can share an elevator—”
“I’d rather die.”
As Ares watched Ruby climb up the staircase, her shoulders drooping in the bright pink dress, he told himself to let her go. Her misery would be brief. Tomorrow, she would be wealthy beyond belief, heading back home. To have her baby. Someday, she’d find another man, one who would know how to care for them both.
But as Ares looked up the shadowy staircase where Ruby had disappeared, every ounce of his body and soul recoiled at the thought.
Ruby was his woman.
He couldn’t let her go.
She was his.
Taking the elevator, he reached the top floor before she did. And he saw why she’d taken the long route. She was crying. Her eyebrows lowered in a fury when she saw him outside her door.
“Leave me alone.”
“You’re crying.”
She tossed her head. “Tears of happiness. I never wanted to come to New York. You blackmailed me into it. I’m happy to go home.” She looked up defiantly. “I knew this would happen!”
Tears were streaming down her cheeks.
Ares pulled her into his arms, his fingers twining in a dark tendril that had escaped her high ballerina bun. “Ruby, you’re driving me crazy,” he said huskily. “From the moment I first saw you, I haven’t been able to think of any other woman. You’re the only one I’ve wanted. Only you.”
He heard her intake of breath.
“Are you saying—” she lifted her luminous gaze to his “—you’ve been faithful to me all these months?”
Faithful. Ares hadn’t thought of it that way. But now he realized it was true. “Yes. Which is why I brought you here. To force you to take care of yourself, yes. But also because I needed you in my bed.”
She swallowed.
“Then, why?” she whispered. “If you want me so badly, why are you sending me away so soon?”
“Because you’re dangerous.”
“Dangerous?” she said in astonishment.
“I didn’t want to care about you, but I do.” Cupping her cheek, he said in a low voice, “You’re different from any woman I’ve ever known. Which is why after tonight, I can never see you again…”
Tilting back her head, he ruthlessly lowered his mouth to hers.
For an instant, her hands pressed against his shoulders, as if to resist. But he would not let her deny what he knew they both wanted. His grip tightened on her, holding her fast. He deepened his kiss, plundering her lips, teasing her tongue with his own until he felt her sigh. Until he felt her surrender, the roundness of her breasts and belly and her petite body against his tuxedo.
The strappy sandals she’d been holding dropped to the floor. Recklessly, she started to kiss him back, holding him tight against her, as if she, too, had yearned for this, not just for months, but all her life.
Desire surged through him. For nearly half a year, he’d hungered only for this woman. Having her in his arms now felt like the waking fulfillment of a dream. His hands tangled in her hair, loosening the pins of her braids. As they kissed each other, her long, dark, lustrous hair cascaded to her shoulders like a veil.