Shacking Up (Shacking Up (Shacking Up 1)

Ruby’s eyebrow shoots up. “Filled out?”

“How do you two know each other?” I ask again, it’s definitely a full-on growl now.

“We went out a couple years ago,” Drew says absently, still staring at Ruby. He has this look on his face, the kind that makes me wonder if he knows what she looks like with all of her clothes off.

Based on the color Ruby’s cheeks are going, I have a feeling that might actually be the unfortunate reality. “Like once. It wasn’t a big deal,” she says.

“I should get your number again,” Drew suggests.

Ruby’s lip curls. “Uh, no thanks. I remember very clearly how the last date ended. I’m pretty sure I’m not interested in a repeat of those three, lackluster minutes.”

“Oh, snap!” One of the girls behind Ruby says and the other ones start giggling.

I, on the other hand, want to rip Drew’s head off and punt it off the roof of my building.

“I see your winning personality hasn’t changed much,” Drew shoots back.

“I see your hair hated you enough to start migrating down your body,” Ruby retorts.

It’s actually a pretty decent insult. Lexington snickers.

Drew runs a self-conscious hand through his hair. “Slutty and bitchy, now I remember why I didn’t call you again.”

Ruby launches herself at Drew. I catch her around the waist and she kicks out at him, narrowly missing his nuts. I almost wish she would’ve hit the mark.

I point a finger right in Drew’s face. “Watch your fucking mouth if you want your teeth to stay where they are.”

“Oh, shit. Is she your girlfriend?” Drew asks.

Ruby puts her hand on my chest and pushes, trying to get free. “Put me down, Tarzan.”

“I’m sorry I called her . . . those things.” Drew looks a little ill, possibly because I outweigh him by at least fifty pounds and, unlike him, I’m not afraid to get punched in the face.

I set Ruby down and she gets right up in his face, propping one fist on her hip. “I’m right here, jerkoff, if you’re going to apologize to anyone for calling me names, it better damn well be me.”

Her shorts are all wonky again, one side riding up so her cheek is on display. It always seems to be the right one. I reach out and slide my finger under the fabric, putting it back in place.

She jumps and bats my hand away. “What’re you doing?”

“Just covering you up, babe.”

She glares at me. It’s a sexy look on her.

“Maybe we should head to a bar, unless . . .” Griffin trails off. His expression reflects his discomfort with the current situation.

“We have to go soon anyway.” Ruby turns to face the girls. I don’t fail to notice that Drew’s eyes, along with everyone else’s, including Armstrong’s, drop to her ass. “Sorry girls. I’ll just grab my things.”

“You ladies don’t have to rush out of here. We’re more than happy to share the space,” Lex says.

I fight an eye roll. They all just give him a look as they pull tanks or tight-fitting shirts over their heads, grabbing purses from the couch. The tallest of the girls saunters over, her hips swaying hard as she looks us over. Her gaze falls on me. “You must be Bancroft.”

“I am. And you are?”

“Diva. Sorry about the confusion. Thanks for letting us use your space. You boys should come see us later.” She looks to Drew. “Except maybe not you.” She rummages around in her purse and pulls out a card, handing it to me. “We go on at ten. Ruby has her solo at eleven.”

“Thanks, I’ll see what I can do.” I pocket the card without looking at it. I don’t know if I want these guys watching Ruby move like that. Especially not this Drew guy, who’s apparently already had the pleasure of getting to know what Ruby feels like from the inside. Fucker.

Ruby appears a few seconds later, an oversized sweatshirt hanging off one shoulder, almost covering her shorts completely, her bag thrown over her shoulder. The heels are gone, replaced by flats.

“I’m sorry I misunderstood,” she says to me, then turns to Drew. “I feel like l need to be totally honest with you. If you had called me again for another hookup”—she makes air quotes—“there’s no way in hell I would’ve considered it based on your highly inadequate performance the first time. It was like having sex with a jackhammer.” She brushes past him, the rest of the girls follow after, every single one of them giving Drew a dirty look on the way.

The one named Diva winks at Armstrong and he winks back.

The sound of yippy barking has me cringing. Ms. Blackwood is standing in the hallway with Precious cradled protectively in her arms. Her eyes are as wide as they can go and her mouth is a flat, red slash. She looks utterly scandalized when the one who calls herself Diva prances up to her and taps Precious on the nose while she snarls.

As the girls traipse down the hall she turns to me. “I didn’t realize you’d returned, Bancroft. Are those”—she seems to struggle to find the right word—“friends of yours?”

“I got back last week. They’re friends of Ruby’s.” At her questioning look I prompt, “She was watching my place while I was gone. Remember?”

“Oh. Yes. Of course. But she’s still here?”

“She definitely is.”

“Well I hope her friends aren’t going to cause trouble.”

I flash her a smile and wink. “Don’t worry, Ms. Blackwood. I know how to handle trouble.”

As soon as the door closes Lex lets out a low whistle. “Now I know why you let her move in here. That chick is smokin’.”

“I didn’t let her move in because she’s hot. I needed someone to take care of Francesca and Tiny.”

Armstrong snorts.

“I call bullshit on that, brother.” Lex points to his crotch. “I’d sure let her play with my ferret.”

I get up in his space. “Keep your fucking ferret away from her unless you want to lose it.”

He gives me one of his know-it-all grins. “Well, this explains everything.”

“What’re you talking about?”

“London, you fool. Turning down the offers for room keys when we were in the hotel bar. You always wanting to go back to your room early. All the phone calls you couldn’t miss. You gotta be hitting that.”

“I hit that,” Drew says.

He’s almost sneering until I turn around and point a finger in his face. “You seriously need to shut it unless you want to know what a broken nose feels like.”

He nods. “Shutting it.”

“You are hitting that, right?” Lex asks again. I don’t know why he insists on having this information.

I give him a look. “Ruby is not a that, and I’m not sleeping with her.” Yet.

He gapes at me. “Seriously, Bane, we need to sit down and have a talk. How the hell are you not hitting that? Did you see what she can do with her leg? Did you see her ass?” He holds up his hands as if he’s grabbing it. His facial expression would be priceless if he wasn’t talking about Ruby. His eyes light up. “We’re gonna go see their show tonight, right?”

I slide the card out of my back pocket and scan it. The address is at the bottom.

Griffin looks over my shoulder. “I thought you said Ruby was in theater.”