Free Ruby's Fantasy by Cathleen Ross Page B

front door. Ruby was waiting inside her shop for him.
    She unlatched the door and stepped out.
    Jake’s gaze moved over her. Her blonde curls were pulled off her face and curled high on her head before toppling down to her neckline, giving her face with its cut-glass cheekbones a more severe look. She was still wearing the dark eye make-up and light pink lipstick so that his focus was drawn to the intensity of her sky-blue eyes. She was wearing a black off the shoulder top over skin-tight black pants that could have been sprayed on and shoes with high, sharp stiletto heels. They appeared lethal. She locked her shop door.
    â€˜Who are you tonight?’ he asked, glancing up and down the street before putting his arm around her and guiding her to his premises. Her waist was curved and he liked the way his hand fitted just above her hip.
    â€˜I’m thinking Olivia Newton John who played good girl Sandy in Grease in the scene where she’s about to lose her virginity to the bad boy.’
    â€˜Planning to keep those “eat me” shoes on while you’re losing it?’
    â€˜Got a thing for sharp black stilettos?’ She walked through Jake’s business and up the stairs into his landing area.
    â€˜With you in them naked. Yeah!’ There was something about her wide-eyed look combined with the erotic intensity of her outfit that made him want her. He walked over to the table where he’d laid out the plates, glasses and cutlery needed for dinner, uncorked a bottle of Merlot and poured two glasses.
    Ruby put her handbag and phone on a coffee table nearby, took a glass and raised it in salute before striding over to the kitchen and sniffing appreciatively. ‘You never said you could cook.’
    â€˜Army food’s not great. I learnt from necessity.’ Jake walked over to the back door, opened the bi-folds and put the steaks on the barbeque. The aroma of the steaks, the marinade of garlic, rosemary and wine hit the air.
    â€˜I thought you were going to say your mother taught you.’ Joining him on the outdoor patio she shielded her eyes from the sun, which filtered through the trees and reflected off the rooftops. In the distance she could see the Centrepoint Tower and the top of the Sydney Harbour Bridge.
    â€˜No, my mother was a socialite. She never cooked. Sent us both to boarding school from the age of seven.’ He named one of the exclusive schools in Sydney’s expensive Eastern Suburbs.
    â€˜That seems very young to send a child away.’ She took a sip of her red wine.
    â€˜If it weren’t for my grandmother who lived where The Cross joins Elizabeth Bay I wouldn’t have had a family life. I practically grew up on these streets on the weekend.’
    â€˜Was your mother unwell?’
    â€˜No. Just didn’t like young boys. My brother and I were too active, hence the boarding school.’
    â€˜Must have cost a fortune to send you.’
    â€˜Drop in the ocean for my father. He inherited several coalmines out west from my grandfather and he wasn’t home much. He wanted me to become a mining engineer and follow him into the family business. I had my own ideas and enough of an inheritance from my grandfather to follow my dreams.’ Jake turned the steaks. The fat sizzled and hissed. He hadn’t spoken to his parents in months. Not since Remmy’s funeral where his father had laid the blame squarely at his door for his brother’s death. The pain of it had hit him so hard he could hardly breathe. Even now, he couldn’t talk about it.
    â€˜What did you do?’
    â€˜I joined the army straight out of school. My father threatened to disinherit me but I didn’t care. My grandfather had looked after me. I still studied engineering while in the army. Specialised in explosives. I never liked to play it safe. Not then anyway.’
    â€˜What changed?’ She swirled the wine in her glass and took a sip.
    â€˜I value