I’ll never get tired of hearing him say my name in that husky growl. He’s only ever used it once before on me, and that was at his niece and nephew’s baptism. It was the tone he used after he’d kissed me—only to keep his distance from me until now.
Running his fingers through his hair, he clears his throat before resting his hands on his hips. His eyes sparkle as he glares at me. “What the fuck am I going to do with you?” He holds his hand up in the air, silencing my answer. “Don’t say anything until you’re back on your feet,” he holds a hand out to me, which I take and let him haul me up from the floor, “because I’m only human, and seeing you lying on my office floor…flashing your pink, lacy panties, has me seconds from joining you.”
Blushing, I look around his office to avoid meeting his eyes. But Ruben won’t let me ignore him, and taking a gentle hold of my jaw; he turns my face back to him so I can no longer pretend he isn’t standing in front of me. Our gazes meet and hold before he starts to caress my face. He moves his thumb close to my cheek and I suck in my breath from the pain. He cusses like a sailor when I do.
I haven’t seen the damage because I really don’t want to, but from the sound of Ruben, it’s a mess.
“It’s as well Simon dealt with the fucker, otherwise, he’d look twice as bad as you do.” He picks up the ice pack from where it fell on the floor and places it back over my cheek before resting his hand on my shoulder.
“I’m okay. Really. The painkillers are working.” I shrug my shoulders. “I better get back out there,” I say trying to move away from him, but he stops me with a hand to my forearm.
“You’re not going back out there tonight. You’re going to go home and rest.” He covers my mouth with a finger stifling my argument, but quickly moves it away. “Don’t be difficult, Rosie. You’re hurting. You need to get in bed. Take some more painkillers and try and sleep through some of the pain. You haven’t taken time off since you started working here so take the week off.”
Needing space from Ruben, I break our contact. Letting the ice pack fall to the sofa, I start to shuffle toward the door as he follows me. “I’m just going to go and grab my things and head out, but I really don’t need all week off work—maybe a few days.” I can’t afford to take time off work.
With my hand on the doorknob, Ruben crowds me in against the door—his front against my back with both his hands on the door. His breath caresses my neck sending shivers to parts of my body that really shouldn’t be shivering because of my boss. My heart flutters and my breath catches in my throat as he puts his mouth to my ear.
“You’ll take the week off—with full pay,” he whispers, “and when you’re back you’ll stay away from the floor. I’m putting you behind the bar.”
His words don’t register properly with me because all I can concentrate on is his body. It burns into me as his wandering hand slowly moves down toward my hip. He squeezes it before pushing himself away from me.
“I’ll get Simon to drive you home,” Ruben says as I hear him walking away from me.
Taking a deep breath, I turn to face Ruben, and tell him, “Thanks, but I can get myself home.” I don’t want to be enclosed in a vehicle with Simon who’s starting to give off the wrong kind of vibes.
It wasn’t that I didn’t like Simon, it was just that he watches me, but not as a guy who watches someone he’s interested in—thank goodness, but as though he doesn’t trust me. I’ve no idea why I get that kind of vibe from Simon, but there’s no way I’m going to willingly spend time alone with him.
“Simon will drive you,” Ruben says, his voice firm and the glint in his eyes challenging. He does not look happy with me right now. “I don’t want anything else happening to you between here and where you live.”
I close my eyes. Taking a deep breath, I let it out in exasperation. “I’m not ten years old, Ruben. Simon is not taking me home. There are plenty of cabs outside.”
Pulling open the door, I quickly exit Ruben’s office and make my way to the staff room to get my things.
The first thing I reach for as soon as I’ve opened my locker are my jeans. Kicking off the shoes I wear for work, I quickly slide my legs into the soft denim and wiggle around to get them up around my hips. With them fastened, I quickly remove my skirt, tossing it into my purse. I follow it with my long-sleeved shirt. My feet nice and secure in my boots, I shove the strap of my purse over my shoulder and make sure my locker is secure. I just want to leave and get back to my apartment to cry my eyes out for the rest of the night. My emotions are all over the place thanks to Ruben and my face feels like it’s been hit with a brick instead of a fist. I need to be alone. I’m used to being alone.
Stepping into the hall—I freeze.