Page 47 of Bet On Me, Daddy

RUBY

It was the warmth that woke her. Soft and gentle on her skin, a tender caress that pulled her lovingly to the land of the waking.

Rolling onto her back, she grinned up at the ceiling as she stretched her sore muscles. Beckett had lived up to his promises and then some after their snack break, and there were a dozen delicious little twinges making themselves known all over her body. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d felt so wonderfullyusedby a man.

It was definitely a feeling she could get used to.

Her phone buzzed on the nightstand beside her, which was interesting because she didn’t remember getting it out of her purse the night before. She’d been far too distracted by Beckett to even think of it.

Which meant he’d put it there for her, and found a charger for her so the battery was full when she woke up.

Ignoring the little flutter in her chest at his thoughtfulness, she picked up the phone—and immediately groaned at the message on the screen.

It was from Jacqueline, her contact at the temp agency she occasionally worked with, begging her to fill in for someone atone of their client’s offices. It wasn’t the usual way things were done, but Charleston was often more like a small town than an actual city, and Jacqueline seemed to have a soft spot for Ruby and went out of her way to give her as much flexibility as possible with their arrangement.

In return, Ruby made it a point to step in whenever she was available, especially when they were in a tight spot. And judging by the tone of Jacqueline’s text, they were in a very tight spot.

But today was supposed to be her day off. Her one day off a month, which she deliberately gave herself as a reward for working her ass off the other twenty-nine or thirty days of the month. And she’d so been looking forward to doing absolutely nothing all day.

On the other hand, she could use the money, and Jacqueline was obviously desperate.

Dammit.

Ruby

I need an hour. Send me the address.

Rolling out of bed with a sigh, she headed for the bathroom attached to Beckett’s bedroom. Before she’d fallen asleep the night before, he’d told her he would probably be gone by the time she woke up, but to make use of whatever she needed in the morning, an offer she appreciated even more now since it would save her a trip back to her apartment which was well out of the way of her impromptu commute. The clothes in her go-bag were more casual than business, but they’d have to do.

After tracking down the fresh towel and washcloth he’d laid out for her, she stepped into the beautifully tiled shower—the beautifully tiled shower that was the size of her entire bathroom in her apartment—and after a few minutes of studyingthe complicated touchpad in front of her, pressed a button she hoped would turn on the water.

And let out a scream as it attacked her from all sides.

There were, she realized after the initial shock, approximately a dozen jets hidden in the walls of his shower. Which was… amazing, actually.

Closing her eyes, she let her head fall back as the rainfall shower head above her sprinkled water over her and the jets beat at the soreness in her muscles.

For the first time in years, she found herself missing the life she’d once had. A life that had provided her with luxuries she could no longer afford.

Luxuries like giant showers with a ridiculous number of high-powered jets that turned your muscles to jelly.

But there was danger in getting too used to such luxuries, as she well knew, so forced herself to hurry through her shower and turn the water off, no matter how badly she simply wanted to wallow in the pleasure of it.

Wrapped in an impossibly large, impossibly soft towel, she went in search of a spare toothbrush. Beckett seemed like the kind of guy to be prepared for anything, and it honestly surprised her a little that he didn’t have a sleepover kit or something waiting for her.

Either he wasn’t as prepared for overnight guests as she thought, or the extra toothbrushes were hidden somewhere she had no hope of finding them. Which left her with only one option, and even though it made her cringe a little, she couldn’tnotbrush her teeth. Making a mental note to let him know in case he wanted to replace it, she squeezed some toothpaste onto his brush and hurriedly scrubbed at her teeth.

A quick glance at her phone told her she had approximately five minutes to finish getting dressed and get her ass out thedoor. Which she just barely managed, with her hair piled in a wet messy bun on top of her head.

She paused on the front steps, wondering if she should message him about locking up since she didn’t have a key. And nearly jumped out of her skin when his voice came out of nowhere.

“Forget something Ruby Red?”

“Jesus Christ, Beckett! Are youspyingon me?” The thought of him watching her, without her knowing, sent a chill up her spine.

“No,” he said with a chuckle. “The doorbell has a motion sensor and a camera. I got a notification someone was on the front steps and saw you looking rather adorably befuddled.”

“I do not look befuddled.” Okay, she probably did, considering she was feeling pretty damn ‘befuddled’. “I was just trying to figure out if I needed to lock up somehow.”

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