Page 83 of Under A Sicilian Sky
‘I’ve never wanted anyone so much,’ he whispered.
She kissed his chest as she unfastened the buckle on his belt and tugged it from the loops. Next the buttons of his jeans were unfastened, and she pushed them down until he could kick them aside.
His desire was even more evident now and he pulled her into his arms, pressing every inch of his body against her. They tumbled onto the bed, kissing and caressing each other. First hurried and passionate, then slow and measured. Their breath mingled as their limbs tangled and entwined.
Being in his arms was the most wonderful feeling; the sensation of his fingertips on her skin, divine. Knowing he wanted her made her ecstatically happy and simultaneously broke her heart. She could never reallyhavehim. Not wholeheartedly. He had made that clear. They were never going to be together forever, but for this one night he was hers, and she was his, and no one was going to spoil that.
* * *
Ruby awoke to the sight of a naked Mitch gathering his clothes, the shape of his body highlighted by the lamp on the nightstand. He was masculine and beautiful but without the ego to accompany it. The urge to tug him back under the covers again was almost overwhelming, but she fought her desire and glanced at the clock. It was four in the morning. She watched his body move as he pulled on his clothes, feeling her need for him rising again.
But he bent to kiss her head. ‘I thought I should head back to my room. I don’t want to get caught leaving here in the morning when the others are around. It wouldn’t be fair to do that to you. What we’ve shared… It’s nothing to do with anyone else in the house. I don’t want to spark gossip and cause problems for you.’ He rambled, but she found it endearing.
‘I appreciate that. Thank you,’ was what she said in reply, but what she wanted to say was, ‘I don’t care about them, or about what anyone else thinks, just come back to bed, please.’
He smiled but she could see melancholy in his eyes as he told her, ‘Tonight was… You were…’ He closed his eyes and clenched his jaw. ‘I didn’t want it to end.’
Sadness washed over her. ‘Neither did I.’
‘Look, I don’t want you to think that this was… I don’t want you to think I’ve taken advantage of you for some fling or something. It meant something to me. And… you should know that.’
She swallowed as her throat tightened. ‘It meant something to me too.’
He sat on the bed beside her and pulled her up into his arms. ‘I don’t know how I’m going to let you go. But I have to. I hope you understand that. I’m just not cut out to be in the spotlight. And… if I’m honest, I wouldn’t want to share you. I’d be so jealous every time you kissed a co-star on set, and every time you played someone’s wife. I know I couldn’t deal with that. But I do have feelings for you. Real feelings. Saying goodbye is going to be so damned hard.’
She clung to him and buried her face in his neck, inhaling the scent of him and committing it to memory, desperately trying to fight the tears stinging at her eyes. ‘I know. Idounderstand. I wish it was different, but I get it.’
He pulled away and fixed his gaze on her. ‘I spoke to Archie tonight at the ceilidh. He’ll have an answer in the next few days. So, you’ll be free.’ He smiled briefly. ‘Soon, this will all be over. But you…’ He cleared his throat, emotions evidently getting the better of him. ‘You will always be in here.’ He pointed to his heart. And with that he kissed her forehead, hesitating a long time with his lips pressed to her skin, then stood and left the room.
Ruby lay back and let the tears she had been holding back flow freely now she was alone with only the memory of the night she and Mitch had shared.
32
Ruby awoke and stretched, the antics of the night before making themselves known in the tightness of her muscles. She relished the feeling and closed her eyes. She replayed the memories of Mitch’s kisses on her skin, the heavenly weight of his body, the feel of his limbs entwined with hers. The bliss was short-lived, however, as she reminded herself that it would never happen again; that even though what they had shared had been passionate and heartfelt, he had made his feelings clear. At least he hadn’t lied to her, that was one thing.
She climbed from bed and showered, and as she dried herself off, she examined her face in the mirror. Her skin was flushed, and her lips turned up in an involuntary smile. Whatever happened from now, she would always have her memories of Skye and of Mitch.
She dressed and descended the stairs quietly. It was still early, and the others were evidently still in bed, sound asleep, but that was fine; she enjoyed the peace. After Mitch’s comments about her obsession with tea, she figured it would be a funny gesture to make him a cup and sneak it to him before the others awoke.
She carefully tiptoed up the stairs with his favourite mug that she’d managed to overfill and tapped lightly on his door. He didn’t respond so she decided she’d open it and place the tea on his nightstand for when he woke. It’d be a nice surprise and she knew it would make him smile. She opened the door a crack and let her eyes adjust to the darkness once more. She made to step inside when there was a snuffling sound and movement coming from the bed. She waited a second to see if he sat up, but he didn’t, so she stepped a little closer.
Her eyes widened and she swallowed the gasp that rose automatically from her chest, biting down hard on her lip as a scream threatened to join the stifled gasp. Beside Mitch in his bed, lay a naked Shelby, snuggled into his side, his arm a resting place for her head, a serene smile on her lips and her left breast exposed as the duvet had slipped down her arm where it lay across his stomach. Ruby’s eyes stung and her stomach roiled with the feeling of betrayal. She knew they weren’t forever, but she had trusted that he’d meant what he’d said about his feelings for her. Clearly, he was yet another lying man, intent on using her and moving on. But, my God, he had moved on quick. She’d thought Tyler’s engagement had been a speedy manoeuvre, but at least he had waited until the bed was cold. This betrayal hurt more than any of the others. So much more.
She closed the door carefully and retreated to her room to throw the tea down the sink in her en suite. She rinsed the mug with shaking hands and tears streaming down her face. Her stomach knotted and she felt physically sick. She leaned on the sink and regarded her red-rimmed eyes and puffy face; a stark contrast from her earlier reflection. She closed her eyes, unable to look at herself any more. How could she be so damned stupid for a third time? But then another thought occurred to her; he owed her nothing. She had willingly taken him to her bed. She had instigated it; okay, he was a willing participant, but it had been she who had insisted. She only had herself to blame.
She rallied. Washed her face, applied make-up, packed up some of her belongings and went back down to the kitchen, where she collected her phone and took it to the quietest place in the house: the conservatory. There she went online and booked herself the next available flight. Her parents were leaving anyway, so she was going back to New York. It was time. The flight, which would take her from Inverness to Schiphol in Amsterdam, where she would get a connecting flight to JFK, was later that night, which gave her time to pack the rest of her things and explain to Dougie that she had been called back to America, urgently.
She wouldn’t go into any details with Mitch about her speedy retreat. He didn’t warrant explanations. From what he had said the night before, Archie was verging upon a breakthrough, so she would hopefully be safe to return to the USA, but perhaps to a hotel for a couple of days, until everything was sorted fully, and the truth was out there. She found a hotel situated close to her apartment, and not too far from Valerie’s office, and booked a suite. She had made some big decisions about her career and needed to discuss them with Valerie as soon as possible so they could get the ball rolling.
When she had finished her calls, she headed upstairs and pushed a scribbled note under Dougie’s door explaining that she was leaving and asking if he could accompany her to the airport, and letting him know about the timing of the flight from Inverness. Then she retreated once again to the conservatory. As she sat there, replaying everything that had happened in the past weeks like a terrible movie in her mind, she heard someone in the kitchen. She couldn’t face anyone, so she stayed put, almost holding her breath for fear of drawing attention to herself. Sadly, her attempts to stay incognito were futile.
‘Morning!’ Shelby said in a sing-song voice and with a triumphant smile on her face that Ruby would’ve happily smacked off. She was standing in the entrance to the room, gripping a mug of coffee and wearing pyjamas that consisted of a cropped T-shirt exposing her flat midriff, with a pair of shorts that didn’t leave much to the imagination.
‘Oh… hi,’ was Ruby’s minimal, disinterested response as she returned her focus to her phone.
‘Everything okay?’ Shelby asked.
Ruby glanced up to see a, no doubt fake, look of concern in her eyes.
