His Paris Affair (The Albury Affairs) (10 page)

Ruiz dragged his eyes away from Melody to catch the knowing
look in Jon Luc’s face. Ruiz wanted to punch that look off his face, with the
mug still in his hand.

“
Monsieur
Jon Luc,
it’s nice to see you again.” There was a quiver in her voice as hard as she
tried to sound professional. And when she moved to take Jon Luc’s hand in a
hand shake, she wobbled on the first step she took. Ruiz unsettled her... good.
They were on a level playing field.

Instead of shaking her hand, Jon Luc took it, turned it palm
down and raised it to his lips to kiss her knuckles. “It’s nice to see you
again as well…
Madame
Albury.”

Melody went rigid, her mouth dropped open and her eyes
widened at him before jumping to Ruiz. They beamed shock at first then an angry
accusation.

Ruiz cursed under his breath placing the mug down forceful
and sitting with the same force before he took a file from one of the stacks
and opened it. It was an employee file, but as he stared down at it, he
couldn’t see a thing except Melody’s accusing eyes. He shouldn’t feel guilty.
He had every right to claim her as his wife. She was done calling the shots on
the two of them. It was time he took over. He stood up, grabbed her arm and
pulled her to the seat he’d just vacated. He then took another chair and set it
against the wall behind her to her right and sat down.

He held her angry gaze, crossing his arms over his chest.
“It’s time you start taking your responsibility to Red Roses seriously,
Mrs. Albury
and you’re going to start
with firing a few people this morning. Time to call in your first soon to be
ex-employee.”

The
glare turned to fear and Ruiz clenched his jaw. Why was she scared of them? He
softened his gaze towards her with a slight smile. “Don’t worry, I’m right
here.”

She lifted her chin a fraction hardening herself. “I don’t
need for you to hold my hand.”

He nodded hiding his pleasure at seeing a little backbone
even though it was completely phony.

“Okay then. Pick up the phone and ask your secretary to call
the first name on the list. The files are arranged in the same order and number
one’s file is right in front of you.”

The fear was back in her eyes for just a moment before she
turned away reaching for the phone with a trembling hand. Hell, he wished he
really could hold her hand, but having her back—literally and figuratively—would
have to be enough for now. She needed to fix the mess she let happen and doing
it for her like Matthew and the rest wanted wasn’t helping her in any way. They
must have known she was here and that something was wrong. Why else would they
send Ruiz? Allan, he would just make things worse with his Hulk smashing ways
of solving problems. Ruiz would just seduce her into his way of thinking if he
needed to. It was his plan of action in getting her away from Antonio and
finally finding out what that man had over her.

* * * *

A week. One whole week she hadn’t seen him, hadn’t spoken to
him, and yet for that week he had plagued her. He was in her dreams, in her
every waking moment even the sacred time she spent with her daughter he invaded
those too. She couldn’t stop thinking about him, of making love for the first
time after so long…of the guilt of not telling him he had a daughter. A week,
she’d been tormented and tortured by longing, need, memories and guilt for a
week.

It was today she had decided to tell him the entire truth,
about their daughter and Antonio. She’d prepared for it, spent the entire night
rehearsing what she would say and how she would say it to soften the blow and
his anger. She knew he would be angry and that frightened her a little. She’d
seen him angry before and it wasn’t pleasant. It was the night Loraine was
attacked; her own wedding night. Melody and Ruiz were at the beach, laying in
each others arms staring at the dark sky and listening to the ocean. It was a
cool night that night, so, in addition to Ruiz’s warm body, she was wrapped up
in a blanket. She couldn’t remember exactly what they talked about, but she
remembered the laughter. Then his phone rang and it was like a switch had been
flipped. The rage in his eyes made her flinch but the gentle way he spoke in
the phone amazed her especially when his hold on her grew crushing. It was
Tyler he spoke to, told him to stay in the room and wait for him. Then he hung
up, passed her the phone and ordered her to call her brother before he took off
running down the beach, towards Reno’s beach house. She’d done exactly that,
then ran back to the resort and stayed with Riana who paced the entire night,
her arms wrapped around her pregnant belly. The look in her eyes was beyond
haunting…like she was stuck in a nightmare. Who could blame her? It had just
been a few months after her own ordeal, then this again? When morning came and
Matthew finally told them what had happened the night before, Riana fell ill
and Melody worried over Ruiz. He’d ran off into danger without a second
thought. When he finally came home late that afternoon, he stomped around the
house like an enraged animal, never uttering a word, visiting two rooms he
wouldn’t let her anywhere near numerous times. Her curiosity got peeked, but
watching him leave them madder than when he entered kept it at bay. It was
hours of his silence, of them just laying together on his bed as they listened
to the house being remodeled. Then finally he spoke uttering words that
frightened her. ‘I should have killed him myself’. She didn’t respond, hadn’t
been sure of what to say so she stayed laying stiffly at his side until he fell
asleep, his arms wrapped tightly around her like he was afraid something bad
would happen to her. His vehement declaration kept her awake as she questioned
herself if he would be capable of killing to protect those he loved. Would she
be capable of killing to keep those she loved safe?

Recently, she’s found herself asking her conscious that same
question. Antonio threatened the lives of her brother and daughter, but he was
yet to carry them out. She always wondered if it was just him blowing smoke or
a warning she should take seriously, but if that time came to choose between
his life and that of her daughter, as Esme was the one in immediate danger,
would she be able to make it? She already knew what Ruiz’s answer would be and
it gave her some semblance of comfort. All she had to do now was tell him the
truth and allow him to protect his daughter. She trusted him to do that much
even if he was incapable of keeping his mouth shut. Why the hell did he tell
Jon Luc they were married? What he must think of her, being married to two men!

The door swung open, bringing her to the present. Fear
flooded her and she had to hold herself still to keep from turning around to
make sure Ruiz was still there. She squeezed her hands into tight fists to hide
their shaking, but there was nothing she could do about her bouncing knee.
Thank goodness the design of the desk hid her legs and her nervousness.

Why is he making me do
this? Is he trying to teach me a lesson? These people don’t respect me they’ll
think I’m joking!
She turned her head slightly to catch a glimpse of Ruiz
from her peripheral view.
Maybe if I
asked—no begged him, he would do this himself.
She snorted rolling her
eyes.
And what lesson would I have
learned from that? That I can’t do a thing without him holding my hand?
She
took several deep breaths.
You can do
this Melody and if things get hairy, Ruiz will just take over.
With one
more deep breath she looked up and groaned.

 
Cheri, the
hotel’s very own welcoming party, walked in. There was a sway to her barely
clad hips as she looked right past Melody to Ruiz, her red lips split in a
seductive smile. She had gone all out with her appearance for this meeting,
even dropped an extra button on her shirt. With her hands flat on the desk, she
leaned over, exposing more of her bra-less breasts to the three of them. Her
smile widened when she got a reaction from Jon Luc when he whistled and she
winked at him in what Melody called street corner appreciation.

“
Monsieur
Jon Luc,
Monsieur
Albury,” she drawled
out Albury with a sexy sigh before she turned to Melody with a bored dirt under
my shoe sneer, “
Madame
.”

Melody’s brow shot up at that. The guys got sexy sighs with
their names and the
Madame
she gave
Melody was as if she was forced to spend the day in the French sewers.

“Oh this is going to be fun,” Ruiz chuckled behind her.

Yes, it will be. It’s
going to be the most fun I’ve had in a year
. Melody smiled up at Cheri, her
mind already spinning on the number of ways she was going to torture her, give
her an interview from hell before Melody fired her. She thought it was going to
be a bad day, and it would be, but having Cheri come in first... Ruiz truly did
love her.

“Cheri. Please, sit.”

* * * *

 
“Damn idiot!”
Melody yelled as she filled the ice bag with ice. After just a few hours and
seven new ex-employees, they’d had to cut the day short because one of them was
rocking a broken jaw. “You didn’t have to punch him!”

“Are you kidding me!” Ruiz yelled from where he stood in the
middle of the living room of his suite. “He insulted you.”

Melody rolled her eyes at that as she went to him. She’d
gotten used to the insults, the rude innuendos. “Yeah and you broke his jaw for
it—and the desk! Do you have any idea how much furniture costs?”

As she went to place the ice bag on his bloodied fist he
yanked it from her grip and threw it on the table.

“He asked if you were fit to give it up yet!” Ruiz hissed
angrily as he glared down at her.

Melody shrugged picking the ice bag up and taking hold of
his wounded hand by the wrist. He tried to pull it away but she held on to it
tight and pressed the bag on his knuckles. She expected a hiss or something, but
nothing. All he did was glare down at her, breathing out of his nose like a
raging bull. Actually, she contemplated her head cantered to the side as she
watched him, he did resemble a raging bull the way his face was scrunched up
and red, murder in his eyes with smoke coming out of his flaring nostrils.

“Mel, stop your mind wandering and answer me, why the hell
did he say that to you?”

She sighed again, letting go of him and moving into the
bedroom to get the first aid box from the ensuite bath. She found him standing
by the bed, his arms crossed over his chest as he glared at her.

“You know he might sue you…after they get him off the straw
and he can eat with a spoon again.” His lips cracked in a small smile. She took
that as a good sign, his anger was depreciating. “Of course they’d have to
wheel him into the court house after you used his back to break the desk.”

He rolled his lips into his mouth in an effort to hide his
smile. “Mel, weren’t you just moments ago chastising me for kicking his ass?”

 
She shrugged as
she smiled at him and pulled him down to sit on the bed. She then sat next to
him and opened the first aid box, pulling what she would need to clean and tend
to his knuckles. “I’m a girl, and girls like to have a big strong man defend
their honor.”

He snorted, “Yeah, they also don’t know their own damn
mind!”

She pressed the cotton ball of antiseptic on his wound
making him hiss and jump.

“Damn, girls are also vindictive!”

“Don’t you ever forget it,” she returned with a satisfied
grin. Then soberly she said, “Thank you, for defending me.”

He nodded, “Any time.” He cupped her cheek with his free
hand. Melody leaned into the touch, loving the roughness against her soft
cheek. His tender caresses always made her feel warm and bubbly inside. “You
know I’d do anything to protect you.”

 
“I know,” she
sighed closing her eyes.

“So why won’t you tell me what Antonio has over your head?”

Her eyes popped open and stared right into his that were
dancing with worry.
Damn!
Melody
cursed silently as she pulled away, turning away from him to avoid his eyes and
busing herself with putting everything back into the first aid box. She had
decided to tell him everything because she wasn’t very good at solving her own
problems. Jackie had made that point clear. And Melody needed her husband—her
first
husband—to keep his vows to her.
Jackie had made that point clear too. But…Melody needed to do some groundwork
first. She wasn’t going to just let him run into danger blind and without back
up. Antonio talked a big game but she’d learnt to never take anyone at face
value.

 
Jeb…
She shivered just thinking about it.
She could have easily been Loraine. She’d heard of bodyguards arranging
kidnappings of their charges but stalking and at that level? It was a first.

“So what’s in the flash drive Jon Luc gave you when we left?
The hush hush way he did it one would think it contained national secrets,” she
said, hoping to change the subject.

She felt Ruiz’s fingers under her chin and she sighed.
So much for hoping,
she thought, her
eyes fluttering shut. She couldn’t help it. His touch, the feel of his skin
against her own—for lack of better words—it was pleasure equal to paradise. She
followed his guide until she was facing him again. His hot breath caressed her
face and her lips fell open just imaging his own parted, moist, readying to
kiss her. It made her whole body ache with want. Keeping her eyes closed, she
inched closer, needing to feel more of him…just a little more.

“You don’t have to tell me now if you don’t want to,” he
whispered against her lips causing a tingle to spread through her chest. “Just
don’t go yet. I want to hold you for a minute.”