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He ground his teeth, his own temper starting to rise in turn. “That’s not what I meant!”
“What else would you be paying me for?”
“I’m trying to help you out. Money is meaningless to me. Nothing but a tool to get what I want.”
Ruby looked at him coldly. “There’s only one tool I see, and I’m looking right at him.”
His shoulders tightened. “You indicated money was an issue. I’m just trying to solve your problem.”
“You’re trying to buy me.”
“We had a great night. I want a little more. Why are you insulted?”
“It’s not me you want. You just aren’t ready to let go of your toy. Because you don’t even know me.” She lifted her chin. Her dark eyes glittered. “If you knew me at all, you’d know I would never give up my life, my friends, my home just to be some rich man’s paid mistress!”
Some rich man. He felt oddly stung by her choice of words. “You are worried about your family. I can help. That’s all.”
“You think money could replace me to them? You think I can just run away? My mother isn’t just sick. She’s dying.”
“You say that like it’s a bad thing,” he muttered, thinking of his own parents.
It was the exact worst thing he could say.
Sucking in her breath with a furious squeak, Ruby turned and left the bedroom. Jaw clenching, he dropped the pen with a thud over his open checkbook and followed her into the enormous main room, with its magnificent view of the snowy mountain, pink with the early light of dawn.
“Stop this, Ruby,” he ground out. “You’re being ridiculous!”
“So now I’m ridiculous, am I?” She put on her black shirt hurriedly. “My jobs are meaningless, my family is meaningless. Nothing about me matters except that I’m useful to you in bed!”
“That’s not what I said!”
She yanked up her leggings so fast she almost tripped on the white rug in front of the fire. “I was scared of being a one-night stand. I was scared of falling in love with you and having my heart broken. But this is worse. Because I’m not even a person to you, am I? I’m just a toy, to be bought and paid for!”
“That’s not true!”
“You offered me a check!”
“I’m starting to regret it!”
Furious tears gleamed in her eyes. “Were you planning to pay me by the hour, or per service rendered? I’m just curious!”
“I was trying to be nice,” he bit out.
“Nice? You’re rubbing my face in it! You’re so much more important, in every way! Look at all your money! Look at your important job running a worldwide company! Why, I should be grateful—on my hands and knees—that you’d offer to buy sex from a girl like me!”
“Ruby, damn you—”
“You’re just like every rich man,” she choked out, wiping her eyes. “Selfish to the core!”
Ares ground his teeth. “If that’s how you feel, forget it!”
“Oh, I will!” Storming into the mudroom, she tugged on her snow boots and grabbed her wet ski clothes and bag. “Don’t bother calling me, ever!”
“No problem!”
And Ruby left his house, slamming the door behind her.
Outside, Ares heard her truck start up with a low metallic roar. He heard the noise of the engine fade as she drove off. He was left alone in his enormous ski lodge, amid the cool shadows of dawn. Clawing back his hair, he looked bleakly around the gorgeous great room.
What the hell had just happened?
The gaslit fire still flickered in the white-brick fireplace, leaving shadows against his white furniture and black wood floors. Through the windows, the snow-covered mountain was rosy with soft light.
Ruby had given him the most amazing night of his life, then in the cold light of dawn rejected him completely. He felt a strange sucking sensation in his chest.
She was different after all. She hadn’t wanted his money. She’d judged him for his character, for himself alone. After a hot night of passion, she’d looked into his soul to see what else was there.
And she’d seen the answer: nothing.
Well, what did he care? He didn’t need her. At all. Picking up his phone, Ares dialed a number.
