Ruby pursed her lips. Once again, she took pleasure in slowly drinking in the view of Bennett, and when their eyes met, Ruby all but hummed her words. “Good to know.”

For almost a minute, with the quiet tones of a piano concerto coming over the sound system, they gazed at each other. Several other patrons had entered the showroom, but neither woman cared they were there.

Ruby stepped closer to Bennett, her eyes still riveted on the ones staring back at her. “Bennett?”

“Yes?”

“Are we going to have sex tonight?”

Bennett’s expression remained as still as the statues in the room. “Yes,” she whispered. “Yes, I think we are.”

Chapter Nineteen

Xi slinked from one piece of clothing to the next, casually making his way to the bedroom. He stopped a few times, an unfamiliar perfume grabbing his attention, and then he moseyed along. It was time for breakfast, and Xi was hungry.

Under the finest of Egyptian cotton sheets, in a bedroom dark and quiet, were two women. Both were sated. Both were sleeping, and both had had a very long night.

The last guest of Rapture didn’t leave the gallery until eleven, and afterward, Bennett had to touch base with Lisa, Finn, and Gunnar. As she knew it would, the show had been a success, and every piece displayed had a new owner. Once a few details were ironed out, Bennett guided Ruby to Gus’s awaiting car just after midnight. They drove in silence back to the apartment, and Gus, perceptive enough to take on the persona of a chauffeur, hopped out and opened Bennett’s door upon their arrival at the brownstone.

When they reached the third floor of the building, Bennett slipped her hand in Ruby’s, and unlocking her door, the two stepped into Bennett’s dimly lit apartment…and that was all it took.

Bennett’s lips found Ruby’s in a kiss, consuming and wet, and Ruby returned in kind. Neither held back their fervor, fingers threading through hair and tongues tasting all they could, and when the need for air became great, they took just enough time to fill their lungs and then started again. Minutes ticked by until both needed more than lips and tongue. They inched toward the bedroom, and the first piece of clothing lost was Ruby’s dress. One quick tug of the zipper by Bennett was all it took, and by the time it had puddled around Ruby’s feet, she’d already freed the button of Bennett’s jacket and finally viewed what she’d only been able to imagine all night.