Kiwi Bride Series: Highland Kiss (15 page)

Ruby licked her lips,
feeling thoroughly confused now.

“
But, Alec, why have you
kidnapped me? Why do I have to stay here with you until I go
home?”

Alec was slightly
distracted at seeing her lick her lips. He cleared his throat and
told himself to concentrate on the subject at hand. He said, “That,
Ruby, I cannot explain. Do we have a deal?”

Ruby hesitated.
“Meanwhile, what do I do? It’s my holiday. I’m not supposed to
spend it imprisoned in your castle, Alec. I should be visiting
famous castles and enjoying myself.”

“
Let’s expand the terms
then. I’ll take you to visit other castles if we are nice to each
other. Another stipulation: no more escaping; and no more swearing
at me in Khmer, which I do not understand, and of course, you’ll be
having meals with me, like any other guest, in the dining
room.”

Ruby could only stare at
him. “Really? You’re joking, right?”

He chuckled. “Is it a
deal?” He watched her nibbling her lower lip with worry.

A moment later, she nodded
her head. “Deal!” she said, extending her hand.

Alec smiled and took her
small hand into his large ones. When he let it go, he picked her up
in his arms.

“
Oh!” Ruby gasped, eyeing
him.

“
I’m sure you must be
tired from limping all the way up here,” he commented as he carried
her to the door.

She wrapped her arms
around his neck and reminded him, “You said I can have my
belongings back.”

“
I’ll get them for you
later.”

“
And my bag
too?”

“
I only said you were
allowed to have your clothing, and that’s it.”

“
Meanie,” she
snapped.

When they were back in the
bedroom, Alec put her on the bed before leaving again to get her
suitcase. When he returned, she thanked him
wholeheartedly.

“
Another thing. Where will
you be sleeping?” she asked as she checked through the contents of
her suitcase.

“
In here,” was his terse
reply.

“
But I sleep here now. Why
can’t you sleep in another room?”

“
Because this is my
bedroom.” He folded his arms across his chest as he watched
her.

“
I can’t find my dress,”
she muttered to herself.

“
Which one?”

She glanced up at him.
“The one I wore when you, er, drove me here.”

Alec remembered her white
Fendi dress.

“
Brian bought it for me on
the condition that I visit his castle. I don’t want to lose it. He
wanted to see me in it when we have dinner together.”

Alec grunted.
Susan
was right!
Brian was buying
her clothing—expensive clothing. On the condition that she visit
his castle?
What the hell
does that mean? He bought her an expensive dress and then begged
her to come to his castle?

“
Why couldn’t you sleep in
another room?” she asked again.

“
Because this is my room,”
he replied, still thinking about the dress and Brian.

She glanced up at him
again. “But we can’t sleep in the same bed. I don’t share my bed
with a stranger.”

He wanted to say,
And
Brian isn’t a stranger?

“
Well,” Alec replied as he
walked to the door. “We’ll have to, won’t we?” That said, he left
the room, closing the door behind him.

Ruby wondered what had
gotten into him. He was very agreeable just moments before when
they were making deals. Now, however, he seemed to be in a bad
mood, somewhat disappointed, or angry at something. She shrugged
her shoulders and continued examining the contents of her
suitcase.

She changed, and got into
bed an hour later, picking up the history book. Suddenly, she heard
a commotion just outside the door.

Alec came into the room
backward, carrying something heavy. She leaned over to have a
better look and saw that he was lifting a large sofa into the
bedroom. McKenzie was holding onto the other end.

They put it near the far
side of the wall. McKenzie bowed at Alec and then left.

“
What is
that
for?” she asked Alec, who was about
to leave as well.

“
My bed.”

“
I think it would be better if either I sleep in another
room, or you sleep in another room, in a
proper
bed.” She
emphasized the word
proper
so that he’d
understand what she meant.

“
I’ll be all right, ma’am.
I need to keep an eye on you.” That said, he left the
room.

“
Stubborn goat!” Ruby
muttered before she continued her reading.

Alec returned after
midnight, as he expected his captive would be asleep by then. He
turned on the wall light near the sofa, found his pyjamas, and went
into the bathroom to brush his teeth and change. When he came back,
he frowned and thought that maybe she didn’t need her clothing
after all, since she was still wearing his shirt to bed.

Noticing her suitcase underneath the bed, he picked it up
and took it into the walk-in wardrobe. He swung it over his head
and rested it on the top shelf, then returned to the sofa and lay
on his uncomfortable temporary bed.
It’s going to be a long night,
he thought.

* * *

Ruby woke up the next morning feeling rather refreshed. Her
foot seemed to have gotten better too. Finding it odd that she
should feel happy, it made her wonder what was wrong with her.
Recently, she had been waking up with a sense of dread, and the
claustrophobic feeling of imprisonment. But not today, however.
Today, she felt free. Maybe it was because of the
deal
they made last night.

She sighed and looked over
at Alec, who was sleeping on the sofa. That man was a stubborn
goat, all right. She was pretty sure he was very uncomfortable
indeed, but she did not pity him one bit.

Alec turned his aching
body and opened his eyes. He saw Ruby looking at him and gave her a
handsome smile.

“
Good morning.”

Ruby wasn’t impressed with
his greeting, but it made her feel warm all over. “Good sleep?” she
asked sarcastically.

“
Very good, thank you,” he
replied, before taking a good stretch.

Crack!

Alec hissed and Ruby
couldn’t help bursting out laughing.

Alec glanced at her. My
God, this was the first time he ever heard her laugh. The softness
of her voice was sheer delight to his ears.

“
I told you to sleep in another room, in a
proper
bed,” she said, her eyes twinkling.

Alec climbed out of the
uncomfortable sofa and came over to sit beside her on the bed. “I
had a bed, but some nasty, little person stole it from
me.”

Ruby bit her lip as she
stared at him. He was too close for her comfort. He was also too
damn handsome for her wee heart to handle right then. She shifted
off the bed as she said, “Well, it’s not my fault. I did tell you
to put me in another room. You refused, however, so don’t blame
other people for your sheer stubbornness.”

“
Why are you moving away?”
he asked curiously.

To put some distance between us, you lout!
she wanted to yell at him. But, of
course, she didn’t. Instead, she said, “I’m going to the
bathroom.”

She put her feet down on
the soft carpet.

“
Want any
help?”

“
No, thank you,” she
replied, about to get up.

In a flash, Alec was at
her side and picking her up in his strong arms.

“
Oh,” Ruby gasped. “I can
walk, you know.”

“
I know,” he said as he
carried her to the bathroom.

Inside the bathroom, he
put her down, but still didn’t let her go. Ruby looked up at him,
wondering why both her legs suddenly felt like jelly. She couldn’t
seem to move an inch as she stood there, gazing up him.

Alec touched her bottom
lip with his thumb. He stroked it gently, marveling at its
softness.

Ruby blushed. Her heart
started to thump so fast, she thought it’d probably pop out of her
chest any moment. Not to mention her whole body was quivering with
pleasure. All simply because he was rubbing her bottom
lip.

Alec stopped his stroking
and said, “We promised to be nice to each other. Be quick now.”
Then he left, giving her a smile that caused Ruby’s breath to catch
at the back of her throat.

Calm down, Ruby.
She
sighed, wondering if he really did care about her, or was he just
pretending to be nice?

Then she thought about him
stroking her lip. She shivered. She touched her bottom lip and
tried stroking it with her thumb, but felt nothing. It was just a
lip. How could he have given her so much pleasure by just stroking
her lip? Then she thought about the kiss.

Stop it!
she silently
chided herself.

She shook her head and
went about showering. Once she was finished, she suddenly
remembered she hadn’t brought any clothing to wear.

Stupid!
she cursed
and, after wrapping the big towel securely around her body, poked
her head out the door. The room was empty. Alec was gone.
Good,
she thought with glee, as she limped out.

She couldn’t find her
suitcase anywhere. Nibbling her lip, she wondered where it could
have gone. Then she thought about the walk-in wardrobe.

She turned, opened the
door, and slipped inside, looking for her luggage. Gosh, his
wardrobe was very neat, with all his clothing and accessories
arranged in an orderly manner.

Where the heck is my suitcase?
She looked up and widened her eyes in
shock.

Why the hell is my
suitcase up there?

She stood on tiptoes and stretched her hands high for it,
while grunting in annoyance. Her suitcase was all the way up on the
very top shelf, and the tip of her middle finger couldn’t even
reach the third shelf. She swore again in irritation, something
along the lines of:
a
mere male couldn’t seem to do
anything right
.

When her arms grew too
tired from reaching out, she knew she was not going to get anywhere
if she continued down that path. She limped out into the bedroom
and looked around for something that she could stand on, spotting
the antique, wooden chair near the hearth.

That’s it!

She picked it up and
looked heavenward, thanking God the chair was light. She limped
back into the walk-in wardrobe with the chair and put it down
before climbing to stand on it.

This time, she managed to
reach the suitcase. Then she started to pull it down. It was
resting halfway between the top shelf and her when she realized
that her suitcase was very heavy.

“
Don’t back down, Ruby,
you can do this,” she said, grunting loudly.

Oh shoot! Oh my God!
She could feel it. She could feel the towel loosening
around her chest.

“
Stupid man!” she swore as
one hand flew to hold the towel on her chest before it could unwrap
itself from around her body and fall to the floor.

Ruby felt like screaming
because she was frustrated that such a quirky situation should
happen to her, and because her darn suitcase was extra heavy,
making her arm very sore from supporting the weight of
it.

Alec entered the room with the breakfast tray at that
moment. He lay it on the bedside table and was about to leave when
he heard “Stupid man!” coming from the walk-in wardrobe.

What is she doing in there?
He rushed toward the walk-in wardrobe and opened the
door.
What the hell is she
doing?

She was standing on the
chair, one hand holding onto the towel that he could see was about
to fall from her body, and the other hand holding onto the
half-suspended suitcase.

“
What the hell are you
doing?” he shouted.

Ruby turned. “Oh, Alec,
help me.”

Alec rushed to her side
and took hold of the suitcase. Because he was tall, he didn’t even
need the chair to reach it. He pulled it down for her and placed it
on the floor.

Ruby was still
shaking.

Alec turned to her and
said, “What do you want that for?”

Ruby licked her dry lips.
“I need my clothes. Why did you put it up there?” Her voice was
barely a whisper.

Alec looked up at her.
Standing on the chair, she was slightly taller than he. He couldn’t
help noticing how desirable she was with her cheeks a rosy pink,
and her eyes shiny and bright as they stared down at him. Not to
mention, she was only wearing a towel that was slowly slipping down
at the back.