Kiwi Bride Series: Highland Kiss (23 page)

His finger stroked her
cheek. His heart, at that moment, was brimming with love for this
woman. He felt content. Even happy. He wanted it to be like this
forever.

He kissed her on her lips,
gently. Then he moved his lips to her ear and whispered softly,
“I’m sorry, sweetheart. I love you.” He got up and went into the
bathroom to shower. When he came back out, Ruby was
awake.

“
Good morning,” he said,
giving her a cheerful smile.

Ruby’s heart did a somersault. He looked fresh and hot with
his hair all wet and tousled, not to mention, his trim, muscular
body in those tight jeans and a black T-shirt. The smile? Ruby was
not impressed. She couldn’t believe he had the balls to say
good morning
and smile at her in such a hot way as though he
had no guilt whatsoever. In order to show him she was still angry,
she glared at him and ignored his greeting.

Alec felt the guilt
rushing back to drown him like a blast of ice-cold ocean
waves.

“
Sweetheart,” he
started.

“
I’m not your sweetheart,
Alec,” Ruby snapped.

Alec sat beside her. Ruby
shifted sideways, pulling the duvet along with her to cover her
naked body.

Alec grabbed her bare arm.
A tingle of sensations rushed through Ruby’s spine. She gritted her
teeth in annoyance and shuffled further from him, pushing his hand
away.

Alec knew she didn’t want
him to touch her. He knew she didn’t want him near her. Heck, he’d
bet she didn’t even want to see his face. Then he remembered that
her mood usually mellowed after a good, hot bath.

He turned on his heels and
walked back into the bathroom.

Ruby sighed with relief
that he finally decided to leave her alone. Her relief, however,
lasted only about fifteen minutes. Alec returned, looking rather
pleased with himself.

Ruby knew he was up to no
good. She could tell by the smug expression on his face. As he
neared her, she clutched the duvet tighter about her person and
shifted away, glaring at him to leave her be. Alec ignored her
silent command and grabbed her arm.

“
Alec, leave me alone,”
she snapped.

“
Come here,” he said,
pulling her to him.

“
Alec, please,” she said.
“Alec, let me go.”

Alec yanked the duvet away. Naked, and in his arms, Ruby
gritted her teeth and said, her anger rising, “You’re going to be
sorry for this, Alec, one day.”

Alec wanted to say that he
was already sorry for hurting her, but he pretended to ignore her.
Inside, however, he was hurting like hell.

Ruby couldn’t stand that
Alec seemed to be ignoring her threat. She was even angrier at
that. In an attempt to get his attention, she first grabbed a
handful of his short hair and started pulling it, hard.

“
Ruby!” Alec growled.
“Stop it!”

She liked that. He was
responding even if also hurting. She moved her lips to his ear and
said, “If you don’t put me down and leave me alone, I’ll pull
harder.”

She was trying to get back
at him, and he knew it. She was hurting and she wanted to hurt him
in return.

He turned to look at her
as he approached the bathroom. With his lips near hers, his nose
touching hers, and his eyes intensely on hers, he said, “Not a
chance.”

“
Lout!”

Alec could feel her warm
breath against his face. A hot thrill rushed through his
being.

“
I’m going to curse you,
Alec,” she said.

“
Go ahead,” he replied,
kicking the bathroom door open.

“
I curse you to burn
eternally in purgatory,” she said, lowering her head before biting
him on his shoulder, hard.

Alec gritted his teeth at the pain.
Shit!

He didn’t know what to do
to make her stop; so he did the only thing that was available to
him. He obeyed her demand and let her go.

Ruby expected that he
would let her go gently, and expected to land on the bathroom floor
on her feet. But no, he literally dropped her into the huge bathtub
filled with water.

The soapy water splashed
everywhere. She spluttered and shut her eyes.

Alec kneeled down beside
the tub. One of his hands held onto the back of her head while his
other slipped under her chin. He smiled as she blinked and rubbed
her eyes a few times to get the soapy water out.

Once she managed to open
her eyes without feeling the sting, she glared at him, telling him
that she was very displeased with his method of letting her
go.

“
Stupid lout!”

“
Maybe I am a stupid
lout,” he conceded, his warm breath fanning her skin. Then he
kissed her again, his tongue pushing against her lips, his fingers
digging deep into her wet hair.

Ruby was unprepared for
his unexpected kiss. If she had known and were prepared, she’d have
hit him and demanded that he let her go. But she wasn’t, so she was
lost. She found herself opening her mouth for him, allowing his
expert tongue to caress and stroke hers, causing her whole body to
tremble for more.

Alec knew he won their small battle of wills when he took
her by surprise with his gentle kiss. He claimed his victory by
deepening his passionate kiss, his tongue playing with hers,
stroking, and caressing as his hands moved down to her
breasts
—
fondling her there.

When he moved his head
back, he saw that she was dazed. There was desire in her eyes; and
she was also breathless.

“
I’m going to act as your servant today, my lady,” he
said.

Ruby just stared at him,
not registering what he said. She was still on Cloud
Nine.

Alec reached for the
shampoo, squeezing a small amount of the creamy contents into his
palm, before rubbing it into Ruby’s hair. He massaged her hair
gently until the shampoo formed a thick, white foam on her
head.

Ruby blinked a few times
as he did that. Then it suddenly clicked.

“
No, Alec, I can bathe
myself just fine,” she said, pushing his hand from her
head.

“
I’m not finished
yet.”

“
Alec, please,” she
protested, shooting upright and moving to the other side of the
tub.

Alec was about to follow her when he saw her dilemma.
Clearly, his assistance wasn’t helping. He only seemed to make her
angrier. And
that
he didn’t want.

He stood up and washed his
hands at the basin. Before he left, he gave her a devilish grin and
winked. Then he was gone, shutting the door behind him.

Ruby bit her lip… suddenly feeling mortified. She just
allowed him to kiss her,
again
. Even worse,
she allowed him to glimpse her passion, and her desire for
him.
Oh God!

Ruby realized the moment
she stepped out of the tub that her bandage was ruined. It was all
Alec’s fault, of course. He was the one who dumped her into the
tub. Now look!

She wrapped herself with
the white bathrobe and half strode, half limped out the door. She
found Alec still there, sitting on the bed with the first aid kit
beside him.

She folded her arms across
her chest as she studied him.

Alec stood up and walked
toward her. Without saying anything, he lifted her up and carried
her to bed, where he put her down and inspected her wet
bandage.

“
It’s your fault, you
know,” she started.

“
I know,” he replied as he
unwrapped the wet bandage on her ankle.

Ruby watched, feeling
quite stupid and what? Content? Happy? Yes, she couldn’t help
feeling happy as he gently tended her almost-healed injury. She
couldn’t help noticing the beautiful sensation that was rushing
through every fiber of her being when his hands touched her
skin.

“
Next time,” he said as he
began tidying up, “I promise not to throw you into the tub again if
you promise not to bite me.”

Next time? There would
never be a next time.

He raised an eyebr
ow
at her and stood, as though daring her to defy his statement. His
expression clearly said “Oh, there will
definitely
be a
next time.” Then, just before he left her, he kissed her
again—
on the
lips
—which Ruby was, yet
again, unprepared for.

“
Alec!” Ruby shouted, once
he let her go.

“
See you downstairs for
breakfast,” he said, walking to the door with the first aid kit.
“Don’t be too long now.” Then he shut the door.

Ruby muttered how stupid
Alec was as she got dressed. When she finished, she limped out the
door to get some breakfast.

She was walking across the
hallway when she heard Susan’s voice coming from the library.
Wherever Susan was, she knew she’d find Brian there,
too.

The thought of Brian
struck a deep pang of guilt in her heart. Gosh, how she wanted to
explain everything to him. She knew he’d understand. He was Brian,
after all.

She was about to go in and
see if she could talk to him alone when she heard Susan say, “I
don’t want to hurt him anymore, Alec.”

Ruby frowned. So it was
not Brian that Susan was with? Susan was with Alec.

“
I don’t want to see him
getting hurt like this. I love him too much, Alec. You have to stop
this now. We have to stop this now.”

She could hear Susan
crying.

“
When I see him so
depressed, I feel like my world is dying, Alec. Brian doesn’t
deserve this. Nor Ruby, either. I just want to end everything. I
can’t stand this anymore. He doesn’t love me anymore. I can’t—I
can’t go on like nothing happened in front of him. He looks at me,
Alec. He knows, but he doesn’t say. I have to tell him the truth. I
can’t. He loves her—I, oh Alec, please? Can’t we stop?”

Ruby could hear Susan
sobbing again. Then Alec said, “Nay, Sue, it’s too late now. I
thought you wanted Brian back.”

“
Oh, I do, but
he—”

“
Are you giving up so
easily? I want to see you happy. Besides, I know Brian would look
after you well.”

“
But, Alec, Brian
doesn’t—”

“
Do you not love him
anymore?”

Ruby’s heart skipped a
beat as she waited for Susan’s answer. Then, a long moment later,
she heard Susan say, “Yes. Oh, yes, I do, Alec. I love Brian so
much.”

“
Does it hurt you when you
see him with another woman?”

“
Yes, yes, it hurts me
very much. Otherwise, why would I ask you to help me do this in the
first place?”

“
Then you mustn’t give up,
Sue. Come, let’s dry your tears. Brian should be back from his ride
shortly.”

Ruby peeked in and saw
them coming toward the door. She limped around the corner of the
hallway and hid there. Once she was sure they were gone, she
stepped out, wondering what do next.

The problem with Ruby was her soft-hearted personality. She was too
compassionate. That was the reason why she knew deep down she had
to help Brian and Susan. Maybe Brian still didn’t know he was in
love with Susan; and perhaps, she needed to guide him to that
realization.

Ruby was in the hallway
when she saw Brian coming in through the front door. He was dressed
in a pair of old jeans and a well-worn shirt. His tousled hair was
in a messy state after his ride.

She smiled at him,
thinking of how to convince him that he was in love with
Susan.

Brian looked at her in
surprise as though he didn’t expect to see her. Then his expression
changed. “Ruby,” he said, his voice sounding urgent as he rushed
over to her.

“
Where have you come
from?” Ruby asked, looking at him curiously.

“
Riding.” Then hesitantly,
he touched her arm. “Ruby, we have to talk.”

“
Brian, I’m sorry,” she
began. “I didn’t mean to, you know.”

He studied her for a
moment. “Yes, I know.”

“
I really do want to visit
Westwick Castle,” she added, smiling at him.

“
Yes, I know,” he replied,
looking at her in a way that made Ruby’s heart swell and ache in
her chest. She really wanted to hug him and tell him she didn’t
mean for any of it to happen.

“
Ruby, I’ve been
thinking.”

“
Yes?”

“
Ruby, this whole thing.
You, Alec, Susan and me... Gosh, I—”

“
There you are!” Alec’s
voice boomed straight at them from the other end of the
hallway.

Both Ruby and Brian turned
to look at him.

Alec didn’t like it one
bit that Brian was touching Ruby, so, as soon as he was beside her,
his hand wrapped around her arm before he lightly pulled her to him
possessively. “Come to breakfast,” he said. “Good ride,
Brian?”