Kiwi Bride Series: Highland Kiss (27 page)

“
You are serious,” she
said once they left the shop.

“
I am serious,” he
replied. He placed the delicate necklace about her neck and locked
it in. Gazing at the two necklaces now on her neck, he
automatically moved his fingers down and touched the elephant
pendant.

“
You never take this
off?”

Ruby shook her head.
“Never.”

Then he touched the dark
blue, ivory locket. “Then you’re never to take this one off either,
madame,” he said, his lips at the nape of her neck.

“
Is that a command, my
good sir?” she asked, giggling.

“
It is,” he replied,
before leading her back to the car.

He drove her about the
country for an hour and took her to lunch in one of the cafés in
the village. Ruby thoroughly enjoyed her time with him, and found
him to be a very pleasant companion.

When they returned to his
manor, it was dinnertime. Ruby couldn’t eat much because she was
still full from lunch. After dinner, she decided to take a walk
outside and watch the sun setting. She was enjoying the view when
Brian appeared beside her. She turned and gave him a fleeting
smile.

“
You and Alec seemed to be
getting along well,” he said. “What are your plans? If you don’t
mind me asking.”

“
About what?” she asked,
looking at him.

“
You and Alec.”

“
Meaning?”

“
You’re going back to New
Zealand,” he explained. “Is he going back with you?”

“
Oh, that,” Ruby murmured.
“We haven’t discussed anything yet.”

“
Long distance
relationships can be hard,” he commented.

“
I know.”

Brian glanced at the
necklace about her slender neck and said, “Did he buy that for
you?”

Ruby touched the locket,
nodding.

“
Looks nice.”

“
Thanks,” she
replied.

Lapsing into silence, they
both stared off into the distance.

“
Ruby,” Brian began after
a moment. “I don’t want you to get hurt.”

She closed her eyes and
sighed, replying, “I’m not getting hurt, Brian. What about you and
Susan?”

“
We’re getting
there.”

Ruby turned to look at him
with interest. “What do you mean?”

“
Getting there, but she
doesn’t know it yet.”

Because she couldn’t help
herself, Ruby asked, “What are your plans?”

“
Ruby, I have to be honest
with you now. I’m sorry I made you cry the other day.”

“
Brian, it wasn’t your
fault.”

“
No, Ruby, I have to be
honest with you here. I was a brute. I’m sorry. I know now you and
Alec really love each other; and who am I to come between you and
him? Look, I know now why you didn’t call me when you left the
motel. Alec surprised you by showing up, didn’t he? The
receptionist told me a man who looked like Alec came to get you
that day. I put two and two together.”

“
I’m sorry, Brian. I rang
you that day, but didn’t want to worry you,” she said. She didn’t
have the heart to tell him that all his assumptions were
wrong.

“
So you see, Ruby, you
have my blessing,” he said cheerfully.

“
What?” Ruby looked at him
in bewilderment.

“
It won’t be long now
before you and Alec get married. When is the date?”

“
Oh, that, I—we
haven’t—”

“
I also want to tell you
something, Ruby.”

“
What is it?”

“
I think I am still in
love with Susan.”

Ruby blinked. “Really?”
she asked. She was so happy for him that fresh tears began to brew
in her eyes.

“
Now, now, I said that
I think
. I’ll have to
give it time. I’m pretty slow at things like that.”

“
Oh, Brian, I’m so happy
for you,” she said as she threw herself at him. She wrapped her
arms around his middle and looked up at him, her eyes full of happy
tears.

“
You’re crying, Ruby, what
for?” he teased.

“
For you, Brian. I’m happy
for you. Are you going to ask her to marry you?”

“
Maybe,” he replied. “For
the second time.”

“
Brian, you are,” she
shouted. Then she stood on tiptoes and kissed him right on his
lips. When she moved back, she said, “Does she know
yet?”

“
No,” he
replied.

“
It’s a surprise,
then?”

He nodded and Ruby
laughed.

At that precise moment,
Alec, standing on the balcony of the first floor, saw them. He
watched as they talked, and Ruby threw herself into Brian’s arms,
before she kissed him on the lips.

A powerful emotion erupted from inside him. He wanted to
leap out and tear the hugging couple apart. It took all of his
willpower to stay put
. What
were they talking about? Were they confessing their love for each
other? Was Ruby telling Brian what happened here in the last three
weeks? That he kidnapped her?

He gritted his teeth and
fisted his hands. He hurt, and felt it deep inside his
heart.

Ruby, sweetheart, please
don’t go back to Brian. Please don’t tell him you love him. Please
tell him you love me. Ruby, sweetheart, I want you. I love
you.

He growled low and walked away, feeling disgusted with
himself. He could never deserve the love of a woman as special as
Ruby.
Never!
She was too good for him. All he did
was hurt her. She deserved someone better than he. He knew he was
no saint, and Ruby deserved a saint like Brian.

* * *

Ruby’s heart swelled with happiness for Brian.
She did it,
she told herself. She managed to make Brian see that
he was really in love with Susan after all. Actually, she hadn’t
really done that much, to be honest.

She strolled into the
bedroom as she hummed to herself.

“’
Allo, Westies,” she
greeted Captain Snow, who was sleeping on the settee near the
window. She went to pat the dog on his head before walking into the
bathroom to shower.

Feeling fresh and clean,
she dressed in her pyjamas, and strolled out again. She halted when
she saw Alec with his back to her as she realized that Captain Snow
was gone.

“’
Allo,” she said, her
voice light. “Where’s Westies?”

Alec tensed at the mere
sound of her voice. He commanded himself to stay calm and not storm
at her. He took a deep breath and turned—his eyes
unreadable.

“
Gone,” he
replied.

Ruby glanced at him. She
could sense that there was something different about him. He seemed
darker and more dangerous. Silly, it must have been her
imagination.

Alec stepped closer toward her, his gaze on her beautiful
face.
God, how he loved her
beautiful scent.
He wanted
her.

He cupped her face in his
hands gently as he stared into her eyes. Then he gave her a little
kiss on her lips.

God, he needed to know. He
needed to know if her feelings for him were real.

He moved his head back and
whispered, “I want you, Ruby. I love you.”

He watched her; and she
looked astonished to hear his confession.

“
And do you?”

Casting her eyes downward,
she avoided his gaze. She rubbed her face against his palm like a
puppy and closed her eyes.

When she opened them
again, she looked at him and said, “I do.”

Alec’s heart missed a beat.
Was she telling him the truth? Or was she just playing with
him?

He rested his forehead against hers, his hands at the nape
of her neck, stroking and rubbing her flesh. He was bottled up with
emotions—emotions completely unknown to Ruby; confusion mixed with
frustration, love, and desire for her. He was frustrated because he
didn’t know whether she returned his love. He knew he should have
walked away now, before the point of no return. But how could he?
He was in love with the woman. He
wanted
her.

His fingers dug deeper
into her soft, scented hair as he passionately moved his lips down
to her nape, his tongue stroking her sensitive flesh.

Ruby bent her head to one
side, allowing him more access. She clung onto him as he kissed
her, her body melting in his embrace.

He felt it. Right down to his bones.
Aye, this was the point of no return.

He lifted her up in his
arms and carried her to bed, all the while kissing her
passionately. Ruby wrapped her arms around his neck, deepening the
kiss, her tongue now wildly playing with his.

A moment later, she landed
on the soft bed with Alec’s hard body on top of her. It was so
weird. Somehow, it felt right that he should be there, resting on
top of her, squishing her down deeper into the coziness of the
bed.

Finally he stopped the
kiss and withdrew. He gazed down at her, his eyes becoming a fiery
grey storm.

Ruby caught her breath at
the back of her throat, her heart rate increasing. She nibbled her
bottom lip, keeping her eyes on his face.

“
I’m going to make love to
you, my sweet,” he whispered softly.

Ruby lifted her head to
his and whispered into his ear, “Who gives you the permission, my
lord beggar?”

He grinned at her, his
eyes twinkling dangerously. “You did, my lady.”

Ruby cocked her head to
one side. “When did I do that?”

He gently touched his
fingers on her soft lips, and stroked the flesh as though she were
a delicate rose petal. How beautiful she looked. How precious to
him she was. And she didn’t even know that.

He gently moved his
fingers down from her lips to her throat, stroking, light as a
feather, her soft skin.

Ruby felt butterflies in
her stomach. Her insides started aching with desire. She softly
groaned.

Alec heard it and glanced
at her. She caught her bottom lip, trying to hide her deep arousal
from his touch.

Ruby was thoroughly
embarrassed. She couldn’t think. All she could do was feel. That
was all she wanted to do. She wanted to close her eyes and let Alec
do whatever he wanted with her body. But how could she allow that
to happen? He’d probably hurt her, right? She was still sore from
the last time. Perhaps, if he didn’t go all the way? Perhaps,
that’d be all right.

Alec’s fingers were now at
her shirt collar. He started to expertly undo the
buttons.

“
Alec?”

“
Aye, love?”

“
You haven’t answered my
question.”

“
What question was that,
love?”

Ruby was distracted when
he started calling her “love.” The word made her feel oddly warm
and fuzzy. She cleared her throat and said, “When did I give you
permission to, um, you know, make love to me?”

He looked up then and
grinned at her. The glint in his eyes and the way he smiled at her
really hit Ruby in just the right spot. She felt a pull from deep
within her that she couldn’t control. She had to grab the bed sheet
to resist screaming out loud.

Alec lowered his head to
hers, with his warm breath on her skin, sending sensations that
thrilled her as he said, “When you kissed me back.” The moment he
said it, his palm slipped under her shirt and bra as he cupped her
breast. Ruby caught her breath and groaned loudly.

Alec wasn’t being very nice. He didn’t care that she was
inexperienced with all this lovemaking business. All he knew was
that he intended to make her want him as much as he wanted her. All
he longed for was to see her come while he was deep inside her,
giving her so much pleasure that words couldn’t even describe it.
And that was why he didn’t go gently or slow as he stroked and
played with her breast.

Ruby groaned, and before
she could tell him to stop, his lips were on hers, kissing her
wildly and passionately.

Ruby was lost in his hot
embrace and just didn’t care anymore. She responded to his kisses
just as wildly and passionately as he was kissing her.

Alec’s hands were
everywhere on her body, stroking, touching, and exploring. When he
moved his head back, Ruby was breathless. She watched him take her
shirt off, followed by her bra. Now, with the top half of her
naked, Ruby felt a blush rising to her cheeks. She continued to
watch him as he gazed at her breasts, marveling at their ample
roundness. He lightly stroked her nipple, and Ruby groaned in
response.

He chuckled. “You’re so
sensitive to my touch, my sweet.”

Ruby blinked. Yes, that
was completely true. And yes, she wanted more.

“
I wonder if it would be
the same with my mouth.”