Kiwi Bride Series: Highland Kiss (18 page)

Brian put the phone down,
his hands shaking just a little.

He glanced up and saw
Susan at the door. She was dressed in a lovely, yellow day dress.
She looked beautiful in it, and Brian had the sudden urge to see
Ruby in the Fendi dress he bought for her.

“
Brian, there you are,”
Susan said, her voice soft and sweet. “I have been looking for
you.”

“
Have you?” he asked,
still thinking about Ruby.

“
I was thinking,” Susan
said as she walked toward him, “I was thinking that maybe we could
go riding today.”

“
I’d rather not. Why don’t
you ask Jane to go with you?”

“
If you’re not coming, why
should I bother?” She leaned toward him across the large study
desk.

“
Look, Sue, I have a few
things to organize. I’ll see you at dinner. How about that?” he
said, picking up pieces of paper on the desk and staking them
properly.

Susan sighed in
disappointment. “Sure,” she replied as she walked back to the door.
“Your work, I suppose?”

“
Yeah,” Brian replied. As
Susan was about to close the door, he said, “Susan?”

She turned and smiled
sweetly at him, thinking that he changed his mind. “Yes?” she
replied eagerly.

“
I thought we should visit
your brother.”

Her smile vanished
immediately. “Why?” she asked with a hint of panic in her
voice.

“
Why don’t we all go to
Hasting Manor tomorrow? Tell Jane, won’t you? We’ll stay there for
a few days.”

“
But Alec might not be
there.”

“
It doesn’t matter. And if he
is
there, we could
surprise him,” Brian said, smiling at her.

Susan nibbled her
lip.

“
Sue? Are you all right?”
he asked, eyeing her with keen interest.

“
Er, yes,” she
responded.

He nodded and Susan closed
the door.

* * *

Mrs. McKenzie waited
anxiously as she watched Alec drive the Maybach ‘62 toward the
manor. She kept clasping and unclasping her hands nervously. When
Alec finally walked through the door, she rushed toward
him.

“
Master Alec,” she began,
“it’s Miss Ruby. I dunno what ta do.”

Alec frowned, wondering
what Ruby could have done now. Had she escaped again?

“
Where is she?” he asked
abruptly.

Mrs. McKenzie clamped her
lips together and frowned darkly, glancing up the grand
stairs.

“
Where is she?” he asked
again, a hint of worry in his voice.

“
In the bedroom,” replied
Mrs. McKenzie, still frowning anxiously.

Alec sighed with
relief.

“
It’s just that I’m a bit
worried. She won’t stop cryin’. I know she doesn’t seem as unstable
as before, but—”

“
Why is she
crying?”

“
I dunno.”

“
Thanks, Mrs. McKenzie,” Alec said, heading toward the
stairs, wondering why Ruby was crying.
Was it because of him? Had he been treating her
unfairly? Had he hurt her in some way?

You must be joking?
Alec cursed himself. Of course, he had treated her unfairly
and was hurting her. No one calls kidnapping and imprisoning a
young woman fair—so there was nothing more to say.

He hesitated at the door to their bedroom.
What must he do?
She only had two weeks left, and he promised to
let her go at the end of that time. He was
not
going to
imprison her here forever. Surely, there was nothing for her to
worry about.

When he opened the door
and walked in, he saw her lying on the bed with Captain Snow beside
her. She was stroking the dog’s head. The blasted dog seemed very
fond of her gentle petting as he just sat there, looking too damn
content for Alec’s liking.

Alec wished she could stroke him instead—gently, just like
that. Not on the head, of course, but somewhere
else—
somewhere more
private.

Shit!

He swore under his breath
as he walked toward the bed.

“
You’re back?” she asked
in a soft voice.

Alec came closer to sit
beside her. He didn’t beat around the bush. “Why are you
crying?”

Ruby sat up because she
found him too close for comfort. As she did so, she moved back
slightly. Then she grabbed Captain Snow and put him on her lap,
almost as a barrier between Alec and her.

“
I’m allowed to cry,
aren’t I?” she asked, her eyes downcast.

“
Yes, I
suppose.”

He touched her chin with his fingers and thumb, and lifted
her face up so that she could look at him.

Ruby glanced at him
briefly, but looked down again at Captain Snow, whose tongue lapped
out at her in pleasure as she petted his head.

“
I think you should stop.
Your eyes are very red,” he said, smiling at her.

“
You can’t tell me to stop
crying.”

He moved his face toward
hers. “Perhaps a kiss might cheer you up.”

Ruby widened her eyes and
moved back so fast that Captain Snow fell from her lap. Alec
laughed.

“
For your information,
Alec, I don’t want to be kissed by you. I don’t even like you.” She
knew in her heart she was lying, of course. Otherwise, why in the
hell didn’t she tell Brian to come and take her away when she had
the chance?

Alec’s heart missed a beat.
And Brian? You want Brian to kiss you? How many times has
he kissed you already?
God,
he hoped it was a
big, fat
zero
the size of a goose egg!
How he wanted to prove her wrong. How he hoped she would want to
kiss him; and, yes, how he longed for her to want much more from
him.

He moved forward and
roughly grabbed her arm.

“
What?” she asked,
frowning.

He pulled her closer.
“Time for dinner,” he said, as he lifted her up in his
arms.

“
You don’t have to carry
me, Alec, I can walk. My foot is better now, if you must
know.”

“
I know,” he said as he
strode toward the door.

Captain Snow jumped down
from the bed and followed them.

As they came into the
dining room, Mrs. McKenzie and Lizzie were just finishing up
setting out the table.

Ruby couldn’t help but
admire the beautiful, elegant dining room. In the center of the
table was a big flower arrangement, and on each side were
candleholders with lit candles.

Alec placed her carefully
on the side seat.

“
Thank you,” she
said.

Alec nodded, taking the
seat at the head of the table beside her. Then he proceeded to pour
red wine into two glasses.

“
Drink this,” he said,
handing her the glass. “It’ll help.”

She looked at him, knowing
people usually drank when they felt uncomfortable. She felt like
one of those people right now. She wondered if drinking really did
help. After all, she was filled with dread for not telling Brian
where she was. She felt like she betrayed him, and sorely missed
her family.

She snatched the glass
from his hand and took a big gulp.

Alec watched in unmasked
surprise.

She looked up at him and
said, “It doesn’t help.”

“
With what?”

“
You said it’d help. It
doesn’t,” she moaned in an accusational tone.

“
You have to drink more.
One sip is hardly enough,” he stated, wondering what was troubling
her. Perhaps he’d get it out of her after she got very
drunk.

Ruby started drinking more
until the glass was empty. “When is it going to start?” she asked,
looking at him.

“
Start what?”

“
Start
helping.”

He laughed. “It’s not
magic, Ruby.”

She licked her lips and
pushed her glass towards him. “More, please.”

Alec raised his eyebrows, but picked the bottle up and
poured some more until it was half-filled.

Lizzie brought in the
roast lamb and vegetables just then. She placed it in front of them
and left.

Ruby drank some more while
Alec served the food. Then Ruby hungrily started eating her meal.
When she was finished, she drank another glass of wine. Alec knew
she was absolutely drunk. Her eyes were drooping and her speech was
getting slurred. He knew she had no idea what she was talking
about.

“
I feel dreadful, shimply
dreadful,” she slurred, her fingers stroking her long hair. “Poor
man …”

Alec leaned forward,
looking at her closely. “Why are feeling dreadful?”

She rested her head on the table as she looked at him. “I
should have told him. I feel dreadful. I betrayed … him.
You
… made me betray him. It’sh not fair.” Then she closed her
eyes.

Alec reached out and
stroked her cheek. It looked as though she fell asleep, and right
after dinner. He didn’t get anything out of her after all, despite
her being dead drunk.

He went to her side,
picking her up and carrying her out the door. In the bedroom, he
gently put her down on the bed so that he would not wake her. Ruby
chose that moment to open her eyes, and stared up at him. She
touched his face, palpating her fingers and thumb gently against
his skin.

Alec couldn’t believe that!
She was stroking him, and he loved it! He grinned as he
gazed down at her.

Her hands moved toward his
muscular nape, and she dug her fingers into his thick
hair.

“
All because of you,” she
murmured.

“
Because of me?” he asked,
gazing at her ruby-red lips.

“
Uh-huh,” she responded,
nodding her head at the same time. “Becaush of you, I didn’t tell
him.”

“
Who did you not
tell?”

“
Becaush of you,” she
repeated. Then she lifted her head toward him and gave him a peck
on his lips.

Alec could only stare at
her.

Ruby’s lips slipped over
to his hard cheek and she gave him another peck there. Then she
rested her head back on the pillow, a contented smile on her
lips.

Alec just stared down at
her as she closed her eyes. His thumb was stroking her soft cheek.
“Madame, I thought I taught you better than that.”

Ruby sleepily opened her
eyes. “Huh?”

“
Perhaps you need another
lesson?” he asked, his eyes twinkling.

Ruby cocked her head to
one side as she gazed up at him. “Maybe.”

Ah, an invitation indeed.
Alec was no fool. He stroked her lips with his fingers and
thumb. Then his head dropped closer and his lips touched
hers.

He kissed her hard—his
tongue slipping between her luscious lips, and into her mouth to
explore her sweetness.

Ruby quivered, tightening
her arms around his neck as she groaned. She responded to his
demanding kiss. At first, it was somewhat timid and shy, then it
became bolder—her tongue growing wild beside his as she, too,
explored his seasoned mouth.

When Alec moved his head
back to look at her, he saw that she closed her eyes and her
breathing became deeper and more even.

“
Madame, you tempt me every day. It’s a wonder that I
haven’t snapped yet and ravished you.”

No response.

Alec kissed her on the
lips again gently, before getting up. He noticed her skinny jeans,
which looked very tight on her, and doubted she would be
comfortable sleeping in them. She needed to change into her
pyjamas.

He went into the walk-in
wardrobe, found her suitcase, and opened it. As he began looking
for her pyjamas, he spotted the address book on the side pocket of
the suitcase. Snatching it up, he flipped through the pages. In the
B section, he found Brian’s name and his London address, along with
his cell phone number.

“
Shit!”
he swore
loudly as he rushed out, barely glancing at Ruby’s sleeping form
while striding heavily to the door.

Entering the drawing room, he picked up the phone and
checked through the last dialed number, exhaling a sigh of relief.
The numbers on the screen were clearly the numbers outside of the
UK.
New Zealand?
It must have been. She must have
rung home then. Was that the reason she cried?

Then he checked the second
to the last dialed number.

“
Shit!”
he swore
again. There, the numbers appearing on the screen clearly belonged
to Brian.

Alec raked his fingers through his hair in
irritation.
God damn it! What
was he to do now?