Kiwi Bride Series: Highland Kiss (21 page)

Brian leaned back in his
chair and looked at Alec with narrowed eyes. The atmosphere was
tense between the two friends.

“
Come to think of it,
Alec, you never told me when you actually went to New
Zealand.”

Ruby suddenly felt a spark of pleasure.
Oh my God, Alec never went to New Zealand, so
they could never have met until three weeks ago.
She really wanted to see how he
managed to get out of this one.

She popped a forkful of the lovely roasted potatoes into
her mouth and chewed. Then she turned to look at Alec, who was
taking his time answering.
Or
was he thinking of a good alibi?

Alec picked up the glass
and took a sip of the red wine. He slowly placed the glass back on
the table and leaned back to examine the wine as if it were very
fascinating. “I was there three years ago,” he said.

“
Really? How come you
never told me?” Brian asked, picking up his knife and fork as he
began to eat his dinner.

“
You were out of the
country yourself, as I remember, Brian. In France,” Alec said. Then
his hand gently touched Ruby’s arm.

Ruby bit her lip. There
was a hot, thrilling sensation at the spot where his hand grazed
her skin.

“
Is New Zealand
beautiful?” Jane asked. “I want to go now. When Brian asked me last
year to come with him, I refused. Now I wish I would have gone with
him.”

“
It is very beautiful,”
Alec stated, looking at Ruby. His hand moved up to her nape. His
fingers and thumb were now caressing her neck.

Ruby felt like she was in
heaven. She knew she should have told him to stop stroking her in
front of everyone, but she couldn’t seem to find the
words.

Brian said, in a harsher
tone, “What part of New Zealand have you visited?”

Alec moved toward Ruby and
gave her a gentle kiss on her nape. Ruby jumped and shoved him
away.

“
Alec, stop it,” she
snapped.

Jane laughed. “Oh, Alec,
Ruby’s right, you know. After all, we are still here.”

“
Sorry, it’s damn hard
keeping my hands off her.” Alec chuckled.

“
Alec!” Ruby muttered, her
face red.

“
I’m sorry I embarrassed
you, sweetheart,” Alec said as he kissed her on her
forehead.

Brian gritted his teeth,
and Susan watched them, tensing.

“
I was in Auckland for a
few days. I did bungee jumping from the sky tower. It wasn’t that
great. Bungee jumping in Queenstown was much better. The air and
the water were lovely. Have you tried it, Brian?”

Brian shook his head,
still gritting his teeth.

“
And of course, I was in
Marlborough for a few weeks, tasting their wine. The Marlborough
wine festival was excellent. They have superb stock, I tell
you.”

Ruby couldn’t believe
that. Now she wasn’t sure if Alec was lying through his teeth about
his visit to New Zealand, or if he had actually been there three
years ago.

“
What about you, Jane?
Come on! Tell us about your overseas trip,” Alec said, looking over
at her.

“
Gladly,” Jane replied
before beginning the tale of her adventure.

None of them, however,
were listening to her. Alec was watching Ruby, who could only stare
into space. Now and again, however, she would look up at Brian.
When that happened, Alec felt a burst of jealousy inside him and
moved closer to Ruby, or touched her arm, or just told her that he
was still there.

Susan watched Brian,
edging nearer to him as each minute passed, and flashing him a
beautiful smile whenever he happened to look her way.

When, at long last, Jane
finished her tiresome story, Susan suggested they go into the
drawing room. She offered to play the piano for them as
entertainment. Before Ruby could stand, Alec picked her up in his
arms and carried her to the door, saying, “Good night,” to
everyone.

Brian was about to go
after them when Susan said, “Come on.” She pulled him by the arm
and led him into the drawing room. Jane followed them.

* * *

“
You’re a brute, you know
that, Alec?” Ruby said near Alec’s ear as he put her down on the
bed.

Alec glanced at her. He
couldn’t really deny that, judging by the way he was treating her
at the moment. He changed the subject. “Was dinner to your liking?”
he asked, his face mere inches from hers.

Ruby was annoyed that he
ignored her statement. He looked as though he didn’t give a shit
what she thought of him. She glared at him to tell him she was
pissed. “Dinner,” she said through gritted teeth, “was fine; thank
you very much.”

Alec cocked his head to
one side, his gaze resting on her lips. “Come to think of it, we
didn’t have any dessert at all.”

Ruby saw the look in his eyes and knew he was up to no
good. Instantly, her stomach fluttered.
Oh God!
How she
hated feeling her body respond so easily to his intense gaze. She
shifted herself away from him and mentally demanded that she snap
out of it. “Alec,” she began. “If you must know, I am still very
upset with you. I don’t want to talk to you; or see your face until
further notice.”

He sat beside her, causing
the bed to sink around them in the process. “When will I receive
notice if I don’t see you?”

Ruby was outraged. “Mr.
Alec Hasting, are you listening to me? I don’t ever want to see you
until further notice, is that understood?”

Alec leaned toward her,
his large body almost swallowing her petite one. He gave her one of
his dangerous, handsome smiles that he rarely used on anyone. It
signified her being both a pleasure and a challenge for
him.

“
Aye, madame, it is
clearly understood,” he said softly. Before departing, he grabbed
her delicate chin in his large hand, pulling her toward him, and
pressed his firm lips onto her soft ones.

He kissed her hard. Ruby’s
whole body shuddered deliciously. Then, when she realized he was
kissing her without her permission, and she was involuntarily
responding to it, yet again, she struggled in his arms.

She didn’t have to struggle long though, because he
immediately let her go.
This
man is very arrogant. He thinks he can get away with
anything!

Ruby couldn’t control her
rage, and she slapped his face.

Alec’s eyes darkened as he watched her, his hand rubbing
the sore spot, a slight smile visible on his lips.

Ruby blinked.
Oh
God,
she should have never
slapped him. Now he looked as though he wanted to murder her, for
he was the type of man who would never allow anyone to slap him
without consequence.
An eye
for an eye
—he was
that
type of man. She knew she was in big trouble
now.

Alec moved closer to her,
his face hardening. When his nose nearly touched hers, he said,
“Does that feel good, Ruby?”

Ruby could only stare at him, totally at a loss for
words.
What did he mean by
that? Oh Lord,
he looked like
the very devil himself when he stared at her like that.

“
Perhaps you would like to
smash me in the face?” he said, giving her a mischievous
grin.

“
Yes, I want to smash your
face in. You deserve it,” she said, in a strong, firm voice. Her
heart, however, was thumping loudly in her chest with
dread.

Alec moved back, and suddenly, took his shirt off. With
only his jeans on, Ruby stared in awe at his beautiful, muscular
body. She gulped at the sight of him before her.
Holy Mother of Jesus!
The man looked like a Greek god. She
swallowed again, blinking a couple of times, and told herself to
remember to breathe.

He leaned toward her. “Hit
me, Ruby, just hit me. Come on.”

Ruby bit her lips.
Was he mad?
She
didn’t want to hit him. She wanted to touch him. And caress him.
And run her fingers along those six pack abs of his.
No!
It was she who was mad!
Why would she want to touch him?

Her breathing suddenly came in short, hard gasps.
She couldn’t do it. She simply
couldn’t just sit there and look at him. He was far too
good-looking for her peace of mind.

She snapped in annoyance,
“You’re crazy, Alec, I’m not a heartless person like you… or your
sister.”

Alec frowned, and his
toned body seemed to become larger right before her.

Ruby saw the dangerous
glint in his eyes. She knew she had to get out before he unleashed
his fury upon her. She clumsily scrambled off the bed.

In a flash, Alec seized
her by the arm and pulled her to him.

“
Alec, let me go! Are you
mad?”

With his hard body
crushing her, Alec said, “Maybe I am, madame. Maybe my whole family
is mad. What are you going to do about that?”

Before she could make up
her mind as to what to say, he kissed her again, his lips pressing
angrily against hers.

When he finally released
her, Ruby was dazed. She felt as though she might faint and leaned
her light body against him. Alec rested her head on the pillow and
watched her try to regain her senses.

Once the room stopped
spinning and her head was somewhat cleared, she looked up at him,
her eyes large and unfocused. Alec touched his fingers to her sore,
red lips. He caressed the soft flesh as he whispered next to her
ear, his hot breath fanning her skin, “Ruby, I’m going to make love
to you now.”

Ruby closed her eyes, but couldn’t concentrate.
What did Alec just say?

Alec started kissing her
nape, his mouth hot against her skin. Suddenly, Ruby widened her
eyes. She poked him on the shoulder to get his
attention.

“
Alec, you can’t!” she
whispered.

Alec stopped kissing and
looked at her. “Can’t? What?”

“
You can’t make love to
me!”

“
Why?” he queried, now
stroking the soft flesh of her stomach.

“
Why what?” she asked,
confused. His light, feathery fingertips were driving her crazy,
and she couldn’t think properly.

Alec smiled arrogantly at her reaction.
Good God!
The woman was amazingly sensitive to his touch, and he knew
this was his best weapon against her. He decided to take full
advantage of it. Thus, he proceeded to explore her
breasts.

Ruby caught her breath at the back of her throat when she
felt his warm hand around one of her breasts.
Blast it!
Why she did not wear a bra after the shower was beyond her,
and now look what happened! The brute had free access to both of
them. She groaned. It was meant to sound annoyed, but it came out
more like pleasure instead.

Alec chuckled. “Why can’t
I make love to you, my sweet? I know you like me kissing you. It’s
only natural that we should inevitably make love,” he said
logically.

Ruby blinked and tried to shove him away from her person,
but to no avail. She gave up trying as he was stronger and, much to
her annoyance, very persistent. He was now playing with her nipple,
and she had to bite her lip from screaming out the thrill of
pleasure that was coursing throughout her entire body. She shut her
eyes to concentrate, but that only intensified the fire that was
already burning deep inside her. She felt the urgent heat of her
womanhood demanding release.
Shit! Oh shit! Stupid Alec!
Now she was totally turned on, and it was all his
fault.
The arrogant
brute.

She flashed her eyes open
and said through gritted teeth, “No, I don’t like you kissing me.”
As she spoke the words, she kept nodding her head.

Alec smiled.
She said
that she didn’t like him kissing her and touching her, yet she was
nodding her head, indicating that she did, in fact, like it. Did
she know that she was lying through her teeth?

He decided to stop torturing her by removing his hand from
her breast and
sliding it
under her chin instead, which he held between his fingers and
thumb. He looked deeply into her eyes and said, “Oh,
really?”

She blinked. “Oh, really what?” She was suddenly alarmed by
the way he was looking at her.
Dear Lord!
What was
he going to do now?

He whispered, “I will make
you want me, Ruby. In fact, I’ll have you begging me to make love
to you.”

Ruby’s heart did a great somersault, like she was about to
dive off a very high cliff into the bottomless sea. She couldn’t
breathe.
Oh
God
, she couldn’t think. If
she couldn’t even control her own response to him simply because he
was kissing her, what chance did she have now? When he was more
than determined to make love to her?