Kiwi Bride Series: Highland Kiss (6 page)

Alec cursed—fluently and loudly.
What the hell am I doing?
Susan, Susan, Susan! He should never have listened to
his beautiful sister. He knew, however, he could not turn back now
as he gazed at Ruby, still unconscious. He already committed one
act he never thought he’d do:
kidnapping!

He turned on his heels and
left the room, locking the door behind him, and all the while,
feeling utterly miserable.

* * *

Ruby fluttered her eyes
open; but instantly, shut them again. Her head was pounding badly.
The glaring light above her also didn’t help. She blinked a few
times to get used to the brightness.

Where am I?

Sitting up, immediately,
the world spun before her eyes. It was always like that when she
got up too fast because of her low blood pressure. She shut her
eyes for a few seconds, allowing more time for the blood to reach
her head. It did and her vision soon cleared.

She scanned her
surroundings, trying to think where she could possibly be. The room
was large and very elegant, furnished in a Georgian period French
style. She felt like she was in a five-star hotel, similar to the
type she often saw in the pictures of magazines.

Who’d own such a beautiful
antique bed? And this antique furniture?

Brian!

Was she at Westwick
Castle, sleeping in one of the guest rooms? Her heart did a
somersault, and she rushed out of the bed and ran to the window,
hoping to see the view of his estate. Unfortunately, she couldn’t
see anything. It was too dark outside.

So she was finally here! She grinned and strolled to a
door, only to find it was a walk-in wardrobe, but empty. She
searched around for her handbag and suitcase.
Where could they be?
She scanned the other side of the bed. They were not
there either. She saw another door. Guessing it might be another
wardrobe, and that her things might have been found there, she
flung it open and discovered it was the bathroom. She noted the
clean, fresh décor. Ooh-la-la! Very nice. She searched about the
place, but failed to locate her belongings. Perhaps Brian might
know? She went back into the bedroom and then toward the door she
assumed would be the exit. She touched the cool brass door handle
and turned it. It was stuck. She tried again, but it was still
stuck.

Panicking, she wriggled
the door handle harder, but it didn’t seem to work. She rushed to
the window and tried to find a gadget that might open the window.
She found the handle and tried it. But it was locked.

Something wasn’t right. Was it getting rather hot, or was
it just her? What if she were locked in and nobody knew where she
was?
Okay, stay calm, Ruby.
You’ll find a way to get out.

She ran to the door and
tried the handle again. It still didn’t work. She banged her palm
on the door in frustration.

“
Anyone out there?” she
shouted. “Anyone, please! I’m locked in here!”

Bang! Bang!
Bang!

Silence.

“
Anyone out there?” she
shouted. When no one answered her, she rushed back to the window
and tried the lock again. It still didn’t work, and that was when
she really started to get scared.

Stay calm, Ruby, there’s
no need for you to get all worked up about this.

Her heart started to beat
faster and her vision started to blur. The room began to spin
again. She touched her forehead, and as she tried, once more, to
run to the door, she fell unconscious.

Upon opening her eyes, she
found she was back in bed. She must have been dreaming, she told
herself internally as she stared at the bedside lamp, while
squeezing her eyes shut to ease the soreness. When she flashed them
open, tears started brewing. Her contact lenses were irritating her
eyes. She shifted her body to get into a more comfortable position
to ease the numbness in her right arm. That was when she noticed
him.

Bolting up, she rushed off
the bed like she was on fire and sprinted to the opposite corner of
the room. She closed her eyes and commanded herself not to faint.
Once she regained control of herself, she glanced up.

Is he the driver?
She
couldn’t think straight. But he must have been, although
this time
, he had no sunglasses on.
And where’s Brian?

He moved toward
her.

“
Stay—stay away,” she
managed to get out. “Who—who are you?”

“
Do you want a drink?” he
asked. “You fainted.”

“
No, I want Brian!” she
said, her voice quivering.

“
You must be hungry. Do
you want something to eat?”

“
No, I want
Brian.”

The door opened, and Ruby
saw a plump woman with bright red hair entering the room, carrying
a tray of food. She smiled fleetingly at the driver, and glanced at
Ruby, before placing the tray on the round French mahogany table.
She curtsied to the driver and quickly left.

Ruby saw her chance and
dashed to the door as the woman was about to close it. In a flash,
Alec grabbed her arm and swung her around. She collided against his
hard chest with a feeble puff.

“
Let go,” she
snapped.

His grip tightened as she
struggled against him.

“
Let go!”

“
You’re hungry; e
at
your dinner,” he said, as he effortlessly lifted her up in his
arms.

Ruby’s train of thought
was lost. No one had ever carried her before. She simply didn’t
know how to respond to such an odd and rare situation.

He placed her on the seat
and said, “Your dinner, ’tis getting cold.”

Ruby just stared at him,
thinking the man must be mentally impaired for ignoring her burst
of outrage.

“
Who are you? And where is
Brian?” she demanded.

“
Just eat your dinner,” he
said; his Scottish brogue deliciously thick.

He lowered himself to his
knees until his face was only inches from hers. Ruby found she
couldn’t tear her eyes away from his.

Grey—his eyes were a steel grey color. They were sharp and
clear. She realized he was the type of man that she did not want to
get on the wrong side of—the type of man who knew his own mind and
made his own rules. He was a man who wielded power and
authority.

“
Or would you prefer not
to have dinner at all?” he asked, his warm breath fanning the side
of her cheek.

Ruby blinked, glancing at
her food, and said, “Is this Brian’s castle?”

“
Nay,” he
replied.

She took a deep, shaky
breath. “Am I being kidnapped then? We are not rich, you know. And
it might be hard to get ransom from my mum and sisters because they
live in New Zealand. I—I think you might have the wrong person.
It—it must have been someone else in that motel you wanted. It
certainly wasn’t me. Won’t—won’t you let me go?”

“
Nay. Have your dinner.”
He moved to shut the door, but she noticed he didn’t lock
it.

Ruby blinked. Her eyes were still sore, but she tried to
ignore the pain. She knew he was watching her.
What must I do?
She turned back to her food. Although she was hungry, she
had no appetite. She was too worried this beast of a man might
murder her. Or put some poison in the food in order to kill her.
She decided not to touch it.

“
You’re not hungry?” he
asked.

“
Yes. I mean, yes, I’m
hungry,” she replied, for it was not in her nature to
lie.

“
Then eat up.”

She shook her head,
standing up shakily before staggering to the door.

He grabbed her by the arm,
stopping her in her tracks. She tried to resist his
manhandling.

“
Let go,” she
shouted.

He immediately obliged
her, but still stood in her way.

She stepped back,
frustrated. “Are you going to lock me in here?”

He raised his eyebrows,
his grey eyes sharpening.

Ruby hyperventilated, and
her face flushed red. That usually happened whenever she was
nervous, frustrated, or angry; although she was usually a sweet
girl with a good temper. However, when it was too much, like it was
now, this sweet, gentle piglet could turn into a raging
boar.

That raging boar was about
to make its appearance now.

She stroked her fingers
through her hair in frustration, and grunted loudly as she glared
at him.

“
You have to let me go!
This isn’t right.”

He just stood there
watching her as if he found her very amusing.

“
If you don’t let me go, I
will scream this house down.”

Silent. Grey eyes
watching.

“
Oh,” she grunted, pacing
forward and bashing her fists against his chest. He didn’t even
budge. His chest was solid as a brick wall.

He seized her wrists.
“You’ll only tire yourself. I don’t want you to get
tired.”

“
As if you care!” she
shouted. Her eyes were turning red. She shoved away from him and
wiped her tears, blinking several times before a contact lens fell
out of her right eye.

“
Oh, no,” she cried as she
slumped down on her knees, searching for the lens. Try as she
might, she couldn’t find it anywhere. She couldn’t see properly,
using only one short-distance eye, and the other, a very irritated
eye.

After a few seconds, when
she still couldn’t find the damn lens, she got very frustrated and
shot up.

The raging boar was about
to emerge.

She turned, grabbing the
tray of food, and threw it at him.

He dashed out of the way
just in time. The tray and food landed on the floor.

“
Why won’t you let me go?
I don’t understand why you’ve kidnapped me!” She ran to the bed,
grabbing the pillows, which she threw at him.

Alec effortlessly caught
the pillows, and threw them to one side, pacing over to her and
seizing her arm. “Calm down, lass, I’m not going to harm
you.”

“
Not going to harm me?”
she asked, staring up at him. “Then why have you kidnapped me?
Lord, this kind of thing doesn’t happen to me. It doesn’t happen in
New Zealand.”

“
Just stay still,” he
said.

“
Let me go!”

“
I will let you go, if you
stay still.”

Realizing that she was not
going to win by disobeying his order, she sighed and nodded.
Slowly, he let her go. She slumped on the bed.

There were knocks at the
door, and Mrs. McKenzie popped her head in. “Everything all
right?”

“
Mrs. McKenzie, please
clean up this mess,” Alec said. “And bring us some more food. Tell
Lizzie to come in here, won’t you?”

Mrs. McKenzie nodded and
left again.

“
You need a
bath.”

“
I’m fine!” Ruby
said.

He strolled to the window
and shut the drapes.

“
Where are my things?” she
asked, looking at him.

“
You don’t need
them.”

“
Of course, I need them.
My wallet, my passport, and everything else.”

“
You don’t need
them.”

“
You’re deliberately
keeping my things away from me? You’re imprisoning me here and
stealing my possessions?”

“
When the time comes, I
will return them to you,” he said, watching her dark brown eyes
glaring at him. He noted the defensive stance and her ample
breasts, rising and falling as she raged.

“
When will that
be?”

“
When the time comes,” he
replied, trying to keep the smile from showing on his face. There
was another knock. “Come in,” he replied.

At the door, Ruby saw the
same woman who came in before with the tray of food.

“
Draw a hot bath, won’t
you, Lizzie?” Alec ordered.

Lizzie curtsied and
glanced curiously at Ruby as she rushed into the
bathroom.

“
I don’t need a bath,”
Ruby repeated. “And I want my things.”

“
You do need a bath.” He
grabbed her arm and dragged her into the bathroom.

“
Let go, damn
it!”

Alec grasped her small
chin between his fingers and thumb, nudging her face toward his
until they were inches apart and said, “Listen here, lassie, I have
just about had enough of you. You do as I say and bathe, or I’ll
rip that dress off you myself, and wash you good.”

Ruby gritted her teeth and
shoved his hand away. “Go to hell!” she hissed as she turned and
gave him her back. She was still seething when she heard him
shutting the door behind her.

Lizzie said, “’Allo, miss,
what can I help ya wif?”

Ruby hesitated and took a
deep breath as she tried to understand what the woman said. “I
don’t understand you. Please leave.”