Kiwi Bride Series: Highland Kiss by Alexia Praks Page B

lowered her eyes and
frowned darkly. Alec could see that she was blushing.
    “ What do you remember from
yesterday?”
    “ I don’t want to talk
about it.”
    “ The storm?” he
prodded.
    She bit her lip, knowing
he was an insistent man. If he wanted to know something, he’d
pursue it until he got the answer. Reluctantly, she
nodded.
    Alec continued, “You
injured yourself?”
    Again, she
nodded.
    “ I saved you?”
    She nodded, her eyes still
downcast.
    “ In the drawing room, I
tended to your injury?”
    Her blush
intensified.
    “ And you—”
    “ And I fell asleep; and now I have woken up only to find
myself in this room,” she said quickly. “Okay, I remember everything , even the part when I admitted to you I was scared.
So I was scared. Happy now?”
    Alec smiled. Aye, she remembered… everything , except for the
kiss.
    “ Did you do something?”
Ruby asked curiously.
    “ Something?” He raised his
eyebrows at her.
    “ About my fever,” she
supplied.
    “ Yes,” he said, thinking
about unbuttoning her shirt and sponge bathing her
more-than-desirable body.
    “ Thank you." She finished
the last bite of toast. “You know, I didn’t expect you to be so
nice, being my captor and all. But you are, and so I sincerely
thank you.”
    “ You’re welcome,” he
replied as he got up. “Would you like something to
read?”
    She reached for the cup of
tea as she nodded.
    “ History?” he
asked.
    “ Yes, thank
you.”
    “ Your wish is my command.” As he was about to leave, he
said, “I’ll do it again anytime for you.” He winked at her and
walked out.
    Ruby’s heart started to beat like there was no
tomorrow. He winked at her.
He really just winked at her! Calm down, you ninny, it was just a wink. But it was a very
hot one all the same.
    “ Do you think it means
anything, Westies?” she asked Captain Snow.
    The dog looked at her
blankly, resting his head back on her lap.
    “ No, it means nothing,”
she said to herself. “But what does he mean by ‘I’ll do it again
anytime for you’?” She cocked her head to one side, contemplating
the possible meanings of his enigmatic words.
     
    * * *

NINE
     
     
    Ruby was ready to explode
that afternoon when Alec refused to listen to her argument. She
simply wanted to punch him, but she knew that no amount of punching
could ever hurt that hard, muscular chest of his. She thought about
punching his face, too. That’d bring his handsome quotient down by
a notch or two; and then, perhaps her heart wouldn’t flutter so
much every time she saw him.
    “ Surely, you see what not
having them has done to me,” she rationalized. “If I were to have
them earlier, this wouldn’t have happened to me.”
    “ And if you had stayed put
like I told you to, it also wouldn’t have happened to you,” he
replied calmly at the door, ready to leave the room.
    “ I’m only asking for my glasses back. And I promise you, I’m
not going to run away again. Not with this blasted foot." She
pointed to her injured ankle.
    Alec didn’t reply to that.
Oh, he knew she’d try to escape again, injured foot or not. If past
experiences served him right, she’d come up with another outrageous
solution to escape again, and very soon. He thought he’d better
keep his guard up.
    He said, “Now have your
lunch and drink plenty of fluids.”
    Ruby took a deep breath and started counting to calm
herself down. This man is
simply impossible. Does he not understand the meaning of human
rights?
    Her counting didn’t work.
She got to number three. “No!” She slid off the bed and looked
around the room wildly. Surely, there must have been something in
this room that was worth trading for.
    “ Madame, please get back
into bed,” he warned. “You’re unwell.”
    She stood straighter,
staring up at him. “No!”
    Ruby spotted the Chinese
urn sitting on the table near the window. Limping over to it, she
snatched it, and held it precariously in the air.
    Alec secretly smiled as