Read Kiwi Bride Series: Highland Kiss for Free Online Page B

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.