Ruby - Book 1 (Daughters of the Dagger Series) by Elizabeth Rose Read Free Book Online Page A

slipper came down upon
his foot, probably hurting her more than him. She wiggled in his
hold, trying to be free. He locked his arms around her waist to
keep her from moving.
    “I despise you,” she said, not surprising
him in the least by the tone of venom in her words. “You’ve taken
me away from my home and my father. You’ve demanded I be your wife
and have threatened to make me into a lady.”
    “Despise me if you would, but I demand you
respect me as well.”
    Her arms came up over her head and she
slipped down out of his hold, leaving him empty handed. Picking up
her skirt, she ran for the horse, but he headed her off and brought
her to the ground.
    “You little shrew! You will not try to
escape me again.”
    His body over hers, she had no way to move.
Her hair had come loose from her braid as she slept and it now
fanned out around her. Nyle couldn’t help but reach out and touch
the soft locks with his fingers. She panted heavily from beneath
him and her breasts about popped from her bodice each time she
tried to catch her breath. In her lady attire she reminded him so
much of his fragile Jocelyn. He had to know if her lips tasted as
sweet and soft as well.
    Without thinking, he leaned forward and
placed his mouth over hers. Her eyes opened wide, and the little
wench actually bit his lip. He jumped up, feeling the blood she’d
drawn, tasting the metallic flavor on his tongue.
    “What is the matter with you?” he snapped.
“You’ve wounded me.”
    She sat up and glared. “How dare you think
to take your pleasures right here, rutting in the dirt like an
animal.”
    “My pleasures?” He laughed at the thought.
“Believe me, Lady Ruby, I would never attach the word pleasure to
the likes of you.”
    “Oh no?” She stood and faced him defiantly.
“Then why did you kiss me?”
    Suddenly, he realized his memories of
another woman had caused him to kiss her, when he had no intentions
of ever loving her. Or did he? Something about Ruby seemed to
awaken a part of his soul that he thought was dead. But was it that
she brought feelings out of him he’d hidden away for years for
another woman, or was it that through life he’d found himself
attracted to women he knew he could or should never have?
    Her feelings were clear that she despised
him. To him, this was a challenge he had to take. He wanted her as
a wife and mother to a child that he thought could possibly be his.
He wanted her to bear him strong male heirs, and he knew she could.
But to love her was something he knew he was incapable of doing. He
could never open his heart to love again, because his heart had a
dagger stabbing through it that could never be removed.
    “I kissed you only because you are my wife
and ’tis my right.”
    “I am not your wife, and neither will I ever
be.”
    “You have been given to me by the earl of
Blackpool. We have made a deal and it cannot be broken.”
    “I am no man’s deal, my lord. I will not
marry you, neither will I be your lady. I am Lady Ruby of
Blackpool, and I will return to my father’s side as soon as I am
able.”
    “So you are saying you plan on escaping?
    “I will do whatever it takes.”
    “And I will do whatever it takes to keep you
at my side. Now get on the horse, as it is time to leave.”
    “My horse has returned,” she said happily,
first noticing it, and heading toward the animal, intending to
mount.
    “Not that one,” he instructed. “This one.”
He pointed to his own horse.
    She looked at him curiously, and then just
shook her head. “Nay. I will ride my own horse, not yours.”
    “I cannot allow that, as I have no more time
nor patience to be chasing you through the woods again. We will
ride together to my castle where we will take the vows of marriage
as soon as we arrive.”
     
    * * *
    Ruby arrived at Sheffield after riding hard
all day. She was bedraggled and dirty, sitting in front of Lord
Nyle, his arms wrapped around her, not for her protection, but
because he thought