She felt the slight touch of his fingers against her arm and tilted her head to see a blurry face before her. She blinked, trying to make out who he was.
“I—I—no, I’m not all right,” she whispered. Involuntarily, she closed her eyes and felt herself falling.
When Ruby regained consciousness, she knew one thing for sure: she was still on the plane. The sound of the engine humming soothed her aching body and blurry mind, which, oddly enough, made her feel better. The nausea, to her surprise, was also gone.
Moving to get into a more comfortable position, she suddenly realized her head was resting on a hard, firm chest. She glanced up; and her eyes met those of a silvery grey color. Well, at least she thought they were a silvery grey color. She didn’t have her glasses on, so her vision was dreadful, despite her close proximity. She touched her head and hastily removed herself from him.
“I’m sorry. I have no idea how I got here,” she apologized weakly. Odd for her body to feel so warm and rather tingly, which made her wonder what could have caused it. Perhaps the fever broke and now she was better. She sighed with relief at that thought.
Turning her attention to her surroundings, despite her blurry vision, she noted the place was exceptionally spacious, and the seat seemed very comfortable and large. First class?
“Are you feeling better?” he asked, drawing her attention from her surroundings back to him.
Ruby blinked, and her throat went dry. She didn’t dare look at him, but instead, gazed at his very firm chest where the collar of his white silk shirt parted. His body was hard, and she could feel him beneath her: the warmth, the firmness, and the uncanny feeling that it was just so right being there in his arms. Instantly, her body shivered, doing something weird as her stomach fluttered with a new excitement. Dear God, this was beyond embarrassing. She couldn’t believe that she was on top of a man she didn’t even know! Her mother would have been shocked!
“Yes, thank you. How did I get here?” she asked, blushing profusely.
“You fainted. I thought it was better for you to stay here until the plane landed. It’s too stuffy and cramped where you were sitting.”
She licked her lips, setting her eyes on his arm now, and marveling at the firm, muscular shape. “Did I take someone else’s seat?” she asked stupidly.
“No, this one is empty.”
Ruby swallowed. The low resonance in his voice, combined with that deliciously hot Scottish accent, made her head swim with delight. Brian had a Scottish accent; yet his voice didn’t affect her like this one did.
“Go back to sleep. You’ll feel much better later,” he suggested.
She had to agree with that. Tired as she was, she didn’t argue, but dozed off again, thinking how nice this Scottish man sitting beside her was.
When she woke up again, she felt well rested. And yes, to her annoyance and embarrassment, she found her head leaning on the too comfortable shoulder of the Scottish stranger again.
“Sorry,” she murmured, her eyes downcast, and her cheeks blushing a rather becoming pink.
“No problem,” he chuckled. “I hope my shoulder made a comfortable pillow.”
She sneaked a peek at him, and even though she couldn’t quite see him clearly, she could not restrain herself from gasping in awe. To say this man was handsome was a cruel understatement. Then she noticed him gazing at her necklace with a look on his face that she couldn’t quite understand. She automatically touched the elephant pendant.
“Where did you get that? It’s beautiful.”
She was not sure why he wanted to know. Perhaps it was because he liked it and wanted to get one for himself? She wondered briefly, but at that moment, frankly, didn’t care.
“My friend gave it to me a long time ago. I think when I was seven. I’ve never seen him since then,” she said, thinking about the boy with brown hair and grey eyes. The boy who once promised he’d come back for her. Her heart constricted with pain at the memory of him.
The Scotsman moved his head toward her, his eyes piercing into hers.
“What’s his name?”
“Alee,” she said absentmindedly; her voice soft with a hint of bittersweet undertone. She gazed up at him and could see that he was looking at her strangely, as if he just discovered something too painful for him to endure. Realizing she was sharing a bit too much personal information with a stranger, she commented, “I’d better get back to my own seat.”
The moment she stood up, her surroundings spun and began swimming past her. Damn! She knew she shouldn’t stand too quickly, what with her low blood pressure and all.
“You all right? It’s not long until we land. Might as well stay put,” he suggested.