Ruby's Dream

Ruby's Dream (Book 2 of The Crystal Warriors Series)- Excerpt

Some unnamed force pried open Ruby’s fingers. The visions abruptly cut off the instant the crystal left her grip and dropped to the carpet. Her finger joints ached and she shook the tension from her hand. Even her jaw throbbed from clamping her teeth together.

What the hell just happened?

She was standing, yet she didn’t remember getting up from her seat.

A flash of color and movement caught her eye and drew her to the window. She pressed her nose to the glass and spotted an elderly man strolling down the footpath. He seemed rather trendy for an old guy, dressed in jeans and boots, with a bright golden splash of silky material wrapped around his throat and tucked into the open neck of his white shirt. Auckland weather was pretty mild this time of year, so the scarf struck Ruby as odd. She watched him until he shuffled around the corner out of sight.

“Bugger! It’s broken in half.”

Jules’ dismayed voice reclaimed Ruby’s attention. She turned to see Jules kneeling on the floor. “Sorry, what’s broken?”

“The crystal I bought you. You would have thought landing on the bloody carpet might have saved it from breaking. What a piece of crap. Sorry, Rubes. I’ll buy you another one.”

“It’s fine, Jules, really.” Ruby shook herself, trying to slough off the lurking uneasiness. “My fault. Must have gotten a bit heavy-handed with the alcohol in that Mai-Tai mix. Anyway, it’s all good. Because now I’ve got two crystals and double the chakra power.”

Jules grinned. “Trust you to look on the bright side.”

“What kind of crystal is it, anyway?”

Jules re-wrapped the crystal halves in the torn tissue paper and placed the bundle on the phone table. “Beats me. The old guy from the shop called it ky-something-or-other. Sorry. I’m sure I’ll remember after a few more of these cocktails, though.” She waggled her empty glass at Ruby.

“What am I? Your slave? Get your own bloody cocktail.”

“Some hostess you are.”

The doorbell shrilled. Jules hunched her shoulders and made a face. “God. When are you going to get that damn bell fixed?”

“Um, never? I’m used to it now. It’s quirky. Like me.” Ruby could hear cat-calls and loud chatter from outside.

Jules pinned her with a sharp glance. “Are you ready?”

Ruby had no trouble deciphering that glance. Was she ready for the disbelief and unwanted advice from her friends regarding this outrageous goal she’d set herself? Was she ready to face their well-meaning platitudes that she was okay just the way she was? Was she ready?

Shit no. And in retrospect, maybe it hadn’t been such a good idea to have emailed her entire contacts list about registering for the triathlon. But she would bluff her way through this evening—just as she had so many others. She smoothed her dress over her hips, and threw back her shoulders. “Fix me another cocktail, Jules. It’s show-time.”

Jules saluted her with an empty glass. “You got it, babe.”

Ruby sashayed over to the entranceway with an exaggerated wiggle of her bum that made Jules snort with laughter.

She opened the door. The effusive welcome she’d planned stuck in her throat. All she could do was stare, openmouthed, at the most beautiful man she’d ever seen in her entire life.

No exaggeration. Ruby was connoisseur of the male form. Other women her age bought gossipy fashion mags. Ruby splurged her hard-earned wages on her secret vice. Really classy male erotica magazines. Odes to the male form in all its manly splendor. Ooh la la!

So how did this guy stack up with those airbrushed fantasy men? Oh, he was right up there with the best of them. Really up there. Cover boy material—the best of the best.

He was tall—at least six feet. He’d scraped his blond hair back from his face and secured it with a tie. The severe style highlighted intense blue-green eyes the exact shade of an aquamarine necklace Ruby had stuffed in the bottom of her jewelry box. With his high cheekbones and full lips, his face was only saved from being too pretty by a nose that was just a tad too long. It suited him though. Made him look… regal. And the icing on the cake? A honed, muscular physique that looked formed by years of actual physical exertion, not just pushing weights around in a gym.

A man to sigh over. With a body to die for.

And Ruby was positive she wasn’t merely imagining his amazing body because, courtesy of the unlaced leather vest he wore instead of a shirt, there was such an awful lot of it on display. In fact, she was having such a good time drooling over all that burnished bare skin and those rippling muscles, she barely noticed the other guests hovering behind him. Or their grins.

Having completed her voyage of discovery, she dared raise her gaze to his face again. His gaze locked with hers. The rest of the world blurred, pushed to a tiny corner of Ruby’s brain. Unimportant. Meaningless. There was only him and her. And God, the way he was looking at her, like she was a delectable treat he couldn’t wait to eat.