The Ruby Kiss
Authors: Helen Scott Taylor
THE MAGIC KNOT
“[An] extraordinarily accomplished debut . . . So well written that it’s hard to believe it’s Taylor’s first.”
—
Booklist
Starred Review, Top Ten Romance of 2009
“Taylor’s wonderfully creative and lusciously sexy debut will cast its own magical spell over readers.”
—
The Chicago Tribune
“This is just one of those books that captivates you from the first page. It’s different, emotional, full of evil, but with plenty of love to counteract those bad guys. Ms. Taylor is going on my autobuy list for sure.”
—The Good, The Bad, The Unread
“A fresh and sexy entrée into paranormal romance. In a market inundated with otherworld creatures, Taylor creates an engaging and believable fantasy world peppered with an intriguing mixture of magical creatures. It is beautifully written, and fast-paced enough to keep you on your toes.”
—Romance Junkies
“A really wonderful story of magic, suspense, love, and mystery.”
—Coffee Time Romance
“Taylor’s debut reads like a romance inside of a fairy tale. It’s sure to be a hit.”
—
RT Book Reviews
“If this is Helen Scott Taylor’s debut novel, I just can’t wait to see what she writes next. Definitely a new auto-buy author for me.”
—ParaNormal Romance
“An enchanting and magical tale delivering a mix of romance and suspense.”
—Bitten By Books
“This tale has all the components of a winning paranormal romance: intrigue, passion, betrayal and magic.”
—The Romance Reader
“Helen Scott Taylor has once again written a bright, enchanting story full of magic and mystery, adventure and romance.”
—Beyond Her Book, the
Publishers Weekly
blog
“A rich, imaginative world that beautifully blends fantasy and romance.”
—
RT Book Reviews
, Top Pick!
“The whole thing is too much fun.”
—Everything Romantic
“Good versus evil, life and death, magic, fathers and sons, mothers and daughters, love of every kind imaginable, and, of course, romance . . . The emotion is raw and heartrending, the story is something you’ll not find anywhere else.”
—The Good, The Bad, The Unread
“Celtic magic and exciting adventure.”
—Fresh Fiction
“A fast-paced story that held my attention from the first page to the last. I can’t wait to see what comes next.”
—Night Owl Romance, Top Pick
“A beautifully written love story that takes the reader on a journey through life and death and an eternal happy-ever-after.”
—Coffee Time Romance
“A story filled with vivid imagery, smoldering sex scenes and a pageturner of a plot. An absolutely wonderful read!”
—Bitten By Books
“How far up is the city?” Ruby asked.
“You can’t really measure the height in earthly terms, because the Seelie Court exists in an alternate realm, but it’s about a thousand steps.”
Ruby sucked in a breath. Her legs were already aching.
Ignoring the misty blue nothingness on either side, she tried to forget they were climbing into the sky. Nightshade urged her forward. Finally, the signal came to stop. Ruby was sweaty and probably had a face the color of beetroot, but as they filed out onto a green marble terrace, the gleaming walls of the Emerald Palace towered above, framed by the perfect blue of a cerulean sky. Silver pennants fluttered atop an assortment of spires. Below the palace spread a metropolis of iridescent crystal buildings sparkling in the sun like a city of jewels.
“Strewth,” Ruby gasped. It was the seat of Seelie power.
Other books by Helen Scott Taylor:
The Magic Knot
The Phoenix Charm
“The Crystal Crib” in
A Midwinter Fantasy
HELEN SCOTT
TAYLOR
DORCHESTER PUBLISHING
Published by
Dorchester Publishing Co., Inc.
200 Madison Avenue
New York, NY 10016
Copyright © 2011 by Helen Scott Taylor
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, without the written permission of the publisher, except where permitted by law. The scanning, uploading, and distribution of this book via the Internet or via any other means without the permission of the publisher is illegal and punishable by law. Please purchase only authorized electronic editions, and do not participate in or encourage electronic piracy of copyrighted materials. Your support of the author’s rights is appreciated.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Trade book ISBN: 978-1-4285-1177-4
E-book ISBN: 978-1-4285-0990-0
First Dorchester Publishing, Co., Inc. edition: November 2011
The “DP” logo is the property of Dorchester Publishing Co., Inc.
Printed in the United States of America.
Visit us online at
www.dorchesterpub.com
.
To Glyn, who loves everything I write. Thank you!
Thanks to Joan Leacott and Mona Risk for their helpful
advice during the writing of this book.
Ruby Macdonald woke to a frightful bang and the rattle of roof tiles. Something crashed onto the skylight above her bed, knocking the window wide. She instinctively ducked beneath her bedcovers, and a huge heavy object thudded down on the mattress beside her, making the bedsprings bounce and strain under the impact. Downstairs her two dogs started barking.
After a second’s shock, Ruby yanked the covers away from her face. A dark figure crouched on the comforter near her feet. She recoiled against the headboard, a scream searing her throat. The streak of light coming through the bedroom doorway from the hall silhouetted the creature’s naked, heavily muscled chest and widespread black wings.
Her mother had carted her all over the place, searching for supernatural creatures. Ruby had met many strange beings, including tiny leprechauns in Ireland and beautiful people who could breathe underwater, but after everything she had gone through back then and her mother’s horrible death, she had tried to forget. She hadn’t wanted to believe her mother’s claim that Ruby was the result of a nocturnal seduction by a beautiful winged angel, even though she knew she wasn’t like other people.
Ruby’s blood thundered in her ears. Was her father really an angel? And was history about to repeat itself? Although the intruder’s gleaming black skin and leathery wings suggested he was more demon than angel. She had never seen anything like him in her travels, but she vaguely remembered seeing his likeness in a book.
The creature spat white stuff at her. Ruby dove to the floor and grabbed out from under her bed the baseball bat she’d hoped never to have to use. She jumped up, getting a firm two-handed grip on its wooden handle.
“Keep away from me or you’re dog food.”
Instead of pursuing her, the winged man clambered off the other side of the bed and dragged a hand over his mouth.
“Bloody bird,” he bit out in a deep British accent. “Closed my eyes for half a second and the damn thing hit me in the face.” He spat out something else that Ruby realized was a feather. At over six feet tall, his powerful body dominated the room. Yet his cultured voice was so at odds with his appearance that Ruby had the crazy urge to laugh. Without taking her eyes off him, she bent to snap on the bedside light.
She had wondered if he was completely naked, having noticed his bare chest, but he wore black jeans and boots. His eyes shone an unnerving silver in a savagely beautiful face. He swept aside his long black hair with a careless hand and folded his wings against his back.
“Who are you?” he demanded, his head angled arrogantly as he pinned her with his gaze.
“Oh no, laddie.” She pointed at him with the bat. “You’re going to tell me who
you
are first.”
He ruffled his wings against his back, looking disgruntled. “I’m Nightshade.”
In her experience, these supernatural beings usually had strange names. “
What
are you?” Ruby demanded.
His nostrils flared and his jaw clenched. “I don’t appreciate that tone of voice.”
Despite his fierce expression, she didn’t sense any real malice in him, and she had always been very perceptive about the nature of “supernaturals,” as her mother had called them. “Tough. You land on my bed in the middle of the night; you answer my questions.”