Venom (Book I) ✓

Chapter Eleven

When Ulric returned, Ruby was there waiting just inside of the door for him. Her hair was damp and loose and the clothes she wore hung too big on her slight frame. When he caught sight of her he stopped.

"Red?"

"Ulric, there is a bath in the house! And the water, it comes right out of the wall, already heated!"

He couldn't help the slightest of smiles upon seeing the wonder painted like a mosaic of excitement across her face. "Where'd you find the clothes?"

She looked down and blushed. "The armoire. There's a whole wardrobe in there. And I guess I figured that...You know, since nobody lives here anymore...And my clothes were...you know--"

"Did you find any men's clothing?"

She stopped, blinking, then shook her head. "I didn't look. There is another bedroom though, third door on the left."

He grinned and held out a basket to her. "I'm going to go clean up. Mind getting this ready?"

She nodded and watched him long enough to see him disappear into the second bedroom before moving to the little kitchen she had found earlier in her exploration.

When she had emptied the basket onto the low counter she couldn't help smiling. Berries of all sorts and sizes scattered across the rough cloth lining the table. Leafy vegetables joined them, and a plump, skinned rabbit was wrapped in a separate strip of cloth. Ulric had found them a feast. Ruby's stomach growled just thinking about it.

And when Ulric wandered into the kitchen she turned and beamed at him. He was clothed in clean trousers and a dark shirt that stretched a touch tight across his chest and shoulders. The meal behind her was nearly finished, the fragrant meat roasting over an open fire and the greens and berries had been combined into a wild sort of salad. Shaking water from his long hair he grinned.

"You should always do the cooking. You're good at it."

Ruby rolled her eyes at him and busied herself over the meat to hide her pleased smile. "It's almost ready."

"Hey, Red, about earlier--"

"If you're about to apologize there is no need." She cut him off, transferring the cooked meat onto a plate she had found in a cupboard.

"Yes there is. I never should have even thought to--"

"Call yourself a monster? You're right. It really did upset me."

"No." He cried, irritated, "To touch you."

"Oh?"

"It was inappropriate and I will not force any more such intrusions upon you."

She slammed the plate of meat down before him hard enough to make the entire table tremble. "Once again you have missed the mark completely."

"Have I?"

"If you wish to apologize try addressing how you ran out directly following my confession of how I feel about you." She noticed how he recoiled, but she was working herself into a frenzy and she refused to stop. "When a young woman is so...forward with a man, it is always a risk. When it is met with such obvious dismissal it is bound to trigger some feelings of rejection and embarrassment."

"Red--"

"And then to be greeted upon his return with such indifference. Now what is a young woman to think?"

"Red!" He roared, and she finally fell silent, eyes burning. "I'm not a man. Not the kind you're talking about."

"You're right. Lately, you've been acting rather like a boy." She snapped.