The Immortal Game (book 1) Read Free Page B

skirt swish as she walked back to her piles of books at the counter. The poet stopped reading and looked up from across the room. Ruby saw him make eye contact with Sage. She waved him away but she was still laughing.
    There was no time to make sense of it all before Ruby realized that the three women were still looking at her.
    The blond smirked. “Wrong much?”
    Ruby looked down at the scuffed wooden floor. The tips of her ears burned. Where had her line of logic gone wrong? The ring, the …
    The front door opened in a rush. The force of it rustled the papers hanging on a nearby bulletin board. Her head popped up and her heart thudded as she saw Ash striding toward her, tall and lithe.
    He wore jeans and a black T-shirt, cowboy boots and dark sunglasses. She couldn’t see his eyes, but he didn’t waver from her direction. When he got to her table he set his palms flat on the surface and leaned toward her. “Good. You’re here.”
    From the corner of her eye Ruby saw the three women turn their heads to stare, first at Ash, then at her. She wanted to feel smug but she was too stunned.
    “What?” She blinked. She didn’t want him to think that he ruffled her.
    “Let’s play.” He waited for her to respond, but it hadn’t been a question. He was telling her.
    She shook her head. “Can’t. I’m studying.” Her curiosity about him was beat out by her annoyance. Who did he think he was, anyway? Just because everyone else treated him like some chess god didn’t mean she would.
    He pulled out the chair across from her and sat without an invitation. “What’s so damn important anyway?” He swung her notebook around so he could see it.
    “Hey!” She jolted forward to stop him.
    “What is this?” He asked, turning pages, as if it had no bearing on anything important. He still wore the dark glasses and she wondered if he could even read with them on.
    “Chemistry,” she said, relaxing slightly. “You know, the building blocks of the universe.”
    His face tilted up to look at hers. He sat back in his seat and crossed his arms. Ruby’s eyes shot to his hand. She wanted confirmation the wound had healed, that she hadn’t imagined it, but both hands were tucked under the swells of his biceps. She looked away, hoping he, and the three women, hadn’t seen her looking at his body.
    “Do you know all about chemistry, too?” she asked, deflecting her embarrassment. But she didn’t give him time to answer. She moved forward in her seat and tried to look him in the eye despite the glasses.
    “How did you know all that stuff about the Battle of Hastings?” It seemed the least insane of the questions she had. Much better than asking how his hand healed overnight.
    “How do I know about the Battle of Hastings?” He laughed a quick, humorless laugh. He leaned forward, matching her body movements. His hands were clasped loosely on the table. She glanced down, but he held the right hand over the left, barring her from seeing what lay beneath.
    “It’s not a secret, Ruby.”
    She flinched when he used her name, surprised he knew it.
    “It’s in a lot of books.” He glanced around at the crowded shelves that encircled the room.
    It was true, of course, but she didn’t buy it. She narrowed her eyes at him. “How do you know so much about the Battle of Hastings?” she asked again, going on instinct more than reason.
    He looked away and shook his head like he was dealing with an inquisitive child who’d already asked too many questions.
    When it became obvious he wasn’t going to answer she turned her chemistry notes back toward herself and left Ash to look at the top of her bent head. She wondered, briefly, if his trio of fans was still watching them, but she didn’t really care.
    “When can we play?” he asked. His voice was less forceful than before.
    “Are you dense?” she asked. “I told you: I have to study. I’m not going to play you again.”
    He pulled the dark shades off his eyes and jabbed