Dark Heat: The Dark Kings Stories

by Donna Grant

  He helped her out of the car, covertly watching the way she slung the purse over her shoulder and adjusted her skirt before she turned to him.

  “Thank you for waiting on me this evening. I apologize for running behind.”

  “There’s no need to fash yourself over it. The client wasna at the airport.”

  “Fash?” she repeated and frowned. “You’re Scottish, right?”

  “I am.” He was more than that, but it was easier just to agree.

  She glanced down the street and fiddled with her key ring. “I traveled there last fall.”

  “For a holiday?”

  “In a manner,” she answered evasively. “It’s beautiful.”

  He found himself more intrigued by her with every passing moment. “Where did you go?”

  “I spent some time in Oban and Loch Ness.”

  “Did you go looking for Nessie?”

  She smiled and ducked her head. “I did take a boat ride on Loch Ness, but I’m sorry to say, I didn’t look for Nessie.”

  Silence stretched between them as Banan found he simply enjoyed looking at her. She kept glancing away from him, and he knew his staring made her nervous.

  She acted almost as if she didn’t know what to do with a man’s attention. Which was surely wrong. All a man had to do was look at her to see her appeal.

  “Um … thank you,” she said, and took a step back.

  Banan saw the heel of her stiletto fall into the crack in the concrete an instant before she shifted her weight onto it. He took the two steps separating them, catching her just as her ankle gave way.

  “Oh!” she gasped as he pulled her against him.

  He stared down into the large pools of her coffee brown eyes. Her hands gripped his shoulders tightly. He’d brought her against him to help balance their weight so they both wouldn’t topple over, but with the feel of her breasts and amazing curves against him, he knew it hadn’t been a wise decision.

  The lust he’d keep abated raged like an inferno, demanding he close the distance and sample her lips with his own. Slowly, leisurely he’d kiss her until she clung to him with longing.

  Despite knowing he needed to separate from her, he couldn’t. His blood burned from the desire that licked at his body. He liked the feel of her in his arms, loved the way her lips parted as if she waited for his mouth on hers.

  The urge, the pure, primal need to take her was unwavering. Overwhelming. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d felt such … yearning for a woman.

  “Are you all right?”

  “Y-yes,” she murmured softly.

  Her lips were so close to his. They were tempting, enticing.

  Inviting.

  He wanted to cover her mouth with his, to kiss her deeply and intensely. The impulse was so great, he barely stopped himself in time.

  And then wished he hadn’t.

  Banan stared into her eyes and saw lighter flecks in her irises. “Gold,” he said.

  “What?”

  Slowly, he stood them upright and reluctantly released her. “Your eyes. They have flecks of gold in them.”

  “You must be mistaken. My eyes are just plain brown.”

  “I’m no’ mistaken.”

  Their gazes locked and held again. How easy it would be to pull her back into his arms, to lean his head down and place his mouth over hers. How simple it would be to give in to the growing need inside him.

  “Thank you,” she said nervously, and turned her head away. “I know that hole is there. I’ve had my heels caught in it numerous times.”

  He waited as she walked up the steps, unlocked her door, and stepped inside. She turned back to look at him.

  Only then did he say, “Good night, Jane Holden.”

  “Good night,” she replied.

  Banan refused to think of his reaction as he drove back to PureGems to drop off the Mercedes. Whatever he’d felt would surely pass before the next time he saw her.

  CHAPTER

  THREE

  The next morning, Jane found herself staring at her computer screen without actually seeing it. Instead, she was back in Banan’s arms the night before. Sure, she’d gotten there by making a fool out of herself by tripping. Again.

  But never once had she found herself in the arms of a man like him as a result. So virile, so gorgeous.

  So completely out of her reach.

  Her hands clenched atop her desk. She could still feel the solid, hard sinew of his muscles beneath her palms, still sense the steel of his body as she was hauled—firmly and protectively—against him.

  He’d been quick and agile and superbly strong, but not once had he hurt her. His hands had held her tightly but gently, securely but tenderly.

  Which was so at odds with the fire she’d seen smoldering in his gray eyes. They had darkened to the color of smoke, and for the briefest moment, she thought he might kiss her.

  “Jane,” someone whispered.

  Jane nearly fell out of her chair, she moved so quickly. When she righted herself, she looked up to find Elena leaning her hands on the desk next to hers.

  “Are you all right?” Elena asked, her lips quivering as she suppressed a laugh.

  Jane nodded, mortified at her continued gracelessness. “Um, hm. Just fine.”

  But she wasn’t. Would probably never be again. Not after Banan’s touch, his voice, his eyes.

  Every time Jane had closed her eyes during the night, she saw Banan’s face. All she could dream about was his body against hers, holding her. Caressing her.

  It had taken hours for her to sleep, and then she slept through her alarm, making her late getting to work and missing breakfast altogether.

  She’d managed to eat half a granola bar during the morning meeting before Mr. Arnold had her getting his coffee. Even when she tried to leave for lunch, he’d had errands for her.

  Jane’s head ached from the lack of food, and she was having a difficult time concentrating, though the blame for that could be placed squarely on Banan’s very wide, very muscular shoulders.

  “Jane,” Elena said again, a smile in her voice.

  She looked up at Elena. “I’m sorry. I didn’t sleep well. Did you need something?”

  “Nothing that can’t wait. Why didn’t you come to lunch with the rest of us? We need to stick together, since we’re the only Americans here.”

  Jane smiled. Her best friend still lived in Seattle, and even though she and Lisa Skyped often, it wasn’t the same as having her friend in London with her.

  Elena’s offer sounded wonderful, and Jane hated that she missed the lunch. Next time, she’d be sure to go.

  “Mr. Arnold had some errands for me.”

  “Did you eat at all?” Elena asked, a frown marring her forehead.

  Jane shrugged. “No, but I have a protein shake in my purse that I’ll get to in a moment.”

  After Elena walked off, Jane reluctantly went back to work. Her thoughts, however, didn’t stray far from Banan, no matter how she tried to focus.

  When she saw Richard Arnold making his way back into the office after his two-hour lunch, Jane stopped him. “Sir, I wanted to ask what happened with Mr. Eto? I had it marked on my calendar to pick him up last night at the airport, but he wasn’t there.”

  One of Richard’s eyebrows lifted as he stared at her. “Are you telling me I gave you wrong information?”

  Jane ran her thumb across the chipped nail of her index finger. “No, sir. I’m simply asking if I made the mistake and wrote it on the wrong day?”

  “I give you the information. I then pay you to keep up with it,” he said, and looked down his nose at her, not one strand of his light brown hair out of place. “If you keep making these mistakes, you’ll find yourself looking for a new job. Now, get in here. I need you to take notes on a letter you’ll write before you leave for the day.”

  Jane wanted to bang her head on the desk. Instead, she grabbed a pen and paper and followed him into the office.

  How she d
espised Richard Arnold. If he wasn’t correcting her American words to British terms, he was telling her how inferior she was.

  But she’d never say anything to him. Not only was it just not something she did, but she needed her job as well. Instead, she sat and patiently waited as he rambled for fifteen minutes from one topic to another. She jotted everything down, though most of it wouldn’t go in the letter.

  Several times both his office and mobile phones rang, and he’d pause to answer them, getting back to her a few moments later. But when he answered his mobile this last time, he’d turned his chair around so he faced the windows and spoke in a hushed tone.

  Jane paid no attention to him until she heard something about Dreagan Industries and Sloan. She kept her eyes on the pad on her lap, but her attention was solely on Richard Arnold.

  “It’s not my fault she died in that godforsaken mountain!” Richard whispered loudly.

  A short pause later, he turned around, his hand over the phone. “Jane, we’ll continue this tomorrow.”

  “Of course,” she said.

  He waited until she stood before he turned back around. Jane wanted to linger, to learn what it was that involved Sloan and Dreagan Industries.

  Jane wasn’t brave enough to try to remain. She was walking slowly toward the door, her gaze glued to Richard, when she ran into a chair. The impact doubled her over, and when she tried to keep herself upright, she lost the pad and pen in her grasp.

  “Bloody hell,” Richard said, too caught up in his conversation to know what had happened. “I know you gave me the information, but you didn’t bother to tell me how dangerous it was.”

  Jane’s mind was running rampant with scenarios as she stayed bent over. There would be a huge bruise on her thigh tomorrow, but that didn’t concern her. The conversation did. Just who was Richard talking to, and what mountain? Surely not the same mountain Sloan and Elena had gone caving in?

  That would mean Richard had sent them there. But why?

  Suddenly, his chair swung around, and she could feel his black eyes boring into her. Jane made a great show—and lots of noise—as she tried to reach for her pad and pencil. She straightened and looked at him.

  I’m sorry, she mouthed, and started limping to the door.

  “Jane.”

  She ignored him and the threat in his voice, her heart pounding so hard she could feel it hitting her ribs, she was nervous and scared. Ice now flowed in her veins, and it took everything she had not to run from the office. And never look back.

  “Jane,” he barked.

  With great effort she stopped and looked at him. “I’m sorry, sir. You know how clumsy I am.”

  “What did you hear?”

  “Hear?” she asked, and shrugged. “You know I would never listen to your calls, sir.”

  His nostrils flared as he glared at her. “Do you want your job, Jane?”

  “Yes,” she whispered, growing more terrified with each passing second.

  “What. Did. You. Hear?”

  She swallowed past the growing lump of dread in her throat. “I heard Sloan’s name. Are we going to do a memorial now that Elena has returned?”

  It sounded so stupid, but it was the only thing Jane could think to say.

  “Get out. We’ll talk about your eavesdropping when I’m done here.”

  Jane stood on legs shaking so terribly she was afraid they’d give out on her. Somehow she made it out of the office, and hastily closed his door before she leaned against it.

  “Oh, dear God,” she whispered, her chest heaving from her fear.

  She looked at the clock and saw it was the end of the day. She didn’t care that she was supposed to wait for him to finish his call. All she wanted to do was get out of the office before she suffocated.

  There was too much muddled in her mind, too much she didn’t understand. And so much she was afraid to even try. But she had to get her thoughts in order.

  Jane tossed the pencil and pad on the desk and grabbed her purse. She kept trying to make herself slow down as she headed to the elevator, but it was as if something were pushing her from behind, silently urging her to get away as fast as she could.

  She tripped twice and had to grab hold of the wall the second time so as not to fall to her knees, but nothing was going to slow her down.

  As usual, everyone crammed into the elevator. This time, however, Jane didn’t politely wait her turn. She shouldered her way onto the lift, apologizing the entire time. And just before the doors closed, she saw Richard come out of his office, looking for her.

  Jane’s heart didn’t slow until she was out of the building, but even that didn’t help. She looked over her shoulder once, and hurried to hail a cab. There would be no walking home for her today.

  * * *

  Banan caught sight of Jane as soon as she exited the building. It was easy to pick her out of a crowd with her dark auburn hair. But what got his attention was the fear etched on her face and the way she practically ran out of the building while looking over her shoulder.

  Then she hailed a cab. As the cab drove away, she looked back at the building once more.

  “What happened, Jane?” he whispered.

  Rhys came to stand beside him. “Good question.”

  A moment later, Richard Arnold ran out of the building, looking up and down the sidewalk. Banan narrowed his gaze on the tall, thin man with graying hair at his temples and cold, dark eyes.

  “I suspect that’s why Jane was rushing away,” Rhys said.

  Banan had tried to get Jane out of his head, yet somehow she was firmly inside his mind. Her fresh, sweet scent. Her long legs.

  Her irresistible lips.

  “There was nothing I could find at Arnold’s home,” Rhys said. “I searched everything. He did have a safe, but there was nothing linking him to Dreagan in the papers.”

  Banan grunted. “There has to be something. We’re missing it, is all.”

  “I’m thinking what we need is in his office.”

  Banan looked at the top floor. “We need to get him out so we can search.”

  “You follow Jane and make sure she’s no’ meeting someone. It would be a good time to search her flat as well. I’ll rummage through Arnold’s office.”

  With a nod Banan walked out of the alley and waved down a cab. After he gave Jane’s address, he sat back and considered whether Jane was the person they were after.

  She had seemed innocent enough, but that initial impression really didn’t mean anything. The terror on her face, however, had brought him up short.

  Jane must have seen—or heard—something. Could it be the lead they were looking for? Banan knew Guy was fast losing patience at having Elena continually in the office where someone was trying not only to discover their secrets, but also expose them.

  And he and the other Dragon Kings had plenty of secrets. They hadn’t kept themselves concealed for so many thousands of years by sheer luck, though.

  Banan paid the cab when they reached Jane’s address. He got out of the car and looked around. Jane was nowhere to be seen. Most likely she was inside her flat.

  He was just setting up to get comfortable for a few hours to keep watch when he heard someone shout Jane’s name. He looked to his right to find her coming out of a store, carrying a bottle of wine.

  The way Jane smiled, so easily and so accepting, made Banan contemplate the last time he’d been happy like that. He searched through the eons of his memories, but found only a couple of occasions where he’d been blissful.

  It wasn’t difficult to remember the last time he was truly happy, back when he was still a dragon. The time before man had come to the land. A time when the skies, land, and water had been filled with dragons.

  Banan turned away from such dark thoughts as Jane walked his way. He wasn’t sure what prompted him, but Banan suddenly stepped out in front of her.

  There was a flare of distress in her brown eyes before it quickly faded as recognition took hold. She smiled shyly,
and he felt another jolt of untamed lust burn through him.

  “Banan. What are you doing here?”

  He said the first thing he thought of. “How about dinner?”

  She eyed him skeptically. “With me? You want to have dinner with me?”

  “Is that so odd?” he asked with a chuckle.

  “Yes. Yes, it is.” She looked around her then.

  Banan inwardly cursed himself. He should’ve known she would be on edge from whatever had sent her rushing out of PureGems.

  “Look,” he said, and caught her gaze. “I … well, I’ve been waiting for you to get home.”

  She took a step back. “Why?”

  Banan was going to have to convince her he was on her side, and quickly, or risk losing valuable time getting to know more about Jane and PureGems. “I wanted to ask you to dinner. I’m usually more suave,” he said with a grin. “I had it all planned out, you see. It didna exactly go as planned.”

  For several long minutes, Jane simply stared at him. Finally she shrugged and held up the wine. “I’ve not had a good day at work. I’m not sure if I’m fit company.”

  “Let me be the judge,” Banan said and took the wine from her. “Why no’ put away your things and we’ll go eat. I know you’re hungry. I can hear your stomach growling.”

  His grin spread when her eyes widened in embarrassment.

  “I am hungry.” She paused and bit the left side of her lip with straight, white teeth. “As much as your offer appeals to me, I need to cook.”

  “You need to cook?” he repeated, unsure what she meant.

  She nodded and wrinkled her nose with a grin. “I know it sounds silly. Some people exercise, some people garden, but I cook to de-stress. And I really need it today.”

  His invitation had been a surprise even to him, but he found he wanted to take her out to dinner. He didn’t like the disappointment that welled inside him.

  “I always make too much when I cook,” she said hesitantly. “If you’re in the mood for Italian, why don’t you come up. I’m a pretty decent cook.”

  Banan’s smile was slow as it pulled at his lips. “I’d like that verra much.”

  And he was shocked at just how true that statement was.