Dark Heat

by Donna Grant

  And then his fingers caressed her jaw before sliding around her neck and into her hair. Her gaze lifted to his, and the gray of his eyes had turned molten.

  He still held her injured hand between them, which was the only thing separating their bodies. His heat enveloped her, encircled her.

  Surrounded her.

  His scent, his body, his very essence was sinking in her, through her. All the while, he continued to slowly pull her toward him.

  “Jane,” he whispered as his gaze dropped to her lips.

  A sigh escaped her when his head lowered to hers. He brushed her lips with his once, twice before he took her mouth in a soul-stealing kiss.

  He kissed with a skill that sent her senses reeling. His lips were soft yet insistent. She was enthralled from the first touch of his mouth.

  His tongue swept into her mouth, each touch a seduction. She was sinking under the weight of his desire. Falling. Tumbling.

  And she never wanted it to end.

  CHAPTER

  SEVEN

  Banan moaned, the taste of Jane sweeter than he could ever have imagined. He released her wrist so his arm could wrap around her waist to her back. Which allowed him to press her tighter against him.

  He loved the feel of her soft curves. As good as she felt, having her hands wrap around his neck while she met his kiss was even better.

  A low groan rumbled from his chest as her nails gently scraped his scalp. He tried to keep the kiss slow and casual, but his hunger for her, his yearning was too much. There was no holding back with Jane.

  He deepened the kiss, inwardly grinning with masculine pride when she moaned and pressed against him.

  His need goaded him into putting her onto the counter and taking her right there, right then. It was so tempting. He could picture the scene in his head, which only made his cock swell even more.

  Banan gripped her hips, ready to lift her onto the counter, when his mobile phone vibrated in his pocket.

  It was harder to end the kiss than he could have imagined. And when he opened his eyes, it was to find hers closed, her lips swollen from his kiss.

  Slowly her lids lifted, and her dark gaze met his. The desire he saw made his balls tighten with a rush of pure, unadulterated need.

  He might have ended the kiss, but he wasn’t ready to let her out of his arms. Banan reached into his back pocket and pulled out his mobile.

  “Aye?” he barked into the phone.

  There was a slight pause on the other end of the line before Elena said, “Ah … is everything all right?”

  He sighed, and then wanted to curse when Jane stepped out of his arms and backed away from him. “Aye,” he answered Elena.

  “Jane seemed … well, anxious when we left work. I wanted to know if you’d spoken with her?”

  Spoken? No, Banan didn’t remember words. He recalled the kiss very well, however. He could still taste her on his tongue, could still smell the clean scent that was Jane’s alone.

  “Banan?” Elena said.

  He couldn’t look away from Jane as he answered, “We just reached her flat. We’ve no’ had a chance to talk.”

  “Call me after you do,” Elena said, and ended the call.

  Banan set aside his phone, and wasn’t sure what to say to Jane. He hadn’t planned the kiss. Nor had he planned the longing he felt for her.

  It was baffling, bewildering. And absolutely amazing.

  He was painfully hard, and all he could think about was taking off her red dress, exposing more of her satiny skin to see and caress. And kiss.

  By all that was holy, he wanted to kiss every inch of her at least a thousand times.

  Jane licked his lips, and he swallowed back the moan as he imagined those unbelievably plump lips wrapping around his cock.

  “I didn’t find anything in Richard’s office that was out of the ordinary, or that had anything to do with Dreagan,” she said, her gaze frequently looking away from him.

  This would never do. Her shyness was making him want to tug her back into his arms. He’d bend her backwards and run his hand over her breast, testing the weight of it before teasing her nipple.

  Would she moan or cry out with pleasure?

  Banan wanted to know, he had to know.

  He gripped the counter to keep himself from reaching out to her. “Rhys found nothing in Arnold’s home either. This isna looking good.”

  “He left his cell phone behind. The one he was on the day before? Well, I found the number of the person who called him.”

  To his surprise, she handed him a piece of paper folded into a small square that fit perfectly in her palm. Banan unfolded it to discover the number she spoke of.

  “Good work,” he said with a smile. “We can find out who this number belongs to.”

  Jane ran her finger along the edge of the sink. “So, does that mean you no longer need to worry about Richard?”

  “He’s still part of it. There’s no doubt of that now. How deep, is the question. Is he an integral part, or is this much bigger than him?”

  “How are you going to find that out?”

  Before he could answer her, there was a knock at her door. Banan stayed where he was as she kicked off her heels on the way to the door. He expected it to be Rhys, but one look at Jane’s face frozen in surprise, and Banan was at her side in a moment.

  He narrowed his gaze at Richard Arnold. Just what was he doing at Jane’s flat?

  “Mr. Arnold,” Jane said nervously. “What are you doing here?”

  “That’s two days now you’ve left work on your desk,” Arnold said, barely masking his effort to peer inside Jane’s flat. “That’s not like you. I wanted to be sure everything was all right.”

  “You could’ve called,” Banan said.

  Arnold’s dark gaze rested on Banan. “I could have.”

  “Do you make visiting your employees a habit?”

  “Not usually.”

  Jane cleared her throat. “I’m fine, Mr. Arnold. I had an appointment yesterday.”

  “And today?” Arnold asked.

  Banan was finding it increasingly difficult not to reach out and wrap his hand around Arnold’s throat and squeeze. “I came into town,” he said before Jane could.

  After a stare-down, Arnold dropped his gaze to Jane. “If you can’t finish the work I give you, I might have to find a new personal assistant.”

  With those words, he turned on his heel and walked off. Banan stepped into the hallway and made sure Arnold left the building.

  “Shut and lock the door,” he told Jane before running after Arnold.

  He stepped out onto the sidewalk just as Arnold’s car drove off. Banan debated on whether to follow him, but he couldn’t bring himself to leave Jane.

  “What the bloody hell was he doing here?” Rhys said as he walked up.

  Banan released a long breath and turned to Elena and Rhys. “He wanted to know why Jane hadna stayed late these last two days.”

  “That’s not disturbing or anything,” Elena said sarcastically as she started up the steps.

  Banan grabbed the door Elena opened and glanced behind him. “Where is Guy?”

  “Doona ask,” Rhys said with a loud sigh. “He wasna happy at no’ being here.”

  Elena lightly elbowed Rhys in the ribs. “Guy understands your reasoning for keeping his existence from Jane, but he wants you to know it should’ve been Rhys she didn’t know about.”

  They walked up to Jane’s flat, and Banan couldn’t help but smile. “Well, Rhys was near to take care of Jane’s watcher, Guy wasna.”

  Elena grinned. “No, Guy was otherwise … occupied.”

  And Banan could well imagine how his friend had been occupied. It’s what he’d like to be doing with Jane. Slowly, leisurely he wanted to discover Jane’s body and bring them both pleasure in the process.

  It baffled Banan that he’d never thought twice about relieving his body on a human before, but with Jane everything was different.

  If t
he craving, the unimaginable hunger to have her weren’t so strong, he might find his growing … emotions … something to worry over. But he couldn’t even think about them, with his need so strong.

  Never once in all the long eons of his life had he ever found a human so appealing. He’d seen beauty before, but nothing compared to Jane.

  “Banan?”

  He started and discovered they were standing in front of Jane’s door. Both Elena and Rhys were staring at him. “What?”

  “You seem a wee different,” Rhys said, his aqua gaze narrowed.

  Elena watched him carefully, almost as if she searched for something.

  “I’m still wishing I’d wrapped my hands around Arnold’s neck,” Banan said before he rapped his knuckles on Jane’s door. “Jane. I’m back.”

  He heard her unlock the door, and then it opened and she peeked her head around. Her thick, silky auburn strands of hair had fallen to the side as she leaned her head over. There was relief in her dark gaze when she saw him.

  “I wasn’t sure you were coming back,” she said as she stepped aside and opened the door wider.

  Banan let Elena inside the flat first. “I thought about it, but we can no’ allow Arnold to know we know what he’s done.”

  “Right,” Rhys said. “We need to know all the players in this game first. And then we strike.”

  Banan grinned at Rhys’s comment. Their strike would be quick, silent, and quite effective. Their very lives depended on it.

  Not that they could be killed by anything a human could wield. The only way to kill a Dragon King was by another Dragon King, and even then it wasn’t easy to do.

  Banan tossed the piece of paper Jane had given him to Rhys. “Jane found the number that called Arnold yesterday when she heard mention of Dreagan.”

  “What a great find, Jane,” Elena said.

  Rhys shot Jane a smile. “Verra well done, lass.”

  “I don’t know how any of you will determine who the number belongs to,” Jane said. “I mean, you’d have to know someone in the government to get you that information unless you’re a hacker.”

  “We’re no’ hackers,” Banan said as he pulled out his phone and searched for a name under his contacts. He clicked the number and put the phone up to his ear, his gaze never leaving Jane’s. He wanted to see her face when next he spoke.

  There was an answer on the third ring. “I need to speak with Henri North, MI5.”

  Just as he expected, Jane’s eyes grew large, but her slow smile warmed him. The desire that had filled her flat a short time ago hadn’t vanished.

  It was there, simmering just beneath the surface. From the way she looked at him, to the way his hands still felt her. To the way she touched her lips when she didn’t think he was looking.

  If only they were alone. He wanted to kiss her again, to feel her melt against him and hear her sighs of pleasure. He yearned to strip her bare and commit everything to memory.

  Banan pulled his gaze away from her to catch Rhys staring at him. He saw Rhys’s worry reflected in his gaze, but Banan wasn’t concerned. It was just a case of lust that he had.

  That’s all.

  That’s all it could be.

  And he prayed that’s all it would be.

  CHAPTER

  EIGHT

  Jane couldn’t stop looking at Banan. Her lips were still sensitive after his kiss, her body still reeling from his heat and the hard sinew of his chest.

  If she hadn’t been drowning in desire, she might have reacted differently to seeing Richard. As it was, she was thankful that Banan had been there, because she wasn’t sure what Richard would have done otherwise.

  No matter where Banan was, she was painfully, utterly aware of him. His every move, his every breath. She couldn’t explain it nor did she want to.

  She shouldn’t have been surprised to learn he knew someone in MI5, because Banan seemed adept at everything he did. As if he were prepared for every eventuality.

  What she feared, however, was that they didn’t need her anymore. Because that would mean Banan would disappear from her life. That thought made her ill. What would become of her life after Banan? Not only would she return to Plain Jane, but no longer would she experience the wonderful desire just a look from him could give her.

  She listened to him give Henri North the phone number to trace. It was as simple as ordering takeout, or at least Banan made it appear so.

  How did he know this Henri North, who hadn’t questioned why Banan wanted the number traced? Had Banan worked for MI5? Which didn’t seem so far-fetched.

  He was leaning against the counter, seemingly relaxed. Yet she’d felt the tightly coiled muscles behind her when Richard came to her door. She’d noticed the way Banan’s body seemed poised for action, and he hadn’t hesitated in following Richard either.

  Traits of a spy? Or just someone who knew a thing or two about life?

  “Thanks, Henri. I owe you one,” Banan said before he ended the call.

  Rhys crossed his arms over his chest. “Tell me you have good news.”

  But it was her that Banan looked at. “The number is untraceable.”

  “How?” she asked.

  “It takes someone with vast amounts of money and skill to pull something off like that.”

  “Ulrik,” Rhys said, his voice dripping with anger, as if it was distasteful even to say the name.

  Banan set his phone carefully on the counter as he weighed Rhys’s words. “Nay. Con has him watched. Besides, Con ruled him out as a suspect while Elena was still at Dreagan.”

  Suddenly Elena stood. “I need to go tell … well, I need to go.”

  Her slip didn’t go unnoticed by Jane, but Jane wasn’t about to say anything. She walked Rhys and Elena to the door, and could hardly contain her excitement when Banan remained.

  Elena and Rhys hadn’t asked him to leave with them, and he hadn’t moved to follow them. But that left Jane feeling a bit uneasy with how to talk to Banan after their fiery, heart-stopping kiss.

  “Jane,” he called softly after she closed the door.

  She turned, her heart pounding erratically. Heat flooded her body when she saw the scorching intensity of his gaze. The desire in his stormy gray depths made her stomach flutter with anticipation and need unlike anything she had ever experienced.

  He pushed away from the counter and started toward her. It was like an invisible cord wrapped around her and tugged her to him. She took that first, hesitant step, her chest heaving as if she’d run a marathon.

  In seconds he’d crossed the small room. And then she was in his arms. His low moan as his lips touched hers sent chills racing over her entire body.

  He held her tightly, crushing her against his muscles. She wrapped her arms around his neck and clung to him. This kiss wasn’t gentle. It was full of need, of longing.

  Of unquenchable hunger.

  He roughly backed her against the door, which only propelled her desire to burn hotter, brighter. His hands were touching her everywhere. And then he cupped her breast.

  Jane tore her mouth from his as she groaned from the sensations rushing through her. Even with the material of the dress and bra, her breasts grew heavy, her nipples hard.

  His gaze caught and held hers. No matter how she might have wanted to look away, she was trapped in his molten gaze. She quivered as his thumb moved slowly over her nipple. Heat speared through her to her center.

  As if knowing her need, Banan rocked his hips against hers. The feel of his thick, hard arousal made her gasp, and then moan.

  His thumb continued to tease her nipple, circling the tiny bud several times before thumbing it. He was going to drive her crazy with need, and she was going to enjoy every incredible minute of it.

  “Jane,” he whispered.

  She wanted to answer him, but she couldn’t string two words together. So she didn’t even try.

  Instead, she grabbed at his dark gray shirt and slid her hand under it. Beneath her hand his stomac
h muscles clenched and shifted. She could feel each cord of sinew under her fingers, and it made her shiver in expectation.

  She wanted his shirt off. That wasn’t right. She wanted every stitch of clothing he had on gone so she could look her fill at him.

  “You doona know what you’re doing,” Banan rasped before he took the lobe of her ear in his mouth.

  “I do,” she answered breathlessly.

  He leaned back to look at her. “I want you, Jane. I need you.”

  “Then what are you waiting for?”

  His triumphant smile made her stomach flutter in anticipation. And then she was lifted in his arms as he strode to her bedroom.

  CHAPTER

  NINE

  Banan couldn’t remember a time when he had craved a woman so desperately. His body had needs, aye, but this longing went beyond that.

  If he hadn’t already tasted her heady kisses, he might think twice about succumbing to the incredible, mind-boggling desire running rampant through him.

  He dropped his arm beneath her knees so that she stood before him once more. Every lush curve against him fit to perfection, but he wanted to see that shapely form himself, to feast his eyes on her all-too-tempting body.

  Her coffee brown eyes had turned almost golden with her desire. Her pulse was beating as erratically as her breathing. And all of it only aroused him more.

  He wanted to kiss her in every way imaginable. To have her so close to him, he all but absorbed her into his body. He wanted to devour her, claim her.

  Seize her.

  As his. All his.

  And only his.

  His need burned so hot, he thought he might very well go up in flames. Her lips parted, and it was all the invitation he needed.

  He covered her mouth with his, sinking deep in the kiss as he reached behind her and slowly unzipped her dress. The first bared inch of skin was too difficult to resist.

  Banan ended the kiss and smoothed his thumb over her exposed shoulder before placing his lips against her skin. He inwardly smiled as her breath hitched.

  He repeated the movement on her other shoulder, and then extracted both arms from the dress. It fell to her hips, where it waited for him to finish unzipping it.