by Donna Grant
The wind kept the loch rippling enough that the water slapped lazily against the hull. That, added to the sound of Jane’s laughter, and Banan was in heaven.
There was a sparkle to Jane’s amber gaze that made his blood burn. There had been nights he would pull her against him just so he could hold her.
But he knew he couldn’t hold too tight. Jane was human, a mortal. If she was meant to be his, he had to give her the room to make that decision. It’s what he had been doing for months, but she hadn’t brought up their binding again.
Banan didn’t know what to think anymore. It was a chance he was taking bringing her to the loch on the sailboat, but he couldn’t go another day without knowing where they stood.
He didn’t know what he would do if she said no. Actually, he knew exactly what he would do. He would woo her and seduce her until he won her over completely.
Jane was his everything. She was his reason to face each day, his motivation to do things to please her. He knew in his soul there would never be another to replace her.
And if she didn’t want to bind herself to him, he would spend every second of her life with her. As much as it pained him, he would sit by her side until she breathed her last. Then, he would spend the rest of eternity mourning her.
With dinner eaten and the wine bottle now empty, Banan sat back and gazed at Jane.
“What?” she asked and demurely tucked her auburn hair behind her ear.
She had blossomed since coming to Dreagan, but there wasn’t a conceited bone in her body.
“That,” he answered.
“Me shoving my hair aside?” she asked askance.
He swirled the last bit of white wine in his glass. “Nay, lass. The way you blush when I stare at you.”
“Because I know what you’re thinking.”
“What am I thinking?” he asked, intentionally lowering his voice in the way that made her shiver in excitement.
She visibly swallowed, her fingers idly turning her wineglass on the table. “You’re thinking of stripping off my clothes.”
“Oh, aye. I’m thinking of much more than that.”
“I know,” she murmured. “It’s written all over your face when you look at me like that.”
“I thought you liked it.”
“I don’t like it, Banan. I love it.”
He leaned forward and lifted her hand in his. Banan smoothed his thumb over her knuckles before bringing her hand to his lips. He lifted his eyes and their gazes locked. The desire he saw reflected in her depths made his balls tighten.
Without a word he scooted from his seat and stood beside the table. She looked up at him, her lips parted and waiting for his kiss.
Banan drew her up and into his arms. He ran his fingers through the cool locks of her auburn hair that brushed the tops of her shoulders.
“What are you thinking?” she asked.
He gave a gentle tug on her hair. “I’m wondering how I survived millennia after millennia without you.”
“How do you always know what to say?” she asked with a ghost of a smile before she placed her lips on his.
Desire erupted, swift and intense. The sultry woman in his arms dragged him deeper into the all-consuming, never-ending hunger for her. Her kiss, her touch scorched him, seared him.
And still he wasn’t close enough.
The passion was indescribable, indefinable. It consumed him, drove him. Compelled him.
He was powerless to deny the pressing, relentless need for Jane. Nor did he want to. She was simply … everything to him. She was the light, the air, the spark that kept him looking forward to each new day with her.
They tore at each other’s clothes, eager to remove anything that came between them. When they were flesh to flesh, Banan splayed his hands on either side of her head and looked into her amber eyes.
Her lips were swollen from his kisses, her pulse beating rapidly at her throat. Her skin was already flushed. A wicked gleam came into her eyes as she ran her hands over his chest.
“By all that’s holy, you are the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.”
Her forehead creased as her gaze softened and some unnamed emotion flitted across her face. Then there were no more words as Banan turned and pushed Jane back onto the bed. With his hand beneath her back, he dragged her up until her head rested on the pillow while he continued to kiss her.
His hand ran up her long legs and over smooth skin to her hip and then up to cup her breasts. A low moan sounded from Jane as he tweaked her nipple.
With a shove against his shoulder, Jane rolled him onto his back. Then, she crawled over him until she straddled him. Banan slid both hands up her thighs and around her waist as he sat up and rained kisses on her neck.
Her nails scraped against his scalp as she tugged against his short hair. All day he had thought of making love to her on the sailboat. No longer could he wait. He had to be inside her, to feel her body clamping around him.
Jane sucked in a breath when Banan lifted her until she was poised over his arousal. She met his eyes, gazed into his gray depths and melted.
He was magnificent, and she still couldn’t believe he wanted her. A Dragon King, an immortal who could have anyone had chosen Plain Jane.
But she didn’t feel plain in his arms. She came alive, her body awakening. With Banan she was wanton.
Uninhibited.
And utterly shameless.
She became the sensual, lustful woman that she had always known waited for the right man to find her.
Jane sighed as she slowly slid down the hard length of his rod, her body expanding to take all of him in. She wrapped her arms around his neck and held him as she began to rock her hips.
His large hands spread over her back as they kissed, their bodies riding the waves of desire. Already Jane was close to peaking.
As if Banan knew, he cupped her butt and urged her to quicken her pace. The familiar tightening low in her belly began twisting, turning, and sending her closer and closer to orgasm.
Banan nipped at her earlobe, his warm breath fanning over her already heated body. He kissed her behind her ear, a tender spot that always made her come apart.
With just one lick of his tongue on her skin, Jane screamed his name as the first waves of the climax slammed into her. She sank her nails in Banan’s shoulders as he continued to move her hips, sending her higher. And then he whispered her name as he too succumbed to his orgasm.
Still entwined, they fell sideways. Jane ran a hand through his short, dark hair. The worries from earlier were far behind her, as if they had never been. A warm glow infused the entire sailboat to cocoon them in their own world.
* * *
Banan propped himself up on his elbow and rested his head against his hand as he stared down at Jane. They had talked for hours and made love often through the night until Jane had finally fallen into an exhausted sleep an hour before.
He had intentionally kept their conversation away from any talk of binding, but they had spoken of the future. And, in Jane’s eyes, he was still a part of her future.
Banan held up the wide, white gold band. It had taken him months to design the ring with a jeweler in London, but in the end, it had turned out stunning.
He gave Jane a kiss on her forehead as he opened up the curtains. She turned onto her side and snuggled her back against him.
“Wake up, sleeping beauty,” he whispered in her ear. “The sun is just about to crest the mountains.”
“Tell it to wait,” she mumbled.
Banan grinned. If there was one thing Jane liked, it was her sleep. She had the brightest disposition of anyone he had ever known, but if she didn’t get enough sleep it took at least two cups of coffee before she was herself again.
The coffee was already made and waiting. Now, he just had to get her to wake up.
“The sun waits for no one. Trust me, you’ll be glad I woke you once you see it.”
With a dramatic sigh, Jane cracked open one eye, then
the second one. “I feel like I slept for only five minutes.”
“It was a little over an hour.”
The grumpiness seemed to vanish as she suddenly smiled. “Ah, but what a night it was, right?”
It was one he would never forget, that was for sure. “Aye, lass, it was.”
He reached over his head where her cup of coffee waited and handed it to her. She rose up on her elbow and took a big whiff of the coffee before taking several sips.
“Ah. Just what I needed.”
Banan rested his chin on her shoulder as they both stared out the window, watching the sky turn from a pale gray to being streaked with vivid pinks, rich oranges, and deep reds.
The higher the sun rose, the more vibrant the colors became until the first glimpse of the yellow ball broke above the mountains.
He heard Jane’s indrawn breath, and knew she was seeing the beauty that he had glimpsed so many times. Every sunrise was as different as every sunset, and he never tired of watching either of them.
The cry of a golden eagle broke the quiet of the dawn, and it was like a signal to nature. With the sun now chasing away the shadows of night, nature came awake.
For long minutes they continued to stare at the rising sun until it became too bright. Jane lifted a hand to shield her eyes, squinting them closed in the process, and that’s when Banan moved his hand that held the ring into her line of sight.
“That is blinding,” she said and sightlessly searched for the curtains. She managed to grab one side and yank it closed. It shut out some of the light, but not all of it.
Banan’s heart pounded in his chest as he waited for Jane to see the ring. He’d never experienced nervousness before, and he had to admit he quite hated the emotion. He didn’t know if he was coming or going, if he was up or down. He was a wreck, an absolute mess.
All because he had to know if one woman with a propensity to trip on a flat surface would be bound to him.
Jane blinked open her eyes and then stilled. Banan’s heart sank. He had moved too soon, asked too much.
“Oh, my God,” she whispered, awe lowering her voice. When she lifted her eyes to him, they were awash in tears.
Banan frowned, unsure of what to make of her reaction. “Jane?”
“I thought you didn’t want me anymore.”
“What?” He was so shocked that he couldn’t believe her words. “Why would you think that?”
“You’ve been acting weird.”
“Because I’ve been planning this for weeks. I wanted everything to be perfect, but I also wasna sure you were ready.”
She looked back at the ring he still held. “I’m more than ready.”
Relief poured through Banan, quickly mixing with elation. He had seriously doubted whether Jane was ready to give him the commitment that would essentially make her immortal.
Banan sat up with Jane and took her hand. He looked deep into her amber eyes and asked, “Jane, will you be mine? Will you bind yourself to me?”
“A thousand times yes,” she said with a bright smile.
With a satisfied grin of his own, Banan slid the band onto her left ring finger.
CHAPTER
THREE
Jane couldn’t stop gazing at the band upon her finger. The design, diamonds in a knotwork pattern set in white gold, was exactly her style. The fact Banan had designed the ring told her that he really knew her, something she’d never thought to claim with another.
She finished dressing by pulling on the cream-colored wool sweater and ran her fingers through her hair. Then she ran up on the deck to find Banan had already cast off from the dock.
“Um … do you know how to sail?” she asked, once more looking at the dock growing smaller.
Banan let out chuckle. “Aye. Of course.”
“Oh, of course,” she said with a roll of her eyes. “I forget you know how to do everything.”
“No’ everything, lass. I’m still working on perfecting my time with you.”
“As if you even need to work on that,” she said as she came up behind him. When he made room for her, she slid between him and the wheel. “I can’t believe I’m sailing!”
“Do you like the boat?”
“I think she’s gorgeous.”
“Hm.”
Jane looked at him over her shoulder. Banan was staring ahead as if he hadn’t just made the most peculiar sound after her answer.
“Hm?” she repeated.
“Hm,” he said again. “Can you get me a mug of coffee?”
She nodded, wondering at his acting so odd once again. Though Jane no longer thought he wanted to end their relationship. What she’d learned was that when Banan had a surprise, he grew evasive and quiet.
After giving her the ring, and his commitment to the binding ceremony, she wasn’t sure what else there was to give her.
She hurried down the narrow steps below and opened the cabinet for a mug. In the process of pouring the coffee she saw a life preserver hanging on the wall. The ring was white with four blue stripes going at angles. The top of the preserver said Lady, and the bottom portion said Jane.
Jane carefully set down the coffee and felt her heart pounding in her chest. With Banan there were no coincidences. His odd behavior once more and the boat named after her meant …
She forgot this coffee as she rushed up the stairs, tripping twice and slamming her shin against a step before she reached the deck.
Banan was at her side in an instant, concern marring his face. “Are you hurt?”
She waved away his words. “The boat’s name is Lady Jane?”
His worry eased into a lopsided smile. “Aye. My gift to you.”
Jane threw her arms around him and buried her face in his neck. “You are enough,” she said. “You’re all I ever wanted.”
“And you, lass, are all I ever wanted,” he said as he held her tightly.
She leaned back and asked as innocently as she could, “You want to give the biggest klutz who ever walked the earth a sailboat? I might run over someone.”
“Just make sure they deserve it,” he answered without missing a beat.
Jane threw back her head and laughed. Life with Banan was going to be anything but dull.
The day was spent with Jane learning how to sail. It was just after three o’clock when Banan docked them once more. After tying them off, Jane sat back and found him watching her.
“Did I do it wrong?”
He shook his head.
“Then what is it?”
He came to sit beside her at the front. “You have a choice to make.”
“You mean I get to decide how we’re going to cook the fish?” she teased.
Banan tugged a strand of hair free that was caught against her cheek. “Nay. You get to decide if we remain on your sailboat another night or no’.”
She knew what he was asking. They could return to Dreagan and do the binding ceremony that night, but he wasn’t rushing her. He was giving her—and would give her—as much time as she wanted.
For Jane there was no decision to make. She leaned forward and gave Banan a quick kiss. “It’ll take me just a minute to gather my things.”
The smile he sent her made her legs weak. And that smile is what she could look forward to for the rest of her days. She still couldn’t wrap her mind around it all as they drove back to Dreagan.
Back at the manor, she and Banan walked hand in hand through the door. Con was exiting the kitchen when he spotted them. After a glance at her left hand, Con gave them a nod and a smile.
“When?” he asked.
Banan glanced at her before he said, “Tonight.”
“How about midnight?” Con suggested.
Jane quite liked the idea. She didn’t know anyone who had gotten married at midnight. “Yes.”
Banan followed her up the stairs to their rooms. Jane tossed her bag on the bed and sank into one of the overstuffed chairs near the fireplace.
“Cassie had a traditional wedding
as well as the binding,” Banan said.
Jane hid her smile. She knew exactly what Banan was trying to ask without actually coming out and asking. “I know.”
He sat in the chair opposite her and raised a brow. “Well?”
“Well what?” she asked, patiently waiting for him to get it out.
“Do you want a traditional wedding as well? It’ll take more time to prepare, but it can be done.”
Jane rose and walked to Banan so she could climb into his lap. “No, I don’t want a traditional wedding. In my heart I’ve been bound to you from our first kiss, but most certainly since I came to Dreagan with you. A piece of paper is meaningless next to the ceremony that will officially bind us together as nothing else could.”
“Whatever makes you happy.” Banan rubbed a hand up and down her back.
“Being with you makes me happy.”
His gray eyes darkened just before he tugged her down for a kiss. Their lips had just met when there was a pounding on the door.
“Jane?” came Elena’s muffled voice through the door.
Banan smiled and set Jane on her feet as he stood. “That’s my cue to leave. I know there is female stuff to see to. I’ll see you later,” he said and kissed the tip of her nose.
He opened the door and Elena came rushing in. With a wink, Banan shut the door behind him as he left.
“Is it true?” Elena asked.
Jane held up her hand, unable to hold back her smile.
Elena covered her mouth with both hands, her eyes huge. Then she reached for Jane’s hand. “My goodness. Look at that ring. It’s gorgeous.”
“Isn’t it? Banan did such a good job designing it.”
A wistful look overtook Elena for a moment before it vanished. “Yes, Banan did good. When is the binding?”
“At midnight.”
“Tonight?” Elena squawked.
Jane frowned, unsure of why Elena found that alarming. “Yes. Why?”
“What are you going to wear?” Elena asked as she threw open the closet door. “Did you already buy a dress?”
“Well … no.” That’s when it hit her. “What am I going to wear?”