by Donna Grant
Jane blinked. Then looked first at Rhys, and then Banan. “She fell in love?”
“Aye,” Banan answered softly.
Jane knew Elena had looked different, but she thought it was the near-death experience that had caused the change.
“So, Elena wasn’t part of Sloan’s plan,” Jane said as her mind tried to sort it all out. “I gather you know Sloan’s plan.”
Banan and Rhys exchanged a look before Banan said, “Aye.”
“That’s why Richard wanted Elena back so urgently,” Jane said as recalled him desperately trying to get a hold of Elena. “He wanted to know if she and Sloan had found anything.”
Banan moved to sit on the couch. “That’s why Elena is back.”
“Do you trust that I’m not involved, or are you seeing if I run back to Richard with any of this?”
Rhys said, “A good question. Banan, I’d like to know the answer as well.”
Jane wanted Banan to believe her, needed him to believe her. She wasn’t sure why it was important, only that it was. It seemed impossible that she had spent so much time with him and been completely at ease. They had talked and laughed and shared stories.
She frowned then because she had been the only one sharing stories. Banan hadn’t said much about his own life.
“I believe you,” Banan finally said.
She nodded and ran her thumbnail down her jeans. “Richard knows I heard something. If he chased me yesterday, and then sent someone to watch me, what will he do next?”
“We’ll be there whenever he makes his next move,” Banan said.
But Jane was already shaking her head. “You can’t be in the office with me. What are you going to do? Hide under my desk?”
“If I have to.” His voice had dipped low, a hard edge to it.
Rhys set aside the now empty bowl. “If you can get into Arnold’s office and snoop around, that would help us out.”
“I can do that,” she said. “He’s always gone for lunch, and I’m in and out of his office all the time. No one will notice. There’s just one thing.”
Banan met her gaze. “What’s that?”
“This is about more than stealing a recipe for scotch, isn’t it? I need to know, because I’ve this feeling that this isn’t just my job on the line.”
“You’re no’ wrong,” Banan said.
“Damn. Have you gathered any information on who could be in it with Richard?”
Banan leaned forward so that his forearms rested on his thighs. “Nay. Elena is making her way through those closest to Arnold. So far, she’s found nothing.”
“If I’m going to do this, how do I contact you if I find anything?”
“I’ll give you my, Rhys’s, and Elena’s mobile numbers. And wherever you are, I’ll be close by. I can reach you quickly if you’re in danger.”
Jane grabbed for her wine and drained it in three swallows. It burned as it slid down her throat, but she needed something to steady her after all she’d learned.
“The fact you just said that, Banan, tells me how dangerous this is going to be. Richard is connected to influential families. Money, politics, and God only knows what else. He’s not a man to be messed with.”
“Let us worry about that,” Banan said with a smile that promised Richard would suffer.
Jane just wished she knew what was so important that Banan, Rhys, and Elena would risk their lives to protect Dreagan for it.
Rhys touched her shoulder, and she turned, startled, because she hadn’t heard him move.
“You are doing a brave thing, Jane,” Rhys said.
Jane swallowed, wishing she had more wine in her glass. “Stop talking now or I might chicken out of this whole thing.”
Just as she was about to get up, Banan leaned over and placed his hand atop her. “Thank you.”
Her heart skipped a beat at his husky timbre. It hurt that he wasn’t attracted to her, but the letdown wasn’t anything she wasn’t accustomed to. She was Plain Jane after all.
Jane managed a small smile. “Don’t thank me yet. I’m not exactly brave, Banan, and Richard has a way of making me feel an inch tall when he talks to me.”
“So doona allow him to speak to you that way,” Rhys said matter-of-factly.
Jane looked down at Banan’s large hand, his warmth sinking into her. She liked his hands, liked how it felt to have him touch her. “Easier said than done.”
Banan settled into the shadows as he watched Jane walk into PureGems the next morning. He had followed her from her flat, and it was pure hell. All he’d wanted to do was walk beside her and listen to her amazing voice. Instead, he had to keep his distance.
“Arnold hasna arrived,” Rhys said from beside him.
Banan nodded. Rhys kept watch on PureGems while Guy stayed with Elena, and Banan did his best to ignore the growing need to kiss Jane.
The disappointment in her eyes when she thought he’d only wanted information about Arnold had been like a kick in the balls. He hadn’t liked the feeling, but nothing could make it go away.
Banan had given Jane everyone’s number except Guy’s. He had purposely left out Guy’s name. Just in case. Not because he thought Jane might be working with Arnold, but if she was put in a position where she had to give information in exchange for her life, she wouldn’t know everyone from Dreagan who was in London.
“She’ll be all right,” Rhys said.
Banan leaned a shoulder against the brick of the building. “I hope so. I also hope we uncover who it is that’s giving Arnold intelligence about us. The sooner we can find that wanker, the better.”
“Aye. No’ to mention being around all these humans makes my ass twitch. I long to return to Dreagan.”
Banan did as well. The only thing that helped to calm him was Jane. Beautiful, intelligent, amazing Jane.
Jane couldn’t stop shaking as she walked into PureGems and rode the elevator up to her desk. When she discovered Richard hadn’t yet made it into the office, Jane was able to breath a little easier.
She didn’t waver from her normal routine and hastily got to work, rarely looking up. It wasn’t until she was coming back from the copy machine that she found Richard’s office door open. Her knee gave out, and she nearly dropped her papers as she tripped.
“I got you,” Elena said as she steadied her.
Jane looked at Elena and smiled. “Thank you.”
“I’m here, just two offices down, Jane. If he does anything, give me a shout, and I’ll come running. So will Banan and Rhys.”
Elena squeezed her arm, and then she was gone. Leaving Jane to face Richard alone.
She returned to her desk, waiting to hear him scream her name, but as soon as he saw her, he stared at her for several minutes before he shut his office door. Which was just fine by her.
Jane didn’t see, or hear, from Richard until it was time for lunch. Once more, she was buried in work and saw him leave out of the corner of her eye.
When he was in the elevator, she rose and walked into his office. She’d already sorted out how she would search it. She’d do it a bit at a time so no one noticed how long she was in there.
She checked his desk first, and found nothing. A trip back to her desk, and fifteen minutes later, she returned to his office. This time she went through the credenza behind his desk.
Again and again she repeated her process, but found nothing that didn’t pertain to anyone who wasn’t a client. She shut the last drawer in his filing cabinet and was turning to leave when she spotted the cell phone he’d been on the day before.
With shaking hands, Jane picked up the phone and quickly scrolled through to the Incoming Calls. She matched the times from the day before and his calls and found the call she was looking for.
Jane wrote down the number and had just replaced the phone when Richard walked in.
“What are you doing in here?” he demanded.
Jane jumped, and then forced a laugh. Thankfully, her tripping over her own feet wasn’t out o
f the ordinary. “Oh, Mr. Arnold, you frightened me. I was finishing up some research on the new mine we were looking to buy in Belgium. I was coming to leave the file on your desk, but since you’re here,” she said, and handed him the manila folder.
His gaze narrowed as he took the file as if he wasn’t sure whether to believe her or not. “That’ll be all.”
“Yes, sir,” Jane said, and hurried out of the office, cautious to keep the paper with the phone number carefully hidden in her hand.
The rest of the day passed as slow as an eternity. When it was time to leave, Jane didn’t check with Richard as she usually did. She grabbed her stuff and left.
Just as she stepped onto the elevator, Elena moved beside her. They stayed together until they walked out of the building.
“Until later,” Elena whispered with a smile.
Jane paused and scanned the area, hoping for a glimpse of Banan. As if he knew she was looking for him, he stepped out of the shadows.
She couldn’t stop the smile from pulling at her lips, or the relief in knowing he was there. His answering grin made her stomach flutter with awareness.
Her gaze was locked with his, and she was about to cross the street to go to him when someone bumped into her shoulder, spinning her as it knocked her to the ground.
Jane landed hard, scraping her knee and palm. She looked up to the cold, blue eyes of a man just before he pushed through the door of PureGems.
“Jane,” Banan said as he gripped her arms and lifted her to her feet.
“Did you see him?” she asked. “Did you see that creepy guy?”
Banan’s body stiffened. “What man?”
“The one that ran into me.”
“There was a group of people who walked between us. I didna see who knocked you down. Come. Let’s get you home. I’ve got to keep my distance, even though I’d rather take you to your flat myself.”
“It’s okay,” she said as she climbed into the taxi he’d hailed for her.
Banan leaned in. “I’ll be right behind you.”
He was true to his word. Jane had just gotten out of the cab when Banan came into view down the street. She walked up the stairs to her flat but left her door unlocked.
It wasn’t but a few minutes later that his large frame filled her tiny flat. She wasn’t sure what to say to him, so she looked through her medicine cabinet for some peroxide and antibiotic cream.
“You’re hurt,” he said from behind her.
Her eyes closed at his nearness, at the pure maleness of him. “Just a little.”
“Let me.”
He took the bottle of peroxide and gently held her hand over the sink as he poured the liquid over the scrapes. Jane didn’t feel her cuts any longer. Not with Banan touching her.
She couldn’t take her eyes off him while he dabbed a towel at the scratches. When his thumb stroked the sensitive skin of her wrist, she shivered with need.
Breathing became impossible with him so near. She wanted to run her hands over his chest, wanted to comb her fingers into his hair. And she wanted to kiss him with a desperation that bordered on madness.
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 7
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?”
“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.