Dark Heat: The Dark Kings Stories (38 page)

“Jane?”

She jerked and found his reflection near hers in the mirror. He had walked up behind her as she had been lost in thought and she hadn’t heard him. His brow puckered in concern as he searched her eyes in the mirror.

“Are you all right? You looked to be a million miles away.”

“I’m fine,” she said and put away her blush as she moved around her makeup in the drawer to search for the eye shadow she wanted.

Banan’s large hands came to rest on her shoulders as he straightened. “You would tell me if something was wrong, aye?”

“I would,” she lied, briefly meeting his gray gaze in the mirror.

His hands fell away as he turned back to his closet. Jane once more watched him through her mirror. The muscles in his back shifted and bunched as he reached for another shirt, this time a vivid blue with widely spaced thin black lines running vertically. He rolled up the sleeves to his elbows and finished buttoning it before he tucked the front of it into his black jeans.

“Perfect,” she said when he looked at her.

He gave her a wink before turning to find his watch. Jane finished her makeup and put on the navy sweater dress that hugged her frame and stopped a few inches shy of her knee. Once she’d zipped her black boots with the four-inch heels and added jewelry, she found Banan waiting at their bedroom door with her coat draped over his arm.

“You look beautiful.”

She gazed into his eyes and returned his smile. “And you look very handsome.”

“Keep looking at me like that and that dress of yours will be puddled on the floor by the bed.”

She loved when his eyes darkened and desire deepened his voice. It sent chills racing over her skin every time. Banan had a way of making her forget everything with just a look, that same look he was giving her now.

“Ah, how you tempt me, Jane,” he said as he dragged her to him and gave her a brief, hard kiss. “It’s all I’ll permit myself lest I have you on the bed. I know how you’ve been looking forward to a night out.”

“We can stay in,” she said and backed into the room.

He gave a firm shake of his head. “No’ tonight. Let’s go.”

Jane walked with him down the hallway to the stairs as they descended to the main floor. Most of the Dragon Kings kept to themselves—the ones who had awoken, at least.

There were only two other couples at Dreagan. Cassie and Hal, who had already been bound together for over a year. Then there was Elena and Guy. Both seemed content in their relationship, neither speaking of making it formal or of binding themselves.

Jane wondered if she was being paranoid. Guy wanted Elena to get used to who he was and the kind of life she would lead if she chose to be his bride. Maybe that’s what Banan was doing as well. But wouldn’t he have told her?

“You seem distracted,” Banan said as they passed the media room where Guy and Elena were wrestling for the remote, their laughter ringing through the manor.

“Just noticing how quiet the house is. Where are Cassie and Hal?”

“Hal took Cassie to Edinburgh for a few days.”

They walked out of the house and to Banan’s sapphire blue Porsche 911 Carrera. Once she was seated, Banan shut her door and walked around the car to the driver’s side.

They had almost an hour’s drive before they reached the restaurant. Normally Jane would be talking about her day doing one of the various jobs she, Elena, and Cassie did around Dreagan, but all she could think about was how oddly nervous Banan was.

She glanced at him, noting that he had both hands on the steering wheel, something he rarely did unless the weather was bad and she was in the car with him. It wasn’t that he was reckless with his life, he just knew that he couldn’t be killed.

Instead of coming out and asking Banan if something was wrong, Jane stared out the passenger window. She was such a chicken. Banan had opened up her world when he came into her life in London. She had been afraid and mesmerized when she saw him in his dragon form that first time.

Now, she eagerly watched for him to take to the skies at night. Under the cover of darkness was the only time the Kings would readily fly. There had been few instances where they had chanced being seen.

One such time was in London where Banan, along with Rhys, had shifted to dragon form to look for her after she had been kidnapped. Most recently, however, was when the Kings, en masse, had fought alongside the Warriors to kill a
drough
, or evil Druid.

Suddenly the car slowed, pulling Jane from her thoughts. She looked around to find they weren’t in the city but near a loch. She peered through the windshield and spied lights coming from the water.

When Banan stopped the car and put it in park, he wouldn’t look at her. With her heart pounding a slow, sad beat, Jane prepared herself for the end. It was obvious Banan was ending their relationship.

She hastily blinked back the tears and accepted his hand when he opened her door. Jane stepped out of the car and shivered. She might be from Seattle where it was always raining, but there was a dampness coming off the water that settled into her bones.

Or maybe it was her heart breaking into tiny bits that made her so cold.

“Here,” Banan said and helped her into her wool coat.

Jane buttoned and tied the coat, grateful that he had remembered to bring it. “Where are we? I thought we were going into Inverness.”

“I hope you doona mind, but I changed things.”

“Mind?” she said as she looked over the loch. Darkness had fallen over Scotland, leaving the half moon to shed a beacon of light that danced upon the gently moving water. “It’s beautiful here.”

He put his hand on her lower back and guided her to a set of narrow steps leading to a small dock. “I thought you might like this.”

Jane was speechless when the sailboat came into view. All along the rigging small lights had been hung, casting the entire deck in a soft hue.

Banan hurried ahead of her and jumped aboard the sailboat, then held out his hand to her once more as she crossed the small gangplank.

“When did you set this up?” she asked.

He shrugged, beaming as he looked around him. “You didna have any clue, did you?”

“Not at all. You kept this a very tight secret,” she said and cut her eyes to him.

His gaze softened as the boat rocked. “Elena packed a small bag for you, which I brought a couple of days ago.”

“So that’s where my favorite jeans disappeared to,” she said with a shake of her head. Jane leaned her head back and looked at the lights reaching high up on the rigging. “You did all this?”

“Aye. You mentioned wanting to sail. I’ll take you sailing anywhere you want to go.”

Jane looked at the mountains in the distance. “That might be a tad difficult since we’re in a loch.”

“Och. I meant later,” he said and took her hand. “We’ll be spending the next few days getting acquainted with the sailboat.”

Was this why he had been so nervous? Jane inwardly berated herself for being so stupid as to think Banan was distancing himself from her. He had gone to a lot of trouble to rent a sailboat for a few days just because she had mentioned wanting to sail.

“I’ve never sailed any type of boat,” she told Banan as she followed him around to the back of the sailboat. “Just because I like boats doesn’t mean I know anything about them.”

“Good thing I do,” he said over his shoulder.

Jane stopped and turned around in a circle. They were the only two on the sailboat, and from what she could see, there wasn’t another boat on the loch. It was almost as if they were the only two people in the world.

“What are you doing out here?” Banan said as he came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her.

She snuggled against him as he perched his chin on her shoulder. “I’m just looking at everything. I want to remember every last detail.”

“Wait until you see the sunrise.”

“Will you wake me for it?”

“Wake you?” he said and leaned to the side so she could see his seductive grin. “There willna be any sleeping tonight.”

Jane laughed as he took her hand and dragged her behind him as he went below. Once more she found herself standing with her mouth agape.

In the small space was a table where her favorite dish—salmon—was waiting. A bottle of wine, two glasses, and candles set the mood.

“Banan…” She paused, unable to find the words to convey how absolutely perfect everything was.

As if understanding, he unbelted and unbuttoned her coat before he removed it so she could sit. Only then did he take the wine from the ice bucket and pour.

He sat across from her and lifted his glass. “To us.”

“To us,” she repeated as they clinked glasses, her love for Banan growing deeper every day she was with him.

CHAPTER
TWO

Banan had never been so nervous in his life. Two days ago he’d picked up the ring, which now sat in his pocket. At one time he knew for certain Jane wanted to be his forever. Now, he wasn’t so sure.

It wasn’t that he doubted her love. He wasn’t sure she fully understood what it would mean to be immortal. And once a dragon and his bride were bonded, there was no turning back.

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.