Read Online Heart of the Dragon by Deborah Smith - Free Book Online Page B

Kovit had been sent back to the hotel with her purchases.
    At first Kash told himself that her withdrawn attitude was a blessing; he needed the quiet time to observe her and silently sort out his emotions. No other woman had ever made him feel this way. He alternated between exhilaration and confusion.
    Her moodiness began to grate on him. Where was the stubborn teasing, the humor, the fascinating storm of emotion and conversation he’d expected? He was churning inside because she wouldn’t speak to him. He, who rarely craved more than his own thoughts, much less a near stranger’s conversation, was an emotional mess because of this troublesome woman, a stranger who might have hidden intentions toward the client he’d pledged to protect.
    Kash pushed his lunch aside and frowned at Rebecca as she ate.
Talk to me
, he ordered mentally.
    “Smart monkey,” she said, her gaze riveted to the tiny, agile animal that was peeling fruit for its owner, a street peddler, under an awning just outside the café. “I wonder if it knows that I like to squeeze an orange slice into my coffee?”
    A quick flood of understanding made Kash tilt his head and look at her pensively. “Ah-ha. You had your darkest vice exposed, and you’re feeling threatened.”
    “No more than usual, since I met you.”
    She switched her cool gaze to him with the directness he’d craved all morning. The blue of her eyes was even more vibrant, accented by the blue-and-gold silk dress he’d given her at her room. The traditional Thai skirtwrapped around her snugly and reached her midcalf, and the matching top fit closely and was nipped in at the waist, with short, capped sleeves and a stand-up collar. When she swung her head a certain way, her brunette hair caught at the gold piping along the collar’s edge. He fought a constant desire to reach over and caress the different textures. The smooth skin of her throat invited his touch, as well.
    “I’m not accustomed to having someone investigate me behind my back,” she said scornfully. “I guess I expected you to investigate me face to face, listen to what I had to say about myself and my background, and see for yourself that I’m telling the truth.”
    “Look at it this way. Through the miracle of modern communication, since yesterday I’ve acquired an extensive file on you from my researchers in America. They’ve confirmed all the basic facts. You’re twenty-six years old, have a degree in commercial art, sold your first cartoon in high school, lived with your father until you were twenty-three, teach Methodist Sunday school, own a small, neat house in a small, neat town, and make approximately thirty thousand dollars a year selling a cartoon strip about life in small-town America.” He paused to take a sip of his tea.
    She watched him wide-eyed, her mouth open. “Go on.”
    “According to newspaper articles in your hometown paper, you’re widely regarded as odd but likable, and the only scandal in your life occurred last year, when you broke your engagement to the mayor’s eldest son, one Leonard ‘Leon’ Cranshaw, who had been your steady since junior year in high school, where he was voted ‘Most Likely to Wear White Dress Shoes and Plaid Jackets.’ I’m very curious about Leon.”
    “He was a nice guy, with clean fingernails and no imagination. I don’t appreciate you bringing him into this. Or checking up on me at all.”
    Kash raised his hands in supplication. Secretly hewas pleased. She’d showed good taste in ridding herself of Leon. “You weren’t meant to have a safe, boring relationship with a man.”
    “Thank you, Mr. Manners, for the advice.”
    “I’m sorry my investigation makes you angry. But consider this—now I don’t have to wonder if you’re really who and what you say you are.” He spread his hands magnanimously. “I’ve put us light-years ahead in getting to know each other.”
    “Oh? Will you give me all the details of
your
life, so we’ll be