Read Donovans 02 - Jade Island for Free Online Page A

sales or to meet the Tangs would have made Lianne laugh, but the look in Kyle’s unwavering eyes took the humor right out of the situation. The wishful thinking she had done about taking care of two problems at once—her promise to Johnny and her own protection—evaporated.
    “Please do,” Lianne said. “I think you would be charming stuffed. In fact, it’s undoubtedly the only way you could be charming.”
    Without intending to, Kyle laughed. “Oh, I have my moments.”
    “I’m breathless.”
    He took her hand, raised it slowly to his lips, and brushed a Continental kiss over her fingers.
    “Let’s start over again,” he said, putting her hand between his. “I’m Kyle, you’re Lianne, we’re both human, and we’re both interested in Chinese jade. What else do we have in common?”
    “My hand.”
    “A very nice hand,” Kyle agreed without releasing it.“Small, clean, warm, elegant shape, nails buffed but not lacquered. That’s another thing we have in common.”
    “Buffed fingernails?”
    “Warmth,” he said, running a fingertip lightly over her palm.
    Lianne felt breath filling up her throat. “All right. You have moments of charm. May I have my hand back?”
    “Sure you want it?”
    “I’m very attached to it.”
    Kyle grinned. “And you wince at my puns.”
    He released her hand by letting it slide slowly from between his own. Hoping to conceal the slight quiver of her response to what felt very much like a caress, Lianne laced her fingers together as soon as both hands were free.
    “All present and accounted for?” he asked dryly.
    “What?”
    “Your fingers.”
    “Oh. Er, yes. All ten. Thanks.”
    “You’re welcome. I rarely eat digits on first acquaintance.”
    Lianne blew out her breath. She had a distinct feeling that the conversation was slipping right out of her control.
    The combination of alarm and humor in her expression got to Kyle more deeply than her taut little body and wide cognac eyes. In some ways she reminded him of Honor and Faith, his younger twin sisters, who often started more than they could finish with their older brothers.
    A burst of Mandarin came from behind Kyle. The only word he recognized was Lianne’s name. Though she didn’t move an inch, she seemed to withdraw behind a thick glass shield. Whoever was heading toward her wasn’t someone she wanted to see.
    Kyle turned and saw a thickset, middle-aged man bearing down on them. The two younger men walking behind him could have been his sons or nephews or cousins or business associates, but Kyle doubted it. Something about them smacked of bodyguards.
    Then Kyle recognized the older man as Han Wu Sengand was certain that the other men were bodyguards. Seng was one of the People’s Republic of China’s foremost political facilitators. Anyone who needed a few million for a good political cause could come to Seng, trade favors, and walk away a richer man. No wire transfers, no paper trail. Cash only. Hence the bodyguards. He never knew when he would meet a hungry politician, so he was always prepared for business.
    Seng strode up and stood very close to Lianne by anyone’s cultural standards. By mainland Chinese standards, it was nearly a physical assault.
    She stepped back as though turning to say something to Kyle, but it was just a polite excuse to put more distance between herself and Seng. He was one of the biggest reasons Lianne wanted Kyle at her side in the next few weeks, until Seng was called back to the mainland.
    Seng wanted her. He was known for getting what he wanted, whether it was jade, political power, or a woman. What worried Lianne was that Wen Zhi Tang was eager to form a liaison with Seng, hoping it would lead to the Tangs being viewed with more favor by the mainland Chinese. While she didn’t care about Tang ambitions, for both personal and professional reasons she didn’t want to anger her grandfather.
    “There you are,” Seng said impatiently. “You were to be with the Tang