The way Jane smiled, so easily and so accepting, made Banan contemplate the last time he’d been happy like that. He searched through the eons of his memories, but found only a couple of occasions where he’d been blissful.
It wasn’t difficult to remember the last time he was truly happy, back when he was still a dragon. The time before man had come to the land. A time when the skies, land, and water had been filled with dragons.
Banan turned away from such dark thoughts as Jane walked his way. He wasn’t sure what prompted him, but Banan suddenly stepped out in front of her.
There was a flare of distress in her brown eyes before it quickly faded as recognition took hold. She smiled shyly, and he felt another jolt of untamed lust burn through him.
“Banan. What are you doing here?”
He said the first thing he thought of. “How about dinner?”
She eyed him skeptically. “With me? You want to have dinner with me?”
“Is that so odd?” he asked with a chuckle.
“Yes. Yes, it is.” She looked around her then.
Banan inwardly cursed himself. He should’ve known she would be on edge from whatever had sent her rushing out of PureGems.
“Look,” he said, and caught her gaze. “I…well, I’ve been waiting for you to get home.”
She took a step back. “Why?”
Banan was going to have to convince her he was on her side, and quickly, or risk losing valuable time getting to know more about Jane and PureGems. “I wanted to ask you to dinner. I’m usually more suave,” he said with a grin. “I had it all planned out, you see. It didna exactly go as planned.”
For several long minutes, Jane simply stared at him. Finally she shrugged and held up the wine. “I’ve not had a good day at work. I’m not sure if I’m fit company.”
“Let me be the judge,” Banan said and took the wine from her. “Why no’ put away your things and we’ll go eat. I know you’re hungry. I can hear your stomach growling.”
His grin spread when her eyes widened in embarrassment.
“I am hungry.” She paused and bit the left side of her lip with straight, white teeth. “As much as your offer appeals to me, I need to cook.”
“You need to cook?” he repeated, unsure what she meant.
She nodded and wrinkled her nose with a grin. “I know it sounds silly. Some people exercise, some people garden, but I cook to de-stress. And I really need it today.”
His invitation had been a surprise even to him, but he found he wanted to take her out to dinner. He didn’t like the disappointment that welled inside him.
“I always make too much when I cook,” she said hesitantly. “If you’re in the mood for Italian, why don’t you come up. I’m a pretty decent cook.”
Banan’s smile was slow as it pulled at his lips. “I’d like that verra much.”
And he was shocked at just how true that statement was.
Chapter 4
Jane winced when she saw the state of her flat. She wished she’d spared a few minutes that morning and picked up. As it was, there was a small pile of laundry—with her panties—on the couch.
Her empty milk glass from the night before was on the end table, and she hastily snatched it up and threw a pillow over her laundry as she walked past. Jane put the glass down by the sink, grateful that at least her kitchen was clean.
“Why don’t you open the wine while I get out of these heels?” she asked.
Banan gave a nod, and once Jane showed him where the opener was, she grabbed the laundry and headed into her small bedroom.
Only after tossing the clean clothes on a chair did she sink onto the bed, wondering what had gotten into her, offering to cook for him. It was so unlike her to be so forward, and though she knew she’d inevitably do something klutzy or say something inane, she still wanted to get to know Banan.
Which, again, was so at odds with her life normally.
She wasn’t without her share of boyfriends, but she’d never felt truly comfortable around any of them. Not that Banan made her feel comfortable, exactly. Quite the opposite, really.
Her body was in a constant state of jumbled nerves, her blood always pounding in her ears, but it was the heat, the unbelievable attraction that pulled her to him yet again.
Even more odd, it seemed being around him appeared to…change her. Not that she could explain how. She was nervous, but a different nervous.
Jane inwardly laughed. Those weren’t the right words, but it was true. She was a changed person around Banan. Someone who wasn’t quite sure how to respond to the way her body reacted to his.
With a sigh, she rose and stripped out of her camel-colored shirtdress and heels, and then stopped in front of her closet. Did she go comfortable in yoga pants and her oversized sweatshirt that hung off her shoulder?
Or did she go for the jeans and a black tee that had been a favorite of hers since she bought it?
Jane opted for the jeans and tee. She ran her hands down the formfitting tee as she looked herself over in the mirror. A quick run of her fingers through her hair, and she walked from the room to discover Banan looking at the shelf of her family photos.
He turned with a smile and handed her the glass of red wine he held. “Is this your mum?”
“Yes,” she said after taking a drink. “That was taken during a trip to the coast one summer. It was a girls’ week.”
Banan’s dark brows rose. “A girls’ week?”
Jane padded into the kitchen and pulled out a large pot she filled with water. “Me, my mom, and three of my female cousins would try to take a trip like that as often as we could. It was girl bonding, as my mom called it.”
“Interesting,” Banan said as he slid onto the stool at the bar and watched her. “Can I help?”
“Nope. You talk while I cook.”
Jane set the water to boil before she pulled out garlic, onion, and basil to cut up. She placed the cutting board on the counter as she faced Banan and began to chop.
“How is it you love to cook?”
She smiled as she thought of her family. “My uncle owned a restaurant in Seattle. He was the chef, and all the kids in the family worked there. It wasn’t always easy working for family, but I developed my love of cooking from him.”