Jade Island Read Online Free PDF Page B

and hold a man’s eye. The jade bracelet she wore was doubtless Burmese and of the highest quality, as was her necklace, yet Kyle didn’t seem to have noticed the jewelry. He was staring at the woman and ignoring the jade.
    Not good.
    “Maybe we should forget the whole thing,” Archer said abruptly. “I’ll put off the trip to Japan and Australia, give you more time to heal up.”
    “I told you, my shoulder is good as new,” Kyle said without looking away from Lianne.
    “Nothing is good as new after a bullet.”
    Kyle shrugged, then winced. His shoulder still ached when the weather was setting up for rain. In the Pacific Northwest, that was pretty often. “I know much more about jade than you do.”
    “Considering how little I know, that’s not much of an argument for your participation in this little waltz.”
    Kyle smiled crookedly. The non sequitur hadn’t even made Archer pause before he answered. That was the good thing about family: they knew you well enough to follow your thoughts.
    It was also the bad thing about family. That kind of knowing could be claustrophobic when there were six kids. But Kyle had learned the hard way that running off to the other side of the world didn’t prove anything except what he already knew.
    He was four years and one century younger than his oldest brother.
    “What’s really bothering you?” Kyle asked, looking at Archer. “Afraid another woman will grab me by my dumb handle and lead me into trouble?”
    “If you get hurt because of me, Susa will have my butt on a canvas stretcher.”
    “Our own mother? Ha! You’re her favorite son.”
    Archer gave Kyle a look that would have backed off anyone else.
    Kyle wasn’t about to back up anywhere. He felt like he had just taken a sucker punch to the gut. Lianne Blakely was everything that appealed to him in a woman, and he hadn’t even known it until he saw her. He had thought he liked big women; she was small. He had thought he liked blondes; she was dark. He had thought he liked outgoing, laughing women; she was quiet, poised around an inner stillness.
    One thing Kyle did know for certain was that he never wanted to be at the mercy of his dick again. Yet he wanted Lianne in a way that had nothing to do with old knowledge, old learning, old promises. His sudden, primitive arousal made him furious. He must be a slow learner on the subject of being used by a woman.
    Maybe he could be a fast learner on the subject of how to use one.
    “Don’t wait up for me,” Kyle told his brother, starting toward Lianne. “I’ve got some monkey business to conduct.”

Chapter 3
    T hough Lianne pretended to be absorbed by the exquisite jades in the display case, she knew the exact moment Kyle Donovan began to walk toward her. Even before her father had made his surprising request, she had been watching Kyle out of the corner of her eye. It was easy. Kyle Donovan had the kind of athletic body and fierce blond looks associated with Vikings.
    “We’ve got to stop meeting like this,” he said.
    Startled, Lianne glanced away from a Warring States jade buckle and into Kyle’s eyes. They were the most unusual she had ever seen: a starburst of gold around the black pupil, then green all the way to a thin outer rim of glittering black.
    “Excuse me?” she managed, trying not to stare at his eyes. “You didn’t really say that.”
    “You’re right. Must have been my evil twin brother. Got a match?”
    “I don’t smoke.”
    “Neither do I, but it seemed like a good way to strike up a conversation. I could have done something more timely, but you aren’t wearing a watch.”
    Lianne groaned at the puns and was rewarded by an off-center smile. She blinked and wondered if he had any idea how welcoming his smile was.
    “I’m Kyle Donovan,” he said, holding out his hand.“You’re Lianne Blakely. Now that we’ve met, you can tell me why you’ve been stalking me for the last two weeks.”
    Her amusement faded. For the first time,