Free Tempted by Her Innocent Kiss by Maya Banks Page A

was now lying on the floor in pieces.

    She dropped to the floor, groaning her dismay. It looked as if the battery had just popped out but how could she be sure? What if she’d broken it? Who knew what all-important, irreplaceable things he had on his laptop. If he was anything like her father and brother and countless other family members, his entire life was in the damn thing.
    Okay, she knew her way around computers. She may not spend her life on one, but she was capable of working one. Or determining whether or not she’d just broken her husband’s.
    She put the battery back in, checked for further damage and then pressed the power button, praying that it would come on. After a moment, the black screen of death remained and she let out another groan.
    In frustration, she punched several buttons on the keyboard, willing something—anything—to come to life. The problem was, as soon as she began pressing the keys, the monitor blinked and she was treated to a dozen programs opening and flashing in rapid succession.
    At least the damn thing worked.
    She bit her lip in consternation and began closing the programs down. There were lots of Excel spreadsheets, countless charts and graphs that made her head swim. Halfway through she was struck by the fear that none of these were saved or that she was losing valuable information.
    As much as she didn’t want to ruin the moment, she’d be better off telling Devon what happened and let him sort out his laptop. That way tomorrow when he opened it up, there would be no nasty surprises.
    She downsized the pdf that looked to be more a mammoth-sized report when her name caught her eye.
    She slowed down to read, her fingers pausing on the keyboard. It was an email from her father and she smiled as she saw the reference to her as his baby.
    But what she read next halted her in her tracks.
    I’ve
    had
    time
    to
    consider
    your

    reservations in regard to Ashley and perhaps you were right to be concerned.
    I don’t want you to think I discounted your intuition, but rather I want you to understand that I want her protected at all costs. Her knowing the truth of our arrangement isn’t necessary even as I understand
    why
    perhaps
    you’re
    uncomfortable with it. She’s my only daughter and I love her dearly. The truth is, I’d rather she never know that the marriage is a condition of the merger.
    You are a welcome addition to this family and I trust that you’ll always act in her best interests, which is why I implore you to remain silent as to our agreement.
    Stunned, Ashley stared at the screen, sure that she couldn’t have understood this correctly. She was jumping to conclusions, something her mother had always accused her of.
    She admonished herself to remain calm even though her pulse was racing so hard that she could literally feel it jumping in her neck and in her temples.
    She returned to the email, forcing the blurry words to focus.
    “Ashley?”
    She yanked her head up, startled as Devon suddenly loomed over her.
    “It fell,” she croaked out. “Off the mantel. I was afraid it was broken. The battery fell out of it. When I put it back together and started it back up, all these programs opened and I was trying to shut them all down.”
    He reached down to take the laptop, but she held onto it, with bloodless fingers.
    He swore when he caught sight of what she was reading and he wrested the computer from her grip.
    “Give it back, Devon. I want to know what it says.” He closed it with a sharp snap and tucked it underneath his arm. “There’s nothing you need to see.”
    “Don’t lie to me,” she grit out. “I read most of it. Or at least the important parts. I want to know what the hell it means.”
    Devon stared back at her, his lips drawn in a thin line. He looked as though he’d rather be anywhere but here, doing anything but having this conversation with her. Too bad. She wasn’t about to back down.
    “Nothing good can come of it, Ash. Just forget it,