Free Heart of the Dragon by Deborah Smith

even?”
    He nodded, then leaned forward and propped his chin on one hand. “I’m thirty years old, I have a business degree from Harvard, I work for my adopted father’s private security service, I’m unmarried, honest, honorable, but not the most lighthearted person in the world. I’m a firm believer in not believing. If anyone hurts my loved ones, they hurt me. If I’m assigned to do a job, I finish it. I know how to fight. There. You know me.”
    “Thanks for the detailed info. I’ll write it down on the back of a stamp.”
    “I’ve told you what you want to hear. It’s the truth. If I told you more, you wouldn’t like it. I’d never fit in with your warm little vision of the world.”
    She chuckled fiendishly. “I’ve already made up much worse stories about you than could ever be true. So talk.”
    Kash shook his head slowly, and watched the taunt fade from her eyes. He had the disturbing notion that she sensed the darkness in him, and he wondered if she was afraid of him. The thought that someone like her would be shocked or disgusted by his childhood didn’t surprise him. He’d been careful over the years never to discuss his past with anyone, after a few pitying and repulsed people had hurt him with their reactions.
    “You can’t imagine,” he said grimly. “But never fear, the dragon won’t breathe fire on your angel wings.”
    She brought her chopsticks up in the air as if shewanted to reach across the table and pinch him. “So now that you’ve used some kind of sleazy private-eye team to check on me, am I innocent? Does it matter that I’m exactly what I said I am?”
    “It helps. And by the way, the organization I work for—my father’s organization—is one of the most respected private intelligence groups in the world. We take only high-level cases. In fact, this minor job for the Vatan family is only a favor. My father was an old friend of Mayura’s uncle. Ordinarily we specialize in international terrorism and kidnapping cases.”
    She looked suspicious but intrigued. “You must make a lot of money.”
    “At times. But I was adopted into a wealthy man’s home, so neither he nor I do this work for the money. My father is interested in giving something beneficial back to society. And we do.”
    “Why should I believe that, when you won’t believe me?”
    “I have no reason to deceive you. No personal involvement with the Vatan family. Nothing to gain.”
    “So you say. But you think I could be lying about my reasons for wanting to meet Mayura?”
    “Exactly. It’s my job to be suspicious.”
    “No, I think it comes naturally to you.” She made a growling sound of disgust, dropped her chopsticks on the table, and rose abruptly. Snagging the small white purse she’d bought to match the white flats she wore, she slung the long strap over her shoulder, gave Kash a menacing look, and walked away.
    He tossed some bills on the table and went after her, sliding his hand around her bare forearm as he caught up with her on the crowded sidewalk. The contact brought them both to an abrupt, highly charged stop. “Be patient, Corn Blossom,” he said as lightly as he could. “We’re making progress.”
    “You’re making progress,” she retorted, “but I’m getting a royal Siamese pain.”
    “Let’s walk and enjoy the scenery. A block or two from here we can stroll along one of the prettier canals.”
    “I don’t ‘stroll’ in this elastic bandage of a skirt, I wiggle.”
    “Yes,” he admitted, giving her a sideways glance. “Every inch of you. That’s the scenery I was referring to.”
    A flush crept up her cheeks, but she squinted at him defiantly. “Since you’ve found out everything about me, you must know that I’ve never worn anything provocative in my whole life. So why’d you buy this dress for me—as a joke?”
    Kash dropped the taunting attitude and looked at her with a troubled frown. “Take a chance. Be who you want to be. I suspect you want a dress