The Collector's Edition Volume 1 Read Free Page A

with a bevy of intense Chinese engineers.
    ‘There isn’t going to be much time for entertainment once you’re here on the job,’ she warned, her mouth tightening, her stomach tightening at the thought of him turning up at Lin Zhiyong’s party with another woman. How on earth would she save face in those circumstances?
    ‘Don’t worry about Baby. I’ll look after her. Just book us a room in the best hotel there is in Xi’an.’
    ‘It isn’t five star international,’ she said tartly. Surely Dan couldn’t be serious about a woman he called Baby.
    ‘I don’t expect Baby will notice. A roof over her head, food to eat, me to love her…’
    A bed was probably the only requirement, Jayne thought waspishly. ‘Could you please send a confirming fax of your agreement to take over from Mr. Castle? It will prevent any problems from developing here.’
    ‘Give me your fax number.’
    She did so, trying to quell her irritation that he would not be as single-minded as she in completingthe project for Monty. If Baby caused complications or delays…Jayne shook her head. She had no choice but to accept the situation and do what she could to circumvent any distractions from getting the project completed on schedule.
    ‘Which way will you be coming in?’ she asked. ‘From Tokyo or Hong Kong?’
    ‘On Dragon Air from Hong Kong.’
    ‘I’ll have someone waiting for you at Hong Kong airport with the necessary visas, letters, et cetera for entry.’
    ‘Thank you, Jayne.’
    Her skin prickled at the sensual caress in his voice. She had forgotten how he could evoke responses like that simply with an expressive change of tone. It was something she would have to guard against.
    She should probably ask for Baby’s name, but it could be filled in on the paperwork before the flight into China. If it was something like Peach Bubbles, she would probably throw up.
    ‘Please keep me posted on your journey,’ she said stiffly. ‘I’ll be at Xi’an airport to meet you.’
    ‘No need for that. We’ll see you at Lin Zhiyong’s party. Baby and I will look forward to it.’
    A heated breath hissed between Jayne’s teeth. How could any woman stand being spoken of in such a patronising manner? Did having a free meal and travel ticket compensate for such de-meaning paternalism? Was Baby’s brain dulledby a sexual drive that consumed any rational thought?
    ‘Is there anything else you want done before you arrive here?’ she asked, keeping her tone crisp and level. ‘Mr. Castle instructed me to give you every assistance with the job.’
    ‘Yes, I thought he would. Is that hard for you, Jayne?’
    ‘Not at all,’ she tossed off as blithely as she could.
    ‘I wouldn’t want to make your life miserable again.’
    ‘Different circumstances, aren’t they?’ she grated, furious that he would imply such a thing in front of the woman he was bringing with him.
    ‘Of course,’ he agreed. ‘Then we shall meet once more under a full moon. As I recall, the Mid-Autumn Festival is celebrated when the moon is at its fullest and brightest.’
    The line was disconnected before she could make a comeback. Not that she had one. Better not to acknowledge the memory he had evoked anyway. It was in absolutely rotten taste for him to allude to the heady romance of their very first meeting when he was not only carrying on an intimate affair with another woman, but escorting that woman to Lin Zhiyong’s full-moon party!
    She crashed the receiver down on its cradle and glared at it with gathering turbulence. Her lips compressed. Dan Drayton had better keep hismind completely focused on work when he was with her. As fond as she was of Monty, her loyalty to him did not extend to tolerating insidious remarks about the past. If Dan Drayton once tried to put anything on her that was inappropriate to the situation, he would get a demonstration of Dragon Lady the like of which no one had ever seen before!
    The fax machine signalled an incoming message.