Fire & Ice by Anne Stuart Read Free Book Online Page A

her lip. “She has a crush on you. I don't know what you said to her or what happened in England—I was a little preoccupied .... ”
    “You and Taka were all over each other—your sister and I could have been fucking in the garden and you wouldn't have noticed.”
    Summer turned pale. “Did you?”
    “Fuck in the garden? Fuck at all? No. As a matter of fact, I don't think we even talked before I got hustled out of there.”
    Su-chan sighed. “You didn't need to. She took one look at you and lost all common sense. You shouldn't be surprised—you know you're catnip where women are concerned. They can't leave you alone.”
    “Su-chan, if your sister has fallen in love with me, then it's not my fault.”
    “She hasn't 'fallen in love,” she said crossly. “She's got a crush, that's all.”
    “How do you even know that?”
    “When she calls, she asks about you. She somehow managed to find a couple of pictures of you and has them as her computer wallpaper. Hell, she probably practices writing her name as Mrs. Jilly Reno.”
    “You're not talking about a twelve-year-old,” he pointed out.
    “Taka thinks I'm overreacting, too,” Summer said. “I know what you're like, and I wouldn't think of trying to change you. I just need you to keep away from my sister until she grows out of this.”
    “No problem. I don't like American women and I don't like California.” That wasn't strictly true—he'd always liked Los Angeles the few times he'd visited. “How long do you think it'll take her to get over me?”
    “Don't sound so self-satisfied. Teenage crushes are usually short-lived.”
    “But your sister isn't a normal teenager, is she?” He still couldn't believe how young she'd been. He'd always had a preference for women at least a couple of years older than he was—more experience, less emotion. She was the oddest combination of young body, old soul. And he hadn't been able to take his eyes off her.
    “She's twenty. And as long as you keep your distance, then everything will be all right. She's probably outgrown you by now, but I don't want to risk anything.”
    “I'm not going to hurt your sister, Su-chan.”
    “Reno, you hurt anyone who cares about you, and my sister is vulnerable. I don't want you breaking her heart.”
    “I promise I won't go anywhere near her. I don't want to have a lovesick child hanging all over me any more than you do.”
    She hadn't looked convinced, probably because Su-chan was a very smart woman, and she knew people. “You promise?”
    He'd let out a sigh of resignation. “I promise. The last thing I want is someone thinking she's in love with me. I like my sex casual.”
    She still didn't look happy. “No sex with Jilly,” she warned.
    “No conversation, no getting within five thousand miles of her. You can trust me.”
    And Su-chan had had no choice but to do so.
    But that was before Russian mercenaries had been sent to kill them and anyone who mattered to them. Summer might have preferred if someone else had come to Japan to save her sister's life, but in the end it was her life that mattered, and Summer wouldn't be picky about who helped her. Besides, Reno was making sure Jilly was so annoyed with him that she'd never want to see him again. They'd worry about the rest of it once the Russians realized they were chasing a ghost mission.
    In the meantime, they needed to disappear. His grandfather's summerhouse in the Saitama Prefecture would be perfect. It would be closed for the season, but there'd still be staff on call, just in case his austere grandfather decided he wanted a steaming mineral bath. Saitama was known for its hot springs and their restorative effects—known to cure cancer, increase a man's virility and promote long life—and his grandfathers trips had become more frequent. Maybe he was going for a shot of virility, but he doubted it. His grandfather looked old and frail. The man who'd seemed indestructible was suddenly looking mortal.
    And the last thing