Unexpected by Lori Foster Page A

was just being possessive.” He grinned, remembering Jane’s expression. “You made quite a grand entrance last night. Really took her by surprise.”
    Ray snorted in doubt. “Not a fiancée, yet she came all the way from Kentucky to declare herself, to offer up her body and her undying love?”
    Beneath the sarcasm, Eli could hear Ray’s genuine curiosity. And the way she didn’t quite meet his eyes was telling. He knew her question wasn’t just to pass the time and that pleased him, especially since she had been so careful to remain impersonal. “Jane has a business office here, also. She probably had a meeting to attend and decided to kill two birds with one stone. Actually, she travels a lot more than I do. We generally don’t see each other all that often.”
    â€œThen how did the two of you ever get together?”
    Briefly, Eli considered teasing her about the forbidden nature of her personal question, but he didn’t want to discourage her. It’d give him leverage when he got around to asking his own questions.
    But he also wasn’t willing to go into detail, sensing that Ray would find too many differences in their backgrounds. “With each of us in the department store industry, we have similar interests.”
    Ray’s dark eyes were enigmatic and unconvinced. But as if she’d belatedly recalled her rules, she said “Whatever.” She had one arm crossed over her stomach, the other holding her cup. “You have anything for breakfast? I’m starved.”
    Her outspoken manner and brazen attitude delighted him. She was so different from other women he’d known. Hell, she was different from the men he’d known, too. “Tell you what. Why don’t you get dressed and we can go out for breakfast?”
    She shook her head. “No, I’d rather eat here. We still need to get you some clothes, and you need to gather up some cash and book our flights into southern Texas this afternoon.”
    â€œCash?”
    â€œTo pay off the informants. It’ll be cheaper than the ransom would have been, but it’s going to cost you.” She gave him a suggested amount to have on hand, her sharp gaze waiting for any resistance. It was less than he’d anticipated paying, so he didn’t argue.
    â€œAfter we land in Texas, we’ll meet up with a friend of mine who’ll fly us into Mataya in the morning. We may have to spend one night there depending on how things roll out with my contacts. Then we get your brother and come home.”
    â€œJust like that?” He was amazed by how simple she made it sound, how nonchalantly she discussed invading a foreign country and enacting a clandestine rescue.
    â€œI hope. Things can always go wrong, but there’s usually a way to correct problems before anything disastrous happens.”
    She stood and walked to his cabinets to scrounge for food. Eli leaned back and enjoyed the sight. She had a terrific body, honed and sleek like a female jungle cat, sexy in a way only a female body could be.
    She was on the slim side, her hips flaring gently from a narrow waist. Her breasts weren’t large, but they were high and firm, displayed beneath the cotton shirt when she stretched up her arm to reach for a bowl.
    Her nipples pressed against the soft cotton and he felt his muscles twitch. Damn.
    After locating a loaf of bread, some eggs, and the bologna and cheese, she searched for a pan. “I’m going to cook. You want some?”
    â€œUh, what are you making?” Eli was pleased that she’d offered to fix him breakfast, but he wasn’t sure he wanted to eat whatever she intended to concoct with her ingredients. Bologna for breakfast didn’t seem particularly appetizing.
    â€œI’ll just scramble the eggs and the bologna and cheese together. Sort of a lazy man’s omelet. Trust me, it’s good.”
    Actually, he would have said