Stormy Passion (3 page)

She didn’t have to ask twice. He spread her
thighs so he could fulfill both their longings. Her arms wrapped
around him as he slipped his hands beneath her hips, lifting her
slightly to meet his need. And then ... Nothing . . . .

Adrian couldn’t believe it. He glanced down
at her. Damned if she hadn't passed out.

The woman had passed out in the heat of
passion.

Damn! He must be losing his touch.

Adrian eased himself to the side with a
chuckle. This most certainly had never happened to him before. “I
want a refund,” he murmured, but as he watched the glorious angel
beside him, he decided it was probably for the best. He pulled her
next to him and wrapped his arms around her glad for the
company.

Tomorrow he'd send her on her way.

The next morning, Dani had barely opened her
eyes, before she winced at the pain. Boy, did her head hurt. A
hangover. Her first. And definitely her last. How did anyone get
drunk more than once?

She longed to sleep some more, but the
pounding in her temples prevented any possibility of that.
Reluctantly, she opened her eyes and saw a mass of black hair on a
well built chest. It took a few minutes for her to realize she was
with Steven.

Last night had been wonderful. Or what she
could remember. She never knew she could feel this happy.

With a heart bursting with love, she rubbed
her fingers happily across his chest and sighed.

“
What are you thinking,
this morning?” a husky male voice asked.

That voice. It-it was strange. “I was
thinking how much I love you,” she admitted but immediately
regretted the words when she felt his muscles tense beneath her
cheek.

She didn't miss the coldness in his tone when
he asked, “Isn't this a little sudden?”

What was it about that voice? Maybe it was
just her hangover. “I wouldn't call four years sudden. Don't tease
me, Steven. I have a headache.”

“
It must be a hell of a
headache if you think my name is
Steven
.”

Dani’s hand jerked to a sudden stop as a cold
fear crawled up her spine.

W-what did he say? She couldn't possibly have
heard him correctly. Steven was just playing another sick joke on
her.

Wasn't he?

Her hand trembled as she pushed herself up
into a sitting position, then swung to face . . . .

Chapter Two

A stranger!

Danielle Kapur had no idea that she could
move with such haste and agility as she leapt from the bed to
position herself as far away from him as possible.

Her eyes widened in horror at the . . . the
stranger she'd slept with. Oh God, what had she done and how had it
happened? That was a stupid question, she scolded herself. She knew
exactly how it had happened – she’d climbed in bed with the wrong
person.

The man had his arms folded across his chest
as he smiled at her. He didn't look anything like Steven. They were
about the same height with the same coloring, close enough to
mistake in the dark, maybe, but that was where the similarity
ended. His strong jaw suggested he was a take-charge kind of guy, a
guy who would take no nonsense from anyone. But he most certainly
was no one she'd seen before.

“
Who the hell are you?” she
asked.

No answer. Instead, he stared at her with
that same smug expression, reminding her of a cat who had cornered
a mouse.

Danielle couldn’t stand the silence. “Well,
aren't you going to say something?”

“
Nice view,” he commented
leisurely, his grin widening as his gaze traveled over her body,
seeming to burn every place it lingered.

Only then did Danielle glance down and
realize she stood
stark naked
in front of him, her hands on
her hips, asking for explanations.

“
Pervert!” she spat, her
face heating with embarrassment and humiliation. Quickly, she
snatched the bedspread off the bed and wrapped it around her before
turning back to face the enemy. “What are you doing here? And who
are you?”

“
If you remember correctly,
sweetheart, I was here before you were.” He propped a couple of
pillows up on the headboard, apparently to make himself more
comfortable. “If calling me Steven makes you feel better and calms
you down, I'll gladly change my name.”

“
Changing your name won't
help. Y--you're not who you're supposed to be ... I mean, you're
not supposed to be here. Y--you're not who I expected!”

“
Sorry to disappoint you,”
he said, a look of irritation flickering across his face. “I don't
know what you're so excited about. I intend to pay you--” He raised
a brow before continuing, “--for a job well done. And if you'd like
to stay another night ... I'll double the price.”

“
Pay me,” Dani tilted her
head to the side. “For what?”

“
Come now ... you're a
modest little wh--”

“
A--a whore?” Danielle's
humiliation soared to new heights. Her cheeks heated like glowing,
hot embers. As a matter of fact, her whole body burned with
indignation. “You son of a bitch! How dare you speak to me like
that!” It didn't matter that she'd slept with him--made mad
passionate love to him—or at least she thought she had since she
couldn’t remember, but he had no right to speak to her as if she
were a tramp. Why, he didn't even know her. Which, she'd like to
point out, was the problem. “I am not a whore!”

His brows drew together in puzzlement as if
he finally realized that something wasn't right. “If you're not my
birthday present, then who the hell are you?”

“
I believe that's the exact
question I asked you just a few minutes ago,” Danielle informed
him.

She took a deep breath, then continued, “But
seeing as you've lost your memory, I'll tell you who I am. My name
is Danielle Kapur, and I came here to meet my--”

“
I believe the name was
Steven,” the cad supplied with an expression of distaste as if he
knew Steven.

“
I can prove you’re in the
wrong house.” Picking up the end of her bedspread as one would the
train of a gown, Dani moved with as much dignity as she could
muster to the side of the bed where her skirt lay crumpled on the
floor. The accusing evidence reminded her all too well that she
hadn't thought twice about removing her clothing last night. He
must really think the worst of her. Flashbacks of the evening
popped into her mind, especially when he'd run his hand up her
skirt. She shook her head to dispel the image and fumbled in the
pocket for the slip of paper she'd stuffed in there last night. She
needed to prove that she wasn't crazy. Grasping the slip of paper,
Dani shoved it at him. “See! That's the address he gave
me.”

Adrian unfolded the crumpled paper. Scrawled
across the plain white sheet were three numbers 699. He smiled, and
it took all of his willpower not to laugh at the twist of fate that
had put this poor girl in the wrong house, at the wrong time and,
to his satisfaction, with the wrong man. Turning the paper upside
down he handed it back to her and said, “Are you sure it was 699
Sandy Lane?”

Dani gaped at the numbers. She'd been in a
hurry when she'd jotted them down, and the doorbell had rung at the
same time. She could have been mistaken. Then the stark cold
realization hit her with a wallop. She should have gone to 669
Sandy Lane. The blood slowly left her face and she felt
light-headed. She
had
come to the wrong house. What a
terrible mistake.

God, she could just die.

Dani was thinking about fainting when she
heard him chuckle as he smugly watched her mull over her
predicament. He crossed his legs beneath the sheet which, thank the
Lord, still covered his lower body, then he folded his hands behind
his head. He could have, at least, had the decency not to laugh.
Yet he seemed to be enjoying himself way too much.

Although she realized she'd probably regret
it, Dani knew she had to do something to wipe that superior
expression off his face. Then the full impact of what she'd done
really sank in, and her eyes grew wide. “My God, I could get
AIDS!”

She covered her mouth with one hand, but then
the bedspread started to slide, and she had to clamp her arms down
again. “How often do you do this? Have you ever had any
diseases?”

She knew she was rambling, but she couldn’t
stop herself. She peered at him sharply. “God knows what kind of
other diseases you have. You probably do this all the time. Don't
you?”

Her last remark hit home. At least, she had
finally wiped the smirk off his face. Coldness clouded his dark,
mysterious eyes, and Danielle sensed she'd better move, but before
she could back away from the bed, he reached out and grabbed her
arm, jerking her back onto the bed.

He pinned her arms above her head, his
glowering face hovering just above hers. His brown eyes were almost
black as he stared down at her.

Dani began to struggle, but he simply
tightened his grip by squeezing her wrist until she stopped.

“
No, sweetheart. I don't
have to pay women,” he whispered, between clenched teeth. “They're
usually more than willing to have my attention.” He paused, and she
could tell he was trying to regain his composure. “And I can assure
you, I have a clean bill of health. I don't believe I heard any
complaints last night.” A devilish gleam entered his eyes as he
lowered his head and nuzzled her neck to prove his
point.

“
D--don't.” Even to her own
ears her protest sounded feeble.

His mouth moved over hers. His tongue
tentatively urged her lips apart, sending liquid heat surging
through her body and making her forget who she was and what she was
doing here. Damn he was good.

Dani moaned, bringing them both back to their
senses. When she dared to open her eyes, he tilted his head and
smiled. Only then did Danielle realize he'd let go of her hands,
and she had her fingers entangled in his hair. She was mortified at
her wanton behavior.

“
You don't seem to be
thinking of your precious Steven now,” he taunted her.

Steven was the farthest thing from her mind,
but she’d never admit the truth. Placing both hands on his chest,
she shoved him away and slid from the bed. “I won't be bothering
you much longer. I'll get dressed and leave.”

Adrian watched the hellcat walk haughtily
toward the bathroom--in the wrong direction. “It's the other way,”
he told her, then chuckled when she pretended he hadn't spoken. At
least she did change directions.

What a perfect beauty she was ... and what a
stroke of luck ... no bad luck, Adrian decided. She was the only
woman who had stirred his interest in a long, long time, and she
already had a boyfriend, the unfortunate Steven.

Of course, he could tell her that she'd
passed out and nothing happened, but that would spoil the fun. He
grinned. Perhaps a little suffering would improve her
disposition.

Adrian shoved out of bed, not caring that he
was naked, and went to the closet to retrieve his favorite pair of
ragged, blue jeans. As he donned a chambray shirt, he figured it
was just as well she was leaving. He didn't have time for another
woman complicating his life. His last girlfriend had complained
that she talked to his secretary more than she talked to him. Women
were trouble as far as he was concerned, and most only saw dollar
signs dancing before their eyes.

Adrian made a decision -– he’d do the right
thing. He could at least take Ms. Kapur to the correct address and
deposit her in her precious Steven's hands.

With that decision made, he needed some
strong coffee. He had drunk a little too much last night, himself,
and he needed the reviving caffeine. Adrian wondered how she would
explain her absence to her boyfriend as he scooped the coffee out
of the decanter and dropped it into a filter. After pouring water
into the coffee maker, he rubbed the back of his neck. The son of a
bitch had better not give Ms. Kapur any trouble. After all,
sleeping together had clearly been a mistake on both their
parts.

Danielle tried to scrub the stranger's touch
from her body, but it was no use. He seemed to have branded her
with his strokes and his scent. All she had to do was shut her eyes
and she could feel how his lips had caressed hers with the hottest
kisses she'd ever experienced. Steven had never turned her into a
quivering mass of jelly, mindless to everything around her.

But the man was a perfect stranger.

And
perfect
was the optimum word.
Someone she knew nothing about. Hell, she didn't even know his
name! That produced a rueful laugh. When she should have been
running away, Dani found she wanted to find out his name. Somehow,
her logical side seemed to have clicked off ever since she'd
stepped into this house.

God, did her head hurt! She didn't need to be
thinking--she needed to get moving.

“
Damn, Dani. How could a
nice girl like you get in this kind of situation?” She knew she was
on the verge of hysteria, and she had to calm down. “Okay, Dani,
you're a big girl. You can handle this. Take a couple of deep
breaths. You can handle this!” She reached over and turned off the
water.

Steven would make her forget. He would erase
the interloper's touch. But did she want him too? She shook her
head. Of course, she did.

After Dani dried off, she looked into her bag
and pulled out a pair of navy blue shorts and her favorite chambray
shirt which had belonged to her brother. She liked big, baggy,
comfortable clothes at the beach.

She looked in the cabinet and found a hair
dryer, which she used to dry her long, blonde hair. She didn't take
time for makeup. She had to get out of this house. But what was she
going to tell Steven? How could she have come to the wrong
house?