Stormy Passion (4 page)

She stared at her reflection in the mirror.
There was no need for blush. Her cheeks had been stained a
permanent rose from the moment she'd stepped into the beach
house.

She'd always been attracted to olive-skinned
men with dark hair. Why did he have to be so damned good looking?
He favored a younger Andy Garcia, one of her favorite actors. Why
couldn't he have an ugly wart right on the end of his nose with
little hairs sticking out all around?

When Dani finally stepped out of the
bathroom, peering out to see if the coast was clear, she was
relieved to find she was alone. She scanned the room, making sure
she hadn't forgotten anything before she made her escape. She had
to get out of here! The sooner the better.

It was easy to find the kitchen. She just
followed the smell of coffee. Her stomach grumbled, reminding Dani
that she hadn't eaten since yesterday morning. When she saw the man
standing in front of the stove cooking, she almost lost her
appetite. He reached for a plate, his shirt stretching snugly
across his shoulders, and her hunger returned.

But it wasn't just food she hungered for, and
that thought scared her.

She'd played it safe all her life, and now
here she stood thinking lustful thoughts. This could mean trouble.
God, she had to get out of here. Dani cleared her throat to gain
his attention.

He glanced over his shoulder. “How do you
like your eggs?”

“
No. Don't bother.” She
shook her head. “I'm not hungry. Really.”

He raised a doubtful eyebrow. “I believe that
was your stomach growling in bed this morning, so I know you're
hungry. Besides, it's too early to tell your . . . Steven that
you've just arrived on the ferry.

“
I've been thinking about
this, and we need to decide what you're going to tell your friend.
We can do that while we eat,” he stated, looking too damn smart for
his britches as he turned the bacon. “Now, how do you want your
eggs cooked?”

“
Over light,” Dani said,
accepting his logic as she dropped her bag in the
hallway.

Maybe it won’t hurt to stay a little while
longer.

He was right. Her guilt could use some food
for company. Dani hadn't thought about what she was going to tell
Steven. She couldn't very well say, “I took the wrong turn and
drove all night.” There wasn't anything to drive on this island but
a golf cart.

“
Can I get you some
coffee?” She might as well be agreeable since he was cooking. And
she had to keep herself busy to keep her mind off
him
, what
she'd done, and what was going to happen in the future. Her head
felt twice its normal size and her temples throbbed a beat all
their own. She definitely needed some coffee.

Lots of it.

“
Please. Make mine black.”
He looked at her and grinned as he broke the egg into the pan. “By
the way, I like your shirt. It seems we do have something in
common.”

Danielle looked down, realizing that they had
on the same style shirt. “At least in clothes,” she conceded, then
reached into the cabinet and took out two coffee mugs. She watched
him from out of the corner of her eye, and she couldn't help
admiring his bronzed features and the authority in his jaw line.
“Do you have a name?”

He glanced at her before returning his
attention to the frying pan. He picked up a spatula and flipped the
eggs. “You seem to get a bit distressed if a man's name isn't
Steven,” he teased. “Are you sure you want to hear mine?”

She laughed and found the tension easing out
of her shoulders. He didn't seem threatening at all. “Be serious,”
she said while she stirred cream into her coffee mug. “I'd like to
call you something other than stranger.”

“
Adrian Massimino, at your
service,” he said as he slid her eggs onto a plate.

“
That's odd. An English
first name and an Italian surname. I can see where the Italian name
came from.”
Who couldn't see that
? her brain screamed. “But
what's the story on your first name?”

He picked up the plates and set them on the
table, then walked over to pull the drapes open. “Looks like the
sun is out,” he commented before heading back to the table. “My
mother's British, hence, the name. Don't you like it?”

Danielle was already seated, putting sugar in
her coffee when he sat down across from her. “I think it's a
beautiful name.” She looked briefly at him but her eyes drifted
back to the food. “I also think you've done a wonderful job with
breakfast.” The aroma of sugar-cured bacon, eggs, and toast tempted
her as she tried to decide where to start, knowing she had to eat
something before she could get rid of her headache.

“
I hope you enjoy it,” he
said as she reached for the salt and pepper. “Cooking is a hobby of
mine.”

“
Your wife doesn't cook?”
Dani couldn't think of any other tactful way to ask about his
marital status. And it really shouldn't matter, but for some stupid
reason it did. It was bad enough what they had done, but if he were
married.... Never mind, she told herself, noticing an odd emotion
enter his eyes.

“
Ah, Danielle. You know how
to hurt a man.” He placed his hand over his heart.

“
I'm sorry,” she
apologized. “You just look like a typical playboy.”

“
Are you always so
insulting at breakfast?” He waved his fork at her as if she were a
bad child. “If so, I definitely don't want to have lunch with you.
You'll be fully awake by then.”

After his last remark, Dani realized how she
must have sounded and smiled. “No. I'm not usually this way,
it's--it's just that I've never quite started a morning like this
before. Again, I'm sorry.”

“
Apology accepted. Just
remember, you shouldn't judge a book by its cover.”

“
With you, it's all I
have.”

“
Such a shame that we'll
not be spending more time together.” He shook his head and winked.
“Trust me. I have some very interesting pages.”

“
No doubt.” Dani laughed,
feeling more at ease with him with every passing minute. He'd
probably charmed the pantyhose off every woman he met. Considering
which, she'd be wise to change the topic, she decided
quickly.

“
This is great,” Dani
murmured, indicating the bacon. Food had never tasted so good and,
hopefully, this breakfast would stop the rumbling in her stomach.
At least then one of her problems would be solved.

“
What are you going to tell
your friend?”

“
I haven't thought about
it.” She leaned back, holding a cup of coffee between her hands.
“But the truth definitely won't do.” At least not until she figured
out her relationship with Steven. Last night was too personal and
embarrassing for her own ears much less telling someone
else.

“
I agree,” Adrian said as
he slipped three more strips of bacon onto his plate. “I think you
should tell him that you didn't arrive until this morning. And I
was at the dock and offered you a ride.”

“
That sounds good.” She
glanced at him with a question in her eyes. “You came up with that
so quickly. Do you lie often?”

“
Ah, my little shrew.” He
grinned devilishly. “I don't make it a habit, but I've had to tell
a white lie every now and then.”

Dani wasn't sure what had gotten into her.
She wasn't in the habit of attacking people, but he seemed to bring
out the fight in her. She wanted to laugh because it was so
different from her usual mild-mannered self – the one who never
took chances and always got along with everyone.

Come on, Dani, leave the man alone. Be
nice.

“
It was good of you to help
me out after this morning. I wonder what happened to
your--”

“
Call girl.” Adrian
supplied the rest. “I don't know. This island is a place to come to
get away from life. There are no phones out here, so I can't call
my friends. They probably agreed with me after they thought about
it, and decided it wasn't such a good idea and cancelled the whole
thing.”

“
What about your
girlfriend? Never mind.” Dani caught herself. “I'm sorry. It's none
of my business.” She raised her coffee mug as if to toast him.
“Anyway, belated happy birthday.”

There was a smug smile in his voice when he
held his cup up in a salute. “Thanks for the present.”

Her smile faded. “That wasn't funny.” She
shoved the chair back and stood. “It's time for me to go.”

“
Come on, Dani. You can't
hold a grudge forever.”

She felt a warm tingling at the use of her
nickname, but she ignored it. The man was insufferable. “Wanna
bet?”

“
Listen.” He stood and
caught her arm. “You can't change what happened, no matter how
badly you want to. Just think, after today you won't see me again.”
He released her, then started to remove the plates from the table.
“That should make you happy,” he added with a touch of
sarcasm.

Danielle didn't bother to comment as she
turned and watched him leave the room. Happy wouldn't be quite the
word she would have used. His faded jeans were threadbare and a
knee showed through one leg. Evidently, he wasn't the proprietor of
this house. Probably more like the caretaker, or maybe a friend of
the owners. On second thought, her first impression was probably
right. He was a playboy--only broke.

“
Let me get my keys, then
I'll help you with your bags,” Adrian said from the hallway, then
he glanced around the room, trying to remember where he'd put his
house keys.

He was letting the woman get under his skin,
and for no reason whatsoever. Usually he chased women with the
ultimate goal of getting them into bed. Then, somehow, his interest
always waned.

Now, however, everything was backward. He'd
bedded a woman he knew nothing about, and the most irritating thing
was: he really wanted to get to know her better. Adrian’s interest
was stimulated. He felt like a man in a desert who needed a drink
of water. He'd been given a sip, but he wanted ... no,
needed
the whole jug.

Searching through the pockets of the slacks
he’d worn yesterday, he found the lost set of keys. He'd never
misplaced his keys before. Come to think about it, he was acting
like a man in the desert who had been out in the sun too long.
Instead of being eager to get rid of her, he was thinking how sexy
and desirable Danielle Kapur was, and how easy it would be to
forget his vow of no serious relationships.

Strolling back to the kitchen, he realized he
needed to get this woman out of his house. Fast.

He was delusional.

As Dani waited by the door for Adrian, she
glanced at her watch and realized it was even later than she'd
thought. In half an hour it would be lunch time, and they had just
finished breakfast. Suddenly the old saying, “the early bird
catches the worm” sprang into her thoughts.

She'd definitely caught a worm--but the wrong
worm. Her cheeks grew warm. She had blushed more in the last
twenty-four hours than she had in a lifetime. How was she ever
going to forget this awful mistake?

“
Let's go.” Adrian brushed
past her and opened the door, holding it while he waited for her to
go through.

A warm breeze whipped through the door with a
great amount of force, and Dani had to catch it to keep it from
slamming. “My Goodness, the winds are strong here. I'm really
surprised the sun is out today.” Dani picked up the smaller of the
two bags and walked outside. “It sure looked stormy yesterday.”

Adrian locked the front door and punched the
security code. “I would have bet money we were in for a downpour,”
he commented, then moved over and examined an instrument hanging on
the side of the house just under the eve. “When I glanced at the
ocean this morning, it looked choppy.”

“
What's that?” Dani asked,
indicating the instrument he had consulted.

“
A barometer. And the
pressure is falling.”

“
Which means?”

He turned to her and smiled. “It means this
bright, blue sky and this unusual warm temperature is not what
we're going to be having twenty-four hours from now,” he said, not
certain if what he expected were true. “I’m sure we're in for a
September storm.”

“
Too bad,” she said, then
turned and started for the steps. “I guess I won't get a suntan,
then.”

Adrian didn’t comment. Instead, he wished
that Sea Horse Island was the home of nude beaches instead of
well-respected family homes.

How he'd love to take warm coconut oil and
rub down every inch of Danielle Kapur's luscious body.

Chapter Three

Danielle started down the stairs and Adrian
followed, his gaze straying to the beautiful long hair that swayed
across her back and shone like honey-gold wheat. “You always have
today to sunbathe,” he answered, referring to her earlier
statement. He envisioned her in a skimpy bikini, and his body
hardened at the thought.

Stop it,
Adrian warned himself. He
didn't need any complications. And this woman spelled
complications. He liked his life just the way it was at the moment
. . . peaceful.

After backing the golf cart out of the
garage, Adrian glanced over to the woman beside him. She was much
too quiet, and he wondered what thoughts tumbled through her mind.
Was she looking forward to throwing her arms around Steven's neck
and making mad, passionate love to him as
they
had the night
before? Did she really love the man? His jaw tightened. He really
didn’t give a damn, he reminded himself.