Stormy Passion (8 page)

Dani jumped at his deep baritone voice, and
her humming came to an abrupt stop. Hopefully, he couldn't read her
thoughts. “Just about.”

“
What was that tune you
were humming?” Adrian asked as they went back to the living
room.

“
Just a little tune that
floats around in my head.”

“
Does it have a
name?”

“
It's not a popular tune. I
watched a Disney movie with my niece and the tune just sort of
stuck.”

“
But it
does
have a
name?”

Dani knew he would laugh at her childhood
tune. But it was apparent he wasn't going to give up as he
positioned himself on the floor opposite her. “Yes,” she finally
admitted.

“
Well?”

“
Someday My Prince Will
Come
”, she reluctantly told him.

Adrian laughed just as she’d known he would.
Not just a small chuckle, but a hearty, stomach-holding laugh, “Ah,
so you believe in fairy tales, I see.”

“
I do,” Dani admitted
softly.

“
Well, one thing we know
for sure.”

“
What's that?”

“
Steven isn't your Prince,
because he stood you up, and no Cinderella would put up with that.”
Adrian held out his hand, offering her the dice. “Here, you roll
first.”

“
He had a good excuse.” She
took the dice, her fingers brushing Adrian’s warm skin, the contact
making her pulse flutter. Then she thought a moment and returned
the dice. “I'm a liberated woman. You can roll first.” Besides, she
knew it was bad luck to go first.

“
If I'd been in his shoes,
nothing short of death would have kept me away.” Adrian rolled
doubles and advanced his car six spaces. “Oriental, I'll buy
it.”

Dani decided to ignore his comment. “Where do
you live?”

Adrian rolled again. “Doubles again.” He
snapped his fingers and grinned before moving his piece confidently
around the board. “New York.”

“
You like it?” She wrinkled
her nose as she pictured dirty streets and nothing but large,
concrete skyscrapers.

“
St. James Place, I'll buy
it.” He counted out the money before he answered her question.
“It's all right. Let's just say it's convenient to my
work.”

She watched him roll again. “What do you
do?”

“
That's hard to explain.”
His eyes never left the board. It almost appeared as if he was
taking this game very seriously as he completed each move. “Here
it's your turn.”

She wondered why he avoided the question, but
she took the dice and rolled snake eyes. Frowning, she counted one,
two. “Community Chest.” She reached for a card and turned it over
so she could read it. “Advance to St. Charles Place.” She moved her
thimble, then shook the dice again.

“
Tell me something about
yourself, other than you're engaged to Steven.”

Dani knew she could do better than two. She
threw the dice. “I live in San Antonio and work for an advertising
agency.”

“
That sounds like
interesting work.”

“
Oh, it is.” She looked up
at him. “I love it.” She counted out the six spaces. “Community
Chest again.” Pulling a card, she read. “Go directly to jail. Do
not pass go. Do not collect $200. Damn!” She put herself behind
bars. “I work for a company called The Art Group. We've grown a lot
in the last year, and if I land the account I'm working on, it will
be the largest account we've ever had.

“
And you do good
work.”

“
Of course, I
do.”

Somewhere lightning struck a transformer, and
the house was pitched into darkness. Dani gasped.

“
I guess the storm has
arrived.” Adrian's calm voice eased her fears a little. “It got
here quicker than I thought it would,” he continued. “Just a
minute, and I'll get us some light. I had anticipated this and put
out several large candles.”

Dani heard him striking a match in the
bleakness.

“
Here's one for you.” He
gave her a candle, and she set it on one of the end
tables.

“
And one for me.” He placed
his on the other table. Then he proceeded to light a couple of
hurricane lamps.

“
Okay. That solves our
problem for now. Let's finish the game.” He hurried back over and
took his seat on the floor. “Wouldn’t you know the generator nor
the shutters never arrived. I heard they were on back
order.”

They played for another hour until all the
property had been bought and the stakes grew higher. Dani had most
of the deeds, but Adrian had the ones that counted-—the ones with
hotels. Luckily, she'd missed his prime real estate the last few
times around, but it was her turn again.

Dani rolled an eight. She moved her thimble
to Park Place, which Adrian owned and where he’d established a
hotel. “That's just great! You have wiped me out,” she complained
as she counted out her money to him.

“
Just remember, Dani,” he
paused and gave her a wink, “when it comes to things I want, I'm
always a winner. I always go after the things I really
want.”

Chapter Five

Dani didn't doubt Adrian’s statement for a
minute. Masculine strength settled into the carved lines of his
chin and jaw. She sensed a powerful man sitting across from her.
One with a good head for business, if this game held any
indication. “Just what do you do for a living?”

The amusement died within his searching eyes,
and he regarded her with gravity before he spoke. “You can ask me
anything but that.”

“
Why?”

Adrian leaned back and studied her. “Because
it's the first question women always ask. I don’t want to be judged
by what I do for a living. I could be the biggest son of a bitch
around, but have a high-power job, so everyone would accept me
because of the money I make.” Adrian's knitted his brows, and his
face closed as if he guarded a secret. “Does that make any sense?
No one would ever bother to look at the person within.” He pointed
to his chest, then shrugged. “Let's just say, I get tired of all
the phoniness. Maybe I’m nothing more than a house sitter, but a
damn good one.”

Well, she’d most certainly hit a sore spot.
And she really didn't understand why he was making an issue of it.
It was only human nature to ask what someone did for a living.
Besides, they had to talk about something.

Evidently not his employment, however.

Dani gave him a doubtful look, but agreed
that he did have a point. Adrian was probably unemployed--that's
why he wanted to avoid the subject. She'd try to remember in the
future.

A loud thump hit the side of the house, and
Dani flinched as the wind ripped away one of the protective sheets
of plywood which had covered the front sliding doors. “Look, you
already have most of my money,” she finally said. Maybe we should
put the game up for now. The way the wind is howling, the hurricane
must be very close.”

He glanced over his shoulder. “I think you're
right.”

After they put the game away, Dani walked
over to the glass window and looked out while Adrian positioned a
few candles around the room. “Oh my.” Dani’s hand flew to her
mouth. All she could see was water. A mountain of water. And it was
headed right for them. An involuntary scream slipped from her lips
as a wave crashed on the deck and slapped against the glass doors.
Pain shot through her head as a gush of saltwater doused her.

Adrian jerked her backward. “What the hell!
Don't you know how dangerous glass can be during a storm?” Adrian
spun her around. “Christ,” he swore, holding her face between his
hands. “You have a piece of glass in your head. Hold still.”

The saltwater stung her eyes, causing her to
blink several times. She winced. Adrian reached up and pulled a
shard of glass out of her forehead as water sprayed in through the
broken window.

Dani reached for the spot and felt sticky
blood between her fingers. “How bad is it?”

“
You could use a couple of
stitches, but we're going to settle for a bandage.” He took Dani’s
hand and led her to the kitchen. He jerked open a door, grabbed a
dishtowel and said, “Here. Hold this towel over your cut while I
block up that hole before the ocean makes it bigger.”

“
Wait!” She grabbed his
arm. “It's too dangerous. You just said so yourself.”

“
I know what I told you.
But, as you can see, the water is coming in through that hole
faster than I’ll be able to mop it up. If I leave it, it'll only
get worse.”

She held her breath while Adrian stuffed a
towel in the hole, then took a thin cutting board and placed it
over the hole. Another wave smacked the door, drenching him. He
wiped the water from his face and tried again, holding the board in
place with some wide, silver duct tape. He was losing the battle so
Dani came to the rescue with a dry towel.

“
I told you to stay in the
kitchen.” When he saw that she wasn’t going to move, he added,
“Jesus! You’re hard headed.”

“
I know. Now hold the board
and I’ll tape it.”

After several anxious minutes, he finished
his task and once again they held the sea at bay. Adrian took a
deep breath and said, “Thanks. Let’s get back to the safety of the
kitchen.”

He stopped to pick up a kerosene lamp before
returning to the kitchen. After he set the lamp on the bar, he
turned up the wick so he could focus his attention on her.

“
Lean back against the
counter, and I'll get a wet cloth and some adhesive bandages. Here,
keep some pressure on the cut,” he said while he searched in a
drawer beside her.

“
You need to dry yourself
off first,” Dani suggested.

He looked down at his shirt. “I guess you're
right.” He rubbed his hair vigorously with a blue towel then
disappeared into the bedroom. In a moment, he returned dressed in a
red plaid pullover. He moved her hand from her forehead and
examined the lump. Dani’s heartbeat soared.

“
This could have been much
worse,” he commented, gently washing the blood from the wound. “Let
me put some salve on the cut. Mom says it cures
everything.”

“
You have a smart
mother.”

“
Of course. She had
me.”

Dani smiled, but that faded the minute he
touched the cut.

“
Hold still and I’ll give
you a treat when I’m finished.”

She flinched from the pain but held still
while he fussed over her. She definitely didn’t want to miss the
treat.

Awareness swirled through Dani. Adrian’s warm
breath teased her forehead and reminded her that she could reach
out this very minute and touch his lips. She could kiss him while
sober to see if it had been as good as she remembered or merely a
figment of a sodden mind. Probably the latter, she tried to
convince herself. Closing her eyes briefly, she couldn't seem to
stop her trembling . . . and her wondering.

“
What's wrong?” Adrian
asked softly. His hand moved up her arm. “You're
shaking.”

And you're too close
, she wanted to
say. But she didn't really know if the storm or Adrian had produced
her quivering. Thunder rumbled all around them which didn’t help.
Finally she said, “I'm scared.”

Something about Dani’s voice lit a fire in
Adrian. He pushed her wet blonde hair away from her face and set
loose the sultry scent of coconuts and pineapple that suited her
well. The pupils of Dani’s eyes had grown dark and round. He rubbed
his thumb slowly across her cheek. The storm's excitement had
entered his soul, uncoiling the primitive desire within him.

Somewhere the wind howled and an electrical
transformer blew. She jumped. He slipped his hand around to the
back of Dani's head, pulling her to him, his eyes never leaving
hers. He didn't want her to run. He didn't want her scared. He
really didn't know what he wanted . . . except this one thing, and
he wanted it now. Brushing her lips in a feather-like touch, he
hoped this one kiss would satisfy him.

It didn't.

The trees scrubbed the house. Walls
creaked.

Adrian’s other hand slid down her back until
it came to rest on the upper part of her bottom. Still
dissatisfaction coiled within him. He had to feel her next to him
so he could savor every contour of her perfect shape. He needed to
finish what they had begun the night before. Tightening his hold,
her breasts crushed against his chest, he coaxed her mouth open and
lost himself in the sweetness he found.

Her fingers slid across his nape and into his
hair. He nuzzled her neck. “You smell so good,” Adrian murmured,
and realized this was the first time she actually perceived who she
was kissing, and it made his blood soar, blocking out all thought
of hurricanes or impending danger. The real danger lay here in his
arms.

He pressed his lips against her mouth and
demanded a response from her as lust took over. He teased and
tantalized her mouth. He wanted to hear his name on her lips. And
he wasn't sure why. She was someone he barely knew. But definitely
someone he wanted to know better. A part of his mind warned him not
to get involved with this woman, but thank God, he wasn't
listening.

Dani knew she had lost her mind. But Adrian
kissed her like she'd never been kissed before. When he thrust his
tongue deep inside her mouth, he made every man she'd ever dated
seem like a mere boy. Adrian was so strong . . . so much a man. His
shattering kiss sent her spiraling off into a place where nothing
existed except the man in her arms.