Stormy Passion (5 page)

“
We’re here,” Adrian
announced when he swung the golf cart into the driveway. He pulled
to a stop and turned toward her. Uncertainty flickered in her eyes.
He felt as if he were sending her to an execution instead of her
precious Steven. What kind of man was this Steven? And was he good
enough for Dani?

“
Thank you,” she said in a
stiff voice as she got out of the cart, catching her heel on the
metal rung so that she stumbled and almost sent herself headfirst
into the sand.

Adrian reached for her but she straightened.
He started to get out. “I'll help you carry your bags.”

“
No!” Dani all but shouted,
holding her hand up like a crossing guard.

Then it dawned on him that she was afraid to
be too close to him.
Oh, how he liked that
. Afraid she’d
feel the emotions she experienced last night. He had a hunch that
Dani had always played everything on the safe side.

“
Thank you. You've done
more than enough,” she continued, her manner calmer now, but her
eyes told him something different as they watched him warily, her
gaze never leaving his face.

She had the rarest, cornflower blue eyes he'd
ever seen. “I--I can manage.”

“
Fine. I'll wait here until
you're safely inside.”

“
You don’t have to bother,”
Dani said over her shoulder.

“
But--”

She stopped and pinned him with her gaze.
“I'm a big girl and I'll be just fine. Goodbye.”

Damn, she was a stubborn female! Well, let
her have it her way, Adrian thought after he swung the cart around.
As he drove away, he struggled to ignore the little voice in his
head that said,
Don't let her go
.

Dani watched Adrian leave, feeling a bit
guilty for being so rude. He had gone out of his way to be nice to
her since he'd learned of the mistake, yet she couldn't face Steven
under the watchful eyes of the man she'd just slept with. She also
wouldn't be likely to forget Adrian while he was anywhere around.
Dani sighed. He was like no other man she'd ever met before. There
was something dynamic and powerful about him that drew her.

Picking up her second bag, Dani struggled to
the top of the stairs. One thing about it, if she lived around here
all the time, she wouldn't need a step-machine. She wasn't quite
sure why, but these bags seemed to be getting heavier every time
she picked them up. When Dani reached the deck, she gladly put them
down, and then rang the doorbell.

No one came.

“
Doesn't anybody on this
damned island ever answer the door?” She swore and pushed the
button again, tapping her foot while she waited. When she received
no response, she tried the doorknob. It was locked.

Now what? She couldn’t just stand here, so
she walked around to look into one of the windows. The interior was
dark except for the thin streams of sunlight that threw a few weak
shadows into the interior. There were definitely no signs of human
life in there.

Miserable, she glanced out across the sea and
wondered why life just seemed to pass her by. Would she never find
the one man that was meant for her? She'd thought it was Steven,
but it was clear now she’d been mistaken. He came from a well-to-do
family, he was nice looking, but she was having a hell of a time
finding him. Or perhaps, a little voice nagged at her,
he didn't
want to be found
.

But why had he arranged this weekend?

The huge waves had darkened, their force
intensifying as they crashed to the shore. They appeared angry,
Dani couldn’t help thinking, just like she was. Standing here
wasn’t accomplishing anything, so Dani flounced back to her bags.
With an exasperated sigh, she plopped down on the top step.

She hated men. All men! They were too much
trouble. They were not dependable, and you couldn't trust them for
a minute.

Now, what in the hell was she supposed to
do?

She had dragged her luggage on and off
planes, suffered a two-hour delay, damned near starved to death,
and made love to a complete stranger . . . only to end up at an
empty house where the love of her life would supposedly be waiting
and worrying about her. Yeah, right!

Her friend, Susan, had been right . . . Dani
was a fool where men were concerned.

Her eyes burned, and Dani quickly pinched the
ridge of her nose to keep from crying. She'd shed too many tears
over Steven in the past. He had proven once and for all that he
wasn’t worth it. She wouldn't cry, she told herself. She
wouldn't.

“
Steven probably never even
showed up,” she said to a seagull who landed with a soft swish on
the deck rail, watching her with a curious tilt of his
head.

Well, Steven had stood her up for the last
time. There were no Prince Charmings in real life . . . only Darth
Vaders . . . and she was sick of all of them.

She blew her nose and dabbed at her eyes.
“Okay, Danielle,” she told herself. “Let's get the hell off this
island before anything else happens to you.”

She stood up, grabbed her suitcase, drew a
deep breath, then started down the thirty or so steps, the bag
thumping behind her. She silently cursed each one as she descended.
When she reached the end of the driveway, she extended the handle
on her upright bag and started down the street, pulling her luggage
behind her.

The wind had grown blustery. Palm fronds
clacked frantically in the swaying trees lining the yards of the
beautiful homes she passed. Then it dawned on her that she hadn't
seen anyone all morning: humans, dogs, cats nothing.

She thought it strange, then again, it was
September and the end of vacation season. Maybe everyone had packed
up their summer houses and gone home.

When she neared Adrian's cul-de-sac, she
tried not to look that way, but lost the battle and sneaked a peek
out of the corner of her eye. The impressive house looked even
bigger in the daylight. It had to be 5,000-square-feet, if not
larger. The wood appeared bleached and different from the other
beach houses. Beautiful arched windows gave the place an added
flourish.

She wondered who it really belonged to.
Adrian didn't dress like a wealthy man, and the owner of that house
definitely had to have millions. The cart hadn't returned, so at
least Adrian wasn't there to catch her staring at the dwelling.

She walked another thirty minutes before she
could make out the island's general store. Last night when they had
docked, she'd caught a glimpse of the sun-washed gray building
surrounded by pylons and piers.

A loud horn sounded from somewhere behind
her, and Dani jumped, then swung around to see who had been so
rude. She might have guessed. It was
him
driving down the
road.

“
You need a lift?” Adrian
smiled.

“
No!” she snapped, and kept
on walking even though he'd now pulled up beside her and slowed
down, keeping pace with her. She didn't want to see any men at the
moment. Couldn't he take a hint?

“
What's wrong? Has Steven
already thrown you out for your bad disposition?”

“
Go to hell!”

“
My--my, we are grumpy. If
you're going to the dock, I can save you a trip.”

“
I don't want to hear it. I
just want to get off this damned island and away from men.” Her
voice sounded strained even to her own ears. She stopped and looked
at him pointedly. “And that includes you.
Especially
you.”

Adrian swung his right hand over his heart
and jerked backward as though he’d been struck. “You wound me,
Dani. You sure can hold a grudge, sweetheart. But suit yourself.”
He shrugged. “I'll tag along just in case you change your
mind.”

Two more blocks, and she'd be there. Dani
couldn't believe Adrian hadn't sped off, especially since she was
doing such a good job of ignoring him. Instead, he just cruised
along beside her, whistling, “Somewhere My Love.”

She gritted her teeth. “Don't you have
anything to do?”

“
I'm going to have a whole
lot to do in about half an hour. Besides, I was headed back to the
store anyway.” He pulled up into the parking lot and cut off the
motor. “I need some supplies.”

Dani bypassed him, her back stiff, and went
straight into the store. Inside she spotted a distinguished, older
man, wearing a captain's hat, standing behind the counter.

“
I need a ticket for the
ferry, please,” Dani said, trying not to sound as desperate as she
felt. She laid her purse on the counter. The exterior door opened,
letting in a swath of light, then shut again. She didn't bother to
turn around; she knew who it was.

In a few more minutes she'd never have to
worry about Adrian Massimino again. As a matter of fact, she could
put this whole weekend behind her. She grabbed her wallet. “What
time does it leave?”

“
Not sure,” the storekeeper
said, not bothering to look up. He seemed to be making a list. . .
a long list. “How come ye still on the island, lass?”

She smiled at his Scottish burr. What a
beautiful accent, she thought. “I'd planned to stay the whole
weekend, but I've changed my mind.”

“
Too bad I didna know
sooner, 'cause the last ferry left a good fifteen minutes ago.
Ye'll nae be gettin' another.”

Dani frowned.”It's early in the day. Don't
they run every two or three hours?”

“
I guess ye're like Adrian
here, and haven't heard a thing.” The storekeeper held his hand up
to heaven as he spoke, “Don't nobody listen tae the weather reports
nae more?”

“
I was told there weren't
any televisions on this island,” Dani said irritably. She didn't
have the slightest idea what this man behind the counter was
hinting at. Or what he was getting so excited about. And for a
brief second, she thought about reaching over the counter, grabbing
him by the shirt, and stressing in no uncertain terms how much she
wanted to get off this damned island. Now! But she was going to
control herself and reason with the man.

She could feel Adrian's presence even before
he spoke. “I can speak for the lady, Angus. She's been too busy to
listen to the radio.”

Just then a small lady with graying brown
hair and a sweet apple pie face came out of the back. “I dinna ken
what's all the ruckus about,” she mumbled, then set a large box on
the counter. “Haven't I told you, mon, ye'll wake the dead one
day?” Upon seeing Dani her smile widened. “I see we've some
company, Angus, so ye needn't be a shoutin'. She'll be thinkin' yer
a grumpy old goat.”

“
I wasn't shoutin', Nettie
girl, I was merely gettin' me point across.” Angus narrowed his
eyes at Adrian and asked, “Now how would ye be knowin' that the
little lass was tae busy?”

Dani caught herself gasping, but she remained
quiet.
He wouldn't dare
. He couldn't possibly be so crass.
She cut her eyes at Adrian, daring him to speak.

It didn't work.

“
I'm afraid I was keeping
the lady pretty busy,” Adrian chuckled. “Work never stops,” he
managed to add lamely. “I'm afraid I didn't have the radio on so
neither of us heard the hurricane warnings.”

Her first instinct was to scratch his eyes
out, but the word
hurricane
blocked everything else out.
“Hurricane!” She swung around to look at Adrian and then back to
Angus. “As in strong winds? High water?” She leaned across the
counter and looked dead into Angus' surprised eyes. “And God knows
what else?”

“
Yep, lass. Seems hurricane
Felix decided tae bless our coast 'stead of stayin' out tae sea as
'twas predicted.”

“
Hurricane!” Dani's mouth
fell open as she tried to gather her wits. My God, she was going to
die, and the bad thing was no one would ever know because she was
among strangers.

“
Shouldn't we be
leaving--getting out of here? Now?”

“
Most everyone has,” Angus
said. “'cept Nettie and me. We're goin' tae ride this one out. Been
through four big ones, and fared just fine. I was just tellin'
Adrian, here, it's time tae batten down the hatches.”

She looked at Adrian. “You're going to stay,
too?”

Adrian nodded, just like it was an everyday
occurrence.

“
Are you all crazy?”
Danielle looked frantically from one to the other.

“
Probably just a little,”
Adrian admitted. “I need to do some things to the house, and then
I'm going to give Angus and Nettie a hand with the store. I suggest
you grab a hammer and pitch in.”

“
But I don't--”

Adrian took her wrist and pulled her to his
side. “Look, sweetheart, I don't like this anymore than you do.
There is no way out for us now. We missed the final evacuation this
morning.

“
However, if you're a good
girl and help, you can stay with me. And at least you'll be out of
the wind and rain.”

Thank goodness Angus and Nettie had gone into
the back room leaving them alone.

“
I’m not your
sweetheart.”

“
Granted,
sweet
is
probably the wrong term where you are concerned.”

“
But I don't want to stay
with you,” Danielle admitted truthfully--for more reasons than one.
“How would it look?” She stammered, then realized there was no one
here to even notice.

“
Then you can swim.” All
the good will had left Adrian’s voice as he let go of her arm and
turned to move away from her.

“
Wait!” She grabbed at his
shirt, her fingers catching the shirttail. “Perhaps, I've been a
bit hasty.” She absolutely hated the fact that she was going to
have to rely on him for everything. Yet she couldn't stay with
Angus and Nettie because she didn't know them. Of course, she
didn't really know Adrian, but--God, she was getting a
headache.