Stormy Passion by Brenda Jernigan

noticed in my house.” She liked Adrian’s easy manner; it
made her relax.
    “ So, what did your parents
do to feed so many?”
    “ We're Italians. What
else--we cook. They own a couple of restaurants in Bar
Harbor.”
    “ So you work there,
too.”
    “ I didn't say that.” He
pushed up and looked at her with a raised brow. “I said, my parents
are into food.”
    “ That's right. I forgot.
You don't discuss your employment.” He was amazing, she thought, he
seemed to have his own set of rules, which he didn't bend. Not even
for her. She wondered what it would be like to bend Adrian just a
little? “I bet there's some good food served at your
house.”
    “ You better believe it.
Garlic runs deep in my veins.”
    “ Listen.” Dani raised
herself up on her elbows and listened.
    “ It’s quiet.” Adrian
commented. “It must be the eye of the hurricane passing
over.”
    “ That means we're only half
through.” Dani slumped back down and sighed. “It's going to get
worse.”
    “ Precisely.” Adrian took a
blanket and threw it across them. “Listen, we need to get some
sleep. We're going to need all our wits by morning. Do you think
you can sleep?”
    She snuggled closer to him. At the moment, he
was her tower of strength, her Prince Charming and Sir Galahad
rolled into one. “Only if you hold me.”
    He slipped his arm under her neck and pulled
her tightly against his length. “I can do that.”
    “ Adrian?”
    “ Hmm?”
    “ Thanks.”

Chapter Six
     
     
    A loud crash followed by a tremendous jarring
jerked Danielle out of a deep sleep.
    Darkness surrounded her. She couldn’t see and
her eyes burned.
    She couldn't breathe . . . And she was wet.
Not only wet, but . . . . My God, she was underwater.
    With instinct born of fear, Dani flailed
frantically through the water. She needed air. She must get to the
surface. She couldn't hold her breath much longer.
    Just when she thought she wouldn't make it,
her head broke through the surface, and she gulped in life-saving
oxygen. What had happened? Coughing and sputtering, she treaded
water, trying to calm her racing heart. She had to think.
    The saltwater stung her eyes like gritty
grains of sand. She blinked, wishing she could cry to clear her
eyes, but she was too terrified to shed tears.
    What had happened? Her body trembled with
shock. In her dazed state, she couldn’t make sense of any of
this.
    “ Hurricane,” she remembered
finally. She had barely mumbled the word, but she’d swallowed a
mouthful of water in the process. She coughed and brought her hand
up to her lips, discovering that she had something clasped between
her fingers. She couldn’t see it but she could feel that it was an
orange life jacket. She struggled into it.
    The darkness obliterated everything except
her fear as she floated in the chilling water with absolutely no
idea where she was. She could hear the wind, but couldn't directly
feel it-- which made no sense whatsoever. She wasn't sure how long
she'd bobbed like a cork, but finally the early morning sunrise
began to shed a little light, and Dani realized she was still in
the house, shoved into an air pocket near the ceiling.
    Water . . . bedroom . . . Adrian!
    Where was he? He'd been holding her . . . and
vaguely she remembered him shoving a life jacket at her. She had
the only lifejacket.
    “ Adrian!”
    He couldn't be dead. Couldn’t drown. Not when
he'd saved her life. No. It wasn't fair. Please let him survive,
she prayed just before a wave slammed her into a beam and she knew
no more.
     
     
    It was a miracle they hadn’t both
drowned.
    Adrian held Dani's hand, willing her to open
her eyes. She had a nasty bump, but surely it wasn’t that serious.
He sat there holding her hand and waited. For what? He didn’t
know.
    These last twenty-four hours had been sheer
hell, and he was drained. So much for a nice relaxing weekend,
Adrian thought ruefully. It had been anything but peaceful in more
ways than one.
    Thank God