Taking Passion by Storm by Ravenna Tate

on it.”
    “ Great.” George patted his stomach. “What do we have to
eat? I’m starving.”
    The
group watched movies on a monitor screen they hooked up to a computer while
George warmed up some soup and made himself a sandwich. Nadine felt like she
was going to jump out of her skin. Now that George was here, it was real. They
were going out in the morning to find her father. She was torn between
excitement at the new adventure, and absolute terror as the group did more
talking than watching, describing all the storms they’d each been in.
    At
one point, Addison asked her if she was hungry again, but she told him she was
too nervous to eat. “Is that because of me?” he asked quietly.
    “ No. I’m wondering what I got myself into with this
rescue mission.”
    “ It’s not too late to go back.”
    She
studied his face. It didn’t look like he wanted her to leave. “That would be
the coward’s way out.”
    “ I don’t agree, but I understand why you feel that way
and I admire you for it. I also believe you’re going to do just fine. You’ve
shown more strength and resolve than you realize is inside you.”
    “ You make me believe that.”
    Addison
stared into her eyes for long, luscious moments, and then he glanced toward the
group. They were absorbed in their stories, the movie still playing but no one
watching it. He stood and held out his hand. “Would you like a tour of the
bunker?”
    She
didn’t miss the look of lust in his eyes, or the implication in his question.
Her heart pounded. This was it. She could back out of this, too, and then spend
the rest of her life wishing she’d taken Addison up on his offer. She didn’t
want to be afraid any longer. He wouldn’t hurt her, and if she waited until
they were underground again, it might not happen at all.
    “ Why don’t you grab your stuff?” he said, nodding
toward the pile of backpacks. “That way you can choose a room.”
    “ Great idea.” She walked on shaky legs toward her
backpack, keeping her gaze glued to it, not glancing toward the others. If they
noticed her and Addison going off alone, she’d be too self-conscious to leave
the room with him. Nadine scooped up her things and turned, her focus now on
Addison’s beautiful face.
    The
man was seriously the most handsome creature she’d ever seen up close and
personal. The five o’clock shadow she’d admired Saturday was now even more
pronounced, but that only served to make her skin tingle. His words came back
to her. He wanted to make love to her.
    His
eyes flashed with lust and happiness, and that look sent her heart fluttering.
No one had ever looked at her that way. Her one consensual experience with sex
had been a hurried affair in the back seat of a car when she’d been sixteen.
    Four
years before everyone had been forced underground, Nadine had gone on exactly
three dates with Lonnie Farrell, one of the most sought-after boys in her high
school class. She’d been happy, proud, and a damn fool because as soon as she
gave him what he really wanted, that third date was the last one.
    He’d
parked his car next to a lake frequented by high school kids with more than
swimming on their minds, and fed her a line of pure bullshit that she’d never
seen through. Or perhaps she hadn’t wanted to see through it. The next morning, she was awoken by a phone call from one of
her friends, asking if she’d really had sex with Lonnie Farrell. Apparently
he’d texted everyone the night before. By Monday morning the entire school
knew.
    He
also had kept score because he told everyone that he must be losing his touch
since it hadn’t taken him three dates to get what he’d wanted in a while. It
had been nothing more than a game to him.
    She
hadn’t been half as upset by that as she’d been about the sex. It was boring,
and not at all like the experience she’d been
imagining. Real sex was somewhere between the less than stellar experience with
Lonnie and rape, but she had no clue on