Strangers In The Night
Kristin Gabriel
Josie's Scheme for Seduction1. Sneak into Adam's apartment2. Slip out of her clothes and under the sheets3. Have the best sex of her life… with the wrong man?Librarian Josie Sinclair has never been wild or spontaneous…but she's about to make up for it now. Her plan? To surprise her boyfriend, Adam Delaney, by stealing in to his apartment…and seducing him within an inch of his life. But in the morning it's Josie who gets the surprise. Because the man she's just slept with is Adam Delaney–only, he's not her boyfriend….Adam quickly realizes that the mystery woman in his bed isn't a fantasy come true–it's a case of mistaken identity. But when he discovers that some other man has been using his name and his apartment for the past three months, he's livid. He's going to find the impostor, or else. But his first priority is to convince Josie that there's nothing like the real thing….
Josie couldn’t wait to make love with Adam again
She turned around in bed to kiss him…and saw a stranger staring back at her! Josie screamed in horror, scrambling out of the bed and dragging the black satin sheet with her.
The man arched a dark brow as he sat up on one elbow. “Is something wrong?”
This couldn’t be happening to her. This naked man before her was not Adam Delaney. Her boyfriend had blond hair and blue eyes. This stranger had thick brown hair and keen brown eyes that seemed to penetrate the sheet in front of her. She sucked in a deep breath. “There’s been a horrible mistake.”
He blinked at her words and reached for his navy blue boxer shorts. “It’s a little late for regrets now, isn’t it?”
He couldn’t begin to know how much she regretted last night. When she’d stolen in to her boyfriend’s dark bedroom, she certainly hadn’t expected there to be another man in it! “Who are you?”
“Don’t you remember calling out my name last night?” He met her gaze. “I am Adam Delaney.”
Dear Reader,
A dark night. Satin sheets. Sexy lingerie. All the necessary ingredients for an incredible night of passion. Only, Josie Sinclair’s perfect seduction plan doesn’t include finding a stranger in her boyfriend’s bed! A man who won’t let her forget how perfect they are together.
Josie’s a “play-it-safe” librarian who does anything to avoid getting burned. Adam’s a “live-for-adventure” photographer who’s always playing with fire. Neither one of them expects the chemistry between them to flare so quickly out of control….
I hope you like this latest installment of the fabulous WRONG BED miniseries. As an author, I love the concept of bringing two such different people as Adam and Josie together in such a unique way. Please drop me a line and let me know what you think of their story. You can reach me through my Web site at www.KristinGabriel.com or write to P.O. Box 5162, Grand Island, NE 68802-5162.
All my best,
Kristin Gabriel
Books by Kristin Gabriel
HARLEQUIN TEMPTATION
834—DANGEROUSLY IRRESISTIBLE
868—SEDUCED IN SEATTLE
896—SHEERLY IRRESISTIBLE
909—PROPOSITIONED?
932—ENGAGING ALEX
HARLEQUIN DUETS
7—ANNIE, GET YOUR GROOM
25—THE BACHELOR TRAP
27—BACHELOR BY DESIGN
29—BEAUTY AND THE BACHELOR
61—OPERATION BABE-MAGNET OPERATION BEAUTY
Strangers in the Night
Kristin Gabriel
www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
For Bruce—my own “live-for-adventure” guy.
Contents
Chapter 1 (#u029597a0-f90c-5f5b-8bcb-ccc39601e973)
Chapter 2 (#ubc646560-cd2d-5d34-bbc0-0bf1baf0e619)
Chapter 3 (#u431c775c-c2c6-5c76-b8e3-c3b87218f69e)
Chapter 4 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 5 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 6 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 7 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 8 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 9 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 10 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 11 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 12 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 13 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 14 (#litres_trial_promo)
1
JOSIE SINCLAIR HELD HER BREATH as she opened the apartment door, wincing at the slight squeal of the hinges. After slipping inside, she didn’t breathe again until she’d closed the door behind her, locking it once more. Then she pocketed the key, debating the risk of switching on a light. She didn’t want to do anything that might alert Adam to her presence.
Not until she was ready for him.
A full moon shone through the high-rise window, illuminating a shadowy path into the living room. A sudden hiss permeated the deep silence and Josie’s hand flew to her chest. But it was only Horatio, her boyfriend’s temperamental Siamese. She bent down to pet the cat, her heart still racing in her chest. Her reaction had more to do with nerves than fear. She’d never done anything like this before.
Horatio seemed to sense her anxiety, jerking away from her and bounding underneath the sofa. As she rose to her feet, Josie reached into her bag and pulled out the list she’d made on the flight from Tempe. Lists always made her feel in control and she began to calm down as she found a pen in her bag to check off the first item.
1. Go to Adam’s apartment.
He’d given her a key weeks ago, but she hadn’t worked up the nerve to use it until tonight. Doubts had assailed her on the long drive from the Denver airport, but she’d stuck one of her motivational tapes into the car’s cassette player and now she was ready for action. Almost. Her gaze moved to the second item on the list.
2. Undress.
With trembling fingers, she untied the silk scarf around her neck, then dropped it into the small bag she’d brought with her from the airport. The fluttering fabric enticed Horatio, who leaped out from under the sofa and pounced on it immediately, batting at the scarf with his paws.
She tried to take the scarf away from him, but his claws snagged the delicate fabric and she knew it was a lost cause. Ignoring the cat and his new toy, Josie kicked off her shoes before shedding her slacks and blouse. She tucked them all neatly into the bag, then pulled out a sheer red negligee, holding it up in front of her.
The transparent fabric and baby-doll design left little to the imagination, but the saleswoman at the boutique in Tempe had assured her that any man would find it irresistible.
Maybe she shouldn’t wear anything at all.
Josie discarded that idea almost as soon as it entered her head. She wasn’t that motivated. Her body was far from perfect, with her average bust and full hips. That was one of the reasons she wanted to surprise Adam in the dark. The negligee wouldn’t provide much cover, but it was definitely better than nothing.
After slipping off her cotton bra, she dropped the negligee over her head. The hem whispered against the top of her thighs and a shiver rippled over her bare skin. Feeling overexposed, Josie took a deep breath and picked up the pen, slashing a line through the second item.
She had left Denver a week ago, after Adam had told her he wanted to take their relationship to the next level. She’d needed time to think about it, to debate all the pros and cons in her head before making a final decision. Josie had learned the hard way that acting strictly on emotion usually led to disaster.
Now bored with the scarf, Horatio leaped into a chair to watch her as she glanced at Item Three on her list.
3. Perfume.
The tiny but expensive perfume bottle she’d purchased in Tempe lay at the bottom of the bag, padded with several layers of bubble wrap to keep it from breaking. According to her research, this particular perfume was the most popular brand on the market. Josie dabbed the fragrance behind her ears, then touched her pulse points as the subtle aroma of jasmine filled the air.
The cat sneezed once, then jumped off the chair and disappeared into the kitchen. She just hoped the perfume didn’t have the same effect on Adam.
They’d been dating for three months, which was almost a record for her. Most men didn’t stick around for more than one date, once she made it clear that she wouldn’t be hopping into bed with them anytime soon. Passion too often made people irrational and she wasn’t about to let herself fall into that trap. A trap that had destroyed her family.
She mentally shook herself, not allowing the past to interfere with the present. Her decision to sleep with Adam was based on logic as well as emotion. She liked him and he seemed to possess the qualities she was looking for in a man. Stability, common sense and a good work ethic. If it turned out they were physically compatible, she could start thinking about a future with him.
But first things first. After checking off Item Three, her gaze moved down the list to Item Four.
4. Protection.
No doubt Adam had his own supply of condoms, but she wasn’t about to take any chances. She’d stopped at a drugstore just outside the airport and had spent twenty minutes comparing the different brands before finally making her purchase.
Retrieving the shopping bag from the side compartment of her bag, she hesitated, wondering if carrying the entire box of two dozen condoms into his bedroom might be too intimidating. She took out one and tucked the flat foil package into the waistband of her new red-lace panties, then dropped the box back into the bag.
Only one item remained. She took a deep breath, quickly scanning the list to see if there was something else she might have forgotten. Now that the moment was at hand, more doubts began to assail her. What if Adam didn’t like surprises? What if he wasn’t in a romantic mood? What if she didn’t please him? Or he didn’t please her?
There were so many variables that she couldn’t control. But her only alternative was to walk away and she’d done that too often in the past. At twenty-seven, she was ready for something more in her life than her career. She’d worked hard to put herself through college, graduating with honors before going on to earn her Master’s degree in Library Science. Now she intended to put that same focused effort into her personal life.
Squaring her shoulders, she moved toward the bedroom, her bare feet padding silently on the thick carpet. When she opened the bedroom door, soft moonlight spilled from the living room into the darkness beyond, allowing her to just barely make out the shape of her boyfriend beneath the covers in the double bed.
Her mouth dry, Josie closed the door behind her, though her hand still gripped the brass knob. A deep, velvety darkness enveloped the room, calming her a little. She released the door knob, then moved blindly in the direction of the bed, led by the sound of Adam’s soft, somnolent breathing.
When her toes bumped into the footboard, Josie knew she’d reached her destination. A small groan of pain escaped her, followed by the sound of Adam stirring on the bed. She froze, hoping she was as invisible to him in the darkness as he was to her.
Because something told her that if he awoke and switched on the light before she was ready, she’d never go through with the last and most important item on her list.
5. Seduce Adam.
ADAM DELANEY DREAMED of India, the scent of jasmine drifting in the summer air as his raft bobbed along the Alaknanda River. The majestic Himalayas stretched toward the cobalt-blue sky as he floated down the river, a woman’s soft breath caressing his cheek.
The raft bobbed again and awareness invaded his sleep, arousing him enough to realize he wasn’t lying on a river raft, but in his own bed. The mattress dipped with the weight of a body moving beside him. Even as full consciousness nagged at him, he kept his eyes closed, wanting to lose himself in the dream.
It had been too long since he’d been to India. The kaleidoscope of people and cultures and scenery always enticed him back. Just like his dream girl was enticing him now, touching his body with the barest of caresses.
Only it wasn’t a dream.
Adam opened his eyes as slender fingers trailed over his shoulder and down the length of his arm. Total darkness blanketed the room. He turned over to face the woman beside him, the bedsprings creaking as her scantily clad body rolled against his own. She gasped at the contact and his groin instantly tightened at the feel of her lush curves and the creamy smoothness of her skin.
He heard an audible swallow, then she whispered, “Surprise, Adam.”
It was a hell of a surprise—in more ways than one. Who was she? He didn’t recall bringing a woman home with him last night. Adam had met several women at the bar earlier that evening, but he couldn’t remember all of their names. In truth, he couldn’t remember much of anything. Just another sign that he’d been drinking too much lately.
But he was completely sober now, his mind and his body both fully awake. He opened his mouth to ask the woman her name when she suddenly kissed him full on the lips, catapulting her body on top of him. Her breasts pressed against his chest with nothing but a thin layer of silky fabric between them. He groaned at the sensation, the feel of skin and silk against his hard frame chasing everything else from his mind.
Her kiss tasted sweet and innocent and slightly desperate, her mouth moving awkwardly over his lips. He gently cupped her cheeks with his hands, his thumbs lightly brushing the corners of her mouth until she finally relaxed against him, her body settling into his. Then he deepened the kiss, his tongue venturing into the satin depths of her mouth.
At that moment, Adam knew he’d never kissed this woman before. If he had, he’d damn well remember her name. But desire trumped curiosity, leading Adam to act now and ask questions later. Deprived of the sense of sight, his other senses kicked into high gear. He touched her. Tasted her. Inhaled her unique scent, a blend of sweet jasmine and willing woman that he found even more intoxicating than alcohol.
He gently rolled her onto her back, still kissing her as he took his time exploring uncharted territory. His tongue stroked over and around hers, while his hands mapped out the lush terrain of her body. His fingers gently traversed the slope of her breasts to their taut peaks. He lingered there awhile, caressing her nipples though the thin fabric of the negligee until low, hungry moans sounded deep in her throat.
Her arms tightened around his neck as she rolled onto her side, still kissing him as her fingers pressed into his unshaven jaw. Then her hands moved lower, tentatively exploring the breadth of his chest. Her fingertips danced across his skin, their featherlight touch driving him crazy. They moved even lower, skimming his ribs and belly and teasing the elastic waistband of his boxer shorts, but never quite reaching the part of him that he wanted her to touch the most.
Aching for her, Adam curved his hands over her lush, round bottom. Then he squeezed her tightly against him, relishing the friction of her against his heavy groin. He didn’t even know her name, but at this moment he wanted her more than he could ever remember wanting any woman. He needed her. Now. Right now.
His hands slipped beneath her negligee to tangle with her panties, his body throbbing with urgency. He ripped them away, the delicate lace tearing with little effort on his part.
“Wait, I…” she gasped, fumbling for her torn panties on the mattress.
A groan bubbled in his throat and he prayed that she hadn’t changed her mind. Or worse, that this really was a dream and she’d suddenly vanish into the mist. Instead, she pressed something into his palm.
“I brought this,” she whispered.
He breathed a sigh of relief, feeling the familiar shape of the foil package. He smiled into the darkness. His dream girl had come prepared.
Adam shed his boxer shorts, then sat up on the edge of the bed. As he ripped the package open, he felt her body tense behind him. A moment later, he turned back to her, pressing tender kisses against her mouth and throat. She breathed a soft sigh against his ear, relaxing now as his lips moved lower. She moaned, leaning back against the feather pillows, her fingers threading through his hair.
His lips slid over her collarbone to the bodice of the negligee, where his tongue teased her nipple through the sheer fabric. When the tiny peak pebbled beneath his tongue, he lifted his head just far enough to pull the negligee off of her, then he bent down to tenderly suck the other nipple into his mouth.
“Please,” she implored, her body arching under him.
“Hmm,” he murmured under his breath, sharing her need but taking his time anyway, savoring this feast of the senses. Her wanton pleas in his ears. Her skin hot and dewy against his hands. The scent of jasmine in his nostrils. The unique taste of her heated kisses. Now what he wanted most was to see her when she came apart in his arms.
Adam shifted to turn on the bedside lamp, but she rolled on top of him before he got the chance. She straddled his hips with her thighs, her hair brushing his chest as she bent down to kiss him. First his mouth, then his chin, then she flicked her tongue over one flat nipple. She shackled his wrists with her hands, raising his arms above his head.
Adam forced himself to relinquish all control, letting her set the pace. Hell, he’d let her do anything as long as she didn’t stop touching him. He didn’t know if it was making love to an anonymous woman in the dark, or the woman herself, but he was on fire for her.
She drove him to the brink with her hands and her mouth, inflaming every inch of him until Adam couldn’t take it anymore. He grasped her hips, positioning her above him, then thrust into her with one long, hard stroke. A low grunt of satisfaction ripped from his chest.
“Yes,” she breathed on a whispered sigh, taking him deeper.
He closed his eyes, almost dizzy with wanting her. He couldn’t remember her name or the last time he’d felt this way—if he’d ever felt this way. Then he couldn’t remember his own name when she began to move on him.
His dream girl morphed into a wild woman, now rocking against him with an abandon that shattered his control. He matched her primitive rhythm, stroke for delicious stroke, both of them hurtling toward the precipice, helpless to stop or even slow down.
“Adam,” she gasped, grabbing on to his shoulders, her fingers digging into his flesh.
She was so close. He braced her hips with his hands, pressing himself even deeper inside of her. The movement made her breath catch in her throat. Then her head lolled back and she shouted his name into the night. He followed her, free-falling into the abyss with a hoarse cry of satisfaction.
When he came to himself again, he found her cuddled against his chest. Adam wrapped his arms around her, neither one of them saying a word. In that moment, he felt as if their souls were as connected as their bodies.
A ridiculous reaction, since he didn’t even remember her name. No doubt he’d come to his senses in the morning, he thought, his eyelids drifting shut.
But for now, he’d just enjoy the dream.
JOSIE WOKE UP SMILING.
She lay wrapped in Adam’s arms, her back pressing against his chest and his chin resting on top of her head. Muted sunlight shone through the bedroom drapes, casting golden shadows over the bed as morning dawned in Denver. Her smile widened as she burrowed even closer against his warm, naked body. Last night had been more wonderful than she’d ever imagined. Adam was the perfect lover. Tender. Giving. Sensational.
A blush warmed her all the way down to her toes when she thought of all the things he’d done to her. He’d taken the time to arouse her in ways she hadn’t thought possible. Then Josie remembered everything she’d done to him and her blush deepened. She’d never acted that way with a man before. Never let herself go like that. But at least she had her answer—they were definitely compatible.
Their night together made her feel closer to Adam than ever before. Close enough to tell him everything about her life. To share her most painful secret. But how did she find the right words?
I sent my father to prison.
The last thing she wanted to do was bring her past into their relationship. But Adam deserved to know the truth. How her mother had left her husband for another man, taking twelve-year-old Josie with her. How her father, Glenn Sinclair, had snapped at the double loss and done something extreme. Something Josie still didn’t completely understand.
Glenn had picked up his daughter for a weekend visit shortly after the bitter divorce, asking her to go with him on a grand adventure. She’d agreed, ready to do anything to see her father smile again. Not realizing her mother would be frantic when she didn’t return at the designated time. Not knowing a little girl couldn’t fix a broken heart.
They’d spent the next month and a half traveling from state to state, never staying in one place for long. Her father had continued to call their life on the road a grand adventure, but Josie had missed her mother—something she couldn’t tell her father without making him cry.
Josie had come to believe her father needed her more than her mother did, but she couldn’t help calling home late one night, just to hear her mother’s voice again, and to assure her mother that she was all right.
The authorities had traced the call and tracked them down in Missouri. They were transported back to Colorado, where, to her horror, her father was sentenced to one year in prison on child abduction charges. Their grand adventure had turned into a grand disaster.
Josie closed her eyes and swallowed a sigh, knowing she couldn’t keep evading her boyfriend’s questions about her family. The sooner she told him the truth, the sooner they could move on with their own lives. Last night had shown her they were meant to be together. That she could trust him.
Adam stirred behind her and Josie felt a funny little quiver deep in her belly at the thought of making love to him again. She couldn’t wait. Judging by the growing arousal pressed against her backside, neither could he.
She turned around to kiss him…and saw a stranger staring back at her!
Josie screamed in horror, scrambling out of the bed and dragging the black satin sheet with her. She clutched it to her chest, her heart pounding like a jackhammer. “Who are you?”
The man arched a dark brow as he sat up on one elbow. “I was about to ask you the same question.”
He didn’t seem to mind the fact that he was completely naked. Powerful muscles flexed in his broad shoulders and she couldn’t help but notice the deep tan lines at his waist and thighs, not to mention his impressive erection. She jerked her gaze up again, heat flooding her face.
This couldn’t be happening to her. She’d planned everything so carefully—taken every precaution. But something had gone terribly wrong. This man was not Adam. Her boyfriend had blond hair and light-blue eyes. This stranger was dark everywhere, with thick brown hair and keen brown eyes that seemed to penetrate the sheet in front of her.
Tender areas of her body reminded her just what this man had done to her last night—what they’d done together. She met his gaze and knew he was thinking the same thing. She gulped hard and retreated farther from the bed, until her back hit the wall.
“Is something wrong?” he asked, concern and confusion furrowing his brow.
She sucked in a deep breath. “There’s been a horrible mistake.”
He blinked at her words, then sat up and turned his back to her before she could read his expression. Leaning down to snatch his navy-blue boxer shorts off the floor, he said, “It’s a little late for regrets now, isn’t it?”
Regrets? He couldn’t begin to know how much she regretted what happened between them last night. How would she ever explain it to her boyfriend? He’d never believe her. Especially when the two men were so physically different.
It had been too dark to see those differences last night, though she should have been able to feel some of them. The wide breadth of his chest and shoulders. The taut ripples of muscle across his belly. But in her own defense, she’d never seen her boyfriend without his clothes on before and she certainly hadn’t expected to find another man in his bed!
Which brought up another question. Where was her boyfriend? “Do you mind telling me what you’re doing here?”
He looked at her like she was crazy. “I live here.”
“Adam Delaney lives here,” she countered, wrapping the sheet around her. Josie recognized the heavy oak bedroom furniture and the African art on the walls and the colorful Persian rug on the beige carpet. Everything was familiar—except him.
“I am Adam Delaney.” He met her gaze. “Don’t you remember calling out my name last night?”
She was in no mood to reminisce. “You are not Adam. Not my Adam, anyway. I think I know my own boyfriend.”
He frowned as he pulled on his boxer shorts, then rose to his feet. The man had a good three inches on her boyfriend and at least thirty pounds. How could she have let this happen? Adam would never believe her. Not in a million years.
“Look, lady,” he said, “I don’t know what your problem is, but I am Adam Delaney. This is my apartment. My bed.”
“That’s impossible.”
“Do I have to show you my identification?” he asked, walking over to the dresser. He retrieved his wallet and pulled out his driver’s license, along with his passport.
His name was there in black and white. Along with his other vital statistics. She stared at his picture, wondering if she was in the midst of some crazy nightmare. Then she spun on her heel and escaped into the living room. Feeling a little dizzy, she plucked her slacks and blouse out of her bag.
He followed her. “Now tell me who you are and how you got into my apartment.”
She tucked the sheet under her chin to cover herself and hastily pulled on her clothes. She had no intention of giving this stranger her name or any other information. He already knew her much too well.
“Something’s not right,” she said, more to herself than to him. “I know this apartment. I know Horatio. I know Adam Delaney—and you’re not him.”
“You can call my mother if you’d like,” he said wryly, leaning against the doorway. “She’ll tell you that’s been my name since the day I was born thirty years ago. She’ll also tell you that I’ve been on a photo shoot in South America for the past four months. I just got back yesterday.”
He had to be lying. Had he done something to her Adam? Hurt him? She finished dressing, then let the satin sheet fall to the floor. Her blouse was buttoned wrong, but she was too upset to care.
He advanced on her. “I think we should start over.”
Her gaze dropped to the sizable bulge in his boxer shorts. What exactly did he mean by start over? Josie didn’t intend to stick around long enough to find out. Whirling, she scooped up her overnight bag with one hand and ran toward the apartment door.
“Hey, wait a minute,” he called after her.
She heard heavy footsteps behind her and almost tripped over the cat. But she reached the front door before he did, slamming it behind her, then she raced for the elevator at the end of the long hallway.
Luckily, the elevator doors slid open as soon as she pressed the button. She stumbled inside, then turned around in time to see him step out of his doorway and into the empty hallway. He still wore his boxer shorts and a befuddled expression on his ruggedly handsome face.
But she was the one who was confused. He claimed to be Adam Delaney. Her Adam Delaney. It just didn’t make sense.
She jabbed several buttons on the elevator panel, not caring where she ended up as long as he didn’t follow her. She wanted to get as far away from this man as possible. To forget last night had ever happened.
But when their gazes locked in the moment before the elevator doors closed, she knew forgetting him wouldn’t be easy. Not when his touch was still branded on her skin and their lovemaking was still burned into her memory.
So she’d just have to settle for never seeing him again.
2
ADAM STARED AT THE ELEVATOR doors long after they had closed. His dream girl was gone. Worse, he realized she must be crazy. He also realized he’d never met her before, at the bar last evening or anywhere else. He’d known that as soon as he’d seen her this morning.
In his business, Adam never forgot a face. Hers was unique, with wide-set green eyes and high, sculpted cheekbones. He wouldn’t describe her as beautiful, though her full lips and the tilt of her nose added an interesting dimension to her face that sparked his interest as a photographer.
The way she’d seduced him last night sparked his interest as a man. He’d wanted to make love to her again this morning, but the gleam of fear he’d seen in her green eyes had held him back. Despite his taste for dangerous pursuits, Adam didn’t chase unwilling women. Or crazy ones.
With a sigh of disappointment, he walked back into his apartment, a dull throb in his head from too many beers the night before. Horatio was waiting by the door, his tail flicking impatiently behind him.
“You should have warned me,” he muttered, moving toward the kitchen. But even as he said the words, he couldn’t regret what had happened between him and his mystery lady. She’d touched his soul as well as his body, something no other woman could claim. Something he hadn’t thought possible.
He reached into the cupboard for the bag of cat food, then froze. The shelves were stocked full. Cans of soup and vegetables. Boxes of cereal and granola bars. Several bags of assorted pasta. His cupboards had been almost bare when he’d left home four months ago.
“What the hell is going on here?”
Horatio replied with a loud meow, pacing beside his empty cat bowl. Adam filled it, then placed the bag back into the cupboard as more questions filled his head. How had his dream girl gotten into his apartment last night? How did she know his cat’s name? How did she know his name?
Ten minutes later, he was fully dressed and ready for some answers. He knocked on the door directly across from his apartment, hoping Mrs. Clanahan was an early riser. His elderly neighbor had offered to feed and care for Horatio while Adam was out of the country. Before he’d left for Rio, he’d stocked up on cat food and kitty litter, then given her a spare key to his apartment.
Maybe Mrs. Clanahan could explain how all that food had magically appeared in his kitchen cupboards. And how that strange woman had magically appeared in his bed.
But when the door opened, it wasn’t Mrs. Clanahan who greeted him but a middle-aged man wearing a torn white T-shirt and a pair of baggy red shorts. An old game show rerun blared on the television behind him and the stench of rotting meat permeated the air.
“Yeah?” the man said, scowling up at him.
“I’m looking for Mrs. Clanahan.”
“She don’t live here no more.”
“Since when?”
“Since she fell down and broke her hip about three months ago. Her daughter lives in Florida, so she carted her down there and sublet this apartment to me.”
Mrs. Clanahan had often talked about how much she missed her daughter. Too bad she’d had to break her hip to spend time with her. He felt a moment’s concern about the sweet old lady’s injury, but he had another matter to deal with.
“And you are?”
“Clyde Buckley,” he replied, growing impatient. He craned his head over his own shoulder trying to watch his television show.
“So tell me, Mr. Buckley, what arrangements did Mrs. Clanahan make about Horatio?”
Buckley scowled as he turned back around. “Who the hell is Horatio?”
Adam hitched his thumb behind him. “The cat in the apartment across the hall. Mrs. Clanahan was supposed to feed him while…”
“Oh, yeah,” Buckley interjected, “that was part of the sublet agreement. But the guy came back early. Lucky thing, cause I’m allergic to cats.”
Apprehension skittered over Adam’s spine. “What guy?”
“The guy who lives there,” Buckley replied, scratching his belly. “Delaney. He picked up the key and even gave me twenty bucks for all my trouble.”
Adam didn’t want to believe the man, but Clyde Buckley seemed incapable of artifice. He seemed barely capable of walking upright. “Did you ask him for some kind of identification?”
“Why should I?” Buckley retorted. “He knew the name of the damn cat. Who are you anyway and why are you here asking all these questions?”
He clenched his jaw. “I’m Adam Delaney. You gave my key to the wrong man.”
Buckley stuck out his jaw. “So where’s your identification?”
For the second time that morning, Adam pulled out his wallet and flashed his driver’s license and passport.
Clyde Buckley leaned in for a closer look. “Okay, so it says your name is Adam Delaney. But you sure don’t look much like him.”
It wasn’t even eight o’clock yet and Adam wanted a drink, but his pounding head nixed that idea. “I think you mean he doesn’t look much like me.”
“Huh?”
Adam took a deep breath, trying not to lose his temper. It wasn’t Buckley’s fault that some jerk was trying to screw up his life. “Tell me what he looks like.”
His gaze drifted to the television set. “Who?”
“Delaney.”
Buckley looked back at him. “I thought you said you’re Delaney.”
“I am,” he snapped. “I mean the man who told you he was me.”
“Oh.” Buckley crinkled his brow. “I can’t really remember—I only saw him once or twice.”
“Try.”
The older man shrugged. “Maybe about six feet. Skinny. Needed a haircut.”
“What else?” Adam asked, wanting specific details. “How about the color of his hair? His eyes? The kind of car he drives? Anything at all you can tell me.”
Buckley snorted. “Hell, I don’t know. I mind my own business around here, you know?”
“Did you ever see him with a woman?”
“Like I said, I mind my own business.” Buckley paused for a moment. “There was a broad who showed up at his door once in a while, but don’t ask me to describe her, ‘cause she sure wasn’t worth remembering.”
Then it couldn’t be his dream girl. Adam mentally kicked himself for letting her go. He’d never find her again in a city of over two million people. She might be the only one who could answer all of his questions.
“I gotta go,” Buckley said. “They’re about to spin the big wheel.”
The door closed in his face before Adam could say another word. He stared at it a moment, tempted to kick it down in frustration. But that wouldn’t accomplish anything except alienating his new neighbor.
He turned around and walked back inside his apartment.
Adam couldn’t deny it any longer. Someone had been impersonating him. But who? And for what reason? To find the answers, he began a thorough search of the apartment, hoping to find some clue to the man’s real identity. He started with the bedroom, but the only thing he found that didn’t belong to him was a lone black sock underneath the drapes.
When he walked into the living room, his gaze fell on the bookshelf. Two books caught his eye. He walked over and pulled them out, noting a sticker on each spine from the Denver Public Library. Books he hadn’t checked out.
“Success at Any Price,” he muttered, reading one title. Then he looked at the other book. “How to Change Your Life Forever.”
His darkroom yielded more evidence. It had been a small bedroom that he’d converted into a darkroom to allow him to develop pictures at home. Several items had been moved and one of his old cameras was missing.
He continued his search, even digging though the trash cans in the bathroom and kitchen. It was clear from the amount of garbage he found that someone had been living here recently. Someone pretending to be him.
Adam strode into his office and opened his file cabinet. All his files were neatly in place, but that didn’t mean the impostor hadn’t combed through his records. They detailed almost everything about his life. Bank accounts and insurance policies. His professional contacts. Even all the names, addresses and telephone numbers of his family and friends in his hometown, Pleasant Valley, Colorado.
Adam had to figure out what the impostor had done with this information. But first, he needed to contact Cole Rafferty, a good friend and local private investigator, to find out just how badly this guy had screwed up his life. Then he’d call his editor at Adventurer magazine and tell him the trip to New Zealand would have to be delayed for a while. Because he wasn’t going anywhere until his life was his again.
ON MONDAY MORNING, Josie rushed into the main branch of the Denver Public Library just before the doors opened to the public. Always punctual and professional, she drew stares from the other employees as she hurried to her desk. No doubt they’d all go into a state of shock if they were to discover Josephine Sinclair had spent Saturday night in the arms of a stranger.
A fact she didn’t plan to divulge to anyone.
But she couldn’t put it behind her, either. She’d spent most of last night tossing and turning in bed, then slept through her alarm this morning. Running late for work had only made her feel more harried, more out of control.
If only she’d never gone through with that surprise midnight seduction. But Josie so often resisted the urge to do something wild and spontaneous that she’d been unable to help herself.
With disastrous results.
After settling in behind her desk, she straightened her nameplate and the electric pencil sharpener, then untangled the telephone cord. She had to put her life in order again. But to do that she needed some answers.
As a reference librarian, she excelled at providing information to patrons on some of the most bizarre subjects imaginable. Now she was the one in need of information. Cold, hard facts about Adam Delaney that would tell her why she’d found a stranger in her boyfriend’s bed.
By late morning, she’d discovered enough to start a folder. Inside, she placed back issues of Adventurer magazine that featured his photographs and added printouts of newspaper articles she’d found on the Web site of his hometown, Pleasant Valley, Colorado.
What she hadn’t found was a picture of him.
Frustrated, Josie sorted through the Pleasant Valley Gazette’s articles once again. A weekly paper, it focused on local news in the small town, and she’d found several feature stories in it about the hometown hero’s adventures, including Adam’s harrowing rescue of a Siamese cat in Egypt.
According to the article, Adam had been raised on an acreage just outside of Pleasant Valley and had always had an affinity for animals. So he’d brought the cat back to Denver with him. Josie already knew all of this—Adam had told her the story himself, modestly downplaying his heroic role in saving Horatio.
But he’d never told her anything about the man she’d found in his bed on Saturday night. Despite her extensive search, she still didn’t know why he was there or what he’d done with Adam. Her Adam.
She’d tried e-mailing her boyfriend, as well as calling him on his cell phone all day yesterday. But for some reason he wasn’t answering.
Or he wasn’t able to answer.
She suppressed a shiver, not wanting to believe the worst. Her boyfriend was safe—he had to be. She couldn’t make love to a man capable of violence, could she? Not only make love to him, but thoroughly enjoy it. She groaned under her breath, then buried her face in her hands.
Josie had never before indulged in one-night stands or anonymous sex. She preferred to play it safe in both her professional and personal life. Despite the erotic allure, sleeping with a stranger was a risk she’d simply never been willing to take.
But no matter how hard she tried to forget, the night she’d spent in her stranger’s arms kept flashing into her mind. The way he’d touched and kissed and tantalized her until she’d become someone she didn’t recognize. Wild and wanton and begging him for sweet release. Heat suffused her cheeks as she closed the file, wondering how she could have acted that way. And how she would ever explain what had happened between them to her boyfriend.
But she had to find him first.
Then Josie looked up and saw the stranger she wanted to forget, the one who claimed he was Adam Delaney, walk through the door.
She grabbed a magazine, almost ripping it in half as she held it open in front of her face, hoping he hadn’t seen her. But her hopes died when she heard footsteps approaching her desk.
“Excuse me.” His familiar, whiskey-smooth voice sent ripples over her skin.
“Yes?” she said behind the magazine. Too late, she realized it was a copy of his magazine. Her gaze moved from a spectacular aerial photograph of the Grand Canyon to a small blurb at the bottom of the page that credited Adam Delaney as the photographer who had taken the picture while skydiving.
“I’m hoping you can help me.”
She slowly lowered the magazine until just her eyes peeked over the top of it. “What do you need?”
He placed two books on the desk. “These were left in my apartment and I need to know who checked them out.”
“Perhaps someone at the front desk can help you,” she replied, relieved that he didn’t recognize her. Of course, the last time he’d seen her she’d been wearing a sheet. Today she wore a light-gray suit and her blond hair pulled back into a neat French braid.
He hesitated, his gaze narrowing. “Have we met?”
She looked up at him, the magazine still concealing half her face. “I don’t think so.”
He stared into her eyes. “You’re her. You’re my dream girl.”
“Hardly,” she said, lowering the magazine and facing the man she’d never wanted to see again. “I’m sorry, but you’ll have to ask someone else for assistance.”
But he didn’t take the hint. Instead, he pulled her pink scarf out of his shirt pocket. “Don’t you remember leaving this at my place?”
Mortified, Josie reached out and snatched it from him, all too aware of the stares from some of the staff. “Please lower your voice. This is not the time or the place to cause a scene.”
A wry smile curled up one corner of his mouth. “You call this a scene? I just want to talk to you.”
“Not here,” she insisted.
“Then where? I’m free all day,” he said.
“I’d rather not talk about it at all,” she told him. “We both know it was a huge mistake. So let’s just forget it ever happened.”
“Not an option.” He leaned forward, planting both hands on her desk, a flash of fire in his brown eyes. “Some guy walked into my life and pretended he was me. Now I want to know why and, like it or not, you’re my only connection to him.”
He was so close she could see flecks of gold in his brown eyes and the tiny scar near the corner of his mouth. The same mouth that had tasted her lips. Her breasts. The tender skin inside her thighs. For a moment, Josie found it hard to breathe. “The Adam Delaney that I know would never do anything like that.”
“Prove it.”
She stood up, ready to do battle. This man seemed to bring out the passion in her—a reaction she didn’t like one bit. “I don’t have to prove anything to you!”
“Then I guess you leave me with no option but to go to the police.”
“The police,” she echoed, certain she’d heard him wrong.
He gave a slow nod. “I’d rather not, because they’re going to want to know every detail about what happened between us. How you broke into my apartment in the middle of the night…”
“I had a key,” she protested.
“How you took all your clothes off before climbing into my bed,” he continued, as if she hadn’t spoken. “How you even brought a condom with you…”
“All right,” she cried, cutting him off, “I’ll meet with you. Just tell me where and when.”
He glanced at his watch. “It’s almost noon. Why don’t we meet for lunch at Spagli’s on Bannock Street? That’s not too far from here.”
Josie had no appetite, but better to get it over with as soon as possible. “Fine. I’ll see you there.”
He smiled. “I’m looking forward to it.”
Her fists clenched as she watched him leave. How dare he threaten to expose the most embarrassing moment of her life. She hated the fact that he had that kind of power over her—and hated even more that he seemed to enjoy it.
Josie had been tempted to go the police herself when he’d claimed he was Adam Delaney. The only thing that had stopped her was the very reason he’d cited. She’d be forced to tell them everything about the night she’d spent in his arms and she simply couldn’t bring herself to do it.
Besides, she wanted to talk to Adam first. Her Adam. There had to be a reasonable explanation for this mess. Something she had yet to find in her research. She had yet to find her boyfriend, too, and that bothered her.
Josie sat back down at her desk, hating the way that her life was spinning out of control, just like it had when her father had been arrested. Only she’d been a child then, and now she was an adult. Perfectly capable of handling this or any other situation.
She took a deep breath, then another, aware of the quiet whispers of the staff at the front desk. How much had they overheard? Josie had never raised her voice at work before, even when dealing with the most irritating of library patrons. She had always prided herself on her self-control.
Now this man who called himself Adam Delaney had made her lose that control. Not once, but twice. The first time had been Saturday night, when she’d come completely undone in his arms. Then today, when he’d threatened to expose their illicit night together.
Josie didn’t intend to let it happen again.
3
ADAM SAT AT A CORNER table in Spagli’s, wondering which woman would show up—his dream girl or that hermetically sealed dragon at the library. He almost hadn’t recognized her. She’d contained her wild side beneath a tidy hairstyle and a shapeless suit. Her attitude had undergone a radical change, too.
Which was fine with him. He didn’t need to complicate this mess by lusting after his impostor’s girlfriend. A woman by the name of Josephine Sinclair, according to the nameplate he’d seen on her desk.
Adam leaned back in his chair, oblivious to the diners around him. He’d never made love to a woman named Josephine before. Hell, he’d never met a woman like Josephine before, prickly on the outside, but peel off those layers and there was a warm and willing woman underneath.
Not that he intended to do any more peeling. At least not until he knew all the facts. It was entirely possible that Josephine was in on this scam. Maybe that night in his bed had been a setup. He’d volunteered enough hours at the legal-aid office in college to make him consider the situation from every angle.
Yet, he couldn’t deny the horrified shock he’d seen on her face Sunday morning. Or the words she’d uttered that had hurt him more than he wanted to admit. There’s been a horrible mistake.
Adam didn’t believe in mistakes. His philosophy was that every day was an adventure and damn the consequences. Making love to Josephine Sinclair had been one of the most thrilling adventures he’d had in a very long time.
Too bad she didn’t see it that way.
When she arrived at the restaurant, Adam reminded himself that she might not be as innocent as she appeared. He watched her walk toward the table, trying to assess her the same way he used to look over accused felons who came to legal aid looking for assistance. Most of them had been guilty of their crimes, but a few could pull off the innocent act.
Josephine Sinclair had it down pat. She walked briskly toward him with her head held high, a flush of indignation on her cheeks. She clutched a gray leather purse in her hand that matched her gray suit. He decided he liked her much better wearing nothing at all.
His gaze fell to the sway of her hips and those long legs beneath her gray skirt. The same legs that had wrapped around him Saturday night, flexing against his hips and thighs as she rode him. His groin tightened at the memory, making it somewhat uncomfortable for him to stand up to meet her.
“Right on time,” he said, leaning over to pull out her chair.
“Let’s just get this over with.” She sat down, pushing away the menu in front of her.
Despite her impatience, Adam intended to take his time—just like he’d done Saturday night. “Shall we order a glass of wine first?”
She met his gaze, those beautiful green eyes filled with both intelligence and alarm. “Look, Mr.…Delaney, I don’t know what you want from me, but I don’t consider this meeting a social occasion.”
“Adam,” he said evenly.
She blinked. “What?”
“I want you to call me Adam.” He waved away an approaching waitress. “After all, we’re hardly strangers. And I’ll call you Jo.”
“No, you won’t,” she countered. “Because after today you’ll never see me again.”
Her frostiness intrigued him, even though he knew it was an act. Why did Josie feel the need to hide behind her starchy Josephine persona? Who was she trying to fool?
“What did the impostor call you?” he asked.
“Who?” she said, then her eyes narrowed. “If you mean the real Adam, he called me Josie.”
He leaned forward, the scent of jasmine teasing his nostrils. Or was he just imagining it? “I am the real Adam Delaney. So if you’re not in on this scam to take over my life, then prove it.”
“How can I possibly do that? If you really are Adam Delaney, then something is very wrong.”
“Yes,” he said bluntly. “Your so-called boyfriend’s been deceiving you.”
She lifted her chin. “That’s a possibility I refuse to consider.”
He wondered what kind of man would inspire this kind of loyalty in a woman. Didn’t she know men lied all the time? He’d done it himself more times than he cared to remember, hoping to spare the woman’s feelings when he was ready to move on.
Adam made it a habit to tell women up front that he wasn’t looking for more than a good time, but somehow they never seemed to believe him. Each one thought she could be the woman to change his mind. To lead him down the aisle and confine him to a life of rules and responsibility. He’d given that up three years ago when he’d bypassed a chance to attend Yale Law School.
A decision he’d never regretted. Adam still remembered the fateful day when his college roommate had walked into their dorm room and told him about the photography contest sponsored by Adventurer magazine. Photography had always been just a hobby for him, though he’d been talented enough to earn a job on the college newspaper.
No one in the Delaney family, least of all Adam, had considered that he might make photography a career. He was supposed to go to law school and eventually take over his father’s practice in Pleasant Valley.
But winning that contest changed everything. Along with a cash prize from the magazine, he’d received a lucrative job offer as a staff photographer. It had taken him three days to decide which career path to take. The safe, boring world of law or the exciting and sometimes dangerous world of outdoor photography.
In the end, his yearning for adventure had won out over the security of a legal career.
His editor at Adventurer magazine loved him because he was willing to go anywhere and do anything in pursuit of the perfect shot. He had some great ones, but none that completely satisfied him. He was still searching for the defining photograph of his career. If shooting it meant hanging off the side of a mountain in Nepal or taking a raft down the Amazon River, then so be it.
Adam had never shied away from danger. Even the thought of pursuing his impostor gave him a rush of adrenaline. It didn’t matter whether he was chasing lions on an African savanna or chasing human prey. He thrived off the challenge.
“Why did you insist on meeting with me today?” Josie asked, breaking his reverie. “I checked into those two books you brought into the library. They were taken out with a library card in Adam Delaney’s name. So there’s nothing more I can do to help you.”
Can’t or won’t? He stared at her for a moment, wondering how she’d like life on a savanna. With her blond hair loose and blowing in the breeze. Her creamy skin turning a golden tan under the hot sun. Midnight swims in a freshwater pool. He swallowed a wistful sigh. Jo might like it, but Josephine would hate it.
“Well?” she asked, impatience lacing her tone. “Why am I here?”
He smiled, telling himself that annoying Josephine might be as dangerous as poking a lioness with a stick. “Maybe I just couldn’t wait to see you again.”
“This isn’t a joke…Adam.”
He noticed how hard it was for her to call him by that name and for a moment felt a twinge of guilt for teasing her. If she truly had been deceived by his impostor, then they should become allies, not enemies.
But first she had to earn his trust. “Tell me about your boyfriend.”
She hesitated. “What exactly do you want to know?”
“Everything, but let’s start with the basics first. How about giving me his physical description.”
“Well, he looks nothing like you,” she began, as if this was a good thing. “He’s not quite as tall, not quite as big, not quite as…”
“Good in bed?” he ventured.
“I was going to say rude,” she retorted, a deep blush rising to her cheeks, “but I didn’t want to offend you. Obviously, I shouldn’t have worried about it.”
He hadn’t intended to embarrass her, but something about Josephine’s austere manner provoked him. Adam found himself wanting to fluster her, hoping to see a hint of his wild woman beneath the cool exterior. The woman he’d been thinking about too much since Saturday night.
“Go on,” he cajoled. “What else can you tell me about Mr. Perfect?”
“I never said he was perfect,” she countered. “But he is very responsible and levelheaded.”
“Boring, in other words.”
She tipped up her chin. “On the contrary, my Adam is everything a woman could want in a man.”
“Except for the fact that your boyfriend’s been living under my name, in my apartment, with my cat for the last few months.”
“We only have your word on that.”
He shrugged his shoulders. “I’ve already offered to let you call my mother. What more can I do to prove to you that I’m telling the truth?”
“Tell me something about Adam Delaney,” she challenged. “The real Adam Delaney. His past, his work, his life. Because I’ve done enough research on the man myself, I probably know his life better than you do.”
He grinned, ready to prove her wrong. “I was born in Pleasant Valley, Colorado, population five thousand and twelve. My parents are Lila and Steven Delaney. Mom’s a cook at the high school and my father practices law.”
“All facts you could have found in public records. How about something more specific?”
“Maybe you should have put my impostor through this interrogation before you started dating him.”
“Maybe you should tell me more personal details about Adam Delaney.” She arched a brow. “Or don’t you know any?”
Now he felt like the one getting poked with a stick.
“I broke my ankle playing in the state basketball tournament my senior year, but we won anyway. I earned my bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice at the University of Colorado in Boulder and got accepted to Yale Law School. But I decided to travel the world instead.”
She didn’t say anything, but the color faded from her cheeks.
“I know you believe me,” Adam said softly, “even if you don’t want to admit it.”
She shook her head. “I’m not sure what to believe. You could have looked all that up in the archives of the Pleasant Valley Gazette.”
“So could my impostor,” Adam replied, ready to end this battle between them. “Look, the fact is this guy duped both of us. Now I’m not going to sit back and let him get away with it. I plan to track him down and I want you to help me.”
Her green eyes widened. “How can I possibly help you?”
“The way I figure it, my impostor has to be someone I know. Someone who knew I’d be out of the country for several months. Hell, he even knew my neighbor across the hall was taking care of Horatio. He finagled the damn apartment key from him.”
“Then maybe you should ask your neighbor to help you.”
He shook his head. “Tried that. It’s a dead end. You’re the only one who can help me, Jo.”
“Josie,” she said, correcting him. “And I really don’t want to get involved.”
“It’s too late. You got involved the moment you climbed into my bed.”
She stood up. “A moment I intend to forget. I suggest you do the same.”
But he wasn’t about to let her walk away from him again. “It’s your choice. Either help me voluntarily or I’ll be forced to find out the information in other ways. Like having intimate conversations with all of your coworkers. Your friends. Your family. Anyone who might have seen the two of you together.”
Her nostrils flared. “To tell them what? That I was dating an impostor? That you and I…”
“I’ll do whatever is necessary to find out who did this,” he declared, hoping she wouldn’t call his bluff.
Fury lit her green eyes. “So, basically, you’re blackmailing me?”
He thought about it for a moment. “Yes.”
She shot him a look of pure loathing. “You are despicable.”
“But never boring.”
Josie turned and marched out of the restaurant without another word. He followed her, much too aware of the luscious body that lay underneath that boring suit. Maybe that’s why she wore it—to keep strange men, like him, at bay. No doubt she regretted the intimate night they’d spent together.
He, on the other hand, couldn’t seem to stop thinking about it. And that surprised him, since Adam rarely reminisced about one-night stands. But for some reason, Josie was different. Which might explain his reaction to her. He’d always loved a challenge.
Adam caught up with her on the sidewalk. “I want your answer.”
She kept walking. “Too bad. I’m due back at work.”
“And I’ve got an assignment waiting for me halfway across the world. It might be an inconvenience to both of us, but I need to find this impostor so I can get on with my life. Will you help me?”
She whirled on him. “I can’t help you. I don’t have any idea where Adam is. I mean, my Adam.”
For some reason, the way she kept saying my Adam grated on him. “We both need answers. That’s why we should work together to find him.”
She arched a skeptical eyebrow. “How do you suggest we do that?”
“Simple. I’ll introduce you to everyone I know here in Denver. Like I said before, this impostor has to be someone who knows me—knows personal details about my life. When you spot your boyfriend, just point him out to me.”
She hesitated, obviously mulling over his plan in her mind. “And then?”
“And then we never have to see each other again.”
JOSIE STARED UP AT HIM, resisting the temptation to slide her palm over the shadow of whiskers on his jaw. He stood much too close to her, making it impossible to think clearly. But she refused to back away from him or give him any other signs of retreat. A man like Adam would use it to his advantage, and he already seemed to have all the advantages, which left her caught in a trap she couldn’t escape.
A trap of her own making.
“Fine,” she said at last, knowing she had little choice. Though she truly did want to find her boyfriend. To feel safe again. “The sooner we end this, the better.”
He smiled. “Methinks you protest too much.”
His smile made something warm uncurl in her belly. She ignored the sensation, telling herself it was a hunger pain. “In your dreams.”
“My dreams have been quite stimulating lately.”
She didn’t know what he was talking about and told herself she didn’t want to know. Adam was everything her boyfriend was not—brash, pushy and overconfident. She couldn’t wait to prove him wrong.
So why not join him in his search and discover the truth? Maybe her boyfriend was in trouble. Maybe he needed her. She looked up at the man in front of her, wondering if he’d ever needed anyone.
“Well?” he said, waiting for her answer.
“All right, I’ll help you.”
“Good choice,” he said with an approving nod. “We’ll start tonight.”
“Start what exactly?” she asked, hoping she hadn’t just made a big mistake.
“The hunt.”
She saw the gleam of anticipation in his dark eyes and wondered if this was only a game to him. Another adventure he could add to his extensive collection.
Josie had endured enough adventures growing up to last her a lifetime. Now she just wanted stability in her life. A good job. A place she could call home. A man who made her feel safe and secure. Like her boyfriend. The complete opposite of the man standing in front of her, who could stir up passionate emotions inside of her that she hadn’t known existed. Emotions that she didn’t want to feel.
Passion had made her mother leave her father for another man. It had made her father steal her away out of desperation and revenge. Passion had destroyed her family. But she refused to let it rule her now. She had to control herself, no matter how much he provoked her.
“Let’s meet at my apartment around seven,” he suggested. “Unless you want me to pick you up at your place?”
“No,” she blurted, uneasy at the prospect of him invading her home—and her life. She wanted to keep him at a distance, if that was possible, even if it meant returning to that apartment, the scene of the biggest mistake of her life. “I’ll meet you there at seven.”
Then she spun on her heel and stepped off the curb and into oncoming traffic. A car horn blasted and something jerked her off her feet.
A moment later, she found herself in Adam’s arms. He held her on the sidewalk, her body clasped tightly against his own. “That was a close one.”
It took her a moment to find her voice. He’d probably just saved her life. He’d also been the reason she’d stepped into traffic without looking. “I suppose I should thank you.”
“Don’t worry about it.” Concern etched his brow. “It’s probably my fault.”
“Yes,” she agreed, distracted by the soft touch of his fingers caressing her cheek. She wanted to close her eyes and enjoy the sensation. To let him soothe away the fear and uncertainty quaking inside of her.
His arms tightened around her and Josie could feel the hard length of his body aligned with her own. She shifted slightly, fitting more intimately against him before coming to her senses.
She pulled away from him. “I have to get back to work.”
“Are you sure you’re all right?” he asked, watching her smooth down her suit.
“Positive,” she lied, then turned away from him and waited for the Walk light to appear. After checking the traffic in both directions, Josie headed across the street, sensing that Adam was still watching her.
As she walked to the library, Josie relived the experience over and over again. The oncoming car. Adam’s rescue. Her temporary insanity in his arms. Just more proof that the man was dangerous.
By the time she reached her desk, her emotions were once again firmly in check. Until the head librarian, Evelyn Myerson, approached her.
“I have a phone message for you,” Evelyn said, handing Josie a note.
Was it a message from Adam? Her Adam? She took the note from her, aware that Evelyn was still standing in front of her desk as she quickly scanned it. The message wasn’t from her boyfriend, but from her mother.
Disappointment rushed through her as she read the note, questioning why Josie had missed joining her for Sunday dinner. The shock of waking up in bed with the wrong man had made her completely forget about her mother’s dinner invitation.
“Thank you,” Josie said, tucking the message inside her skirt pocket.
Evelyn took a step closer to the desk and lowered her voice. “You seem a bit distracted today. I hope everything is all right.”
The head librarian had always given Josie stellar evaluations, impressed by her willingness to take on any task assigned to her. Evelyn Myerson didn’t tolerate messy work habits or disorganization. A widow with no children, she’d made the library her life.
“I’m fine,” Josie assured her.
Evelyn sighed. “You do excellent work, Josie, so I have no complaints in that department. However, I must ask that you handle any personal conflicts on your own time. If you need to take a few days off, I’m sure we can arrange it.”
She clenched her jaw, surmising that Evelyn had witnessed her altercation with Adam this morning. Her boss was a stickler for adhering to library policy and rules, something Josie had always admired about her. But at this moment, she’d prefer it if Evelyn minded her own business.
“That won’t be necessary,” Josie said. “What happened this morning will never happen again.”
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