Shawna Delacorte - Stormbound With A Tycoon

when something nudged her awake. She managed to open one eye enough to see the morning light of a stormy dawn and know that it was still raining. Then a strong arm curled around her waist, jolting her into full wakefulness.

A body snuggled up against hers—a naked body that was unmistakably male.

A strange, naked, male body.

In her bed.

“Ms. Delacorte provides plenty of sparks to please romance fans.”

—Romantic Times Magazine

Dear Reader,

Welcome to the world of Silhouette Desire, where you can indulge yourself every month with romances that can only be described as passionate, powerful and provocative!

The incomparable Diana Palmer heads the Desire lineup for March. The Winter Soldier is a continuation of the author’s popular cross-line miniseries, SOLDIERS OF FORTUNE. We’re sure you’ll enjoy this tale of a jaded hero who offers protection in the form of a marriage of convenience to a beautiful woman in jeopardy.

Bestselling author Leanne Banks offers you March’s MAN OF THE MONTH, a tempting Millionaire Husband, book two of her seductive miniseries MILLION DOLLAR MEN. The exciting Desire continuity series TEXAS CATTLEMAN’S CLUB: LONE STAR JEWELS continues with Lone Star Knight by Cindy Gerard, in which a lady of royal lineage finds love with a rugged Texas cattle baron.

The M.D. Courts His Nurse as Meagan McKinney’s miniseries MATCHED IN MONTANA returns to Desire. And a single-dad rancher falls for the sexy horsetrainer he unexpectly hires in Kathie DeNosky’s The Rough and Ready Rancher. To cap off the month, Shawna Delacorte writes a torrid tale of being Stormbound with a Tycoon.

So make some special time for yourself this month, and read all six of these tantalizing Silhouette Desires!

Enjoy!

Joan Marlow Golan

Senior Editor, Silhouette Desire

www.millsandboon.co.uk

has delayed her move to Washington State, staying in the Midwest in order to spend some additional time with family. She still travels as often as time permits, and is looking forward to visiting several new places during the upcoming year while continuing to devote herself to writing full-time. Shawna would appreciate hearing from her readers. She can be reached at 6505 E. Central, Box #300, Wichita, KS 67206-1924.

For Thom—Jeopardy isn’t the same anymore.

We all miss you.

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Epilogue

Jessica McGuire did not know how long she had been sleeping when something nudged her awake. She managed to open one eye enough to see the morning light of a stormy dawn and know that it was still raining. Then a strong arm curled around her waist, jolting her into full wakefulness. A body snuggled up against hers—a naked body that was unmistakably male.

She froze. A quick rush of fear shot through her. Her heartbeat lodged in her throat. Then an adrenaline surge spurred her into action. She scrambled out of bed and grabbed her oversize T-shirt, hurriedly pulling it on as she started toward the bedroom door. A glance back toward her bed produced a sigh of relief and brought her to a halt. Even though most of his face was hidden from sight, it was obvious that the stranger in her bed was asleep.

Jessica furrowed her brow in confusion, pursed her lips and cautiously walked over to the side of the bed. She stared at the stranger, trying to get a clear look at his face. Something about him seemed very familiar. She knew him…yet she didn’t. Either way, he did not seem to be an immediate threat to her safety.

She tried the light switch. The power was still out, just as it had been last night when she arrived. Power outages were a common occurrence in that part of the Olympic Peninsula whenever a storm swept in from the Pacific Ocean, so the lack of electricity had not been of any concern to her. Besides, she had been just too tired to care as she made her way through the living room of the darkened cabin and climbed the stairs to her bedroom. She had undressed, dropped her clothes on the floor, and collapsed into bed, falling asleep the second her head hit the pillow.

This morning, however, was a different story. She shot a wary glance at the sleeping man in her bed, then turned to pick up the rest of her clothes from the floor. She fully intended to wake this stranger and evict him from her cabin…as soon as she was dressed.

Jessica picked up the last item of clothing and turned to go downstairs to the bathroom as quietly as she could. A gasp caught in her throat as the shock spread through her. The stranger sleeping in her bed was now awake and staring at her. She swallowed hard at the realization that this handsome, sexy man was the naked body that had been snuggled next to her.

The blankets had slipped down to his hips, revealing a strong, athletic build. His dark, tousled hair was matted down on one side where his head had rested against the pillow. Even with the dim, early-morning light she could not miss the mischievous twinkle in his green eyes as he blatantly looked her up and down.

The commotion had forced him awake. He had been in the middle of a tantalizing dream about a warm feminine body nestled next to his with his hand gliding across silky smooth skin. It had all seemed so real and he was not happy about the interruption. He slowly opened his eyes. The sight that greeted him matched his dream in all respects. His gaze started at the floor and climbed up a pair of sleek bare legs to the point where they extended from the bottom of an oversize shirt.

He shifted his attention to the way the shirt clung to her hips and caressed the curves of her breasts. He turned on his side, propped himself up on his elbow and took in the entire woman. She stood about five-six. The disarray of her short blond hair gave her a sexy, wildly uninhibited look. The strong family resemblance told him she was Jessica McGuire…his best friend’s sister. She had certainly changed since he last saw her many years ago. This was definitely not that awkward teenager.

He made no effort to hide his appreciation of what he was seeing. The thick remnants of sleep gave his voice a husky quality. “Well…well…well…little Jessica McGuire. You’ve certainly grown up since I last saw you.”

“Dylan?” Her mouth fell open as the full shock of his identity hit her. “Dylan Russell? Is that really you?”

“In the flesh.” He peeked beneath the blanket that still covered the lower portion of his body, then shot her a decidedly wicked grin. “And I do mean literally in the flesh.”

The heat of embarrassment spread across Jessica’s face. She prided herself on being a self-sufficient, responsible woman who worked hard and maintained a stable life. Waking up to find a naked man in her bed certainly was not part of that life. She attempted to cover her thinly clad body by holding the rest of her clothes in front of her. She wasn’t sure, but she thought she detected a chuckle coming from his direction. A jab of irritation poked at her followed by disgust. He certainly didn’t seem to have any concerns about his state of undress or the fact that he’d woken up to find a woman in bed with him. It was almost as if he was enjoying her discomfort.

She tried to bring some composure to the moment, but could not quell her annoyance or keep it out of her voice. “You seem to find this situation amusing.”

He laughed—the type of sexy laugh that could immediately heat any woman’s desires while melting her resolve. “Don’t you?”

“No, I don’t find it amusing…or charming or cute. How did you get here? There wasn’t any car outside when I arrived. How did you get in the cabin? The door was locked.”

“All questions easily answered.” He sat up and ran his fingers through his hair. “You apparently didn’t try to put your car in the garage, otherwise you would have seen my car.”

“No, I parked as close to the front door as possible so I wouldn’t have to run through the rain between the garage and the cabin. But that doesn’t explain how you got inside.”

“I have a key.”

“A key?” As mature, adult and blasé as she tried to be, she couldn’t hide her surprise or confusion. “Where did you get a key?”

“Justin gave it to me when he said I could use the cabin for a couple of weeks.”

Her tenuous control over the situation began slipping away…assuming she had ever possessed any control over what was happening. Bewilderment replaced confidence as she became less sure of her ground. “Justin offered you the use of our cabin? He didn’t say anything to me about it.”

An uncomfortable shiver washed across her skin. Dylan seemed to be studying her. He cocked his head and raised an eyebrow. “Maybe that’s because he thought you were going to be in New York for three weeks.”

“Oh…right.” Her voice dropped to a whisper. “New York.” He was correct. New York was exactly where she was supposed to be, not at a mountain cabin on the other side of the country. In fact, it was where she had been until the previous morning when she caught a flight back to Seattle after her work project had been postponed.

She pulled her composure together and reasserted her control. “I suggest we put this conversation on hold for a little while. I need to get dressed and you need to get out of my bed…uh, my bedroom…since it’s obvious that you can’t continue to stay here.”

He eyed her curiously, making no effort to retrieve any clothes. In fact, he snuggled more comfortably into the bed and pulled the blankets up across his chest. “And why not?”

“Why not?” Had she heard him correctly? Was he actually questioning her decision? “I thought that would have been obvious. Because I’m not in New York and you’re in my bed—that’s why not.”

“I took the first bedroom I came to.”

“This one is mine. The other one is Justin’s.”

He adopted a businesslike attitude. “You’re right. We do need to put this conversation on hold for a while—” he flashed her a teasing grin “—at least until I’ve had some coffee.” He started to lean across the bed and grab his jeans from the arm of the chair, then paused as he glanced in her direction. “Would you mind turning your back so I can put on my pants…or do you prefer to just stand there clutching your clothes in front of you?”

“It’s my bedroom…you’re the one who should…I mean…” She saw the expression dart across his face, the one that said he was about to pull back the covers and get out of bed. “I didn’t mean—”

The heat of embarrassment burned across her cheeks. She whirled around and hurried out the door, her clothes clutched tightly against her body. The amused chuckle followed her down the stairs and into the bathroom. She closed out the sound by shutting the bathroom door.

Jessica pulled back the shower curtain, sat on the edge of the bathtub and closed her eyes. She did not know whether to be angry at his intrusion or amused by his audacity. Her annoyance surfaced. He had certainly gone out of his way to embarrass her. And this wasn’t the first time, either. Her thoughts drifted back to the time when she was sixteen years old.