Billionaire's Island Bride(23)

Dare’s eyes narrowed. Slowly, deliberately, he got up and then he was towering over her. “Are you threatening me?” His voice was hard as the granite of the countertop.

Erin took an involuntary step back. Had she gone too far? She was alone in the apartment with a man who looked just about ready to wring her neck. Goodness, she’d been so stupid. Why hadn’t she kept her mouth shut?

“N…no,” she managed to whisper. “It wasn’t a threat.”

A strange look passed over Dare’s face and then the anger was gone. His look was almost one of regret. “Look, I’m sorry,” he said and expelled his breath. “I didn’t mean to scare you. You just annoyed the hell out of me with your pretense.”

What pretense, she wanted to ask. Instead, she bit her lip and waited. There was no way she was going to incite his wrath again, not while she was still alone with him. She’d just let him have his say.

“You know I own Sunsational Resort so all this talk about my boss and getting me fired is a waste of my time and yours. Let’s just be adults here and-”

“What did you say?” Erin’s heart jerked in shock. “You own Sunsational Resort? Are you serious?”

Dare gave her an irritated look then he shook his head. “Here we go again. Will you stop pretending?”

“I’m not pretending,” she retorted. “I had no idea you were…are… the owner of the resort.”

His eyes narrowed. “You had no idea? So you’re telling me that when you spent the night with me you didn’t know who I was?”

Eyes wide, Erin shook her head. Now that he’d said it out loud it didn’t sound good at all. Sleeping with a total stranger? She cringed inside just thinking about it. How could she blame him for having a low opinion of her?

She could feel the heat of shame rush to her face. He would never respect a woman like her. How could he? She had absolutely no excuse except for the fact that the night he’d taken her to his villa Dare had so captivated her that she hadn’t found the power to resist him.

Mortified, Erin could only stare up at Dare and what she saw in his eyes made her wince. Was it scorn or disgust that registered there? Either way Erin knew she was lower than dirt in his eyes.

“Why should I believe you,” he grated, “when you all but threw yourself into my arms? Twice. Why would you have done that if you didn’t know who I was?”

“I don’t need to explain myself,” she said with far more bravado than she felt. “You wouldn’t believe me, anyway.”

“Try me.”

She opened her mouth to object but then she breathed a sigh. What was the use? She might as well lay all her cards on the table and then he could do what he wished. “The first time I was just going to ask you out…as a dare, to satisfy my friends. I slipped and that was when I grabbed on to you.”

“You weren’t trying to kiss me?’

“Absolutely not.”

“It sure looked like it.”

“Well, I wasn’t,” she said, glaring at him. He didn’t have to look so pleased with the idea. “And the second time, in the bar, it was pure coincidence that I bumped into you. I was trying to get away from a most annoying man and saw you as my means of escape.”

“Oh, so that’s all I was to you.”

“That’s all.”

“And the third time?”

“What third time?”

“Your going out on the date with me, then to the villa. What’s your excuse for that one?”

“I…” She swallowed. She had no idea how to explain that one away. Finally, she said, “You were the one who invited me.”

For a long time he stared at her then he spoke, his look enigmatic. “So it was.” He nodded slowly. “So it was.”

Now what did that mean? Did he believe her or was she still nothing more than a groupie in his eyes?

Well, groupie or not, Dare was here in her apartment, thousands of miles from his resort and his island, and she needed to know why. He’d certainly not come all this way out of love for her.

She was loath to broach the subject but since he seemed intent on skirting around the real reason for his visit Erin decided to take the plunge. She’d always faced her problems head on and she wasn’t going to stop now, even if it meant facing off with the lion in her apartment.

“Dare, I’ve asked you twice and you’ve not given me an answer. Why are you here?” She lifted her chin and looked him squarely in the eyes. “Is it because of the baby? You want to state your claim?”