Andrea Kane

Lady Alexandria Cassel scorned London's frivolous social whirl, seeking adventure as a stowaway aboard a merchant ship. Drake Barrett was the vessel's powerful captain-and a cynical duke who disdained a noble's shallow life. At sea he revealed neither his origins nor his wealth, and to Alexandria he was simply a man who made her cool reserve fly with the winds...whose desire for her was as wild as the ocean they sailed.

Caught in the crossfire of war, they were shipwrecked on an idyllic island, where they tasted perfect passion...and tenderness. But Drake dreaded the day of their rescue-when his love would discover that the virile man she adored was at the pinnacle of the aristocracy she despised. Hardly did they suspect the base treachery that would soon threaten them...and the dangers each would brave to join forever their hearts and lives!

"What did you do with my clothes?"

No storm could be as fierce as the one that raged in Alexandria's flashing eyes as she faced Drake across the cabin. "I demand that you return my things at once!"

His brows went up. "You demand? Careful, princess, your snobbish airs are showing. Remember, on this ship the only one who demands is me." He crossed the room, ignoring her as if she were no more than an annoying child that he had dismissed. He took off his shirt, then tossed it carelessly onto the chair. Alex gasped and turned her back. Tossing his breeches next to his shirt, Drake climbed into his berth.

"May I douse the light?" she asked.

He gave his permission and in the dark she undressed and put on one of his shirts. Her bare feet padded across the room. Then, a thud and a cry of pain.

"Alexandria? What is it? Are you badly hurt?"

When he heard her soft sobs, Drake reacted instantly, pulling her into his arms.

They became aware of each other at the same moment. He was totally naked. She was clad only in a thin white shirt.

She needed comfort. He needed more...