Free Possessed by a Stranger by Jeny Stone Page A

bones, all flashed through her thoughts. Her voice became
useless without her breath that refused to return. His foreboding
mood left her bewildered. Had he not recognized her or had he
recognized her? What the hell?
    Shock swept over Garret the second he saw her
and he wasn’t accustomed to anything shocking him. Fucking hell,
this was about to get very interesting. He almost smiled when he
saw her ridiculous attempt to disguise her beauty. He imagined her
removing the glasses, tossing them away then releasing her hair,
shaking it free. A slow sensual strip tease would follow. Hell yes;
that was definitely added to his list of things he wanted from
her.
    “Two scotches and a frozen margarita for the
lady.” Garret ordered then sized up his sexy adversary. She had the
painting. Moments after she won the bid they met. Was their meeting
a coincidence…not likely? Her innocence had deceived him or he
might have put two and two together. The chances of him connecting
the two separate incidents seemed farfetched. There wasn’t any way
she could have known he would be driving down that street at that
exact time. His plan to face Ted was a spur of the moment
event.
    After her initial wide-eyed glance, she now
wore an air of confidence. Her poker face was well rehearsed. After
just watching the video of her in the bar, he knew she switched
faces quickly and efficiently. The mystery of his mystery woman
just increased. With his pants tightly zipped, she was about to
meet the business end of Garret Presley. He would damn sure unzip
his pants later, after, he obtained the painting.
    Okay, he remembered so why
was he so pissed? She found her voice and corrected his order with
the server. “No margarita, thank you. I’m
fine. Put everything on my tab.” She reminded herself, business
first, panic later.
    Facing her angry stranger, her reasons for
meeting clients in a public place were crystal clear. With the
feeling of being a hungry predator‘s prey she doubted her safety
measures were adequate.
    “Do you want anything to eat? Lunch or
appetizers?” His cold soulless eyes bored into hers. Many reasons
for this meeting popped into her mind, none of which explained his
dangerously foul mood. She couldn’t fathom anything she had done
that would cause him any anger, let alone, this borderline
rage.
    “No thank you. But make our drinks doubles.”
His gaze remained on her.
    His clenched jaw line pointed to his jutting
chin. Her sexy mystery man had disappeared and a bastard
replacement had taken over his body. “And you are?” What the hell,
she might as well know his name. She might need it for the police
report later.
    “Garret, and this is Jones, my procurement
manager. I remember you calling me God quite often when we first
met. If you’re more comfortable with that name, I’ll understand. I
know who you are Hannah. I‘m surprised there‘s not an engagement
ring on your finger.” She had perfected her façade but she couldn’t
control the pinkish buds of color that bloomed over her cheeks.
    He wasn’t as surprised as she was to be
sitting across from him, she was sure. This whole situation was out
of kilter with the business meeting she expected. She had changed
the original meeting place from the Eleganté to avoid the miniscule
chance she would accidentally run into him. She needed to stay on
track and run like hell at the first opportunity. Hannah removed
her glasses. The disguise was useless since he had seen her with
far less. She hooked the glasses on the side of her purse. “Mr.
Garret, you said you were interested in a sideboard and I have
several. These are the certificates of authenticity and detailed
pictures.” She slid the portfolio across the table.
    Garret stopped its slide with a smack of his
hand, sharply pushing it back. “Not interested.” Her avoidance of
any personal information raised his suspicions as to her motives.
Their original chance meeting might have been a well-planned ruse.
With