Total pages in book: 99
Estimated words: 94512 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 473(@200wpm)___ 378(@250wpm)___ 315(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 94512 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 473(@200wpm)___ 378(@250wpm)___ 315(@300wpm)
She knew he didn’t intend the gesture to be sexy, yet she couldn’t tear her gaze from his mouth. A day’s growth of beard shadowed his face, and his lips were just full and firm enough to tease her with possibilities. Arousal suddenly burned inside her.
“You need to stop,” Dare said.
She barely recognized his deep, husky voice, but that didn’t prevent her from asking, “Stop what?”
“Stop looking at me like you want to devour me like you did to that ice cream or…” The glint in his eyes told her what would happen next.
The tone in his voice should have scared her away. Instead, it tempted her beyond reason.
“Or…?” she asked, deliberately tempting him.
“This.” He slipped his hand behind her head. He cupped the back of her neck in his firm hand and captured her mouth in a kiss.
Her eyelids closed, and sensation took over. His lips were cool from the ice cream, and of course, he tasted like mint. Unable to help herself, she darted her tongue out for a more thorough taste. “Mmm.” She heard the sound, shocked it had come from her.
He tightened his grip around the back of her neck, and with a groan, he parted his lips, and their tongues tangled. No longer cool, his mouth burned with heat. So did her body as she savored the sensations flowing through her, growing in intensity as his tongue swirled back and forth inside her with lazy, seductive strokes.
When was the last time she’d experienced such a powerful kiss? One that took her over and rocked her soul?
Never, she realized, and the thought should have sent her running. Instead, she let out another soft sigh, and he responded, swirling his tongue from side to side, learning her, tasting her, making her feel as if he couldn’t get enough. Heaven knew she couldn’t.
But when the sound of voices penetrated her foggy mind, she remembered where they were. Apparently so did he because he broke the kiss, but he didn’t immediately pull away. Instead, he rested his forehead against hers.
The intimate gesture made her breath catch in her throat.
“That answer your question?” he asked, sounding out of breath.
That kiss had scrambled her brains but not so much that she didn’t remember she’d asked him what would happen if she didn’t stop staring.
She shook her head and managed a laugh. “Excellent answer, Officer.”
He sat up straighter and grinned.
Cocky male, she thought, enjoying him far too much. She glanced down and realized her cone had begun to melt, the sticky ice cream now all over her hand. “I need to throw this out and go inside to wash up.”
He nodded. “I’ll wait here.”
“Okay, I’ll be right back.”
* * *
Liza headed inside, and Dare used the time to get himself under control. No way could he stand until he’d talked himself down. Literally.
Ten minutes later, he’d escorted Liza to her car, a sporty convertible that suited her. He intended to go right upstairs to his apartment until he realized Faith would be wondering what had happened.
Better to see her now than to have her come looking for him later. He reached the table and discovered his brothers had joined their wives, and the alcohol still flowed. He groaned, wondering if he’d get out of here at a decent hour.
“Dare!” Faith jumped up from her seat and came up beside him. She hooked her arm through his and led him a few steps away from the table.
Ethan shot him an I pity you look, and Dare wondered how he could get retribution.
“So? How’d it go? Did you two connect?” she asked.
“Do you really think I’d tell you my personal business?” he asked his sister-in-law.
“Of course I do,” she said, not the least bit offended. “And I’ll tell you why. I have Liza’s ear. We’re not just working on the fundraiser together. We go way back. Which means I know her. I have insight you’re going to need. So instead of waiting until you have to come begging me for information, you share with me and I’ll do the same.” She batted her eyelashes at him in a very unpracticed move.
Faith, for all her teasing now, wasn’t manipulative nor was she nosy. The woman cared about everyone in her life—those she let in anyway. Now that Dare was one of those people, no way would he get off telling her to mind her own business.
“We came to an understanding,” he told Faith. They’d agreed they had chemistry and then kissed to prove it, Dare thought.
Faith raised her eyebrows. “What does that mean?” she asked.
“It means that’s all the information you’re getting tonight,” Ethan said, coming up to his wife and rescuing his brother. “When and if Dare needs help with his love life, he knows where to find you.” Ethan slipped a finger into a belt loop on the back of Faith’s jeans. “Come here and bother me instead of Dare.”