“You wouldn’t have believed me. Besides, I needed you to want her. To keep her safe. Then you’d get attached and give me the money I needed.” She struggled against the cuffs holding her hands behind her back.
“So you left an infant alone on my doorstep in the dark? At night?” he asked, his voice rising.
Nelle dipped her head but she looked up at him, embarrassed, at least. “I hung around until you came home. I knew you took her inside,” she said defensively.
“Not good enough. Look, lady, you are never going to see my baby again. You’ll be getting an agreement to dissolve all parental rights from my lawyer. I expect you to sign it.”
“What’s in it for me?” she had the nerve to ask.
“Jail time for anything the cops can come up with.” He slammed his hand on the top of the car and walked away, heading back to where Quinn was waiting with Jenny.
Cal joined him and Austin faced Quinn’s uncle. “I don’t know how to thank you.”
“I’d say I was just doing my job but we both know this was more.” He smiled then. “Thank you for being so good to my daughter. You could have gone off on her and I’d have understood.” He ran a hand over his face.
“Let’s just focus on the fact that we got Jenny back and it ended well. Amy’s a good kid. I’m happy to have her continue to work for me. These were … extenuating circumstances,” Austin said.
“And she learned a big lesson.” Cal’s smile was grim. “I’ll drop you two off at Austin’s. Okay?”
Quinn nodded.
“Thanks again, Cal. For everything.”
* * *
Since they didn’t have a car seat, Austin held on to Jenny during the short ride home. Quinn sat in the far corner near the car door, watching them, her heart in her throat. The love Austin had for Jenny was genuine, real, and ran deep already. She felt the same way. Although her uncle had reassured them they’d get the baby back safely, deep down, she’d known anything could go wrong. Thank God it hadn’t. Quinn was only now beginning to breathe normally again.
Cal dropped them off in the driveway, and Quinn accompanied Austin into his house, waiting downstairs while he took Jenny up to her crib. The baby had fallen asleep in his arms, and Quinn assumed she’d transfer easily.
She strode around the house, waiting so they could talk. From the hallway with the modern bold paintings to the kitchen with the array of bottles and nipples spread all over to the family room with the baby swing, the entire house felt like home. Her home. Much more than the apartment she’d returned to last night.
“Hey.” Austin joined her in the family room.
“Hi. Did she go down okay?” Quinn asked about Jenny.
He nodded. “She’s sleeping like a baby.” He grinned at his poor joke. “Honestly she’s going to bounce back from this much quicker than I will.” He walked to the sliding glass door and looked out at the pool area. “Thank God Nelle just handed over the baby to Cal. This could have gone down so much worse.”
Quinn walked up behind him and wrapped her arms around his waist, his warm, masculine scent a balm to her still-shaking insides. “But it didn’t. You have your little girl back.”
He spun suddenly, switching their positions so her back was against the cool pane of glass, his arms braced on either side of her head. “Do I have my girl back? Or do we have our little girl back?” he asked, his dark indigo eyes boring into hers.
She swallowed hard, understanding that this was the defining moment in her life. What she said now could change everything. “I’m sorry I left last night. I hurt you and that wasn’t my intention.”
“I know.”
She swallowed hard. “But I needed a night to catch my breath and to come to terms with the fact that what I thought I wanted had changed. And that it was okay for me to do a one-eighty and it didn’t make me a hypocrite.”
She blinked and tears fell from her eyes. He reached out and swiped a droplet with his finger. His expression was soft as he watched her and allowed her to explain.
“I also had to accept that it would be okay to end up with what my mother thought was best for me all along.” She smiled wryly. “But most importantly I realized that having a family doesn’t mean I have to give up everything else in my life. It’s not like you’d fire me as your assistant.” She batted her eyelashes at him. “Would you?”
He let out a laugh. “Of course not. I can’t function without you at work or at home.”
She sobered then. “So you understand? Why I needed last night? What I said, it makes sense to you?”
“Oddly? Yes, it does. Because I know you. And I know that you haven’t been given many choices in your life when it came to babies. And kids. And those are huge responsibilities. So you needing time was normal. Human even.”
God, she didn’t deserve this man. This good, kind, giving, understanding man.
“That’s why I didn’t tell you how I really feel about you last night,” he said. “Because I didn’t want to pressure you. You needed to make your own choice about whether you wanted a ready-made family.”
“I do.” She cupped his cheeks in her hands and stared into the face she loved. “I love you, Austin.”
“And I love you. I wish I’d told you last night, but I’m glad you had the time to come to me on your own. I want you free and clear. I want us. I want a family with you.”
Her lips lifted in a happy smile. “I want that, too.”
“But I need to be clear. When I say family, I mean kids with you, too. A little boy or girl with dark hair and green eyes—”
“Those Dare eyes are pretty dominant,” she said, laughing.
He grinned. “Okay, I’ll take any color eyes. I just want more kids with you. Jenny is mine and she’s yours, Quinn. We’re a family.”
She nodded. “We are.”
“But we’re us, too. You and me. And I love you. Not the built-in babysitter you once thought you were. Not the nanny you might have been. There’s no one else for me, Quinnlyn Stone.”
“There’s no other man for me, Austin Prescott.”
“Then let’s seal the deal. Strip for me, Quinn.”
A few minutes later, her back was against the glass door, her legs around his waist, and he thrust deep inside her, joining them in the most elemental way possible. He wasn’t wearing a condom. And she didn’t care at all.
Epilogue
A few weeks later, Austin woke up wrapped around a naked Quinn to the sound of his phone ringing. He felt for his cell on the nightstand and answered without looking at the caller, but he’d caught the time and it was eight a.m. Apparently they were running late this morning, but he and Quinn both needed sleep, and Jenny seemed more than willing to oblige. She’d only woken once last night.
He put the phone to his ear. “Yeah.”
“Austin, it’s Damon.”
He immediately caught the edge of panic in his brother’s voice. “What’s wrong?” He pushed himself to a sitting position in bed.
Quinn woke up and sat up beside him, a worried expression on her face.
“I took a random drug test and apparently I tested positive for PEDs.” Performance-enhancing drugs banned by the NFL.
“Son of a bitch.”
“I didn’t fucking take them, Austin. Not even supplements. Nothing. I swear.”
Austin shook his head. “No need to swear to me, little brother. I believe you. Now listen to me. Call Bri. Other than that, talk to no one. Not the press, not even Ian again. I’ll be right over.”
He disconnected the call and turned to Quinn. “Damon tested positive for PEDs. There’s no fucking way my brother cheated. I don’t know what happened but we have to clear his name.”
Quinn blinked at him and he could see her smart brain already working. “Let me call Evie.”
He narrowed his gaze, trying not to look at her bare breasts as she sat beside him in bed. Grinning, she pulled up the covers. “Yes, Evie. Pay attention. She’s a PI. And I promise you she’s t
he best there is. I don’t know what you’ll need but my gut tells me she can help.”
He nodded. “Okay, but let’s meet with Damon and Bri first. I need us all to be on the same page before we bring in an outsider.”
His phone rang again. He looked at the screen and muttered a curse. “It’s Ian.” Austin took the call. “Hello?”
“I assume you’ve heard the news? What the fuck, Austin?” Ian sounded like one pissed-off NFL team owner.
“Am I talking to my cousin or Damon’s boss?”
Quinn curled her hands around his bicep in support.
“For the moment? Your cousin.”
Austin blew out a relieved breath. Ian was going to be reasonable, at least for now. “He didn’t take shit, Ian. I promise you that.” Austin would trust his brother and swear on his own life.
“Then prove it,” Ian said and disconnected the call.
With a groan, Austin laid his head back against the pillow. “Son of a bitch. When the press gets ahold of this…” He didn’t need to continue. He knew Quinn understood the ramifications.
“What’s next?” she asked.
“Family meeting.”
She met his gaze, an uncertain look in her eyes, and he could read the question in her expression: Should she come? Was she welcome? Or were they closing ranks tight?
He held out a hand and she placed her palm against his. “Welcome to the Prescott family, Quinn.” He thought about the situation, all the parties involved, and managed a grin. “Welcome to the Prescott-Dare family,” he amended.
She threw her arms around him, and he pulled her on top of him, their bare bodies molding together. Unfortunately they had no time for fun.
As for her place in this family? An engagement ring was next on his list of things to do after he settled his brother down. They might only have been together for a week, but he and Quinn had had a year of getting to know each other behind them.
She was his.
And he belonged to her.
Now and forever.
Don’t miss the next DARE NATION series book DARE TO TEMPT with Damon Prescott and Evie Wolfe. CLICK HERE to order!
DARE TO TEMPT
He’s a smooth talking jock.
An ace quarterback.
And suddenly screwed.
Damon Prescott had it all. Star quarterback. Money. Fame. Now? He’s being accused of taking performance enhancing drugs and banned from the sport and team he loves.
Determined to prove he’s innocent, he hires tough as nails private investigator, Evie Wolfe. She’s able to bring a man to his knees with a glare, yet sensual in ways that take him off guard—and she’s everything Damon didn’t know he needed.
Evie’s used to men dismissing her, especially playboys like Damon Prescott so she’s not buying the sexual lines he’s trying to sell. She’s with him to do a job, nothing more. But you know what they say about the best laid plans? Sometimes you end up between the sheets with an arrogant football player anyway.
But when the case is over, can Damon convince Evie she’s the only woman for him or will she leave him tied up in love?
Click HERE to order Dare to Tempt!
Read Excerpt for Dare to Tempt HERE.
Dare to Tempt
Dare Nation Novel #2
Chapter One
Damon Prescott’s life had gone from golden to shit in an instant. Or rather in one violent football play gone wrong. He refused to watch the reviews of his injury. The slam of his head against the turf and the shattering pain before he blacked out were vivid enough in his mind.
Another concussion should have been the worst of his problems. Instead he’d also tested positive for performance enhancing drugs and when the hospital had turned his records over to the team doctors, which he’d signed off on because what did he have to hide, he’d been suspended immediately. As if he’d touch the stuff. No unknown supplements went into his body. Period. So how the fuck had he tested positive not just once but on a second check, as well?
A knock sounded at his door and he pushed himself up from his couch, his head still pounding a week later. Even his ears continued to ring. He walked slowly to the front entrance, opened up and let his family into his home. It was the second meeting since the results had come back.
The people entering his house weren’t just family, they were his team. Dare Nation, a sports management firm, his brother, Austin, owned along with their Uncle Paul Dare.
Austin, his oldest sibling and his agent, strode in first, his executive assistant and girlfriend, Quinn Stone by his side. Austin patted him on the back. Quinn smiled and murmured her apologies for what was going on.
Next came Bri, his sister and publicist. “Don’t worry, I’ve got you covered,” she promised him, pulling him into a hug.
He’d deliberately kept this gathering tight. He didn’t want his mother here. She was already upset by the situation and his injury. His brother, Jaxon, was on the road playing baseball and Braden was abroad with Doctors without Borders. And Paul was at the office, fending off the press and holding down the fort there.
But they did need a plan. First of all, the seasons started in two weeks and he didn’t want to miss being allowed on the field for the first four games due to a suspension. He was appealing the suspension and should hear soon what the verdict was. He hadn’t cheated, dammit.
Austin cleared his throat. “Let me start by saying everyone in this room knows you didn’t cheat. But we also know the likelihood of winning on appeal in this zero tolerance era and it’s not good.”
Damon clenched his fists at his sides. “I did not take a banned substance.”
His brother stared at him, his expression somber. “Players are responsible for what is in their bodies and a positive test will not be excused because a player was unaware he was taking a prohibitive substance.” He repeated the words from the players’ collective bargaining agreement.
Words Damon already knew by heart.
“Golden Tate was taking fertility treatments he didn’t know contained prohibited substances,” Austin continued. “And if that doesn’t tug on the committee’s heartstrings I don’t know what will.”
“Tate self-reported before he tested positive and they still didn’t cut him any slack,” Bri said.
Despite the fact that Damon heard his siblings, he refused to give up without a fight and believing in himself was priority one. “I still say we go forward as if we’ll win. We thought we’d hear by now. Maybe it’s a good sign they’re taking their time.”
His brother and sister glanced at each other and nodded.
“We figured you’d say as much,” Bri said. “So. I’ve got an idea. Well, thanks to Quinn, I have an idea.”
Damon grinned. “You’re the family fixer. Of course you do.” But he rubbed his chest, which grew tight any time he let himself think about the mess he was in.
Without admitting it to his siblings, even he knew that the only out given on appeal was when the testing had been compromised. He couldn’t prove his had. But he refused to give up until forced to.
It was a contract year for fuck’s sake. The positive test gave Ian Dare, his team owner, every reason not to offer him the deal he deserved as the up and coming star quarterback of the Miami Thunder.
“You’ve spoken to Ray Benson’s P.I.?” Damon asked of the lawyer both Dare Nation and Austin himself used when his baby girl had been left on his doorstep almost two weeks ago.
So much had changed in such a short time.
Bri shook her head. “Nope. I have someone better. A licensed PI who I trust.” She clasped her hand behind her back and rocked on her heels, grinning in a way Damon didn’t trust.
His gut churned and he glanced at Austin. “You wouldn’t let her fuck me over, right?”
Austin rolled his eyes. “We’re all on your side. Though I will say Bri’s plan is a little … unorthodox.”
Before either could elaborate, the doorbell rang. Damon raised his eyebrows. “Who is
that?”
“I’ve got it,” Bri said and rushed to the front of the house to let the unknown visitor in.
Damon waited and seconds later, Bri strode back into the room with his biggest nightmare by her side. Evie Wolfe, Quinn’s best friend, a licensed PI, and a woman Damon hadn’t been able to get out of his head since the day they’d met, walked in.
Evie wasn’t anything like the type of female he was used to. No red-soled stilettos or designer handbags for her. She wore a pair of ripped jeans and scuffed leather boots that fit her like a glove. His gaze traveled upward to a tight white tee-shirt that dipped low and showed off her cleavage, topped off by a light weight black leather jacket she rarely removed. Even on a hot summer day. And damned if it wasn’t fucking sexy.
Added to her appeal, her long dark hair hung loose to her waist and she eyed him with an amused grin. “Hi, Damon.”
“Evie.”
They’d met a few times over the last year that her best friend had worked at Dare Nation and they’d definitely gotten under each other’s skin. He didn’t know what it was about her but he was more comfortable across the room and not close enough to smell her musky perfume.
“Well, who wants to hear the plan?” Bri asked.
He folded his hands across his chest and glared at his sister who was enjoying her moment way too much. “Go on.”
“You tested positive for PED’s and you think you were set up,” Evie said.
“I know I was set up,” he said through clenched teeth.
Evie nodded. “And you need to know who did it, how, and why.”
“Which is why I need a private investigator.”
She grinned. “One who can stay by your side and get into places a regular P.I. can’t. Places a girlfriend can go.” She sidled up to him, rubbing her leather-clad arm against his bare one and damned if his body didn’t respond, his cock perking up.
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