“They are,” Bri agreed. “And they seem happy with their jobs.”
Hudson Northfield, Braden’s best friend, also worked with both the football team and the health clinic. Tonight, Braden was at the clinic, but Bri wasn’t sure if Hudson would be there as well. Hudson, with his dark brown hair, chocolate-colored eyes, and well-groomed beard, had become part of the family since he and Braden returned from a two-year stint for Doctors Without Borders, always at their gatherings and weddings.
But Bri didn’t consider Hudson family. Not when she looked at him and her body parts tingled. All she could think about was how his facial hair would feel if he kissed her lips or started lower and that beard rubbed against her thighs. A tremor took hold, and she crossed her arms over her chest.
“What’s that smile for?” Quinn asked, leaning forward in her seat.
Crap. Bri had been daydreaming about Hudson and probably grinning like a crazy person. “Nothing. Just thinking.”
“About?” Quinn pushed, and when Bri didn’t reply right away, Quinn jumped back in. “Could you be thinking about Hudson and the way he looks at you when he believes your brothers won’t notice?”
“Why would you say that?”
And did Hudson look at her that way? Bri wondered. Yes, they had chemistry, but he’d never acted on it. Never given her any indication that he would, something she’d chalked up to Bro Code. Not making a move on his best friend’s sister.
A broad smile spread over Quinn’s face. “Look at that blush. You want him! I knew it!”
Bri shook her head. It didn’t matter how she felt. “He’s not going to act on whatever it is between us because of Braden, and I’ve come to terms with that.” She pushed herself from her seat and picked up her handbag, determined to head over to the clinic before dark.
“Bri, wait.” Quinn stood. “Look, I know you’ve had a rough time with men and relationships.”
Raising an eyebrow, Bri did her best to withhold sarcasm as she replied. “Because they always want something from me like access to my agent brother or uncle or an introduction to a famous athlete. And once they get what they want, I’m expendable. Yeah, I haven’t had an easy time.” And maybe she was a touch bitter about it, too.
Quinn’s expression softened. “Well, then you need to remember there’s nothing Hudson needs from you, so if he won’t make the first move, then maybe you should. Promise me you’ll think about it?”
Bri walked past Quinn and lifted the dress from the hook behind her door. “I’ll think about it.” It was the best she could do.
A little while later, she was following Waze directions to the clinic, making sure she didn’t get lost, despite the fact that she’d been there before. The farther downtown she drove, the more the buildings grew dilapidated. Graffiti covered much of the exteriors, and boys congregated in groups on street corners. She gripped the wheel tighter, and finally the female voice directed her to turn right and reach her destination.
She pulled her Audi into a gravel-covered parking lot and cut the engine. Braden’s car wasn’t within sight, and she’d kill him if he forgot to wait for her. Key fob in hand and bag slung over her arm, she exited the vehicle, then opened the back door to grab Willow’s dress she’d hung on a hook and held it in one hand.
The moment she stepped onto the gravel, she cursed her high heels that wobbled on the pebbles beneath her.
“Hey, ma’am.”
She spun at the sound of the male voice and nearly fell on her ass, but she managed to right herself. A stooped older man with a tattered jacket, too heavy for this time of year, stains on his tan pants, and ripped sneakers wove his way toward her.
“Got some money, pretty lady?” He came close enough for her to smell the alcohol on his breath.
She instinctively stepped back and fought to remain steady on her heels. Although a part of her was scared she was alone with him, another part felt bad. Who knew what circumstances led him to this point in his life? Still, she was torn between giving him money she feared might go for alcohol and turning him away. She opted to hope he used the cash for food.
She slid her purse down her shoulder so she could open it up and hand him money.
Taking her off guard, he grabbed for the bag. She jerked back, and her heels gave way. Her ankle twisted and she fell, her hands taking the brunt of her tumble as she slid, gravel digging into her palms and her hip hitting the ground hard.
The man bent over her, and she gasped, prepared to knee him in the balls if she had to, but before she could kick out, someone lifted the man by his jacket collar and pulled him away from her.
“Jimmy, back off,” a familiar voice said. “You’re scaring the lady.” Hudson’s brown eyes raked over her, concern etching his handsome features. “Are you okay?”
She nodded. “He just startled me.”
Jimmy shuffled his feet on the ground, unable to meet Hudson’s gaze. “I just wanted to help get the money she was reaching for.” He pulled at his dirty shirt, his hands shaking.
Hudson scowled, and Bri had to admit even that glower was sexy.
“Well, that’s not the way to handle someone offering to help you.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out cash, handing it to the man. “Go get something to eat and quit bothering our visitors or I’m going to have to call the cops.”
After grasping the cash like the lifeline it was, Jimmy walked away, muttering to himself, and Hudson turned his laser focus on her.
“Come on. Let me help you,” he said in a gruff tone.
She glanced at her palms and winced. “Can you grab my wrists and pull me up?”
His gaze zeroed in on her hurt hands, and that ferocious expression deepened. “Yeah. Reach up,” he said, but he glanced at her heels. “Kick those things off.”
“Please don’t leave my Louboutins.” She couldn’t believe she’d said that and blushed at the frivolous-sounding comment. “It’s just they’re a birthday gift from my mom.”
His eyes softened at her admission.
Instead of pulling her up, he bent down and lifted her into his arms. “Oh! The dress. I came to give it to Braden for Willow.” She pointed to the garment on the ground that, thank goodness, was covered in clear plastic.
“I’ll send Nikki back out to grab it.” He started toward the building, his hard body acting as a shield, protecting her from harm.
Not to mention, she inhaled how good he smelled, her face near his cheek, her hands laced around his neck, as he strode through the clinic entrance.
* * * *
Hudson held Bri close to his chest, his heart pounding out a rapid beat as he brought her inside.
He’d been doing paperwork in one of the back offices when the front receptionist called him to check out what was happening in the parking lot. It wasn’t a shock to see Jimmy harassing people for money. The man never meant any harm, and Hudson didn’t believe him to be violent, but seeing Bri on the ground had knocked the wind out of him.
Ignoring the arousing coconut scent of her hair tickling his nose and the feel of her supple body curling against him, he stopped at Nikki’s desk. “Can you please grab the dress that fell outside? Jimmy was giving her a hard time, and she scraped her hands.”
“Of course!” Nikki jumped up to head outside, and Hudson walked into a treatment room and placed Bri on the examination table.
Though reluctant to release her, he settled her and stepped back, looking her over from head to toe. Her dark hair fell around her shoulders, stray strands covering her cheeks.
He already knew her hands were in rough shape, but he wasn’t sure about the rest of her. “Talk to me. Are you okay?”
She nodded. “I don’t even know what happened. I went to give him money, he grabbed for my bag, and next thing I knew, I was on the ground.” She extended her hands, palms up. “This is going to hurt, isn’t it?”
He glanced at the abrasions and gravel stuck in the skin. “I’m afraid so, but I’ll do my best to be gentle.”
>
“I grew up keeping up with four brothers. I’ve had plenty of scrapes, and I can take it.”
He laughed at her serious expression. “I know you can. Let me get everything I’ll need, and we’ll get you cleaned up. Does anything else hurt?”
“Other than my ego?” She grinned and shook her head. “My hip took the brunt of the fall, too, but I think I’ll just have a nasty bruise. Nothing that needs treatment.”
She rubbed her right side, but he knew better than to ask her to lift her short skirt for a look. If he had to see what kind of panties she wore beneath, he’d be hard as a rock, and she’d notice. He’d gone to a lot of trouble to hide his desire for Braden’s sister, but more than once, his best friend had called him out on it.
“Ice it tonight and tomorrow. Twenty minutes on, twenty off. And if it gets worse, we’ll get you X-rayed,” Braden said of her hip.
He opened the cabinets and removed items to irrigate the wound, clean out the gravel, put antibiotic ointment on, and wrap her hands in sterile gauze to keep bacteria out and prevent infection. Then he got to work, icing the area to numb it as best he could, cleaning and using a tweezer, carefully removing pieces of gravel.
Though she was stoic, he felt every wince and sharp intake of breath when he hurt her and was grateful when he finally soothed the area with Neosporin and wrapped her palms down to her wrists in order to secure the area.
After he’d cleaned up, he walked back over to where she sat, long, tanned legs dangling from the table, her precious black pumps with red soles tempting him. Fuck-me heels if he’d ever seen a pair, and considering his mother’s taste and the fact that he came from money, he was familiar with the cost of those heels. Sexy, they had him envisioning Bri’s legs wrapped around his waist, ankles crossed at his back, as he fucked her hard and deep.
He ran a hand over his face as if he could wipe away the erotic vision and reminded himself this was his best friend’s sister. His twin. And though he had a hunch Braden would be okay with him dating his sister as long as his intentions were good, if things went bad, he’d lose not only his good buddy but a family he’d grown to love. One he needed because his father, in New York, was a selfish prick who liked to make demands and pull strings, more so since Hudson’s older brother, Evan, had passed away suddenly last year due to an aneurysm that couldn’t have been detected or prevented.
But there was no denying the woman on the exam table tempted him anyway. “How do you feel?” he asked.
“I won’t lie. It’s uncomfortable, but I’ll be fine.” Her forced smile did little to convince him she wasn’t in more pain than she admitted.
“Don’t lie to me. I know it hurts, but the best I can offer is Extra-Strength Tylenol or ibuprofen.”
She nodded. “If you have some, I’ll take it now, please.”
He left the room to get the pills and some water and returned, watching her take the meds. She put the empty cup behind her. “Thank you, Hudson. I don’t know what I would have done if you hadn’t shown up when you did.”
“I’ve never known Jimmy to be violent, but he took things too far.” He stepped closer and grasped her uninjured wrists in his hands, ending up between her spread thighs. “I’m sorry you got hurt.”
Her indigo eyes met his, the unique color screaming she wasn’t a Prescott but a Dare. Paul Dare was her biological father via sperm donation, something the Prescott kids had learned when Paul needed a kidney and he’d needed the children to get tested. Now that the truth was out, it was a shock nobody had realized the truth sooner based on eye color alone.
“I’m just glad I had you there tonight.” Her gaze never left his.
He gripped her wrists tighter, leaning forward as if pulled by an invisible string, reeling him in, closer and closer to the woman and her tempting shimmering lips. Pulse pounding, he waited for her to stop him. For all the reasons he’d counted earlier, he almost wished she would. Because nothing but her saying no was going to prevent him from kissing her.
But her eyes gleamed with anticipation, and she leaned in until their mouths met and his world exploded. He tasted mint and Bri, a heady combination. One that surpassed anything he’d experienced before. His tongue slid against hers, and desire ripped through him, fast and furious, making him question how he could feel this much with just one kiss.
A soft moan escaped the back of her throat, and he swallowed the sound, nipping at her bottom lip. Her legs wrapped around his waist, ankles crossing. It was his dream come true except they were both fully dressed.
The kiss went on, hungry and full of desire until a sudden knock sounded on the door.
“I hear you rescued a damsel in distress.” Before they could react, the door swung open and Braden stepped inside, his astute gaze sweeping the room and landing on first Hudson, then Bri.
And Hudson had no doubt they both looked guilty as hell.
Chapter Two
“What the hell did I just walk in on?” Braden’s glare flickered over Bri, settling directly on Hudson.
“What does it look like?” Bri asked. “And before you go all big brother on me, I’m an adult, and I can kiss whoever I want.”
She obviously wasn’t about to let her twin push her around, and Hudson admired her spunk.
“You’re in a public place,” Braden said, sounding still pissed off.
“We’re behind closed doors, and you didn’t knock.” Hudson stepped forward and put himself front and center. “Lay off your sister, Braden. We didn’t do a damn thing wrong,” he said, folding his arms across his chest. Braden might be his best friend, but he wasn’t about to let him harass Bri over something that was none of his business.
Braden raised both hands in defeat. “Fine. I’ll back off. You just took me by surprise. I don’t want to see my sister lip locked with anyone, let alone my best friend.” His frown epitomized every brother’s reaction to walking in the way he had.
Bri walked over and placed her hand on Braden’s shoulder. “Don’t walk in when a door’s shut and you won’t see anything that might make you want to scrub your eyeballs.”
His gaze fell to her hands, his eyes opening wide, obviously noticing her bandages for the first time. “What the hell happened? Are you okay?”
“I’m glad you realized what’s important.” She laughed and nodded. “I’m fine. Don’t worry.”
“Jimmy asked her for money, and when she opened her purse, he went to grab it,” Hudson said.
“I pulled back and fell. Just a little road rash.” She waved her hands in the air. “I’ll live.”
“The man’s a hazard,” Braden muttered.
“He didn’t mean to hurt her, and you know it. We’ve treated him enough to know that his intentions are always good. That said, we should put installing cameras outside on our list of to-do things when we get the money to renovate this place.”
“What kind of renovations?” Bri glanced from her brother to Hudson. Their eyes met, and sizzling awareness flashed between them, that kiss still very much on his mind and obviously on hers.
“Hudson and I have plans for this clinic if we can raise the funds we need. I’m going to talk to Uncle Paul this weekend.” Braden’s pseudo uncle/father was wealthy enough to fund his half of their plan.
Hudson’s grandfather had left him a trust fund, but his father, Martin, was the trustee, and the chances of him giving him the money without strings were slim to none. Hence his upcoming trip to New York this coming weekend. Ever since Evan’s death, his father’s notion of continuing the family lineage with a grandchild had fallen on Hudson, and it was suffocating enough to prevent him from going home to New York after he left Doctors Without Borders. Now that he needed something from the man, Hudson was sure his parent would make him pay one way or another to get what he wanted.
“Well, you know I want details, but I’m too tired to focus on them now.” Bri glanced at her hands. “Something tells me I’m going to have a tough few days getting any work done.”
&
nbsp; “You don’t need to keep the gauze on. Just for a day or two. If you come back, I can rewrap it for you. Or if it’s easier, I’ll stop by,” Hudson offered.
“Ooh, making house calls, Dr. Northfield?” She deliberately batted her eyelashes at him, and he grinned.
He liked that she could keep her sense of humor in the face of pain and problems. He liked that she could tease him even more.
Braden fake coughed loudly. “I’m still in the room.”
With a roll of her eyes, she walked over and kissed Braden on the cheek. “Willow’s dress is with Nikki out front. Tell her I said thank you and I’ll call her soon.”
“I will. Are you sure you can drive?” He gestured to the bandages around her palms and wrist.
She nodded. “I’ll manage.”
“Call me and let me know how you’re doing, or I will track you down and hound you, and I know you don’t want that.” Leaning forward, he kissed her cheek.
“I’ll walk you to your car.” Hudson stepped forward and grasped her elbow.
Braden opened his mouth, probably to argue that he’d do it, but he took one look at Bri’s face and caved. “Drive carefully,” Braden said instead.
“I will,” she promised her twin, no joking in her tone.
Glancing over his shoulder, Hudson met Braden’s gaze. “We’ll talk when I come back inside.”
Hand on Bri’s lower back, he led her out of the room, down the hall, and into the waiting area. “I’ll be back,” he told Nikki.
“Okay, Dr. Northfield,” the receptionist said without looking up from her work.
The sun had set and the lights in the parking lot didn’t all work. Dammit. He had to get the money from his father, because he doubted he could get the funding he needed from a bank.
He paused at the car and he heard the beep of her doors unlocking. A light reached them from the corner of the lot, and when she turned toward him, he glimpsed her pretty face in shadows.
“Thank you for everything tonight,” she said, head tipped up toward him.
Dare to Tease: A Dare Nation Novella Page 2