Dare to Take (Dare to Love #6)

by Carly Phillips

  And at the mention of his mom, an amused grin lifted her lips. “True enough. You know, she’s the closest thing to a mom I’ve got,” she said, lowering herself back onto the floor and curling her legs beneath her.

  His heart squeezed at the admission. “I know your mom passed away when you were little,” he said.

  “Yeah. She died of a stroke when I was five,” she said softly.

  He continued to clean up, carrying boxes to the garbage in the kitchen and taking the plates to the sink, all the while hoping she continued to open up. “And your father remarried, because that’s how you met Avery at the hospital.”

  “He did, but Janice wasn’t all that interested in being my mother.”

  Considering how quickly and easily the Dares had pulled Ella into their family, especially his mother, Tyler couldn’t understand how a woman could marry a guy with a kid and not care for her. “That sucks,” he said, unable to come up with something more insightful.

  She laughed, the sound lifting the mood caused by the subject matter. “It did suck. But I was young and I did what I had to do, donating bone marrow, because when your father begs, what else can you do? Besides, even if I’d been an adult, could I really have said no?”

  He glanced over from the kitchen and caught her lifting her shoulder in a small shrug. “I don’t know. There are definitely people who would have said no for lesser reasons than the fact that the woman didn’t treat you well.”

  “Like being scared of hospitals and needles? Or only being ten? Yeah, none of that mattered.”

  He strode back into the other room, joining her on the sofa and edging in close. He picked up her hand and held it tight. “You know it didn’t matter to my father, either, when he had all his kids tested for Sienna, or when the youngest came up the match.”

  A smile edged her lips. “Why do you think Avery and I bonded so fast and so well? We had a lot in common.” She paused in thought before continuing. “And we had a lot of differences too.”

  “Like what?” he asked.

  “Like, I came from a two-bedroom apartment and Avery … didn’t.”

  Knowing she was involved in her story and not paying attention, he lifted his free hand and curled a strand of her hair around his finger, feeling the silken strands with his thumb while watching her expressions as she spoke.

  “Why does the money make such a difference to you?”

  “Asks the person who never had to worry,” she said in a teasing tone. “It’s not that money differences matter. It’s that I saw a whole different world, and it made me aspire to having more.”

  That much he understood. “Nothing wrong with wanting more. Besides, you achieved your goals, and that’s an amazing thing.”

  She blushed at his obvious appreciation. “Avery’s life exposed me to so many more ideas than I ever would have had for a career.” She wrapped her hands around her knees and met his gaze. “I’ll be forever grateful.”

  “Well, your friendship did a lot for her when she was suffering from anxiety, so I’d say you’re even.”

  Avery’s anxiety issues had alienated her from friends and sometimes even from family, not that the Dares allowed her to pull away. Having Ella, someone who’d shared such a traumatic experience, had definitely helped her through.

  “If you say so,” Ella said.

  “Why do you do that?” he asked, jumping on her self-deprecation.

  “Do what?” She bit into her lower lip and met his gaze.

  He shouldn’t ask such a harsh question, but he couldn’t hold back either. Not if he wanted to get to know what made Ella tick. And he did.

  “Why don’t you believe in yourself and what you bring to the table?”

  She studied him intently, her gaze so serious he thought she could see beneath his skin, and a sense of unease rose to the surface. He had a feeling he wasn’t going to like her answer—should she choose to share it—and he waited in silence.

  “I didn’t realize I do that,” she finally admitted. “It must just slip out.”

  “Fair enough. But that doesn’t change the fact that you feel it.” And he wanted to know why.

  She let out a sigh. “How old were you when you found out about your father’s other kids?”

  He stiffened as he always did when having this discussion, but he might as well be honest about his feelings if he was asking her to reveal hers. “Fifteen,” he said, reciting the standard lie. The age he’d been when the rest of the family had found out. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to confide in her about discovering his father with his mistress. He did. But tonight was about getting past her issues, not his. “Old enough to understand and get really fucking angry and resentful,” he said, which was nothing short of the truth.

  She nodded in understanding. “I was five when Mom died and eight when my father remarried. I had eight years with my dad, then my world changed. Another woman moved into our apartment with her son, so my father immediately bought a house because Janice wanted it. That meant Dad had to take a second job to pay the mortgage. He wasn’t around anymore, only she was. And she had no patience for a needy little girl.”

  He curled his hands into fists, sorry he’d asked her to dig deeply into something that was going to cause her immeasurable pain. After all, he knew her father was in jail now. He’d never meant to hurt her by asking her to let him in, but he’d begun the discussion, so he had to listen to the rest.

  “When Janice got sick, there was nothing he wouldn’t do to help make her better, and I got pushed aside again, except this time I felt guilty for my thoughts because his wife was so sick.”

  Tyler thought he’d met her father in the hospital, but he’d been fifteen at the time. Not exactly paying attention. “And after your stepmom recovered? What happened then?”

  “Once she was healthy, nothing my dad could give her was enough. She wanted to live. She left us, or should I say, she left him, and last I heard, she’d found herself a wealthy man who could keep filling her endless well of need.”

  Tyler nodded. “Then it was just the two of you again. You and your father.”

  “Yes. And I thought things would change, go back to the way they used to be before Janice. Except Dad was distraught over the breakup of his marriage and losing his wife. Once again, I was an afterthought.” She pursed her lips and shrugged. “I wasn’t enough to keep him from becoming a drunk or doing something dangerous and so incredibly stupid.” She swiped at the tears in her eyes. “He’s not worth it. But do you see now why I fall back into that way of thinking?”

  “I do,” he said, lifting her hand to his lips and brushing a kiss on her skin.

  She visibly trembled at his touch but didn’t pull back or away.

  “I don’t like that you automatically do it, and I hate that you lived it.”

  “You can’t change the past,” she said, never breaking eye contact, her breath uneven.

  “No, but you can enjoy the present. We both can.”

  Chapter Five

  Ella wanted nothing more than to listen to Tyler, relax and enjoy their time together, yet she couldn’t help but wonder at his motives. What had shifted between them, and why was he suddenly interested in her after so much time keeping his distance?

  Could she let that sublime kiss be her answer? Was he just finally giving in to an attraction that was very real—and always had been?

  “You’re overthinking again,” Tyler said.

  “You caught me.” She let out a nervous laugh, unable to not be alarmed at the way he seemed to read her so well.

  He slid his arm behind her on the couch and moved in closer, his warmth and body heat beckoning to her. “I know a way to make you stop worrying so much.”

  He was so serious, so intent on breaking down her defenses, and she was so tired of fighting herself and what she wanted.

  She wanted Tyler.

  She’d spent years running from her own sexuality after their night together. Maybe this was her opportunity to recla
im what she’d lost. This time she wasn’t some starry-eyed teenage girl expecting him to fall head-over-heels in love with her after sex. She was an adult woman with needs he could fill, and maybe even help her get past the insecurities he’d instilled. Then, when he inevitably moved on, and she knew he would, she’d be prepared and armed with the knowledge that this time, after Tyler, she’d be stronger. Not weaker.

  Of course, she’d have to pretend she wasn’t petrified of disappointing him in bed. She’d have to be like the girl who’d walked into his room, brave and determined.

  She drew on every ounce of courage she had and met his blue-eyed gaze. Like everything else about him, his eyes were spectacular, pools of navy ink, staring back, searching for … something.

  Permission, she finally realized.

  He wanted her consent before overwhelming her senses.

  She rolled her shoulders back and took in his chiseled features, that determined, sexy expression, and prepared to dive in. He’d said he knew a way to make her stop worrying?

  “What did you have in mind?” she asked, gliding her tongue over her bottom lip in a nervous gesture that had the blue in his irises deepening.

  He slid a finger over the dampened spot she’d left behind. “I’m going to make sure you’re too aroused to think,” he promised as he released her lip and sucked his finger into his mouth, tasting her on his tongue.

  She melted at his words, her sex softening and pulsing with need, her nipples beading into tight peaks. He was good, she thought, but then he’d never been the issue.

  “I’m going to make damned sure you know that not only do I want to be with you, I need to be,” he promised, leaning in and nipping at that same lip, causing a shock of electricity to light up inside her. “And this time you’ll have no doubt afterwards about how fucking good it was.”

  He followed up that statement by closing his mouth over hers. He’d primed her with his words, and she wanted this, wanted him, and opened for him without him even asking. He accepted her invitation, his tongue thrusting inside her parted lips. She moaned, and soon she was lost in sensation, in the glide of his lips. He didn’t linger where he’d started, he slid his mouth lower, breathing warm kisses down her face, pausing to slide his tongue along her jaw, nibbling his way to her earlobe.

  “You smell like coconut,” he whispered, his breath hot and tantalizing against her skin.

  “Sh–shampoo,” she managed to get out when she wasn’t focused on anything but sensation and the male body pressing ever closer.

  “Do you feel that?” he asked.

  “What?”

  “The heat.” He nipped at her earlobe. “The anticipation.” He tugged harder, and desire shot through her body. “We’re combustible.” As if to prove his point, he kissed her neck, an open-mouthed, wet kiss that had her nipples hardening beneath the cotton of her shirt.

  He grazed his teeth across her shoulder and pulled the strap of her top with his teeth before releasing. “Have to get rid of this. I want to see those pretty breasts. My last glimpse was way too short.”

  She blushed at the reminder of her tank top slipping in their shared room on the island, but she was way too aroused to remain embarrassed for long. If his goal was to seduce her into calmness, he was succeeding, both with his words and his touch.

  “You with me?” he asked.

  She managed a nod, and without waiting, he lifted the hem of her top, pulling it up and over her head, leaving her in a flesh-toned bra decorated with white lace. He groaned, his eyes dilating as he stared at her chest.

  Flustered by his intent gaze, she pulled her bottom lip between her teeth, and he shook his head. “Nobody bites that lip but me,” he said in a commanding tone, more like the Tyler she’d come to know over the years than the one who’d been tiptoeing around the minefield she’d set up between them.

  And she had to admit, if only to herself, it was hot as hell.

  “Stand up,” he said.

  She blinked and rose to her feet, feeling led by him, almost as if she were in a trance. It worked for her, listening to his commands, not having time to think, and she sensed he knew it too.

  “First I’m going to take that bra off and look at you.”

  He was looking now, she thought, her body tightening as he, too, stood and walked behind her. He brushed her hair off her shoulders, letting his calloused fingertips trail along her skin, goose bumps rising in the wake of his touch. He continued until he came to the back clasp of her bra and released the catch. Then, ever so gently and unlike his gruff orders, he slid the straps down her shoulders and arms until the garment fell to the floor.

  She stood before him, her breasts exposed in a way she’d never experienced, but before her embarrassed or worried thoughts could surface, he strode around in front of her and cupped both mounds in his big hands. All rational thought fled; nothing but feeling and enjoyment remained. He palmed her breasts, pressing into her nipples with this thumbs, and the sensation went straight to her pussy, coating her panties with arousal.

  “They fit perfectly in my hand,” he said in a sexy growl. “Look.”

  She glanced down to see his tanned skin against her pale flesh. His hands so big yet so soft as he kneaded her breasts and played with her nipples, clasping them between his thumb and forefinger, rolling them gently at first, then shocking her with a hard pinch to each tight bud.

  She sucked in a stuttered breath, even more startled when the hint of pain morphed into heated pulses between her thighs. “More,” she murmured, surprised when she heard her own voice.

  He grinned and leaned down, sucking one nipple into his mouth, swirling it with his tongue, nipping with his teeth before releasing with a not-so-subtle pop. The sudden rush of cool air on her skin had her writhing where she stood, her empty body yearning for fulfillment.

  “You like that,” he said, his glittering blue eyes meeting hers.

  “Feels like I do,” she agreed, swaying on her feet.

  “Stay with me,” he said, bracing her with a hand on her shoulder. “Skirt off next.”

  “It’s elastic,” she said, wondering why she bothered explaining. His hands were already at the waist, hooking his thumbs into her panties and skirt, then yanking both down.

  “Step out.”

  She was so aroused she was past embarrassment or concern. She just followed his orders and eased one foot, then the other out of the garment that joined the rest of her clothes on the floor.

  He knelt at her feet, pulling her flip-flops off and discarding them as well. Then he grasped her ankle in one hand and glanced up—not to meet her gaze but to stare at her exposed sex, wet with her juices, pulsating with need.

  She’d never—and she did mean never—ever let a man look at her this way. Dim lights, that was what worked for her. No criticism that way. No disappointment.

  She was so lost in her own head she was startled when he leaned forward and bit lightly on her clit, shocking her back into sensory overload. She yelped at the sting, then shifted on her feet, moaning at the fire licking through her veins.

  “Guess I have to keep things moving if I’m going to keep you here with me.” He shot her a knowing, chastising look.

  She managed a nod. “Guess so,” she admitted, causing him to shake his head and laugh.

  “I enjoy you, Ella.”

  Before she could answer, he picked her up as if she weighed nothing and headed toward the bedroom, carrying her over his shoulder. Uh oh. They were really doing this.

  No sooner did she have the thought than his hand came down solidly on her ass. She registered the smack of his hand and the shock of pain, and once again, ache turned into something else, something that had her moaning as desire floated her higher.

  “No thinking,” he said, easing her onto the bed, her back against her mound of pillows. “But yeah, we’re really doing this,” he said.

  “How did you know what I was thinking?”

  “You said it out loud,” he said, shakin
g his head and laughing at the same time.

  And wasn’t that a sight, Tyler Dare, standing in her bedroom, grinning down at her while he unbuttoned his shirt. At that point, she had no problem letting her thoughts drift away as she studied the work of art that was his golden chest, sprinkled with dark hair that tapered into the waistband of his black jeans. He shucked the shirt, revealing sculpted, muscled abs and arms.

  When she’d been with him last, he’d been young, hot, yes, chiseled from the Army, definitely. But the man in front of her now was all grown up, defined in ways she’d yet to comprehend. He was gorgeous, and for the moment, anyway, he was all hers.

  His hands came to his pants, and he worked open the button, repeating the process of removal just as he’d done with her, taking his underwear off along with the jeans. And then she lost her breath.

  His erection was solid, proudly stretching out before her. This time she had no comparison. They’d been young, frantic, and all the work had been done under the covers. Now she could look her fill, and as she did, her body softened for him, a deep-seated yearning and need for him she’d kept hidden coming to the surface.

  No! She desperately fought back the emotions that struggled to be released, because she’d always felt more for Tyler. But she couldn’t afford anything beyond lust. Not this time. Not again.

  Lust was safe, and she gave herself over to it, pushing herself back against the pillows and bravely spreading her legs. “Are you going to stand there? Or join me?” she asked.

  An amused smirk lifted the corners of his mouth. “Do you think for one second you’re in charge?”

  Having let go of her emotional fears, at least for as long as this lasted, she bent one leg and stared up at him. “I’m not?” she asked cheekily.

  “Not by a long shot,” he said, his gloriously naked body finally covering hers.

  She closed her eyes and drank him in, absorbing his heat, memorizing the feel of his legs tangled with hers, his chest hair abrading her sensitive nipples, the warmth of his lips against her cheek … and the strength and force of his erection pressing directly against her sex. Because she never knew if this would happen again, this time she wanted to forget fear and anxiety and memorize every last touch, stroke, and moment of being in his arms.