by Dawn Ryder
Dangerous too.
Yeah, well, bench warmers never were the life of the party.
Paul and Sam moved ahead to talk to the host.
“What are you doing?” she asked.
“You wanted to see if you had my attention.”
He’d eased close, playing his part perfectly. It was a tad disappointing because there was part of her that didn’t want him to be fake. He noticed too, looked like he read her thoughts right off her face.
Maybe he did, it wasn’t like she had a whole lot of experience in playing cloak and dagger games.
He did though.
Dare recovered in a flash, gently settling his hand on the small of her back as he guided her towards the table.
Her heart rate tripled.
She likely should have been offended over how easily he touched her. There was just one tiny problem with that.
She liked it.
Sure, there were a few, unflattering things that might be said about her in response but she’d always been a realist. One plus one equaled two and she found the guy hot. Overbearing men had never struck her that way before but Dare, well, her hormones were having a field day at her expense.
He even smelled good.
She caught the hint of his scent as he settled down next to her. Sam was already signaling the waiter.
“We need wine.” Sam declared in a jovial tone. “Really good wine.”
And she needed a prayer, because divine intervention was really the only thing she might count on to shield her from Dare’s affect.
But the wine was a pretty good alternative.
It left her more relaxed as the evening progressed. Sure she was more susceptible to his charm but there was a point in every great adventure where you just grabbed hold and hung on while you enjoyed the ride.
By the time they made it home, she was sure restlessness wouldn’t be a problem tonight. Sam and Paul hightailed it to their car with very poorly disguised intent to leave her alone with Dare. The smile her friends face sent her behind Dare’s back was more than suggestive, it was almost a shove towards him.
Under different circumstances, embracing her impulses might have been an option.
But hard reality cut through the wine, leaving her facing a man who had spent the evening with her with the sole intention of intimidating her and undermining her sense of security.
That sucked.
She really didn’t like to think about him like that. Jenna turned and unlocked her door. She left it open behind her as she went into her living room.
“Not finished pressing me beneath your thumb special agent?” she asked when he followed her inside. “I rather hoped you were. It’s disappointing but you have my attention. So say what you think you need to.”
Jenna tossed her purse down and faced him squarely. She wasn’t sure if it was her wording or the sound of her voice that gave him pause. Something did though. He’d closed the door and turned to face her, his expression warning her he was making ready to try and squish her.
It wasn’t that she doubted he could, the night spent in his custody had proved it to her. He froze though, fixing her with his dark stare as he contemplated her with eyes she had no doubt saw a whole lot more than most men did.
The guy was just off the scale in every department.
“Disappointing?” he asked. “Why does my behavior matter to you?”
He sounded sincere, and she shrugged, uncertain as how to proceed.
A conversation.
A sincere conversation, now that was something she hadn’t seen coming. She didn’t have a plan for dealing with this part of his personality but she realized she felt privileged to glimpse it.
“Call me old fashioned but I still actually believe men who earn badges want to be good guys.”
He liked what she said. There was a flash of approval in his eyes that he covered pretty quick.
“Well, do whatever floats your boat, just don’t…” she ended up biting her lip as she contemplated whether or not to finish her thought. She lost the battle though because no matter how exposing it might be for her, part of her really wanted him to hear what she had to say.
“That was for all intents and purposes my family you just inserted yourself into, don’t be a dick.” She said and looked him straight in the eye as she spoke. She didn’t think she’d meant something so much in her life.
Or wanted someone to not disappoint her so much.
He didn’t brush her words off either. For a moment, she watched him absorb them, like her opinion actually mattered. “I don’t work with the run of the mill bad guys Jenna. Being a dick, keeps me alive. It also helps me hold a line that ensures you get to have the life you do.”
A strange little shiver went across her skin, like she was getting a rare glimpse at his personal nature.
“There’s a difference and you know it.” She opened her hands up wide. “Right here, it’s just you and me. Fine, you came over here to make a point, one you feel justified in making for my own good. I get it. I’m never going to know just what motivates you and I’m better off understanding that ignorance is bliss.”
His lips twitched, curving up into a grin. It warmed her insides and that was a fact.
She savored it. Letting it burn away the tension that had kept her in its grasp most of the evening. Of course that just left her prey to the flood of hormones she’d been attempting to ignore. She indulged in a long look at him, knowing it was going to be her last.
Like everything else, he noticed.
She watched the way his keen stare picked up the fact that she was looking at him, his eyes narrowing as his complexion darkened. A twist of sensation went through her insides and she realized it was anticipation.
Of what?
Hell if she knew, but she was breathless.
That word had never really held any true meaning to her before. Now? Dare Servant somehow managed to embody it.
Tall, dark, dangerous …
Everything a girl dreamed about in those hours after midnight and before dawn when reality arrived to make her realize the sensible guy sleeping next to her was the best choice. Like he’d said, he didn’t work with the run of the mill bad guys and work followed everyone home from time to time.
“Ignorance is bliss darling…”
He moved toward her, freezing the breath in her chest.
“I don’t suffer ignorance very well though … always have needed to try things myself.….like you.…I want to know what you taste like Jenna Henson.…”
He caught her nape, with a grip that was soft enough to spare her pain but strong enough to remind her he could hold her.
He was going to kiss her.
She recognized that fact a moment before he angled his head and pressed his mouth to hers. There was a hint of wine on his lips as he pressed his against hers, insisting on more than just a compression. He took her mouth, and she opened hers out of sheer need to taste more of him.
Insanity …
Another word she was learning the true meaning of with the help of Dare Servant.
Reality melted away as she reached for him, pushing her fingers into his hair as she kissed him back. She needed more of his taste, more of his scent, more of his skin. It was a frantic urge, beating at her from some place deep inside her that she’d never really realized yearned for freedom.
But he pulled back. Muttering a soft word of profanity beneath his breath.
“You’re right…” his voice was a mere rasp. “I shouldn’t be a dick but I’m not sorry I kissed you.”
He was gone a moment later, leaving her alone as he covered the distance to his car with strides that showed her how powerful he was. He didn’t do anything like the men she’d known in her life. Nope. Nothing. There was a rawness about him which captivated her. An ease with the darkness which was hypnotic.
Jenna watched him go. Her entire body was tingling long after he’d cleared out of her driveway.
There’s your less
on girl.…
A man like Dare Servant wasn’t going to stick around.
Yeah? Well in that case, she was glad she’d kissed him back.
Also by Dawn Ryder
Dangerous to Know
Dare You to Run
Deep Into Trouble
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Dawn Ryder is the contemporary romance pen name of a bestselling author of historical romances—her official naughty inner child. She is commercially published in mass market and trade paper, and digi-first published with trade paper releases. She is hugely committed to her career as an author, as well as to other authors and to her readership. She lives in Southern California. Visit www.dawnryder.com, or sign up for email updates here.
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CONTENTS
Title Page
Copyright Notice
Dedication
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Close to the Edge Excerpt
Also by Dawn Ryder
About the Author
Copyright
This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
TAKE TO THE LIMIT
Copyright © 2017 by Dawn Ryder.
Excerpt from XXX Copyright © 2017 by Dawn Ryder.
Jacket photograph: man © Ysbrand Cosijn/iStock
All rights reserved.
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eISBN: 978-1-250-13271-0
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St. Martin’s Paperbacks edition / September 2017
St. Martin’s Paperbacks are published by St. Martin’s Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010.