Take Me if You Dare (Entangled Brazen)

by Nina Crespo

  She held still as he transferred the gun into her hands. “It’s not as heavy as I thought it would be.”

  “Good. Now let’s get you some confidence in handling it.” He showed her how to hold the Glock in firing position with her right hand, while supporting the weight of it with her left. Then he went through the basics of breathing and lining up the sights, before he had her cock the weapon and take off the safety.

  “Okay. You’re almost ready.” As he stepped closely behind her, the scent of her perfume muted the lingering smells of gunpowder, oil, and heated metal.

  Taking hold of her hips, he adjusted her stance to square her off with the target, and the feel of her soft flesh beneath the fabric of her dark slacks flooded his mind with the memory of what she was wearing underneath. Scraps of red lace that barely managed to pass as underwear. He nudged her feet a little wider apart with his foot, and when she wiggled her hips, her butt brushed against him. His shaft instantly hardened.

  “Is this where I should be?” She pushed back against him.

  He nearly drew blood from his bottom lip as he stifled a groan. “Yeah, that’s perfect.”

  “Handling a pistol is a whole lot easier than I thought.”

  Ethan glanced down just in time to see Jasmine’s lips twitch. He tapped her firmly on the butt. “Cut it out.”

  She giggled. “Ooh, do that again, baby.”

  He leaned down and brushed his lips near her ear. “If I had my way, I’d bend you over this counter, sink my cock into you, and make it so good, you’d beg me not to stop, but there’s a video camera behind us, and I don’t want to give the attendant a show.”

  The pulse in her neck ticked harder. “Oh, come on.” A slightly mischievous smile played on her lips. “Make his day and give the guy a little free porn.”

  “Jasmine, be serious. You’ve got a loaded gun in your hand.”

  She snickered. “In my hand? Then what’s that on my—”

  “Jasmine…” he warned, curling his fingers into her hips to keep her still.

  “All right, I’ll stop, but give a girl a break and back up.”

  Chuckling, he gave her some room. “Now remember what I told you. Let out a nice calm breath, sight the weapon, and then slowly squeeze the trigger.”

  She fired the gun, and the recoil made her take an involuntary step back. She grinned. “I hit it.”

  He looked downrange and winced at the bullet hole at crotch level on the silhouette. “Let’s see if we can get your rounds a little higher on the target.”

  Once she’d emptied the magazine, he reeled in the silhouette. “Not bad for your first try.” He unclipped the sheet and handed it to her.

  “Yeah, but none of my shots are in the middle.”

  He set up a new target sheet and sent it back down the lane. “It takes practice.”

  In a flow of movements that he’d done more times than he could count, Ethan slammed the magazine into the weapon, cocked it, and fired ten rapid shots, dead center, into the target.

  He looked at Jasmine.

  Her mouth was shaped into a small O. “Wow,” she breathed out. “I guess it’s safe to say you’ve had lots of practice.”

  Yeah, he’d wanted to impress her, but he also had a point. After placing the gun safely on the counter in the stall, he went over to her. “Yeah, I have, and it’s a part of me that will never go away. If I didn’t pick up a gun for a year, I’d still know what I’m doing, just like you know what you’re doing on this project.”

  Jasmine offered him a rueful smile. “Tell that to my bosses.”

  “No, you tell them.” He lightly gripped her shoulders. “Sure, you haven’t been a project coordinator for a year, but it’s still a part of you, otherwise you would have never been able to convince Drew to give your company a second chance. If you want your bosses to trust you, you have to stop doubting yourself.”

  She grazed her bottom lip with her teeth. “But it’s just not about me getting my old job back. I have to make sure Drew gets the type of program he wants.”

  “You will, and when it happens, the only thing Ted and his boss will ask you is what color to paint your corner office.”

  She gave him a soft smile and stared up into his eyes. “That’s easy…blue.”

  Ethan leaned in, but the flashing red light on the video camera made him stop short. He pointedly dropped his gaze to her lips. “When you get home, we can sample a few things just to be sure.”

  She started to laugh but her knowing smile froze woodenly on her face. He followed her gaze over his shoulder to the big man walking toward them.

  Larson, one of the newest security specialists, was all shoulders and hard muscle. He gave Ethan a curt nod and kept walking past their station.

  “Whoa, he’s scary,” Jasmine whispered.

  “Yeah, he’s a big guy.”

  “I’m not talking about his size.” She shivered. “I mean the look in his eyes. What’s wrong with him?

  Larson was a man who’d seen a lot, done too much, and didn’t want to talk about it, but Jasmine wouldn’t understand. Ethan dropped his hands from her shoulders and turned back to the counter. “He’s a former Navy SEAL. He’s gone through a lot.”

  “But you have, too, right?”

  Ethan stared down the lane at the paper silhouette with the perfect cluster of bullet holes. Over the years, he’d become a master of diversionary tactics. Whenever a woman he was seeing tried to tread into this territory, he’d always let other parts of him do the talking, but he’d opened the door to this when he’d made the choice of bringing her in here…a place he’d never shared with a woman, until now.

  Making up his mind, he faced her. “We all handle it differently.”

  “But if you guys have seen bad things, doesn’t being a security specialist make it worse? The other day, you mentioned going into countries to assess the political climate. A lot of those places are where you went on missions in the military. That has to have an effect on you.”

  At the time he’d shared that little insight with her, she’d had her legs wrapped around his waist while he was on his own private mission of sinking into her balls-deep. He didn’t know if he should be hurt or impressed she’d even heard a word he’d said.

  Shrugging off some of the tension building in his shoulders, he debated his response. “When you come back, you don’t see the world the same way anymore. Some people choose this job because they can’t function doing anything else. For others, it’s about accepting the reality of a fucked-up world and using what they know to keep people safe.”

  He braced for more questions, but instead, Jasmine rose up on her toes and kissed him softly on the lips.

  Surprise drained through him. “What’s that for?”

  “For wanting to keep me safe.”

  He exhaled against the tightness in his chest. He’d given her two reasons for doing the job, and without hesitation, she’d thought of him and chosen the second.

  “How do you know that’s why I do this?”

  He hadn’t realized he’d asked the question aloud until she looked up at him and curved her hand against his cheek. “Because when I look into your eyes, Ethan, I don’t see what you’ve been through. I just see you.”

  Chapter Twelve

  An hour later, Ethan walked out of the lobby to his truck, his mind still reeling over what Jasmine had said to him. She hadn’t pried or poked. She’d stated the obvious, accepted what he’d said, and moved on. And then there was the way she’d looked at him—as if she could see all his wounds, every hurt and regret he kept locked up in his mind, and he’d actually wanted her to see them.

  He opened the back door to his truck and tossed his gear inside. As he drove to the apartment, he still couldn’t reason it out.

  Did she really understand, or was he just caught up in some fantasy? Even as he asked the question, his mind started to toy with the scenario of coming home to her at his house in Greenville or her greeting him at the airport i
n Dallas, but he quickly dismantled the images in his mind.

  What was wrong with him? She’d made it clear she wasn’t interested in any type of a relationship, especially a long-distance one, and with his job, it was nothing but distance. No, it wasn’t always as dangerous as it had been when he was in the military, but it still had its risks. Only a twisted bastard would wish that type of relationship on her.

  But Dario wasn’t a twisted bastard…

  And his mother would kick his ass if she ever heard him say that about his dad. His parents had loved each other, and anybody who knew Dario could see how much he’d loved Elaina and Gabriel. His friend had been prouder of the baby drool on his uniform than any medal pinned to his chest, but how fair was it for Elaina to have to raise her son without a father? It wasn’t. He’d watched his mom go through it for over seven years.

  He made it back to the apartments, but instead of going upstairs to his place, he went to Jasmine’s. She’d mentioned laundry, and considering he stayed with her most of the time, it was a good bet part of the laundry pile was his. He changed into sweats and a T-shirt, ate a quick meal of leftovers, and then started the laundry.

  While he waited for the clothes to finish, thoughts about Elaina, his mom, and Jasmine still buzzed like a live wire in his mind. Suddenly, in the midst of his thoughts, he remembered all of the reservations he’d made for that night.

  Shit! It was too late to do anything about the restaurant, and the Improv tickets were already paid for, but he still needed to do something about the hotel suite.

  As he was looking for the contact info he’d stored on his phone, he scrolled past Elaina’s name and number. A hit of guilt moved through him. He hadn’t called her in months. After he canceled the reservation, he went back to laundry and straightened up the apartment. On his way to the bathroom with a stack of folded towels, his gaze strayed to his laptop sitting on the table. On impulse, he sat down and opened a browser. He wasn’t ready to call Elaina yet, but at least she would know he was thinking about her.

  When he finished on the computer, his mind still wouldn’t rest. Things he didn’t want to remember hung in the shadows of his mind.The door to the apartment opened, and Jasmine walked inside. A sense of lightness immediately moved over him, and most of what weighed down on him went away.

  “I’m home,” she said.

  Home…

  For the first time, he really looked around the apartment. His bag was on the couch and the tennis shoes he wore for his morning jogs were a permanent fixture by the door. His favorite cereal was in the pantry, and they’d stood side by side in the kitchen making meals and doing the dishes. His clothes were in the closet with hers, and when he lay in bed at night, if she wasn’t around, the lingering scent of her perfume always made him miss her more. As he put it all together in his mind, he swallowed hard. In one short week, they’d managed to create the illusion of a life together.

  He forced a smile on his face and walked over to give her a hug. He took in a breath filled with her scent, and the sense of heaviness returned. Someday, she’d have a real home with another man who could give her a normal life that didn’t involve always worrying about the future.

  Later that night, while they lay in bed, he’d planned on letting her sleep, but he couldn’t stop himself from reaching out for her. As if sensing his need, she guided him by the hips straight between her legs. He kissed her softly, and groaned when he found her ready for the glide of his cock into her welcoming heat. They moved together, her gaze never leaving his, until her lids floated closed with a moan that feathered over his senses. She arched her beautiful body up and wrapped her legs tightly around his hips, urging him to go deeper. Soon her moans and soft cries drove him like a wild man possessed with one thought that kept repeating in his mind with each sure stroke. She. Was. His.

  But she wasn’t.

  He wouldn’t be the last man who held her like this, found his place between her thighs like this. Someday, she’d cry out someone else’s name, but no matter who took his place, he’d make sure a part of her would always be his. Heat seared down his spine, and the sweet pull of release reached out for him, but he held it back, focusing on the need to brand himself there in a way that would never let her forget him. She reached her climax, and the slick, heated folds of her pussy gripped him like a silken vise. Release, raw and explosive, raged through him, and as he shouted out her name, a realization he couldn’t deny held him still. Jasmine had beaten him to it. She had a claim on him.

  Chapter Thirteen

  “What’s your pleasure?”

  Ethan eyed Jasmine warily. “You can’t be serious.”

  “Totally,” she responded with absolute certainty. It felt right, too right to just pass up.

  “But what about the odds?” He wrapped an arm around her and slid his hand into the back pocket of her pink denim shorts.

  “I don’t care.” Smiling, Jasmine mirrored his actions and slid her hand into his back pocket, enjoying the feel of his tight butt through the fabric of his khaki shorts. “Don’t tell me you’re afraid of a little risk. After all, this was your idea.”

  “But some things aren’t worth the risk.” He held up the horse racing program. “The odds on that one are terrible. What about number four?”

  “Nope.” She shook her head and pointed at the program. “I want to bet all of our money on that one.”

  “You’re a pitiful gambler.” He chuckled and moved his hand up from the back pocket of her shorts to stroke the small strip of skin exposed just underneath the hem of her cropped T-shirt. “But you’re too damn cute to refuse.” He gave her a quick kiss and left her in the open-air grandstand to place their bet.

  It was a warm day, but she’d wanted to be closer to the action instead of in the air-conditioned building. All around her, the eclectic crowd of novice, tourist, and seasoned gamblers strategized their bets, and excitement buzzed in the air in anticipation of the upcoming race.

  Sighing happily, she flipped through the pages of the program. Driving out to the horse track was an unexpected twist for a Saturday afternoon date, and she was having a good time. Too bad they didn’t have another couple of weeks to explore more places together. It still surprised her how they enjoyed a lot of the same things, and how well they got along.

  Ethan was an early riser, and she’d gotten in the habit of joining him for his morning jog. She was usually at her desk by six, unless they ended up pleasantly distracted in the shower, and then it was six thirty. At the end of the day, if she didn’t have to bring work home, they curled up on the couch or in bed to watch something on TV she rarely made it all the way through before falling asleep.

  Her mind started to wander down the path of them playing tourist in Texas and revisiting a few places she hadn’t been to in a while, and there had to be some great places to see in South Carolina. Out of habit, from years of travel, she calculated airline routes in her head. Dallas to Greenville was a straight shot, less than three hours nonstop.

  Wait a minute. She pulled her thoughts back to the present and closed the program.

  Been there, done that, and burned every single last one of those T-shirts. She needed the reassurance of someone being there for her every day, and that meant no long-distance relationships.

  But what if…

  No. Just because they got along, and things were good in bed, didn’t mean they could build a relationship. She wasn’t going mess up what they had by trying to find a way to bridge the distance.

  “Here you go.”

  She looked up at Ethan and took the betting receipts and the bottle of water he offered. His lopsided smile deepened the dimple in his cheek, and as she allowed herself a good long stare, an idea came to mind.

  “Hurry up and sit down.”

  “Why?”

  “I want to take a picture of us.” She set aside her water and reached for her cell.

  He sat down and wrapped his arm around her waist. “Okay, ready.”

 
; She held out the phone and put a camera-ready smile on her face, but just as she took the picture, Ethan tickled her.

  A laugh burst past her lips. “Hey!”

  He chuckled and kissed her cheek. “Sorry, I couldn’t resist. Do you want to take another one?”

  “No.” It was perfect. It captured what their relationship was all about…fun.

  She switched the phone from camera mode and went online. Smiling, she posted the picture for her friends with a caption.

  Luckiest girl on the track, greatest guy in the world, best day ever!

  Now maybe they’d all stop bugging her about going out and having a good time. On impulse, she also emailed it to Ethan, but as soon as she sent it, reservations set in. What if he didn’t feel the same about what was going on between them? She glanced over at him and he smiled.

  “What?” he asked.

  She shook off her doubts and returned his smile. “Nothing,”

  The race was announced, and they looked out at the track where grooms along with the jockeys were getting ready for their walk-through before the race. She sat on the edge of her seat. “There he goes, see him, number five.” She pointed to a horse parading by with the rest on the way to the gate.

  “Yeah, there he goes,” Ethan said wryly. “Along with all of our money,” he added under his breath.

  She elbowed him playfully in the ribs. “Have a little faith and stop killing the mood.”

  Minutes later, the horses were settled in at the starting gate, and at the signal the race began. Jasmine jumped to her feet with the rest of the crowd as the horses ran swiftly around the track. When they rounded the curves into the final straightaway, horse number five was almost in the lead, and she yelled louder. As the horse started to pull ahead of the others, Ethan also jumped to his feet and cheered her favorite all the way to the finish line.

  “He did it! He won! We won!” Jumping up in excitement, she threw her arms around his neck and delivered a sound kiss to his lips, which were still open in astonishment.