Dare to Love (Dare to Love 1)

“We’ll never know, now will we?”

“About that? No.” Pretending to be tough and unconcerned didn’t fool him for a second.

She lived in this building, in a not-great part of town, because it was all she could afford. With Ian’s background in owning investment property, he could figure out her approximate income and rent and knew, though she might have a small savings, she couldn’t afford to be unemployed for an extended period of time. So she’d panicked and called him, which meant he owed her.

But that wasn’t why he was still here. He wanted to help. She might not let his brother do it, but Ian damned well intended to.

“What are your plans now?” he asked.

She slowly shut the door, obviously realizing he had no intention of leaving. “I’ll send out resumes like any job-seeking person would,” she said, as if he were dense not to have figured her next step out for himself.

“Or you could come work for me.”

The color drained from her face. “You’re offering me a job. With the Thunder.”

He nodded.

“Doing…?”

If she was questioning, she wasn’t saying no, and his heart rate sped up at the possibility of seeing her day in and day out. “That remains to be seen. I know we have some openings. We’ll see what fits best.”

She swallowed hard and remained silent, but the color had returned to her cheeks. “So I wouldn’t be working directly for you.”

Interesting the thought of working with him flustered her. Good, because that meant she wasn’t immune, no matter how high a wall she’d erected between them.

“No, you won’t be working for me. I can’t have that.”

She wrinkled her nose, making him want to reach out and stroke her soft skin.

“Why not?” she asked.

He stepped closer, and when she didn’t back away, closer still, until mere inches separated them. “Because I intend to get to know you personally, Riley Taylor. So I can’t be mixing business with pleasure.”

Her breath caught, but she remained in place, those huge blue eyes watching him with a mix of wary curiosity and definite desire. He wanted to kiss her again, to lose himself in that luscious mouth, then press her against the wall and thrust into her warm, wet body.

Shit.

He tore his gaze from hers, reminding himself to slow the fuck down. He hadn’t gotten her to agree to take a position with the team. A job was her priority, and that meant it was his as well.

Using all the willpower he had, he straightened his shoulders and stepped away first. “Come to the stadium tomorrow morning and ask for Olivia Dare. My sister will find the appropriate fit for you with the organization.”

“I can’t take charity.” She folded her arms across her chest. In her defensive stance, he saw the secrets that Alex knew.

The ones that held the key to understanding this complicated woman. Before he was finished, he intended to know her inside and out.

He remained apart, giving her space. “It’s not charity when I owe you for not returning your call. It’s not nepotism, favoritism, or any other ism you might come up with either.”

She pursed her lips, obviously wavering.

His gaze lingered on her mouth, the desire to take it overwhelming, but he refrained. “You were willing to call me and ask me to do business with you. Consider this a similar opportunity. If you can’t do the job, you’re out on your ass, the same as anyone else.” He gave her the honest truth. He wouldn’t keep her on the payroll if she couldn’t perform.

“So? What will it be?”

In the ensuing silence, all the possible things Ian wanted to do to her, with her, passed in front of his eyes until he was convinced she’d say no.

“I’ll be there in the morning,” she finally said, extending her hand for him to shake.

Finally, he thought, grasping her smaller fingers in his. A jolt of awareness ricocheted through him.