Dare to Take (Dare to Love 6)

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.