Dare to Take (Dare to Love 6)

r, Tyler!” as her world came apart, the stars she viewed brighter than the ones in the inky night sky.

He rammed himself upward once, twice, three times more. “Fuck!” He came, his hips jerking up and into her, causing aftershocks to rack her body until she collapsed against him, sweaty and spent.

He breathed heavily in her ear, his body lax against the cushions, the swing rocking beneath them. She’d clearly accomplished her goal, put his problems out of his mind, given him something else to focus on. And oh, had he focused on her, as he always did when they were intimately wrapped in each other.

He was inside her body, and she felt him there, and still, she wanted to get closer, to crawl into his skin. And that was the problem.

She was too wrapped up in him. Oh, she told herself she would protect her heart, but that same heart pounded hard in her chest, her emotions at the surface, too ready to break free. And that was something she couldn’t allow because the risk of heartache was too great.

* * *

Tyler woke up in the hotel bed. He bolted upright, relying on senses that had served him well in the past, knew immediately he was alone. Worried, he turned to Ella’s side of the bed to find a note.

Went to the lobby to get us coffee. Back in a few.

She wasn’t planning on leaving the hotel, and he breathed out a huge sigh of relief. No matter what went on between them, she was still in need of protection until they figured out who was targeting her and why.

He relaxed back against the pillows, his mind turning to last night. He couldn’t believe he’d run into his father with another woman. Again. Not that he wished it on any of his brothers or sisters, but damn, he had the worst luck. And his father was a horrible human being. It was a miracle his siblings all took after their mother, because Robert Dare set the worst example as a parent that Tyler could imagine.

Before he could think on it and further ruin his morning, he heard the sound of the key card in the door, and Ella walked in, coffee tray in one hand and a bag in the other. She wore a pair of frayed denim shorts and a tee shirt that read Bookworms Do It Better across her lush breasts.

“Good morning. I have coffee and donuts,” she said with a wide smile, her voice cheerful. “Jelly or powdered sugar?” she asked.

“I’ll take option three. You. So put everything down and come here.” He patted the side of the bed.

She placed the coffee and bag on the nightstand, kicked off her flip-flops, and joined him on the bed. “Are you upset about what you saw last night?” she asked.

“My father? I’m not thrilled, but you took the edge off,” he said, pulling her into his arms.

“What are you going to do with the information?” she asked.

He breathed in the scent of floral shampoo in her soft hair, his dick rising to the occasion. “I’m not sure. I’ve gone over it in my head… My first instinct was to talk to Alex,” he said of the half brother he was closest to of all his half siblings. “But then I realized I’d be putting him in the same position I was in when I was a kid.”

She sighed and leaned her head against his chest. “Except he’s an adult.”

“Still not a burden I want to put on him.”

She nodded against him. “I get that. What about talking to your mother? You mentioned yesterday feeling guilty about not telling her you knew about your father’s affair earlier than the rest of the family. Maybe you could use last night as the impetus to open up to her. I’m sure she’ll understand, and I know it’ll help you feel better.”

He leaned his head back and glanced at the ceiling. Her suggestion settled something that had always crowded his chest, causing him pain and guilt. Talking to his mom would probably ease a great burden and maybe even rid him of any uncertainties about his ability to make an emotional commitment.

“How did you get to be so smart?” he asked her.

“I don’t know. Maybe because that’s what I’d do if I were lucky enough to have my mom to go to,” she said in a soft, wistful voice that made his heart clench and filled him with the desire to give her everything she was missing in her life.

And for the first time, he thought he was closer to being able to do just that.

Chapter Nine

After a weekend that ended way too soon, Tyler took Ella home to her apartment so she could unpack and organize herself to come home with him for an indeterminate amount of time.

“I really would prefer to stay here at my place,” Ella said, not for the first time since he’d informed her of his plan to keep her safe.

“And I’d prefer whoever was looking for something didn’t know where you live. We don’t always get what we want.”

She frowned at his gruff tone. Well, hell. What did she expect? After a weekend of intense intimacy, she was pulling away. He didn’t blame her for not wanting to disrupt her life, but she didn’t have to act so damned cavalier about leaving him.

She rubbed her arms and sighed. “Fine. I’ll swap out my suitcase and pack up some things.”