Dare to Touch (Dare to Love 3)

And given her family’s propensity to mix business with pleasure … yeah. He wasn’t buying her reason. She was scared of something. Fine, that he could deal with. He sure as hell didn’t do well at relationships either. Which didn’t mean he wasn’t about to try one with her. They could be good together, given the chance. They shared a mutual passion for football, something that was rare. Dylan ought to know. He’d had enough women try to distract him from his love of the sport.

Added to Olivia’s brains and wit, she had a killer body. She was slender with small curves in all the right places, breasts that were made to be held in his palms. He’d had to hold himself back from taking things in that hallway even further. Her waist was made for him to grip hard, and those legs starred in his most heated fantasies. He was a leg man, and he couldn’t shake the thought of those long limbs wrapped around him as he slid inside her wet heat.

Now that he knew her sweet taste and her feminine scent, he craved so much more. He intended to have it too.

Dylan headed for the door, only to be stopped by his boss, Olivia’s brother.

“I’d like a word,” Ian said.

He didn’t want to get into his personal choices with Ian, but he respected the man. So he gave him the time. “What’s up?”

Ian glanced around. No one was around to overhear. “I realize I’m in no position to judge relationships in the workplace.”

Dylan cocked his head. “And?”

“I saw you two in the hallway.” Ian shifted on his feet, clearly uncomfortable with the subject.

Dylan had made a scene by pulling Olivia away. He knew Ian was overprotective of his sisters, and since Dylan felt the same way about Callie, his sister, he wouldn’t lose his temper now.

But that didn’t mean he was opening a vein for the man either. “I don’t owe you an explanation.”

“The hell you don’t. That’s my sister you’re playing with.”

Dylan blew out a long breath. “Who said I’m playing?”

Ian inclined his head, acknowledging Dylan’s words. He cleared his throat. “My sister is tough on the outside, but she’s … more fragile inside,” he said, clearly considering his words carefully.

“Your point?” Dylan asked the other man, not wanting information about Olivia from anyone but her.

“Don’t play with her head or her heart.”

Dylan inclined his head. “I don’t intend to.”

Ian eyed him through his infamous narrowed gaze, assessing him, causing Dylan to straighten his shoulders and meet his stare head on.

“We good?” Ian finally asked.

“Sure thing.” He and Ian had known one another for a long time.

They’d both attended the University of Florida, and Ian had given him a job. They’d run into each other again a few years after graduation. Dylan owed the man, but that didn’t mean he had to put what he wanted on hold. Ian would deal with whatever happened. He had no choice, because Dylan wasn’t backing down. He was going after Olivia.

* * *

The Monday after her party, Olivia grabbed her coffee from the break room and settled into her office at the stadium. She loved her job. Growing up, she’d always wanted to hang with her older brothers, Ian and Scott, both of whom loved football. Although Scott was now a police officer, he never missed a home Thunder game. And since their father’s brother, Paul, owned the team, Olivia had been exposed to the sport early. And often.

When Uncle Paul had left the country to travel with his partner, he’d turned the presidency over to Ian, who he’d groomed for the position. Olivia had graduated college knowing she wanted a position in the front offices. She’d started in PR and moved to travel, learning all she could before being promoted to executive director last year. She loved her job, loved that she worked with some of her family members, and appreciated the players’ dedication to the sport and the team and how hard they worked. Coming into work was never a hardship. She considered herself lucky.

Her birthday party had merely reinforced the fact that she was surrounded by people she loved. She’d spent yesterday going through presents and anally finishing her thank-you notes for each gift. Her sister, Avery, also her apartment-mate, had made fun of her, but at least she didn’t have those still on her to-do list.

She settled into her chair and reached into her bag for her eyeglasses. She didn’t wear them often, but she’d had a headache today and opted not to use her contacts. But instead of the case, she ended up with the gift box from Dylan in her hand.

She ran her fingers over the velvet covering. Knowing what was inside, her stomach flipped over. This wasn’t just a walk-into-a-store-and-pick-out-the-easiest-present kind of gift. This was well thought out and chosen with her in mind. She couldn’t bring herself to wear it, and she couldn’t stand to leave it home either.

She snapped open the box and looked down at the necklace. The delicate gold pendant of the sun with a sparkling diamond in the center twinkled up at her. Because he called her sunshine.

She’d thought it was a lighthearted nickname, not something with more meaning. Even if every time she heard it, her heart fluttered inside her chest. Olivia had no problem admitting she was attracted to Dylan. She was just wary of smooth-talking guys. Oh hell, she was wary of most men—and for what she thought was good reason. Hello, Daddy, she thought with frustration. Frustration aimed at herself as well as him because Olivia accepted things as they were. She might be the peacemaker who’d convinced her siblings to, at least outwardly, forgive the father who’d betrayed them, but that didn’t mean she didn’t have her own issues and internal scars.

As for Dylan, he was a contradiction. From a rough part of Miami, he’d still managed to attend the University of Florida on scholarship. She didn’t know much about his past, as he didn’t discuss it. She respected that. After all, they weren’t friends, they were colleagues. Even if he wanted to be more.