Dare to Love (The Dare 4)

Chapter 4

Mercedes cried out, striking against the solid chest and feeling the heat of a solid heavy body next to her.

“Mercedes, it’s me. It’s Taylor, baby. You’re safe,” Taylor said. His voice penetrated her dreams and she blinked her eyes open, feeling the tears leak from her eyes.

She was breathing heavily and her cheek and jaw hurt. She scrunched her eyes together and gulped hard.

“Easy now. Your cheek and jaw are bruised up and your shoulder and chest, too,” he told her as she leaned back down, placing her head against the pillow. She was wearing a T-shirt, no bra, and a pair of light cotton shorts. Taylor had no shirt on but wore jeans. She tried not to look at all his muscles and the ridges of abdominal muscles from under his pecs to the waist of his jeans. He was mega fit and she felt her cheeks warm and turned away.

He reached over and caressed her damp locks away from her cheeks. He smiled softly.

“You’re safe. I’m not leaving you,” he whispered to her.

She moved, feeling overheated, completely aroused, and also a bit scared. He was a big man, a muscular man, and a deputy who worked where she worked. He shouldn’t be on her bed, almost naked.

“You shouldn’t be on my bed with me. It’s not appropriate,” she said to him, feeling the anxiety of her words.

Taylor smiled softly and caressed her chin.

“I’m protecting you. I saw what went down tonight, remember? I need to be close to you and I want you to feel safe. What you went through was traumatic.” He caressed her chin and gave her a wink. Her core tightened and her pussy clenched. She was such a loser.

“Did Marlena and the others go home?” she asked, feeling nervous at the way Taylor stared at her and caressed her hair.

“A couple of hours ago,” he replied and continued to stroke her hair.

“Did they find Jeff and Damien?” she asked and his fingers stopped moving in her hair. She cringed as his expression changed. He pulled back and appeared as if he were biting the inside of his cheek.

“Not yet, but don’t worry, we’ll find them.”

She felt the tears fill her eyes as she thought about the fact the two men were still out there and that they wanted to hurt her.

“Awe, baby, please stop crying. You’re safe now. My brothers and I will make sure of it.” He leaned closer and he kissed her forehead as he leaned one arm over her waist and used his other hand to wipe away the tears.

“I feel so stupid,” she said and snorted. “You should go. I appreciate your kindness and the fact that you feel you need to stay here after helping to save me, but it’s not necessary. I’ll be just fine.”

He shook his head.

“Baby, you never should have been in that position to begin with,” he said to her in that tone that was all Taylor’s.

“I know that. I was stupid, and naïve to have accepted a date with two men I didn’t know. But they seemed so nice and I don’t date and then my friends were like go for it, and well I got caught up in it all and I forgot everything I learned living on the—” She stopped talking. She almost said that she lived on the streets. What would Taylor think of her? God, how stupid. She couldn’t think. Not with him this close to her and his damn sexy body leaning against hers.

“On the what? What were you going to say?”

“Nothing. Nothing at all. I’m rambling. I’m okay. I need to get up,” she said and he looked reluctant to get up from the bed. But he did and stared at her. She pulled back the covers and his eyes roamed over her thighs and the short shorts she wore. Adele had grabbed what she could find and helped her earlier. Why had she chosen such a sexy pair of pajamas for her to wear to bed knowing that Taylor was staying here to watch over her? She wondered if Adele was playing matchmaker.

“Let me help you,” Taylor said, standing up at his full height of six foot three and she gulped. He was huge. Looked extra large in her small bedroom. She reached out and took his hand and he pulled her up slowly, letting his other hand wrap around her waist and she felt his fingers over part of her ass and lower back. He was just so big.

“Ouch,” she said and placed her hand over her waist by her hip bone. Taylor scrunched his eyes together and held her by her shoulders as he bent slightly.

“You’re hurt there, too?” he asked and she nodded her head then reached for the hem of her T-shirt to lift it slightly. Taylor knelt down on one knee and kept a hand on her left side over her hip as she lifted her shirt and he looked at her skin.

“Jesus. You’re all bruised up. You didn’t show Dr. Anders this last night?” he asked and she shook her head.

“It didn’t hurt last night. My cheek and jaw hurt the most and of course my shoulder,” She said.

He looked up at her and held her gaze.

“You never should have been there last night,” He said and she felt like shit. He was reprimanding her and basically calling her stupid.