Dare to Succeed (The Dare 2)

Her thighs were now between his large, splayed thighs as he sat in the chair.

“Let me take a look to be sure it’s healing okay,” he said, with both his hands on her knees. He used his thumbs to caress her skin and she felt flushed, excited, scared, and couldn’t speak. Her breasts tingled and she gripped the chair.

“I’m okay,” she said.

He slowly pushed the one side of her skirt upward.

“Jesus, Alicia,” Caldwell said and knelt down next to her chair. He placed his hand on her chair as Max eased the skirt higher.

Any further and she would be showing off her hip bone and panties.

“Alicia, you need to be more careful,” Caldwell reprimanded her as he placed his hands on her shoulders from behind her chair and leaned over looking at her thigh. With three sets of sexy eyes on her she panicked. She shoved her skirt down and pushed up and out of the chair. She nearly lost her balance but Max grabbed her hips as he stood. He towered over her.

“Sweetheart, don’t be scared of us. We’d never hurt you.”

“Don’t say things like that to me.”

“Why not? It’s true. Don’t you believe me?” he asked. She shook her head.

“I need to go.”

“Wait,” Monroe said and took her hand.

“I’ll walk you out. We’ll make plans for designs on the window. I’ll give you my contact info. E-mail, phone number, and we can go over designs together. I can relay the info to my brothers. Maybe you can start in a couple of days? If that’s good for you of course,” Monroe said as he escorted her from the kitchen.

She glanced over her shoulder at Max and Caldwell, who just stared at her. Max looked pissed off. He ran his fingers through his hair and exhaled. She quickly turned around and headed toward the front door with Monroe. Something was going on here, but what, exactly?

> * * * *

“Oh my God we were so close. I thought you were going to kiss her, Max,” Caldwell said to his brother once Monroe and Alicia exited the house.

Max ran his fingers through his hair. Caldwell thought he looked unraveled and angry.

“Goddamn it I wanted to. I’m not used to this sidestepping, waiting shit. Most women would be throwing themselves at us, but not Alicia. I swear when she looks at me sometimes I think she sees a monster,” Max said in frustration.

“I don’t think she sees you as a monster as much as an intimidating, lawful figure. You don’t realize the kind of reputation you have around Chance, Max.”

“My reputation? Shit, I’ve never worried about any of that. Hell, our fathers never did either if you recall.”

Caldwell chuckled as he crossed his arms and leaned back against the counter. Max was right.

“Shit, Brook Gordon still scares the shit out of people when he shows his face in Chance.”

Max chuckled. “What about you? You’re more like Walt than Monroe and I.”

“I’d rather be more like Walt, who holds back his anger, then when pushed over the edge roars like a lion. You’re the one royally screwed with a combined personality of Colonel, Brook, and Sianne.”

“Hey, I’ll tell Mom you said that next time she calls.”

“Ha, she knows you’re just like her. The woman’s quiet as can be and when the fathers ruffle her feathers all hell breaks loose. Come to think of it, I wonder if that’s why we like Alicia so much. She does kind of remind me of Mom. God, if they come visiting, what will they think of Alicia?”

“I think Mom will love her and the dads, too. Especially if she’s shy and timid. Mom will have us boosting Alicia’s self-confidence and helping her to feel loved and protected.”

“Well, don’t go making the call to Mom and the dads yet. I think we might have scared Alicia a little bit, or intimidated her,” Monroe added to the conversation as he entered the room. He leaned one hand on the counter and kept the other on his hip.

“She’s a tough one to read. I swear I think someone hurt her or let her down big time. Do we know if she has any family? Any relatives alive?” Monroe asked.

“I thought we discussed not snooping around,” Max said to him.