A Little Dare

liked the way she had decorated the place, totally differently from the way her parents used to have it. Her mother’s taste had been soft and quaint. Shelly’s taste made a bold

statement. She liked colors—bright cheery colors—evident in the vivid print of the sofa, loveseat and wingback chair.

Then there were her walls, painted in a variety of colorful

shades, so different from his plain off-white ones. He was amazed how she was able to tie everything together without anything clashing. She had managed to create a cozy and homey atmosphere for herself and AJ.

As they entered the kitchen, Dare quickly sat down at the table before she could note the fix his body was in, if she hadn’t done so already. But he soon discovered that sitting at the table watching her move around the kitchen only

intensified his problem. He was getting even more turned on by the fluid movements of her body as she reached into a cabinet to get their coffee cups. The shorts were snug, a perfect fit, and his entire body began throbbing in deep

male appreciation.

“You still like your coffee black and your Danish with a lot of butter, Dare?”

“Yes,” he managed to respond. He began to realize that he had made a mistake in dropping by. Over the past couple

of days when they’d been together there had been other

people around. Now it was just the two of them, alone in this house, in this room. He had to fight hard to dismiss the

thought of taking her right there on the table.

He inhaled deeply. If Shelly knew what thoughts were

running through his mind she would probably hightail it up

the stairs, which wouldn’t do her any good since he would only race up those same stairs after her and end up making love to her in one of the bedrooms.

That was something they had done once before when her parents had been out of town and he had dropped by

unexpectedly. A slow, lazy smile touched the side of his

mouth as he remembered the intensity of their lovemaking that day. That was the one time they hadn’t used protection. Perhaps that was the time she had gotten pregnant with

AJ?

“What are you smiling about?”

Her question invaded his thoughts and he shifted in the

chair to alleviate some of the tension pressing at the zipper of his pants. He met her gaze and decided to be

completely honest with her, something he had always done. “I was thinking about that time that we made love upstairs in your bedroom without protection, and wondered if that was the time you got pregnant.”

“It was.”

He regarded her for a second. “How do you know?”

She stared at the floor for a moment before meeting his gaze again. “Because after that was the first time I’d ever been late.”

He nodded. The reason they had made love so recklessly and intensely that day was because he had received orders a few hours earlier to leave immediately for an area near

Kuwait. It was a temporary assignment and he would only be gone for two months. But at the time, two months could have been two years for all she cared. Because of the

danger of his assignment, the news had immediately sent her in a spin and she had raced up the stairs to her

bedroom so he wouldn’t see her cry. He had gone after her, only to end up placing her on the bed and making frantic,

uncontrolled love to her.

“What did Jared have to say yesterday?” Shelly asked him rather than think about that particular day when they had

unknowingly created their son. Straightening, she walked over to the table and placed the coffee and rolls in front of him, then sat down at the table.

He took a sip of coffee and responded, “Jared thinks that whatever we decide is the best way to handle letting AJ know I’m his father is fine as long as we’re in agreement.

But he strongly thinks I should do whatever needs to be

done to compensate you from the time he was born. And I agree. As his father I had certain responsibilities to him.”

“But you didn’t know about him, Dare.”

“But I know about him now, Shelly, and that makes a world of difference.”

Shelly nodded. She knew that to argue with Dare would be a complete waste of her time. “All right, I have a college

fund set up and if you’d like to contribute, I have no problem with that. That is definitely one way you can help.”

Dare leaned back in his chair and met her gaze. “Are you sure there’s no other way I can help?”

For a moment she wondered if he was asking for AJ or for her. Could he detect the deep longing within her, the sexual cravings, and knew he could help her there? She sighed,

knowing she was letting her mind become cluttered. AJ

was the only thing between them, and she had to remember that.

“Yes, I’m sure,” she said softly. “My job pays well and I’ve

always budgeted to live within my means. The cost of living isn’t as high here as it is in L.A., and my parents aren’t

charging me any rent, so AJ and I are fine, Dare, but thanks for asking.”

At that moment the telephone rang; she hoped he didn’t

see the relief on her face. “Excuse me,” she said, standing quickly. “That’s probably the agency calling to let me know my hours and clients for next week.”

As Shelly listened to the agency’s secretary tell her what her schedule would be for the following week, she tried to get her thoughts back together. Dare had stirred up

emotions and needs that she’d thought were dead and

buried until she’d seen him two days ago. His presence had blood racing through her body at an alarming speed.

“All right, thanks for calling,” she said before hanging up the phone. She quickly turned and bumped into a massive

solid chest. “Oh.”

Dare reached out and quickly stopped Shelly from falling. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you,” he said, his words soft and gentle.

She took a step back when he released her. Each time he touched her she was reminded of the sensual feelings he could easily invoke. “I thought you were still sitting down.”

“I thought it was time for me to leave. I don’t want to take you from your work any longer.”

She rubbed her hands across her arms, knowing it was best if he left. “Is that all Jared said?”

He nodded. That was all she needed to know. There was no need to tell her that Jared had suggested the possibility of him having legal visitation rights and petitioning for joint custody of AJ. Both suggestions he had squashed, since he and Shelly had devised what they considered a

workable plan.

His gaze moved to her hands and he watched her fingers sliding back and forth across her arms. He remembered her doing that very thing on a certain part of his anatomy several times. The memory of the warmth of her fingers touching him so intimately slammed another arousal

through his body that strengthened the one already there.

At that moment, he lost whatever control he had. Being

around her stirred up memories and emotions he could no longer fight, nor did he want to. The only thing he wanted, he needed, was to kiss her, taste her and reacquaint the

insides of his mouth, his tongue, with hers.

Shelly was having issues of her own and took a steadying breath, trying to get the heated desire racing through her body under control. She swallowed deeply when she saw that Dare’s gaze was dead-centered on her mouth, and fought off the panic that seized her when he took a step

forward.

“I wonder…” he said huskily, his gaze not leaving her lips.

She blinked, refocused on him. “You wonder about what?” she asked softly, feeling the last shreds of her composure slipping.

“I wonder if your mouth still knows me.”

His words cut through any control she had left. Those were the words he had always whispered whenever they were together after being apart for any length of time, just

moments before he took her into his arms and kissed her senseless.

He leaned in closer, then lowered his mouth to hers.

Immediately, his tongue went after hers in an attempt to lure her into the same rush of desire consuming him. But she

was already there, a step ahead of him, so he tried forcing his body to calm down and settle into the taste he’d always been accustomed to. He had expected heat, but he hadn’t expected the hot, fiery explosion that went off in his

midsection. It made a groan erupt from deep in his throat.

His hands linked around her waist to hold her closer, thigh- to-thigh, breasts to chest. Sensation after sensation

speared through him, making it hard to resist eating her

alive, or at least trying to, and wanting to touch her

everywhere, especially between her legs. Now that he had rediscovered this—the taste of her mouth—he wanted also to relive the feel of his fingers sliding over her heated flesh to find the hot core of her, swollen and wet.

That thought drove a primitive need through him and the erection pressing against her got longer and harder. The thought of using it to penetrate the very core of her made his mind reel and drugged his brain even more with her sensuality.

A shiver raced over Shelly and a semblance of control

returned as she realized just how easily she had

succumbed to his touch. She knew she had to put a halt to what they were doing. She had returned to College Park not for herself but for AJ.

She broke off their kiss and untangled herself from his

arms. When he leaned toward her, to kiss her again, she