A Little Dare

and from the gleams in their eyes, it was evident they were still up to no good. After they both placed chaste pecks on her lips, Storm said, smiling. “We told Dare that he blew his chance with you, which means you’re now available for us.”

Shelly grinned. “Oh, am I?”

“Yeah, if you want to be,” Chase said, teasingly, giving her another hug.

When Chase released her she drew a deep breath. Next came Dare.

“Dare,” she acknowledged softly, nervously.

She figured since she’d already been in his company a few times, not to mention what they had done together last

night, that he would not make a big production of seeing

her. She soon discovered just how wrong that assumption was when he gently pulled her into his arms and captured

her lips, nearly taking her breath in the process. There was nothing chaste about the kiss he gave her and she knew it had intentionally lasted long enough to cause his brothers to speculate and to give anyone who saw them kiss

something to talk about.

When he released her mouth, it was Stone who decided to make light of what Dare had done by saying. “What was

that about, Dare? Were you trying to prove to Shelly that

you could still kiss?”

Dare answered as his gaze held hers. He smiled at

Stone’s comment and said. “Yeah, something like that.”

Shelly never had problems getting through a meal before. But then she’d never had the likes of Dare Westmoreland on a mission to seduce her. And it didn’t matter that she

was sitting at a table in a restaurant next to him, surrounded by his brothers, or that the place was filled to lunch-crowd

capacity.

She took several deep breaths to calm her racing heart, but it did nothing to soothe the ache throbbing through her. It all started when she caught herself staring at his hand as he

lifted a water goblet to his lips. Seeing his fingers had

reminded her how she had whimpered her way into ecstasy as those same fingers had stroked away ten years of

sexual frustration.

She had caught his eyes dark with desire, over the water

glass, and had realized he had read her thoughts. And, as smooth as silk, when he placed the glass down he took that same hand and without calling attention to what he was

doing, placed it under the table on her thigh.

At first she’d almost jerked at the cool feel of his hand, then she’d relaxed when his hand just rested on her thigh without moving. But then, moments later, she had almost gasped when his hand moved to settle firmly between her legs. And amidst all conversations going on around them, as the

brothers tried to bring her up to date on what had been

going on in their lives over the past ten years, no one

seemed to have noticed that one of Dare’s hands was

missing from the table while he gently stroked her slowly

back and forth through the material of her shorts. He’d tried getting her zipper down, a zipper that, thanks to the way

she was sitting, wouldn’t budge.

Thinking that she had to do something, anything to stop this madness, she leaned forward and placed her elbows on

the table and cupped her face in her hands as she tried to ignore the multitude of sensations flowing through her. She glanced around wondering if any of the brothers had any

idea what Dare was up to, but from the way they were

talking and eating, it seemed they had more on their minds than Dare not keeping his hands to himself.

“We want you to know that we’ll do everything we can to help you with AJ, Shelly.”

Shelly nodded at Stone’s offer and then felt her cheeks

grow warmer when another one of Dare’s fingers wiggled its way inside her shorts. “I appreciate that, Stone.”

“He’s my responsibility,” Dare spoke up and glanced at his brothers, keeping a straight face, not giving away just what sidebar activities he was engaged in.

“Yeah, but he belongs to us, too,” Thorn said. “He’s a

Westmoreland, and I think that you did a wonderful job with him, Shelly, considering the fact that you’ve been a single parent for the past ten years. He’s going through growing

pains now, but once he sees that he has a family who cares deeply for him, he’ll be just fine.”

She nodded. She had to believe that as well. “Thanks, Thorn.”

“Well, although I truly enjoyed all your company, it’s time for me to get back to the station,” Dare said, finally removing his hand from between her legs. When he stood she

glanced up at him knowing that regardless of whether it

was a dark, cozy corner on her porch at night or in a

restaurant filled with people in broad day light, Dare

Westmoreland did just what he pleased, and it seemed that nothing pleased him more than touching her.

“So, what did you do next, Sheriff?”

Dare shook his head. When AJ had shown up after school, he had brought Morris and Cornelius with him and

explained that the two had wanted to tag along. Dare had made it clear that if they had come to keep AJ company

then they might as well help him with the work, and he had just the project for the three of them.

He had taken them to the basement where the police youth athletic league’s equipment was stored, with instructions

that they bring order to the place. That past year a number of balls, gloves and bats had been donated by one of the local sports stores.

Deciding to stay and help as well to supervise, he had not been prepared for the multitude of questions that Morris

and Cornelius were asking him. AJ didn’t ask him anything, but Dare knew he was listening to everything that was

being said.

“That’s why it pays to be observant,” Dare said, unloading another box. “It’s always a clue when one guy goes inside and the other stays out in the car with the motor running.

They had no idea I was with law enforcement. I pretended to finish filling my tank up with gas, and out of the corner of my eye I could see the man inside acting strangely and I

knew without a doubt that a robbery was about to take place.”

“Wow! Then what did you do?” Morris asked, with big, bright eyes.

“Although I worked for the Bureau, we had an unspoken

agreement with the local authorities to make them aware of certain things and that’s what I did. Pretending to be

checking out a map, I used my cell phone to alert the local police of what was happening. The only reason I became involved was because I saw that one of the robbers

intended to take a hostage, a woman who’d been inside

paying for gas. At that point I knew I had to make a move.”

“Weren’t you afraid you might get hurt?” AJ asked.

Dare wondered if AJ was aware that he was now as

engrossed in the story as Morris and Cornelius were. “No, AJ, at the time the only thing I could think about was that an innocent victim was at risk. Her safety became my main

concern at that point, and whatever I did, I had to make sure that she wasn’t hurt or injured.”

“So what did you do?”

“In the pretense of paying for my gas, I entered the store at the same time the guy was forcing the woman out. I

decided to use a few martial arts moves I had learned in the marines, and—”

“You used to be in the marines?” AJ asked.

Dare smiled. The look of total surprise and awe on his

son’s face was priceless. “Yes, I served in the marines for four years, right after college.”

AJ smiled. “Wow!”

“My daddy says the marines only picks the most bravest and the best men,” Morris said, also impressed.

Dare smiled. “I think all the branches of the military selects good men, but I do admit that marines are a very special breed.” He glanced at his watch. “It’s a little over an hour, guys. Do I need to call any of your parents to let them know that you’re on your way home?”

All three boys shook their heads, indicating that Dare didn’t have to. “All right.”

“Sheriff, do you think you can teach us some simple martial arts moves?” Cornelius asked.

“Yeah, sheriff, with bad people kidnapping kids we need to know how to protect ourselves, don’t we?” Morris chimed in.

Dare grinned when he saw AJ vigorously nodding his head, agreeing with Morris. “Yes, I guess that’s something all of

you should know, some real simple moves. Just as long as you don’t use it on your classmates for fun or to try to show off.”

“We wouldn’t do that,” Morris said eagerly.

Dare nodded. “All right then. I’ll try to map out some time this Saturday morning. How about checking with your

parents, and if they say it’s all right, then the three of you can meet me here.”

He glanced at his watch again. Shelly didn’t know it yet, but he intended to see her again tonight, no matter what

excuse he had to make to do so. He smiled, pleased with the progress he felt he’d made with AJ today. “Okay guys, let’s get things moving so we can call it a day. The three of you did an outstanding job and I appreciate it.”

“Mom, did you know that the sheriff used to be in the marines?”

Shelly glanced up from her book and met AJ’s excited

gaze. He was stretched out on the floor by the sofa doing his homework. “Yes, I knew that. We dated during that

time.”

“Wow!”

She lifted a brow. “What’s so fantastic about him being a marine?”