A Little Dare (36 page)

another
episode
like
the
one
they
had
shared
earlier
that
day.

He
must
have
heard
the
sound
of
her
heavy
breathing,
or
maybe
she
had
let
out
a
deep
moan
without
realizing
she’d
uttered
a
single
word.
Something
definitely
gave
her
away,
and
she
felt
heat
pool
between
her
legs
when
he
lifted
his
gaze
from
the
book
and
looked
at
her.
It
wasn’t
just
an

ordinary
look
either.
It
was
a
hot
look,
a
definite
scorcher
and
a
blatant,
I-want-to-take-you-to-bed
look.

She
blinked,
thinking
she
had
misread
the
look,
but
then
she
knew
she
hadn’t.
He
wouldn’t
say
the
words
out
loud,
but
he
definitely
wanted
her
to
know
what
he
was
thinking.
She
breathed
in
deeply.
Dare
was
trouble
and
she
was

determined
to
send
him
packing.

He
stood
when
she
took
the
last
few
steps
down
the
stairs.
“He’s
out
like
a
light,”
she
said
quietly
when
he
came
to

stand
in
front
of
her.
“I
could
barely
get
him
in
the
shower

and
in
bed
without
him
falling
asleep
again.
Thanks
for

taking
him
to
dinner
and
for
making
sure
he
got
back

home.”

Shelly
paused,
knowing
she
had
just
said
a
mouthful,
but

she
wasn’t
through
yet.
“I
know
you’ve
had
a
busy
day
today
and
need
your
rest
as
much
as
I
do,
so
I’ll
see
you
out
now.
In
fact
you
didn’t
have
to
wait
around
for
me
to
finish

upstairs.”

“Yes,
I
did.”

She
stared
at
him.
“Why?”

“I
thought
you’d
want
to
know
how
tonight
went.”

Shelly
inwardly
groaned.
Of
course
she
wanted
to
know

how
tonight
went,
but
she’d
been
so
intent
on
getting
Dare
out
the
door
she
had
forgotten
to
ask.
“Yes,
of
course.
Did
he
behave
himself?
How
did
he
take
to
your
family?”

Dare
glanced
up
at
the
top
of
the
stairs
then
returned
his
gaze
to
her.
“Is
there
somewhere
we
can
talk
privately?”

The
first
place
Shelly
thought
about
was
the
kitchen,
and

then
she
remembered
what
had
happened
between
them
earlier
that
day.
She
decided
the
best
place
to
talk
would

be
outside
on
the
porch.
That
way
he
would
definitely
be
out
of
the
house.
“We
can
talk
outside
on
the
porch,”
she
said,
moving
in
that
direction.

Without
waiting
for
his
response,
she
took
the
few
steps
to
the
door
and
stepped
outside.

The
night
air
was
crisp
and
clear.
The
first
thing
Shelly

noticed
was
the
full
moon
in
the
sky,
and
the
next
was
the
zillions
of
stars
that
sparkled
like
diamonds
surrounding
it.
She
went
to
stand
next
to
a
porch
post,
since
it
was
the

best
spot
for
the
glow
of
light
from
the
moon.
The
last
thing
she
needed
was
to
stand
in
some
dark
area
of
the
porch

with
Dare.

She
heard
him
behind
her
when
he
joined
her,
however,

instead
of
standing
with
her
in
the
light,
he
went
and
sat
in
the
porch
swing
that
was
located
in
a
darkened
corner.
She
sucked
in
a
breath.
If
he
thought
for
one
minute
that
she

would
join
him
in
that
swing,
he
had
another
thought

coming.
As
far
as
she
was
concerned,
they
could
converse
just
fine
right
where
they
were.

“So
how
did
AJ
behave
tonight?”
she
asked,
deciding
to
plunge
right
in,
since
there
was
no
reason
to
prolong
the
moment.

She
heard
the
swing’s
slow
rocking
when
he
replied.
“To
my
surprise,
very
well.
In
fact,
his
manners
were

impeccable,
but
then
it
was
obvious
that
he
was
trying
to

impress
Thorn.”
Dare
chuckled
“He
pretty
much
tried

ignoring
me,
but
my
brothers
picked
up
on
what
he
was

doing
and
wrecked
those
plans.
Whenever
he
tried

excluding
me
from
the
conversation,
they
counteracted
and
included
me.
Pretty
soon
he
gave
up,
after
finding
out
the
hard
way
an
important
lesson
about
the
Westmorelands.”

“Which
is?”

“We
stick
together,
no
matter
what.”

Shelly
nodded.
She’d
known
that
from
previous
years.