A Little Dare (35 page)

him
over
saying,
“Thorn,
I’d
like
you
to
meet
someone.
From
what
I
gather,
he’s
a
big
fan
of
yours.”

AJ’s
mouth
literally
fell
open
and
the
size
of
his
eyes

increased.
He
tilted
his
head
back
to
gaze
up
at
the
man
towering
over
him.
“Wow!
You’re
Thorn
Westmoreland!”

Thorn
gave
a
slow
grin.
“Yes,
I’m
Thorn
Westmoreland.
Now
who
might
you
be?”

To
Dare’s
surprise,
AJ
grinned
right
back.
It
was
the
first
look
of
happiness
he’d
seen
on
his
son’s
face,
and
a
part
of
him
regretted
he
hadn’t
been
the
one
to
put
it
there.

“I’m
AJ
Brockman.”

Thorn
tapped
his
chin
with
his
finger
a
couple
of
times
as
if
thinking
about
something.
“Brockman.
Brockman.
I
used
to
know
a
Shelly
Brockman
some
years
ago.
In
fact
she
used
to
be
Dare’s
girlfriend.
Are
you
related
to
that
Brockman?”

“Yes,
I’m
her
son.”

Thorn
chuckled.
“Well,
I’ll
be,”
he
said,
pretending
he
didn’t
already
know
that
fact.
“And
how’s
your
mother?”

“She’s
fine.”

At
that
moment
Dare
looked
up
and
saw
his
other
brothers
enter.
More
introductions
were
made,
and,
just
like
Thorn,

they
pretended
they
were
surprised
to
see
AJ,
and
no
one
gave
anything
away
about
knowing
he
was
Dare’s
son.

When
they
all
sat
down
to
eat,
with
AJ
sitting
between
Thorn
and
Dare,
it
was
obvious
to
anyone
who
cared
to
notice
that
the
boy
was
definitely
a
Westmoreland.

Shelly
put
aside
the
novel
she’d
been
reading
when
she

heard
the
doorbell
ring.
A
glance
out
the
peephole

confirmed
it
was
AJ,
but
he
wasn’t
alone.
Dare
had
walked
him
to
the
door,
and
with
good
reason.
AJ
was
half
asleep
and
barely
standing
on
his
feet.

She
quickly
opened
the
door
to
AJ’s
mumblings.
“I
told
you
I
could
walk
to
the
door
myself
without
your
help,”
he
was

saying
none
too
happily.

“Yeah,
and
I
would
have
watched
you
fall
on
your
face,
too,”
was
Dare’s
response
Shelly
stepped
aside
and
let
them

both
enter.
“How
was
dinner?”
she
asked,
closing
the
door
behind
them.

AJ
didn’t
answer,
instead
he
continued
walking
and

headed
for
the
stairs.
She
gave
a
quick
glance
to
Dare,

who
was
watching
AJ
as
he
tried
maneuvering
the
stairs.

“That
kid
is
so
sleepy
he
can’t
think
straight,”
he
said.
“You
might
want
to
help
him
before
he
falls
and
breaks
his
neck.
I
would
do
it,
but
I
think
he’s
had
enough
of
me
for
one

evening.”

Shelly
nodded,
then
quickly
provided
AJ
a
shoulder
to
lean
on
while
he
climbed
the
stairs.

Dare
moved
to
stand
at
the
foot
of
the
stairs
and
watched
Shelly
and
AJ
until
they
were
no
longer
in
sight.
He
sighed
deeply,
thinking
how
his
adrenaline
had
pumped
up
when
Shelly
had
opened
the
door.
She’d
been
wearing
the
same
outfit
she’d
worn
to
his
office
that
evening,
and
his
gaze
had
been
glued
to
her
backside
all
the
while
she’d
moved
up

the
stairs,
totally
appreciating
the
sway
of
her
hips
and
the
way
the
skirt
intermittently
slid
up
her
thighs
with
each

upward
step
she
took.

He
thought
that
he
would
do
just
about
anything
to
be
able
to
follow
right
behind
her
and
tumble
her
straight
into
bed,
but
he
knew
that
wasn’t
possible,
especially
with
AJ
in
the
house.
Not
to
mention
the
fact
that
she
was
still
acting

rather
cautiously
around
him.

He
knew
it
would
probably
take
her
a
while
to
get
AJ
ready
for
bed,
and
since
he
didn’t
intend
leaving
until
they
had

talked,
he
decided
to
sit
on
the
sofa
and
wait
for
her.
He

picked
up
the
book
she’d
been
reading,
Stone’s
most

recent
bestseller,
and
smiled,
thinking
it
was
a
coincidence
that
he
was
reading
the
same
book.

Making
sure
he
kept
the
spot
where
she’d
stopped
reading

marked,
he
flipped
a
couple
of
chapters
ahead
and
picked
up
where
he’d
left
off
last
night
before
sleep
had
overtaken
him.

Shelly
paused
on
the
middle
stair
when
she
noticed
Dare
sitting
on
her
sofa
reading
the
book
she
had
begun
reading
earlier
that
day.
She
couldn’t
help
noticing
that
her
living

room
appeared
quiet
and
seductive,
and
the
light
from
a

floor
lamp
next
to
where
he
sat
illuminated
his
features
and
created
an
alluring
scene
that
was
too
enticing
to
ignore.

She
silently
studied
him
for
a
long
time,
wondering
just
how
many
peaceful
moments
he
was
used
to
getting
as
sheriff.
He
looked
comfortable,
relaxed
and
just
plain
sexy
as
sin.
His
features
were
calm,
yet
she
could
tell
by
the
way
his

eyes
were
glued
to
the
page
that
he
was
deeply
absorbed
in
the
action-thriller
novel
his
brother
had
written.

He
shifted
in
his
seat
while
turning
the
page
and
crossed

one
leg
over
the
other.
She
knew
they
were
strong
legs,

sturdy
legs,
legs
that
had
held
her
body
in
place
while
his

had
pumped
relentlessly
into
her,
legs
that
had
nudged
hers
apart
again
when
he
wanted
a
second
round
and
a
third.

Swallowing
at
the
memory,
she
felt
her
heart
rate
increase,
and
decided
the
best
way
to
handle
Dare
was
to
send
him
home—real
quick-like.
She
didn’t
think
she
could
handle