A Little Dare (4 page)

gorgeous
that
she
found
it
hard
to
do
so.
Wearing
his
blue
uniform,
he
still
had
that
look
that
left
a
woman’s
mind

whirling
and
her
body
overheated.

He
had
changed
a
lot
from
the
young
man
she
had
fallen
in
love
with
years
ago.
He
was
taller,
bigger
and
more

muscular.
The
few
lines
he
had
developed
in
the
corners
of
his
eyes,
and
the
firmness
of
his
jaw
made
his
face
more
angular,
his
coffee-colored
features
stark
and
disturbingly
handsome
and
still
a
pleasure
to
look
at.

She
noted
there
were
certain
things
about
him
that
had

remained
the
same.
The
shape
of
his
mouth
was
still
a
total
turn-on,
and
he
still
had
those
sexy
dimples
he
used
to
flash
at
her
so
often.
Then
there
were
those
dark
eyes—deep,

penetrating—that
at
one
time
had
had
the
ability
to
read
her
mind
by
just
looking
at
her.
How
else
had
he
known
when

she’d
wanted
him
to
make
love
to
her
without
her
having
to
utter
a
single
word?

Suddenly
Shelly
felt
nervous,
panicky
when
she

remembered
the
reason
she
had
moved
back
to
town.
But
there
was
no
way
she
could
tell
Dare
that
he
was
AJ’s

father—at
least
not
today.
She
needed
time
to
pull
herself
together.
Seeing
him
again
had
derailed
her
senses,

making
it
impossible
for
her
to
think
straight.
The
only
thing
she
wanted
was
to
get
AJ
and
leave.

“I
came
for
my
son,
Dare,”
she
finally
found
her
voice
to
say,

and
even
to
her
own
ears
it
sounded
wispy.

Dare
let
out
a
deep
breath.
It
seemed
she
wanted
to
get

right
down
to
business
and
not
dwell
on
the
past.
He
had
no
intention
of
letting
her
do
that,
mainly
because
of
what
they
had
once
meant
to
each
other.
“It’s
been
a
long
time,

Shelly.
How
have
you
been?”
he
asked
raspily,
failing
to

keep
his
own
voice
casual.
He
found
the
scent
of
her

perfume
just
as
sexy
and
enticing
as
the
rest
of
her.

“I’ve
been
fine,
Dare.
How
about
you?”

“Same
here.”

She
nodded.
“Now
may
I
see
my
son?”

Her
insistence
on
keeping
things
non-personal
was

beginning
to
annoy
the
hell
out
of
him.
His
eyes
narrowed
and
his
gaze
zeroed
in
on
her
mouth;
bad
timing
on
his

part.
She
nervously
swiped
her
bottom
lip
with
her
tongue,
causing
his
body
to
react
immediately.
He
remembered

that
tongue
and
some
of
the
things
he
had
taught
her
to
do
with
it.
He
dragged
air
into
his
lungs
when
he
felt
his

muscles
tense.
“Aren’t
you
going
to
ask
why
he’s
here?”
he
asked,
his
voice
sounding
tight,
just
as
tight
as
his
entire

body
felt.

She
shrugged.
“I
assumed
that
since
the
school
called
and
said
he
didn’t
show
up
today,
one
of
your
officers
had

picked
him
up
for
playing
hooky.”

“No,
that’s
not
it,”
he
said,
thinking
that
was
a
reasonable
assumption
to
make.
“I’m
the
one
who
picked
him
up,
but
he
was
doing
something
a
bit
more
serious
than
playing
hooky.”

Shelly’s
eyes
widened
in
alarm.
“What?”

“I
caught
him
throwing
rocks
at
passing
motorists
on
Old

National
Highway.
Do
you
know
what
could
have
happened
had
a
driver
swerved
to
avoid
getting
hit?”

Shelly
swallowed
as
she
nodded.
“Yes.”
The
first
thought
that
came
to
her
mind
was
that
AJ
was
in
need
of
serious
punishment,
but
she’d
tried
punishing
him
in
the
past
and
it
hadn’t
seemed
to
work.

“I’m
sorry
about
this,
Dare,”
she
apologized,
not
knowing
what
else
to
say.
“We
moved
to
town
a
few
weeks
ago
and
it
hasn’t
been
easy
for
him.
He
needs
time
to
adjust.”

Dare
snorted.
“From
the
way
he
acted
in
my
office
earlier
today,
I
think
what
he
needs
is
an
attitude
adjustment
as
well
as
a
lesson
in
respect
and
manners.
Whose
kid
is
he
anyway?”

Shelly
straightened
her
spine.
The
mother
in
her
took
offense
at
his
words.
She
admitted
she
had
spoiled
AJ
somewhat,
but
still,
considering
the
fact
that
she
was
a
single
parent
doing
the
best
she
could,
she
didn’t
need