Dare to Hold (8 page)

A little while later, they’d climbed beneath the covers. Scott lay propped up against the pillows, one well-muscled arm beneath his head. “You okay?” he asked.

She nodded. “More than okay.”

Too okay, too sated, too happy for the situation she was in, but she wasn’t going to dwell. Things would end on their own soon enough. She didn’t have to do anything to push it along. She’d already learned she couldn’t deny this man, nor did she want to.

“So … you really came here tonight because you missed me?” She lifted herself up on her side and met his gaze.

“I really did.” His lips turned upward in a sexy grin.

“Good timing.”

That ended his smile. “Yeah, about that. My brother runs a security company, and I’m going to have him start digging into your ex and his background. We’ll figure out why the hell he won’t just leave you alone without you having to talk to him again.”

At the thought of having another conversation with Mike, she shivered, more out of dread that there would be very little talking done if he ever got near her.

“Hey.” Scott pulled her against him, tucking her firmly beneath his arm and against his chest. His heat not only warmed her body but also took away the chill caused by fear.

“I can’t afford to pay him,” she said of Tyler.

“Yeah, well, here’s the thing.” As he spoke, Scott ran his hand up and down her bare arm, his touch arousing her despite the topic of conversation. Her nipples tightened, and she knew they were now poking into his skin. He kept up the light caress and continued talking. “Tyler offered me a job.”

“Don’t you already have a job? You’re a cop.”

“And I’m bored as shit. Not to mention, I’m on administrative leave,” he muttered.

Oh, this was interesting. “Really? Why? What happened?”

He let out a low chuckle. “Apparently I don’t follow the rules too well.”

She shook her head. “You mean you’d rather make them? Who would have thunk it!” she teased.

Before she could blink, he flipped her onto her back and straddled her with his large body. “Are you making fun of me, Ms. Thompson?”

She wanted to laugh, but the stern look in his gaze had that giggle catching in the back of her throat. “No, I would never do that.” She bit the inside of her cheek and tried not to let any sound escape. He looked like he was just itching for a chance to torment her if she did. She wasn’t sure she could handle any of his sensual teasing.

He skimmed his fingers up the sides of her body, pausing as he came to the swells of her breasts and tracing beneath the sensitive mounds.

She stifled a long moan.

“As I was saying,” he continued, “my brother offered me a job. Actually he wants me to buy into his company and partner with him,” Scott said, sounding surprised. But as he spoke to her, he kept touching her, skimming her breasts with his knuckles, tracing a circle around her areolas with his fingers.

“Ooh.” She let out a moan.

He narrowed his gaze. “We’re talking,” he reminded her.

She wanted to pout but knew better. For some reason, he wanted to mix up conversation and foreplay. Bad man. Somehow she had to focus, because she sensed this was an important topic to him. Very important, and he was choosing her to confide in.

She drew a deep breath to steady herself. “Why do you sound shocked that he’d ask you to be his partner?” she asked.

He paused, his hands stilling. “I’m impressed you picked up on that,” he said. “Tyler’s just two years older than me, but I always looked up to him. Especially after he joined the Army. He’s successful now that he’s home too. That he’d want me to join him means a lot.”

She reached up and traced his jaw with her fingertips, the stubble prickling her skin in a delightful way. “You’re smart and successful. Why wouldn’t he want you?”

He shrugged. “It’s just not something I ever thought was on his radar.”

“Are you considering leaving the force?” she asked.

“Yes.” He appeared startled at his admission. “I was considering it after he asked, and then I came here… You’d been traumatized and I realized, hell yes, this is what I would rather do. Protect people on my own terms.”

She smiled up at him, pleased she’d been able to help him decide things, even if she hated what was going on in her own life at the moment. “I think you’ll be fantastic at whatever you put your mind to.”

He stared down at her, mouth parted as he studied her.

“That means a lot.”

Her heart fluttered at his words, but before she could start dissecting his meaning, Scott grasped her wrists in his hands and pinned them back against the mattress.

“I need to fuck you,” he said. “We can finish talking later.”

She blinked up at him, her gaze settling on his darkening eyes, the razor stubble marking his jaw and his messed hair. Need and want poured through her at the sight of him poised over her. Wanting her.

“Umm … okay?” Who was she to argue?

He tipped his head back and chuckled. “I can’t remember the last time I laughed during sex. You’re the whole package,” he said as he settled his cock at her entrance, then swore. “Shit. Condom.”

She bit her lip, wondering if she should do this. “Pregnancy isn’t an issue, obviously.” The words escaped, deciding for her. “And after my asshole ex got me pregnant and bailed, I got tested … just in case. So unless you—”

“I’m clean. Tested for work. And I really want to feel you bare, baby.” He raised his hips and drove forward, impaling her in one smooth thrust.

“Oh God.” She felt him everywhere. So hard and thick, smooth yet not, it was an exquisite difference, and she reveled in the increased friction and sensation.

“I hear you.” He slid out and back, his eyes a hazy dark blue, filled with desire as he picked up rhythm. No slow and easy this time, and she was grateful for it. She didn’t want time to think or, even worse, feel.

He tightened his grip on her wrists and took her with unrelenting drives that had her coming without buildup or warning.

“Scott!” She screamed his name. Fought to free her hands, to grab on to him as she shattered, but he held on tight. The firm binding merely heightened the experience, intensified her orgasm, and she might even have blacked out for a second. She barely remembered him coming too.

Later, as he slept beside her, Meg’s thoughts worked in a frenzied panic, as she tried to make sense of his sudden intrusion into her life. She’d been so determined to make a go of it alone. So sure she could easily hang on to her resolve not to get involved or rely on any man. Then Scott Dare bulldozed his way into her life and her bed.

She listened to his deep, even breathing and felt the heavy press of his arm curled around her waist. He was so strong and solid, so … reliable. He reminded her of Dylan, her high school boyfriend and, later in life, her best friend.

She blew out a deep breath. Dylan had been her one and only decent choice. A really great guy, and though their initial breakup had been mutual when they’d gone off to college, when they’d met up again later, she’d fallen again hard. He hadn’t. And when he’d said they were better as just friends, she’d swallowed her feelings and pride and agreed, telling him she felt the same way. Better to have him in her life as a friend than to lose him because her feelings made him uncomfortable.

At this point, all she felt for Dylan was a brotherly friendship. But back then? His unwitting rejection had reinforced the truth. Good guys didn’t find Meg worthy of sticking around. No guy did. First her father, who wasn’t a good guy. Then Dylan, who really was. Point made. And she’d chosen accordingly after that, picking the worst, hoping for the best, and never, ever getting it.

Scott was a challenge because Meg knew herself. She had a horrible tendency to fall hard and fast, and this man, with his protective tendencies and bossy air, would make it way too easy.

But soon enough, he’d realize he didn’t want to stick around as she grew big with another man’s baby. Why would he want to raise someone else’s kid?

A sharp pain sliced through her chest, but she relished the warning. The pain would help her remember and stay strong. Like Dylan, Scott would get tired of her needy ways. He’d turn away from Meg and the ready-made family she came with. No matter how nicely he handled it, if she wasn’t prepared, his rejection would break her, like Dylan nearly had.

She’d just have to be aware and stronger than her heart. She would enjoy him now, but she wouldn’t allow herself to get attached. Either she’d walk away first or she’d be prepared when he decided the time came.

*     *     *

Scott woke up in Meg’s bed, the sun streaming through the windows, feeling one hundred percent different about this morning after than the last one. He’d pushed past her reserve and her walls, and with a little luck, she wouldn’t grow cold and distant this morning. They had places to go and people to see. And he wanted to spend time with her outside of bed.

Last night had been phenomenal. Not just the sex, although Jesus… He’d never been with a woman without using a condom. Neither he nor Leah had wanted kids, and he’d always used protection. True, it had failed, but he’d used it. So Meg? Feeling her hot walls clasping around him, knowing there was nothing between them, it was heaven times a fucking thousand. Not to mention, she could read him well. She’d figured out immediately there was more to his feelings about Tyler’s offer than just whether or not he should leave his job. The brother he admired and looked up to found him worthy of joining him as an equal. That also rocked.

Life was looking up, he thought, heading for the bathroom. He showered, once again using Meg’s soap and shampoo, and getting hard as he inhaled the familiar scent. It reminded him of Meg, how she looked in bed, dark hair splayed around her, big brown eyes looking up at him with trust and arousal twinkling in the chocolate depths.

Fuck. He gripped his cock and began pumping with his hand, using the soap that smelled like her to lubricate his hand as he pretended it was her tight pussy tugging at him and milking him to completion. It didn’t take long for him to come in long spurts, giving him a shot at getting through the day without dragging her into a secluded place somewhere to ease the constant ache.

He dressed in yesterday’s clothes and decided a stop at his place was in order. He strode into the kitchen to find Meg standing at the counter, drinking the same pink protein shake as last time.

“Morning.”

She turned toward him and grinned. “Morning to you too.”

Muscles he hadn’t realized he’d been clenching released at her easy greeting. He strode over, determined to set the tone for not just the day but for how he wanted things to be between them from now on.

He slid a hand behind her neck and pulled her in for a long, deep, strawberry-tasting kiss. He made sure to taste her completely, his tongue stroking the inner recesses of her mouth before he ended it with a quick swipe of her lower lip.

“Delicious,” he murmured, meeting her gaze and amused by the dazed look in her pretty brown eyes.

“What’s on your agenda today?” he asked.

“Nothing exciting,” she said, turning away and heading for the sink, where she busied herself rinsing her glass.

He narrowed his gaze. “Remember what I said? Everything about you interests me. What’s up today?” he asked again.

“I need to go maternity clothes shopping,” she muttered, not turning around.

He walked over and surrounded her, wrapping his arms around her waist. “I can manage a stop by the mall.”

She shook her head. “No. You do not want to come while I try on fat clothes.”

She set the glass in the sink and attempted to wrench away from him, but he held her in place. “What the hell, Meg?” He turned her around and lifted her chin. Tears burned in her eyes, and he narrowed his gaze. “Fat clothes?” he asked, trying not to get angry and to understand instead.

She remained stubbornly silent.

He shook his head, totally at a loss. Sometimes women fucking confounded him. “What’s with the embarrassment?”

“Men,” she muttered. She sniffed and shook her head. “Sure, you’re here now. My body is reasonably fit. I’m not stupid enough to think you’ll still be here when I’m big like a whale, so can we skip the embarrassment of you seeing me shopping for stretchy pants with a pouch in front? I’m sure you have better things to do, and besides, I already have plans with my friend Lizzy.”

He blew out a long breath, finally understanding. Or he thought he did. “I realize we’re getting to know each other, but can you give me a little credit? It’s not like I didn’t know you were pregnant going into this.” He was still attracted to her. And that was that.

“Whatever,” Meg said.

He had sisters, which meant he knew she was going to believe what she wanted to, his words be damned. Fine. He’d just go along with the program.

“I need to stop home and change into clean clothes. Then I thought we’d go by my brother’s and give him information to start digging into your ex. After that?” He’d concede defeat on this one. “You can go to the mall while I head over to work and talk to my boss.”

“I wasn’t aware I needed permission,” she said, trying to remain sweet but make her point. She caught his
look.
“Are you giving notice?”

“Something like that,” he muttered.

She wouldn’t like the next part of his plan, so he intended to put off explaining it to her until her mood and feelings about him improved. He fully expected the fireworks to start again when she found out he wasn’t leaving her alone to deal with her lurking ex.

*     *     *

The ride to Scott’s took longer than Meg expected, and by the time he pulled off an exit on I-95, she had a throbbing headache. And when he turned onto a tree-lined street with set-back houses—big Spanish-style houses in the adobe coloring she loved, with gates around each—the dull ache turned to a searing pain. “You live
here
?”

“Sure do.”

“On a cop’s salary? Not that it’s my business,” she quickly said, realizing how rude and uncalled for her remark had been. “I’m sorry. I’m just surprised.”

He turned, his gaze hidden behind really sexy aviators. “I get it. And for the record, I want you to feel like you can ask me anything.” He turned into a long driveway and parked by a two-car garage. He pulled off the sunglasses and left them on the dashboard.