Dare to Hold Read online

  “Sorry,” Tyler muttered, obviously uncomfortable.

  Scott wasn’t sure if he was referring to the divorce, the reason behind it, or Meg’s lack of interest. All were enough to shit on his ego.

  Meg shoved her chair back and headed for the back of the restaurant, where the restrooms were located, and Scott breathed easily for the first time since realizing she was here.

  “You going after her?” Tyler asked.

  “No.”

  “It’s not like you to give up when you want something.”

  Good point, Scott thought, but he remained seated. Watching but wary.

  Meg returned and stopped by one of her friends, whispering something in her ear. The women spoke, and suddenly the guy who’d been inching closer to her all evening walked up to them. They talked. Looked more like an argument.

  And then he grabbed Meg’s arm. Scott bolted out of his seat and came up behind Meg. Her soft scent invaded his senses, but his focus was on the asshole who hadn’t released her.

  “Let. Go,” Meg said through clenched teeth.

  Scott’s hands fisted at his sides. “Touch her again and you’ll answer to me.”

  * * *

  Meg didn’t know where Scott Dare had come from. She hadn’t noticed him in the bar earlier, and she was always aware when he was near. How could she not be? He was everything that appealed to her in a man. Tall with jet-black hair that always looked as if he’d just run his hand through the inky strands. Full lips. Straight nose. So damned handsome.

  Though he had a dominant streak a mile wide, one she couldn’t miss during their few encounters, he’d been warm and caring when taking her statement in the hospital. And he was a cop, which meant he wasn’t her typical bad boy, but he gave off a masculine vibe that just did it for her.

  “Who the hell are you?” Ken asked Scott, interrupting her blatant perusal.

  “A friend who heard her tell you to get lost.” If Scott’s pissed-off tone and much bigger build wasn’t enough to make his point, he pushed his jacket back, revealing his holstered gun. “I’m off duty but it still works.”

  Ken raised both hands and took a step back. “Easy, man. It’s not my fault she gave off the wrong signals.” He shook his head and stormed off, his friends pushing their chairs back and quickly following.

  “Are you okay?” Lizzy asked, her hand protectively on Meg’s arm.

  “I’m fine.”

  “And who is this?” Allie asked, coming up on Meg’s other side.

  She tipped her head toward Scott, still not meeting his gaze. She wasn’t ready. “Liz, Allie, this is Scott Dare.”

  “Holy hell, girl,” Allie whispered none too softly. “I can see why you weren’t interested in the Ken doll.”

  Meg’s cheeks burned.

  “Nice to meet you both,” he said in that voice that Meg heard in her dreams.

  He turned toward her, giving her no choice but to look into those sexy navy—almost violet—eyes, made more vibrant by his light blue shirt. “Meg, a word?”

  She shook her head. She’d managed to put him out of her thoughts, which hadn’t been easy, and here he was, coming to her rescue and making demands. If she wasn’t so determined to turn over a new leaf, be independent, she’d respond to his sexy tone and probably do anything he asked. Her damp panties were proof of that.

  “I was just telling my friends I’m going home.” She kissed Lizzy on the cheek and squeezed Allie’s hand, reassuring them both she was fine.

  She strode past Scott knowing full well he’d follow. He waited until they were on the street away from the crowds before he grasped her hand and turned her to face him. “Meg.”

  “Thank you for getting rid of the creep.” She pulled her phone from her bag and scrolled for the app that would let her call for a car.

  He caught her wrist. “I’ll drive you home.”

  “Was that an offer or an order?” she asked, unable to help her sarcastic mouth. He brought that out in her.

  He shot her a look. One that had her quivering inside. And giving in to his demand. “Okay, you can drive me home.”

  And then she planned to walk herself inside, close her front door, and forget about Scott Dare.

  Without a word, he grasped her elbow and led her to a parking lot where his Range Rover was parked.

  “I can’t believe what a mess tonight turned out to be,” she muttered once they were settled in the plush leather seats.

  “What were you doing there in the first place?”

  She swung around to face him. “I can’t go out to a restaurant with friends?”

  “Of course you can.”

  He wanted to say more. She could tell from the tense set of his jaw.

  She sighed and decided to save him the trouble. “No, you’re right. Lizzy and Allie had this idea of taking me out so I could pick up a guy and have one last fling before I start to show.” She slid her hands over her stomach. “And before I’m busy being a mom.”

  His grip on the steering wheel tightened. “You were going to hook up with some stranger?” he asked through gritted teeth.

  “What? No! I said they thought I should. I just went out to see my friends. Then that guy sat down and—Why am I explaining myself to you?” she asked, trailing off.

  But it had been this way with Scott, from the first time they’d met. She found him easy to talk to. Understanding. Like he heard what she said and cared, unlike her ex. Or any of the men in her past.

  She watched the palm trees and scenery as he drove. She’d already told him where she lived when she’d explained how she’d ended up in the hospital a little over a month ago. She just couldn’t believe he remembered. All too soon, they reached their destination. He pulled into a parking spot at her apartment complex.

  He put the truck in park, cut the engine, and turned to face her. “You talk to me because you know that you can trust me.”

  Point proven. He remembered what she’d said at least five minutes ago.

  “But I hardly know you.”

  “Instinct.”

  She shook her head at that. “Mine’s failed me many times before.” And miserably, at that, she thought.

  “Not this time.” He let himself out of the truck and started to walk around to her side.

  Realizing his intent, she opened the door and hopped out just as he reached her. He shut the door behind her. “Let’s go.”

  “I can see myself up.”

  “You could. But since I took you home, I’ll get you safely to your door.”

  He slid a hand to the small of her back, and she felt his heated palm through the fabric of her top. Goose bumps prickled along her skin.

  She lived in a first-floor apartment, and they reached her door. He turned her around to face him. “Your friends want you to have one last fling? Is that what you want too?”

  She hadn’t given a fling any thought. Not until Scott said the word, a husky bent to his voice and determined intent behind his words. “I don’t want sex with some random stranger.”

  She glanced up and found herself pinned by his stare. His lips lifted in a sexy grin. “I’m not a stranger.”

  She opened then closed her mouth as she processed his words and the meaning behind them. He wasn’t a stranger. Not really. He knew more about her than most people, and her best friends could vouch for him.

  She ran her tongue over her dry lips. His darkening gaze deliberately followed the movement, and her body responded, nipples puckering beneath the cotton of her shirt. He wanted a fling. Sex. With her.

  And she wanted him, every rock-hard inch of his toned, muscled body. Had from the very first moment she’d seen him, and every time since. She’d evaded him, certain that was the right thing to do for herself and for her baby, because she had new standards and rules she had to follow for her own sanity and for her future. But this thing between them wasn’t going away. If anything, it was becoming more intense, growing more heated, and she couldn’t deny it or walk away from hi
m again.

  “I’m not interested in a relationship,” she reminded him.

  He inclined his head. “And I’m not asking for one. Not even asking for a date this time.”

  “Just a fling?” she repeated, thinking he had to be kidding. Just like she’d thought he was kidding when he’d asked her out before. Because what would a hot, good-looking man like Scott Dare want with a woman who’d gotten herself knocked up and then pushed around by her ex-boyfriend?

  Even when she’d realized Scott was serious about dating, she couldn’t accept. Because she could so easily see herself repeating old patterns with him. Falling hard and fast. Giving in. Losing herself. And now there was more at stake than just Meg.

  But this time, Scott was offering something she could handle. A night with a beginning and an end, no expectations. No disturbing her resolution to stand on her own. To be a better mother than her own had been, no revolving door of men. No man, period. Just a hot night and a memory to keep her warm when she was alone.

  “One night.” He reached out and rubbed his thumb across her lower lip.

  His touch made her tremble, and her nipples tightened into hardened points, and the intensity in his gorgeous eyes had need building even stronger inside her.

  “Is that what you want too?” he asked again, his gaze hot on hers.

  His distinctive scent, a hint of musk she associated with Scott alone, filled her nostrils. Her stomach fluttered, and the desire to wrap herself around him and take what he offered built until it was a tangible thing, living and breathing inside her tightly strung body.

  She nodded, unable to speak. Her throat had grown too dry.

  “I need you to say it.”

  Say what? She didn’t remember his question. Only the thought of letting him into her apartment … into her body filled her mind and her senses.

  A low rumble sounded from deep inside his chest. “Say I want you, Scott. I need the words or I’ll send you inside alone.”

  “I want you, Scott.” The words tumbled out, an easy capitulation that had been anything but. Another Meg Thompson decision she feared would alter the course of her life. And she was powerless to stop it.

  Chapter Two

  Meg said the words, and Scott’s head buzzed with her heady admission. He’d been holding on by a thread since she’d admitted that her friends wanted her to have a one-night stand. If anyone was going to put hands on her, it was going to be him. Problem was, once he touched her … once he had her, one time wouldn’t be enough. But that was an issue he’d deal with later.

  She opened the door to her apartment. They stepped inside, and he immediately pressed her up against the wall, his hips bracing against hers. “I want you too. And if this is what you’ll give me, I’m taking it.”

  He leaned close, intending to kiss her, but her scent beckoned, and he breathed in the warm, sensual fragrance that made him hard and kept him up nights.

  He dragged his lips from her jaw to her cheek. “You smell so fucking good.”

  A small whimper escaped from the back of her throat, and his dick hardened against the teeth of his zipper.

  “I need to taste you.” He settled his mouth over hers, finding her lips soft, her flavor sweet. Better than he’d imagined, and he wanted more. He nipped at her lower lip and slid his tongue inside, turning things hot quickly.

  He discovered Meg was an equal partner in the glide and tangle of their tongues, in the click of his teeth against hers.

  She threaded her hands through his hair and tugged, and he knew if she kept touching him, it’d be over before things got started. He pulled her arms above her head and clasped her wrists in one hand. “I call the shots.”

  He watched her carefully and her eyes dilated. He grinned, liking her response. He’d always preferred control, more so after his marriage and life had fallen apart, and his older brother Ian had taught him not to apologize for who he was or what he needed. His cousin Decklan had introduced him to his favorite club in New York, and Scott had begun to understand himself even more.

  “I’m not sure I like that,” she said, her mind obviously at war with what her needy body craved.

  “When I make you come over and over, you will.”

  Her eyes opened wide. And then she laughed. Damned woman actually laughed at him. He raised an eyebrow.

  “What?” she asked, her eyes lighting up. “Experience tells me that was a cocky claim.”

  “You did not just call my skill into question.”

  She met his gaze, a combination of mirth and seriousness in her chocolate-brown eyes. “Maybe it’s the skill of all those men in my past I’m talking about,” she murmured, her voice dropping, honesty and embarrassment forcing her gaze down.

  Olivia had told him Meg had a history of picking the wrong guys. A pattern that went far beyond the asshole who’d laid a hand on her this last time. Now Scott understood just how bad her prior relationships had been, and he intended to make up for each and every jerk in her past. Something that would take way more than one night.

  But he’d start now. “Okay, baby, I’m going to lay down a few rules.”

  Her mouth opened and closed.

  So damned cute, but he wouldn’t tell her that.

  “I am not your baby,” she said, but the gleam in her eyes told him otherwise. She liked when he called her that.

  He grinned. “We’ll see.”

  She narrowed her gaze. “And did you say rules?” Meg asked, unable to believe his nerve.

  He nodded. “Rules. As in, you do as I say and you get to come. Often.”

  How could she argue with that? Before she could even respond, he picked her up and into his arms, enjoying the warmth of her body against his. “Direct me to the bedroom.”

  “Are you always this bossy?” she asked. And why oh why did her pussy spasm when he acted like this? A normal woman would be turned off, but not Meg. A guy took control and she wanted more.

  “Yes. Get used to it. Back there?” he tilted his head toward the open doorway and, without waiting for an answer, strode to her room.

  He paused by the bed, dipped his head, and kissed her hard. This was no first-date kiss, but then this wasn’t a date. This was sex, and she already knew it was going to be the best she’d ever had.

  It might also be the last, so she’d better enjoy it. She wrapped her arms around his neck, her fingers gliding over the hard muscles in his upper back, which she could feel through his clothing, then up through his silky hair. She inhaled, and his masculine scent raced through her, a heady reminder she really was doing this. With Scott, a man she’d wanted since meeting him, she thought, and her belly twisted with need.

  He laid her down on the center of the bed, his movements sure and gentler than she’d expected. Then he rose. He removed his jacket and tossed it onto the floor, took care of the holstered gun, placing it on the dresser—and boy, did she find a man with a weapon hot. Especially this man. She couldn’t stop staring as he yanked his shirt up and off, revealing tanned skin and a light sprinkling of dark hair across his chest that ran down his abs and tapered into the waistband of his jeans.

  He was a sculpted work of art, and she watched him greedily. Ran her tongue over her lips.

  “I want that tongue on me, baby.”

  She couldn’t believe the calm, collected, always-in-control Scott Dare was a dirty talker during sex, and her stomach flipped in excitement at his words. She wanted her tongue on him too. She, who could normally care less about oral sex, wanted to take him in her mouth and lick him all over.

  “So come here and let me,” she said, shocked at the gravelly tone of her voice.

  His gaze narrowed. “Who calls the shots?” he asked, unbuttoning his jeans and pulling them down over narrow hips. He’d hooked his thumbs into his boxers or briefs, she didn’t know which because they were gone along with his jeans and she couldn’t tear her gaze away from his thick, hard cock.

  Jesus.

  “Was that an answer?”
he asked.

  Had he asked a question? Her breasts were heavy, her nipples hard and hurting, and her panties now soaked with the evidence of her desire for him. And she was lying in bed, fully dressed while this gorgeous specimen of a man stood aroused before her. She couldn’t focus on anything but getting naked too.

  She reached for the hem of her shirt, and suddenly he was over her, pinning her to the bed. “You can’t deny me the pleasure of peeling those clothes off you. I want to see every inch of your skin.”

  He lifted the shirt and eased it upward, his calloused thumbs trailing over her sensitive flesh. He pulled it off, leaving her in just a flimsy bra, one that would have to be replaced soon, because it did little to conceal the now-larger swells of her breasts.

  His gaze never left her body, his eyes darkening as he drank her in. “You’re gorgeous.”

  He swiped his thumbs over her already-aching nipples, and she moaned, his words arousing her as much as his touch. He trailed his fingertips down, then slid his hand into the waistband of her leggings and soon removed those too. Of course, he took her panties along with them in one smooth move.

  As he continued to stare, she wanted to crawl beneath the covers, suddenly aware of herself in ways she hadn’t been when focused on him. Her breasts were bigger now, and although she figured that was okay, her stomach wasn’t flat and tight. She’d always had a slight belly, but everything had shifted lately, making her overly focused on her flaws.

  No way he hadn’t noticed them too. She slid her hands over her stomach, and he swore, grasping her wrists and pinning them over her head.

  “Let’s get something straight, okay? I’m here because I want you. All of you. From what’s inside that pretty head of yours to the sexy body spread out for me now.”

  Her eyes widened at the force and sincerity of his words.

  “Know what that means?” he asked.

  She shook her head. She didn’t know anything. This man had her so off-balance she was spinning. She’d agreed to one night of hot sex. Instead, she was getting a lot of dirty talking and attentive man. She didn’t know what to do with either.