A Little Dare (17 page)

she
turned
and
followed
Dare
to
a
booth,
the
farthest
one
in
the
back.

He
stood
aside
while
she
slipped
into
a
soft
padded
seat
and
then
he
slid
into
the
one
across
from
her.
Nervously
she
traced
the
floral
designs
on
the
placemat.
Dare’s
nearness
was
getting
to
her.
She
had
experienced
the
same
thing
in
his
office
last
night,
and
it
aggravated
the
heck
out
of
her

that
all
that
anger
she’d
felt
for
him
had
not
been
able
to

diffuse
her
desire
for
him;
especially
after
ten
years.

Desire.

That
had
to
be
what
it
was
since
she
knew
she
was
no

longer
in
love
with
him.
He
had
effectively
put
an
end
to

those
feelings
years
ago.
Yet,
for
some
reason
she
was

feeling
the
same
turbulent
yearnings
she’d
always
felt
for

him.
And
last
night
in
her
bed,
the
memories
had
been
at

their
worse…or
their
best,
depending
on
how
you
looked
at
it.

She
had
awakened
in
the
middle
of
the
night
with
her

breath
coming
in
deep,
ragged
gasps,
and
her
sheets
damp
with
perspiration
after
a
hot,
steamy
dream
about
him.

Getting
up
and
drinking
a
glass
of
ice
water,
she
had
made
a
decision
not
to
beat
herself
up
over
her
dreams
of
Dare.
She’d
decided
that
the
reason
for
them
was

understandable.
Her
body
knew
Dare
as
it
knew
no
other

man,
and
it
had
reminded
her
of
that
fact
in
a
not-too-subtle
way.
It
didn’t
help
that
for
the
past
ten
years
she
hadn’t

dated
much;
raising
AJ
and
working
at
the
hospital
kept
her
busy,
and
the
few
occasions
she
had
dated
had
been
a

complete
waste
of
her
time
since
she’d
never
experienced
the
sparks
with
any
of
them
that
she’d
grown
accustomed
to
with
Dare.

“Would
you
like
some
more
coffee,
Sheriff?”

Shelly
snatched
her
head
up
when
she
heard
the
sultry,

feminine
voice
and
was
just
in
time
to
see
the
slow
smile
that
spread
across
the
young
woman’s
lips,
as
well
as
the
look
of
wanton
hunger
in
her
eyes
as
she
looked
at
Dare.
Either
he
didn’t
notice
or
he
was
doing
a
pretty
good
job
of
pretending
not
to.

“Yes,
Lizzie,
I’d
like
another
cup.”

“And
what
would
you
like?”
Lizzie
asked
her,
and
Shelly
couldn’t
help
but
notice
the
cold,
unfriendly
eyes
that
were
staring
at
her.

Evidently
the
same
thing
you
would
like,
Shelly
thought,

trying
to
downplay
the
envy
she
suddenly
felt,
although
she
knew
there
was
no
legitimate
reason
to
feel
that
way.
What
was
once
between
her
and
Dare
had
ended
years
ago
and
she
didn’t
intend
to
go
back
there,
no
matter
how
much
he

could
still
arouse
her.
Sighing,
she
was
about
to
give
the
woman
her
order
when
Dare
spoke.
“She
would
like
a
cup
of
coffee
with
cream
and
one
sugar.”

The
waitress
lifted
her
brow
as
if
wondering
how
Dare

knew
what
Shelly
wanted.
“Okay,
Sheriff.”
Lizzie
placed
menus
in
front
of
them,
saying,
“I’ll
bring
your
coffee
while
you
take
a
look
at
these.”

When
Lizzie
had
left,
Shelly
leaned
in
closer
to
the
center
of
the
booth
and
whispered,
“I
don’t
appreciate
the
daggered
looks
coming
from
one
of
your
girlfriends.”
She
decided
not
to
tell
him
that
she’d
felt
like
throwing
a
few
daggered
looks
of
her
own.

Lifting
his
head
from
the
menu,
Dare
frowned.
“What
are

you
talking
about?
I’ve
never
dated
Lizzie.
She’s
just
a
kid.”

Shelly
shrugged
as
she
straightened
in
her
seat
and

glanced
over
to
where
Lizzie
was
now
taking
another
order.
Her
short
uniform
showed
off
quite
nicely
the
curves
of
her
body
and
her
long
legs.
Dare
was
wrong.
Lizzie
was
no
kid.
Her
body
attested
to
that.

“Well,
kid
or
no
kid,
she
definitely
has
the
hots
for
you,
Dare
Westmoreland.”

He
shrugged.
“You’re
imagining
things.”

“No,
trust
me.
I
know.”

He
rubbed
his
chin
as
his
mouth
tipped
up
crookedly
into
a
smile.
Settling
back
in
his
seat,
he
asked,
“And
how
would
you
know?”

She
met
his
gaze.
“Because
I’m
a
woman.”
And
I
know
all
about
having
the
hots
for
you,
she
decided
not
to
add.

Dare
nodded.
He
definitely
couldn’t
deny
that
she
was
a

woman.
He
glanced
over
at
Lizzie
and
caught
her
at
the

exact
moment
she
was
looking
at
him
with
a
flirty
smile.
He
remembered
the
other
times
she’d
given
him
that
smile,

and
now
it
all
made
sense.
He
quickly
averted
his
eyes.

Clearing
his
throat,
he
met
Shelly’s
gaze.
“I’ve
never

noticed
before.”

Typical
man,
Shelly
thought,
but
before
she
could
say

anything
else,
Lizzie
had
returned
with
their
coffee.
After

taking
their
order
she
left,
and
Shelly
smiled
and
said,
“I

can’t
believe
you
remembered
how
I
like
my
coffee
after
all
this
time.”

Dare
looked
at
her.
His
gaze
remained
steady
when
he
said.
“There
are
some
things
a
man
can’t
forget
about
a
woman
he
considered
as
his,
Shelly.”

“Oh,”
her
voice
was
slightly
shaky,
and
she
decided
not
to
touch
that
one;
mainly
because
what
he
said
was
true.
He
had
considered
her
as
his;
she
had
been
his
in
every
way
a
woman
could
belong
to
a
man.