Love Me if You Dare (5 page)

She didn’t laugh.

Rafe glanced at her. Her hair hung straight over her shoulders, and an intense expression, much like his sister Joanne’s, had settled on her face.

Okay, this was important.

“What’s up?” he asked her.

“What do I have to do to get a boy to notice me?” She didn’t meet his gaze, merely focused on her swaying feet.

Rafe was in over his head here. He didn’t have kids. Didn’t know how to give relationship advice
to a teenage girl. But she obviously wanted a guy’s perspective and couldn’t talk to her father about boys unless she wanted him to lock her up until she was eighteen.

That left Rafe, her single uncle, to do the job. “Want to know what I think?”

She nodded, and this time she watched him carefully.

The pressure of getting it right settled on his shoulders. “I think any guy who doesn’t already notice you has rocks in his head and isn’t worth your time.”

She blushed. “You have to say that. You’re my uncle.”

“True. But I’m saying it because it’s a fact. You’re special.” He resisted the urge to reach out and ruffle her hair like she was a little kid. “So, maybe this boy has noticed you but he’s too shy to talk to you?”

She shrugged. “Maybe. He’s new around here, and he goes to the same camp as me. The girls play the guys in softball, and he’s really good!”

The obvious solution dawned on him. “Ask him to help you hit.”

“But I don’t need help.” She rolled her eyes like he was a dunce. “I’m already the best hitter on the team!”

Rafe bit the inside of his cheek to keep from grinning. “Ask him for help anyway. Guys like to
feel needed. Maybe then you can get to know each other.”

She paused for a minute, seriously thinking about his suggestion. “Okay, good idea!” she exclaimed at last. “Hey, who’s that coming up the walk?” She pointed toward the street.

He exhaled in relief. Subject obviously closed. A new attraction had captured her attention.

And what an attraction it was. Sara slowly made her way up the cobblestone path leading to the porch. He’d been so distracted by his talk with Toni, he hadn’t heard the car pull up. But he noticed it parked on the street now.

He couldn’t have been more surprised to see her. If Toni hadn’t noticed her first, Rafe would have thought he was dreaming. He was relieved to see the crutches were gone and her limp was obvious but not terrible. She was a vision. She wore white jeans and a ruffled tank top. Her long hair flowed loose, softly around her shoulders. Once again, he was struck by the stark contrast between the uniformed partner he’d known at work and the woman she was outside the job—and his body’s immediate reaction to her.

She waved at him with a hesitant smile, obviously unsure of her reception, which was ridiculous. He might be shocked, but he wasn’t disappointed. In fact, adrenaline pumped through him, filling him with anticipation and sheer delight.

“Who’s that?” Toni asked.

“A friend of mine from New York,” he said, just as Sara reached them. “Sara Rios, this is my niece Toni. Toni, this is my friend Sara.”

He heard the question in his voice.
Why was she here?

“Hi!” Toni said.

“Nice to meet you.” Sara treated the girl to a warm smile.

“Hey, why don’t you go inside and tell Grandma to set an extra plate at the table for company?” Rafe suggested to his niece.

He wanted to get Sara alone.

Toni nodded, turned and headed inside.

Before Rafe could speak, Toni’s voice traveled back to him, loud and clear over the usual din. “Nana, Uncle Rafe has a girlfriend coming to dinner!”

Amused despite himself, Rafe shook his head. “She’s thirteen,” he said, figuring that explained it all.

Sara grinned. “She’s cute.”

“She has her moments. And there are seven more kids inside,” he said by way of warning.

If Sara was going to survive his family, she needed to know what she was in for.

“I’m really sorry to show up uninvited. Angel said I’d find you here.” She nibbled on her bottom lip. “I ate, so there’s no reason to worry about putting out
an extra setting. In fact, I should go. We’ll talk later.” Obviously embarrassed and rethinking her visit, she turned to walk away.

Rafe reached out to stop her. She hadn’t driven over five hours to get here just to leave now. “Wait. My mother would love to see you again.” In fact, Mariana Mancuso had found many excuses to ask about the pretty girl who’d slept in the chair while he was in the hospital.

Rafe had found just as many excuses to avoid answering. But that didn’t mean he’d forgotten what Sara had done for him, or what those actions indicated about her feelings for him. Then there was the lingering curiosity about what would happen if they took things further and tested this
thing
that had been simmering between them since their days as partners.

Now she was here.

“Are you sure?” Sara asked hesitantly. “It sounds like there’s an army of people inside.”

“That about covers it,” he agreed with an exaggerated shudder. “You’d be a welcome reminder of my life in New York. So stay.”

“Okay. I just wish Angel had mentioned I’d be intruding or interrupting a family gathering.”

He placed his hand on her bare shoulder, the warm skin singeing his fingertips. “You’re not doing either. Angel knows another person is always welcome. Mom likes to say she cooks in the bathtub. In other words,
there’s enough for an army. But first, tell me. What brings you to this corner of the world?”

She raised her beautiful gaze to meet his. “Actually, you do.”

Before he could reply, the front door swung open wide. “Toni said you have company. I came out to meet our guest,” his mother, Mariana Mancuso, said as she joined them, her timing impeccable as ever.

“Hello, Mrs. Mancuso,” Sara said. “It’s nice to see you again.”

“Sara! This is a pleasant surprise!” His mother stepped down onto the porch and pulled Sara into an embrace.

Sara’s eyes opened wide as she hugged his overly affectionate mother, but she quickly relaxed and readily returned the gesture.

“I’m so sorry to show up uninvited.”

“Nonsense! You’re always welcome here! And that hug just showed me you’re too skinny, so come in, meet the rest of the family and eat!”

Rafe glanced at the cleavage peeking from the top of Sara’s shirt, now askew thanks to his mother’s big bear hug, and thought her curves were just about perfect.

“We weren’t finished talking,” he told his mother. “I’ll bring Sara inside in a minute.” First he wanted to know why she’d come to see him.

What she wanted.

Whether or not she wanted
him.
The thought, once lodged in his brain, wouldn’t go away. She was wrong for him on every level except the one that mattered most. He desired this woman like crazy. He wanted to know what would happen if they indulged the banked desire and took what they both wanted.

But he didn’t get the chance.

His mother ignored his request to go inside alone. Keeping an arm around Sara’s shoulder, she steered her into the house, where the entire clan had gathered by the front door, eager to meet Uncle Rafe’s
girlfriend.

Thanks to Toni, the designation was sure to stick.

Whether it was true or not.

R
AFE HAD A BIG FAMILY.
A really big family. As in a lot of people sitting around the dining-room table all talking at the same time. Thanks to the fractured dynamics in Sara’s family, she’d never been part of one big happy clan. The scene in front of her was a foreign one, but she couldn’t say she minded. Food passed from person to person until Sara lost track of what she’d put on her plate. Although she’d already had dinner, she felt too guilty saying no to Mrs. Mancuso’s generosity.

And truth be told, everything smelled delicious.

“You can pick at what you want and just push the rest of the food around,” Rafe leaned in close and whispered.

At his husky tone and heated breath against her ear, warm flutters took up residence in the pit of her stomach, and she couldn’t focus on anything but Rafe. His nearness. The raw, masculine scent of his cologne.

But rapid-fire questions shot at Sara from all corners of the long dining-room table, drawing her attention.

“Are you originally from New York?”

“Did Rafe really save your life?”

“What’s it like to be a female cop?”

The questions came fast and furious, giving her little if any time to answer before another one was lobbed her way.

“Do you like living in Manhattan?”

“Are you really Rafe’s girlfriend?”

The last question stopped her cold. Unfortunately, it had the same effect on the rest of the table, because everyone grew silent and turned her way, waiting for a reply.

“Sara and I are friends,” Rafe said, jumping in to save her from embarrassment. “
Good
friends.” He reached down and squeezed her leg.

He meant to relax her, but his big hand, fingers splayed over her thigh, had the opposite effect. Tension spiraled through every corner of her body.

Sexual tension.

Yearning.

Desire.

Since they’d been ushered inside the house, they hadn’t had any time alone for her to explain why she’d come. Or that she’d need to stay with him while she was here.

One look at him on the porch with his niece, looking gruff and sexy, yet kind and gentle all at once, had her thinking crazy thoughts about exploring the
obvious chemistry between them. Seeing where this need took them. And it was obvious now. There was no more wondering if he reciprocated. No more other woman between them.

She tried to swallow, but her mouth was dry. She lifted a crystal glass, taking a long sip of cool water.

She felt a poke and glanced down into inquisitive brown eyes.

“Do you like Uncle Rafe?” Toni, the young girl she’d met on the porch, asked her.

Sara bit the inside of her cheek. “I like him a lot,” she said honestly.

“Me, too. Uncle Rafe is smart. He even gave me advice about a boy.”

“He did, hmm?”

Toni nodded. “He said guys like to feel needed and that I should pretend I need help swinging the bat in softball to get him to notice me.”

“What are you two ladies talking about?” Rafe braced his arm behind Sara’s chair and leaned closer.

His body heat nearly swallowed her whole. “Toni was telling me you gave her advice about boys.”

He grinned. “I was a little out of my element. It’s been a while since I’ve played games with the opposite sex.”

She wondered if his statement was true literally
or figuratively. Since his broken engagement, had he sought comfort with other women? Or had he been alone?

“But I did my best to help out my favorite thirteen-year-old niece.” Rafe laughed.

So did Toni.

Sara found herself tongue-tied.

“Well, I have camp on Monday. I’ll let you know how it goes. Can I be excused? I’m finished eating,” Toni said, switching subjects like a pro.

“Go!” Her mother waved from across the table.

“You heard that?” Rafe glanced at his sister in surprise.

The woman nodded. “Mothers hear every question their kids ask, whether they’re paying attention or not. Sara, do you have a big family?”

“Umm, no. It’s always been just me and my father.”

“Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t realize your mother passed away.”

Sara forced a smile, not surprised by the assumption. “She didn’t. She walked out on us when I was fourteen.”

Beside her, Rafe stiffened. “Joanne, cool it with the personal questions.”

Sara appreciated him getting protective of her feelings, but she didn’t need it.

“I’m sorry. I’m just trying to get to know her!” Joanne shot Sara an apologetic glance.

“It’s fine. I’m fine. Don’t worry about it,” Sara said, surprised that she meant it.

Though she didn’t normally discuss her personal life in public, this anything-goes attitude was a refreshing change, and she found herself wanting to answer the question. “My mother didn’t like being a cop’s wife. The danger and the panic when the phone rang while he was at work.” Sara shrugged. “It just wasn’t her thing.”

In truth, her mother probably hadn’t been able to cope with being a mother, either, as she’d taken off for
greener pastures.
She’d gone west to L.A. and had never looked back. Or called, for that matter. But Sara had her father, and they’d been a tight unit. Still were.

Joanne shook her head sadly. “Her loss.”

Sara shrugged. “You’re probably right.”

“If you’re finished, do you want to get going?” Rafe asked. He’d obviously had his fill of family.

“Whenever you’re ready.”

It took over half an hour to say goodbye to everyone and answer questions about how long Sara was staying and where. When Angel’s Bed-and-Breakfast came up, Rafe’s brother, Nick, stormed out of the house, the screen door banging closed behind him.

“Ignore him,” Rafe whispered, his hand on her back. “He’s going through a lot.”

Sara nodded, feeling sorry for the estranged couple. Here were two people, not cops, who couldn’t hold their marriage together. More proof not to expect happy endings and forever after.

F
INALLY, SHE AND
R
AFE
escaped and drove in his open Jeep Wrangler to his house. Though less than a mile away, she was amazed at the remote location. He drove nearly out of town, turning on so many streets she couldn’t keep track until they came to a sign marked Private Road, No Trespassing. He made a sharp turn on an unpaved road she wouldn’t have noticed on her own. From there, they drove through what felt like a forest, the road unlit and surrounded by trees and foliage.

Rafe remained quiet and focused, while she enjoyed the wind blowing through her hair and the music blasting around her. The silence between them was comfortable as always.

He finally came to a stop in front of a dimly lit house and shut off the motor.

“Well.” She spoke into the sudden silence. “This is about as remote as you can get.”

He nodded. “Just the way I like it.” He leaned an arm on the steering wheel and turned toward her. “Is
your leg bothering you, or are you up to a walk on the beach?”

“I’m up for it. Light walking is good for me.”

“Okay, then.”

Together they walked the shore of the lake behind his modest home. She found it difficult not to watch his graceful stride as they strode the sandy shore.

Harder still to tear her gaze from his handsome face. “This place is beautiful. I don’t know how you could ever leave it,” she said.

He smiled. “The lake? The house? Those are hard to leave. The family? Not so much.”

The chaos and noise level earlier might have been extreme, but there was no missing how much they all cared. “They’re warm and loving. They care about you. And they’re fun!”

Kids talking over adults. Adults yelling over each other. They were a vision of a life she’d never even glimpsed growing up.

“Fun?” He stopped in his tracks, turned and placed his hand over her forehead.

“What are you doing?” she asked.

“Checking for fever.”

His grin did crazy things to her insides, and his touch…oh, his touch was hot, stirring up emotions and desires she’d dreamed about so often it was hard to believe they were real.

“So, tell me. Why are you here?” His husky voice spiked her body temperature even higher.

“I had to get out of the city,” she said, then told him about how the Bachelor Blogger had targeted her after he’d left, the ensuing article tying her to the murder case and the subsequent threats.

“I’m sorry I left you twisting in the wind. I never thought that blogger would go after you.”

“I know. The thing is, there’s no one else I trust to have my back. I knew I’d be safe here with you.” She glanced up at him, hoping he didn’t read in her face the pure longing she felt in her heart.

He reached out and tucked a wayward strand of hair behind her ear. “I won’t let anyone hurt you,” he said in a rough and determined voice.

“I know.” Because she knew him. “We do make a good team. I’m sorry I just showed up on your doorstep, but in my defense, I did try to call you.”

He winced. “Service is sporadic around here, and since it’s easy enough to find people, I don’t worry too much about keeping my cell on hand.”

“I left a message.”

This time he let out a low groan. “I’m pretty lazy about listening to those. I must not have seen your number come up, or I would’ve called you back.”

“That’s because I called from a disposable cell phone.”

“Smart.” He nodded, approving. “Now that you
mention it, I do remember getting a few calls from a number I didn’t recognize.”

“Well, I came anyway. I hope you don’t mind the surprise.”

“If you’re in danger back home, I’m glad you came here.”

“Like Coop said, two of us injured is the equivalent of one healthy human being.”

“Way to stroke my ego.” He grinned.

“I’m not too worried. Your ego is pretty solid. How’s the rest of you?” she asked.

“Amazingly, I’m feeling pretty good. How about you?”

She glanced down. She’d left the brace back at the B and B. “I’m sure you noticed the limp.”

“How about the pain? The flexibility? Will you—”

“I don’t know.” She cut him off, not wanting to discuss the future of her career. “Time will tell.”

He inclined his head. “Fair enough.”

Another thing she appreciated about Rafe. He instinctively knew when to back off. “Listen, there’s one small problem.”

“What’s that?”

“Angel only has a room available for two nights. I can call around to local hotels, but I didn’t realize there was a festival coming up that was such a big attraction. I may not find anything.”

He waved away her concern. “You don’t have to. You can stay with me.”

She exhaled in relief. “I hoped you’d say that.”

There was just one more thing standing between them. The words were unsaid, yet as loud as the wind. She swallowed hard, knowing she had to bring things out into the open. “What about us? What about what you said that night on the roof?”

“I said a lot of things. Just so we’re clear, what exactly are you referring to?” he asked. But from his deepening gaze, he obviously remembered.

She gathered the remainder of her courage. She couldn’t stop thinking about what he’d said. What those words implied.

And she needed to know. “You said I was gorgeous. That I had curves to die for. When the blogger quoted you, I didn’t know if you meant it or if it was the blood loss talking. Then we were linked as a couple, and I couldn’t stop thinking…”

“About?” he asked, his voice gruff.

Sexy.

His gaze bore into hers.

The air around her hummed in anticipation. “About the chemistry we always had on the job. And all the things left unsaid.”

His hands framed her face. “Things like this?” He lowered his head and touched his lips to hers.

She let out a soft sigh, and he deepened the kiss,
letting his mouth do the talking. And he spoke eloquently, his tongue tangling with hers, kindling heat she’d dreamed about. Sparks flew between them, delicious, sweet and undeniably hungry.

Oh, yes.
She hadn’t imagined the chemistry. And it definitely hadn’t been one-sided.

She wound her arms around his neck and kissed him back. Summer temperatures mixed with body heat. Intensity radiated from him, and she inched closer, seeking more. He complied, alternating long, lazy strokes of his tongue with deeper, faster thrusts, a prelude of what could be.

On and on it went. She didn’t know how long they stood there, his hands threading through her hair, her fingers curling into the soft fabric of his T-shirt, his mouth making love to hers.

Suddenly the rumbling of a motorboat startled her.

She jumped back just as the motor shut down and a male voice yelled out. “Guess I should take my chessboard and go home!”

“You guessed right!” Rafe yelled back, gesturing at the man in the boat to leave.

He swallowed a curse. Didn’t it just figure his uncle Pirro would interrupt at the best—and worst—possible moment?

He’d finally gotten a taste of what could be if he and Sara just let down their guard, and it was more
explosive than he’d ever imagined. And if they hadn’t been interrupted, he would have taken it to the obvious conclusion right here on the beach. He’d have finally known what being inside Sara, what becoming a part of her, felt like. But they had been interrupted, and now the reality of the situation settled on his shoulders. Of all the ironies in life, this had to be the worst. The woman of his dreams needed his protection, would be living under his roof and clearly wanted him, too. But taking what they both wanted would be a mistake, for more reasons than he had time to think about now.

The motor started up again, and the small boat turned and headed back the way it came.

“Who was that?” Sara asked, gazing toward the rippling water.

“My uncle Pirro. He’s married to my father’s sister. Actually, he’s Nick’s father-in-law. He has insomnia and often comes by for a game of chess or a talk.” Rafe ran a hand through his windblown hair. “The way things are around here, I’m sure you’ll meet him soon.”

She smiled. “And I look forward to it.” She paused and eased closer, a seductive gleam in her eyes. “So…where were we?”