LITMIR.BIZ

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stirred again, and since the plane would soon be landing, Dare woke her.

      “Feel better?”

      His voice must have reached her, because she went still but didn’t open her eyes. Breathing deep and slow, caught in the enchantment between wakefulness and slumber, she smiled and curled closer.

      Warmed by her trust, Dare bent and kissed the bridge of her nose, and then scowled over the impulsive move. He had to back off. “Wake up, woman.” He jostled her a little. “I’d like to get to my house before midnight.”

      “Midnight?” Blinking heavy-lidded eyes, she half sat up, took in her surroundings and self-consciously smoothed her hair. “It’ll be that late?”

      Damn but she looked sweet all sleepy like this. “Depends on how long it takes them to land and let us off the plane. Then we have an hour’s drive.”

      Her stomach rumbled, and she ducked her head. “I’ve been asleep awhile.”

      Meaning she was hungry, too? “I want to make good time, but I plan to get some fast food to eat on the fly.”

      “Sounds good …” Face going pink, she suddenly remembered that she was still in his lap. She eased over into her own seat. “Whatever you want to do is fine.”

      With a dry tone, Dare teased, “Really?”

      Nodding, she fastened her seat belt around her. “I’m sorry I conked out like that.” She cast him a sideways look. “You should have woken me or at least told me to get in my own seat.”

      “I didn’t mind.” In fact, he’d enjoyed it. But now he needed to stretch his legs and tend to other needs. They only had a few minutes before the plane would begin its landing. “I’ll be right back.”

      He went to the lavatory to relieve himself and freshen up. Cold water on his face did nothing to clarify his jumbled thoughts. Soon he’d have Molly ensconced in his home, where he’d never even brought a woman for dinner, much less invited her to stay.

      Running a hand over his face, Dare imagined how it might be with Molly there, how she’d react to his girls and Chris…. “Fuck.” Stewing over it in the tiny airplane john wouldn’t help, and he wasn’t a man who believed in stewing anyway. He was a proactive person. If he didn’t like something, he changed it.

      With Molly, he’d just have to wait and see.

      He returned to find her looking in desperate need herself. “Go ahead. But make it quick, okay?” He waited in the aisle for her as she dashed out of her seat, and while she was gone, he poured her a juice over ice and located some mixed nuts for them both.

      She was buckled back in her seat a minute later, grateful for the juice and snack, and less than half an hour after that, a shuttle dropped them off in the long-term parking area, and Dare, with a close eye on his surroundings, loaded her into his SUV.

      What his girls would think of her, he couldn’t imagine. He knew damn good and well how Chris would feel, though: territorial and antagonistic. But then that’s how Chris usually felt about everything. Dare considered those some of his finer qualities.

      CHAPTER SIX

      IT WAS NEARING eleven o’clock when Dare pulled down the long drive to his home. Molly had been mostly quiet during the ride, except to thank him for the feast of a hamburger, fries and milk shake.

      One thing about Molly: she was still putting the food away. If she always ate like this, she had to have one hell of a fast metabolism to stay so petite. At a little over five and a half feet tall, she had curves aplenty, but in all the right places. Her limbs were slim, and she had a tiny waist. When he’d held her, he knew she weighed next to nothing. She might have lost weight in her nine days of captivity, but it couldn’t have been too substantial or she wouldn’t have physically recovered so quickly.

      So … was she always stacked? Did she maintain that figure even while hiding it from most? She wasn’t a flaunter—he knew that right off. With women, you could always tell which ones liked to be front and center, using their bodies to draw attention.

      Molly didn’t lack confidence, but it had little to do with her figure and a lot to do with her intelligence.

      As he neared their destination, she listened to his CD collection and brooded. She was a survivor, so likely she’d put her brain to the task of going over a variety of scenarios in an attempt to be prepared. A futile effort, but Dare wouldn’t tell her so.

      She was so involved in her own thoughts that Dare knew she didn’t realize they were almost home.

      By deliberate means, his place was set way back in the woods, hidden by tall evergreens and a variety of hardwoods, with a narrow road that climbed up to the main gate. The way the road twisted and turned in and around trees helped to hide it.

      He’d planned it that way.

      Headlights shone on the impressive and ornate iron fencing that enclosed the front of his property. The rest of the land, all fifteen acres, was protected with electric fencing. Only the lake offered free access, but that, too, was secured with lights and alarms.

      Agog, Molly twisted in her seat to look out each win dow, taking in the view. “This is where you live? Seriously?”

      “Yeah.”

      She dropped back into her seat. “It’s like vacation property.”

      “Pretty much.” Once he reached the security gate, Molly went silent. All movement stopped, and she stared as Dare rolled down a window and punched in a private code that opened the gates. He drove beyond them and they closed again.

      She just stared.

      In response to her mute amazement, Dare told her, “Be prepared.”

      She blinked fast as if to refocus. “For what?”

      “Chris will come out to meet us. My girls, too.”

      After moistening dry lips with a quick lick, she said, “I heard you mention them. On the phone, I mean. Back at the motel room.”

      Her stilted speech amused Dare. “I do love my girls.”

      She cleared her throat. “Chris, too?”

      “Definitely.” Knowing she didn’t entirely understand, and willing to tease her, Dare said, “Chris will try to intimidate you, so be prepared.”

      She cleared her throat. “Chris is …?”

      “Housekeeper, manager, assistant—pretty much everything.”

      “Everything?” she asked, her voice high and faint.

      Dare couldn’t help but grin. “Sure.” And then, “Just ask him. He’ll tell you how important he is.”

      Her jaw loosened. “He will?” Then, before Dare could reply, “Chris is a guy?” And then with confusion, “You live with another man?”

      “Yeah.”

      “Does … he have a wife? Or maybe a girlfriend?”

      “No.” Dare knew she was trying to figure out the dynamic. He waited two heartbeats, then said, “Chris is gay.”

      “Gay?” Mystified, she stared at him. “But you’re not …?”

      Dare gave her a look. “Are you actually asking me that? Because I thought I’d made my sexual preferences pretty clear already.”

      “I thought you did, too. But then you kept mentioning Chris and your girls, and I wasn’t sure what to think.”

      “I’m not involved with anyone.”

      “Good.” Her eyes widened when she said that, and she quickly clarified, “I mean … okay.” Thoughts visibly churning, she took in the woods and the dirt road that changed to pavement,

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