Nyght's Eve (9 page)

Embrace
the suck.

He mentally snorted as he repeated Nikita’s
advice to himself. If he was going to try and get on with his life, then there
was no better time than the present. He wanted Evie. Now, he just needed to figure
out what the hell to do about it.

Evie watched Dare, conflicted by the feelings
bouncing around inside her. When she saw Dare park, her first instinct was to
turn around and head the other way, but she didn’t like the thought of
retreating. She wasn’t that kind of woman. It frustrated her that she couldn’t
seem to get a handle on him, though. One minute she was practically melting
with lust, then the next she wanted to smack him across the face.

It was...confusing.

His presumptuous statement yesterday had put
her back up, but it had also been gratifying to know that he also felt whatever
strange attraction she did. Not that she would act on it. Evie knew that Dare
wasn’t a man that wanted happily ever after, and that was exactly what she was
looking for...no matter how elusive it may be.

She had been alone for so long that it was
enticing to just give any relationship a try, but she couldn’t make herself
settle no matter how hard she tried. In the past, Evie had dated men hoping
that her feelings for them would develop more, would deepen.

Only, they didn’t.

For years, she had thought something was
wrong with her. That she was cold and selfish just like all her exes had called
her. She knew they resented the time and dedication she gave the rescue center
and the search and rescue team, but what no one seemed to understand was that
they weren’t just a hobby for her. Those things were an integral part of who
she was.

She wanted to feel the all-consuming passion
that she saw in other couples around her. For years, Evie had witnessed the
power of love. How it inspired, how it made people stronger. Evie knew that she
had family who loved her, but that wasn’t the same as having a lover who was
also a real partner. Someone who would always put her first. Her parents had
loved each other completely, and Evie wanted to find that for herself.

But a little part of her questioned if she
truly deserved that kind of happiness...

“Hey, you okay?”

Evie blinked up at Dare, who stood in front
of her, gripping her shoulders gently. “I’m fine. Sorry, I just zoned out there
for a second.”

“I heard you were out on a rescue today. You
must be tired.”

“I am, but I still need to settle down.
Hence, the walk.”

“Mind if I join you?”

Evie paused, acutely aware that he was still
holding onto her shoulders. She wanted to say she was done and go back to her
house, but something had her agreeing. “Sure.”

He let go of her slowly, and they began
walking around the pond, enjoying the cool night air now that the heat of the
sun was gone. All four dogs trotted with them, darting ahead happily, then
coming back to join their little group. They walked a few minutes in silence
and Evie was surprised how comfortable she was having him as company despite
the fact he made her a little nervous.

She tried to stop herself from peeking up at
him, but she just couldn’t help herself. He really was a good-looking man. His
stoic expression made his strong features look even harsher, reminding her of a
warrior of old. It was fitting, since he was a soldier. She quickly glanced
away, but seeing something out of the corner of her eye had her turning back. “Why
do you have a paper towel wrapped around your arm?”

“What? Oh, I stopped by Ink This today.”

She wanted to ask him to show her what he’d
gotten done. Since the bandage was around the same area of his barbed wire
tattoo she assumed he had added on to it. Now wanting to pry, she settled on
asking, “Was Niki working today?”

“Yeah, she’s...something.”

Chuckling, Evie nodded. “That she is.”

“Is that where Hammer’s mom and your uncle
live?” Dare asked as they walked toward the small house on the other side of
the pond.

“Yes. We’ve missed them around here, but my
cousins and I gave them a two week cruise to Alaska for Christmas and we
finally convinced them to take it. They’re flying to Hawaii for a few days
after the cruise before they come home.”

“Must be nice, being surrounded by family.”

“It is,” she agreed. “When Uncle Tony and the
others moved here, we decided we all wanted to stay close. It’s nice having
everyone close by, even though we all have pretty different schedules.”

“I noticed Francesca and Beckett haven’t been
around much.”

“Beckett works at the animal clinic in town
half the week, and Francesca is in Las Vegas right now. She’s a romance author
and every year she meets up with some of her writer friends she doesn’t get to
see too often.”

“A group of romance authors in Vegas?” Dare
grinned. “Now why does that sound like trouble?”

She laughed. “It is. She takes a lot of trips
doing research for her books since she writes a lot of romantic suspense. She’s
the only one of us that got bit with a case of wanderlust.”

“She goes on these trips alone?”

“Most of the time. But sometimes she goes
with another author friend of hers who is even more crazy than she is. I don’t
even want to think about the mischief those two can get into.”

Evie looked toward her house as the outside
lights came on automatically, like beacons of welcome against the coming night.
It wasn’t just her home.

It was her sanctuary.

Dare frowned. “Not that I don’t like your new
house, because I do, but why not just stay in the plantation house? Why build a
new home and make that one into a boarding house?”

Evie couldn’t help but stiffen at his
question. “That place holds some bad memories for me.”

He seemed to wait to see if she would explain
her cryptic statement, but she didn’t. It wasn’t something she liked talking
about. Ever.

As if understood, he changed the subject. “So,
what happened today?”

Evie relaxed a bit, glad to talk about
anything but her past. “It was just a couple of stupid teens. They decided to
ditch school yesterday and went out hiking. We get a lot of hikers in the area.
He thought he’d get laid, but what he ended up with was a broken ankle.”

“Bummer.”

Amused, she bumped his side. “I’m sure you
know how that goes.”

“A guy can hope.”

That made her smile. “Anyways, he couldn’t
walk and she was too freaked out to go get help by herself. When they didn’t
come home last night, we got called out. It didn’t take us long to find them
once we found their trail. I took Lancelot with me today and Hunter took
Percival. That’s why the others have so much energy. They always get jealous
when we go play without them.”

“So, you only take one dog with you?”

“One dog per searcher. It is easier for them
to focus that way and lock in the scent cones.”

“I think it’s great you do that. It can’t be
easy searching for lost people. I’m guessing it doesn’t always turn out as good
as today did.”

“No, it doesn’t,” she said softly. She moved
her head from side to side, trying to ease the tension in her neck and
shoulders, but it didn’t help much. “I heard you were at the center again
today. We appreciate you helping out.”

“It’s the least I can do after yesterday.”

She glanced up at him through veiled lashes.
“What exactly do you mean by that?”

Stalling, Dare bent down and picked up a
stick. Pulling back his arm, he let it fly and watched as all four dogs gave
chase. “First, I want to say I’m usually not such an idiot around women. I
think it’s just you.”

“Lucky me.”

He shot a look at her. “Why don’t we write it
off as my stupid moment of the day and forget about it?”

Evie paused, considering. “Do you have many
of those?”

“What, stupid moments? I’m male, so that
would be yes. I think we have a quota each day or we just don’t feel right.”

“Hmm.”

He heaved out a sigh. “You...disturb me.”

That had her stopping in her tracks. Offended
to her core, she glared at him with her hands on her hips. “Excuse me?”

“See, even the way you glare at me. That
shouldn’t turn me on.”

“It...I...” She lost her ability to speak.
Did he really just—

“Damn it, Evie,” he said as he took a step
closer. “I shouldn’t have missed seeing your face today.”

Her mouth opened, then closed as she
struggled to form a response. She took a step back, then another. “No. You
said—”

“I know what I said.”

“Then we should probably just avoid each
other from now on while you’re here.”

Dare took another step forward, closing the
distance between them again as he slowly shook his head. “I’ve tried that. It
doesn’t seem to be working.”

“Well, try harder,” she snapped. She started
to take another step back, but stopped when she realized he had her retreating.

He burst out laughing. “Damn, woman. You sure
do know how to stomp on a man’s ego.”

“That’s not all I’m gonna stomp on.”

Still chuckling, he wrapped an arm around her
waist and jerked her to him, making her gasp. “Why don’t we try this instead?”

Dare’s mouth came down on hers, hot and hard.
A low moan tore from Evie’s throat at the pleasure of feeling him against her.
She knew she should protest, push him away or something, but her hands simply
grabbed onto his shirt, needing something to anchor her as he took her under,
into a sea of sensation.

Evie gasped again when he pulled her closer
so she felt the steel hard spike of his erection again her stomach. It seemed
to burn her through their clothes, and made her ache for more. He took
advantage when her lips parted and pushed his tongue deep, stroking and
tasting. Not to be outdone, she gave up fighting and met his desire with her
own. She took the kiss deeper, tilting her head to the side, fitting them
together like two pieces of a puzzle.

She lost herself in the kiss, taking and
giving in equal measure. His other hand delved into her hair, tugging her head
back and the small sting made her shiver. Time seemed to stop while they were
locked together. Her hands slid under his shirt of their own volition. Feeling
the hard contours of the muscles on his back made her knees go weak and another
moan of pleasure broke free. She wanted to touch all of him, to stroke her
hands over his hard body until he was as mad for her as she was for him.

This was passion.

This was wild, lust-driven need.

This was...insane.

Gasping, she pulled back. Sweet Jesus, what
was she doing? Here she was, making out with Dare out in the open where anyone
could see, and she didn’t even like the man...did she?

Dare’s grip on her tightened, holding her
firmly in place when she tried to move away from him. “Hey, princess? You think
you can tell your boys to stand down?”

“W-what?”

Evie blinked in confusion. God, his kiss had
practically fried her brain. Shaking herself to focus, she quickly realized
that all four of her dogs were issuing low, menacing growls. Looking down she
saw they were all fixated on Dare, waiting for her command to attack.

“No, babies. It’s okay. Dare is a...friend.”

“You wanna try to say that a little more
convincing? I’d like to keep all my body parts where they are,” he said wryly.

She repeated her words, resting her head on
his shoulder and smiled at the dogs so they would understand she wasn’t being
hurt. Three of the dogs relaxed, their tails wagging as they sniffed at Dare’s
shoes, but Gawain still seemed to eye him suspiciously. “Smile,” she ordered,
keeping her voice soft and calm.

Dare glanced down and tried to smile,
although he was pretty sure it came out more like a grimace. A few seconds ago,
he’d been damn close to dragging Evie down onto the grass with him. From the
moment he’d touched her everything else had simply disappeared. She’s felt so
right in his arms, and the taste of her was even better than he had imagined.
Then he’d felt that itch on the back of his neck right before he’d heard the
growls.

It had been a mistake to kiss her like this,
without planning or preparation, but he just couldn’t help himself. And now
he’d had a taste of her he wanted more. So much more. It would have been better
if he’d walked away before he’d touched her, because now he wasn’t going to be
able to.

He was a damned man now.

Fate sealed.

Evie tried to break free of his embrace, and
he let her go after she let out a growl of her own. He watched as she bent down
and stroked her hands through the soft fur of her dogs. Dare’s muscles clenched
as he imaged her stroking her hands over his body, and his hard cock throbbed
in the confines of his jeans like a wicked ache.

Reassured that everything was okay, the dogs
started wagging their tails again and two of them trotted over to seek
attention from Dare. He obliged and bent down to pat their sides. “Good boys,”
Dare crooned. “You guys are going to have to get used to me touching your owner.”