Dare Me Tonight

by Phillips, Carly

  “It was fucking wonderful,” he muttered.

  Sebastian turned to him, mouth open, and Ethan realized his mistake immediately.

  “I mean it was great. We had fun,” Ethan said, rushing to be more polite and diplomatic. “And I’m sure there won’t be any issues on the project going forward.” Stick to business, he reminded himself.

  “No, there won’t be,” Ian said.

  “And we’re aware that we need a project manager on site. Especially now that we’re in the building phase,” Sebastian said, citing what, to Ethan, was a sticky subject.

  The last big contract they’d had, Ethan had sent a willing Mandy to handle the job in LA and she’d betrayed them all, buying substandard products and indulging in her drug addiction and affair. Finding someone to stay in Miami? Ethan had put off thinking about it at all.

  Sebastian stepped forward. “I was going to offer to come down during the week and fly back to New York on the weekends.” He ran a hand over the back of his neck, his reluctance to take on this job real. He had Ashley at home… and apparently they had big discussions going on about having a family. But as a team player, Sebastian’s offer was genuine.

  “Still a newlywed,” Ethan said, grinning at his sibling, not wanting Ian Dare to worry about anything when it came to KTT’s handling of this deal. “I wouldn’t ask you to do that,” he reassured Sebastian.

  But he wasn’t going to send just anyone to oversee such an important project. He’d already found out what happened when he wasn’t hands-on.

  “So what do you suggest?” Sebastian asked. “Parker has moved to Colorado to run his new ski shops. Who else can we trust?”

  “I’ll do it. I’ll stay in Miami for the duration of our role in the construction,” Ethan said.

  Beside him, Sienna sucked in a startled gasp.

  Unaware of the undercurrents or implications of Ethan’s decision for Sienna, Ian nodded, relief in his gaze.

  “But” – Sebastian glanced at Ethan – “the office…”

  “It’s not like I can’t run the business from here, and you’re in New York for anything that comes up there. It’s decided,” he said, folding his arms across his chest.

  Without looking directly at Sienna, he was still aware of her shock at his declaration. He felt the same damned way. He couldn’t be around her without wanting her. He didn’t know how he’d be in Miami and stay away.

  “As long as that’s decided, let’s go take a look at the new stadium,” Ian said. “Are you ladies coming?” he asked Olivia and Sienna.

  “I’ll join you,” Olivia said. “I haven’t been over in a while.”

  “Sienna?” Ian asked.

  She drew a deep breath. “Actually I wasn’t feeling well this morning. I think I’m going to take the rest of the day off, if you don’t mind.”

  “Of course I don’t mind. Go on home and feel better,” Ian said.

  She said her goodbyes and walked out.

  Ethan was unable to tear his gaze from her ass as she left the room, his gaze narrowed at her abrupt departure. If she hadn’t been pale when she walked in, Ethan would think she was avoiding him.

  “Before we go over to the stadium, can we have a word?” Sebastian asked him.

  “I need to talk to a few people, so take your time.” Ian strode off, Olivia walking alongside him.

  Sebastian grabbed his arm and pulled him to the side, where they could talk alone. “What’s going on with you?”

  “What do you mean?” Ethan thought he’d kept it together pretty damned well considering all he’d wanted was to be alone with Sienna.

  “It was fucking wonderful? That’s how you refer to spending the weekend with our biggest client’s sister?” Sebastian sounded horrified.

  “It was better than saying we spent the weekend fucking,” he muttered and his brother’s gaze went wide.

  “Jesus Christ, you didn’t?” Sebastian looked Ethan in the eye. “You did. Son of a bitch. What were you thinking?”

  “Clearly I wasn’t.” Not with the right head, anyway.

  “So that’s what’s been on your mind. Why you can’t concentrate on business.” Sebastian glanced across the room.

  Ethan did the same and caught sight of Ian talking to one of the players.

  “And you’re sure you want to stay here and oversee this project? Or is she the reason you’re willing to do it?” Sebastian asked, his tone low.

  “One of us needs to be here and it makes sense that it’s me. Can we let the rest go for now?” He wasn’t ready to think about why he was so willing to find himself in Miami for the next couple of months.

  Not when he already knew the answer.

  Chapter Five

  Sienna spent the weekend doing ordinary things in a state of disbelief. She cleaned her apartment, folded her laundry, went grocery shopping … all the while knowing that Ethan was back in New York, getting himself settled so he could be in Miami tonight or tomorrow morning. And somehow, Ian had gotten it into his head that Sienna and her fan-experience app and ideas meant she had to work with him while he was in town overseeing his part in the stadium project.

  Ian had no idea what he was asking of her. It had been hard enough being in the same room with Ethan, pretending they were mere acquaintances, when she’d felt him inside her body. When she wanted him to take her again. Feelings that she didn’t get the notion, during the brief time she’d been with Ethan in the conference room, were reciprocated. He’d been cool and aloof. Very much the man in charge, and he’d sounded like his time with her had been nothing but a chore.

  She ran a hand along her damp neck. The temperature had soared to one hundred and two degrees outside, and the sun was baking through the window, so the air conditioning pumping away in her small apartment unit wasn’t cooling her off as much as she would have liked. At this point she was wearing a pair of boy shorts and matching sports bra without a top because it was that hot. She pulled her hair into a high, messy bun and settled on the couch. Tonight was a pizza night, no cooking or turning on the oven and making this place even warmer.

  She retrieved an app and ordered herself an individual pie, plain because the weirdest things were making her nauseous, along with two cans of Coke, and settled in to wait for the delivery. While she sat, she made notes on ideas she had to enhance the fan experience at the stadium, both in person and in the virtual realm.

  When her doorbell rang, she jumped up, surprised her dinner had arrived so soon but more than happy because she was starving. Without checking the peephole, she flung the door open … and came face-to-face with Ethan.

  He didn’t look like the Ethan Knight she’d grown used to. He wasn’t wearing a suit, nor was he in a pair of dress pants and shirt. Instead, he wore khaki cargo shorts and a tee shirt, and she had to admit she liked the look on him. Add the scruff on his face and the gleaming look in his eyes and he was one sexy-ass man.

  “You’re not the pizza deliveryman.”

  He braced a hand on the doorframe. “Disappointed?” he asked.

  She swallowed hard. “No. Just shocked.”

  She gestured for him to enter, but his gaze swept over her, taking in her barely there outfit.

  He let out one of those low growls she’d come to recognize as acknowledgment of his arousal and she blinked in surprise. She really had thought he was no longer interested.

  “Get inside,” he muttered. “Before someone sees you.”

  “It’s warm out,” she said, justifying her clothing when it was none of his business what she wore.

  “The delivery boy doesn’t need to see your tight, hot little body.” He backed her into the apartment and shut the door behind them. “It’s for my eyes alone.”

  The predatory sound in his voice matched the proprietary look in his eyes, and her arousal immediately spiked. Desire ratcheted up inside her, want dampening her underwear. Jesus. The man was potent. And she couldn’t deny how much she desired him.

  He reached for her, hi
s big hand wrapping around her neck as he pulled her close and sealed his lips over hers. She moaned and slid her tongue over his mouth, demanding entrance, taking her due. This time it wasn’t all about him calling the shots. She’d been with him before, and he appreciated when she was bold and asked for what she wanted. Like when she’d invited him to stay. His eyes had glittered a deeper blue.

  “Fuck, I missed you.” The words spilled out of him, and if they sounded reluctant, she pushed the thought away, only caring about the here and now.

  He kissed her, his mouth devouring hers, sucking on her tongue, the passion flowing back and forth between them. Somehow they ended up on the couch, him pushing her down, his body crushing hers into the cushions. His hard cock pressed insistently against her core, and a rush of wetness coated her underwear once more. His hips ground into hers while he pushed her hair off her face with his hands and continued to brand her with his mouth.

  She arched her hips and rubbed her sex against his erection, the pulsing feeling of a climax rushing at her quickly and unexpectedly. She threaded her fingers through his hair and held on as he ground his cock into her and she flew apart beneath him. Wave after wave of trembling sensation racked her body as she came.

  He rocked himself into her until the shaking subsided, and with a groan, he rose to his feet. He yanked his wallet out of his pocket, pulled a condom from inside it, and undressed in the blink of an eye. She did the same, shimmying the tight shorts down and off her legs, pulling her panties off with them.

  He slid on protection, then sat down on the couch and shifted her to her knees, facing him, her thighs on either side of his. He gripped his cock, pumping his hand up and down the straining shaft, then helped her position herself over him.

  Next thing she knew, he was filling her, thick, hard, and deep, as she lowered herself completely. She braced her hands on his shoulders and stilled, her gaze meeting his. It was intimate, her entire body aware of him inside her.

  “Move,” he said, his voice husky and raw.

  She lifted herself up, felt the drag of his erection as he pulled out of her. His hands held on to her hips and he began to direct her movements, gliding her up and down his shaft. Instinct had her lifting and dropping her body in time to the shifting of his hips, pure need had her rocking her clit against him with every joining of their bodies, and suddenly the impossible began to happen.

  A small stirring of another climax started deep inside her, one that grew with every thrust and grind, and suddenly she was there, coming again, harder, more deeply, feeling every inch of him as he groaned and followed her up and over into utter ecstasy.

  She collapsed against him, her muscles suddenly no longer able to hold her up, and she buried her face in his neck, inhaling his musky, masculine scent and getting lost in the smell and feel of him around her.

  The sudden sound of the doorbell intruded, and he uttered a curse, pushing her off him. “Coming!” he yelled out, buying them time. “Go.” He gestured and she grabbed her clothing and ran for the bathroom, leaving him to ditch the condom, get dressed, and rescue her dinner.

  Body sore, cheeks flaming, she rejoined him in the family room, where he’d put the pizza on the table by the sofa.

  “Umm, want dinner?” she asked, unsure what the protocol was in a situation like this.

  He nodded, so she headed to the kitchen, returning with plates, napkins, and cups.

  Next thing she knew, she was sitting cross-legged on the sofa, devouring first one, then two, then a third slice of pizza, hunger returning where it hadn’t existed for the last couple of days.

  He ate his own slices.

  She didn’t count how many, but she couldn’t miss the amused grin on his handsome face.

  “I have no clue where you’re putting all that food,” he muttered.

  She blushed in embarrassment. “A gentleman wouldn’t mention it, you know.”

  He rolled his shoulders dismissively. “Did I ever claim to be a gentleman?” To her surprise, he winked at her and took a long sip of his soda.

  Finished now, she slid her plate away and glanced over at him. “Is Sebastian your only brother?” She decided she was going to ask about his family. His life. How else could she get to know this enigmatic man?

  He wiped his face with a napkin and placed his plate on top of hers. “Youngest. There’s my middle brother, Parker, who went to Colorado recently to scope out a resort for a corporate retreat, met a woman, and never left, and Sierra, who you’ve met.”

  She nodded.

  “How about you?” he asked. “I know Ian and I met Olivia. Who else is there?”

  She couldn’t help it. She burst out laughing. “Let’s see. If you haven’t heard the story of the infamous Robert Dare, this is how it goes. My father married his first wife as part of a business deal. They had Ian, Tyler, Scott, Olivia, and Avery. Early on during their marriage, he met my mom and they had an affair.” She winced at the revelation that never felt good. “That resulted in a second family. Alex, Jason, and me.” She waved her hand in the air. “The baby of the group.”

  “Holy shit.” Ethan ran a hand through his long hair and shook his head. “Soap opera land.”

  “You can say that again. Anyway, that’s how many siblings I have, half and full. The rest of the story is for another day and time.” Nobody got the full lowdown on her childhood illness unless they were in her life to stay.

  Rising from her seat, she picked up their plates and cleaned up the table. Ethan helped, taking the pizza box and the soda cans and carrying them into the kitchen.

  She had no idea where things stood between them, but after tonight, a feeling of hope bloomed inside her chest. Not only had he come after her, they couldn’t keep their hands off each other. Surely that meant something.

  She bit down on her lower lip and he noticed, pulling at it until she released her teeth. “Stop that. You’re giving me ideas,” he said gruffly. Leaning down, he slicked his tongue over her abused lip. “I can’t keep my hands off you.” The slide of his tongue turned into a prolonged kiss, one that had her grasping at his shirt and hanging on for the ride.

  By the time he released her, she was panting and ready to go again, although the soreness between her thighs was begging her to reconsider.

  “So I’ve been thinking,” he said.

  “Yes?” She leaned against the granite countertop in her kitchen.

  “Since I’m going to be here for a while and this thing between us isn’t going away, what do you say we hook up while I’m here?”

  She tipped her head to one side. “Hook up,” she reiterated, to make sure they were on the same page. In her mind, that meant just sex. No relationship, no dating. No commitment.

  She stared at him until he got the message and began to elaborate.

  “Right. While I’m in town, we’ll get together. Like this.” He gestured between them, indicating what had happened on the sofa earlier.

  “So … just sex,” she said, needing to be clear.

  “Exactly.”

  Her stomach plummeted at his affirmation. She hadn’t planned on riding off into the sunset with the man, but she had hoped for … more. A dinner. A date. Something beyond a meaningless hookup.

  Before she could fully wrap her mind around what he was proposing, something that hurt but that she might be able to work with – after all, what started out as casual could definitely turn into something more – he spoke again.

  “And no one can know about us. I’m all about keeping business and pleasure separate, and in this case, I can’t afford to fuck up this deal because your brother loses his mind if he finds out about us.”

  Pain lanced through her. If there was one thing he could have said to kill anything between them, that was it. “So you’re proposing a secret relationship.”

  “Yes.”

  “Like the kind my mother had with my father.”

  He narrowed his gaze, obviously now realizing he had opened a can of worms he hadn’t inte
nded. “Not really. For one thing, I’m not married.”

  She perched her hands on her hips. “Then why keep us a secret if we’re two consenting adults?” She raised her eyebrows, pinning him in place. “Unless you’re ashamed of being with me?”

  “No but–”

  “Get out.” Her heart beat painfully and furiously inside her chest. She honestly didn’t give a rat’s ass why he was proposing a dirty little secret relationship. Just the fact that he didn’t think enough of her to offer more was reason enough to throw him the hell out now.

  He stepped closer, remorse in his gaze. “Sienna, look, you have to see things from my perspective.”

  “The hell I do.” She narrowed her gaze, her hand reaching for the nearest item on the counter and coming up with a salt shaker. “I’m asking you one last time to go.”

  “And I want you to see how good we could be during the time we have.”

  That was it. Her fingers curled around the ceramic piece and she threw it at him, hitting him in the shoulder, before it bounced off and landed uselessly on the floor.

  He looked at her, shock in his expression. “I–”

  “Get the hell out, Ethan.”

  Very slowly, his gaze never leaving hers, he bent down and picked up the salt shaker, placing it on the table behind him. Then he backed away, walking out while shaking his head like only a blind, foolish man could do.

  * * *

  That had been a fuckup to end all fuckups, Ethan thought. His hand went to where the hard salt shaker had hit him on the shoulder, and despite it all, he grinned at Sienna’s spirit and spunk. She hadn’t taken his shit and he had to admire that about her. But he’d wanted to make her understand his reasoning.

  So you should have started out explaining, not asking for a hookup like a dumb-ass teenage boy. He clenched his jaw at his own idiocy. Being around her made him stupid. All reason and common sense went out the window. The man who could negotiate billion-dollar business deals couldn’t even make one tiny woman see reason.

  Still, now that he gave it thought, he understood how bad his proposal looked from her point of view. She had just told him about her family situation. He should have phrased things much differently, because from his perspective, a secret affair made pure business sense. Ian Dare wasn’t going to stand by and let him date – in her own words – the baby of the family.