Page 2 of Daring Her Love

Yes, please.

Kat needed to get ahold of herself. “Awfully confident for a guy who’s only said a handful of words to me.”

A coy, smoky smile curved his lips, bringing as much heat as his hand tightening around her thigh. “I’m a man who knows what I want, and I know how to pleasure a woman. And you”—he lifted his hand from her leg, leaving a wanting ache low in her belly, as he traced the edge of her jaw with his finger—“look like someone I once knew, which makes me a little bawdy.”

She didn’t know what to make of that comment, but his gaze was too distracting for her to think. His brows knitted together, and even the amber rims of his eyes seemed to darken. God he was beautiful, in an unforgettable kind of way. Kat swallowed past the lust threatening to drown her, and forced words from her lungs.

“Excuse me for a moment. I need”—room to breathe—“to visit the ladies’ room.”

“Of course.” His hand sank to her thigh again, then dragged down to her knee as he sat back casually, as if he hadn’t just set her world on fire.

Kat stood on legs way too wobbly, and as she shimmied her dress down her thighs, he rose beside her. The perfect gentleman. Oh, he is good. Why had she thought it was a smart idea to wear the slinky dress Brianna had sent her? She should have worn jeans or sweats. Something that wouldn’t have gotten her into this position. And why was he standing so close, sending incendiary thoughts about what he’d feel like lying above her, with those muscular thighs pressing down on her?

“Don’t get lost now,” he said as she took a step away.

She felt his eyes on her as she walked down a long, dimly lit hallway to the ladies’ room and fumbled for her cell phone. She called Brianna, silently hoping Brianna would tell her to run.

“Hey, did you get on a flight?” Brianna asked.

“I’m about to get on something if you don’t stop me,” she said, nearly breathless.

“What? Kat, are you okay?”

“No. Yes. Fuck. Bree, I don’t know.” She paced the bathroom floor, her heels echoing off the tile.

“Okay, slow down. What’s going on? It’s okay if you can’t get a flight. Hugh has a friend coming out from Virginia at some point. I’m not sure when because of the storm, but he can probably come save you from whatever’s going on.”

“Save me? Yeah, that’d be great if he can get here in the next thirty seconds, because I’m flirting with danger, and danger has never looked so good.”

Brianna laughed. “Wait. Are we talking about a guy? You’re at an airport—remember, Kat?”

“No shit. The old Kat is rearing her ugly head. I need reinforcements. It’s been a year, Bree. A year since I’ve felt this turned on, but I know I shouldn’t even consider this—”

“I’m not sure which this you’re talking about, but if you feel that turned on, go for it.”

She pictured Brianna’s thinly manicured brows arching with mischief, and she shook the image away. “Who are you? Please put my best friend on the phone, because she’d never tell me to get it on with a guy in an airport.”

“Kat, when I met Hugh, you pushed me past my comfort zone, remember? You told me to live a little. You’ve been good for so long, and you haven’t met Mr. Right yet. What if it takes another ten years? I’ve learned a lot being your friend, and I say, take your own advice. Go for it. Just this once, then move on.”

She considered that, eyeing herself in the mirror. Could she be the old Kat for a night and be the new Kat tomorrow? She pushed her blond hair off one shoulder and admired the way her dress clung to her narrow hips and waist, accentuating her breasts. She imagined Eric’s hands on her, and her insides shuddered. Shuddered! It had been way too long. “He is delicious, Bree. Like he walked off Hollywood Boulevard and right into the airport. But I don’t know.”

“Does he seem safe?”

“Not by sexual standards. Not by a long shot.” Goose bumps chased up her limbs at the thought of being bad, very, very bad.

“If you don’t do it, will you make me crazy wishing you had?”

“Yeah, probably.” Brianna knew her so well.

“Do him and forget him. You’ll be here by tomorrow and he’ll be wherever he’s going, and you can go right back to finding the right guy. And you won’t drive me crazy.”

Kat sighed. “Bree, you’re the best friend ever. But this change has been good for me. I like who I’ve become over the past year, and I don’t want to go back to being less discerning.”

“Oh please. You’ve always liked who you were, and so has everyone else. Please tell me what you need from me, because my incredibly sexy husband is waiting for me in the bedroom. We finally got Christian to sleep, and now Mama wants to play.” Bree had worked so hard, and given up so much, to raise Layla. Knowing she now had a baby boy, too, and a husband who adored her, delighted Kat—and made her long for the same.

“I wanted you to talk me out of it,” Kat admitted.

“Okay. Don’t do it. He’s wrong for you. He’s a player. He’s…Wait. I don’t even know him.”