Read Online Dare to Hold by Carly Phillips - Free Book Online Page A

a few more times, coming inside her as he shouted her name. He collapsed on top of her, and she accepted his weight, wrapping her arms around his sweat-dampened skin.
    A little while later, they’d climbed beneath the covers. Scott lay propped up against the pillows, one well-muscled arm beneath his head. “You okay?” he asked.
    She nodded. “More than okay.”
    Too okay, too sated, too happy for the situation she was in, but she wasn’t going to dwell. Things would end on their own soon enough. She didn’t have to do anything to push it along. She’d already learned she couldn’t deny this man, nor did she want to.
    “So … you really came here tonight because you missed me?” She lifted herself up on her side and met his gaze.
    “I really did.” His lips turned upward in a sexy grin.
    “Good timing.”
    That ended his smile. “Yeah, about that. My brother runs a security company, and I’m going to have him start digging into your ex and his background. We’ll figure out why the hell he won’t just leave you alone without you having to talk to him again.”
    At the thought of having another conversation with Mike, she shivered, more out of dread that there would be very little talking done if he ever got near her.
    “Hey.” Scott pulled her against him, tucking her firmly beneath his arm and against his chest. His heat not only warmed her body but also took away the chill caused by fear.
    “I can’t afford to pay him,” she said of Tyler.
    “Yeah, well, here’s the thing.” As he spoke, Scott ran his hand up and down her bare arm, his touch arousing her despite the topic of conversation. Her nipples tightened, and she knew they were now poking into his skin. He kept up the light caress and continued talking. “Tyler offered me a job.”
    “Don’t you already have a job? You’re a cop.”
    “And I’m bored as shit. Not to mention, I’m on administrative leave,” he muttered.
    Oh, this was interesting. “Really? Why? What happened?”
    He let out a low chuckle. “Apparently I don’t follow the rules too well.”
    She shook her head. “You mean you’d rather make them? Who would have thunk it!” she teased.
    Before she could blink, he flipped her onto her back and straddled her with his large body. “Are you making fun of me, Ms. Thompson?”
    She wanted to laugh, but the stern look in his gaze had that giggle catching in the back of her throat. “No, I would never do that.” She bit the inside of her cheek and tried not to let any sound escape. He looked like he was just itching for a chance to torment her if she did. She wasn’t sure she could handle any of his sensual teasing.
    He skimmed his fingers up the sides of her body, pausing as he came to the swells of her breasts and tracing beneath the sensitive mounds.
    She stifled a long moan.
    “As I was saying,” he continued, “my brother offered me a job. Actually he wants me to buy into his company and partner with him,” Scott said, sounding surprised. But as he spoke to her, he kept touching her, skimming her breasts with his knuckles, tracing a circle around her areolas with his fingers.
    “Ooh.” She let out a moan.
    He narrowed his gaze. “We’re talking,” he reminded her.
    She wanted to pout but knew better. For some reason, he wanted to mix up conversation and foreplay. Bad man. Somehow she had to focus, because she sensed this was an important topic to him. Very important, and he was choosing her to confide in.
    She drew a deep breath to steady herself. “Why do you sound shocked that he’d ask you to be his partner?” she asked.
    He paused, his hands stilling. “I’m impressed you picked up on that,” he said. “Tyler’s just two years older than me, but I always looked up to him. Especially after he joined the Army. He’s successful now that he’s home too. That he’d want me to join him means a lot.”
    She reached up and traced his jaw with her fingertips, the stubble prickling her skin in a