Read Online The Dare by Rachel van Dyken - Free Book Online

be rufied?"
    "Of course."
    "And he asked you to give him some time
before you revealed his location?"
    "That's what I'm saying."
    "Did you murder Senator Brevik?"
    "Oh honey, if I'd had murdered him. I
wouldn't have gotten caught — that's
why I'm here."
    "You're here because you got caught."
    "I let you catch me. To give him time."
    "Fine. I'll bite. Time for what?"
    "Love."
     
    Jace
     
    Once the plane dropped down in Honolulu, I
was beyond ready to lose my cool. The little girl in front of us
had, for the past hour, chattered about school, life, her mom, her
gas — really anything that she'd thought
might interest us. But the real kicker had been when Beth had
started coloring with her.
    And I'd been left to watch.
    I'd watched her hands glide over the
paper.
    I'd watched her delicate fingers as they held
the color blue.
    I'd watched when her face lit up from the
praise the little girl gave her.
    And then I'd ruined it by scowling when the
little girl gave her a high five, and I'd been left out.
    Irritation pierced me in the chest. And I was
ready to lose my damn mind over it. Every time I tried to imagine a
reason for me to be upset that Beth wasn't giving me attention, the
more upset with myself I became.
    I probably should have apologized for my
bluntness, but things were better that way. She needed to know it
had been a one-time thing. Yeah, she was beautiful, but that didn't
mean I was ready to hand my balls to her on a silver platter.
    Been there done that. Never again.
    So what if that made me insensitive? I had my
job. I loved my job, and I intended to do anything to keep it.
    I turned on my phone and looked down at the
screen.
    Rick: Call as soon as you land.
    I texted him back instead, knowing I didn't
want to be that annoying guy who started talking loudly when
everyone was trying to grab his bag and make it down the narrow
aisle.
    Me: Landed. Can't talk. Everything
okay?
    Rick: Define okay.
    Me: Did the problem go away?
    Rick: If the problem you're referring to
is an attractive thirty year old that works for the company whose
bill you just rejected because you said it wasn't soundly written,
then yeah. Sure. Peachy.
    Me: What?!
    Rick: Like I said, call me when you have
time. We need to make this go away. Approval ratings can drop
overnight. Good news? People think you're getting married, and the
news is loving it. So stay put.
    Cursing, I put the phone back in my pocket
and rubbed my temples.
    "Bad news?" Beth blinked her green eyes
innocently.
    "Thanks to you, yes." I was trapped. I
couldn't leave, and if I stayed, I stayed next to Beth, and the
longer I was in her presence, the more I wanted to attack her — in a totally sexually pent-up frustrated
way. One where there was biting and fighting and — "
    "Me?" Her eyebrows shot up.
    I tried to look pissed instead of
aroused.
    "Any chance I can pay you an obscene amount
of money to kick me in the balls on national television and say
you're mentally insane?"
    Beth's eyes narrowed into tiny slits. "Tell
you what, I'll kick you in the balls for free. As for the rest of
it, go screw yourself."
    "Ha," I said dryly. "Chemist's got some
personality after all." I was being an ass. I knew I was being an
ass, but I was pissed. I'd specifically asked her if she had a
past. I'd specifically asked about any sort of drama in her past
and she hadn't even thought to tell me she worked for GreenCom?
Technically, it had been my fault. I hadn't looked at her work
history, just her title. And honestly it didn't matter that much. I
was more upset over the fact that I could smell her damn perfume,
and it was choking the bachelor out of me.
    "You're an ass," she hissed, pushing past me
and walking down the aisle. By then, people had basically vacated
the plan.
    With a curse, I got up and walked slowly down
the aisle.
    I'd been drugged by an eighty-six-year-old
woman.
    Couldn't remember my one-night stand.
    Had been accused of sleeping with a
prostitute.
    On a last-minute vacation