The Dare Collection: August 2018. Avril Tremayne

      It took twenty laps for me to get myself back under acceptable control. Of course she chose that moment to pause at the far end of the pool to smooth back her wet hair and slowly swivel her head until her gaze rested on me. Her lips parted as she sucked in air to regain her breath.

      She didn’t utter a word. Neither did I. And yet, a thousand conversations passed between us.

      Later, I would appreciate that this was the moment we both accepted that we were far from done with each other. That the rules and barriers and words we’d thrown up in an attempt to stop this sexual juggernaut stood no chance.

      She clung to the edge of the pool for a full minute, her sexy green eyes never wavering from mine. Then with a lithe twist of her body, she dove underwater.

      Every cell in my body wanted to join her. If for nothing else, to cool down before the top of my head blew clean off. But I stayed put, counted down her laps until she reached ninety-eight.

      I jumped up, grabbed a towel from the stack next to the lounger and was waiting when she climbed the shallow steps.

      Just like last time, delicious droplets clung to her skin. I wanted to lick each and every one off, then concentrate on licking her between her legs.

      Instead, I held out the towel. Her eyes met and clung to mine as she accepted it and wrapped it around her body. “Thanks.”

      My eyes drifted to the wet curl clinging to her cheek. Unable to resist, I smoothed it behind her ear, then went to retrieve her T-shirt.

      “Let’s get you inside.” I didn’t give one tiny shit that my voice was a gruff mess. Or that my cock still stood at attention. I saw her eyes drop to it before, reddening, she glanced away.

      She followed me inside and lingered in the living room as I locked the doors. “Drink?” I needed one badly before I did something foolish.

      She passed the towel through her hair before lowering it. “Umm... I shouldn’t.”

      I handed back her T-shirt. “That doesn’t sound like a definite no,” I said, then held up my hands. “But I’m not trying to corrupt you or anything so if you want to head up to bed, don’t let me stop you.” The breath trapped in my lungs told a different story to the words falling from my mouth. I wanted her to stay. Badly.

      She dropped the towel on the coffee table and shook her head. “No. I’ll just lie in bed worrying about stuff. Or I’ll be tempted to tinker with the code some more. Bad idea,” she said with a laugh.

      It was the first time I’d heard her laugh. The soft, tinkling sound hooked into me, feeding a need to hear more of it. “Okay, so what do you do to distract yourself?”

      She looked away, fidgeted, then dragged the T-shirt over her head. “I normally read. Or watch a movie downstairs...”

      It was an easy decision. “I vote for downstairs.” She had a bar down there, after all. “I’ll have a drink. You can join me. Or not.” I cocked an eyebrow.

      The barest hint of a smile curved her mouth as her gaze touched on my brow. “I get to pick the movie.”

      I shrugged. “Your theater, your choice. I’m just coming for the booze.”

      Her smile widened a little more.

      We went down together, her bare feet slapping lightly on the polished wood. I crossed to the bar shelves stacked with expensive alcohol. She went to the sweets stand and returned with a large cone cup filled with assorted candy.

      She popped a pink marshmallow into her mouth, then held out the cup to me. I chose a jellybean and pointed it at her. “These things will rot your teeth.”

      “Luckily I have an excellent dental plan.” Her sexy grin exhibited perfect teeth.

      I refocused on pouring my bourbon. “You sure you don’t want anything?”

      She inspected the row of drink bottles behind me. “Okay, I’ll have a lemondrop martini, please.”

      I laughed. “You folded much easier than I thought you would.”

      She plucked another marshmallow from her supply before placing the cup on the counter. “I rarely fix it myself because it never comes out right. You look...comfortable behind the bar, like you know what you’re doing.”

      Our eyes met. Locked. “So this is a test?”

      Her lips slowly parted. “Maybe.”

      “And if I pass?”

      Her gaze swept down for a moment before stunning green eyes met mine again. “I’ll let you help me pick the movie.”

      I slowly set down the bourbon, biting my tongue against spilling what I really wanted for my prize. Hell, she knew it already. Knowledge flamed in her eyes. Whether she would choose tonight to do something about it was another matter.

      I gathered the ingredients and watched her watch me fix her drink. I slid it across the counter to her, lifted my glass of bourbon and waited.

      She picked up her glass, took a delicate sip. Her tongue slid across her bottom lip. My cock jumped. “It’s good.”

      “Just good?”

      Again, her eyes flicked to my raised eyebrow, and her mouth twitched. “Okay. It’s perfect.”

      “You’re welcome.” I reached into the freezer, plucked out two ice cubes and dropped them into my drink. Anything to lower the inferno raging in my groin.

      Grabbing her candy and drink, she hopped off the bar and headed for the red leather lounger with drink holders on either side.

      Perfect for two.

      On Saturday night, when another damned nightmare had ripped me from sleep, I’d wandered downstairs, heard the movie running and came to check on her. I’d toyed with waking her but with tensions running high, I thought it best to leave her alone. As I’d made her comfortable, she’d made a small, forlorn sound that ripped through me.

      As I joined her now, questions crowded my mind. Asking more personal ones would mostly likely hurl us back onto the battleground. So I stuck to a less volatile one.

      “I’ve ruled out most people on the list.” Including her ex. A discreet probe into Scott Wyatt’s activities showed he’d been mostly out of town in the weeks before the stalking started, and was currently engaged in a long-distance relationship with a new woman in Seattle. He was lucky he was out of my reach.

      A trace of unease flitted over Lily’s face. “Okay. So who’s left?”

      I paused. My answer could risk her acting differently around the people left on the list. “I haven’t been able to rule out Nordic Razor yet. Could he have seen what you were working on when you were online?”

      She tucked her legs underneath her, rested sideways on the lounger, and took another sip of her drink. “No. I use a separate computer for social activities.”

      I set my glass in the holder. “Why Q?”

      “What?”

      “Cipher Q. What does the Q stand for?”

      She toyed with a damp strand of hair. “What do you think it stands for?”

      “I thought it was Quantum. But I’m going with Queen,” I replied.

      Her head dipped, that hint of shyness and innocence adding to her appeal. “It’s silly, I know. And vain. But...”

      “But you wanted to feel empowered at a time when things felt out of control?”

      Her mouth dropped open a few seconds before she shut it. “I don’t like it when you do that,” she murmured.

      “Do what?” I asked gently.

      “See...too much.”

      “I won’t hurt you, Lily.