Men Of Honour. Lori Foster

…” She wanted to see her sister, and she knew that sooner or later she’d have to see her dad and Kathi again. “No.”

      He slanted a look at Chris and said again, “We’ll be staying at her place for a few days.”

      “Ooookay,” Chris said, emphasizing the tension in the room. “Do I need to pack your suit?”

      “No, but something nicer than jeans, okay?”

      “Got it.”

      Molly still stood there, so Dare gave Chris a telling look, and he said, “Yeah, I’ll just … Yeah.” He deserted the computer and left the room.

      Dare watched Molly a second more, then carried a plate over to her. He set it on the bar and turned to face her. “You okay?”

      “I’m—”

      “Fine.” He sighed in clear frustration. “Why did I bother asking?”

      “I am fine.” But she felt compelled to admit, “It’s a subjective term, Dare. Compared to a few days ago, I’m better than fine.”

      “Got it.” He pulled her into his arms, and despite her annoyance at him, it felt so good that Molly wanted to stay there, just like that.

      But of course if she did, she wouldn’t be able to write, or reassure her sister, or direct her agent on negotiations.

      Life continued, and she wanted to move along with it, not hide forever.

      With Dare’s scent filling her head and his warm embrace around her, she whispered, “You want to know how I really feel?” She didn’t wait for him to answer. “I’m achy all over, especially in my shoulders and neck, but it’s not too bad, considering. Mostly I’m uncertain, and I’m still scared. I’m anxious to get my life back to normal, but then I think about what was normal and how naïve I was, and I don’t know if I really want that or not.”

      His fingers threaded into her hair, kneading her skull, caressing her. “I won’t let anything happen to you.”

      Molly could tell that he meant it, but what if it proved impossible to find the one responsible? She couldn’t expect Dare to put his life on hold for her.

      He was the most capable man she knew, more capable than she could ever have imagined, but he wasn’t invincible. What if he got hurt trying to protect her?

      She pushed back from him a little. “Maybe I should just go to the police.”

      A gentle tug on her hair turned her face up to his. “You know that’s not the answer.”

      Did she? True, the police would never have looked for her in Tijuana. But if she took extra precautions now to ensure no one else could get to her, then maybe they could—

      Dare bent down and kissed her. It was a hard kiss, surprising Molly. She started to pull away, but he lifted her right off her feet and continued to take her mouth until she softened, until she warmed and reciprocated.

      Positioning her to sit at the edge of the bar, he stepped between her legs. With his hands braced at either side of her hips, he leaned down to her. “You will not go to the police.”

      He looked harsh and possessive. And a little turned-on. It excited her.

      “My dad …”

      “Was a total prick. You know him, so you can imagine how he reacted without me laying out the details for you. But if you want them, I’ll share every word on our drive into Ohio. For now, though, I want your agreement that you won’t veer off the plan.”

      Molly put her hand to his jaw. So many awful possibilities came to her, all of them centering around Dare’s safety. “I don’t want you to get hurt because of me.”

      “Christ, woman.”

      “You’re not Superman, Dare, and you’re not a psychic. Even if you could dodge bullets, you can’t know about conspiracies or ambushes—”

      “From your father, you mean?”

      He sounded scornful, discounting the danger. “Or from whoever is after me.” The number of threats out there left her shaken.

      “You need to have a little faith.” Scooping one big hand against her backside, he dragged her forward, hard against him. “Do exactly as I say and we’ll both be okay. Understand?”

      Her legs were around him, leaving her flush against his hard abdomen. His hand on her bottom kept flexing, feeling her, keeping her close.

      Molly nodded. “Okay.”

      His expression heated. Slowly, he bent to kiss her again, softer this time. Against her cheek, he breathed, “Soon as we’re done eating, we’ll hit the road.”

      “Okay.” She tipped her head back.

      He put a gentle love bite to her throat. “And tonight …”

      Molly’s heart pounded. “Tonight?”

      He touched his tongue to her ear, and whispered, “I’m going to be inside you, and I can’t fucking wait.”

      In the next instant, he lifted her off the counter and onto a stool. Before she could catch her breath, Chris peered back in. He looked from Dare to Molly, and seeing them separated, walked on in.

      “Glad you two worked that out, because I’m hungry again.”

      Through a haze, Molly watched Dare. He acted like nothing had happened, like he hadn’t just made that provocative promise to her. He poured a glass of milk and set it before her, then sat down to eat while he and Chris talked.

      In more ways than one, she was out of her league.

      She picked up her fork with a shaking hand, and as she dipped her crepe in the dollop of whipped cream, she let out a pent-up breath.

      Dare had managed to balance her apprehension about going home with an urgency to get there. Even knowing that he couldn’t feel the same as she did, she wanted to cherish every second with him.

      She believed that he’d protect her from threats. It was up to Molly to protect her heart.

      AT CLOSE TO SIX THAT evening, Dare pulled down the street to Molly’s apartment building.

      He could feel her nervousness growing, but there was no help for it. On the drive, he’d told her about meeting her father, leaving out some of what Bishop had said. Not that it mattered. Molly knew her father, and, as Dare had suspected, she filled in the blanks on her own.

      Because she didn’t socialize in her father’s circles, she hadn’t met many of his business cronies. She knew nothing of Warwick or Sagan. Dare told her about the connections because she needed to know. If it turned out that her father was responsible in some way, better that she had the facts early on.

      “I just thought of something.” Molly kept one hand clamped on the seat, the other on the dash as she stared out the windshield, looking everywhere as if she expected the same goons to show up and make another play for her.

      “Relax, Molly. It’s going to be okay.”

      “I know.” She remained alert. “But how are we going to get in? I don’t have any keys with me. I left my purse in the apartment and …” With a groan, she turned her wide-eyed gaze on Dare. “I didn’t even have my door locked, because I thought I’d be going right back in. I didn’t remember that until now.”

      “Then it’s probably still unlocked.” Either way, Dare wasn’t concerned about it. He could pick a lock in no time at all, and would, if it proved necessary. “Stop worrying.”

      “You keep saying that.” She returned her attention to the area.

      Through mirrored, aviator sunglasses, Dare glanced at her and saw her unease. He reached over and put a hand on her slim thigh. “Try trusting me a little, will you?”

      “This