Katherine Garbera - Her High-Stakes Affair

A dare.

Still, it was hard to change her habits. She was a risk taker by nature, and every instinct in her wanted to take him up on his dare. To prove to him he wasn’t the hot stuff he thought he was.

A dare.

She’d spent a lifetime tamping down the urges of her wild blood. That was what Grandma Nan had always called it when Raine got into scrapes at school. And in her younger days she’d gotten into more than a few of them.

She’d never been able to resist a dare.

How had this man known? What was it about his dark-brown eyes that enabled him to see past the protective layers others never noticed were there?

In truth she knew it wasn’t arrogance. The man had a swarm of adoring people following him around day and night. She wondered how long they’d be alone in the alcove before one of his fans found him.

“What’s the matter? Scared you can’t handle me off the set where you’re not in charge?” he asked in that silky tone of his.

She realized he was so used to getting his way that it never occurred to him she’d turn him down. And it irked her that she was thinking about accepting his invitation. But she was definitely going to make him work for it.

“I think we covered this already,” she replied. “I’m not scared of any man.”

“Then I’ll pick you up in your suite at eight. Dressy casual. Be prepared for the night of your life.”

She wrapped her arms around her waist. His words, the delivery and tone, were exactly like her father’s. Every birthday he’d called her, promising her the moon, and for eight long years she’d believed him.

“You know nothing about me, Scott. How can you guarantee me the night of my life?” she asked carefully. Maybe going wasn’t a good idea, no matter how tempting he was. Actually, because of how tempting he was. She’d forgotten her own rules. No matter what spin he put on it, Scott Rivers was a gambler. He gambled every day on life, taking risks and issuing dares.

“Touché. That was arrogant.” He grinned at her.

“Just a tad.”

“I’d like to say it won’t happen again, but…”

This time she laughed at him. He was very charming, and she didn’t care if it was practiced. This was the man she had to be careful around. The one she’d find it so easy to fall for. For just this once, though, she wanted to enjoy basking in his laughter.

“How about a night of getting to know each other?” he asked, propping one hand on the wall behind her and angling his body closer to hers.

The heat of his body swamped her. She struggled to keep her pulse steady, but it had picked up the minute he’d put his hand on the wall next to her head. He captured one of her curls with his fingers and toyed with the strand. “Why is this important to you?” she asked.

He ran his finger down the side of her face, his touch tentative and very gentle. For the first time in her life she felt…special. Not the go-to girl or the can-handle-anything woman. But as if she was actually the one who needed to be treasured and pampered by a man. He’s just playing you, she reminded herself. But she liked the way he was treating her—which unsettled what she thought she knew about herself.

He leaned even closer to her. She inhaled his spicy aftershave and the smell of his breath mints. Her breath probably smelled like garlic from the scampi she’d had for lunch. This was why she didn’t do the fairy tale thing.

“I can’t get you out of my head,” he said.

She stopped thinking about her breath and stared up at this man who had to be putting her on. “Lust, eh? I’m not really cover-model material.”

“No, you’re not. You have something so unique. Something that’s just Raine.”

His words touched her and she had to swallow. She told herself he was a consummate actor, even though it had been a while since he’d tried his hand at that. A part of her wanted to believe him, but another part was afraid. She’d grown up with her father, the accomplished con man who could promise anything and make everyone including Raine believe it.

“Don’t say things like that to me. I prefer honesty.”

“As you pointed out, we don’t know each other. I just want a chance.”

“One chance. But no more of those mushy romance lines that you’ve doled out to a hundred other women.”

“Jeez, I’m not sure you’ll fit in my car with that chip on your shoulder. And I think we both know I haven’t had a hundred women.”

“I don’t care if you’ve had a thousand.”

“You will,” he said. Lowering his head, he kissed her. His lips brushed hers, and when she opened her mouth to breathe, his tongue slipped past her lips and into her mouth. He tasted her with long, languid strokes of his tongue. She tipped her head to grant him greater access.

Still he didn’t hurry. He just leaned there next to her, taking his time and exploring the fire that she’d never wanted to acknowledge was between them. Awareness spread down her body, and she relished the taste of him.

The world fell away and she swayed when his hands skimmed down her back and over her hips and he tugged her closer to him. The wall was solid behind her, and he was solid heat pressed to the front of her. She felt trapped and oddly free because the decision was taken out of her hands. This was the most daring thing she’d done in years.

Her pulse raced, and she knew that something she’d caged long ago had broken free. She reached for his shoulders, but he pulled back.

“Eight,” he said, and turned on his heel and walked away.

Scott went back to the set, but he was off his game for the rest of the day. He knew no one else observed it but he felt it inside. For the first time in fifteen years he was distracted by someone. He wasn’t just focused on his own pleasures. It was an odd feeling and he wasn’t sure he liked it.

But the only time he felt alive was when he was doing something risky, which was why he’d made the bet and was pursuing Raine. Who would’ve thought pursuing a petite brunette would be the challenge he’d been searching for?

Scott almost blew a really big hand, but brought his attention back to the game at the last minute.

They wrapped for the day, and he noticed that Raine stayed far away from him. Even when she came out of her booth, she gave him and the other players a wide berth. Scott finished up the conversation he was having with Stevie and started slowly stalking her.

She glared at him once so he knew she was aware of his presence. He laughed. She was so sassy and spunky that he couldn’t help himself. She might prefer safety and routine, but nothing could dampen the innate fire that burned inside her.

Why was she even trying to hide it? He knew then that the secrets he wanted to unlock in Raine were somehow tied to that passion.

She moved toward the exit, and Scott deftly followed her, blocking the one door off the set. He folded his arms over his chest and leaned back against the wall. She tossed her hair and pivoted on her heel, facing away from him.

“You still have that magic touch with the ladies,” a droll voice said behind him.

Scott turned to see one of his closest friends, Hayden MacKenzie—the newly married Hayden. “What can I say? I should bottle my charm.”

“Well, it is legendary. Does she not know that? Want me to go talk to her?”

“What are we—in junior high?”

“I don’t know. I didn’t go to junior high,” Hayden said.

Hayden had attended an exclusive boys’ school back east. Scott had met him in Europe when they’d both had too much money, too much anger and too much time on their hands. The other man stood a few inches taller than Scott.

“So how’s wedded life? Still bliss?”

Hayden smiled and for the first time since Scott had met him he saw a kind of peace in Hayden’s eyes. “Can’t complain. In fact, Shelby and I are having a dinner party on Friday. Can you come?”