Page 52 of The Love Dare
He fights back a smile. “As opposed to…?”
“You know what I mean.” She gives him a little shove, somehow managing to roll her eyes while still surveying every inch of his property. “You have a gate. You have a garage. You have hedges! Did you plant those? Obviously, you didn’t plant them. What am I even saying? I just mean, wow. Theoretically, I know you’re successful. I’ve been to your games. I’ve heard your name over the loudspeaker. I’ve heard the accompanying screams. But, dang. You’re rich. Like,richrich.”
“Don’t say that.” He grimaces. “You know how much I hate rich people.”
“But you are.” She laughs. “And it’s amazing! Seriously. It’s…incredible. You’ve really made so much of yourself. I don’t know if this is weird to say, but I’m proud of you. I really am.”
“Okay, Little Miss Private School.”
“My parents are rich.” She tosses him a pointed glance, then takes a deep breath. “I, on the other hand, am a twenty-five-year-old freelancer who needs to go back on their health insurance for the next six months because I can’t afford to pay COBRA. Big difference.”
“You’re running your own company,” he counters.
“I know, I just…” She trails off, biting her lip.
That’s enough of that, he decides, taking matters into his own hands. Her praise is one thing. Her insecurity is another. And if one night is all he has with her, he sure as hell isn’t spending another minute of it out here watching her spiral.
“Come on.” He takes her by the hips, lifts her out of the car, and tosses her over his shoulder.
“Ty!” she shouts indignantly. “I can walk.”
“I know that. But if you were walking, I couldn’t do this.” He takes the opening to run his large hand up the back of her petite thigh and palm her ass. God, she feels fucking amazing. He’s dreamed of doing this for so long, he can’t quite believe it’s real.
“You’re freakishly strong,” she grumbles.
He just grins—because she didn’t tell him to stop, she hasn’t pushed him away, and if anything, she’s angled closer.
He looks at her over his shoulder with a promise. “You’ll thank me for that one day.”
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
winnie
God,his bedroom voice might kill her. Self-combustion is a thing, right? Winnie can barely handle the grouchy, irritable Tyler Briggs. This flirty version of him is deadly. Her heart already feels as if it’s about to explode, and that’s just from the heat of his palm through her sweatpants. If he gets to bare skin, she really may evaporate.
You’ll thank me for that one day.
Seven words in that deep, suggestive tone, and her mind immediately jumped to every single gravity-defying sexual position she’s ever stopped reading for a moment to question. Because, yes, they are possible.
Tyler can do them.
She doesn’t know how she knows, she just does. It’s obvious, as that low promise sends a slow-moving shiver up her spine, leaving her entire body tingling.
When they get inside, he puts her down—slowly, methodically, his hands around her waist as he lowers her bit by bit, his biceps bulging as every inch of her presses firmly against every inch of him. The bottom edge of her T-shirt rides up with the friction. When her toes finally touch the ground, he justholds her there, staring at her with hooded eyes. His blond hair falls over his brow, doing nothing to shroud the dirty thoughts clearly circulating in his mind. Beneath her palms, his heart pounds.
Thankfully, one of the producers chooses that moment to cough, saving her from turning this family-friendly show watched by millions into a porno.
Winnie steps back, flustered.
Before any making out can occur, she has questions she needs to ask and assurances she needs to hear. He told her he loved her, but he also ditched her for six days. He saidalways, but he also saidnever, and she needs to know which is the truth, because she’s one whisper away from being completely ruined by him, and she can’t be the only one who comes undone.
“Go change,” she tells him, but really, what she means is,I need a minute.
Tyler studies her briefly. “I’ll be right back.”
One camera follows him up the stairs, while the other follows her deeper into the house. It’s super modern, clean and white with black fixtures and natural-grain accents. Dark kitchen cabinets set off a large pearlescent island with waterfall edges. The open floor plan leads right into the living room. Beyond the two large leather sofas sprawls an unbroken wall of glass. The view steals her breath. Bubblegum-pink clouds paint the sky. To the left, the sun sinks into the Pacific Ocean. To the right, the city of Los Angeles is just beginning to sparkle. At the edge of the yard, a rippling infinity pool glitters with the dying sun.
It’s so beautiful, she doesn’t want to look away, but it irks too. He’s so accomplished, so sexy, so freaking far out of her league she can’t stand it.
