Page 36 of Dare Me

Slowly, he moved back to the bed and was about to crawl over her because he couldn’t wait to feel her under him. But she stopped him with a hand to his chest.

“Promise me something,” she said, her voice a little breathy.

“Anything.”

“Promise that we have the entire night. That neither of us is going to leave.” The words were said lightly, but her eyes were deeply intense.

Cupping her cheek, he said, “I promise. There is no way I’m letting you leave this bed. Tonight, Arianna Donovan, you are all mine.”

Her hand slid around the back of his neck as she guided him down to her. “It’s about time.”

And as her limbs wrapped around him, Will swore this was the sweetest moment of his life.

Then he was done thinking, because he finally had Arianna exactly where he wanted her.

It was after midnight and they were eating cold Chinese food in bed, naked and laughing as they tried not to spill anything.

“We totally should have just gone out to the kitchen,” Arianna said as she carefully picked through her lo mein.

“You said we’d have to put on pants to do that, and I’m very much against that right now,” he told her, doing his best to keep a straight face. As soon as he looked at her, though, they both burst out laughing again.

“I didn’t specifically say pants. I just felt weird sitting at my brother’s kitchen table with no panties on. It’s weird.”

“I’m anti panties too.” Then he winked. “But those hot pink ones you had on earlier? I’m a fan of those.”

“Then why not just let me put them back on so we can eat on a level surface?”

“It took us a year to get naked together. I’m not letting either of us get dressed until the sun comes up.”

Moving closer to him, Arianna kissed him on the cheek. “Good answer.”

They finished eating and Will moved their plates over to the bedside table and decided he’d deal with them in the morning. It was more important for him to wrap his arms around her and hold her close. “Can I get you anything else?”

She shook her head. “I have everything I need right here.”

It felt so good to just sit in companionable silence for a few minutes. She had blown his mind earlier. The reality of making love with Arianna far exceeded the fantasy and, honestly, he couldn’t wait to do it again.

“Did you and Liam decide on a property?”

“Yeah. We’re going with the fishing resort. Tuesday morning we’re going to sit down and finalize all the plans and designs and then start talking with the bank and contractors.” He let out a long breath. “I honestly didn’t think it would all happen this fast, but it’s like everything just fell into place. It was all the confirmation I needed that this is where I’m supposed to be.” He placed a kiss on her forehead. “This is exactly the kind of place I envisioned moving to and once this project gets going, Liam and I already have ideas and some rough plans in place for at least three more.”

“Wow! That’s very cool. I know you’ll love it here. Laurel Bay is a great town.”

As much as he didn’t want to bring it up, it seemed like his mouth didn’t get the memo. “Then why are you so eager to move away?”

“Will…” Sighing, she rested her head on his shoulder. “It’s not the town; it’s all that goes with being a Donovan in this town. If I could live here without my parents and siblings interfering with my life, I’d never leave. But…as you’ve come to notice…that’s not how things are.”

“I get that, but maybe that’s because they haven’t had a chance to be around this grown-up version of you. The last time you lived at home, you were in high school. You went away for college and then the internship, so…maybe just let them get used to this more mature Arianna.”

She snorted lightly. “I’ve been back for a year and they haven’t even tried to just sit back and get to know the older me. It’s frustrating as hell. From the moment I landed in Wilmington and my parents picked me up at the airport, it was like I was still a kid and they were just waiting to give me the new set of rules I should live by.” Shaking her head, she added, “I really should have just stayed in California. They never would have taken the time off to come there and yell at me.”

Just the thought of that made him frown and he hugged her a little tighter.

This wasn’t a topic that was going to get settled tonight, and he knew he needed to let it go.

“Do you fish?” he asked.

She looked up at him with amusement. “Yup. I started when I was four. My grandfather used to take all of us with him once a month for a fishing day. I was so excited when I could finally go with them and I hold the family record for the largest fish caught by a Donovan grandchild.”

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