Page 70 of Dare Me

The smile she gave him said how much that pleased her. “Okay, lay it on me and make it a good one.”

“If we hadn’t met in San Francisco and I showed up here in town with Liam, would you have let anyone dare you to introduce yourself?”

“Hmm…it’s a moot point.”

“Seriously? How?”

“Because my brother would have introduced you to all of us and he would have brought you around just like he did, and I would have seen you at the pub and at family dinners.” She paused and thought about it for a moment. “We probably would have flirted a bit and then either my mother or Liam would have metaphorically slapped my hand and said, ‘Not for you!’ while telling you to back off.”

“Huh…”

“Then my sister would have dared me to do something to get your attention and I would have totally done it,” she added sassily.

“Yeah? Like what?”

“Definitely not singing like my idiot brother did,” she said with disgust, shaking her head. “But probably something fun and flirty and I would have been all over you.” Slowly, she pulled her feet from his hands and maneuvered herself so she was facing him before crawling into his lap. “Just like I am right now.”

He loved this playful and sexy side of her.

“Are we bringing dessert inside with us now or am I coming out and grabbing it later?” he asked gruffly, leaning in close and nipping at her jaw and throat. She smelled like flowers and sunshine and as innocent as it sounded, it was sexy as hell on her.

“Mmm…I think we need to save the dessert for a little later after we’ve earned it.”

Will wrapped his arms around her waist as he stood. “Hold on to me, beautiful girl.”

She was completely wrapped around him as he slowly walked them into her bedroom. In a perfect world, he’d be walking them into a room that belonged to both of them—with a king size bed and enough room for them to move around without tripping over anything. It was too soon to think about it, but lately it seemed like his mind kept going there and he couldn’t help it.

Soon.

They had just taken a big step in their relationship tonight, so for now, this was good.

It was enough.

There was plenty of time for them to start planning their future.

On Sunday morning, Will woke up early. Arianna was sound asleep beside him and he knew for a fact that she enjoyed sleeping in on the weekends. It would be easy to simply lie there with her until a decent hour, but he felt a little restless and thought about going for a run and then maybe picking up some breakfast for the two of them.

Carefully, he climbed from the bed—which thankfully was no longer on the floor—and pulled his jeans back on. Kissing her softly on the head, he walked out of the bedroom and looked around for his sneakers, then cursed the fact that he didn’t have a shirt with him to put on—not that anyone was going to see him. It was six-thirty in the morning and he was only walking across the hall.

“Even if it’s chilly, I think I can stand it for thirty seconds,” he quietly chided himself.

In the kitchen, he found some scrap paper and left Arianna a note telling her he’d be back in an hour or so. It was a bit of an old-school thing to do, but he knew if he texted her, she’d wake up. She kept her phone on her bedside table like a lifeline. He’d text her after he got back and had a chance to shower. Hopefully she’d be up by then and they could have breakfast.

At the door, he paused and listened to see if maybe she was waking up, but everything was still quiet. With a small sigh, he let himself out and was backing out into the hallway when he heard someone clear their throat.

“Will?”

Shit.

Shit. Shit. Shit!

Liam was standing in front of Will’s door with a look of utter shock on his face. It was clear he was registering the fact that Will was half-naked and sneaking out of someone else’s apartment.

“What the hell are you doing?” he asked and Will knew he needed a moment to get his thoughts straight.

“Hey, Liam,” he said casually while rubbing his bare arms because it was cold out here. “What are you doing back so early? I thought you were staying in Virginia Beach until tonight.”

“Change of plans,” he said tightly before nodding to Arianna’s door. “Seriously, what the hell are you doing?”

---