Page 28 of Karma

“Will do.” Dare waited until the doctor disappeared behind the drawn curtain and turned to Liza.

Walking over, he lowered the side rail and settled onto the mattress beside her. “How are you doing?” he asked, his voice gruff.

That tone triggered memories of his reaction in the minutes after Brian nailed her and she’d fallen to the ground.

“You called me ‘baby,’” she said, remembering. “After I got hit, I mean.” She knew it was an inane comment, but she couldn’t believe it then or now.

“Yeah, I guess I did.” Dare paused. “Does that bother you?”

No, actually, she’d liked the familiarity. “It’s just thatbabyimplies we have a connection or something.”

Then again, so did his stepping up and offering to take care of her.

“Are you saying we don’t?” he asked.

He lifted her hand, threading his fingers through hers. Heat exploded across her skin, making his question purely rhetorical.

“Come on. Let me help get you home. Right now you need to sleep a hell of a lot more than you need to analyze us.”

She couldn’t argue with that point either. So she exhaled and placed her hand inside his.

***

Liza gave Darethe address to her house right before leaning her head back and falling asleep, leaving him with nothing but time to think about Liza and the puzzle she presented him with. He might not know her well, but there were two things he’d figured out about her already. Intimacy scared her and she didn’t like needing anybody for anything.

A challenge.

He liked that in a woman.

Too many females in his past were too easy and tended to fall into one of three categories: they liked being with a cop, they liked being in a relationship, or they liked easy sex. And though Dare enjoyed sex as much as the next guy, he was tired of coming home alone to the small apartment he called home. Not that he’d admit as much to his brothers or their nosy wives.

Living over Joe’s was better than living with either of his brothers, but Dare was coming to realize he wanted more out of his life. He wasn’t sure what jarred these feelings loose. Maybe Ethan’s and Nash’s settling down had Dare more antsy. Or maybe it was the simple fact of living in a one-bedroom above a bar that left him feeling so unsettled.

He pulled into the small driveway of Liza’s home. With her asleep, he took in the small house, an off-white clapboard with black shutters and white trim. The grass had been recently mowed, the shrubbery was obviously new, and she clearly loved flowers. Pink, white, and red impatiens blossomed around the foundation of the house. Dare wasn’t a gardener, but he had spent a day under duress with Ethan, Faith, and Tess, choosing new flowers for their backyard. Tess said she wouldn’t go unless Dare did, and she’d turned those pleading eyes on him, begging him to come along. So he recognized impatiens when he saw them.

He cut the engine and walked around to Liza’s side of the car. She predictably balked at him carrying her, and Dare had dealt with enough women to know when to give in and when to fight the good fight. He was here, and that was what mattered. He plucked her keys from her hand and helped her walk to the front door.

She disabled her alarm, which he was glad to see she used, and they stepped inside. She’d already begun to sag against him.

“Which way to the bedroom?” he asked.

“Up the stairs and to the left.” Because the house was a small split-level, there were no more than four steps up.

“Ready?” he asked when they reached the banister.

“Yep.” She took one step, then another, her smaller body leaning heavily against his.

She trusted him. Either that or she’d given in to her body’s inability to handle any more today. She curled into him, her soft curves and warm flesh tempting him beyond reason, which made him all sorts of a jerk considering the pain she was in. Still, it wasn’t easy walking her into her bedroom. A feminine scent immediately surrounded him. He gritted his teeth and eased her over to the bed and gently lowered her to the mattress. No sooner had she sat down than she immediately let herself crash into the fluffy decorative pillows set up against the headboard.

What now?

Stepping back, he glanced around him. Her personal space surprised him. She hadn’t chosen the more ruffled feminine type of furnishings nor had she gone for heavy floral. Instead, the bedding was a light taupe and cream with an occasional lavender accent. Very unique. Very Liza, he decided and smiled, the thought bringing his focus back to where she lay among the pillows. Her short skirt had hiked up her legs, revealing an expanse of thigh along with a teasing glimpse of pink lace underwear.

Dare stifled a groan. “Do you want to change into something more comfortable?” he asked. Something he could look at and not get hard would be preferable.

“Can’t move.” She burrowed farther into the pillows.

An afghan blanket was folded at the end of the bed. He opened it up and covered her bare skin. “This way, you won’t be cold,” he said.

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