Dare to Tease: A Dare Nation Novella, Carly Phillips [well read books TXT] 📗

He lifted his head, his coffee-colored eyes focused on hers. “Yeah. Do you have a date this weekend?”

She blinked, her brain processing his question. “Are you saying I can’t go out with someone because my hands are hurt?” Because that made no sense. Unless he was hinting at something more.

“That’s exactly what I’m saying. Unless you go with someone capable of taking care of you.” His fingers linked with hers, careful not to rub his bigger hand against her palms.

She tipped her head to the side. “Someone like you?” she prodded.

“Someone exactly like me.”

That damned smile showed itself again, and her insides turned to mush. No man had ever had such a potent impact. “Are you asking me out, Dr. Northfield?”

Chapter Three

“I’m not only asking you out, I’m asking you to come to New York with me,” he said.

Bri’s eyes opened wide at the out-of-the-blue question.

“My cousin Serena is getting married, and I’d like you to go with me.” He picked up the roll of gauze and started to wrap her other hand. “Serena and I are close. She’s the one relative who completely gets that I want to do my own thing outside family expectations because she’s the same way. She met her soon-to-be husband at the gym she works out at. He’s a trainer. Suffice to say, her parents are paying for this wedding with gritted teeth.”

Bri glanced at him in understanding. “Braden mentioned your family is…” She trailed off in search of words that sounded nicer than upper-class snobs and couldn’t find any.

“Stuffy? Full of themselves? High and mighty with ridiculous expectations? Yes, that’s them.” He shook his head and laughed, but she heard the pain he hid beneath that forced sound and the wounded expression he couldn’t completely conceal. “That’s the drawback to attending, but there are perks, too.” He finished bandaging her hand and put the gauze and tape on the counter.

“Oh, yeah? Name one,” she said because she was seriously considering saying yes.

“Me. I’ll be by your side.”

Arrogant man, she thought with amusement. “Your cousin can add someone so close to the event?”

He nodded. “I spoke to her this morning, and it’s no problem. Because she loves me.” He raised his eyebrows and studied her. “Well?”

Bri wasn’t impulsive. She thought things through and went over the pros and cons in her mind. She just did it faster than most people, because in her business, she had to make split-second decisions to protect a player, fix a problem, or cover up a mistake. Where the press, paparazzi, and reputations were concerned, she often had to act quickly.

In this case, Hudson wasn’t a stranger. She liked him, was seriously attracted, knew he kissed better than any man she’d met, and he wasn’t using her for anything. The only cons were her annoying brothers, but driving them crazy was also sort of a plus in her mind. She and Hudson could have fun in the city, she’d learn about him without Braden interrupting, and she’d get to meet his enigmatic family and learn what made him tick.

“We’ll be staying in a hotel and can get separate rooms if that’s what’s holding you back,” he said in the wake of her silence.

She clasped his face between her hands – more like between her fingers, sparing her palms — and asked, “What if I don’t want separate rooms?”

A sparkle lit his eyes. “Then I’ll book one room,” he said in a husky voice. “You’re sure?”

“Are you trying to make me second-guess myself?” she asked with a teasing grin. She was already certain.

If just a kiss generated the kind of heat that kept her tossing and turning, what would a joining of their bodies do to her? She wanted this weekend for herself. She deserved it.

She hadn’t been with a man in over a year, someone she’d chosen to scratch an itch, so to speak, and had learned her vibrator was a better choice. No one got too close. Not since the last relationship she’d had. Bri thought she’d been dating a salesman with no ties to the sports industry. In reality he’d wanted Damon to endorse a new energy drink his company was producing, and Austin, as Damon’s agent, had already turned him down.

At that point, she’d shut down the idea of relationships and focused on herself. She had a feeling Hudson could decimate that self-made promise, but running the pros and cons, she didn’t see a downside.

And when his lips met hers, she was even more sure. Just like last time, the kiss spiraled fast, their tongues intertwining, his hand coming up to grip the back of her neck and hold on tight.

She moaned and leaned into him, tasting a hint of mint and coffee, his hard chest pressing against hers, her breasts and hardened nipples rubbing against the fabric of her shirt. He lifted her shirt and slid his hands beneath the material, his calloused fingers sliding along her skin. Goose bumps prickled over her flesh, and arousal spread through her, thick and heavy.

Her head swirled, a buzzing noise sounding in her ears.

“Shit,” he muttered, lifting his head. “My phone.”

“Answer it,” she said, knowing, as a doctor, any call for him could be important.

A regret-filled expression on his face, he pulled his phone from his pocket, drawing her attention to the hard erection tenting his pants.

“What?” Hudson’s bark into the phone stunned her, and she glanced up, startled by the tone she’d never heard from him before.

“No, Dad, I’m not staying at the house. I’m staying at a hotel with Brianne.” He paused, listening. “She’s the guest I told you I was bringing,” he said through clenched teeth.

She raised her eyebrows, and Hudson shot her an apologetic glance.

Apparently his father didn’t approve of Hudson’s plus-one if he was playing the I didn’t remember game. She’d known their relationship was difficult, and now she was seeing how it affected Hudson firsthand, the stress his father caused just by hearing his