Devlin's Dare by Sabrina York Page B

before—ending it.
    But now he was faced with this. This woman, spouting the same idiotic philosophy.
    And it was …idiotic.
    She wanted a fuck buddy. Someone who would show up for a booty call, give her what she wanted and then quietly leave.
    Oddly enough, the prospect irritated the hell out of him.
    Because suddenly, incomprehensibly, he wanted more.
    And he wanted more with her.
    And while he would do just about anything to be with her, to his astonishment, he realized he didn’t think he could offer her that.
    For some reason the thought of nothing but casual sex with this woman—whose name he did not know—sent a piercing shaft through his heart.

Chapter Eleven
     
    He’d said no.
    Tara stumbled over a root as she followed Bella and Holt up the path back home, her mind awhirl. She was thankful for the shadows. She didn ’t think she could explain away the tears on her cheeks.
    He’d said no.
    Even though it had been his idea in the first place. Or had it? She thought back to their conversation but couldn’t remember it clearly. All she could see in her mind’s eye was his face as, all of a sudden his smile had faded, his brow had knit and he’d said, “No. I don’t think so.”
    And why the hell did it bother her so much? It was what she’d wanted, wasn’t it? To fuck him and walk away?
    Surely there wasn’t a teeny tiny part of her that had expected him to bristle and say, “No. Damn it woman. I want you and you alone.” And then maybe pull her back into his arms and ravage the shit out of her.
    But he hadn’t.
    Quietly, gently, devastatingly, he’d said, “No. I don’t think so. I can’t be your fuck buddy.” And then he’d tenderly laced up her corset, kissed her on the forehead and left.
    She should be happy. She should be delighted. She should be delirious with glee. She’d gotten her itch scratched by the hottest man on the planet and walked away unscathed, unfettered. Absolutely free of him.
    Her mood sank deeper at the thought.
    Holt tossed a glance at her over his shoulder. “So what’s the deal with you and Devlin?” he asked.
    Tara glared at him, though he could hardly see it through the darkness. “Nothing.”
    Bella blew out a laugh, winding her arm around Holt’s. “It hardly looked like nothing when he was giving you that lap dance.”
    “It was nothing.”
    “And where did you and Devlin go off to?”
    “Off too?” Why didn’t they both just shut up?
    “Yeah.” Holt slowed and waited for her to catch up as the path widened enough for them to walk three abreast. She was hardly appreciative. “We finished the Dom Pong and you were gone.”
    D amn him. She used to think his protective streak was cute. Not anymore. “I’m a grown up, Holt.”
    “But I thought you didn’t like him,” Bella murmured. “You said he was a douche.” Her nose wrinkled. “Didn’t he give your bakery a bad review or something?”
    “There’s nothing between us.” The words came out sharper than she intended.
    Bella fell silent and then, after a moment, murmured. “It didn’t look like nothing. When he was giving you that lap dance.”
    “Will you please stop talking about the lap dance? It was only a game.”
    Bella didn’t respond. But Tara didn’t miss the frowns she and Holt exchanged.
    No one spoke again until they reached the deck of their place. Holt nodded to Bella to go on in, but he snagged Tara’s arm as she tried to pass.
    “What?” she snapped.
    “Nothing much, Tara,” he murmured. “Just , if that douche hurt you, I will rip him apart.”
    “ He didn’t hurt me, Holt,” she said, wrenching free and slipping past him through the slider.
    In order for Devlin to hurt her, she had to have feelings for him. And she didn’t.
    Not at all.
    Not hardly at all.
    And the fact that she couldn’t stop thinking about him had nothing to do with the fact he’d said no.
    Nothing at all.
    Really.
     
    On Monday it was back to the grind. Tara went to bed early on Sunday