If You Dare by Jessica Lemmon Page A

fair and basically what she’d accused him of doing. But it wasn’t the truth. “I wanted into yours just as badly,” she admitted.
    Despite his narrowed eyes, she felt as if she’d made a bit of headway with that truth.
    He lifted his chin and looked down at her. “And?”
    She felt her eyebrows rise. “And?”
    He shifted his body so he faced her, so close that his broad shoulders blocked her view of the bookshelf behind him. Leaning closer to her, his breath sifting into her hair, he said, “And did I satisfy your curiosity?”
    His tone was hard, his back rigid. And yet she sensed he really wanted to know. Was he actually asking how he was in the sack? If she’d had scorecards, she’d have raised a number ten.
    In each hand.
    “You want the truth?” she asked.
    A soft grunt, then, “Why not?”
    She risked placing her palm on his chest. He let her. “You left me satisfied,” she said, “yet wanting more.”
    He blinked, cocking his head to one side in suspicion. “Don’t tease me, McIntire.”
    At the blatant use of her last name and his teasing tone, Lily knew she’d gotten through to him. She could feel the shift in the air between them. He wasn’t mad at her anymore. If she wasn’t worried he’d think she was gloating, she may have smiled.
    She pulled her hand from his chest and drew an X over her heart. “No fooling.”
    His mouth hitched at the corner. Just enough to light the wry glint in his eyes. “You’re not just fishing for a compliment for yourself?” Marcus was back to himself. His charming, rakish, cocky self. And so damn sexy, her knees went gooey.
    She shook her head. “No. I know how good I am in bed.”
    The barest dent of the dimple in his cheek tried to form, but he held his expression in check. “Come here,” he commanded.
    With pleasure.
    One step should have brought her into the circle of his arms, but the moment she set foot on the rotted board between them, it gave way beneath her. She screeched and felt herself begin to fall, heard the tear of her pants as they caught on a jagged piece of flooring.
    Marcus reacted quickly, gripping her upper arm and tugging her roughly to his side in time for her to see one of her sneakers fall to the first floor below. Lily stared, knowing very well that could have been her limp body..She tightened her hold around his torso as he leaned forward—ever so carefully—and untangled her pant leg from the broken board.
    He straightened, pulling her close, then he yelled, “This is so stupid!”
    Lily jerked in his arms. It may have been the first time she’d ever heard him raise his voice. No matter what went wrong at work, no matter what had Clive pacing and cursing in the conference room, Marcus was the cool, calm, and collected one.
    His hand splayed on the small of her back, warm and gentle despite his body vibrating with anger, or fear, or a combination of the two. She peered up at him.
    His eyes, and tone, softened. “Don’t do that again.”
    She nodded.
    Like he couldn’t help himself, he pressed her against his body and kissed her. When he backed away, he moved to lift her into his arms.
    She stayed him with one hand. “I’m not sure how much combined weight this floor can take.”
    Given the grimace on his face, he either didn’t like her suggestion or was upset he hadn’t thought of it first. He hesitated as if trying to decide to listen to her or not.
    “I can walk.”
    With a sigh, he finally mumbled. “Fine. But hold onto me. And stay on the inside wall.”
    He made a wide arc around the fresh hole in the floor and Lily obeyed, following his path, not daring to step anywhere he didn’t step first. She hobbled into the hallway in one shoe and one now-sopping sock, leaning on him for support.
    Jingling bells brought him to a halt and her next to him. This time, the disembodied voice from earlier followed. The same tinny feminine voice uttered one word.
    “Go.”
    Lily, shaken from her near-death experience, was