When You Dare by Lori Foster Page A

cracked open the door. “You didn’t need to do that.”
    His gaze dipped from her face to her barely visible right shoulder, and back up again. Handing in the bag, he said, “There’s more out here, but this ought to get you started. I stuck the toothbrush and toothpaste in there that I bought yesterday, too.”
    Biting her lips in a long-standing habit, Molly nodded. “Thanks.”
    He put a hand on the door, keeping her from closing it. “You sure you’re okay?”
    Why her heart thundered that way, she couldn’t say. She did trust him. But now that she wasn’t so debilitated, everything seemed…different. More intimate somehow. “Almost like my old self.”
    His eyes narrowed the smallest bit. “You still look shaky to me.”
    A little, but that had more to do with talking to a big, powerful man while wearing only a towel than with her past ordeal. “Not at all.”
    “You’re pale.”
    Odd, since she felt flushed. “My natural coloring?”
    He considered her a moment more and must have decided to let it go. “I’ll be here if you need anything.” He released the door and stepped away.
    Breathless with some unidentifiable emotion, Molly closed the door, locked it with an audible click that made her wince, and dropped back against it.
    From the moment she’d laid eyes on Dare, she’d been aware of his size, his strong shoulders, bulging biceps and broad chest. For her, his strength equaled safety. He’d proved a capable lifeline when she needed one most.
    Now that she could think clearly and those awful shakes had mostly subsided…she saw him as a man.
    And what a man.
    Why hadn’t she noticed before how…how gorgeous he was? She was alone in a small hotel room with over six feet of sexiness. Windblown brown hair, piercing blue eyes, quiet control… Her heart continued to thunder.
    She’d slept with him last night, curled tight along his side for comfort and security….
    Oh, God.
    Heat flooded her face, and she pressed her hands there. On the phone, he’d mentioned “his girls.” Did that mean daughters? Or maybe romantic involvements? And who had he been talking to? If he was in a relationship, had she inadvertently trespassed?
    “Molly?”
    Startled, she jumped away from the door. “Yes?”
    “Are you going to finish your shower or not?”
    Her eyes widened. Could he see through the damn door? Or was he just so attuned to everything and everyone that he heard her utter stillness in the bathroom?
    She cleared her throat. “Yes, getting to it right now.” Then she frowned and added, “Turn on the television or something.” She didn’t want him listening to her every movement.
    When she heard the TV turn on—loudly—she rummaged through the bag he’d given her.
    Toothbrush and toothpaste! Absurdly excited, she ignored the clothes and went scouting through the rest of the items, finding lotion, nail clippers and an emery board, a razor, and better shampoo and conditioner.
    God love the man. How could someone so gruff, so… deadly, also be so sensitive?
    Thrilled, she climbed back in the shower with much of her stash. Unmindful of wasting water, she cleaned her teeth until her mouth felt fresh again. The shampoo and conditioner had a pleasing scent and went a long way toward making her hair feel less like a rag mop. She even shaved her legs, careful of the scrapes and uglier bruises.
    By the time she finished her shower and dried off, her newfound energy had waned. But she wasn’t about to put on the new clothes he’d bought until she slathered on the lotion and clipped her ragged nails.
    The clothes were similar to what he’d already brought her, just in different colors. Except for the panties; they remained plain white cotton.
    Dressed, refreshed but tuckered out, she opened the door and stepped out to find Dare ignoring the blaring television as he stood to the side of the window, peering out. He looked suspicious of something, or someone.
    Her heart tripped. Another threat?