Dare To Love Series: Hot Dare (Kindle Worlds Novella) by Avery Flynn Read Free Book Online

touch.
    Disappointment darkened the blue of his eyes, but only for a second. “ I don’ t snore.”
    “Sure you don ’ t.” Making her move before she changed her mind, she flipped off the covers and stood up beside the bed. The hem of his jersey brushed against her thighs—a poor substitute for the feel of him underneath her when she ’ d woken up. “I call dibs on the bathroom.”
    She grabbed today ’ s outfit she ’ d laid out before her unexpected guest arrived last night and scurried into the bathroom, ignoring his low laugh as he watched her from the comfort of their warm bed.
    Forty-five minutes later she emerged from the bathroom showered, dressed and back in her right frame of mind.
    “It ’ s all yours,” she said.
    “Got it.” Sitting on the bed in only his boxer briefs, he never looked away from the TV screen, but even from across the small room she could see the vein pulsing in his temple.
    Two men on the screen were discussing the Thunder ’ s top prospects in the draft, but at the bottom of the screen in bold letters was the question: Who should start at linebacker: LeRoi Harper or Colt “45” Butler? Tweet your vote to @ThunderNation.
    Damn. There was a downside to having everyone in the world—or at least the Miami area—watching your every move and wanting their say about it. Work evaluations were rarely fun in private; in public, they had to be mortifying. Chewing the inside of her cheek, Angie walked over to the bed, racking her brain for something to say to Colt to lessen the pressure he obviously felt.
    “It ’ s just a dumb poll.” She squeezed his shoulder. “It doesn ’ t mean anything.”
    Colt shook off her hand and stood up, his face a dark mask of anger and frustration. “Only my livelihood.”
    Without another word, he marched across the room to the bathroom, shutting the door behind him with a loud thunk.
     

     
    An hour and two ulcers later, Angie pulled Colt farther into the wings of the cruise ship ’ s main stage. The audience was packed full of Thunder fans impatiently waiting for the players versus fans charades tournament to begin. It would have started fifteen minutes ago, if the overgrown jerk in front of her would do what he ’ d agreed to do.
    “What do you mean, no?” Angie closed her eyes and sucked in a deep breath, every last ounce of sympathy she ’ d been nursing for Colt after this morning melting away faster than ice cream at South Beach. “You signed up for this.”
    He grimaced. “I agreed to signings and those God-awful cocktail parties.” He bit out the words as if he ’ d agreed to scrub toilets with his toothbrush. “There is no way in hell Manny would ever give the go-ahead to me acting like a performing monkey joining in on party games on a stage bigger than the trailer I grew up in.”
    “Funny you should mention your agent, because Manny and I talked specifically about these type of events,” she shot back. “That he didn ’ t tell you, and that you didn ’ t read the contract before you signed it, isn ’ t my problem.”
    He folded his arms across his massive chest and kept his gaze locked solidly above her left shoulder. “No.”
    Frustration jacked her heart rate up so fast, her whole body vibrated. She needed this. He needed this. But he was too damn stubborn to see any of it. Reaching up on her tiptoes, she jabbed her finger into his unyielding chest. “You go out there and play nice with your fans or I swear to God I ’ ll—”
    “You ’ ll what? Drag me out there by my ear?” He took a step closer, eliminating the space between them. “Good luck with that.”
    Instead of the tip of her finger poking him, her entire palm rested over his fast-beating heart, the contact and heat of the argument ratcheting up her every primal reaction. Frustration. Annoyance. Hunger. The same things she saw reflected in his blue eyes, made dark by a combination of lust and determination. His gaze dropped to her lips, which had