Triple Dare by Regina Kyle Read Free Book Online

increasing the distance between them. “Any woman?”
    Cade didn’t answer. Instead, he pulled into the driveway, jamming the gearshift into Park but not turning off the engine.
    Ivy got the message, loud and clear. As far as he was concerned the night—and their conversation—was over. The second she got out of the car he’d make his escape. But she wasn’t giving up that easy.
    She settled into her seat and crossed her arms. “So you’re telling me you’re not the least bit attracted to me?”
    “We’ve known each other for ages. I’m your brother’s best friend.”
    “That doesn’t answer my question.”
    He ran a hand through his honey-blond hair, something she’d longed to do for what seemed like an eternity.
    “It’s a damn good thing Gabe’s in New York. If he caught us, he’d have beaten the shit out of me.” Cade smirked. “Or tried.”
    Ivy glared at him. “If you hadn’t noticed, I’m all grown up. Gabe has nothing to do with this. With us.”
    “There is no
us
.” He said the last word like it was one of the little brown nuggets the Canadian geese left on the lakeshore.
    “Don’t get all commitment-phobic on me. I’m not talking me in a white gown and you in your dress blues. I’m blowing this Popsicle stand as soon as Dad’s back on his feet. But in the meantime we’re clearly hot for each other. We’ve got an itch. Who says we can’t scratch it?”
    “Me.” He reached across her for the door handle.
    She stopped him with a hand on his forearm. “Think of it as added insurance against another messy confrontation with Sasha.”
    “There’s a big difference between making her think we’re an item and ruining our friendship by jumping in the sack together.”
    “Is that what you’re worried about? Our friendship? We’ve barely spoken to each other in years.”
    Her own fault, she knew, for staying away so long, but still an indisputable fact. Her grip on his arm tightened, the soft hairs tickling her palm. She wondered if the hair on his chest was as silky. Or the treasure trail leading down to his waistband...and below.
    Cade jerked back as if he could read the direction of her thoughts.
    “Friends don’t have to talk on the phone every day to stay close,” he insisted, his voice sincere. “And that’s what we are, right? Friends.”
    Great. Friend-zoned again. The curse of the full-figured gal. Guys took one look at her and immediately put her on the do-not-date list.
    “Fine, friend.” The last word dripped with sarcasm and tears threatened to spill down her cheeks. She blinked to keep them at bay. She’d been fifty times a fool thinking a little makeup and some revealing clothes would make Cade see her as a desirable woman and not the fat chick always snapping pictures for the high school yearbook. Okay, so his dick had noticed. But not his head. Or his heart.
    The parts that mattered to her.
    No, no, no.
This wasn’t about heads or hearts. She was leaving in a few weeks. He was staying. All it was about—all it ever could be about—was down-and-dirty, no-strings-attached, good-enough-to-last-the-rest-of-your-lifetime sex.
    Too bad he didn’t see it that way.
    With jerky movements, she unbuttoned the borrowed jersey. “See you around. Good luck with Sasha. She doesn’t strike me as a woman who takes ‘no’ lying down.”
    “Ivy, wait...”
    But she’d waited long enough for Cade Hardesty. Sixteen years, to be exact, since grade school, when she’d started to notice things about her brother’s best buddy. Like his full, firm, oh-so-kissable lips and his solid-looking chest with the dusting of hair she saw when he took his shirt off in the summer and God, oh, God, the vee at his hips pointing to nirvana that made her brain freeze.
    Her palms sweaty, she took off his shirt, balled it up and threw it at him, leaving her half-naked in her sports bra. But he sure as hell didn’t care, and neither did she. “Here. I’d offer to wash it, but I’m sure