Dare to Touch Read Free Page A

want to. But he’s so intense. Like, all or nothing, and I honestly don’t know if I’m ready for that.”
    “You could keep spending nights home with your TV or you could go out with a guy who obviously worships you. Really difficult choice.”
    “Oh, that’s rich coming from how hard you fought Ian when he went after you.”
    Riley rubbed her hands together. “Ian scared me because he’s so … dominant. And you know about my father.”
    Riley’s father had been an abusive, controlling bastard. She’d had good reason to be wary of Ian and his dominating personality. Not that he’d ever hurt her. Worship her was more like it. He’d won her over, but not before she’d almost lost him first.
    “I know, but—”
    “Just hear me out, okay?” Riley asked.
    Because Olivia knew her friend was coming from a good place, she nodded.
    “I mistakenly thought trusting Ian would cost me my self-esteem and independence. But you don’t have those issues.”
    “No, but I do have serious trust issues of my own, and you know why.”
    “Yeah. Your father and his other family. You know I’m well aware of both sides of that issue.” Riley was best friends with her half brother, Alex.
    “So I get why you’re wary, but you ought to give Dylan a chance to prove he’s one of the good guys.”
    Olivia forced a smile. There was more to it than just her father. Although she had to admit, he’d been the first man to shatter her faith and continued to do so. She’d thought the sun rose and set on Robert Dare and believed she was his princess, just like he’d always claimed. Problem was, he’d said it when he’d come home from his varied and extended business trips, arms loaded with gifts. And she’d been too young and naïve to know that those presents let him assuage his guilt because he had a mistress and other kids on the side. Kids he gave more time and more of himself to than he ever had to Olivia and her siblings.
    Then came Olivia’s huge college mistake that merely reinforced the fact that she found it difficult to believe what any man she was involved with claimed.
    “Look, I’m sure Dylan is a good guy.” A sexy man with dark hair she wanted to run her fingers through and lips she wanted to taste again, Olivia thought.
    Riley shrugged. “So go into it with your eyes open. Hot, sweaty sex can be very fulfilling. You don’t need to worry about things like relationships and being hurt if you don’t invest your heart.” Riley met her gaze. “Right?”
    A slow smile curled Olivia’s mouth. Maybe she should stop over-thinking things. Dylan wasn’t asking for her hand in marriage, God forbid. Then she’d have to dig into her deepest fears and darkest pain. He was just asking for lunch. And probably more, but that kind of more she could handle.
    Olivia nodded, finally getting her head in the correct frame of mind to deal with Dylan Rhodes.

Chapter Two
    O livia worked through the morning, but as lunchtime crept up on her, she found herself watching the clock. As much as she’d been fighting it earlier, she was looking forward to going out with Dylan and exploring this thing between them.
    Despite the fact that she’d been expecting him—she’d taken a moment to freshen her makeup and fix her hair—when she heard the knock at her door, she nearly jumped out of her seat.
    Glasses on or off, she wondered, then quickly pulled them off. “Come in!”
    Instead of the man she’d been expecting, her brother strode into the room.
    “You’re not Dylan.” Olivia couldn’t hide the disappointment from her voice.
    Her usually stoic brother’s lips turned up in a grin. “Sorry to disappoint you.”
    She wouldn’t touch that comment. “What brings you by?” And how could she get rid of him before her lunch date showed up?
    “Got an emergency with Big,” Ian said, speaking of their trouble-prone tight end, Marcus Bigsby, called “Big” by his fans and the media because of his massive size. The guy was six