Page 3 of Sexy Dare (The Sexy 1)

“Pretty sure that won’t help,” Kelsey said, just as Faith muttered an obscene curse thanks to the pain shooting through her foot.

She was in so much agony, she barely registered the car stopping, then pulling into the open spot in front of her van until a large man approached them, making her aware they were two women alone on an empty street in the dark.

Using the wrench as her defense, she held it up in front of her. “Don’t come near us.”

“Relax.” He stepped to the side until he was underneath a streetlamp, the glow illuminating his features. “Do I look like a killer to you?”

She studied him, a handsome man with dark brown hair, in a wool coat with his tie visible. “Ted Bundy was handsome, too.”

He grinned and her heart skipped a beat. My God, he was good-looking. A dimple beside that amazing smile winked at her, and body parts she’d thought long dead came to life.

“Thank you … I think?” he said with a shake of his head. “Or not. Look, you obviously need help.” He strode past her, ignoring her weaponry, and knelt down by the tire. “What about roadside assistance? Did you call?”

She glanced at his obviously expensive coat, had noted his suit beneath and brand name shoes. “Umm, does this old hunk of junk look like it comes with roadside assistance?” She shot him a look of disbelief. “Some of us can’t afford luxuries and AAA is definitely a luxury.”

From somewhere behind her, Kelsey, who had been silent, laughed out loud.

When he didn’t immediately reply, Faith braced her hands on her hips and studied him, wondering why he’d stopped in the first place. “Listen, I appreciate the fact that you tried to help, but I’ll figure something out.”

He slowly rose to his feet. “Do you have a spare? You must if you were trying to take this one off.”

“I assume I do, underneath all the baskets I just loaded into the back.” She heard the frustration in her voice and fought back an inkling of defeat. She wasn’t going to fall apart over a flat tire and ruined plans.

“You assume?” He shook his head and strode around to the back end of the van, glancing inside and muttering a curse.

“There’s no obvious spare in here, so we’ll have to unload all this to see what’s underneath. What is all that anyway?” he asked.

“Candy. Homemade.”

“Interesting.” He raised his eyebrows, his gaze going from the sweet treats in the back to her face before he spoke. “Jason Dare,” he said, extending his hand.

“Faith Lancaster.” She placed her hand in his, and the heat of his skin sizzled against her palm.

“Nice to meet you, Faith.” He curled his fingers around hers and lingered longer than was necessary for a handshake. Long enough for her body to tingle with awareness before he released her.

“And this is my intern, Kelsey,” Faith said.

The other woman smiled at him but didn’t shake his hand.

“What do you do for a living?” Faith asked in a husky voice she barely recognized, her entire body still hyperaware of that one brush of his skin.

“I own a nightclub. Club TEN29. Have you heard of it?” he asked.

She shook her head. She never went out to party at night, so what would she know about the club scene? But this man looked like he fit into it, with his sexy tousled brown hair that he probably paid a fortune to get cut so it fell just that way.

“Oh my God! My friends and I have been dying to go, but there’s always such a long line to get in,” Kelsey said, her excitement tangible.

She’d been so quiet, Faith had almost forgotten she was there.

“Well, here’s my business card,” Jason said, putting his hand in his coat pocket and coming out with a few cards. He handed one to Kelsey, who was bouncing on her feet in excitement. “Just show it to security and they’ll let you right in or, at the very least, call me.”

“Oh my God, thank you!” she practically squealed.

His gaze settled on Faith’s face. “Now, let’s see to that spare.”

* * *

If Jason had to peg the type of woman he liked, tall and willowy would describe most of his hookups, yet he couldn’t stop staring at the full-figured, curvy blonde with the porcelain skin and full lips who created candy, of all things.

“Let’s move the baskets back to the apartment,” Faith said, breaking the spell that had woven between them as they stared at one another, both clearly struck by something bigger than themselves.

“I’ll take some.” Kelsey walked between them and started to work.

Together they unloaded the candy, which Faith and her assistant brought back upstairs to what he assumed was her apartment while he did something he hadn’t done since college.

It was a miracle he knew how to change a tire.

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