Double Dare

“Nice to meet you, Jesse. I’ll see you later, maybe.”

Fascinated, he murmured his goodbye and watched her walk away.

No maybe about it, he didn’t plan to wait for later. Jesse started to slide off the barstool to follow her. Half out of his seat, he watched, baffled, as she stopped at Davey’s table. She leaned across the narrow circular surface and said something that made the dork blush. Jesse watched the guy start stuttering and babbling.

With a frown, Jesse settled back on the barstool to watch. What did Audra have to do with a guy like Davey Larson? A simple blind date, like she’d said? A blind date, of a sort? What sort? Dave Larson was hip deep in crime, both organized and sloppy. Where did Audra come in?

Rumor had it Davey had caught the eye of the top echelon of a local crime ring. The head of that ring had a habit of using his women for deliveries. Was she the handoff? Delivery or receiving? Either way, it boded poorly for Jesse’s shot at experiencing his ultimate fantasy.

A haze of jealousy blurred his vision when, instead of taking the seat opposite Davey, Audra slid around to sit next to him. Damn near in the dork’s lap. When she tiptoed those delicate fingers of hers up the guy’s butt-ugly tie, Jesse actually growled out loud.

Jesse watched Audra lean in close to Davey and whisper something. Whatever it was must have been a doozy, because Dave jumped as if she’d goosed him. A damp sheen coated his lanky face and his eyes bulged. Audra looped her finger through the knot on his tie and Davey skittered back. A group of partyers blocked Jesse’s view. He craned his neck but could barely see the tops of their heads.

When the crowd shifted, Jesse saw Davey shaking his head like crazy. She said something, and Dave turned a little green around the gills, then jumped up from the table. Audra stared wide-eyed at him as he babbled. She was lucky not to get nailed in the face by the wild gestures the dork made. He finally ran out of steam. Mouth ajar, Audra looked stunned for a second, then said something. When Davey gave a frantic shake of his head, she held out her hand. Jesse couldn’t see what she was holding, but Davey’s eyes bulged in horror and he scampered away from the table, throwing one last comment over his skinny shoulder.

Jesse slid from his seat, prepared to follow Dave. He hesitated, glancing at Audra. Even with her mouth hanging open, she was the sexiest thing he’d ever seen. He debated between pursuing Dave or hooking up with Audra to find out what her connection was.

Before he could take a step toward her, though, she was surrounded by three women, their shocked expressions all matching Audra’s. He eyed the blonde, redhead and brunette, but none popped up as criminals in his mental data bank. Then again, neither had Audra.

From the looks of them, the ladies would be around for a while. Davey, though, was scurrying off like a scared rat. Jesse hightailed it after the rat, but couldn’t help shooting a final look of regret for the woman who’d briefly held the promise of fulfilling his every fantasy.

2

“WHAT THE HELL happened?” Suzi demanded, her voice filled with the same shock coursing through Audra’s system. “I figured a geek like that would have lousy staying power, but you barely touched him.”

“He didn’t…” Bea gestured to her crotch area and scrunched up her face in disgust. “Just from you talking to him, did he?”

Audra squinted in question, then shuddered as Bea’s meaning sank in. “Eww, no.”

“Then why’d he run?”

Audra opened her mouth, then closed it with a baffled shake of her head. Her fingers clenched the strip of fabric in her hand. She had no clue. She’d made plenty of guys tremble over the years, but she’d never made one run before. When her friends had first started spouting off that she wasn’t a Wicked Chick anymore, it had been easy to ignore them.

But now? Audra’s breath hitched. Were they right? Was she losing it?

“I think he mistook me for someone else,” Audra finally admitted. “He babbled a few things I didn’t understand and when I suggested we get to know each other better, he ran like a sissy-lala.”

Isabel took the tie from her, grimacing at the ugly green piece of patterned polyester.

Suzi flicked the flimsy fabric and wrinkled her nose. “Nice souvenir, Audra,” she said. “What’re you going to do with it?”

“I have no clue,” she admitted. “I’ve rendered men dumb before, but none have ever hit the level of idiocy this guy did. I flirted, he babbled. I finally resorted to complimenting that ugly tie. He promptly ripped it off and tossed it at me just before he ran off like a scaredy-cat.”

They all stared at the offense to fashion.

“Does this mean you failed the dare?” Suzi asked in a breathy tone of shock.

Audra’s gaze shot to hers. Failed?

“She didn’t fail,” Bea snapped. “She isn’t to blame if a guy can’t keep it up. He obviously had issues and ran.”

But Audra saw it in her friend’s eyes. Even Isabel’s held a faint glint of that dreaded emotion.

Pity.

Audra had failed. The first Wicked Chick to blow a dare.

“You’re right, that wasn’t failure,” Suzi finally agreed. “Who knows, maybe he’s not into chicks or something.”

Bea gave a snort of laughter and shrugged. “So we, what? Chalk it up to a first? Wanna get another round of drinks and dance?”

Audra realized her friends would let it go then. They’d pushed the dare as a means to prove she hadn’t moved on. That she was still one of the girls.

But now? Now she had something to prove to herself.

“Hey, I’m not done yet,” she told them. “You dared me, I need to fulfill the dare.”

“How?” Isabel wanted to know.

“New dare?” Bea suggested with a shrug.

“Like?” Audra asked.

“Simple,” Suzi claimed. “You do the next guy to come through the door.”

Audra sucked in a breath, ignored the voice in the back of her head claiming she was so over this dare crap, and nodded. Over it or not, she has something to prove. She eyed the tie as Isabel glanced at the ugly thing, then at Audra’s tiny purse. With a grimace, her friend tucked it into her own hobo bag.

Audra glanced around for Jesse. Gone. At least he hadn’t witnessed her failure. She didn’t know why it mattered, but it did. Shoving the thought aside, she focused on the entryway and hoped to hell the next guy through the door wasn’t a bigger geek than the one who’d just run away. It was probably asking too much for him to be as hot as the appetizer she’d enjoyed earlier.

JESSE SHOULDERED his way through the crowd waiting to enter the club and looked around for Davey. He didn’t have to look far. The geek was huddled over his cell phone a few feet from the entrance, obviously waiting for a valet to bring his car around.

Jesse sidled closer, staying out of the guy’s line of vision, until he could hear the one-sided conversation over the noise of the crowd.

“Look, I did my part. I passed the info to your bimbo. When do I get my money?”

Jesse leaned a shoulder against the building and let out a sigh. Not only could Audra undoubtedly talk dirty enough to have a man begging for release…she was dirty. As in, criminally dirty.

Damn.

He listened with half an ear as Davey negotiated fund transfers and time frames. He’d be able to track the payoff through Dave’s computer, no problem.

Which meant he was that much closer to solving the case. At least, a part of the case. He’d come to realize in the last few days that Dave Larson was a small piece of a much larger puzzle.

And Jesse wanted the bigger picture. And the promotion that would come with it.

Hell, he was twenty-eight. His late father had already made lieutenant by this age. Of course, Jesse had spent four years earning his degree in computer science, but he should still be farther up the food chain.

This case, the undercover work and proving he could step outside his cozy computer world would seal that promotion for him.

And prove once and for all that he was just as good a cop as his father had been. He grimaced. Being the son of a legend was definitely a pain in the ass.

He watched Davey slide into his car. From the grin on the kid’s face, he must’ve overtipped the valet. Jesse debated following him, but there wasn’t much point. He could track the payoff money easily enough by computer.

Right now he needed to connect with the next level. Which meant Audra. He remembered the taste of those luscious red lips beneath his with pleasure. Some days he loved his job.

Anticipation spinning through his system, he reentered the club. His gaze sought out the table where she’d met the geek. She was still there, surrounded by friends.

When their eyes met, hers grew huge and she ran her tongue over her lower lip before flashing a delighted smile. She murmured something and three other sets of eyes glanced his way, varying degrees of naughty smiles on the women’s faces.

With a look filled with sexual promise, combined with an unexplained gratitude that made his body go on full alert, Audra slid from the barstool in a slow, sexy move. Would she do everything with the same deliberate sensuality? Would he find out?

No. She was now a suspect. A criminal. His key to breaking this case.

But as she walked toward him, the last thing on his brain was the case. His gaze traced long, sleek legs encased in sheer black hose, and his fingers itched to glide up their silky length.

Jesse realized with a sinking heart that after years of wondering if he had any more in common with his late father than their coloring, he’d just found proof positive. Good ole dad had not only had a penchant for dares, he’d had a taste for women who spelled trouble. God knew, this was a rotten time for the grand discovery. Because this woman definitely spelled trouble, in glowing neon letters.

“Looks like it’s later already,” she said when she reached him. He smiled in response to the humor in her husky tone.

“What happened to your date?” he fished. “It didn’t look like it went well.”

“Oh.” She glanced back at the table where her friends watched. She pressed her lips together, then shrugged. “You saw that, huh?”

“Bits and pieces. So that was your blind date?” He held his breath. If she admitted it was a business association, he could haul her in for questioning.

“Of a sort,” she replied.

Damn it.

“A sort, huh?”

“Yeah, a sort.” She hesitated, then gave a one-shouldered shrug. “You know, more like a dare. You ever get suckered into a dare? There is just no way out.”

“Believe me, I know all about dares.”

“Then you know how humiliating it is to back down from one, don’t you?” As she spoke, Audra shifted so she stood between his legs. He wanted to pull her against him, to feel her body give way to the straining flesh pressing against his now too-tight jeans. She traced a finger over his mouth. Jesse’s lip tingled, and it was all he could do to keep from pulling that finger into his mouth and sucking on it. He was a passionate man—it was in his blood—but he’d never experienced this level of deep, dark excitement.

“Oh, yeah, a dare refused is a guarantee of humiliation,” he agreed.

“Sometimes a dare accepted holds the same guarantee.”

Was she talking about her deal with Davey? Larson could be involved in anything from credit card fraud to identity theft. What had he passed to Audra? Jesse was going to have to find out.

“It sounds like you’re an expert on dares,” he said.

Something dimmed the sparkle in her huge brown eyes. To Jesse, it looked like a combination of indecision and reluctance. Her gaze slid past him, a frown quirked her brow, and then she puffed out a little sigh.

“How about we blow this joint? Find a little privacy and get to know each other better?”

His mouth went so dry, Jesse couldn’t reply. Instead, he nodded.

Desire ripping through him like a jagged knife, he followed Audra out of the nightclub, his gaze glued on the tantalizing sway of her leather-clad hips.

Jesse told himself he was just playing along for the case. He had to follow her to find out what she knew. That was all. He didn’t intend to let it get out of hand.

But for the first time in his six-year career as a cop, he wondered if he could keep his pants on long enough to arrest a woman before having desperate, mind-blowing sex with her.

AUDRA WELCOMED the warm evening air after the stifling, sticky heat of the club. Her ears still ringing from the loud music, she took in a few deep breaths and wished for a breeze.

“Did you want to go somewhere? Get something to eat or some coffee?” Jesse offered. His hand warmed her hip as he shifted to protect her from being jostled by the partyers shoving past them to leave the club.

Did she want to go anywhere? Audra eyed the hunk at her side and puffed out a breath. He was hot, no question about it. But more, he had a layer of sweetness that had her alternating between wanting to hug him close and lick him all over. The latter boded well for her current predicament, the former was better avoided.

After all, thanks to that crazy man who’d freaked out over her offer to get friendly, Jesse had become her new dare. Not that she was proud to have the first failed dare chalked up under her name. But at least that failure came with a sweet reward. She eyed Jesse in delight. He’d make this dare a pleasure.

All she had to do was focus on the rush of sexual energy arcing between them like a rainbow, a bone-melting orgasm the promised reward. And ignore the spark of emotion, the weird desire to get to know him better. After a year of watching her brother and his bride grow closer, she’d probably just picked up on their couple vibe. Like a virus, that kind of thing could only be dangerous to her health, though. So she’d ignore it.

“How about we find someplace quiet,” she suggested with a wink, “and see what comes up?”

From the widening of those delicious coffee-brown eyes, he got her message. The heat there told her he was all for it, but then his gaze shifted, became more reserved.

“There’s a little coffee shop nearby,” he countered. “We can order something to drink, maybe a piece of pie, and talk?”

He was kidding, right? Audra stopped and looked closer. There was a hint of color on his cheeks, but that could just be the neon lights. He was gorgeous, no question about that. And sexy as hell, but he didn’t seem used to the club scene. Was he playing hard to get? Or was he one of those? A fabled good boy?

She squinted, taking in his shadowed jawline, his crooked nose, and the slight frown between his heavy brows. She couldn’t tell for sure. After all, she’d never known a good boy.

“Wouldn’t you rather go somewhere a little more private?” she asked.

He closed his eyes for a second, as if in prayer, then opened them and gave her a tight smile. “Let’s talk a little first, huh?”

From the stiff set of his shoulders, he didn’t mean dirty talk. Intrigued by the novelty, Audra smiled and nodded. “Okay, then. Your car or mine?”

“It’s close. We can walk.”

Audra laughed aloud. “Walk?” She lifted one foot to show off the four-inch heels of her spiked black pumps and pointed her toe. “These feet have been known to do many things,” she paused suggestively, “but they don’t walk any farther than necessary.”

“Aren’t you concerned about getting into a car with a strange man? A beautiful woman like yourself needs to be cautious.”

From someone else, that might have sounded patronizing. Jesse, though, seemed genuinely concerned. His gaze locked on hers, warmth and sincerity clear in the brown depths. She noted the protective hand on her hip, not groping or sliding down her butt, but simply keeping her from being jostled.

Something warmed in Audra. Nobody had ever shown concern for her before. It felt…odd. A good kind of odd, though. Could he really be that sweet?

She gave him a warm smile and said, “I’m used to taking care of myself, promise. I’m a good judge of character and I fight nasty.” The can of Mace in her purse didn’t hurt, either. “Nobody tries anything with me I don’t want without regretting it.”

He gave a contemplative nod, but didn’t try to pull any macho crap by arguing or trying to prove he was tough. Audra’s respect rose a few notches. How wild. She was really liking this guy. She just might want to see if this dare could lead to something more.

Depending on his performance on her “O” scale, of course.

“Let’s take my car,” she suggested. “I prefer the driver’s seat.”

She slid her hand in his and shivered a little at the hard strength of his palm and long, narrow fingers.

“So,” he said as they made their way to the parking lot, “that guy didn’t look like your type.”

Audra looked at the milling partiers in confusion. “Which guy?”

“The one in the club back there. You know, the dorky guy you had the ‘sort of’ date with.”

“Oh, him. No, he’s definitely not my type.” Audra suppressed a shudder. What a geek.

“Do you have to deal with that a lot? I’d think a woman as gorgeous as you are wouldn’t need blind dates.”

“You know how that goes. You have to kiss a lot of toads before you nail a prince.”

Thanks to the geek—or Dave, as he’d introduced himself—being a nervous wreck, she’d lucked out and wouldn’t be locking lips with any toads tonight.

Would she be nailing this prince, though? Audra gave Jesse the once-over out of the corner of her eye. He sure looked like a prince. Hot, sexy and ready to be crowned.

They reached her car and she dropped Jesse’s hand to fish through her purse for her keys.

“I’ll bet you’re going to have a few things to say to whatever supposed friend set you up, huh?”

“Why?”

“What kind of friend sets you up with a loser?”

“The kind who think they know best and are afraid I might break away from the gang.”

“Gang?”

Audra frowned at the edge of cynicism in his tone. “Gang, club. You know, a group you hang with regularly? I take it you’re not into clubs,” she asked with a tilt of her head.

“I’m not into anything that pushes me to do things I’m uncomfortable doing.”

She pursed her lips and gave him a long look. She’d bet she could push him to do quite a few things he hadn’t been comfortable with before. And have him thanking her afterward. But she wasn’t the kind to give away secrets, so she just smiled and gave a dismissive, one-shouldered shrug.

“Your date with that dork wasn’t your idea, I take it?”

Audra grimaced. “Not hardly. More like I gave in to pressure and my need to keep my standing with my friends. And almost ended up with a very regrettable evening. Although—” she clicked the lock button on her key fob “—I have to say I came out the winner here. If not for them, I wouldn’t be here with you, would I?”

Audra turned and in a smooth, easy move, pinned Jesse between her body and the car. She almost purred aloud. Even in heels, he still towered over her, the hard length of his body inviting her to lean into his warmth. Very nice. This dare was turning into pure pleasure, no longer a means to prove her Wicked Chick status to her friends. She wanted to get closer to Jesse. Just for herself.

With her slowest, most seductive smile, she watched him from under her fringe of lashes. His eyes had that slightly glazed look that assured her he liked the feel of her body against his. She shimmied a little, just to be sure she had his attention.

As she slid her free hand up his biceps, this time she did purr aloud. “Yum. You’re in fabulous shape. What do you do for a workout?”

“A little weights, some martial arts,” he replied, his attention more on her caresses than her question. Both hands settled lightly on her hips, clenched, then gripped her curves fully. “So what made you pick this club tonight?”

“Hmm? Wild Thing? It’s a fun place, one of the best in Sacramento. I’d planned a little celebration, although it didn’t turn out quite the way I’d hoped. But I think you’re the perfect celebratory present to myself.”

Audra wrapped her arms around his neck and leaned further into his welcoming body. She brushed her lips over his, more a teasing temptation than a real kiss. Heated excitement swirled through her, making sensation spiral from her lips to the damp center between her legs. God, if he got her this turned on with barely a kiss, how would she feel when he put his hands on her? When he put his mouth on her body?

Desire was edged with impatience. She wanted to know. She had to know. She was sure Jesse would be a delicious lover. The kind that rated at least an eight on her “O” scale. She’d yet to find a perfect ten, but a solid eight could definitely be coached.

Backing off a little, she leaned her head back to see what he’d do. How he’d react.

“That’s not much of a present,” he commented.

Then he took her mouth. Took it in a way she’d only dreamt of before. His hands, gentle yet firm, cupped her head and held her where he wanted. Just for his pleasure. He nibbled at the corners of her mouth softly. Then, as she was smiling at the sweetness of it, he plunged his tongue between her lips in a swift, powerful move.

She was so used to being the aggressor that for the first couple of seconds she remained passive out of surprise. Then, pleasure shooting through her like an arrow, she met his tongue with hers in a dance of sexual delight.

Audra clenched her thighs to intensify the sensation. More. She definitely wanted more from this man.

“Wait,” he breathed, breaking away from her mouth. “We should get to know each other better. You know, talk or something.”

“I vote for ‘or something.’”

“Did you say you got stuck on an almost sort-of date with that dork because your friend threatened you?” he asked, his words coming in a gasp as she pressed the beaded tips of her breasts against his chest. “Doesn’t sound like much of a club to me.”

“They’re just worried about me.”

Maybe they had reason to worry, too. Audra hadn’t realized she wasn’t much interested in meaningless sex and constant partying until tonight’s fiasco. After all, at twenty-five, she was damned hot, exciting and interesting, even if she didn’t get as wild as she used to. Maybe a part of her—deep inside—worried there wasn’t any more to her than her bad girl persona. But as a rule, she tended to ignore that snarky worrying part. Even when snarky turned to screaming, as it had tonight.

“You know how it is when you get in tight with friends, people who’ve known you, like, most of your life? They want you to stay in their tidy box, keep with their perception of you. Sometimes you have to pacify them with proof you’re still a part of the gang, you know?”

To distract them both, she pulled away a bit to run her hands up the delicious, hard expanse of his chest. “Why are we wasting time talking about this? Let’s move on to more exciting subjects. Like, say, how you look naked?”

3

JESSE SWORE his heart stopped. All blood rushed from his head to his…well, other head. Damn, he’d never been as turned on or as unable to do anything about it as he was right this minute. Audra, with her promise of hot, sticky-sweet pleasure, was technically off-limits.

But her hands were doing incredible things to his body. Long, delicate fingers traced a path from his shoulders, over his nipples and down to his belt. Jesse wanted to say screw police procedure and guide those fingers lower. He breathed in the rich scent of her perfume and tried to remember she was still a suspect.

And after her comments, especially her confession of gang affiliation, Jesse knew she was Davey’s crime ring connection. And it was his job to find out exactly how she fit into the organization and use it to break the case. He might prefer to do that job behind a computer, but there were definite benefits to this unfamiliar fieldwork. The temptation of Audra’s body pressed against his was proving to be an almost irresistible benefit.