Dare to Love by Carly Phillips Page A

shook his head and couldn’t stop the grin from spreading across his face. “Riley, Riley, Riley. I said that’s been my MO. Has there been anything about my behavior, from last night to this morning, that led you to believe I’m finished with you?”
    To punctuate his point, he swiped his finger over the corner of her lip, where a drop of cream cheese remained, and licked it off his finger while she watched. Her eyes dilated with undisguised need, and his cock grew harder in his sweats.
    “So we’re not finished?” She gripped her napkin in her lap, twisting it unmercifully.
    “Not by a long shot.”
    She finally met his gaze. Big blue eyes stared at him through thick lashes, as she clearly worked out what she wanted to say next.
    “I have some rules.”
    He raised an eyebrow, not wanting to be amused, yet he was, despite himself. “Go on.”
    She drew a deep breath and straightened her shoulders. “If you don’t want to call this a relationship, that’s fine, but if you’re seeing me, you aren’t seeing other women at the same time.”
    He hadn’t said he didn’t consider them in a relationship. Hell, Ian wouldn’t know what a relationship entailed, but he had a feeling that admission wouldn’t win him any points.
    He rested his hand on her thigh where his shirt had inched up, revealing bare skin. “We both know that since we started going out together, I haven’t had time for anyone else. But you’ll be happy to know I haven’t wanted anyone either. So no other women.” He stroked her soft flesh, inching higher with a broad sweep of his thumb.
    “Good.” Her voice came out on a husky rasp.
    “Now for a condition of my own.” He lifted her chin with his hand. “No other men for you.”
    “Done.” A cheeky grin lifted her lips, and he knew he had her back.
    No more distance.
    He leaned in and brushed his lips over hers, tasting a mix of Riley and citrus from her juice.
    She moaned and kissed him briefly before pulling away. “One more thing.”
    “What would that be?” he asked, enjoying her way too much.
    “I have to tell Alex, and I have to do it my way. He won’t be happy, and I need him to understand. I need him in my corner. That’s nonnegotiable.”
    Ian closed his eyes and groaned, not because he objected to how she handled his half brother and her friend, but for far more serious reasons. “I think that may be a problem,” he told her.
    She stiffened and pulled back. “Ian, I said nonnegotiable, and I meant it. Alex isn’t just my friend, he’s my family .” Her entire body trembled. “For a long time, he was the only person I had in my life who protected me.” She flinched at her own words. Obviously she hadn’t meant to reveal that much.
    But she’d said it, and now he wondered. Protected her? From whom? There was a story there, Ian knew, and if they had time, he’d ask her about it.
    “The point is, if you can’t give me that then—”
    “I’d give you time to talk to him if I could, but it’s too late. That call I got this morning? It was about this.”
    He grabbed his iPhone from the counter, opened the email that had come in earlier, a link to a well-known sports blog that had posted a photo of the two of them taken last night as they exited the restaurant.
    Her cheeks were flushed. Her hand in his. There was no doubt they were together. Or intended to be.
    She took the phone and stared at the photo filling the screen. “Oh God.” She jumped up from her seat.
    “My phone. I need my phone from your car.” She started for the door then turned back to him. “Why didn’t you tell me about the picture before?”
    “It’s only been ten minutes since I found out. I was trying to find out how far it spread.”
    “And?” she asked.
    “It’s gone viral, in the Miami sports blogs anyway.”
    She winced. “What are they saying? What’s the caption?”
    “Is it important?” he asked, not wanting to get into that .
    She eyed him warily. “The fact that you