HazardsDare (4 page)

“Destiny, perhaps,” she answered, taking the time to pour
their next round. “Something beyond my understanding brought me to the Truth or
Dare Club. Now that I’m here, I think I’ve found the one to vacation with.”

“If you’re planning on fucking Jax, be advised that the two
of you would likely not be alone. Get what I’m saying?”

“Jaxon radiates sex appeal. It wouldn’t surprise me to learn
that he’d enjoy taking on two women at once.”

Hazard looked across the table at Avery, refusing to let her
look away. “What if the scenario involved another man?”

“Two men?” Avery murmured, her eyes widening like they’d had
a few minutes ago, the flush stealing across her pretty face warning that she
might actually want to be fucked by two men. “As tempting as that’d be, the
only way I’d do that is if you were there taking the lead.”

What the hell? He didn’t share women anymore. He couldn’t
say that when he’d first joined the pros. After his rookie season and a
disastrous marriage that made him swear off committed relationships since, he’d
gone wild and fucked more women than he cared to admit.

Sometimes there were more women in bed with him than he
could count on two hands.

Matured as he was now, he wished he could change the past.
Because he couldn’t, he could be a better man than he’d been.

Starting with Avery, who kept looking at him like she wanted
to eat him up.

Fuck, he’d love it if she did. She would too.

Then what? Six nights of fucking and they were done? With
Avery, he sensed they could have something stronger than a stolen week. But he
didn’t want long term, not with anyone.

He’d tried fidelity. He’d been good at it in high school and
college. He’d tried marriage and had not once strayed. But their love for each
other died shortly after they put rings on their fingers.

Their heated arguments, the long road trips early in his
career and her affairs had crushed something beautiful. What was the saying,
once bitten, twice shy?

“Hazard, are you still with me?” Avery asked, squeezing his
fingers to let him know that somewhere in the last few minutes she’d retaken
his right hand.

“Yeah, baby.”

“Is it all right to call you by your middle name?”

“Yes. I like it.”

“Can I ask you something then?”

“Sure,” he said with a shrug, trying for casual when all he
could think of right then was the way the overhead lamp sent a ray of light
down on her.

The light would have been harsh on anyone else. All he could
see was Avery.

“You keep calling me baby,” she pointed out. “It’s kind of
nice. In fact, I can’t recall any man calling me anything but Avery or Senator
Grant’s daughter or Alexander Grant’s sister.”

“Ouch.” Comparing her to Alex earlier must have stung.

“It’s okay. I’m proud to be part of my family. It’s just
that while I’m here, I want to be the woman who’s always longed to be daring,
but never had the chance. I’d like you to be the man to make that happen.”

“You don’t know what you’re saying,” he said, trying for a
matter-of-fact tone that he hoped made sense.

“Why, because we’ve had a few drinks?”

“Not really.” Staring her down, he prepared to speak his
mind. “If I fuck you, you need to know up front that I’m not looking for long
term.”

Avery’s smile widened, showing off flawless white teeth and
a cute little dimple to the left of her mouth. He was going to lick and nibble
that dimple, he vowed.

That is, if he chose to take her up on this scheme.

“I’m not looking for more either,” Avery told him, now the
one in control of their stare down. “I recently got out of a loveless
relationship to a man who couldn’t keep his dick in his pants around any woman
except me and is so homophobic that I thought he’d have a cow when he learned
my brother was marrying a man!”

“I’ve no problem with Alex being gay,” Hazard stated. “But I
honestly prefer women.”

“You’re straight, I get that.”

“Yep,” he said, thinking now would be a good time to tell
her about the multiple partners he’d been with or down another shot.

Those few and far between orgies had been just that, orgies,
where anything was permitted and kept between the people involved.

“My point is, now that I’m free of Timothy, getting tied
down again so soon is the last thing I want with you or anyone. What I want is
a no-strings-attached affair. No promises, no tears when we’re done, even if
it’s only one night or one week.”

“Be careful, Avery Grant, sounds like you’re asking me to be
your fuck buddy.”

“Would it be so disdainful to you?” she asked, suddenly
looking vulnerable. “I realize I’m not like the women you’ve known before.
Maybe you can teach me what it’s like to have fun in bed or how to have sex
with the lights on and not feel ashamed for wanting to give you a blowjob.”

“Fuck, is that what Timothy did to you?”

Tears threatened to spill down her soft cheek and Hazard
came close to crushing his shot glass.

“Sex with him was always the same, passionless. We’d dated
for so long, I guess it’s fair to say I stayed because I was afraid of being
alone. To spice things up, I’d suggest we try new things in bed, but he’d get
angry and accuse me of behaving like a slut.”

“Did he hit you when he was mad?” If she said Timothy struck
her, Hazard was going to take issue with the fucker and shove a cleat up his
tight ass.

“He came close once. His temper and infidelities were
something few knew about. He’d gone so far as setting up an apartment he’d
intended to use for his mistresses.”

“Stop! I’ve half a mind to tear the guy a new asshole. I’d
rather stay with you. If you want to be with me, you have to say it, baby.”

She blinked a little, her confusion evident. “I’ve made it
clear what I want.”

“Is it me that you really want or do I flag Jax over and let
him in on your plan?”

“You make it sound so seedy. If I was one of your teammates
or a friend looking to score, would you object?”

“Probably not, but it’s different with you. I care about
you. If you go through with this, you could get hurt.”

That little confession had her smiling again. “Show me a
good time, Hazard. You’ll look after me. I know it.”

“It’s crazy, you hear me? Crazy for the two of us to
consider being fuck buddies. Not even sure I like that term coming out of your
fuckable mouth,” he confessed in a rush.

“
My mouth is fuckable?
” she asked in total awe, her
fingers, complete with French manicured nails, covering her parted lips.

“Yes, dammit, yes.”

“Then why are we still drinking when we could be fucking?”

Good question and not one he wanted to contemplate for long.

“No strings, no promises other than six nights. Whatever
goes down between us remains in Dare,” he offered.

“Think we covered that,” she said in a way that sounded a
little like her brother, but there was no way in hell he was bringing his agent
into this.

“You understand that what I say goes, but I’m not averse to
giving you the reins if you ask nicely.”

“Can I tie you up and ride you like a horse?” she inquired
curiously, licking away some salt from her upper lip and tempting him to fill
up her fuckable mouth with his cock.

“I’m game…if you let me teach you safe knots that are easy
to undo if something goes wrong.”

Avery’s tongue disappeared in her mouth. “What could go
wrong?”

“Unsafe bondage can cause damage to nerves, blood
circulation or cut into the skin.”

“Oh, I’ve never tried, so I don’t know. Is that a yes?”

Wanting to take one more drink for courage and a little
ass-kicking by morning when they woke up in bed together, Hazard’s decision was
made.

“One more round. Use it to think about what you want. By the
time that tequila hits your gut, if you still want to be with me, we’ll go to
my apartment.”

“No, my hotel room,” she amended. “Let’s take it one night
at a time. Maybe we’ll get to your place later this week.”

“Deal,” he said, letting her hand go to fill their glasses
one more time.

By the time they downed the shots, he knew by the look in
her eyes that she wasn’t going to her hotel room alone.

Fuck, he was so fucked. But it was too late. His offer was
made, her red dress challenge accepted.

“What’s it to be, Avery?” he asked anyway.

Boldly, she stood up, came around and leaned in nice and
close as a pretense to grabbing the purse she’d set on the table. She smelled
like limes and tropical flowers.

“Be my lover for the reminder of our time here, Hazard. I
don’t want anyone else.”

“You don’t need to beg. I’m yours for the duration.”

Taking her hand in his, he stood up with her, desperately
wanting to sweep her up into his arms and carry her off to her room. But if he
touched her beyond hand-holding, she’d be lucky to remain clothed by the time
they reached the exit.

“Don’t we have to pay our tab?” she asked.

“Tab’s covered by one of the owners of the Truth or Dare
Club.”

“You?”

“That’d be correct.”

“Wow, must be nice to be Trevor Hazard Osbourne, linebacker
extraordinaire, bachelor and sexiest man on the planet.”

“In that case, how about I take the sexiest woman on the
planet to her room and show her how extraordinary sex can be?”

Hooking her hand at his elbow, she tossed her head, looking
happier, freer and prettier than ever. “I thought you’d never ask.”

Escorting Avery across the crowded club, he promised himself
to let her explore all the place had to offer while she was in Dare. But he’d
never felt so proud to be with a woman as he saw the envious faces of the men
watching them leave.

Avery was nervous.

Thankfully, the chill of winter forced her to bundle up
inside the red coat she’d worn to the club and explained her slight trembles.
It’d been nice of him to stop at the coat check, grab her coat and set it
around her shoulders before retrieving his own, but the enormity of what was about
to happen couldn’t be ignored.

She truly hoped Hazard didn’t detect her nervousness and
change his mind.

If she changed her mind, she felt confident that he wouldn’t
press the issue. If anything, he’d likely be relieved of the burden she’d
placed on him. But she wasn’t going to back out.

Crossing the street to the lovely, privately owned hotel and
spa adjacent to the Truth or Dare Club and Casino, Morgan appreciated the way
Hazard had placed his hand at the small of her back in order to draw her into the
warmth of his body.

He wore a long coat reminiscent of Morpheus’ from
The
Matrix
and he simply radiated heat. The coat smelled like Hazard, a man’s
cologne and faintly of the bar they’d just left.

“Hazard, how is it that the club and this town maintains its
reputation for anonymity? I’d think the press or paparazzi would be chomping at
the bit to come here. Dare is like a mini-Vegas with small-town appeal.”

“We have our own press and news station. Paparazzi aren’t
welcome. For the most part, visitors come to lay low and avoid being featured
on gossip TV shows or the internet.”

“What about cellphones and mini-video cams?”

“Visitors and residents tend to keep them tucked away or
close at hand for emergencies only. Sometimes things are leaked, but nothing major
so far.”

“And the police force?” she asked, fascinated with all
things Dare.

“Is second to none, with a knowledgeable CSI unit, ME and
advanced investigative techniques,” he answered. “Chief of Police Sawyer
Hamilton came to us after getting burned out with the Feds.”

“Feds…as in the FBI?”

“That’d be right. He’s an excellent cop. Crime around here
tends to be petty, but when something bad goes down, there’s no one with better
instincts than Sawyer.”

“It must be nice for those like yourself to have a place you
can come to get away from all the media attention. They can be brutal and
invasive. Alex is used to the limelight, but I always felt awkward. Whenever
someone asked about my so-called romance with Timothy, I’d say it was none of
their business and walk away.”

“That didn’t go over well, I take?”

“Like a lead weight. I’d end up coming off like a snob or an
emotionless bitch.”

“You’re not a bitch, baby.”

“Thank you, but when we met, you thought it.”

They’d made it across the street safely. Hazard halted,
bringing Avery around to face him. “Not once did I think you were a bitch. We
spoke for five minutes.”

“You looked at me funny afterward.”

“I was trying to figure you out. Sometimes first impressions
are wrong and I recognized you were under enormous stress.”

“Be honest. What was your first impression of me?”

Hazard stood there for a second, his eyes combing over her
face and hair and coat. Despite the fact that she was all buttoned up, the
gleam in his eyes told her that he hadn’t forgotten what she was wearing.

“At first, I saw you as Alexander Grant’s sensible sister,”
he answered after he’d looked his fill. “Then I met your ex and imagined you’d
make an excellent first lady of Kentucky if that ever came to be. You were so
good at handling the crisis with your dad that I thought you’d be incredible at
it handling the interests of an entire state.”

A slice of pain pierced her heart. Not because Hazard was
being callous, but because he’d seen only the image she’d once projected on a
daily basis. He’d studied her so fiercely and closely when they’d touched
hands, she thought for sure he saw the person she longed to be.

While her father was in the Senate, she had to put up a
façade of professional reserve and restrain her natural sense of curiosity.
Very few knew that she liked country music and rock and roll and collected
albums from vintage music shops or that she had a particular fondness for
dancing and singing around her apartment nude.

Now that she was free of Timothy and political maneuvering,
life was beginning to open up for her. Her father had been gravely ill, forcing
her to step back and ask herself what she’d do if she were sick.

What had she missed? Had she ever really lived? Late one
night, when her father and brother were in recovery, she’d gone off to be alone
and wrote down a bucket list.

Number one on her list was about to happen. Carefree,
unadulterated, passionate sex with someone she truly desired and who wanted her
not because she was a Grant, but because she was a woman.

Whenever Hazard looked at her, she knew he wanted her. The
truth was in his fascinating amber eyes, in the steely tension of his muscles
and possessive hand at her back.

“I’ve hurt your feelings. I’m sorry,” Hazard said softly,
reaching out to stroke his finger down the side of her nose to her mouth.
“Don’t frown, please? You have the prettiest smile.”

“I’m fine. I asked for the truth. You gave it, thank you.”
Refusing to change course now, she offered a smile. “Besides, it’s nice knowing
that the years of braces helped make my smile so pretty. Might as well show it
off, right?”

“Braces and pigtails, I bet,” he commented, still watching
her, still memorizing her features. “Growing up in Kentucky as you did, I’d
guess you were a wild thing running around in Daisy Dukes, climbing trees and
riding horses bareback.”

Whoa! There was no way Hazard could know how right he’d
been. “My childhood dream was to be a jockey. My family owns a thoroughbred
horse farm, racing was in my blood. That clearly didn’t happen because of my
height.”

“What did you do instead?”

“I competed in equestrian events my parents considered right
for a young lady. Some of it was boring compared to racing, but I did enjoy
show jumping and had tons of ribbons. Sadly, I stopped when my favorite horse
was injured and had to be put down.”

Recalling the dark-bay gelding that’d been her heart and
soul in every riding competition and the reason she won so often, tears
threatened to swarm her. But before the first teardrop fell, she was engulfed
in a great big hug by none other than the Griffins’ linebacker.

“What was the horse’s name?”

“Shadow. He had a fancier name fitting to his impressive
bloodlines, but I gave him a nickname.”

Loving the feel of his hard-as-steel arms holding on tight,
she welcomed the unexpected tenderness he offered. Sighing deeply, she rested
her forehead on his massive chest, hearing the solid thud, thud, thud of his
heart.

“That sucks. I’m sorry about your horse. How often did you
set aside your dreams for your family?”

“More times than I can count,” she said against his coat,
knowing her voice was muffled, but certain he heard well enough.

“It was expected. We were to walk a straight and narrow
line. By the time I was in high school, my dad was a state senator bound for DC
and the Senate. Once he got there, the spotlight was even bigger. I couldn’t go
on a date without bodyguards and media hounds.”

“I can only imagine what that was like for a young woman
starving to be someone other than what was seen in public. The stress alone
must have been a burden.”

“And now that it’s over and my dad’s no longer in
Washington, I’m in a place where I can be myself. Sending Timothy packing,
moving, getting a new job with my brother’s husband, it’s all been a dream and
I’m happy.”

“But unfulfilled,” he said, speculation in his voice.

“Yes, but I’m getting there. When my dad got out of the
hospital, I started a bucket list. Coming to this town, being wild with someone
like you, are on the list.”

“Let’s get inside,” he said, withdrawing enough to escort
her through the glass and oak doors of the hotel.

Small though Dare was, it had its share of casinos,
restaurants, trendy shops, an excellent spa and a whole lot of possibilities.
According to a plaque on the wall at the check-in desk, the hotel had once been
a brothel.

Now it was modernized and six floors had been added to the
original two-story brothel, while still holding some of its old-time glory. Two
restaurants flanked the hotel, each delivering room service. The rooms, all
luxurious, were fitting to a five-star establishment.

Most of the lobby and hallways were fashioned with red oak
and brass hardware. Paintings straight out of the Old West adorned the lobby
walls. Bellhops were always hovering near the front desk and the concierge desk
was antique. The spa was spectacular, with a panoramic view of the Sierra
Nevada Mountains in the distant horizon.

There were two other hotels in town, both as fancy and
gigantic as anything one could find in Reno. Dare had its own Main Street where
cars could cruise along and passengers could watch the animated luminous neon
lighting decorating all the buildings.

“Everything okay, Avery?” Hazard asked.

“Yes, sorry. I was thinking about what Dare looked like
before it was redeveloped.”

“It was mostly dilapidated buildings, a few barns, a
burned-out general store and corral, with the skeleton of a saloon and tent
scraps. Many boomtown residents were mobile, most living in tents or hastily
built shacks.”

“Are you one of the investors, Hazard?”

“Not of the town itself, but you know about the Truth or
Dare Club,” he admitted. “I can only live here in the off-season and I like to
travel when I’m not playing football. When I retire, I’m going to settle down,
maybe here in town or at Hamilton Lake and build a house with a recording studio.”

“That sounds really nice,” she said as he drew her through
the lobby to the elevators.

“Thanks. I’d like to establish myself as a country artist
when football catches up with me.”

“You’re amazing. I’ve no doubt you will be successful.”

Hazard smiled in gratitude and jammed his finger at the
arrow-up button. “Do you have your room key?”

“Yes.” She quickly rummaged through her small purse for the
key. It’d surprised her when she checked in and was given two brass keys rather
than a plastic card.

He took the key from her suddenly nerveless fingers,
pocketed it and gave her a nudge inside the elevator when the doors slid open.
The brass-coated doors slid closed, sealing them in together.

Desire, strong and acute, drew deep on Avery’s midsection,
something she’d never felt until she walked into the club and heard Hazard
sing. Immediately aware that she was on the top floor and the elevator was
slow, she settled close to the wall, watching him punch her floor number.

“How’d you know the floor?”

“It’s on the key.”

The elevator started its trek upward. The higher it went,
the stronger her need for orgasm became. It’d been so long since she’d climaxed
during sex with Timothy that she’d stopped trying except for when she was
alone.

Hoping she didn’t make an utter fool of herself, she
swallowed hard and straightened her shoulders. Admittedly, the tequila had
given her courage and a warm buzz flowed through her veins, but her body’s
needs weren’t controlled by alcohol.

At last the elevator came to a halt, the doors opening
smoothly. Hazard’s arm went around her to guide her forward, his hand staying
at her back, the heat of his fingers caressing her skin, despite the thickness
of her coat and velvet dress.

As an excuse to take a deep breath, Avery stopped in the
hallway long enough to scour her purse for a pack of Tic Tacs. She figured it’d
never hurt to have fresh breath since she had no idea how long it’d be before
they were skin to skin.

“Tic Tac,” she offered, pouring out what she’d intended to
be a couple.

A couple turned into a puddle of tiny mints, her trembling
causing them to scatter in all directions on the floor.

Like a seasoned professional, he snagged two mints from her
palm and began sucking on them as she crunched hers, then helped gathered up
the mini-mint mess.

“You can change your mind,” Hazard told her, still on his
knees picking up mints.

“I’m good,” she insisted.

“You’re scared,” he said, grabbing her hand instead of a
mint and helping her to her feet.

Absently tossing the handful of mints he’d gathered in a
small trash receptacle between the twin elevators, he guided her hand over the
receptacle and had her toss hers too.

“A little, yes. I’ve never done something like this. But I’m
not afraid of being with you, Hazard.”

“Everything’s going to be fine. You just need to relax and
let everything unfold.”

They moved on down the narrow hallway until they reached her
door. Hazard withdrew the key from his pocket and slipped it into the keyhole,
stopping shy of unlocking it.

“Tell me something, Avery. If it wasn’t me you chose to be
with, would you have gone through with your plan to scratch having a fuck buddy
off your list?”

Unable to look away from his sharply handsome face and
mysterious eyes, she felt a curious pang in the depth of her heart, warning
that she was on a dangerous precipice of going from having a crush to genuine
feelings for Hazard.

Telling herself to stick with the game plan she’d promised
him, meaning no-strings-attached, no fuss and no tears, she gathered courage
from his confidence.

“Is my answer going to change the outcome of what happens
when we go inside my room?”

“No. I wanted you the second you walked into the club. Now
having you is inevitable, unless you’ve second thoughts.”

Sensing his honesty, she thought he deserved the same respect.
“I wanted you the second I walked into the club too. Your voice, your passion
for music, your intensity, everything about you drew me in.”