When You Dare (10 page)

Could her father be responsible for her abduction? “You said he’s well-to-do.”

“Bishop Alexander is an extremely successful businessman. He inherited his father’s corporation, which was thriving to begin with, but he’s grown it ten times over.”

“Meaning he has enough money to arrange and finance your kidnapping?”

The idea stalled her. “Money, means and a cold enough heart. But…” She looked at Dare. “I can’t imagine him doing that. We’ve had our ups and downs, but my dad just isn’t the type to dirty himself with something so sordid and illegal.”

Dare knew that the most unlikely people often did things that those closest to them could never fathom.

Molly stared down at her hands, struggling with the idea of what had happened. Finally she said, “The thing is, I can’t imagine anyone who is the type. Until this happened, I didn’t know that anyone disliked me that much.”

They were almost to the airstrip, a little ahead of schedule. Dare didn’t want her to get upset all over again. “One more question.”

“What?”

“If you and your sister are so close, she must know you’re gone, and she must be worried.” Molly stiffened a little, but Dare couldn’t back down. “So, Molly, tell me. Why didn’t you want to call her after you knew you were safe?”

CHAPTER FIVE

M
OLLY STARED IN
wonder as Dare led her to the small private plane. The wind on the airstrip blew her hair into her face, making her stumble over a step. Dare caught her elbow in a firmer grip and kept her upright.

He had a lot of questions, but she didn’t have that many answers.

Luckily he’d received a call that had lasted right until he was ready to drop off the rented van. She thought it might have been Chris again, and the call had left her mired in confusion.

Dare spoke to Chris with familiarity, affection and ease—proof that they shared a definite closeness. Maybe even…intimacy.

If Chris was a girlfriend, then why would Dare have kissed her? He didn’t strike her as a user, as a man who would cheat. He was far too protective to be deliberately hurtful to anyone he cared about.

It was possible she was making too much of the kiss. He’d wanted to snap her out of her shock, and…the kiss had certainly done the trick, and then some.

After turning in the van, Dare gave her enough time to go into the ladies’ room to change into her new clothes. While there, she’d cleaned the blood off her knees and elbows and tidied her hair. If she thought of how those men had tried to get her, it made her ill.

She never, ever wanted to be at someone else’s mercy again. Not like that. She couldn’t bear it.

But Dare had saved her, and now, Chris or no Chris, it sounded like he planned to protect her. She drew a calming breath and reminded herself to take it one step at a time. It was the only way she could hold it together.

As soon as she’d emerged in the clothes that mostly fit and were much more comfortable, Dare began hustling her to the plane.

Remembering her mother’s death left her aching with fresh hurt. Thinking of her father’s disapproval always filled her with burning resentment. And yes, Natalie would be frantic, a fact Molly hated.

But someone had put her through hell, and she had to concentrate on that, and only that. She didn’t know who to trust—except for Dare.

He’d kissed her.
What did it mean?

When one pilot came out to greet Dare with a healthy dose of deference, Molly realized that Dare must be affluent. How else could he afford to pay for a spur-of-the-moment charter flight from one side of the country to the other?

Or…did he expect her to pay for it? Would this be added to her expenses?

She eyed the spiffy-looking plane anew. Unlike her father, she’d never flown privately before. The plane was small enough to make her extremely nervous.

Until they got aboard.

“Wow.”

Distracted, Dare glanced down at her. “What?”

“This is…decadent.”

He gave a cursory look around the plane, but just shrugged. “It’s comfortable enough. Grab a seat.”

There were only seven, but Molly wanted as much privacy from the two young,
GQ
-looking pilots as possible, so she headed toward the rear of the plane, near the lavatory. The backseats faced forward, so she could see Dare still up front talking to the men, discussing a short layover to refuel and the estimated time of arrival.

At her seat was an entertainment console with a monitor, satellite hookup and a DVD/CD/MP3 player. Still looking around, she made note of the burl wood cabinetry, the butter-soft tan leather seats, plush carpeting and a fully stocked bar.

Dare knew how to travel in style. She only hoped it wouldn’t break her bank account. She had no idea what something like this might cost.

He joined her a moment later. “Want a drink?” He indicated the fancy lighted bar she’d already noted.

“No, thank you.”

“You sure? Might steady you a little.”

“I’m plenty steady, thank you very much.” How many times did she have to tell him that she would not fall apart? She couldn’t afford to. If she wanted to survive this, she had to keep her nerves steady. Later she could give in to the panicked hysteria that still gnawed on her façade of calm.

Shrugging, Dare sat beside her and fastened his seat belt. “Buckle up.”

She scowled at the order but still connected the seat belt around her.

Lifting his armrest and turning in his seat, he leaned forward with his elbows on his knees, his hands hanging loosely. He studied her.

“What?” Just then the pilot started the engines, startling Molly. She grabbed for the armrests. “We’re taking off?”

“It’ll be easier to get home that way.”

She scowled again. “Sarcasm is unnecessary.”

He said nothing. Molly cleared her throat. “Where is home, and when will we get there?”

“Kentucky, and it’ll be late.”

As the plane rolled forward, she sucked in a breath and then swallowed hard.

Dare eyed her. “So, you’re one of those women who panics at flying?”

“No.” But she was, sort of. That the plane was so small didn’t help matters. Rigid from her head to her toes, she repeated, almost by rote, “I’m fine.”

“So you keep saying.”

He took her hands, and it reminded her of the differences in their sizes. Dare was huge, and she was not. His big rough hands totally engulfed hers, making her feel extra small and delicate.

She didn’t quite know what to make of that.

“Molly, look at me.”

When she did, she got snared in his bright-blue gaze. He had the most amazing eyes….

“Tell me why you haven’t contacted your sister to let her know you’re okay.”

The pilot announced something over a speaker system, and the plane moved, jarring her heart. She squeezed Dare’s hands and when she spoke, her voice was a little too high and squeaky. “Natalie might be a little younger than me, but she’s a teacher—meaning she’s used to governing with ultimate power.”

Dare didn’t smile at that small jest. “Yeah, so?”

“So if I had called her, she’d be grilling my dad and Adrian and anyone else she thinks could be responsible. There’s no way Natalie
wouldn’t
be on the warpath, trust me. If either of them is involved, they might be clued in. They could hide evidence or, in Adrian’s case, maybe even skip town.”

Dare looked a little stunned at her reasoning, but damn it, she couldn’t take chances.

“Whoever did this to me, I want him to be taken by surprise when he sees me free and unharmed. I want to blow his mind, and then maybe he’ll give himself away.”

Consternation lowered Dare’s brows. “Not a bad plan, really. But you do realize that whoever arranged this must already know that you’re free. That’s what those thugs at Walmart were about.”

“I know. But they don’t know when they’ll see me, or if the thugs will get me again before it becomes a concern. I can’t believe they’ll just give up, which means—”

“People are still after you.”

“Yes.” She shivered and then shivered some more when the plane began lifting. She squeezed Dare’s hands as tightly as she could. “Oh, God.”

Dare searched her face, looked resigned and…maybe a little expectant. Then he leaned forward and kissed her again.

Molly was so shocked, she leaned away from him—until he pulled his hands free from hers and cupped her face, bringing her back.

His hands holding hers had been startling; his hands gently framing her face were more so.

This kiss wasn’t hard and fast. It was warm and easy, slow, lingering and oh-so-distracting. When she didn’t retreat again, he turned his head to better fit their mouths together and deepened the kiss.

A rush of heat chased away her icy fear. Her rigid muscles went liquid. Wow.

Molly caught his wrists, but not to pry him away; she held on for dear life. Being thirty years old, she’d been kissed many times, but never had it felt like…
this.
When she made a small sound, a cross between a moan and a purr, Dare stroked his thumbs over her cheeks.

A second later, he touched his tongue to hers.

Heart pounding and skin burning, Molly forgot about the plane, about unscrupulous dogs who meant her harm. Right now, for this moment, there was only Dare and his warmth and intoxicating scent, his strength and the security of him, the way he tasted and felt and how he touched her.

He smoothed a hand over her face, over her hair and, to her regret, eased away.

Molly got her eyes open, only to find that the blue of his looked incendiary. He glanced down at her mouth, eased his thumb slowly over her bottom lip and, with a frown, settled back into his seat.

She, on the other hand, perched as far forward as her seat belt would allow, still straining toward Dare. With a gasp, she realized how that looked and flopped back. Again, she clamped her hands over the ends of the armrests.

Her heart continued to thunder, and her body burned in select places. She could feel Dare looking at her, and it made her both uncomfortable and more excited. Was he waiting for her to react?

Well, this was not something she could ignore. The first kiss, maybe. But
that
kiss? No way. “Dare?”

He watched her like a hawk watched a mouse, his gaze unflinching, ready and alert, almost as if he expected her to bolt. “Hmm?”

“That’s, uh, the
second
time you’ve kissed me.”

His gaze went back to her mouth, his voice deepened. “I can count.”

She chewed her lips, saw his eyes narrow and quickly relaxed her mouth again. Rather than ask a direct question about Chris, she said, “You were distracting me, because the flight—”

“No.”

No? But of course he was. Wasn’t he? She shook her head. There was so much she didn’t know about him, but she didn’t want to cross the line and become intrusive into his private life. “I don’t understand what it means.”

His gaze lifted back to hers. “Yes, you do.” He looked over her entire body, oh-so-slowly, before coming back to her face. “It bothers you?”

Bother her? She considered his interest, his attention, and…no. It didn’t
bother
her, at least not the way he meant. If anything, she felt wonderfully flattered—if he wasn’t already involved with someone else. “I just don’t understand.”

“Hell if I do either.” With a wince, he stretched out his long legs as if uncomfortable. “Not once, before you, have I ever come on to a woman I rescued. In every other case it would have been unethical.” When he turned his head toward her again, she saw his frustration and knew it was more with himself than with her. “In your case, no one hired me, so that restriction isn’t there.”

“No, it isn’t.” He wouldn’t be betraying anyone’s trust to deliver her home safely, because she was the one hiring him. And she knew without a doubt that if she said no, Dare would respect that.

“But what happened, the hell those bastards put you through…” His gaze searched hers. “What happened just today should be enough to shut me down.”

“Why?” Molly really didn’t think she wanted him
shut down.

His expression turned grim. “You haven’t exactly been around sterling examples of manhood, Molly.”

She’d been held captive by total cretins—who had nothing in common with this remarkable man. Unable to help herself, she put a hand on his muscular forearm. “But don’t you see, Dare? That’s why you stand out even more. You’re very, very different from them.”

“I know that.” He worked his jaw. “Do you?”

“Yes.” She hadn’t known him long, but the threatening situation had given him room to prove himself beyond all measure.

“No residual effects, then?” When she just looked at him, not really comprehending, he shook his head. Measuring each word with care, he said, “Sometimes, after a trauma like yours, anything remotely similar can trigger the bad memories, the panic, even hysteria. In your case, a guy getting too close—”

“But you’re not just any guy.” Molly hoped her smile might reassure him. “You are the guy who got me out of that nightmare. I could never feel about you how I feel about them.”

Unconvinced, Dare turned his hand over and waited for her to lace her fingers with his. She did so hesitantly. This was the fastest any relationship had ever moved for her, and the unusual circumstances were such that she didn’t entirely trust her own judgment. Not that she questioned Dare or his motives.

But her own?

She didn’t want to smother him with her neediness, an emotion normally foreign to her but plenty prevalent right now, no matter how she tried to hide it.

He lifted her hand, stroked her knuckles with his thumb, and while it was the gentlest of gestures, he quickly turned very businesslike.

“We have a lot to get through, Molly. More than you probably realize. Getting the goons off your ass will be the easiest part. Finding out who arranged your abduction—that’s going to take some doing. And trust me on this, the truth isn’t going to be satisfying. It’s a necessity, but it won’t make you feel better, and it won’t soften the memory.”

“How do you know?” More than anything, she looked forward to nailing the ones responsible. She needed some closure on this living nightmare.