A Little Dare - Brenda Jackson [35]
The night air was crisp and clear. The first thing Shelly noticed was the full moon in the sky, and the next was the zillions of stars that sparkled like diamonds surrounding it. She went to stand next to a porch post, since it was the best spot for the glow of light from the moon. The last thing she needed was to stand in some dark area of the porch with Dare.
She heard him behind her when he joined her, however, instead of standing with her in the light, he went and sat in the porch swing that was located in a darkened corner. She sucked in a breath. If he thought for one minute that she would join him in that swing, he had another thought coming. As far as she was concerned, they could converse just fine right where they were.
“So how did AJ behave tonight?” she asked, deciding to plunge right in, since there was no reason to prolong the moment.
She heard the swing’s slow rocking when he replied. “To my surprise, very well. In fact, his manners were impeccable, but then it was obvious that he was trying to impress Thorn.” Dare chuckled “He pretty much tried ignoring me, but my brothers picked up on what he was doing and wrecked those plans. Whenever he tried excluding me from the conversation, they counteracted and included me. Pretty soon he gave up, after finding out the hard way an important lesson about the Westmorelands.”
“Which is?”
“We stick together, no matter what.”
Shelly nodded. She’d known that from previous years.
“But I must admit there was this one time when they were ready to disclaim me as their brother,” Dare said, chuckling.
Shelly rested her back against the post and crossed her legs. “And what time was that?”
“The night I ended things with you. They thought I was crazy to give you up for any reason. And that included a career.”
She nervously rubbed her hands up and down her arms, not wanting to talk about what used to be between them. “Well, all that’s in the past, Dare. Is there anything else about tonight I should know?” she asked, trying to keep their conversation moving along.
“Yes, there is something else.”
She sought out his features, but could barely make them out in the darkened corner of the porch. “What?”
“I gave AJ reason to believe that I’m interested in you again.”
Shelly nodded. “And how did he handle that?”
Dare smiled. “He had something to say about it, if that’s what you’re asking. Just how far he’ll go to make sure nothing develops between us I can’t rightly say.”
Shelly nodded again. Neither could she. Personally, she thought AJ’s dislike of Dare was a phase he was going through, but a very important phase in his life, and she didn’t want to do anything to make things worse with him. “In that case, more than likely he’ll have a talk with me about it.”
Dare leaned back against the swing. “And what do you plan to say when he does?”
Shelly sighed. “Basically, everything we agreed I should say. I’m to let him know he’s the one who has a beef with you, not me, and therefore I don’t have a problem with reestablishing our relationship.”
Dare heard her words. Although they were fabricated for AJ’s benefit, they sounded pretty damn good to him, and he wished they were true, because he certainly didn’t have a problem reestablishing anything with her.
He looked over at Shelly and saw how she leaned against the post while silhouetted by the glow from the moon. His gaze zeroed on the fact that she stood with her legs crossed. Tight. She had once told him that she had a tendency to stand with her legs crossed really tight whenever she felt a deep throbbing ache between them. Evidently she had forgotten sharing that piece of information with him some years ago.
“Well, if that about covers everything, then we’d best call it a night.”
Her words interrupted his thought, and he figured they could do better than just call it a night. Calling it a “night of seduction” sounded more to his liking. Some inner part of him wanted to know if she wanted him as much as he wanted her, and there was only one way to find out.
“Come sit with me for