Dare You To Read online

  He’ll give her everything…if she dares to give him her heart.

  Hearts Are Wild, Book 2

  Her dream job waiting for her in Perth, Shaye Adams has thirty days to pack up her life. There’s just one hot piece of unfinished business to take care of before she puts Sydney behind her. Get Cooper Moreland into her bed and out of her system.

  Coop couldn’t be happier to be the man burning up Shaye’s bed—except for all her rules. No hooking up at either of their houses. No dating. And definitely no strings. If he could just get her to take off her blinders, she’d see that happiness is waiting for her right here. And he’s not above using every dirty trick—in bed and out—to make the stubborn woman want to stick around.

  As Shaye lives out every fantasy she’s ever had about Coop, she realizes it’s easy to hand over her body, but she never bargained for her heart going along for the wild ride. And now her biggest fear is a reality…

  Warning: A heroine who thinks reality will never live up to the fantasy—until the hero gets between her sheets.

  Dare You To

  Rhian Cahill

  Dedication

  To all those who dare to follow their hearts.

  And to Mr.C for taking on the biggest dare of all. Me.

  Chapter One

  “Dare you to.”

  A breath shuddered through Shaye’s lips and her eyelids lowered as those three words whispered in her ear. She knew if she turned a fraction to the side, the person who’d spoken them would be close.

  So close she could count the gold flecks in his hazel eyes.

  So close their breaths would mingle.

  So close she could steal the kiss she wanted desperately.

  She shivered.

  They hadn’t kissed. Not in all the months they’d flirted. They’d come close—oh so close—but Shaye hadn’t been able to take that final step.

  Until now.

  She knew he was taunting her with his words, but she’d be lying if she said she wasn’t ready. She’d also be lying if she didn’t admit she was ready because she knew there was no way she could lose her heart. Not now she was moving thousands of miles away. It was safe to tangle with him when she wouldn’t have to watch him move on to the next woman when he was done with her.

  And he would be done.

  Shaye had watched it time and time again over the last eight years. Not that he was a man-whore or anything. The opposite really. He was selective and he stuck. For months. But never longer.

  “Shaye?”

  Jesus. His voice alone did her in. That husky sound vibrated over her nerves like the sweeping caress of a lover’s hand on her skin. She’d heard it long before she’d set eyes on him. Sight unseen, she’d fallen in lust. Completely. Days after hearing that molten-sex voice on her best friend’s voicemail, Shaye had gotten her first glimpse of its owner.

  Cooper Moreland.

  The guy totally lived up to the sexy rasp.

  Broad shoulders, mouthwatering chest and washboard abs, and his arms… Thick with muscles earned from hard work, they drew her in a way she’d never experienced. Hell, everything about Cooper Moreland drew her like no other guy ever had.

  Coop—to his friends, and by default her—had starred in every one of her secret fantasies since the day the husky timber of his voice had stroked over her senses.

  God. She’d spent years getting off to the image of him. She even had to own up to occasionally squeezing her eyes closed and pretending whatever guy she was with was Coop.

  No more pretending though.

  She’d made up her mind to go for it. For the next month, she was going to get her fill of Cooper Moreland and leave her adopted home of Sydney to return to her native Perth a well-satisfied woman. Ready to take on a new job—a dream job—and the rest of her life without the gnawing ache she’d lived with since she’d met him.

  “Shaye?” Warm air fanned over the side of her face, and she could swear his lips brushed her cheek.

  She turned her head, caught his gaze with hers and held it. It was now or never. Without a word, she moved away from his heat and slid out of the booth. Come hell or high water, she was taking Coop’s dare and upping the ante.

  He didn’t know it yet, but for the next thirty days, she was turning up the heat and burning this searing attraction out of her system.

  Coop sucked in a breath.

  Fuck.

  Was she really going to do it? He watched Shaye’s sexy arse as she walked away. Kept his eyes glued to that mouthwatering, world-class rear end until it disappeared into the crowded bar.

  Fuck.

  He never thought she’d take him up on his dare. Shit, they’d been throwing out one-liners, come-ons and sexual innuendos for months, but not once had either of them taken the bait.

  Not that he was sure she was doing that now. Maybe she was playing with him again. God knows, she’d done it before. He’d spent months with a perpetual hard-on. One he’d jacked off countless times while imagining Shaye in every dirty way his filthy mind could think up. And there’d been many. Some had even surprised him.

  He’d always had a healthy sex drive and he hadn’t shied away from trying things that came to mind or were suggested by the woman he was with, but he’d never—never—wanted to the carnal depths Shaye inspired. He wasn’t even sure he had the balls to do half of what he’d fantasized about.

  A shudder raked his spine and heat throbbed in his groin. Fuck. He’d have another full-blown hard-on by the time she came back just from the wondering—the anticipation.

  “So Zac and Freddie. Never would have picked that,” Toby said.

  Coop glanced in his brother’s direction. “They’re a good fit.”

  “Didn’t say they weren’t. Just that I’d never have picked it.”

  “Explains why he’s been a monumental arsehole these last few months,” West said. “Poor bastard hasn’t just had love screwing with his head. He’s been dealing with guilt.”

  “Not to mention fear,” Kelsey added.

  “Of what?” West asked.

  “Of you knocking his head off. Which, I’ll point out, you almost did.” Kelsey smiled at her husband.

  West shrugged and reached for his beer. “Hey. Any big brother would do the same for their little sister.”

  “I don’t recall any of the Moreland boys doing that when Luc hooked up with Cassie,” Kelsey said before taking a sip of her wine, her smile hidden behind the glass.

  Coop grimaced. It wasn’t like he or one of his brothers hadn’t decked one of Cassie’s boyfriend’s in the past.

  “Christ. Are you insane woman? Have you seen Luc?” Toby asked. “Fuck. You’d need an army to take him on. Or a death wish.”

  “Plus, you’d need to know something was going on.” Coop picked at the label on his beer. “And as usual, we’re the last to know what goes on in our little sister’s life.”

  “Smart woman,” Kelsey murmured.

  Coop laughed. “Yes. Cassie is definitely switched on when it comes to hiding things from us.”

  “After the way you lot hovered over her in high school, I’m surprise she didn’t take out restraining orders,” Kelsey added.

  Toby caught Coop’s eye and they burst out laughing.

  “I fail to see what’s funny about that,” Kelsey said.

  “It’s funny because she threatened each of them with one on a number of occasions,” West said. “But then she got smart.”

  Both Coop and Toby groaned.

  Kelsey sat forward. “Oh, do tell. This sounds like it might be funny.”

  West chuckled. “Let’s just say getting a taste of their own medicine was a real eye opener, and the Moreland boys all took a cautious step back when it came to their little sister’s love life.”
>
  “Shame you didn’t learn from their mistakes.” Kelsey smiled.

  “Hey!” West protested.

  Coop clapped his best friend on the back. “You got one good punch in, that’s what counts.” He grinned. But the curve of his lips froze—along with every muscle in his body—when he spotted Shaye heading back to their table.

  He watched the sway of her hips, the bounce of her breasts and the smooth mile of tan legs visible beneath her short skirt. His stupid gaze ricocheted between those three enticing spots on her body until it settled on her hips. Narrowing his eyes, he tried to determine if she’d gone through with the dare, but the slinky top she wore flirted with the area he most wanted to see.

  “Speaking of hooking up,” Toby murmured. “You gone there yet, Coop?”

  “Shut up,” he growled.

  “Nope. Not yet.” West laughed. “No man getting any is as wound up as Coop is.”

  “Which bit of shut up did you not understand?”

  “Who’s shutting up?” Shaye slid into the booth beside him. “Who’s saying what now? What’d I miss?”

  “Nothing,” Coop said.

  Shaye’s gaze swung to Kelsey, but her best friend wasn’t giving anything away. And for once, much to Coop’s relief, his brother and his best friend had listened, and both remained mute. All three of them picked up their drinks and glanced around the bar. Shaye frowned, but thankfully she let it go without further comment.

  Coop was dying to know if Shaye had taken the dare, but there was no way to tell without asking or groping her in public. And wouldn’t that get their relationship, or whatever the hell this was, some more unwanted attention from their friends.

  Even knowing the futility of the action, he couldn’t stop himself from continuously slanting his gaze to her side trying to discern the answer he craved. She dropped her bag on the seat between them, making the slim chance of finding out what he wanted to know a zero possibility.

  “Oh, hey, I found those mints you wanted.” Shaye’s voice was low, no more than a whisper, and he doubted anyone else heard her over the music pumping through the bar’s sound system.

  Before Coop could work out what the fuck she was talking about, Shaye opened her bag, and right there on top was the reddest, flimsiest thong he’d ever seen. Blood rushed through his veins straight to his groin where his cock instantly thickened. His heart thumped against his ribcage so hard all the air was pushed from his lungs.

  “Fuck.” Coop wasn’t sure if the husky word was a prayer for help or of gratitude.

  He didn’t know why he did it or even when he’d thought about doing it, but he had that scrap of lace fisted in his hand and was shoving it in his pocket before he pulled in a breath.

  “Hey!”

  Coop moved his gaze to Shaye’s. Emotions he couldn’t decipher flitted through her eyes before she registered the look on his face—in his eyes—and she sucked a breath through her teeth, her bottom lip trembling.

  “Mine.” The growl rumbled in his throat, but the sound came from deep in his gut where his insides were blazing with the need to get her under him. Over him. Against him. Surrounding him.

  Hell, any and every way he could get her as long as they were naked.

  Now.

  Coop grabbed Shaye’s arm and nudged her along the seat with his hard thigh against hers. “Let’s go.”

  She barely had time to grab her bag before he squashed it between them. “What?”

  “We’ll be late for our reservation,” he said as he maneuvered them out of the booth.

  “What reservation?” She tried to stop her forward momentum, but Coop had her on her feet and turned in the direction of the exit before she could blink.

  “Catch you all later,” he threw over his shoulder.

  “Coop, what the hell are you doing?” she asked as he tugged her with him.

  He leaned close and whispered in her ear. “Say goodbye, Shaye.”

  She could see he was speaking through clenched teeth and the look in his eyes revealed he was a man on the edge.

  Holy shit.

  She’d never inspired that look in anyone before. Lifting her hand, she gave an absentminded wave and a murmured goodbye that no one but Coop would hear. But she couldn’t take her eyes off his. Couldn’t think beyond the heat and desire flooding her body. She just managed to walk without falling on her arse as he all but dragged her out of the bar and across the parking lot to his truck.

  When they reached the passenger door, she found hard metal pressed against her back and Coop’s hot body pressed against her front.

  His face loomed over hers. “You took the dare.”

  “I…” She licked her lips, her mouth dry, her throat constricted. “Um…”

  “Are we done dancing around this?”

  “Dancing? This?” God. Why couldn’t she think straight? The only thing running through her mind was the delicious press of all that hot, hard muscle and how she wished they were naked. Wished for his mouth to be on hers.

  He smiled. “Yeah. We’re done.” His gaze lowered to her mouth and Shaye’s insides tightened. “No more mucking around.”

  Shaye couldn’t answer. Not with the heat of his gaze on her lips and his rough-skinned hand sliding up the outside of her thigh, around the back and pushing beneath her skirt to palm her bare arse. Her breath shuddered in her chest when he squeezed her exposed flesh.

  “Now we’re fucking around.” His words sucked every last atom of oxygen from her body.

  Before she could react, he slanted his mouth over hers.

  His kiss was as carnal as she’d imagined it would be. He thrust his tongue between her lips, the move brutal and demanding, but at the same time seductive—electrifying. The sensations the rough caress delivered made her want to let him take whatever he wanted. Made Shaye want to follow Coop into the dark pleasure his mouth on hers promised.

  She moaned when he nipped her bottom lip, tugged it down and out as he pulled her into him, both his hands now palming her arse. The hard ridge of his cock ground against her clit and her pussy clenched, her hips bucking forward to hold on to the hot pressure.

  Coop moved his lips lightly over hers as he lifted her up. “Wrap your legs around me.”

  His voice rumbled thick and heavy in his chest, his breath ragged with each word, and Shaye shivered with the wave of lush desire that saturated her system at the sound. She didn’t think to protest Coop’s demand or about anything other than getting closer to the heat and hardness he continued to grind against her aching clit.

  “Tighter,” he growled. “Cross your ankles and hold on.”

  Shaye gripped his shoulders, digging in her short nails as he walked to the back of his truck. “What are you doing?”

  “Moving out of sight.”

  “Oh, um…” Shaye knew she should stop him. If she didn’t, there was no doubt in her mind that she’d let him fuck her in the car park up against his car. But for the life of her, she couldn’t do it. Not yet. Not when each step the roll of his cock over her clit left her without the brainpower to speak. She’d stop him soon.

  Just a few more seconds of pleasure…

  Chapter Two

  Cooper pressed Shaye against his truck and used his body to pin her there while he adjusted his hold on her arse. Having those plush globes cupped in his hands had to rank in the top five highlights of his life. The feel of her silky skin was better than he’d imagined.

  He slipped his hands lower. His fingertips encountered heat a split second before they hit the slick, moist folds of her cunt. “Fuck. You’re soaking.” Unable to resist, he shoved his fingers deeper.

  She gasped and rocked against him. “Cooper.”

  His name fell from her mouth in a needy little rasp that sent a bolt of lust straight through his balls. He couldn’t wait to get inside her. But first he wanted to make her come. He wanted to watch her fly apart in his arms before he buried himself inside her and made her do it again. “Right here.”


  “We have to sto—”

  He circled her swollen clit.

  “Oh God…”

  Coop loved the way her words trailed off on a moan and wanted to see if he could get her to make that sexy little sound again. Her breath caught in her throat as he dragged his fingers from her clit, through her hot, wet folds and all the way up into the crease of her arse. And when he toyed with the ring of puckered flesh hidden there, Shaye bucked against him, her legs gripping his waist tighter, her hips rolling with the stroke of his fingers.

  She obviously wasn’t opposed to a little anal play. He shuddered with the dark thrill of seeing just how far she’d go with him, but before he could push any further—test her boundaries—laughter burst through the hot summer night and grounded him to the here and now. They’d have to save the good stuff for somewhere private, but he wasn’t letting her go without giving her a taste of what he could deliver.

  “S-stop.” She panted against his neck as he swiped his fingers through the wet crease of her cunt to her clit once more. “God. I’m going to come.”

  He chuckled. “That’s the idea.”

  “No.” She tensed in his arms. “Not here.”

  “Yes. Here. Now.” Not giving her a chance to argue Coop dipped his head and took her mouth with his.

  She was so hot and wet. Her mouth. Her cunt. Both offered him a world of bliss, and he was taking this small sample because he just couldn’t help himself now that he had his hands and mouth on her.

  He kissed her hard. He kissed her soft. And the whole time he worked his mouth over hers, his fingers plied her clit and teased her cunt. She took one finger, then two. Sexy little noises gurgled in her throat and her hips rocked as she moved with him.

  Coop loved the taste of her on his tongue—the feel of her on his hands. She was his ultimate fantasy. Hot. Plush. Pliant. Everywhere he touched her, she yielded. It blew his mind and almost blew his cock. If she didn’t fall over the edge soon, he’d be going with her. As it was, he could feel a wet patch of pre-come on his boxers.

  Easing back from her mouth, he whispered against her lips. “Let go, Shaye. You know you want to.”