Dare You To (Pushing the Limits, #2)(98)

“No.” Ryan finally pulls his shirt over his head. “I wake up      every morning at six, run two miles, then pitch. There’s not a morning it gets      old.”

His routine fits him. Perfectly. But then I think of him at      his computer. His fingers flying over the keyboard. His eyes seeing a world      beyond the one his body belongs to. “Do you write every night?”

Ryan combs his fingers through my hair and my roots flip      over. What normally is a motion that sends tingles down my spine instead brings      a sense of dread. His eyes narrow at the roots and I know what he sees: a half      inch of golden-blond hair.

He tears his eyes away and does a good job of pretending the      malformation doesn’t exist. “With that short story due? Yeah, I write every      night.” Ryan shrugs and stares at the ground. “And I think I might keep it up      when the story is done. I don’t know, maybe start another.”

Good. It’s the image I’ll take with me when I go: Ryan      pitching balls in the morning and lost in his beautifully written words at      night. I kick at the ground. “Do you have plans for today?”

“I do if they include you.”

I try to hide my smile, but I can’t. “Get cleaned up and      pick me up in an hour.”

Tickling my skin, Ryan’s fingers graze the pink ribbon still      tied to my wrist. “Yes, ma’am.”





Chapter 49

Ryan

“YOU’RE A WUSS.” My little      black-haired threat flips through the University of Kentucky student directory.      “You can move a car across a pasture, but you can’t see your own brother.”

“That’s different,” I say. “I moved the car on a dare.”

Outside the guys’ athletic dorms, I attempt to stand in front      of Beth as she searches for my brother’s room number. Beth wears a cotton      T-shirt that hugs her slim form and ends a half inch short of her low-rise      jeans. With her smooth skin tempting me in very right, yet wrong, places, I      would bet my Jeep that the outfit doesn’t have Scott’s seal of approval. Don’t      get me wrong, I love it, and so does every guy walking in and out of the dorms.      She’s my girl and I prefer to be the only one looking at her.

My girl. We’re not official—not yet—but Beth said four critical      words when she climbed into my Jeep this morning: “I let Isaiah go.” Which means      she’s with me and not him. Later today, I’m asking Beth to make us      exclusive.

Beth stabs her finger into the book. “Jackpot.” She scribbles      the room number onto the palm of her hand. “I double dog dare you to talk to      your brother.”

“Do you know nothing about dares?” I ask while giving the evil      eye to some guy who stares at the contours of Beth’s waist. “You can’t double      dog dare unless I turn down the initial dare.”

She arches a brow. “Are we really going to talk semantics?”

I place a hand on her hip and back her against the wall.      “That’s a big word, Beth. Maybe you should explain it.”

A wicked smile touches her lips and raw hunger settles in her      eyes, but instead of melting into me as I am into her, Beth pushes me away and      ducks underneath my arm. A guy walks out of the building and Beth catches the      door before it has a chance to lock behind him. “It means you’re an idiot if you      think I’m going to let you talk your way out of this.”

She gestures for me to enter the lobby and I do. “I wasn’t      going to talk. I was going to kiss my way out of it. Do you have any idea how      long it’s been since we kissed?”

“If you talk to your brother, we’ll kiss. A lot.”

“How about we skip this and move straight on to kissing?”

She ignores me and studies the large map of the dorm layout on      the wall. “I officially dare you to talk to your brother.”

I cross my arms over my chest as my back straightens. Beth      officially threw down the gauntlet. “Fine. What do I get if I win?”

Her raven hair cascades like a waterfall as she inclines her      head toward me. A sexy glint lights her eyes. “What do you want?”

You. But that isn’t what I permit      to come out of my mouth. “I want you to spend the rest of the day with me. No      cell phones. No friends. Nothing but me and you.”

“Deal.”

*