Dare to Tempt - Carly Phillips Page 0,21
didn’t tell him who was on the other end. “Hi. What did you find out?” she asked Gavin, who she’d gone to college with. They’d met living in the same dorm, but his classes hadn’t overlapped with her criminal justice major.
“Nothing in that pain patch but lidocaine, capsaicin, methyl salicylate, and menthol. All standard ingredients.”
Dammit. Although the results didn’t rule out the trainer completely, she’d hoped the answer would be simple.
“Thanks, Gavin. You know where to bill me.”
She disconnected the call and met Damon’s gaze, putting her phone down on the table.
“Bad news,” he said, not even bothering with a question.
She nodded. “There’s no banned substance in the pain patch. Just the things you’d expect. I’m sorry.”
“And the hits keep coming.” He groaned and pushed his plate away. A waste of delicious pancakes, she thought sadly.
“Hey.” She put her hand over his. “It was a long shot. There’s still a lot of ground left to cover.”
He treated her to a forced smile, and she decided to change the subject, not that he’d like this one any better. “So … that kiss.”
To her shock, his smile grew wider and more genuine. “What about it?”
She swallowed hard, but she’d never backed away from honesty when it was important. “You’re my client.”
“And?”
“And we’re pretending to be together and there’s nobody around now to impress or prove anything to. So, what’s going on?” Because she honestly didn’t understand. “Up until a couple of days ago, you barely tolerated me.”
“Hey, that’s not true.”
She raised an eyebrow. “We certainly didn’t click.”
“Because I didn’t know you then.”
She sighed. “Damon, let’s be real. You all but said I’m not your type. Hell, I had to dress up just to prove to you that I could pull it off.”
He frowned at that. “I’m an asshole. And I was wrong. I always thought you were gorgeous but I didn’t see you.”
“And you do now.”
Reaching out, he pulled a strand of her hair, sliding it back and forth between his fingers. “Yes, I do.”
“Well, you don’t do relationships and neither do I. Not anymore.” He didn’t argue the point, so she went on. “Not to mention the fact that we have important people in common. It would be stupid to let things go any further.”
Quinn, her best friend in the world, was with his brother. Evie didn’t ever want to make her choose.
“I didn’t say anything about a relationship. It was a kiss. A damn good kiss and one I want to repeat. And so do you.” He tugged on her hair. “And as far as Quinn and Austin are concerned, we’re adults. Whatever happens between us, I’m sure we can handle it without pulling them into it.”
She couldn’t concentrate, not with how he was lightly tugging on her hair, the feel surprisingly arousing. “You’re suggesting we … what?”
“See where things go and have fun.”
Could she do that? Just give in, let go, and enjoy? Didn’t she deserve some good in her life for as long as it lasted?
“Stop thinking so hard,” he said, leaning in close, his forehead touching hers.
“Okay.”
“Well, okay then.” A slow, sexy grin lifted his lips, one she couldn’t resist.
And now she didn’t have to.
* * *
Damon left Evie at her door with a deep kiss that had his cock hard and his body aching for more. More seemed to be the theme of things right now. For the first time, he wanted more from a woman than she wanted from him. Because of her hesitancy, he’d let her believe he desired a short-term, fun fling, because if he’d even hinted that he was quickly becoming invested, she’d run far and fast. She didn’t trust readily and for good reason.
But for Damon, Evie was a beacon of light in a dark time in his life. He knew now that the fake girlfriend aspect wouldn’t work. He’d been counting on the idea of winning his appeal and her being able to meet his teammates and others with whom he had daily contact. Now he was banned from the stadium. From doing anything that might make the NFL think he was viewing plays, watching practice, having contact with team personnel. The list went on.
He thought back to his initial conversation with his brother and realized Austin had known all along what the end result would be. Bri had, too. Damon hadn’t wanted to face or hear it, and they’d offered him Evie as a PI who could play his girlfriend and assess the people around him. But that idea