Read Daring Her Love for Free Online

She wasn’t sure they even breathed. The sound of the front door opening broke through her foggy brain. She forced herself to swallow the thick taste of desire and take a step back. But their eyes held, and she had a strange feeling that she’d left a piece of herself with him.
     
     
    ERIC COULDN’T SHAKE the feeling that he’d met Kat before. He searched her eyes, looking for some sense of recognition beyond the obvious, but he sensed he was alone in his recognition. The relief was bittersweet. She stirred memories of his troubled youth, memories that he usually kept buried so deep that no one could unearth them. Only these memories were laced with something pleasurable. Fleeting feelings of happiness that broke through his treacherous upbringing.
    Kat touched her lips, as if she could hold in the heat of their kiss, but it was the lingering look of desire in her eyes that told him there was no way in hell she was going to forget their kiss. He knew he couldn’t. How could he when she was so sweet, so sexy, and sparked such good feelings inside him?
    He slung her bag over his shoulder and stepped in close as Hugh and Brianna descended the porch steps. Kat was nibbling on her lower lip again, watching their friends approach, and he could read the worry filling her eyes. He touched her hand, prepared to reassure her that he wasn’t going to say anything to Hugh and Brianna, when her eyes narrowed. 
    “That never happened,” she said harshly before pasting a smile on her lips and hurrying into Brianna’s open arms.
    “I can’t believe you’re here!” Brianna hugged her. “And I’m so glad you met Eric. How did you guys hook up?”
    Kat’s smile fell flat, a beat that Hugh obviously didn’t miss as he shot a quizzical look at Eric.
    “We met in the rental car line,” he explained quickly, “and decided to save a few bucks.” Kat’s relieved sigh was a nod of approval.
    “I’m so glad. Come on. The kids and Hal are asleep, of course, but I’ll get you settled in your room.” Brianna and Kat headed for the house.
    Both men were well over six feet, and they stood eye to eye. The coy look in Hugh’s dark eyes wasn’t lost on Eric as he embraced his friend.
    “Good to see you, Hugh.”
    “It’s been a while. How was your trip?” Hugh closed the trunk of the car, and they headed down the gravel path toward the front door.
    “Great. No issues other than the delays.”
    They’d known each other since their early racing days, when they’d shared everything from secrets to women. But love had changed Hugh, and even now, a few years and a baby later, Eric could see the fulfilled look in his friend’s eyes.
    “Want to talk about the vibe you two are giving off?” Hugh asked.
    Hugh had been too good of a friend to Eric for him to lie to him, but he also had the unexpected urge to protect Kat’s privacy.
    “She’s a gorgeous woman. I’m a good-looking guy. We’re gonna have some kind of vibe.” Easy enough and not a lie.
    “There is truth in that statement, my friend.” They climbed the porch steps, and Hugh touched Eric’s arm before opening the door. “Eric, how are you really? Anything new on the parental front?”
    Nothing like starting with the hardest subject. “I’m well, and no. Nothing new. They live their simple, and thankfully sober, lives, and I live mine. I’m glad to be here, though, Hugh. Nothing beats a weekend at Hal’s.” Eric had gotten a job at the racetrack when he was fifteen, and a mechanic had taken him under his wing. At sixteen, he’d moved out. Eric had thought about reaching out to his parents many times those first few years, but it had been too painful seeing the people who were supposed to care for him being unwilling to care for themselves. And later, when they’d finally cleaned up their lives, they were still disinterested in him. To this day, their interaction was minimal.
    Hugh searched his friend’s eyes, and Eric wondered what he saw there. The