A Tempting Dare Read Online Free PDF Page B

outside reached his ears and he wanted to excuse himself, but he wasn’t that much of an asshole.
    “Juice?” he asked, holding out the carton.
    “I’ll just have a drink of yours.” She slid from her chair and sauntered over. She stood close—too close—and took his glass from him. Kat rounded the corner when Zoe put the drink to her lips. His eyes met Kat’s, and her steps slowed. She opened her mouth like she wanted to say something, hesitated, and then closed it again. Zoe finished drinking and handed the glass back to him. She licked her lips, exaggerating the motion. Alrighty then.
    “Morning, Kat,” he said, trying to exude a nonchalance he didn’t feel. The glass slipped in his hand, and he tightened his fingers around it before it smashed to the floor. 
    “Morning,” she said, the lightness in her voice belying the stiffness in her body. Dammit, this wasn’t what she thought. Or maybe she didn’t think anything at all. She knew he didn’t fuck around with attached women.
    “Zoe was just—” he began, feeling the need to explain himself.
    “I was just venting.” She touched Sebastian’s arm. “Sometimes Peter can be so possessive. It makes me want to break the engagement.”  
    “I get it,” Kat said.
    “Really?” Zoe said, her eyes hardening as she turned them on Kat. “How could you possibly get it? I heard you were anti-marriage.” She lowered her voice and added, “That you were a man hater.”
    Kat’s back went poker straight. What the hell was going on with these two? They were acting like two cats trapped in a duffle bag.
    Kat slid him a glance. “Oh, so that’s what you’ve heard about me, was it?” 
    Jesus, she didn’t think he’d said that, did she? “Kat—”  
    Before he could get the words out, Danny and his father stepped into the kitchen.
    “Hey Kat Nip,” Danny said, grabbing Kat in a headlock. She punched him in the gut and he let loose a loud oomph . “Good morning to you, too.”
    Sebastian took that moment to extricate himself from Zoe. He slid along the counter and tried not to stare at Kat—or drool over the awe-inspiring frayed shorts and snug T-shirt she wore as she reached for the coffee pot. His brain stalled, memories of last night swamping him. His cock thickened, and he shifted his stance.
    “Stop hogging all the juice,” Danny said, pulling him back from his stupor. He handed the carton to Danny, and his friend angled his head, those too-astute eyes moving over Sebastian’s face.
    “What the hell is the matter with you lately anyway?”
    “Nothing.”
    “Thanks for the drink, Sebastian,” Zoe said. She gave a little finger wave and slipped outside to where the young kids were already swimming and running around the gardens. Sebastian watched her go, and Danny nudged him. He turned back to his friend and caught the note of amusement dancing on his lips. “Ah, never mind.”
    If Danny wanted to think Zoe was messing with his head, then so be it. Better that than the real reason. While he’d never want to do anything to hurt Kat, maybe it was better for her to think that, too. Last night was a mistake—a sweet, beautiful mistake that couldn’t happen again. Otherwise, he just might not be able to keep his feelings locked behind the barricade he’d erected years ago. Kat wasn’t looking for anything more for him, anyway, of that, he was sure. She knew his reputation and had straight up called him a player. Yeah, he got around, but fear of commitment wasn’t the reason he had a different woman in his bed every weekend.  
    “What are you all still doing inside?” Danny’s mother Janice asked, stepping into the kitchen through the patio doors, her smile so bright Sebastian wished he had his sunglasses on. “Get on out here. The sun is shining, breakfast is set up in the gardens, and we have games to play.” She clapped her hands, and everyone followed her out.
    The brilliant morning sun beat down on him, and his body began to