Dare to Take
Dare to Love Book 6
Carly Phillips
Carly Phillips
A one-night stand.
A secret.
A mistake they tried to forget.
On leave from the army, Tyler Dare is just looking for a little fun, but his best friend's sister is off limits. Yet unable to deny how sexy and alluring she is, he finds it all too easy to succumb to a night of passion and heat that ends the next morning in the worst way possible.
There are just some guys you don't touch--even someone as innocent and inexperienced as Ella Shaw knows that. But when her brother's best friend is up for grabs and willing, she can't resist. After all, she's wanted him for years…
Now, Ella is stranded on a tropical island with a hurricane bearing down, and only Tyler can save her. It's his chance to make amends for the past and show the woman he's never forgotten that he's coming after her . . . in more ways than one.
A secret.
A mistake they tried to forget.
On leave from the army, Tyler Dare is just looking for a little fun, but his best friend's sister is off limits. Yet unable to deny how sexy and alluring she is, he finds it all too easy to succumb to a night of passion and heat that ends the next morning in the worst way possible.
There are just some guys you don't touch--even someone as innocent and inexperienced as Ella Shaw knows that. But when her brother's best friend is up for grabs and willing, she can't resist. After all, she's wanted him for years…
Now, Ella is stranded on a tropical island with a hurricane bearing down, and only Tyler can save her. It's his chance to make amends for the past and show the woman he's never forgotten that he's coming after her . . . in more ways than one.
The sun shone overhead, the temperature neared ninety, and the
humidity was hair-curlingly high on the Caribbean island of St. Lucia, making
it hard to believe a hurricane was coming soon. Ella Shaw glanced up at the
blue sky, knowing it wouldn’t remain pristine for long.
The calm before the storm.
She pulled her hair into a high ponytail and headed out of her
hotel, determined to hit the local gift shop she’d caught sight of on her way
to the photo shoot yesterday. She’d seen long, draping, blue-beaded necklaces
from the storefront window, but she hadn’t had time to stop. Her boss was a stickler
for getting the right shot in the exact light, and they’d worked well past
dark. By the time they’d wrapped for the day, the store had been closed.
As an assistant for Angie Crighton, a fashion designer based in
Miami, Ella was responsible for the little details involved in a photo shoot.
And though Angie, the photographer, and models had left the island this
morning, Ella had stayed to make sure the shooting site was clean, the hotel
pleased enough to allow them back another time. And if she were honest with
herself, she liked the downtime after the craziness of a photo shoot, the
rushing around of the crew, the bossiness of some of the models and, of course,
of Angie herself.
Ella appreciated the fact that she had time to souvenir shop for
her best friend, Avery Dare. How ironic was it that the two girls from very
different worlds had met at all? But they had. And it was Avery who’d
introduced Ella to the finer things in life, leading her to seek out a job with
an haute-couture designer. Whereas Avery came from a wealthy family, Ella had
been raised firmly middle class, but the two girls had bonded instantly. They’d
even shared an apartment until recently, when her best friend had moved in with
her rock star boyfriend, Grey Kingston.
Yep, two different worlds, even now, Ella thought wryly. But
their friendship was solid. Which reminded her, she needed to let Avery know
she might not make it back to the States tomorrow as planned.
When Ella had heard about the storm changing course, she’d tried
to book an earlier flight out, without success. She shivered at the possibility
of being stranded here alone during a hurricane and knew Avery would like the
news even less. Her best friend suffered from severe anxiety, and Ella didn’t
like to make her worry.
She’d just buy Avery an extra gift to make up for it, she
thought, walking into the shop. She immediately headed to the turquoise-blue
beads she’d seen through the window. The shopkeeper claimed they were Larimar
beads. Even if they were fake, the beads, popular in the Caribbean, were said
to have healing powers. Ella purchased two dozen, a mix of bracelets and
necklaces, so she could share with the children at the cancer treatment center
where she and Avery volunteered.
Avery had been nine, Ella ten years old when they’d met at a
Miami hospital, both donating bone marrow, both there at the behest of a
parent. Neither of them really understanding what was happening. All Ella had
known was that she was doing a favor for her father, helping the stepmother
Ella didn’t like all that much to begin with. Even at a young age, Ella had
been a good judge of character, a better one than her father, obviously,
because shortly after Janice had gotten well, she’d left Ella’s dad. And both
her father and Ella’s life had gone downhill from there. Ella shook off the
thoughts of her past before she could go deeper and darker, and focused on the
pretty jewelry.
She spent some time choosing a thick turquoise bracelet for
Avery and a similar one for herself before paying for everything and waiting
for the shopkeeper to wrap things up.
Bag in hand, she started back to the hotel, cutting through side
streets and looking into the windows of the stores, soaking up the culture
along the cobblestone streets before heading back to Miami tomorrow. At least,
she still hoped she’d be home. Knowing she couldn’t change the outcome, she
pushed her worrisome thoughts aside. She’d deal with the situation as it came.
Sweat dampened her neck from the humidity of the island, and she
contemplated taking a cab back to the hotel. She reached into her straw bag and
pulled out her cell phone to make the call, when, without warning, she felt a
hard jerk on her purse.
“What the—?” She spun around, but whomever wanted her purse was
quicker.
She barely caught a glimpse of a tall guy with dark hair as he
yanked harder, nearly pulling her shoulder out of its socket before slamming
her against the nearby building with his other hand.
Her head hit the concrete wall, and spots immediately appeared
behind her eyes from the impact. As she struggled not to pass out, the man
grabbed her purse, along with her cell phone that had fallen to the ground.
She opened her mouth to scream, but nothing came out. Her legs
collapsed beneath her, and she fell to the ground, her head smacking the
sidewalk before everything went black.
After
a successful fifteen-year career with various New York publishing houses, and
over 40 sexy contemporary romance novels published, N.Y. Times and USA Today
Bestselling Author Carly Phillips is now an Indie author who writes to her own
expectations and that of her readers. She continues the tradition of hot men
and strong women and plans to publish many more sizzling stories. Carly lives
in Purchase, NY with her family, two nearly adult daughters and two crazy dogs
who star on her Facebook Fan Page and website. She's a writer, a knitter of
sorts, a wife, and a mom. In addition, she's a Twitter and Internet junkie and
is always around to interact with her readers. You can find out more about
Carly at www.carlyphillips.com.
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