Dare James was too big, too sure of himself, and too arrogant for her liking. Oh, he didn’t exactly have Daniel’s air of cultured superiority over others—something she hadn’t noticed until Daniel had well and truly humiliated her—no, Dare’s was more a latent power that drew the eye and let everyone around him know that he was in charge. Which was just as bad.

The T-shirt he wore did little to contain the bulge in his biceps and he looked as if he had the strength to rip a giant oak out of the ground and snap it in half. Right now he looked as if he wanted to snap her in half.

A shiver raced down her spine at the memory of those large hands skimming over her, leaving her hot and bothered. She’d attributed her earlier physical response to the heat of the day and her worry over Gregory muddling her senses. Now she knew that it was her feminine instincts signalling danger with capital letters and she was listening. This time, she was definitely listening.

‘More wine, Miss Evans?’

Carly regarded him warily as he picked up the wine bottle. As tempted as she was to settle her sudden nervousness with more alcohol, Carly knew drinking any more would put her at a disadvantage with this man. ‘No, thank you.’ She cleared her throat, searching around her frazzled mind for something to say. ‘So, is this your first time at Rothmeyer House?’ she asked.

‘You mean you don’t know?’

‘No,’ she said politely, her mind still absorbing what she had heard about his family history. ‘Should I?’

Dare watched her nibble on the corner of her lower lip and he almost felt sorry for her. Then he remembered why she was even here and felt like snarling. ‘I would have thought so.’

‘I can’t imagine why.’

‘So sweet,’ he murmured, wondering if her lips would feel as soft as they looked.

She frowned. ‘I can see that you’re very upset with your grandfather but do you really think that coming over all macho and being aggressive is going to help the situation?’

‘Oh, good,’ he said. ‘We finally get to the part of the evening where we give up pretending we have to be polite to each other.’

Carly stared at him in shocked silence and Dare nearly laughed. What did she expect? That he would welcome his grandfather’s innocent little mistress into his life with open arms? Not likely.

‘I wasn’t aware that you had been polite,’ she mocked. ‘I must have missed that brief moment in time.’

Dare laughed. ‘You’ve got guts, I’ll give you that.’

She frowned at him. ‘Is this because I ran out in front of you on the road?’ she asked. Her expression so sweetly confused he found himself wanting to be taken in by her.

‘Try again,’ he said, calling himself a fool.

‘Try again?’ She shook her head. ‘I don’t know what to try again. I have no idea why you’re being so hostile towards me.’

‘You think I’m hostile?’

He knew damned well he was being hostile, Carly thought. She took a deep breath and reminded herself that she was usually the doctor others called on to deal with belligerent patients. ‘Yes, you’re being hostile,’ she said calmly.

‘On the contrary, I don’t think I’ve been hostile at all. But if it makes you feel better, then I’ll try to fix it.’

Carly let out a relieved breath. ‘Thank you.’ She gave him a shaky smile. ‘It’s just that your grandfather is very...tired at the moment.’

‘Oh, now that’s just showing off, Red.’

Showing off? Red? Carly’s teeth ground together at his mocking tone. ‘It’s a basic human kindness to be civil,’ she reminded him. ‘If he were a stranger on the street I’m sure you wouldn’t say the things you have.’

‘But he’s not a stranger on the street. He’s a wealthy old fool.’ He smiled but it didn’t reach his eyes. ‘And while we’re on the subject, I have to commend you on your fast work. You must have some very special attributes to get in here in under a month.’

Carly frowned. If this was him trying to be less hostile he needed to go see someone about it. ‘What do you mean by fast work?’

Tags: Michelle Conder Billionaire Romance
Source: readsnovelonline.net