If You Dare Read Online Free

bad. It was liberating—so much more fun than being the good girl.
    The second hand on the clock moved at excruciatingly slow speed, and Cordelia thought about walking on over, giving them a few minutes alone.
    But the daring new her chickened out at the last minute. She didn’t think she could handle the kind of heat Joe dispensed and then sit through a welcome party like it was nothing.
    And somehow she wasn’t sure she could continue the sexy fantasy persona in front of a group. She’d spent a lifetime going out of her way to blend in a crowd, to make people happy, to stand out as little as possible. She certainly didn’t flirt outrageously.  
    But then, she didn’t wear white bikinis with forest green sarongs and glittery pool shoes either. And she never wore her hair down around her shoulders like it was right now.
    Her action adventure thriller lay unopened on the bedside table next to her sister’s lipstick marked sign: Bad Girls Have All The Fun, and I’m Not About To Miss Out Now. An Irene style positive affirmation that had left Cordelia even more distracted, so the book still sat unread.
    All she could think about was Joe, alone next door, listening to her, wanting her.
    No, not her. He wanted this pretend Cordelia. The woman who lived by the same mantra as her sister.
      Jeeze, she was a mess.
    Fifteen minutes.
    Fine. She was done waiting.

    Joe heard the knock on his door and smiled. He’d heard everything she’d done all day. And his promise meant to frustrate her had done more to leave him all hot and bothered.
    Too bad she’d waited so long to come over.
    He ran a hand through his wet hair and shrugged on his shirt leaving it unbuttoned before opening the door to let her in.
    When he saw her standing there in the white bikini top and green skirt, one long porcelain leg exposed by the slit up the side, he could only look on in speechless appreciation until she sent him a taunting smile. “You like, hm?” And then she turned around to give him a great view of the rest of the outfit.
    What more could he do? He nodded. “Oh yeah. I like.”
    She sashayed in, her hips swaying to their own internal beat. A beat he wanted to get to know up close and personal like he’d never wanted anything in his life.  
    “Good. I picked it out hoping to impress you.”
    “It worked.” He swallowed hard and closed the door. “You’re early.”
    “Are you complaining?” Her whiskey slow words teased him even more than the white bikini top that cupped her perfect curves. For a moment he let his imagination run rampant with the possibilities. Oh yeah.
    “Oh I don’t think so. I’m just stating a fact.” He tried to clear his head. “Did you get settled in okay?”
    She nodded and smiled up at him with that look of innocence so at odds with everything else about her. “I did. Irene left a message. She said she’d call tomorrow, and she told me the party would move to the pool. I hope she was right.”
    Good old Irene. “Yeah, she’s right. We meet at least once a month, so planning your welcome fit right in.”
    The flirty woman was back in force as she stepped close to him and ran a finger down his shoulder. He might as well have left the shirt off for all the good it did.  
    “That’s good. I’d hate to be any trouble.” Her slow southern drawl teased him.
    From comfortable awareness to hot and hard in seconds. She should write a book. Joe just shook his head. “Oh, I think you’re definitely trouble. But the party was no problem.”
    As she stepped away, Joe felt the cool air separate them before she spoke. “I guess everyone will be here soon?”
    “In just a few minutes.” Against his better judgment and the ever present screaming internal He-Man gene he’d never been good at ignoring, Joe finished buttoning his shirt. “Would you like a drink? Beer, margarita, soda. You choose.”
    She decided on a margarita and Joe took the opportunity to show her around the kitchen as he made her