Dare to Love (4 page)

They were playing man-to-man basketball instead of zone. Doug was an inch under six feet, but he was still the shortest man on his team. Andi was the shortest on hers. Her team assigned her to guard him.

And every time she raised her arms in the air and bobbed up and down in front of his nose, placing her breasts so close to his face he could almost kiss them, he got a little hotter. He had to use all the control at his disposal to keep his body limp in all the right places. Her long, smooth, bare legs brushed up against his and he had to remind himself that she was not a woman free for him to pursue. She was a police officer—someone in his new life who could never get close enough to learn about his old one. She was also the woman who was planning to take things from him that he had no intention of giving.

They were in the last minutes of their impromptu game, and Doug had almost made it through without making a fool of himself over his training officer. His team was ahead by two points and they were at their basket again, ready to clinch the game.

Sven and Jim were both guarding Doug's teammate, Steve. Steve tossed the ball up in desperation, trying for a wild shot. The ball rimmed the basket and then fell out. But Doug was there, catching the rebound, ready to make the easy shot.

He raised the ball up over his head, and Andi jumped up in front of him, trying to block his aim. Doug wasn't worried about her—she didn't have a chance in hell of stopping him. He waited a fraction of a second to get his shot off, just long enough for one more bob from Andi, one more close-up view before he forced himself to forget she was a woman. Up she came, and she was close, so close.... Too close. Her nipple brushed his chin, and Andi had the basketball.

“Hey, man, wake up!” Steve called to Doug, chasing down court to guard his man.

Dazed and humiliated, Doug raced down the court in turn. Empowered by a healthy dose of male ego, he beat Andi to her basket. He planted himself firmly in her path, careful not to foul her, but determined not to let her score against him either. She came sailing down the court and rammed straight into him.

“Uh!” She grunted, losing the ball and landing on her backside on the court. “You're supposed to move,” she said with a disgruntled look. “Wasn't that a foul or something?”

Steve stole the bouncing ball just before it went out-of-bounds, and the rest of the men chased him up-court.

“It's a foul, but not a defensive one,” Doug said, automatically checking to make sure his wristband was in place as he reached a hand down to help her up. “My feet were firmly planted, and you'd have been called.”

“Oh. I knew there was a reason I didn't want to learn to play this game,” she said, letting go of his hand to run up-court and assist her teammates. She got there just in time to see Steve sink an easy hook shot.

The game was over, which was a very good thing as far as Doug was concerned. He could never have hidden the heavy bulge in his shorts, a result of his collision with Andi, from a bunch of streetwise cops. Foregoing the good-natured congratulations going on behind him, Doug headed off to his hotel room and a long, cold shower.

He stood under the stinging spray with only one thought racing through his head: who said making love with her meant he had to get close to her? He and Celia had shared a satisfying relationship for years, and she'd never asked for a thing Doug couldn't give her. Andrea didn't have to be any different. He'd just been letting all this DARE screening get to him. Having sex wasn't like going out for beer. You could do it without giving anything away.

It didn't dawn on him until much later that night, as he lay sleeplessly, pondering the unusual day, that he'd just played his first game of hoops, ever, as “one of the guys.” And aside from a little frustration, he'd enjoyed it.

“‘N
IGHT
, M
A
.”

“Sleep tight, dear.”

Andrea slowly replaced the receiver in the cradle and then lay back against her pillows. She didn't know what was the matter with her. She'd just spent the past fifteen minutes giving her mother a rundown on two of her trainees—two of her
single
trainees. She hadn't voluntarily talked to her about a man since her divorce.

And she'd just led her mother to believe that she had two possible sons-in-law on the horizon. She, who knew there would never be another son-in-law in her mother's life, not unless Gloria herself gave birth to another daughter.

And now, in spite of her stalling, she was still left alone in the dark with too many thoughts to run from. She knew her unrest had more to do with something she'd felt during that morning's basketball game than with the uncomfortable bruise it had left on her right hip. She just didn't want to acknowledge what that something was.

There was absolutely no logical reason for her suddenly to feel this challenging need to discover what, if anything, lay beneath Doug Avery's cold, hard shell. Nothing had changed. The man had done nothing to indicate to her that he belonged in the DARE program, and plenty to indicate that he did not.

Yet each time she was with him she sensed a tightly leashed vital energy that, if properly channeled, might just make him the best DARE officer the country had ever seen.

Something had to have made the man so crude and hard. Babies were not born that way. And if she did her job right, she would find that something, bring it to light and then determine whether or not there was anything left inside Doug Avery to offer to children.

And there was more.... Her mind quickly skittered away from what that “more” might be, but her traitorous thoughts kept coming right back to it. With the silence settling around her like a thick, dark curtain, it got harder and harder for her to push the unsettling subject away. She shifted in bed, then jerked back with a hiss. She'd forgotten her bruised hip.

Doug's body was rock solid. It was no wonder she'd fallen so hard.

Andrea's skin tingled as she remembered the instant when her body had slammed into his. For that split second, she'd felt his masculinity pressing against her intimate parts. He'd offered his hand to help her up and she'd been tempted to look at his crotch....

No!

She must stop this. She had to stop. She simply couldn't allow herself such thoughts—not about Doug Avery, not about anyone.

She was alone now. That was as it should be. She'd had her chance, and she'd blown it. It was time to sleep, to rest her body in preparation for the next day. Her only concern was performing her job perfectly. And vital to this particular job was keeping a tight rein on Doug Avery's actions. She'd actually forgotten the ledger.

She got out of bed and collected the account she'd started the night before. Thinking of the kids, and of one little boy in particular, she forced herself to be objective and recall the officer's transgressions that day. There was his lack of contribution to the innocuous conversation at breakfast; the display of temper when he'd almost stomped out of the morning's session; the way he'd just walked off after the basketball game, leaving his team standing there accepting congratulations without him. The man was a loner, and loners didn't attract friends, especially in children.

Andrea was about to close the ledger, put her pen away and climb back into bed, but in all fairness, there was more she had to write. At the bottom of the page, she made a little plus sign. And then another. Doug Avery had swallowed his anger and sat back down without insolence when Andrea had warned him that he was on the verge of being thrown out of the program. For some reason, the man wanted to be there. It meant a lot to him. That had to count for something. And beside the second plus, she wrote, At least he played the game.

That settled, Andrea returned to her bed, punched her pillow a little harder than was necessary and settled down to do her mind's bidding. She would sleep. She
would
sleep.

Sometime after midnight she slipped out of the bed that hadn't yet coaxed sleep from her body, gathered DARE Bear from atop the TV, cuddled him to her breast and took him back to bed. He kept her company until sleep finally claimed her.

* * *

“D
O NOT
, I repeat,
do not
stand up and lecture your kids. Their minds will wander, they'll miss something. You have to involve them in every aspect of their learning.” Andrea looked out to the sea of faces and spotted her team of six among the other DARE trainees. They all seemed to be absorbing her words.

All except Doug Avery. Andrea couldn't really say whether Doug was paying attention or not. She refused to look at him directly. Her reactions to him on the basketball court the day before were still too recent, her resolve not to feel them again too shaky for her to take a chance on putting it to the test.

“In other words, guys, do as I say and not as I do,” she continued, lightening her tone once she was certain her point had been made.

“Now, before I give you my own inspired ideas for getting the kids to participate, do any of you have any suggestions?”

A hand or two popped up, and then two or three more.

“Make crossword puzzles, with the day's facts as clues.”

“Play a board game where teams have to recite facts to progress.”

“Have them do group reports and read them to the class.”

Andrea continued to take suggestions, adding her own comments where she thought appropriate, pointing out hazards as she saw them. All in all, she was pleased with the attention the men were giving the exercise.

And then, in the back corner of the ballroom-cum-lecture room, she saw a hand go up, a strip of silver-studded black leather attached to the masculine wrist. For a moment her heart stopped. In her mind's eye, she saw again that scrap of leather moving down toward her on the basketball court, felt the strange, instant excitement as a firm grip took possession of her hand. And again she felt the urge to find the man inside the shell of Doug Avery, to bring him out, to get to know him.

“Doug?” she called. He didn't move from his slouched position. His legs, covered with the inevitable black denim, were stretched out in front of him and crossed at the ankles. His arms rested against his massive chest.

“Listen.” The one word was spoken inflexibly, as if his was the only answer.

He still had an attitude problem.

“Listen to what the kid knows,” he went on. “It'd probably save everyone lots of time. Then channel that knowledge onto a course that helps the kid find his own answers. When push comes to shove, those are the only ones he's going to have faith in anyway.” His piercing brown eyes looked straight at her, as if daring her to argue.

But for once, Andrea had no desire to argue with him. He sounded as if he was speaking from experience. He also sounded right. Still, the children could be led through proper channels only if they trusted their guide, if they felt that their leader cared where they were going and where they ended up.

Andrea still didn't think Doug Avery could inspire that trust. Not only was he crude, and slightly sinister-looking with his crooked nose and jagged scar, but his whole attitude suggested that he was self-sufficient and expected others to be the same. That was the attitude that led kids straight to hell.

* * *

D
OUG HAD HIS FIRST
one-on-one session with Andrea later that evening. He'd seen her at dinner, sitting with a couple of other training officers, but hadn't spoken to her directly since the previous day on the basketball court. Not that he minded. Speaking wasn't what he wanted to do with her.

The thoughts he'd been having about her since the game had everything to do with doing, and nothing to do with saying. He wanted her long, silky legs wrapped tightly around him. He wanted to watch her face on his pillow after some hard loving. Above all he wanted to believe that sexual attraction was all he felt for her, that making love with her would cure the uneasiness he felt inside every time she entered a room. He
needed
to believe it.

He did not want to share his thoughts with her, to show her his soul.

He walked into the suite that had been assigned to his team, the one where he'd first seen her, feeling more uncomfortable than he did walking a beat among gangs and druggies. The suite was empty. He'd beat her to it.

Doug slouched down in the seat Andrea had occupied that first night—not because she'd occupied it, but because he could view every other part of the room from it. It made him feel better, somehow, more in control, to have the whole room under his command.

He knew that a couple of the other guys had already had their first one-on-one's. Right now, he sure would have liked to know what to expect out of the next hour. How was she going to be coming at him? How best could he avoid her? Was there any chance he could get her into bed instead?

Did he really want her to be that kind of woman?

With his elbows resting on the arms of his chair and his fingers propped in a steeple below his chin, he watched as the door swung open and Andi came into the room. She was wearing white jeans and a bright blue polo shirt that detailed the delicate shape of her breasts above her trim, womanly waistline.

And she was smiling. Did the woman ever enter a room without that damn smile? Doug glanced away, ignoring the curious pool of warmth he felt deep inside as he got caught in that smile again, and also ignoring the stuffed bear in the crook of her arm.

“Hi, Doug. You're on time,” she said, taking the seat opposite him. She ran the fingers of one hand through her stylishly cropped blond hair. He really liked her hair. Its shortness was sassy, not harsh.

“You sound disappointed,” he said.

“Nope. Not even surprised.” She settled her stuffed toy on the table beside her. Doug was glad to have it out of the way.

“I knew you'd be on time. You're very methodical about doing what you have to do to accomplish the goal you've set for yourself.” Her voice was warm, husky, as well modulated as ever.

So it's finally arrived—the time when she plays shrink. Let her play her games,
he thought, determined not to let her get to him.
She can't take anything I don't give her. Nobody can.

She seemed to be waiting for some kind of reply to her statement. He nodded.

“That's an admirable quality.”

He nodded again, trying to picture her in a shower—or better yet, naked in the woods in a downpour. It was the only thing he could think of to take his mind off the probing look in her eyes.

“I'm just not sure why,” she continued. She crossed one knee over the other. Her hands rested comfortably along the arms of her chair. Her whole confident, controlled demeanor was beginning to bother him.

“Why what?” he asked.

“Why you've set this goal for yourself.”

Doug shrugged. “Why have any of us?”

If he'd hoped to slow her down with that one, he was disappointed.

“Usually out of compassion for the children.” Her watchful eyes gave him no peace.

“That's as good a reason as any.”

“Is it your reason?”

She was getting close to invading his space. Doug felt his defenses shoot up.
Calm down, man. You don't want to blow this.
His muscles tightened, ready for action, but he forced himself to stay right where he was, lying back in the chair. “Maybe.”

“You don't seem the compassionate type.”

She was challenging him. He wasn't going to let her trap him so easily. He'd long since stopped needing to prove himself to anyone.

“You're into stereotyping?” he asked.

They were no longer just talking about the reasons for his stint with DARE. They were like two tigers stalking each other, each waiting for the other to make that crucial mistake that would give the other control.

She kicked off her shoes, white leather slip-ons that she wore without socks, and curled her feet up under her. She leaned closer to the table on which her toy was perched.

“I just say it like I see it,” she said.

A part of Doug approved of how she gave as good as she got, but the bigger part of him knew it was time to end their charade. She may have the upper hand as far as DARE was concerned, but he had the final say about what he was going to reveal about himself, and to whom.

“Well, what I see here are two healthy adults who could be using this room for something much more mutually satisfying than—”

“Officer! Let's stick to the business at hand, hmm?” she said without raising her voice. “Unless, of course, you'd like to resign from the program and save us both a lot of time?”

What did it take to make the woman understand that he was not going anywhere?

“Sorry, no can do,” he said. He unsnapped his wristband and snapped it again before letting his arm fall back to the chair.

The stuffed bear with the DARE emblem kept staring at him, as if the damn glass eyes could see everything Doug wanted to keep hidden. He decided that maybe there was a purpose for the thing, after all. He could use it for target practice. He'd bet he could take out one of those eyes with a single shot from fifty feet.

“Is your mother still alive?”

Andrea's question startled Doug back to the business at hand.

He turned slightly in his chair, lifting his ankle to rest it across his knee.

“I have no idea,” he said. He thought briefly of the woman he'd known, of her softness. He hoped she was still alive. He wanted her to have had a happy life all these years.

Andi's eyes took on a peculiar light—softer, warmer. “How long has it been since you've seen her?” she asked.

Doug shrugged. “I don't know. Twenty, maybe twenty-five years.”