Daring to Love: A Contemporary Romance (The Armstrongs Book 3) Read online

  “I don’t blame you. Now, go get your beauty sleep.”

  ***

  Evan’s body ached with need. He’d just refused her offer to come home with her, when the one thing he’d wanted to do since this morning was to rip off her clothes and have his way with her. He started to doubt his mental sanity. He’d never refused the offer to sleep with a beautiful woman. Ever. What the hell was wrong with him?

  One the way to his hotel, he passed Snow Daze and saw a few other skiers heading inside. He could use a beer .. or four.

  On his second beer, Tanner showed up and started asking all sorts of questions about Charlene. But Evan wasn’t in the mood to talk about her. Heck he had no idea what was going on with him. “None of your business.”

  Tanner gave him a speculative look, not letting Evan’s unfriendly reply bother him. He and Evan were good enough friends that he simply changed the topic. But it was too late, Hannes had overheard them and jumped right into the conversation with a dirty comment about Charlene and her incredible assets – meaning her breasts.

  Evan was about to ignore the vile comment, when Hannes followed up his words with a dirty gesture. Within a second, he grabbed the guy by the throat and menaced him, "Don't you dare talk like that about her!"

  Hannes responded with an attitude, "Who are you trying to impress with this attack, Armstrong?"

  Evan glared at him, increasing the pressure of his hand against Hannes’ throat. That damn Austrian knew how to push all of his buttons. Evan saw through the taunting, but there wasn’t much he could do about it. Not in his red rage. This had always been his worst character trait, whenever someone pushed the right buttons, he lost control and went off like a rocket. He couldn’t stop, if his life depended on it.

  Hannes huffed, "I bet you can't win in an honest fight."

  Chapter 11

  Evan opened his mouth to agree, before reason could hold him back. And a few seconds later, he was in the midst of a fistfight. Most of the others guys in the bar formed a circle around the duo, applauding and heating up the mood.

  He had one goal: to punch the stupid grin out of Hannes’ face. He'd been a pain in the butt before Evan had lost the bet against him earlier this week, and he’d turned into a pain extraordinaire ever since.

  Both of them were fighting hard, determined to show once and for all who was the champion. He was completely absorbed in his fighting, when Heidi's high-pitched voice pulled him out of his rage. "Stop it. You fools! You’ll get kicked off of your teams!"

  Reason began to set in and the two men separated themselves, stopping the fight mere seconds before one of the FIS officials entered the room. Everyone quickly attended to their own business, covering up the traces of the fight as they returned to their own booths and tables.

  Evan was sporting a cut lip, and from the way his body felt, he’d be nursing bruised ribs for days to come. In a big gulp he downed another beer and the rage slowly cleared itself from his mind. Seeing Heidi standing a few feet away, just staring at him in disbelief, he walked over and joined her. "Thanks, Heidi. You saved my ass."

  She rolled her eyes, "You and your temper. One day it is going to destroy you."

  That was one of the reasons Heidi had broken up with him. Apart from his unwillingness to commit to a serious relationship, she’d been nagging him about him getting into trouble with his red-heated temper. And his constant chase after the next challenge.

  The accurate memory of the hurt in Charlene's eyes when she found out about his bet to lay her, and again when she’d talked about her late friend and his betting cut into his stomach like a knife. He promised himself not to hurt her again. Ever. He’d change. Just how?

  The one person who came to his mind was his brother Dean. Since he was a young kid, he’d always looked up to Dean who was seven years old that he was. In a crazy family of seven kids, Dean had been the most serious of them. A quiet observer who never talked before he thought. Never getting into fights and more than once pouring oil on troubled water with his accurate perception of the happenings. He was exactly the opposite of Evan.

  Dean surely could offer him some advice. Evan looked at his watch. It was still early enough to call his brother, who usually got up before the crack of down.

  He dialed the number and then waited while it connected.

  „Hello?”

  "Hi Dean."

  "Evan? Is that you? Did mom already tell you?"

  "Tell me what?"

  "Melissa is pregnant." The pride in his brother’s voice was unmistakable.

  "Wow, you guys don't waste time. You're not even married yet."

  Dean laughed, "Since when are you so conservative?"

  "Not me. But didn’t you say you wanted to get married in summer?"

  "We still do. Melissa will be seven months pregnant by then. We didn't want the age difference between Happy and her sibling to be too big."

  Evan loved his brother and he was happy for him. Dean had met Melissa last summer and the whole Armstrong family had instantly fallen in love with her and her little daughter Happy. Especially their mother had opened her arms to embrace her first daughter-in-law and the unexpected granddaughter.

  "How old exactly is Happy now?"

  "She's three and a half."

  "Time for her to learn skiing," Evan said.

  He could hear the hesitation in Dean's voice. "Well, yes."

  "But…."

  "Not sure if her daredevil uncle is the best teacher."

  Evan’s mind wandered to Charlene and her dream of the kid’s skiing school. She'd be a natural with kids. Happy would love her. Images of his niece and maybe a little cousin delightedly skiing down the slopes formed in his mind. Dean and Melissa would be perfectly at ease leaving little Happy in Charlene’s care. He pushed those thoughts aside. He’d called for advice from Dean.

  "Well, Dean, actually this is what I wanted to talk to you about."

  “About your thrill-seeking nature?”

  "Well, maybe.” He hesitated, searching for words. His mind thankfully registered, that Dean patiently waited on the other end of the line without saying a word. Not that it surprised him, because this was the way Dean behaved, he waited, observed and only after thinking things through he offered advice.

  Evan took a breath and then asked, "Do I need to impress people?"

  His brother laughed. "Evan. Everyone is impressed by you. You just won three gold medals, something nobody has done before."

  "No, I mean, do I have a need to impress people?"

  Dean stopped laughing and his voice grew serious, "Since you were a three-year-old, you tried to out-do everyone else. You have thrived on appreciation and applause."

  Evan had to think about eye-opening nugget of truth. Yes, he’d always wanted to be recognized for his accomplishments. Being the youngest of six brothers, he'd always felt the need to fight for his place in the family. His five brothers had always been ahead of him and he desperately wanted to prove that he could do anything as well, and even better, despite the age difference.

  When he didn’t respond for a while, Dean added, "Why?"

  Evan explained how he’d met Charlene. “I hurt her a lot and I don’t want that to happen again. I want to stop.”

  Dean thought for a few moments and then advised him, "You will stop when this woman becomes more important to you than your need to impress. You might not find this answer satisfying but you'll understand it when she's the one."

  Evan wasn’t sure, "But how do I know she's the one?"

  "You know it the moment when her well-being is more important than your own. When you are willing to do everything to make her happy. Anything at all."

  Evan thanked his brother and hung up. It sounded simple, but he doubted it would be easy to do. Simple yes. Easy no.

  ***

  Charlene woke the next morning, feeling tired and cranky. She’d spent the night tossing around in bed thinking about both, Graham and Evan. In her dreams she’d relived that h
orrific day again and again, with the one difference, that Evan stood by her side, telling her it wasn’t her fault.

  Now, in the light of the day, she acknowledged Evan was right, the accident hadn’t been her fault. Neither was it her fault to let Graham ski down that treacherous slope. Graham had been an adult and made his own decisions. She couldn’t have stopped him, not even by clinging onto him. He’d laughed her off, or taken her with him.

  It had been the right decision not to follow him down that treacherous slope and risk her own life as well. Charlene slowly came to accept those facts.

  The day yesterday had shaken her to the core. Evan had made her face her guilt. He didn't know it, but telling him about her friend's accident had taken a huge burden from her shoulders. For the first time in two years she felt lighthearted. Ready to take on the world.

  In this mood she decided to face her fear.

  Chapter 12

  Charlene dressed quickly and rushed over to Evan’s hotel, afraid that if she waited on more minute, she’d become afraid of her own courage.

  When she knocked at his door, the last thing she expected to see was Evan opening the door, dressed only in a towel.

  "Charlene. What a nice surprise. Come in. I was just getting ready to do some powder skiing for fun."

  She gave him a full glance over. She couldn’t help but notice his broad chest with all those corded muscles. Her eyes wandered down his body to his slender waist, the white towel that barely covered his center and up again to his broad shoulders. Her hunger for him grew even more when she spotted the multi-colored tattoo on one of biceps.

  He caught her staring at him and she turned deep red in her embarrassment when he asked, "Like what you see?"

  What should she answer? Suddenly she forgot why she’d come here. She’d forgotten how to talk, and her dry mouth only allowed a murmur, "hum… I am…"

  With an iceberg melting smile he grabbed her into a hug and kissed her sensuously, sending her world spinning. Charlene was completely absorbed in the kiss and barely noticed how he dragged her inside and kicked the door closed with his foot. She responded to every movement of his lips on hers with a feverish passion. Never wanting to part from him again.

  She inhaled the smell of his ocean fresh shower gel mixed with the exhilarating scent of him. Her already mushy brain refused to process further thoughts, and stopped caring about why she’d come here in the first place. Now the only thing that mattered was him.

  Her hands travelled down his back, reeling in the feel of his muscles twitching under her touch. Further down to the small of his back just above the towel, fondling the smooth skin, the hard muscles, gliding further down to his glorious ass. That wonderful ass, that had made her drool from the very first moment when she’d seen him.

  He took a jagged breath and while he hadn’t moved his hands before, he now uttered “Dammit!", grabbed her tightly and pressed her against his hard body. She felt the shudder that ran across his body and heard his whisper in her ear with a tone that shot pulses of lust up her thighs, "You make me crazy, Charlene. I wanted to wine and dine you but you're making it awfully difficult for me."

  She answered with the breath caught in her lungs, "Wine and dine me later, make love to me now!”

  ***

  Evan happily complied. He had wanted to wait and make their first time slow and soft but as she pressed her willing body against his, he realized slow had to wait. He backed her up against the wall and feverishly ripped her clothes off her body. His towel had long slipped away and Charlene was too busy caressing him to help him take her clothes off.

  His hands curved around her butt, grinding her hips against his hardness. She was caged between him and the wall. And he felt like a volcano ready to erupt, when she wrapped her arms and legs around him, swallowing back her moan of pleasure when he let his mouth trail down the sides of her neck to play at the upper swells of her breasts.

  Only the thin silky layer of her g-string separated them and he could feel how hot and wet she was. That was too much for his self-control. He ripped her panty into pieces and shoved her against the wall. She shrieked. Instantly a wave of guilt cooled him down. How could he be so rough to her? She was such a sweet person and deserved so much more than just wild sex.

  He murmured into her ear "I'm sorry darling. I don’t want to hurt you. We should take it slow."

  But Charlene pressed herself even harder against him and pushed her breast into his mouth while she said, "Don't be sorry. Fuck me. Hard and Wild."

  Her words ratcheted up his pulse and heat pumped through him. He couldn't remember ever being as aroused. Her intense desire for him multiplied his own desire to a never experienced level.

  He suckled and bit her luscious breasts, her sexy little shrieks driving him to suckle harder until her nipples where taut and swollen. When he released her left nipple from his mouth and slightly puffed air on it, Charlene hissed with delight. She dug her fingers into his back, while still holding herself up on his waist with her legs.

  Jesus, that woman was strong. And sexy. He could hear her panting when he squeezed her breasts together and took both of her nipples into his mouth. In response she pressed her wet and hot core against his erection.

  There was no time to wait. Evan desperately moved them towards the bed and leaned over to grab a condom from the night table, that she helped him to put on, without removing her legs from his waist. She was a complete turn on. And he was way past thinking, the carnal lust of a wild animal pulsed through his veins and his single focus was to take her. Now.

  He quickly slid into her in one powerful move. Jesus, she feels awesome. She was tight and wet and met each of his forceful thrusts with a movement of her hips. He thrust hard and deep into her, the way she had demanded. Just when he feared, he might be going to rough on her, she screamed out, "Now. Harder."

  And with the next thrust her muscles clamped violently around him, taking him over the edge together with her. She continued to shake in his arms for minutes, until she relaxed with the most wonderful satisfied smile on her face.

  He'd give anything just to see that smile every day. His chest filled with emotions while he carefully stroked her hair and she murmured "Evan" into his ear. His name had never sounded sweeter than right now.

  He slowly sat her down on the bed and said. “You sure like it rough, darling."

  She blushed with the cutest sexy blush and tried to look away, but he caught her chin and turned her face back so she had to look into his eyes. She squirmed when she admitted, "I don't usually, but the instant I saw you bare-chested at the door with that sexy tattoo of yours, my body heated up like a volcano and all I needed was you."

  Those words prompted a hot trail of love and passion all the way down into his heart. He basked in the thoughts of their lovemaking. It had been so different than anything he’d experienced before. It had not been solely a physical pleasure. No! It had most definitely involved his heart and soul as well. I love her! I'd do everything to make that woman happy. Anything. Just like Dean told me.

  ***

  Charlene smiled like a fool. Best. Sex. Ever. She’d been lusting after Evan for days and he hadn’t disappointed her. Her over stimulated nipples continued to burn and reheat the fire in her still pulsating core. She couldn't get enough of him. Not even after this mind-numbing, toe-curling orgasm.

  She hadn’t known she liked it rough. Actually she'd never done it before. Her sex life up to now had been rather uneventful. Average. Boring.

  What just had happened with Evan was overwhelming. Raw passion. Exuberant emotions. Pure lust. But not just that, she’d felt a connection deep down. And when she looked into his sky-blue eyes now, something had changed. His look was deep and loving. Love? Could it be love? Don't be ridiculous; we've known each other for less than a week.

  Evan’s sensual voice broke through her lust fogged brain and finally registered in her mind, "So why did you come here? I suppose it wasn't just breathtaking sex on you
r mind?"

  She elbowed him and then giggled when he pretended to be truly hurt. Suddenly, she became aware of her nakedness. But she didn't mind. Not with him. She drew his arms around her and said, "Actually, I did have a reason for coming here, breathtaking sex with a sex god was just an unexpected bonus."

  She watched as his eyes widened with joy and pride and she could have kissed him for that. It was so sweet.

  He asked, "You think I'm a sex god, Wonder Woman?"

  Charlene licked her upper lip and her fingertips grazed the muscles just above his waist while saying, "You certainly are. Evan Sex God Armstrong.”

  When her finger moved further down, she heard him groan. His muscles flexed beneath her touch and she could see the evidence of his rising desire. Focus, Charlene. You came here for a reason! She took a breath and said, "As much as I want to make love to you for the rest of the day, I came here because I need to slash some demons."

  She locked eyes with his, baring her soul before she continued, "And, I was hoping you could help me."

  Suddenly she wasn't so sure of him anymore. Was this too much to ask? He was a busy man and probably didn't have time to spend a good part of his day helping her get down that damn mountain. When she hesitated, he took her into his arms with the sweetest smile ever, and told her, "I'd do anything for you, Wonder Woman. Tell me what it is."

  “I want to conquer that damn mountain!”

  Chapter 13

  Evan took her fidgeting hands into his, until she stilled and asked, "Are you sure?"

  "Yes." No! I’m not. She wanted to shout her denial out. But it was now or never, she might not have another chance to get her act together if she’d let this opportunity slip away.

  "Okay. Then let's go." He was already standing up, dragging her behind him.

  "What, right now? Don't you have other things to do?" Please, let’s do this tomorrow. Or next week. Or never.