She sounded like she was repeating words that had been ingrained in her over the years. Words that were untrue and absolved the wrong person of guilt and Dare's anger at Brian returned.

"I'm so sorry," she said.

"Is that why you keep bailing him out?" Dare asked.

"It's part of it," she said over another yawn.

One more question, he thought, and then he'd shut up and let her sleep. "What's the other part?" he asked.

Sleepy brown eyes met his. "Brian was there for me when I needed him. When nobody else would have bothered," she murmured, her eyes closing, her words trailing off.

"Liza?" he asked softly.

No answer.

Well, he wouldn't be learning anymore about her tonight, but he'd already discovered so much about who she was and what made her tick.

What a number her parents had done on her, Dare thought, and blew out a frustrated breath.

No wonder she kept bailing Brian out and making excuses for his behavior. It was all she'd been taught, all she knew how to do.

All these years Liza had been shouldering the blame for her brother's actions and in her mind, she was making up for failing him way back when. Dare fought to control the anger surging inside him at the damage her parents had done. Ironically, with their choices, they'd hurt both their children, including the golden boy they so wanted to protect.

Dare watched Liza sleep, emotions rioting inside him he couldn't name or understand. Soft feelings for a woman he was coming to know and the need to shield her from any more pain. And not just because he was a cop and to serve and protect was his motto.

Liza woke up entangled with a hard male body wrapped around hers and awareness hit her immediately. Her back was to Dare, her head beneath his chin, his arms holding her tight and one leg was wrapped around hers. She ought to be mortified, but she liked the feeling too much to ruin it. Instead, she breathed in deeply, taking a minute to savor the heady sensation of heat and awareness surrounding her.

Her head still hurt but not with the same deathly intensity as it had yesterday, for which she was grateful. The last thing she remembered was their deep talk about family. He'd revealed painful memories and she'd admitted to embarrassing truths. In her mind that made them even and again she refused to be embarrassed.

The problem was she'd opened up to him in a way she'd never done before. Something about Dare Barron inspired trust and the thought was beyond frightening. She knew she ought to give in to the impulse demanding she slam up walls between them, but he'd stepped up to take care of her and in her eyes that was huge. She couldn't hurt him by freezing him out, and besides, that wasn't what she wanted.

She wanted him. As long as she remembered that his presence in her life was temporary, she could enjoy the short time they had.

She lay in silence and listened to his deep, even breathing. Every place his body touched felt hot and sensitive and the longer she remained cocooned in his arms, the more aroused she became.

Suddenly she became aware of a change in his breathing pattern and a few seconds after that she felt his erection swell and harden against her back.

He was awake.

"Good morning," she murmured.

"No need to ask how you knew." His deep chuckle reverberated throughout her already-tingling body and he started to pull away but Liza grabbed his arms.

"Going somewhere?" she asked, wanting to keep him right where he was.

"Feeling better?" he countered.

She couldn't help but smile, not that he could see. "Depends on your definition of better. I'm alive, and even though my head hurts, it's not as bad as yesterday."

She pushed herself forward, separating them only so she could roll over and look into his eyes. "Thank you for staying with me," she said, truly meaning it.

"My pleasure. I didn't mean to fall asleep in here."

"It's fine." She'd actually slept better with him here. She was normally a light sleeper, hearing everything all around her, and though the pain pills probably accounted for her deep sleep, a part of her recognized his presence soothed her. Which scared her. She didn't want to like anything about having him here beyond appreciating his care and enjoying his company. She couldn't let herself depend on anyone.

"It definitely wasn't a hardship," he said. "Well, until a few minutes ago, anyway."

Despite herself, she grinned, knowing he was teasing her about waking up with his erection snuggled against her back, a hot sensation that still caused a delicious tingling between her thighs.

She took in his disheveled morning look, the messy hair, the razor stubble, and the intensity in those chocolate brown eyes. A girl could melt in that gaze. There was no harm in admitting that truth in her mind, if nowhere else.

"Didn't I warn you not to look at me like that?" he asked.

She licked her dry lips, words eluding her.

He reached out and ran his thumb over her bottom lip, the simple touch sending currents of electricity to strategic body parts. She couldn't pretend to be immune to him even if she wanted to.

She didn't.

"What if I can't?" she asked on a whisper. Something about this man caused her to ignore every warning bell in her head.

"Baby, you already know the answer to that."

She supposed she did. "Dare?" she asked softly.

He eased in closer to her. "Yeah?"

She swallowed hard. They were so close. In her bed. She was in her barely there tank and shorts. He, she realized, was still in a T-shirt and jeans.

Waiting for her to speak.

"Kiss me," she said, opting for the simple request.

He groaned and eased himself over her, careful not to jostle her head. The big bad cop could be so gentle when he wanted to be, she thought, as his lips closed over hers.

His kiss was feather light and soft, starting at one side of her mouth, kissing her, licking at her lips, tasting her slowly, reverently as if she would shatter. If he kept up this sensual assault, she just might. The light nibbles with his teeth, the soft sweeps of his tongue, and the oh-so-tender caress of his thumb over her cheek were devastating to her senses.

He clearly didn't want to overwhelm her, was taking his time, being careful, and that care did more to break down her defenses than anything else might have. When he slid his tongue over the seam of her lips, her entire body trembled with desire, and then finally he slid his tongue past her lips to take possession.

And possess her he did. His tongue gliding over every part of her, each sweep taking her deeper and deeper into a web of longing that took her beyond thought, beyond reason. He kissed like he did everything else, with confidence and determination, sweeping her along with him.

She shook beneath him, needing him in every sense of the word. Needing to touch him, she slid her hands beneath his shirt, placing her palms over his heated flesh, feeling his taut muscles against her hand. He was hard and firm, just as she'd imagined. And all the while, he slid his lips back and forth over hers, letting her know with each kiss, each touch, how much he wanted her.

Clearly as much as she wanted him. Caution and rational thought fled as she scraped her nails over his flesh, moving upward to graze his nipples. He shuddered, letting out a low groan before breaking away, flipping over onto his back, one arm over his eyes.

They'd gotten carried away and she was grateful he'd been thinking when she obviously hadn't. She backed off too, and as she caught her breath, she became aware of the steady pounding in her head.

She heard a moan and realized the sound came from her.

He rolled to face her once more. "Are you okay?"

She didn't know what to say and remained silent.

"How is your head?" he asked, his breathing ragged.

Hers was too. "Hurts," she admitted.

"Which is exactly why I stopped. If we'd done anything more, you'd be hating me." He lifted himself up and leaned over for a long, gentle kiss.

One she couldn't and didn't want to resist. Fun and temporary, she reminded herself. The fun part would come when she was feeling better. The temporary wasn't something she wanted to dwell on. It merely had to linger in the back of her mind.

"Trust me, this isn't over, only delayed," he said, breaking the kiss.

"Promise?" She didn't know what had gotten into her.

He brought out a cheeky, playful side she hadn't known she possessed. Even in pain, she had to admit it felt good to just smile with someone.

"Oh, yeah." His sizzling stare promised her more to come when she was better. "Now I'm getting up to bring you a quick bite to eat and your medicine."

"I'd like to try and get away with Advil only today."

"Only if you swear to take the heavy stuff if the ibuprofen doesn't work."

She raised her hand in the air. "Promise."

Before he could stand, her phone rang and he glanced over at the nightstand. "Do you want me to get it?"

"If you don't mind."

He picked up the receiver. "Hello?" he asked, and as he listened to the caller, his features darkened. "She's not up to taking calls."

"Who is it?" she asked him.

He held up a hand. "Look, Montana, if she wanted to talk, she'd have picked up the phone. She's doing better but still in a lot of pain."

Liza winced, remembering yesterday's awkward incident.

"Yeah, I'll tell her you called," Dare muttered. He hung up the phone and glanced at Liza. "I suppose you got that?"

She shut her eyes and sighed. "I asked him to meet me at the fair because he's new in town. I thought I'd introduce him to some people." She bit her lower lip. "When we got there, I realized he thought it was a date."

Dare's dark glare almost had Liza retreating to the edge of the bed. There was something almost proprietary in that look, but she refused to let herself read too much into it. Because if she did, and Dare was getting possessive over her, she'd have to end things sooner rather than later.

And she hadn't gotten nearly enough of him to walk away just yet.

Seven.

By Sunday night, Liza was well enough for Dare to leave, and by Monday morning she was able to go to work. She didn't make it to the office on time, but she blamed being late on a lack of sleep more than her head injury. She didn't like the reason. Since Dare left after dinner on Sunday, she'd been restless and found herself tossing and turning until well after midnight.

She arrived at the office at 10:00 A.M. Monday to find that her employees were all waiting and worried about her. It warmed her to know they cared and she had to admit they all seemed genuinely concerned. She hadn't returned any phone calls over the weekend, which probably contributed to their worry. Luckily Jeff was out at a job site, which let Liza put off any awkwardness until another time.

After reassuring everyone that she was fine, Liza holed up in her office, where the first thing she did was make a list of people she needed to contact and thank.

Dare being at the top. It still overwhelmed her, how he'd stayed by her side. Sure they had chemistry, but nobody stepped up the way he had for eventual sex. No, Dare was a good man and for some reason that scared her even more than her abusive ex-boyfriend, Tim. Good men would eventually come to expect more and she didn't have it to give. Then again, he didn't seem to be pushing or asking for much of anything.

Live in the moment, she ordered herself. That's what she did best.

So she'd have to find a way to thank Dare, and then she added Nash and Kelly to the list. A few minutes later, she'd received a phone call from Faith, who insisted she come to the house for dinner tonight-because, after all, why should she have to worry about cooking and food after working a full day? Unable to say no, Liza wrote down Faith and Ethan Barron as well. Dare's family really pulled together for him and again she couldn't help wondering why they'd put themselves out for her.

Family and friends are supposed to help each other, Dare had said. But they were his family. His friends. She was merely an injured outsider.

"Admit it, you're not used to people caring, period." She shut her eyes against the pain that thought caused, but it was the truth.

It was also the reason she hadn't returned her parents' phone call. They didn't care how she was holding up-they only wanted to make sure she took care of Brian. If they cared so much, she often wondered why they hadn't just stayed in town and handled him themselves, but the answer was obvious. He might be their favorite, but that didn't mean they still weren't the same two selfish people they'd always been. Why take responsibility when they had Liza to do it for them?

She rubbed her hands over her forehead, wondering if the pounding in her temples was due more to stress than the injury she'd sustained to the back of her head.

A knock sounded on her door. "Come in," she called, grateful for the distraction from her thoughts.

The door opened and Liza caught sight of a big spray of flowers, carried in by Bianca. "Someone has a delivery," she said with a smile, and placed the pretty arrangement down on Liza's desk. "Who are they from?"

Liza hadn't a clue. "Let's find out." She looked at the flowers and surrounding tissue paper, searching for a small envelope or clue to who'd sent it. "No card. How odd."

"Maybe whoever sent them just assumes you'll know who they're from?" Bianca said, wriggling her eyebrows for emphasis. "Like a certain police officer who was extremely possessive over you the other day."

Liza shivered at Bianca's choice of words. She'd had enough of possessive men to last her a lifetime. "What do you mean he was possessive?"

"You don't remember Jeff trying to get near you after you were hurt? Officer Barron wasn't letting anyone close. Especially another man." Bianca let out what sounded like a dreamy sigh. "I wish a hot guy would get all alpha over me like that."

Liza shook her head, immediately regretting the motion. "I don't remember much of what happened right after," she said.

But she did recall Dare's dark look when Jeff had called her home the other day. She'd thought his actions were protective, not possessive. Still, she'd never thought Tim's jealousy over her college friends, women and men both, would have led where it had. No, she didn't think Dare was anything like Tim, but the reminder put her on edge.

Since she didn't intend to go down memory lane with Bianca, she deflected with a joke. "Trust me, you wouldn't have wanted the hit in the head that inspired Dare to come to my rescue."

"Good point," Bianca said, her eyes narrowing with worry. "Are you sure you're up to being back?"

"I'm fine," Liza assured her.

"Good. So are you going to call Officer Barron and thank him?" Bianca asked, settling into the chair across from the desk and staring at Liza.