Recent college grad Blair Bartlett thought she had it all—until one near-death experience destroyed everything. Now she’s starting over halfway across the country with zero confidence, zero trust, and zero in the bank.
On the eve of her canceled wedding, her so-called friends formulate a bet to dig Blair out of her rut: in the next thirty days, she has to complete ten erotic dares that would make most married women blush. The stakes are high, and this is one bet she can’t lose.
Wary of messy entanglements, she recruits her best friend’s older brother—and longtime friend—Sawyer Callahan. Deemed Colorado’s most eligible bachelor, he’s successful, fun-loving, and knows exactly how to make a girl, um…swoon.
But as the weeks tick by, Blair knows the friendship has become much more than she’s bargained for. And something dark in Sawyer’s past is threatening to ruin their future before it even had a chance.
On the eve of her canceled wedding, her so-called friends formulate a bet to dig Blair out of her rut: in the next thirty days, she has to complete ten erotic dares that would make most married women blush. The stakes are high, and this is one bet she can’t lose.
Wary of messy entanglements, she recruits her best friend’s older brother—and longtime friend—Sawyer Callahan. Deemed Colorado’s most eligible bachelor, he’s successful, fun-loving, and knows exactly how to make a girl, um…swoon.
But as the weeks tick by, Blair knows the friendship has become much more than she’s bargained for. And something dark in Sawyer’s past is threatening to ruin their future before it even had a chance.
Excerpt:
The third appetizer was the crab cake with a chipotle sauce, and I watched Sawyer chew it. By the way he stared into space and didn’t have a foodgasm like I did, I guessed he was still wrapped up in the phone call he’d just ended. No wonder he’d brought me. “This is amazing,” I said, licking a stray streak of sauce off my thumb. Drunk off the flavor, the food, the company, I moaned, savoring the way the sweet, tangy flavors galvanized on my tongue.
Sawyer’s lips pulled into a fiendish smile, the kind that broadcast to the entire room that he couldn’t wait to do all sorts of filthy things with me. His eyes locked onto mine, held me in an invisible embrace that tempted me to tell everybody to leave. Right now. Get out while you can.
My insides flip-flopped and I coughed. “The first and third are my favorites.”
“Excellent choice,” Christine said, and took the lid off of a bowl of salad. She measured small portions onto a tasting plate and put them in front of us.
When she and Henry took the next cart of food to the kitchen, I turned a lethal eye on Sawyer. “You’re going to get me into trouble.”
His expression was nothing but blank innocence. Ass. “For what?”
The muscle under my eyelid twitched, dragging the top part of my cheek with it. “You know what. When you look at me like that? Everybody knows exactly what you’re thinking. And spoiler alert: it’s not about food.”
“Numbers are like foreplay for finance guys like me, running so many equations in my head. And profits? Don’t even get me started on profits.” His voice dropped to such a low, husky timber my nipples perked up.
I crossed my arms. “Remind me not to leave you alone with my calculator.”
“I’ve always been a fan of calculators. They require a certain amount of finger dexterity.”
Ridiculous how my core contracted, practically begging him to give me a demonstration.
The door opened and Christine and Henry shuffled inside, and I narrowed my eyes at him, sending him a clear message that he’d better keep his thoughts on numbers to himself. He grinned and licked his lips. I turned away after one last warning glower, careful not to let our hosts see.
If my life depended on it, I couldn’t have told you a thing about the salads. I ate them, nodded, tried to find a coherent way to express my thoughts on the food that didn’t sound like a phone sex call. Sawyer was placid as ever, all business.
“Back in a few with the main course,” Christine said. They cleared the table and left the room with the salads.
“Give me your panties,” Sawyer said, his fingers teasing the inside of my knee.
My eyes scrunched together and my head made an involuntary shake. Had he really just said that? “Excuse me?”
Casual as can be, he dragged his teeth over his lower lip. “Your panties. I want them.”
“Why?”
“I have to have a reason?” His hand moved a scant inch up my thigh, although his pinkie lingered on my kneecap, teasing the aroused flesh with feather-light—and absolutely delicious—strokes.
“It’s all the numbers, isn’t it? I bet you can barely contain yourself.” My muscles clenched, my insides trembled. If he didn’t move his hand up higher, I’d probably poke out his eye with my spoon.
“It’s all you, babe.”
Babe. He’d just called me babe. That was so not a not-boyfriend thing to say. “You’re such a rule-breaker, pretending to be my boyfriend when nobody’s looking.”
He winked. “You know what really turns me on? Breaking rules.”
“Of course it does.” What I really wanted to say was, “Take me now.”
“So…?” He grinned lazily, continuing the torture under the table.
“They’re going to be back in a minute.”
He shrugged. “You’ll have to move quick.”
Pushing the limits. That’s what this was all about. He’d never do anything outright embarrassing. Plus, the idea of his hand exploring more of me while we ate and discussed food and finances? Bring it.
“Fine.” The words should’ve come out snippy. They came out almost like a moan, sizzling and breathless.
Making sure the tablecloth covered my thighs, I carefully hiked my skirt up to the tops of my thighs.
“You’re really going to do it,” he said, his voice full of amusement.
“Whatever. You’re supposed to be my lookout. So look out.” I yanked the top of my panties down and under my butt. I lifted my hips an inch and pulled them down my thighs, fully aware of Sawyer not watching the door—he couldn’t move his eyes away from the spectacle.
I stopped. “Door.”
“Right.” He turned to the door.
Now that I’d gotten the hard part out of the way, I relaxed a little and pushed the silk over my knees, letting it fall to my ankles. I bent and unhooked it from my feet, crumpled it into my palm, and covered my thigh with my fist.
Sawyer turned to me, expectation clear. “Well?”
“I guess you did an okay job scoping out the door, so in return, here’s your reward.” I moved my fist to his open hand, and he closed his fingers around mine.
His lips pressed against my forehead, skimmed the skin over my temple, and hovered over my ear. “You are so f**king sexy when you’re rule-breaking.”
Grinning ridiculously, I leaned into his lips, savoring his heat. “And you’re not bad when you’re crunching numbers. I should have you do my taxes this year.”
Violet Blake Bio:
Violet grew up wanting to be many great things. However, she quickly found out she was too accident-prone to be an astronaut, veterinarian, or surgical nurse, and had to take some time off from college to formulate a Plan B. By the time she got to Plan X, she settled on a degree in public health. But while she was supposed to be studying for a pathophysiology test, she took up writing romance.
Career commitment issues aside, she is fiercely dedicated to her family, and those who are patient enough to overlook a few...quirks. And no, she's not going to swap writing (Plan Z, if you're keeping track) in for a new career any time soon. She's run out of letters, for one. Violet loves to write contemporary and fantasy, and one day hopes to get up the nerve to dive into futuristic.
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