Dare to Seduce (Dare to Love Book #8) by Carly Phillips
Date of Publication: November 17, 2015
Blurb:
This book can be read as a standalone!
Max Savage has had a thing for Lucy Dare for as long as he can remember but he values his long standing friendship with her brothers too much to cross the line. When Lucy shows up at an engagement party on the arm of another man, Max doesn't like the changes he sees in her.
It's now or never. Max can think of one way to convince Lucy she's with the wrong guy. He'll dare to seduce her...
Max Savage has had a thing for Lucy Dare for as long as he can remember but he values his long standing friendship with her brothers too much to cross the line. When Lucy shows up at an engagement party on the arm of another man, Max doesn't like the changes he sees in her.
It's now or never. Max can think of one way to convince Lucy she's with the wrong guy. He'll dare to seduce her...
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Excerpt:
Max Savage glanced across the lush green
lawn of Gabriel and Isabelle Dare’s Bedford, New York, home, his gaze focused
on the sexy brunette he couldn’t get out of his head. Lucy Dare, dressed in a
conservative pants suit, her luxurious dark hair pulled into a bun, stood
beside her date, a Hollywood director who was a douchebag of the first order.
The
last time Max had seen Lucy, she’d been her wild and free self. Then she’d
hooked up with that guy and she’d changed. And not in a good way. He wanted
fun, sexy Lucy back.
“How
badly do you want to punch that guy’s teeth in?”
“So
badly,” Max muttered, then glanced over, realizing the question came from
Lucy’s brother, Decklan Dare.
Max
shook his head and changed his answer, because it would do no good to let his
best friend know he was obsessing over the guy’s little sister. He’d kept it to
himself for years, partially as an excuse to deny what he really wanted, but
regardless, this wasn’t the right time to bring up the issue.
“Who
do you mean?” Max asked.
Decklan
rolled his eyes. “Oh, come on. I know you hate that Spielberg wannabe as much
as we do.”
“Can’t
say he’d be my first choice for your sister.”
“That’s
rich considering it’s your fault she’s with him to begin with.” Decklan eyed
Max with distinct annoyance in his gaze.
“How
the hell do you figure that?” Max asked.
Decklan’s
older brother, Gabe, joined them, and from the look on his face, he’d clearly
caught the tail end of the conversation.
“Face
it, Savage. We know you have a thing for Lucy,” Gabe said.
Just
how the brothers had gleaned that bit of knowledge was beyond Max. Nobody had a
better poker face than him.
Decklan
merely nodded in agreement.
“You
didn’t take your chance last time she was in town, and now she’s with that
asshole,” Gabe added, angling his head toward where his sister stood with Lucas
Kellan.
“Well,
fuck.” Max wasn’t about to deny what had clearly been more obvious than he’d
intended.
Both
Dare brothers narrowed their gazes on him, waiting for an explanation.
“What?
I didn’t think you’d approve, and I wasn’t about to mess up years’ worth of
friendship if you didn’t.” He was sticking to the tried-and-true excuse he’d
told himself for years. In reality, Max had his reasons for staying away
from
Lucy
for so long and for fucking up more than just his life in the process. But they
were his, and he wouldn’t be sharing them.
“The
only way you’d compromise friendships would be if you used or hurt my sister.
If your intentions are honorable, I have no issue,” said Gabe, the man who’d
raised Lucy after their parents died in a car accident.
Max
glanced at Decklan. They both knew Max’s recent past. He’d married young, lost
his wife, Cindy, in a car accident, and had a subsequent lack of serious
relationships since. What Decklan didn’t know was the guilt Max harbored over
the emotions he hadn’t been able to give his wife, due to the feelings he’d
always had for Lucy. Hell, he’d married Cindy because he didn’t have those
intense feelings, and everyone had paid a price.
Max
shifted uncomfortably and cleared his throat and glanced at Decklan, who, like
Gabe, was extremely protective of his sister. “You too? You’re okay with this?”
he asked.
His
best friend shrugged. “Well, you’re an asshole but you’re our asshole.” He
slapped Max on the back, his expression sobering. “Look, Cindy died four years
ago, and you haven’t been with anyone seriously since.”
Neither
one of them mentioned Max’s penchant for sex clubs on the weekends. It had been
a way to fill the emptiness inside him, nothing more.
“But
Gabe is right,” Decklan said. “I see how you look at Lucy. You should do
something about it if your intentions are solid.”
They
finally were. For years Max had denied his need for Lucy and the emotional bond
he knew they would share if they took things to the next level. Fear had driven
him. Now Max was finally ready to go after the woman he’d always wanted.
“Just
don’t blow it or we will have an issue,” Decklan cheerfully added.
Max
didn’t need to be told twice. He made his way across the lawn and veered
between guests, coming up to where Lucy and her date stood by the bar.
About Carly Phillips
After a successful fifteen year career with various New York publishing houses, and over 40 sexy contemporary romance novels published, N.Y. Times and USA Today Bestselling Author Carly Phillips is now an Indie author who writes to her own expectations and that of her readers. She continues the tradition of hot men and strong women and plans to publish many more sizzling stories. Carly lives in Purchase, NY with her family, two nearly adult daughters and two crazy dogs who star on her Facebook Fan Page and website. She's a writer, a knitter of sorts, a wife, and a mom. In addition, she's a Twitter and Internet junkie and is always around to interact with her readers. You can find out more about Carly at www.carlyphillips.com.
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