Chase nodded. “I know that, Thorn, but that’s on a national level. This is more local and will benefit Kids’ World.”
Everyone living in the Atlanta area was familiar with Kids’ World and the benefits it provided to terminally ill children. “All I’m asking is for you to think about it and be prepared when Tara finally gets up enough nerve to ask you,” Chase added.
Thorn frowned. “Why would she need to get up nerve to ask me anything?”
It was Dare who chuckled. “Well, ahh, it’s like this, Thorn,” he said throwing a card out. “You aren’t the friendliest person toward her, but we all know the reason why, even if you refuse to acknowledge it.”
Glancing around the room to make sure Tara hadn’t come back downstairs, Dare continued. “The plain and simple fact is that you have a bad case of the hots for her and it’s been going on now for almost two solid years. And as far as I’m concerned, you need to do something about it or learn to live with it. And if you choose to live with it, then please adjust your attitude so the four of us can live with you.”
Thorn glared at Dare. “I don’t need an attitude adjustment.”
“The hell you don’t. Face it, Thorn. You’re not like the rest of us. Storm, Chase, Stone and I can go a long time without a woman and it doesn’t bother us. But if you go without one for too long, it makes you hornier than sin, which for you equates to being meaner than hell. And it seems that you’re deliberately holding out while deciding what to do about Tara, and it’s making you worse than ever. Don’t you think that in two years you should have made some decisions?”
Thorn’s intense dark eyes held his brothers’; they were all watching him like hawks, waiting for his response. “I have made decisions regarding what I’m going to do about Tara,” he said slowly, seeing the looks of comprehension slowly unfolding in their eyes.
“About damn time you stop backing away from the inevitable,” Storm said, smiling broadly. “I knew you would come to your senses sooner or later.”
“Uh, I hate to be the voice of reason at a time like this,” Chase said grinning. “But I’d think twice about whatever decisions you’ve made about Tara without her consent, Thorn. She’s quite a handful. I’ve seen her rebellious side and bringing her around won’t be easy. Personally, I don’t think you can handle her.”
“Neither do I,” Stone chimed in.
Thorn’s face darkened as he gazed at all of them. “I can handle Tara.”
“Don’t be so sure about that,” Stone said smiling. “Her first impression of you wasn’t a good one, and I don’t think she likes you much, which means you’ll definitely have your hands full trying to win her over. I’m not so sure you’re up for the challenge.”
“I bet you any amount of money that he is,” Storm said grinning. “Thorn can do anything he wants to do, including taming Tara.”
“Don’t hold your breath for that to happen,” Chase said chuckling. “Have you ever really noticed the two of them around each other? They’re both stubborn and strong-willed. I say he can’t hang.”
“Okay you guys, pull back,” Storm said, slowly stroking his chin. “Thorn’s a smart man who plans his strategies well. Hell, look how he has trained for those races he’s won. If he goes after Tara with the same determination, then there won’t be anything to it. Therefore, I say taming Tara will be a piece of cake for Thorn.”
“No, it won’t,” Chase said chuckling. “In fact, I’ll be willing to bet a case of Jack Daniels that it won’t.”
“And I bet you a new set of tools that it won’t be, too,” Stone added shaking his head with a grin.
“And I bet you a day’s wage and work for no pay in your restaurant as a waiter that it will, Chase. And I also bet you that same set of tools that it will, Stone. Thorn can handle any challenge he faces,” Storm said, with confidence in his voice as he gathered up everyone’s cards to start a new game.
Thorn had been sitting back listening to his brothers make their bets. He looked over at Dare who just shrugged his shoulders. “Making those kinds of bets aren’t legal, and since as a sheriff I’m duty-bound to uphold the law, I’ll pass,” he said jokingly. “However, if I were a betting man, I’d say you could pull it off, but it wouldn’t be as easy as Storm thinks. Calendar or no calendar, Tara’s not going to let you just waltz in and sweep her off her feet. You’ll have to set yourself up on a mission,” he said, grinning, as he remembered the tactic he’d used to win the heart of the woman he’d loved. “Then you can’t play fair,” he added, thinking of the technique his brother-in-law, Prince Jamal Ari Yasir, had used to woo their baby sister, Delaney.
Thorn nodded. Set myself up on a mission and then play unfair. He could handle that. He’d put his plans into action later tonight when everyone left. Tara wouldn’t know what had hit her until it was too late.
Way too late.
Three
Tara’s heart, beating twice as fast as it should have, slammed against her rib cage when, after the card game was over, it became obvious that, unlike his brothers, Thorn had no intentions of leaving.
She closed the door and turned to him. The air in the room suddenly seemed charged. “Aren’t you leaving?” she asked, as she leaned against the closed door.
“No. I think we need to talk.”
Tara inhaled deeply, wondering what he thought they needed to discuss. While upstairs in her bedroom she had managed to get her thoughts and her aroused senses under control after convincing herself that her earlier reaction to Thorn had been expected. After all, from the first she had been physically attracted to him and memories of the kiss they had shared a few months back hadn’t helped matters. Then there was the way he always looked at her with that penetrating gaze of his. After thinking things through logically, she felt confident that the next time he looked at her as if he would love to gobble her up in one scrumptious bite, things would be different. She would be more in control of the situation as well as her senses.
“What do you want to talk about?” she asked, wondering if Chase had mentioned anything to him about the charity calendar.
He met her gaze. “About us.”
She lifted an arched brow. There was no “us” and decided to tell him so. “There’s no us, Thorn. In fact I’ve always gotten the distinct impression that you don’t even like me.”
Boy, was she wrong, Thorn thought. If anything he liked her too damn much. There were several emotions he’d always felt toward Tara Matthews from the first and dislike hadn’t been one of them.
He took a couple of steps forward, bringing him right in front of her. “I’ve never disliked you, Tara.”
She swallowed deeply against the timbre in his voice and the look of melting steel in his eyes. That’s the same thing his brothers had claimed when she’d told them how she felt last year. They had argued that Thorn was just a moody person and told her not to take it personally. But a part of her had taken it personally.
“My brothers think you’re my challenge,” he added, not taking his eyes off her.
“Why would they think that?” she asked. She had wondered about it the first time the brothers had mentioned that very same thing to her. But none of them had given her any further explanation.
“Because they don’t think I can handle you.”
She frowned. “Handle me? In what way?”
His