The second he left, Natalie wrapped her arms around Molly in a tight, nearly choking embrace. “Thank God you’re finally home.”

Molly could feel her sister shaking. “I’m sorry you were worried.” Over Natalie’s shoulder, she met Dare’s gaze. He watched her with heightened familiarity. She shivered.

In her ear, Natalie whispered, “I can’t believe you’re with him. What are you thinking?”

Insulted on Dare’s behalf, Molly levered her back. “Why?”

“Look at him! He’s…” When she caught Molly’s frown, she let out a breath and tempered her wording. “Well, he’s intimidating.”

Proving he had great hearing, Dare said, “Not to Molly.”

Natalie’s eyes went round again.

Molly bit back a grin.

Dare smiled at her. Standing there like that, he was intimidating—to anyone who wanted to hurt her. He was also incredibly sexy.

Molly sighed. She wanted more. A lot more.

But now, at the most inauspicious time, her sister had shown up. Never before had she been sorry to see Natalie, but this time… Well, she would have preferred that she had the rest of the night alone with Dare to explore the new dimension to their relationship.

“Relax, Natalie.” In a grand understatement, Molly said, “He’s been very good to me.”

“Are you two really…?” She glanced back at Dare, who made no pretense of watching them intently, and spun back around. In a hushed undertone, she said, “Good grief, Molly. He doesn’t scare you?”

“Of course not.”

“But he’s…”

“He’s sweet,” Molly insisted.

Dare snorted. “He’s still listening.”

Aggrieved, Natalie closed her eyes.

Molly hooked her sister’s arm and dragged her farther across the room. “I’m so sorry that I couldn’t call you, Nat.” This was going to be difficult to explain. “The thing is, I don’t know who had me kidnapped, or why.”

“What do you mean?” Understanding dawned. “You think it wasn’t a random thing? You were a specific target!”

“I’m afraid so.” Unlike Molly’s thick, heavy hair, Natalie’s lighter hair grew in fluffy, corkscrew curls. Molly smoothed down a wild, wayward spiral. “You know how much I trust you.”

“I should hope so.”

Her sister never failed to back her up when necessary. “Well, as much as I trust you, I also know how you’ll react in almost any situation. If I had told you that someone had set me up to be taken, that someone had deliberately wanted me gone, you’d have gone ballistic.”

“Well, of course I would have. You’re my sister!” She chewed over what Molly had told her, trying to sort it out. “Who? Who would do this to you?”

She wished she had a better answer. “I still have no idea, and that’s what scares me the most.”

Fear narrowed Natalie’s eyes. “Until you know who did it, you can’t keep it from happening again.”

“That’s about it.”

Obliterating any pretense about their conversation remaining private, Dare came over to them. “Molly feared that you’d go on a rampage trying to find out who wanted her hurt.”

Whipping around to confront him, Natalie found him close and had to look way up. She stumbled back a step. “I can be reasonable.”

“Can you?”

She opened her mouth, then closed it. After a few seconds, she sighed. “Well, maybe not. But you can’t expect me to just…just accept this without getting angry.”

Dare reached for Molly and tucked her into his side. “You can be as pissed off as you want. That’s understandable. But I need you to stay out of it, and to trust me to find the one responsible.”

Natalie frowned at him, at Molly, then back again. “Maybe it’d help if you told me what makes you so qualified for the job.”

Dare searched her face. “All you need to know is that I’m not going to let anyone hurt your sister.”

Confused, Natalie put her hands on her hips. “Why are you involved? Because you two are…” She waved a hand between them. “What? Dating?”

She made it sound like the most absurd idea ever. Trying to go for the easiest explanation, Molly said, “Dare’s protecting me because I’m paying him for his assistance.”

There was a heavy pause, and then Dare lifted her chin so that she had to look at him. With quiet authority, he stated, “No, honey, you’re not.”

CHAPTER NINETEEN

“BUT…what?” Flushing over this unexpected turn, Molly looked uneasily at her sister. “Of course I am. Dare, we agreed.”

“You were insistent, and I didn’t want to upset you.”

Natalie chimed in with agreement. “She does like to pay her own way.”

“Now, wait a minute.” Molly jerked free of Dare’s loose hold, and, in the process, she almost lost the blanket.

Saving her modesty, he caught it for her, but then used his hold on the blanket to haul her close. He kissed the end of her nose. “I won’t take money from you.”

She couldn’t believe this. “Since when?” But she knew, of course.

Dare let out his breath and addressed her sister. “Natalie, you’ll have to excuse us for a few minutes. Molly needs to get dressed before she flashes us both.”