Title: Dare to Touch
Author: Ca rly Phillips
Genre: Contemporary Romance, Sports
Book Trailer
Amazon | iTunes
Goodreads
Olivia Dare, executive director of the Miami Thunder, and team travel director Dylan Rhodes share more than just a passion for football. Their chemistry is explosive -- their feelings for each other intense. Yet Olivia has ended things for reasons he still can’t fathom and she won’t explain.
Unwilling to let something special go so easily, Dylan has been pursuing Olivia ever since. When the Pro-Bowl takes them to the tropical paradise of Hawaii, Dylan is determined to make sure their time together isn’t all business. What happens in paradise is life altering but once Olivia admits her deepest secret and fear, will Dylan still want the forever he’s been pushing for?
Excerpt . . .
She turned to find him close. Too close, and her pulse picked up speed. Sexy chocolate-brown eyes gazed at her. And his close-cut goatee teased her with its nearness. In her dreams, that sexy goatee felt delicious against her bared flesh.
Jesus, Olivia, get a grip.
“Thanks for coming to the party.” Her voice came out too husky for her liking, but Dylan always had this kind of effect on her. He was the travel director with the Miami Thunder, her co-worker, and the man she’d lusted after from the day they’d met.
“I’m glad your sister invited me.”
She wished Avery hadn’t insisted on throwing her a party, but now that it was nearly over, Olivia had had a wonderful time and was grateful her mom and her siblings, half and full, cared enough to attend the event. Friends and co-workers too.
Especially Dylan.
He studied her beneath his hooded gaze. “I wouldn’t miss your celebration.” He tucked a wayward strand of hair behind her ear, his fingers trailing a path over her cheek in what was a deliberate, lingering touch.
She shivered; her traitorous nipples puckered at his light caress. This was more than the flirting dance they normally did. There was intent in his coffee-colored stare.
Q&A . . .
I love giving readers something unexpected in a story. In Olivia’s case, that was her vulnerability and her past. I liked creating a hero who had to have patience and understand that the men before him hurt her in ways he would have to work to overcome.
Can you describe your writing process in writing the Dare series?
Aaah, the writing process. Over the years, I’ve developed a very ugly writing process. Just ask my critique partner. For the most part it’s organic, which makes it ugly. I like the characters to write their story but that means it’s not always fluid or easy. That said I’m also a very linear writer. The story follows a pattern of the character’s life … with twists thrown in. I end up writing, rewriting, writing and so on. In the case of the Dare series I’ve been careful not to tie myself to things about future siblings/hero/heroines that I might have to change when I get to their story. That’s something I’ve learned from painful experience!
Do you have a favorite Dare family member you have written?
I always fall in love with the characters I’m writing now. So the book I put to bed most recently has the characters I love. So currently that’s Olivia and Dylan. But you never forget your first … so there’s something special about Ian. (DARE TO LOVE) Shhh! Don’t tell the others.
Tell us a little about DARE TO TOUCH and why readers should check it out.
First, DARE TO TOUCH, as with all the DARE books, stands alone if you are coming to the series for the first time. You can read Olivia and Dylan easily and then go back and check out the other stories in the series. Because I am moving around from sibling to sibling, you can definitely find a loose connection, a revisit with siblings and favorites, along with its own story.
That said, DARE TO TOUCH, like all the books, examines how a father’s betrayal (in this case a second family no one knew about) impacts each child’s life … Olivia comes to romance reluctantly and with a lot of trepidation. Dylan knows what he wants – and he’s determined to wait her out … it’s a seductive dance set in the background of the Pro Bowl in Arizona along with life in Miami. It’s hot, it’s sexy and it’s emotional.
What inspired you to write the DARE TO LOVE series?
I knew I wanted a series with a lot of characters … and when I said that to my plotting partners, one of my brilliant friends came up with the father with another family, giving me siblings, half-siblings, betrayal, jealousy, bonding … everything I could want. Add in some sports (which I love writing about) and family dynamics along with making the series edgier than anything I’ve written before (sexually) and I couldn’t wait to dive in.
Giveaway . . .
About the Author . . .
Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads