If You Dare (Dare Series Book 3)

by Shantel Tessier

  I arch a brow. “And you and Cole?”

  She sighs heavily. “I’m going to go upstairs and talk it out too.”

  I walk out of the sliding glass door to find him sitting in a lounge chair. His head back, eyes closed, and a cigarette between his lips. He lifts his right hand and removes it before letting out a puff of smoke. My eyes catch sight of his busted knuckles. There’s dried blood on them.

  “Gonna tell me why you hit a guy because of me?” I ask.

  His eyes spring open and meet mine. He doesn’t say anything, but I choose to stay instead of letting him intimidate me. I walk around his chair and fall into the one beside him. His eyes follow my movements before landing on the pool.

  I remove the cork and take a big sip of the wine, trying to fight the shiver that runs through me. It’s cold out here.

  We sit in silence, and I wrap my arms around my chest. “Austin thinks I love you,” I say, trying to get some kind of response out of him. Maybe shock him. I want to see the Deke I saw that night at Silence. Confused and hot as fuck.

  He just laughs and takes another drag. “Austin doesn’t know you.”

  I smile at myself.

  “Not like I do,” he adds like the smartass he is.

  The smile drops off my face. “What does that mean?”

  He looks over at me. “You don’t love anyone but yourself.”

  His words feel like a knife to my chest. He couldn’t be more wrong. I take another drink from the bottle and say the one thing I’ve never said out loud. Not even to the boy I wanted. “I loved Eli.”

  DEKE

  I laugh, shaking my head in disbelief. Of course, she did. “And you’re pissed off because he didn’t love you back.”

  “You know nothing.” She growls.

  “He was my best friend. I know enough.”

  “You didn’t know he was fucking your girlfriend.”

  My entire body stiffens, and I look over at her. She has a smug smile on her face. A look of total satisfaction. Becky wasn’t my girlfriend at the time. She was my secret. She was not only fucking me, but also David and Eli. I knew she got around, but I didn’t know she was that big of a whore. How could I have? It’s not like I followed her around everywhere or went through her phone. I believed her when she said she loved me and that I was the one she wanted to be with, but it was complicated, and we needed to wait. I hate that I believed her, but more importantly, I hate that everyone seemed to know but me.

  “Guess he still picked her over you in the end,” I say to hurt her, not really knowing what she and Eli had. It obviously wasn’t sexual. I knew he liked Demi because I always saw him looking at her and secretly talking to her, but being the girl Becky is, she won.

  She jumps to her feet and comes to stand before me. I look up at her and take a drag from my cigarette. She knocks it out of my mouth and to the ground before stepping on it. Then she leans forward, placing her face in front of mine.

  “And if he wouldn’t have died, she would have picked him over you,” she states. “You were second best, Deke. To David. To Eli. To every other guy she’s ever spread her legs for. How does that feel?”

  I want to throw her into the pool and drown her mouthy fucking ass. But what will that solve? I’m with Cole. I’m tired of having to hide bodies. I left Collins to forget the terrors and run from my demons. I backed his need for revenge one hundred percent because Eli was my friend too, and he and his dead sister deserved revenge, but look where it left me. I lost Becky. The girl I thought I was going to spend the rest of my life with. I lost a friendship I thought could never be broken. And I hate it that Eli’s dead. I want to call him up. Scream at him. Punch him. And then tell him he can have her. If that’s what he wanted, I wouldn’t have fought him. You don’t fight your friends over trash.

  “It must sting to know that she never loved you the way you loved her,” she continues.

  And I’ve had enough. Reaching out, I grab her shirt and yank her toward me so hard that she falls onto my lap. She gasps, placing her hands on my chest to push her stiff body from mine. “How do you feel about being second best, princess?” I ask, wrapping one hand around the back of her neck and the other around her waist, not giving her the chance to get away from me. Leaning in, I whisper, “I’m sure it hurt when you found out you’ll never be her.”

  I pull back and see angry tears in her blue eyes. Moving my hand around her neck, I trail my fingers softly down over her collarbone and push her blond hair back from her shoulder, noticing that her hickeys are gone. I have an urge to lean in and give her more just because I can.

  She bares her perfectly straight teeth at me. I remember when she had braces during her freshman year. I thought it was strange. Her teeth were already straight, but her mother made her get them anyway. You can never be perfect enough for Angelica Holt. “I don’t want to be her, Deke.”

  I bite back a snarky comment at her words and look over her pouty lips and sad blue eyes. I think it’s the first real thing she’s ever said to me. “Then what is it you want?”

  She closes her eyes and lets out a long breath. The fruity smell of her wine hits my face. “It doesn’t matter what I want. It never has.”

  I don’t like her answer. It makes me want to give her everything. And that’s a rabbit hole I can’t go down. “Why are you with Seth?” I change the subject.

  “Why did you defend me tonight?” she counters.

  I sigh, and she arches a brow. We’re at a standstill. Neither one of us wants to answer.

  Her body relaxes on top of mine, and her hands come up to my chest. I’ve got a direct line of sight to hers, and I move my hands to her narrow hips. My fingers dig into her jeans, and it takes everything in me not to move them against mine. To feel her grind against me. Just the thought makes my cock start to harden.

  She licks her pouty, nude painted lips. “If I asked you to forget who I am for one night, could you do it?”

  “Why would I wanna forget who you are?” I ask confused by her question.

  “I don’t wanna be Becky. But I also don’t wanna be Demi,” she answers honestly.

  “Who do you wanna be?”

  “Someone who matters,” she whispers, dropping her head to stare at my shirt.

  Letting go of her hips, I grip her chin and lift her head, so she must look at me. “Demi Holt matters to me,” I say, and I hate that the words are true. I thought she was a Becky mini-me, but she’s nothing like her. Demi pushes me. She wakes up a part of me that I didn’t think I wanted again.

  “What if she’s not behind it?” Cole had asked me.

  “Then I’ll protect her.” It’s not even a question. I’d do whatever I have to do to protect her from whoever thinks they can go toe to toe with us. But if she’s behind it … I’ll also do what has to be done.

  “Forget it.” She goes to push away from me, but I hold my grip on her.

  “Demi …”

  “I don’t need your lies,” she snaps.

  I cradle her face in my hands and pull her lips to mine. She doesn’t hesitate before opening for me. Her tongue enters my mouth, and mine meets hers. Exploring her mouth as if it’s never been there before. Wanting to know her sweet taste. Savoring it. Knowing that I may have to hurt her eventually. I want to drink her in. Swallow her whole.

  Her hips begin to grind, rubbing her jeans on my hard dick, and I moan, tilting her head to the side to allow me to deepen the kiss. She moans, opening up for me as if she belongs to me. And I take from her.

  I pull away, and she pants. “Does that feel like a fucking lie?” I demand.

  Her heavy eyes open, and they search mine; for what, I don’t know. Licking her wet lips, she replies roughly, “It doesn’t feel like the truth.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

  DEMI

  I LIED TO him. Again. He has no clue what Eli and Becky were doing, but I do. I’m the only person who knows what was really going on, but I can’t tell him. Not now. I won’t allow her to
ruin another day of my life. I don’t want to have to think of her, or Eli, or his death. I want Deke.

  Austin thinks I love him, and honestly, I’m not sure she’s a hundred percent wrong. What is love anyway? All the movies tell you that it’s sweet and romantic, but it’s such bullshit. Cole and Austin are proof of that. You don’t always need hearts and flowers to prove you love someone. Sometimes you need each other’s names carved in blood.

  I push away from him, and he allows it. I stand on shaky legs. I’m not drunk, but I’m not sober either. He sits there looking up at me. Is he waiting for me to leave? For me to shout at him? Beg him? I want to fall to my knees and tell him that it’s me he wants. That it’s me he sees. Not her. But that’s just the wine talking, so instead, I go for plan B.

  I remove my shirt and kick off my shoes. I’m shoving my jeans down my legs when he sits up straighter in his lounge chair. “Demi …”

  “Shh,” I say, straddling him again. But only now I’m naked. I place my hands on his handsome face and look at his pretty blue eyes. “I want you to fuck me, Deke. It’s just you and me. No lies. No pretending. Can you do that?”

  His large hands slide up my bare back, making my body break out in goose bumps. I shiver and it has nothing to do with the cool night. “I was never the one faking it, Demi.”

  I lean in and capture his lips with mine, done talking for the night.

  DEKE

  I wake up with an arm draped over my chest and a soft leg over my thigh. Demi’s blond hair covers most of her face, and I push it back to give me a clear view of her. After we had sex last night out on the patio, we took a shower together where I took her again up against the wall. She didn’t hold anything back from me. I think Demi is confused on who she really is, but she didn’t hide.

  I lean in and kiss her cheek, and her eyes flutter open. “Good morning, princess.”

  “Good morning,” she whispers.

  I go to pull away from her, but she tightens her hold on me. “Five more minutes,” she whispers.

  I move to my side and wrap my arms around her, pulling her small frame into me. “Five more minutes.” She closes her eyes. “How do you feel this morning?” I ask. She had quite a bit to drink last night. And I tried to be gentle with her since I know she’s still getting used to sex, but it was hard to restrain myself.

  “Like I knew I would,” she mumbles into my chest.

  “Want me to get you some ibuprofen?”

  She shakes her head. “I just want five more minutes.”

  When I open my eyes some time later, I’m alone. Sitting up, I look around to see her clothes that were lying on the floor are now gone. I throw off the covers, get up, and pull on a pair of jeans. As I make my way down the stairs, I hear voices in the kitchen.

  Demi stands at the kitchen island with her hand in a plastic container full of brownies. She places one in her mouth and moans, closing her eyes. “This is by far the best thing I’ve ever put in my mouth.”

  I lean down, and whisper, “That’ll all change once I fuck that mouth with my cock.”

  She begins to choke on the chocolate at my words and pieces are flying out onto the counter. She grabs for the bottle of water and gulps it down. Slamming the bottle down, she sucks in a long breath.

  “See, it’s already choking you.” I smile.

  She stares up at me with watery eyes from her near-death experience by her favorite snack.

  Placing my hand on her face, I say, “Cheeks flushed. Lips swollen and tears running down your pretty face.” I kiss her cheek and taste the saltiness. “You’ll be a beautiful mess, Demi.”

  Her lips part, and she licks them.

  “Good morning,” Cole announces, entering the kitchen.

  He’s a cheerful fucker. He and Austin must have made up last night. For once, I didn’t hear them fucking because I was too busy doing it myself. I’ve brought girls home but never slept with them in my room unless Lilly was staying at a friend’s house. I don’t like the idea of having them around her. She sees Austin and Cole kiss and love on one another even though Austin tries to stay discreet. She’s never asked about it, and as far as I know, they haven’t sat her down to tell her anything. She’s only six. What could they possibly tell her that she could understand?

  “Morning,” I tell him.

  Austin enters a second later with Lilly on her hip. “We’re gonna be late,” she mumbles, setting her on the counter and going to the fridge to grab Lilly’s lunch.

  “Did you and Austin have a sleepover?” Lilly asks Demi.

  She chokes on another piece of the chocolate, but nods. I chuckle.

  “I wanna have a sleepover.” She starts bouncing on the counter. “Can we have one this weekend?”

  “You already have one with Mrs. River,” Austin tells her.

  She nods her little head, blond curls bouncing. “She’s my dance teacher,” she tells Demi. “It’s her daughter’s birthday.”

  Demi swallows a piece of chocolate. “Is she in your dance class?”

  “Yep. She’s not very good, though.”

  “Lilly,” Austin scolds her. ‘That’s not very nice to say.”

  “That’s what she says.”

  “Come on,” Austin throws her backpack over her shoulder and scoops Lilly off the counter. “We gotta go.”

  Cole comes over to kiss them both goodbye, and then he walks them to the garage, leaving me and Demi alone.

  She stares down at the now empty box. I step into her, and she looks up at me. “Let me take you out this weekend,” I offer. I haven’t spent time with just her. I’ve known her all my life, but what do I really know about her? Besides she’s gorgeous with a fucked-up mind.

  “Wanna get me alone?” She arches a brow.

  I smile at her. “Maybe.”

  “Where you wanna take me?” she asks but doesn’t let me answer. “I’m guessing the woods. Somewhere quiet and secluded so you can kill me.”

  I’m not sure if she’s joking or being serious. “The only reason I would take you out to the woods would be to bury your body.” I step into her, reach out, and grab a piece of bleach blond hair. “If I wanted to kill you, you’d already be dead.” She swallows. “I would have done it while you laid on your bed with your hands tied behind your back. I could have wrapped my hands around your neck and squeezed while you gasped for breath. I could have made it quick and snapped your neck, or I could have held a pillow over your face and suffocated you,” I whisper. “Murder doesn’t have to be messy, princess. It can be sensual, or it can be brutal, depending on my mood.”

  Her eyes search mine, clearly understanding my sincerity. “You’ve thought about it.”

  “That wasn’t the only thing on my mind that night.” My eyes drop to her thighs, letting her know exactly what I mean.

  “Okay.” Cole enters, rubbing his hands together. He spots us and exits the kitchen just as quickly.

  “I can’t,” she finally answers, pulling away from me.

  “Have plans already?” I tease, not in the least bit worried that she just turned me down. Demi Holt has gotten my attention, and I won’t let her walk away easily.

  “Yes. With Seth.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

  DEMI

  FINALLY, FRIDAY ROLLED around. I’ve been able to avoid Deke since I spent the night at his house and slept with him. Again. Things were starting to get weird. The sex was too soft. He was too nice. I didn’t need him to coddle me or pretend I’m Becky. Maybe he just can’t help it, but I wasn’t going to stick around to find out. And then the whole thing about going on a date. At least that’s what I think let me take you out means. Hell, to a murderer, it might mean something completely different. And then he told me how he would do it. I hate that it turned me on. Fuck, I need therapy. I’m going to tell my mom to call her friend that she’s been trying to get me to see for years now. I didn’t lie about my plans with Seth this weekend, but I could tell Deke was pissed about it. He clearly forgot that I
have a fake boyfriend. I didn’t stay after that.

  I exit the bathroom and enter my walk-in closet. As soon as I got home from school, I showered, ready to get the hell out of here for the weekend. Seth had messaged me earlier about going to the cabin for the evening. We were supposed to go see a movie, but the idea of getting away sounded better. I didn’t realize how much I needed to get away and clear the fog of Deke Biggs until I read his message with our change of plans.

  I pull on a pair of underwear and holey jeans along with a white T-shirt that has some donut holes on it that says eat my hole. I grab my Louis Vuitton bag from the top shelf and start throwing clothes in it as I hear my door open. I storm out of my closet to see if it’s my sister. She’s been MIA ever since her argument with Austin on Monday. I’m guessing she went back to Collins, but who knows when she’ll return. I come to a stop when I see it’s my mother.

  “How was school today?” she asks.

  “Fine.” Like she cares.

  She nods her head once, and asks, “Are you making friends?”

  Really? It’s November. I’m three months into my senior year, and she wants to know now if I’m making friends. She knows the only one I bring around is Lauren. And Seth. “Yep.” If she only knew I’ve friended Deke, Austin, and Cole. She never liked Cole. Said he was evil. She thinks he killed his mother. She never cared much for Deke, but when she found out Becky was dating him, she began to come around to the idea of them together because the Biggs have money. A lot of it. I’m talking millions. And she’d rather a man support her daughter than her.

  “Good. How are things with Seth?”

  What is with all the questions? “Good. He’s busy with football.” Not a total lie. They have a bye weekend this weekend. That’s why he wanted to hang out tonight.

  “Going somewhere?” she asks, looking at my bag.

  “Yeah. Lauren asked me to stay the night with her tonight.”