I Dare You

by Shantel Tessier

“Cole is looking for you,” he snaps. “Let’s go.”

  I turn my back to him and roll my eyes, but when they meet Becky, hers are round in surprise. “What?” I ask.

  She just shakes her head. I grab the bottle of Fireball, ignoring my cup, and walk out after the warden who was sent to fetch the servant.

  “Shane?”

  “Kellan,” he growls.

  Okay then. I take a sip of the Fireball as we walk past kids in the hallway. He takes me up a flight of stairs. My heels sink into the rich beige carpet. He comes to a stop at a door, and I go to walk in, but he blocks me. I look up at him. “I don’t want you here,” he states.

  I smile. Finally, someone who feels the same as me. “Well, that makes two of us.”

  His brown eyes drop to my chest and slowly run down over my legs, and when his eyes meet mine again, there’s a challenge in them that I’m not sure how to take.

  He reaches behind him and opens the door. We step into a dimly lit room. There’s a couch to my left. A few chaise lounge chairs ahead of me, facing a TV that hangs on the wall. There’s a basketball game playing, but the sound is off. “Gravity” by Papa Roach plays through the speakers but not loud enough to where you can’t hear yourself think.

  “Found her,” Kellan calls out to the room.

  Three heads turn toward me as the guys stand over by a pool table in the corner. Each one has a girl under their arm. None of them are Cole.

  I lift the bottle to take another sip, enjoying the burn of the alcohol.

  “About time.” I hear his voice, and my skin breaks out in goosebumps.

  I look to my right to see him sitting on another chaise lounge with his right hand propped behind his head and his legs crossed at the ankles. He’s dressed in a pair of blue jeans, a white t-shirt, and a pair of Nikes. Simple yet still looking just as frightening as he did on the steps of the church. His blue eyes take me in as he looks me up and down twice. They linger on my chest, and I bite my bottom lip. When his eyes meet mine, he stands.

  I take a step back. My heart picks up speed, still very well aware of what this guy is capable of.

  “Girls, leave,” he orders. They all whine in unison, but the guys pull away from them and push them out the door, shutting me inside with them.

  “Why am I here?” I ask, wanting to get this over with.

  He takes the bottle from my hand and brings it to his lips, taking a big gulp. His Adam’s apple working as he swallows.

  I cross my arms over my chest, trying to look unaffected. But I’m having trouble breathing.

  “We’ve been thinking …” Cole says, rubbing his chin.

  “We want you to be part of our group.” Deke finishes his sentence.

  I look among the five of them and start laughing nervously. “You’re joking, right?”

  “Not one bit,” Deke says, shaking his head.

  “No thanks,” I say and turn to the door. I twist the handle and start to pull it open, but a hand slaps on the door over my head, holding it shut.

  I jump back to look at Cole. He leans against it casually, getting comfortable and blocking my only exit. “It wasn’t an offer, Austin.”

  My eyes narrow on him. “What makes you think I want anything to do with you guys?”

  “Deke,” Cole says, lifting the bottle to his lips again.

  I spin around to see Deke step up to us, his phone in his hand facing Cole and me. A video plays, and it’s of me driving Cole’s car away from the warehouse after he stole the red car.

  “How did you get that?” I demand.

  Deke just chuckles, placing the phone in his pocket. “I don’t kiss and tell, baby.”

  My eyes narrow on him calling me baby. I turn back to face Cole. “You’re blackmailing me. Again.”

  He shrugs carelessly. “You can call it whatever you want.”

  “I’m calling it what it is,” I snap. “You know damn well that I had no idea what you had planned.”

  He pushes off the door and leans down, his face inches from mine. I can smell the cinnamon on his lips and can’t help the shudder that courses through me. “I dare you to prove it.”

  “You son of—”

  “In order to join,” Deke interrupts me. “You have to pass a test,” he says, crossing his arms over his broad chest.

  “I’m not interested.”

  “Initiation.” He corrects himself.

  “I don’t want to be involved with whatever fucked-up shit you guys are in.” How many different ways do I have to say it?

  “Just let her go,” Kellan says. But no one listens to him.

  Deke continues. “You have to fuck one of us while we all watch.”

  My heart starts to pound at his words. And my eyes widen when he takes a step toward me.

  This is a joke. It has to be.

  He arches a brow in challenge when I just stand there staring at him. “You want me, baby? I’m ready.” He licks his lips as his blue eyes settle on my legs. Then he reaches down to his jeans and unbuttons them.

  He’s serious! I immediately look at Cole.

  His eyes hold their usual anger as they glare down at me, but a slow, devious smile spreads across his face, and the guys start laughing. “Well, there’s your answer, man,” one of them calls out from behind me.

  My jaw tightens. “I don’t want to—”

  “Leave us,” Cole orders, interrupting me. And like the trained sheep they are, they all walk out. I can still hear their laughter as they walk down the hall, the door slowly shutting behind them.

  I plop down on one of the chairs, trying to slow my racing heart. “You can’t force my hand, Cole. Not with this.”

  He walks over to where I sit. Reaching out, he runs his busted knuckles along my cheek. I swat his hand away, afraid of what will come out of my mouth if he touches me.

  His hand grips my hair and yanks me to stand. I cry out as he shoves my back into the closed door, making it rattle from the force. He towers over me, pushing his body into mine. I’m panting while he holds me still. He dips his head to whisper in my ear. “Are you a virgin, Austin?”

  “No,” I growl. My hands come up to push him off me, but he grabs them and pins them above my head. I whimper, and my thighs tighten.

  “That’s a shame.” He sighs, and his breath skims across my skin, making me shudder. “I like to take pretty, innocent things and destroy them.”

  “You’re sick,” I say, panting.

  He chuckles but doesn’t deny it. “But that doesn’t make you want me any less. I saw the way you stared at me in the car. The way you licked your lips when I thought about kissing you. The way you whispered my name. How you stared at me when I got out of the pool. And let’s not forget the way you allowed me to touch you last night. Tell me, were you disappointed when I didn’t throw you on the bed and fuck you right then?” I moan. “I bet you’re wet right now.”

  “Cole.” I growl his name, not wanting him to see how right he is.

  But he ignores me. “You wore red for me again, sweetheart. You wanted my attention. And you got it. Now what are you gonna do with it?”

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  COLE

  My body presses hers into the door, and I stare down at her, silently daring her to tell me to go to hell. She needs to. I’m not good for her. I shouldn’t be anywhere near her, let alone touching her or thinking about fucking her right here. Because the only thing on my mind right now is pushing her down to the floor, spreading her legs, and burying myself inside her all night. Fuck the guys. Fuck the party. And fuck the fact that she hates me. Hate sex is always the best.

  I lower my head to her neck, loving the smell of cherries, and whisper, “What’s it gonna be, sweetheart?”

  Her breathing is ragged, her body is soft, and my cock is hard. I just need her to say the words. “You want me, just admit it.”

  She stiffens against me, my words finally getting to her. “Get off me, Cole.” They weren’t as forceful as she meant for them to be,
letting me know she’s struggling. That’s good enough for me.

  I smile and when I let go of her hands, she shoves me backward. I go willingly to allow her space. My eyes roam over her hair. She changed it—the dark brown softly fades to blond at the bottom. The best of both worlds. It looks great on her.

  She straightens her red sweater, and I love that she wore it for me. “But you don’t have a choice about joining us.”

  She stomps her foot. “Why does it matter so much to you?”

  Because we need you. “You’ll have fun.”

  “I’ll get arrested. Possibly die.”

  I smile. She’s not far off. “Just give it a try.”

  “Why do I feel like people don’t just give it a try?”

  I step into her once again, and she looks up at me through long, dark lashes. “Do I need to remind you that—”

  “That I don’t have a choice.” She cuts me off.

  “See. Was that so hard?”

  She rolls her eyes, turns around, and yanks the door open. I grab her upper arm and pull her to a stop. Leaning down, I whisper into her ear. “Tonight, you belong to me.” She gives me a side glare, and I give her a threatening smile. “Understood?”

  “Understood,” she agrees through gritted teeth.

  I take her hand in mine, and we walk out together. We make our way down to the kitchen, passing the partygoers. Some call out my name, giving me a head nod, and others lift their drinks. I ignore them. They came to kiss my ass, and I’m not in the mood to indulge them. Instead, I’m trying to figure out how to get away from her. I shouldn’t want her. Not like this. Not at all.

  But this is part of it. The guys agreed on it. They said if we have her join, then we need to show her off. Or else we wouldn’t have had the party. It’s all a formality.

  “Hey, Becky,” she says to a blonde as we enter the kitchen.

  The girl looks at me and then at Austin. “Hi,” she says softly. Her eyes shoot back to mine.

  I ignore her. Letting go of Austin’s hand, I grab a red Solo cup and make her a drink without even bothering to ask what she likes. She’ll drink whatever I give her.

  Once I finish her drink, I make myself one. “Here,” I say, handing it to her.

  She takes it without even looking at me. Her eyes remain on the girl as they chat about pointless shit.

  Deke stands over in the corner with a blond bimbo under his arm. Shane sits at the table playing poker with some guys. And Kellan stands over by the entrance with his tongue down some redhead’s throat. I don’t know where the hell Bennett went.

  I walk around the breakfast bar and put my arm around Austin’s shoulders. She doesn’t even acknowledge me. But the girl, Becky, looks up at me wide-eyed and then back at Austin.

  What the fuck is he doing? Is going through her mind at the moment. Because I never show any affection to women. I ignore them until I have them naked in my bed. Of course, Austin doesn’t know that, so she wouldn’t understand what I’m doing right now. But I’m letting everyone here know that she is mine! That way, when she starts doing her dares, no one will turn her in if they see her. I can’t risk getting my ass burned because of her.

  I take a sip of my mixed drink as “Love the Way You Hate Me” by Like A Storm plays through the speakers of the house, and I smile. She’s gonna hate me, all right. And I’m gonna love it.

  AUSTIN

  I take a big gulp of my drink, and Becky’s eyes bore into mine. I don’t think she’s blinked once in the past twenty minutes, which is impossible.

  “Are you okay?” I finally ask her.

  Her eyes shoot behind me, and I look over my shoulder to see Cole, looking down at his phone. Bastard!

  “How do you know Cole?” she asks.

  “Just met him.” I reach out and take her drink from her hand. She doesn’t argue. I take a gulp of it and hiss in a breath. Hers is strong. Just how I like them.

  Her eyes widen. “Are you serious?”

  I nod, taking another drink. I’m starting to feel lightheaded. “Why?”

  “Just be careful,” she warns.

  I look back at him over my shoulder again, and he leans against the countertop. His arms over his chest as he looks over at who I think is Shane. His defined jaw is sharp, and his eyes narrowed. He always looks so angry. Dark. But that is what draws me to him. He’s so mysterious. I wanna know what goes on in his mind.

  I lift the drink and take another swallow but pull it away when I see it’s empty. “I drank it all,” I say, handing it back to her.

  She laughs and pours herself another one.

  “You know them well?”

  She nods and hands me a new full drink. “Been going to school with them since kindergarten.”

  “Girlfriend?” I ask.

  Her laughter grows. “No.”

  I nod. Figures. Guys like Cole don’t settle down. They don’t allow girls to get close enough to see who they really are.

  I take another drink and lick my lips. They’re starting to tingle. He pushes off the counter and turns to face Shane, giving me a profile view. His arms still crossed over his chest, he stands to his full height, and I watch the way his jeans hang on his narrow hips and remember what his body looked like when he got out of my father’s pool. I bite my bottom lip before taking another drink.

  “Girl, you’ve got it bad.” Becky laughs.

  I whip around to look at her. But even I can’t deny it. “I’m treading water,” I admit. Guys like Cole Reynolds are why smart girls turn stupid. It’s embarrassing on so many levels but understandable.

  I mean, I fucking hate the guy, and I still want him to take me to his room. That alone tells me how unbelievably stupid I am.

  She takes a step toward me, closing the small space, and whispers, “These waters are infested with sharks. And you are bleeding.” She looks over my shoulder at Cole, then back at me. “But there are worse ways to die.”

  I take another big gulp of her drink and thoughts of how he held me against the door upstairs make my thighs tighten. And that first night in the cemetery … or when we were in his car and he was telling me about Eli’s older sister. My heart starts to beat faster when the words he said to me upstairs come back to me. And let’s not forget the way you allowed me to touch you last night. Tell me, were you disappointed when I didn’t throw you on the bed and fuck you right then?

  My heart starts to pound faster at the thought of him doing just that.

  I finally nod at Becky as she stares at me expectantly, unable to deny that. I’m bleeding all right. I take another gulp. “What do I do?” I ask her.

  She gives me a big smile and takes the drink from my hand. “Take advantage of it while you can.” Then she tosses it back.

  CHAPTER NINE

  COLE

  “I understand why you’re doing it, but are you sure you want to do it?” Shane asks me.

  I nod. “Not a doubt in my mind.”

  “Okay.” He turns, giving me his back, and walks out of the kitchen.

  I move to the kitchen island to make my third drink when Kellan comes up to me. They’re all going to come to me one by one. Well, except for Deke. He knows my mind is made up. And none of the others are gonna be able to change it. They should know that by now. “I think we should call it quits,” he growls.

  I arch a brow. “Why is that?”

  He sighs heavily. “She’s a liability. What if one of us gets in trouble because of her?”

  I shake my head. “Won’t happen. We’ll let her take the fall before we go down with her.”

  “How can you guarantee that? She could roll over on us.”

  I slap his shoulder. “Don’t worry, okay? I’ve got your back.”

  He stares at me as if he doesn’t believe me, but I give him the drink I just made, and he downs it in a few gulps. His nerves showing.

  I’m making myself a new drink since I just gave mine away when my side is bumped and two arms wrap around my waist. “What the …?” I
look down to see Austin standing beside me with her eyes closed and a big smile on her face.

  My first thought is to shove her off me. The second is to lean down and kiss her hair.

  I do neither.

  Instead, I stand staring down at her like she has two heads. “Austin?” I finally say. “What are you doing?”

  She looks up at me, and her big green eyes look glazed over. She’s tipsy. Great! I’ve only made her two drinks, and neither one were strong. For this very reason. I didn’t wanna put up with a drunk girl. She had a bottle of Fireball in her hand when she entered the game room. Shit!

  “I know you want to kiss me. Go ahead,” she says softly.

  I laugh nervously. She can’t read me that easily. “You had your chance upstairs. You passed.” Good choice.

  She leans up on her tiptoes, her mouth next to my ear, and whispers. “I dare you.”

  My body stiffens. She doesn’t understand what those words mean to me. How they give me a pass to do whatever the fuck I want. As if I needed that.

  I turn in her arms, so I’m facing her, and slide my right hand into her hair. Her eyes close, and those perfect red lips release a moan. The soft sound goes straight to my cock. “You don’t know what you’re doing,” I say against her lips.

  Her eyes open and look up into mine, and her hands slip up the back of my shirt. I feel eyes on us in the packed kitchen, but I ignore them. She has all my attention. And this is what I wanted, right? For everyone to know that she belongs to me. A message so no other guy even attempts to take her from me.

  Her nails drag down my back, and I imagine her doing that while I fuck her up in my room. Just her and me. “I know exactly what I’m doing,” she purrs. “Now. I dare you to kiss me.”

  I smile because I’m gonna make her wait for it. I tilt her head back and run my lips along her jawline. And down her neck. She smells like heaven and sex all wrapped in one small package that I just wanna rip open.

  A shiver runs through her body, and she moans, “Cole.”

  “You asked for it, Austin. Remember that.” I nip at her neck, and her breath hitches. Her nails dig into my back, but only now, she’s pulling me toward her. Needing me closer. I agree.