Close to the Edge

by Dawn Ryder

  She wasn’t lying.

  No, he took command and she loved knowing she kept pace.

  They stripped on the way to the bedroom. Fighting to bare each other’s skin. There was a frantic pace to their motions tonight, Dare stripping her like some prize he’d claimed.

  Or intended to claim.

  Jenna wanted more than to be taken. His presence was a gift from fate, another taste of what she craved. Even knowing how hard the fall would be when he left again didn’t stop her from letting him take her up the mountain of bliss his touch evoked.

  And she had every intention of making sure he was just as out of control as she was. She cupped his balls, rolling them gently as he lifted his head and let her look into his eyes.

  Devil dark …

  Like a midnight sky. They glittered with hard determination, which spiked the arousal twisting through her insides.

  But he scooped her up and dropped her on the bed. She bounced for a moment, looking up as he followed her down.

  The sight froze the breath in her lungs.

  He was hard and determined, his eyes narrowed as he pressed her flat, capturing her wrists and pinning them above her head to the surface of the bed.

  “I’m in charge tonight…” he rasped.

  There was a warning in his tone. One that sent a jolt through her. He drew one hand down her body, stroking her cheek, across her jaw, and along her neck. She arched up, the level of sensation nearly unbearable.

  Which was what made her crave even more of it.

  He was being the dick she’d accused him of being and yet there was something about the moment, the knowledge that he was taking her, that made her feel more attractive than she had ever felt before.

  He cupped her breast, teasing the tender globe with his fingertips. She shifted but the hold on her hands was solid and unyielding.

  He chuckled. “You’re mine to do with as I please, Jenna…”

  She forced her eyelids up, her breath catching as they locked gazes. For a moment, she was sure she was going to have blisters from how hot the flames were in his eyes. But in the next she was crying out as he pinched her nipple. He stopped just shy of pain, taking her to the edge of where enjoyment ended and keeping her there by cupping her breast.

  It was a potent mixture of strength and control.

  One that intoxicated her.

  “I’m going to be calling the shots tonight.”

  He was moving his hand lower, trailing his fingertips across her ribcage and onto her lower belly. Her clit was throbbing with anticipation, but he lingered over her midsection, driving her insane with just his fingertips.

  She jerked and he held her down, one of his thighs locked over one of hers.

  “Let go…” her tone was unrecognizable. So husky.

  So needy …

  “I’ve got you right where I want you…” he muttered against her ear.

  He was teasing her curls now. The hairs ultra-sensitive like he’d engaged a circuit she hadn’t known her body came equipped with.

  “Right where I can have my way with you.”

  He proved his point by slipping his fingers into her folds. She jerked, unable to control herself at all. She was just twisting under his touch, completely controlled by the need he was building.

  And he didn’t grant her the mercy of fingering her clit. No, he toyed with the outer folds of her sex first.

  “I can’t take that,” she growled.

  She heard him let out a little grunt.

  “But you will,” he continued on with teasing her. “Because you’re mine right now, mine to toy with.”

  She tried to pull her hand loose and heard him chuckle. A moment later he was rubbing her clit. His lazy demeanor had evaporated. Now there was hard purpose and action. She gasped and cried out.

  “That’s it Jenna…” He didn’t let up, rubbing her clit hard and fast. “Mine to toy with now.”

  He sure knew how to handle his toys.

  Climax was rushing toward her. She withered because she just couldn’t get close enough to him. Every muscle she had was straining, her hips lifting toward his hand as he worked her clit until climax slammed into her.

  She let out a cry that was long and thin. It bounced around the room as her passage contracted, and the pleasure felt like it went all the way to her core. Sharp and intense, she forgot to breathe as it twisted through her and dropped her back on to the bed where blackness ended her efforts to do anything but surrender completely to the moment.

  * * *

  Dare wasn’t a stranger to being disgusted by the details of a case.

  He worked with underworld thugs and criminals who would do atrocious deeds to accomplish what they wanted.

  Tonight, he was disgusted by himself.

  His cock was hard, throbbing with need, and it took every ounce of self-discipline he had to roll off the bed and head for a cold shower.

  He’d expected a sexual response from his body.

  That was only logical.

  The state of arousal he was in was something different. He flipped on the shower and walked straight into the spray. The cold water hit his skin, making him clench his jaw.

  He still could see Jenna as a component of a case.

  It frustrated him more than anything he’d come up against in his career. There were plenty of stories of agents who had fallen for a bad girl. There was even some stupid psychological name for it.

  At the moment, he called it fucking irritating.

  He went all the way under the spray, letting it blast the cold water into his face.

  Wake up dumb shit …

  * * *

  He hadn’t cum.

  Jenna fought to wake up because something was wrong.

  That dammed tingle on her nape that she’d felt when she was in her shower …

  There was an ache in her abdomen from how hard she’d been straining. She could still feel the hold he’d had on her wrists, and her folds were wet with how hard she’d climaxed.

  Something was very different.

  The satisfaction was tainted somehow and she realized it was because she’d been alone in the moment.

  And she still was.

  The shower was running. She crawled off the bed that wasn’t even turned down. She stared at the coverlet, realizing she’d have been fine if they’d been in such a hurry they just hadn’t taken time to pull it down.

  The path of clothing leading back into the front entryway confirmed Dare had been in a hurry, but she realized he’d been keeping her mind occupied.

  He was working.

  That was the reason for the gun lesson from Kagan.

  Dare was still working the case, working her.

  She wanted to throw up.

  Nausea twisted her belly as she started to dress, fighting with her underwear because she was shaking. She succeeded and grabbed her pants.

  “In some kind of hurry Jenna?”

  Dare had left the shower running so she wouldn’t know he was on the move. He lowered a towel from where he’d been rubbing it over his head. Water still glistened in the dark mat of his chest hair but he had his pants and shoes on.

  Because he wasn’t at ease …

  Okay, maybe she didn’t really know what he was like when he wasn’t on a case, but there was something very off about the entire moment.

  “What are you doing?” She decided to forget trying to filter her thoughts.

  One dark eyebrow rose as he tossed the towel aside.

  “Cut the shit, Servant,” she countered as she grabbed her top and pulled it on. When her head popped out, she realized he was doing the same thing.

  Christ, they were both preparing for battle …

  “What are you worried about, Jenna?”

  He was moving toward her, his expression reminding her of the first time she’d met him in that bedroom.

  Right before he’d slapped a shackle on her wrist.

  “Why are you here?” she demanded.


  “Hooking up with you.”

  She let out a half sound of mocking laughter. “That”—Jenna pointed at the bed behind her—“wasn’t hooking up.”

  His lips rose into a grin, but there was nothing nice about the expression and it didn’t make it all the way to his eyes. Those black orbs continued to glitter with hard purpose. “You enjoyed it.”

  “But you didn’t.” Her tone betrayed her by coming out in a shaky whisper.

  His eyes narrowed. Just a fraction. Like she’d hit him with an unexpected fact.

  “You applied yourself…” And the realization was making her sick.

  “Didn’t expect you to be so critical.”

  He offered her a shrug.

  “And now you’re trying to introduce an emotional element in the hope of distracting me.”

  There was a flash of admiration in his eyes, but he didn’t budge from his stance.

  “Fine,” she muttered. “Stick to your story. I’m out of here.”

  Her canvas bag was on the entry room table. Jenna hooked the shoulder strap and swung it up onto her back.

  “You’re being emotional.” Dare caught her wrist and sent her stumbling past him into the living room so he was between her and the door.

  “And you…” Jenna faced off with him. “You weren’t even involved.”

  “Is this because I didn’t fuck you?” He moved closer. “I can fix that.”

  There was distaste in his eyes. He’d gotten close enough to touch her, reaching out to close his fingers around her wrist.

  It was such an impersonal touch.

  And it gutted her.

  Pain slashed through her. She gasped at the sheer intensity of it, feeling the burn of tears flooding her eyes. Dare went still, their gazes locked. His mask broke for a moment, as he grimaced with distaste.

  And she knew she was right.

  She reached up and smacked him. Hard and sharp against the side of his face. The sound popped around the little sitting area as he turned with the blow.

  She ducked under his arm while he was distracted but that was as far as she got before he turned on her.

  “Do you have this room bugged?” A second wave of horror was looming over her. “Did your team … watch?”

  She was nearly gagging.

  And Dare was wearing a mask of stone. His body nearly rigid as he closed the distance between them. “I never … will never apologize for doing what I have to for a case, Jenna.”

  He’d pulled his phone from his pocket and tapped something. A moment later he’d dropped the thing back into the pocket and hooked her around her bicep.

  “You’re under arrest.”

  Cold and impersonal.

  Exactly what she’d suspected.

  Only it hurt a thousand times worse than she’d warned herself it might.

  * * *

  Kirkland was watching her.

  Thais fingered the steam of her martini glass, slow and unhurried before she gave the beverage a bored look and turned around.

  Kirkland lifted his hand and beckoned her toward him.

  Thais contemplated him for a long moment before she walked off in a different direction. The beaded trim on her skirt was hitting the top of her thighs and barely covered her bottom. More than one man looked up as she passed, proving they were exactly what she thought they were.

  Creatures of impulse.

  Oh, there were expectations. She’d earned a Shadow Ops badge because it allowed her to work with men who had souls.

  Her counterpart moved into a doorway so she could see him. He shot her a raised eyebrow look. Thais didn’t bother to educate him. She knew what she was doing, crossing the elusive nightclub floor and lowering herself onto a plush sofa. The place was a members-only establishment. A privilege that came with a thirty-thousand-dollar price tag. Among those with too much money, the stench of entitlement was enough to make her retch.

  And people wondered how she kept her figure.

  “You playing with me, girl?” Kirkland dropped down beside her, slouching down until his butt was on the end of the seat cushion in some attempt to impress her with his nonchalance.

  “You have plenty of toys to play with,” Thais replied as she flicked her newly manicured fingernails through her hair. “I have different tastes.”

  “You might like being my toy,” was Kirkland’s arrogant reply.

  Thais turned and caught him in her stare. She stood up, giving him her back.

  “Hold on a moment, girl…” He caught her wrist and pulled her back.

  Thais turned and went down onto her knee. She heard Kirkland draw in a stiff breath as she stopped just shy of being in his lap.

  “Sex,” she muttered huskily, “is boring.”

  “Not with me it’s not baby.”

  She let her gaze drop to his lips. Lowering her head, she hovered over him for a long moment before abruptly pushing back.

  “Maybe…” she offered with a delicate shrug. “Like I said, you have plenty of toys waiting for you.”

  Thais looked across the club to where Kirkland’s companions were shooting her killing looks.

  “What’s it going to take?” Kirkland was on his feet and doing his best to crowd her with his larger body.

  “Danger…” Thais let her eyes flash. “Something to make me feel alive.”

  Kirkland was surprised. She watched it flash in his eyes a moment before he was chuckling under his breath. “Who’s your daddy?”

  Thais laid a hand on her chest. “My daddy is … rich…”

  “No kidding,” Kirkland answered. “That’s why you’re bored.”

  Thais shrugged again. “Have fun with your toys … they look like they miss you.”

  Kirkland looked back at his entourage but turned around and caught Thais close. She allowed him to turn her with his body, pressing her close as he caught her hand and pressed it over the gun he had tucked into his belt under the suit jacket he had on.

  “I can spice up your night…”

  Thais ran her finger along the opening in his shirt front. “I’m intrigued.”

  Kirkland smiled, flashing his teeth at her as he made the fatal mistake of thinking he’d won her over. She twisted her fingers in his chest hair and yanked. He let out a yelp as she slipped away from him.

  “Just don’t think all it takes is a quick little feel.” She let disgust show on her face. “Men always think that’s all it takes…”

  Kirkland caught her hand. His face had gone serious, his playboy image abandoned. “I got you covered. Truth is, I’ve been bored, too.”

  He turned and tugged her along with him, giving his party a signal to leave them alone.

  Sex was boring.

  Thais didn’t dwell on that aspect of her job. It wasn’t that she believed Kirkland might be cock led. No, it was more a matter of him being so arrogant as to forget she had a brain in her head. When he was finished with what he wanted, she wouldn’t matter.

  Not that it would be simple to get the jump on him. Kirkland was his father’s son all the way. He covered his tracks or had people in his inner circle who made sure he had clean hands.

  She’d see.

  * * *

  “I can sit here all day, Jenna,” Dare informed her when she kept her lips sealed.

  The corners of her mouth twitched up as she lifted her bound hands from the table she was shackled to. They clinked just a bit. “So can I.”

  It was an honest-to-goodness interrogation room. The table had what looked like a section of a crowbar welded in place for handcuffs to be secured through. The room itself had a cracked concrete floor, and one wall was composed of dark glass mirrors.

  Two-way glass … Just like on television.

  Her sarcasm amused her even as Dare Servant flattened his hands on the table in front of her in an effort to make sure she felt intimidated.

  “Start at the beginning, Jenna.” His tone was clipped. “Do it now.”

  She flipped him a double bird i
nstead.

  His fingers drew back into fists, delighting her.

  Oh sure, she should have been buckling under the pressure.

  “You don’t get it, Servant. Thanks to you, I just don’t have anything left to lose. My dignity was the last of it,” she said.

  His knuckles turned white. “You can lose your freedom.” There was a touch of compassion in his tone.

  And she hated the way it made her feel. Like he cared and that she liked knowing he did.

  Fuck … that … shit.

  She jerked on the handcuffs so the sound of the metal against metal bounced around the dismal room. “I feel so free … it’s just overwhelming.”

  “You were resettled,” he cut back. “Financially better off than you were before.”

  “And you showed up to rain on my parade,” she growled.

  “So take me through what you’ve been doing and help me get you back to your life.”

  Jenna shook her head. “Know something? You contradict your own statements. What happened to scuttling and relocation and no contact because you’re marked? Did you send me up that riverbed just to enjoy knowing I was sweating to death in the blazing heat? And what the hell was that performance in my bedroom? You could have arrested me before humiliating me but I guess it’s all part of breaking me down.”

  “I can help you get out of this Jenna, if you just come clean.” Dare wasn’t willing to be distracted.

  His tone had lowered and his gaze shifted away from hers.

  “Liar.”

  His attention returned to her instantly.

  “Jenna…”

  “Fuck … off.” She enunciated each word precisely.

  He contemplated her for a long moment. Jenna stared straight back, unwavering in her choice. He let out a grunt before shaking his head and leaving.

  The sound of the door closing was harsh. Like a nail being hammering into the lid of a coffin she was lying in.

  Well, at least she wasn’t going down whimpering.

  Betrayal left a bitter taste in her mouth. The humiliation of knowing his entire team had listened in on their last round of sex was nothing compared to the knowledge that Dare had applied himself to her in such a way.

  You just want him to value you more …

  She sure did and knowing he didn’t was a knife straight into the heart of all the feelings she’d developed for him.