DARE SERIES COLLECTION

by Tessier, Shantel

  Bennett reads it immediately. Seconds later, my cell rings. I place it on speakerphone. “Hello?”

  “What the fuck is going on?” he demands. “And what does he mean by let him fuck her? Who?”

  “Seth.” I growl.

  “Her boyfriend?” he asks.

  “He’s not her boyfriend,” Cole answers. “He’s gay. She’s his cover.”

  “Oh, well that changes things.”

  “There’s more.” I sigh.

  “What is it?” he asks, sounding irritated. Aren’t we all?

  “The cabin on Lake Travis …” I start.

  “Yeah?”

  “His parents own it.”

  A long silence follows my words.

  When he finally speaks, he sighs. “Hang on. I’m gonna call and wake up Shane. We all need to be in on this conversation.”

  DEMI

  A year ago

  I pace my bedroom at my father’s house. I’ve called Eli a hundred times by now, but it keeps going straight to voicemail. And I don’t know why he would turn his phone off. His Facebook says he hasn’t been active in over thirty minutes. I dial it again.

  “Come on … pick up. Pick up.”

  “Hey, you’ve reached Eli. Leave me a message …”

  I yank the phone from my ear and scream out of frustration. I told him not to do it. That it was fucking stupid! He should have listened to me. I hope Deke didn’t catch them …

  My bedroom door flies open, and I spin around to see my sister running in. Her blond hair is a tangled mess. Her crop top and shorts are covered in dirt and blood. Her makeup is streaked from tears.

  “Becky? What the hell?” I ask.

  She’s sobbing. Her bottom lip trembling. I stay where I am, not sure what the hell is going on. “Where’s Eli?” I ask, looking behind her. Is this some trick she talked him into? It can’t be. He wouldn’t do that to me. He may be ignoring my phone calls, but at least I know she’s here and no longer with him.

  “Help me.” She sobs, falling to her knees in the middle of my room.

  “What the hell happened to you?” I ask, watching the blood and dirt get on my white rug.

  “There was an accident.” She swallows. “The car flipped. Cole …”

  I fall to my knees before her. “What?” I grip her tear-streaked face and force her to look up at me. “What do you mean an accident?”

  “I … I think I killed them.” She begins to rock back and forth. “He told me to run.”

  “Who told you to run?” My hands begin to shake.

  “Cole.” She bends over, cradling her stomach. “I told him I was pregnant, and he told me to run.”

  I know she’s not pregnant. She was in my bathroom just last weekend borrowing tampons. My eyes look over her body, and I see scratch marks on her thighs and arms. I blink, running a hand through my hair. “Who do you think you killed, Becky?”

  “Landen.” She sobs. “Maddox and Eli.” My heart stops. “Cole kept hollering for them, but none of them answered.”

  I fall back onto my ass, trying to comprehend what she just said.

  “I went back.” She nods to herself. “Cole was sitting in the ditch with Eli in his arms … He wasn’t breathing.” Her shaking hands grip her cell. The screen is shattered. “I called the cops.” Dropping the phone to my floor, she buries her busted face in her hands.

  It begins to ring, and I pick it up to see David light up the busted screen. “Why is David calling you …?”

  She snatches it from my hands.

  Present

  I open my eyes and roll out of bed. I trip over a pair of shoes but manage to make it to the bathroom door. Turning on the light, I blink rapidly and then decide to just pee in the dark. Once done, I wash my hands and pick up the mouthwash to try to get rid of this god-awful taste in my mouth. And it’s not the vodka. It’s cinnamon. That damn Fireball Austin had me drinking.

  I exit the bathroom and make my way back to Deke’s bed. It’s still dark out; the clock on his nightstand says a little after three a.m. He lies on the right side, closest to the door. The covers sit low on his hips, showing me his smooth chest and impressive six-pack. His right hand lies on his chest while his other is behind his head.

  I come to a stop and just watch him sleep. I told him too much last night. I remember running my mouth while in his SUV on our way back here. A part of me wanted to get it out. To purge everything that is Collins, Oregon. There were so many lies and so much deceit in that town. No one was who they said they were. Not even Deke.

  I blamed my sister for killing Eli. I still blame her. And I blame Eli for thinking of that stupid plan. If she hadn’t gone, maybe the timing would have been different. Maybe he would have survived.

  Did I love him?

  I thought I did. But I didn’t really know him. He said that I didn’t deserve to be someone’s secret, but that’s exactly what I was. No one knew about us. Or what I thought we were.

  I went to his funeral, and I watched the town mourn a kid who was loved by some and hated by most. I saw him differently, but he was still a GWS to everyone else, and the town didn’t like the sharks. Parents and most of the city wanted Cole’s head on a fucking stake for what happened. His father threw a lot of money at the city to make sure the law didn’t touch his son, but he too was more than what the town thought. They thought Cole was driving a car drunk after leaving a party with his friends. He took the blame for the accident and covered for my sister. You know how many times I wanted to out her sorry ass? She had lied to him about being pregnant. What kind of woman does that? She begged me to stay quiet. I did, knowing I’d be able to use it against her, but then Deke came along and threatened her when he also realized she had lied to Cole. Cole might not have known that Becky lied about being pregnant, but Deke did. And he was far scarier than I was capable of being.

  You know what they say—all secrets come out eventually.

  Deke shifts and turns onto his side. I crawl into the bed and cuddle up against him. He reaches out and pulls me into him. I inhale his scent and close my eyes. His hand glides up my back, and I kiss his chest.

  “You better stop that,” he mumbles.

  I smile and do it again.

  “Demi …”

  “I don’t want to,” I whisper.

  His hand comes up to my hair, and he grips it in his fingers. Then he dips his face to the crook of my neck. “How do you feel?”

  “Horny,” I answer. And still a little drunk.

  He lets out a growl that makes his chest vibrate against mine.

  I shove the covers off us and push on his chest. He rolls onto his back, and I get up to straddle him. His hands go to my hips, and he tugs on the lace of my thong. “What are you doing, Demi?”

  “You,” I answer, biting my lip.

  His hands slide up my sides and to my chest. I arch my back and throw my head back, closing my eyes and just soaking in the feel of his hands. It’s nice to have someone touch you. Want you. Even if he wants to kill you. It makes things much more exciting. I should have pursued Deke a long time ago.

  “Not with your underwear on, you’re not.” He growls.

  “Then take them off me,” I tease.

  I squeal as he tosses me down beside him and positions himself between my legs. His hands grip my panties, and he pulls them down my thighs before tossing them to the floor.

  He leans down, his lips close to mine, and he runs his fingers over the cut on my cheek. “I’m gonna kill him.”

  My heart begins to pound at his words. “Why?” I can’t help but ask.

  His blue eyes move from the cut to my eyes. His jaw sharpens when he says. “Because he touched you. And I am the only man allowed to touch you.”

  I hate that my chest tightens at his words. That someone actually cares for me. But I say, “You mean hurt me?”

  His face grows serious, and he lets out a long breath. “I’m sorry,” he whispers.

  “Are you?” I challenge him. T
hat’s not the answer I wanted.

  “Of course. I shouldn’t have …”

  “It’s okay,” I wrap my legs around his hips.

  “It’s not.”

  “I wanted to push you the other night.” Shut up drunk, Demi.

  He frowns.

  I don’t fucking listen to myself. “When I lied to you on the back porch, I wanted to push you to see what you could do.”

  His hard and smooth chest rises and falls as he sucks in a long breath. “Why?”

  I run my hands up his chiseled abs, ready to lay it all out. Deke loved the lie that was Becky. I keep saying I’m not her. So if he is gonna like me, he’s gonna fall for the real me. “Because your darkness turns me on.” I watch to see if his expression changes, but it doesn’t. “She wanted to tame you. I want to see what you can do. I wanna see the real you. All of you. I know I could never win against you, Deke, but I don’t want you to hide. Not from me.”

  He sits there between my legs not saying a word, and my heart begins to race. Bringing up my sister while we’re lying in bed naked together probably wasn’t the best idea I’ve ever had, but I feel like she’s always lingering around us anyway. Like a dark cloud just waiting to pour down on us.

  “You’ve seen the real me,” he finally says, and his eyes drop to my neck.

  “And I’m still here.” I give him a drunken smile.

  His jaw sharpens. “I could have killed you …” He pauses and sighs. “I can’t promise that I won’t hurt you again.”

  I almost laugh at that. “Good.” I pull his face down to mine and whisper against his lips, “Now show me how hard you can fuck me.”

  “Demi.” He growls my name, his chest vibrating against mine, making my legs tighten around him. His lips trail down my jaw to my neck. I arch it to give him better access. Then I feel him sliding his hand between our bodies. I smile when he grips the base of his already hard dick and pushes into me, making me cry out at the feel of him stretching me. I don’t think I’ll ever get used to him.

  His hand slaps over my mouth, and I take a deep breath through my nose. He whispers, “Gotta be quiet, princess. Don’t want them hearing you scream my name.”

  I want to roll my eyes at his cockiness, but he begins to move, and my eyes roll back for a different reason.

  CHAPTER TWENT-NINE

  DEKE

  COLE AND I exit my car and walk up to the small cabin. Cole unlocks it, and we step inside. I stop and look around the living room and entryway. There was a small square table that sat next to the door. It has been knocked over, and the glass covers the hardwood floor. But other than that, there is no sign of a struggle.

  I walk over to the coffee table and pick up the cup. It’s full to the brim with what looks like a clear liquid of some sort.

  “He left in a hurry,” Cole observes. “He didn’t even bother disposing of the evidence.” Then he walks down the hallway.

  I fist my hands and look down at the side of the couch. A Louis Vuitton bag sits on the floor. I reach down and pick it up. Grabbing the drink with my other hand, I walk it into the kitchen and pour it down the sink.

  “Hey,” Cole enters the kitchen. “Look what I found in the bathroom?” He holds up a small clear bottle with a blue lid. A piece of tape is on the side of the bottle and written in black Sharpie is GHB.

  My jaw tightens. “It’s almost fucking empty.”

  He nods and places it in his pocket. “I’m guessing he wanted to make sure she had enough so she wouldn’t fight him. Or wouldn’t remember a single thing.”

  I throw the cup into the sink and drop her bag. Gripping the counter, I growl. “He could have killed her.” Who knows how much he would have had her drink? Demi is fucking small. Too much and she could have had seizures. Could have fallen into a coma. Not to mention he mixed it with alcohol.

  His phone rings, and he answers, placing it on speakerphone. “Hello?”

  “You guys there?” Bennett asks.

  “Yes.” I growl and push off the countertop.

  “Find anything?”

  “A bottle of GHB.” Cole speaks.

  “Fuck.” He hisses, then sighs. “Hang on, I’m adding Shane to the call.” Seconds later, he’s back. “Okay. We’re all here.”

  “Did you guys get your tickets?” Cole asks him.

  “Yes. We fly out tonight,” Bennett answers.

  “I’m confused as to why we have to come back to Austin.” Shane speaks.

  “Don’t,” I snap, not in the mood for his bullshit today. “Stay the fuck up there.”

  Bennett sighs. “We’re both coming. This involves more than just Demi. Whoever it is hasn’t physically touched us, but we’ve been threatened and that’s enough to worry. If we can get a hold of Seth, maybe his phone can tell us what we need to know.”

  I hang my head and run my hands through my hair aggressively. I’m starting to lose my shit. I kept it together for Demi’s sake this morning when she woke me up horny. I wanted her, needed to feel her, but I was rough. I took my anger out on her, and she liked it. She passed out immediately afterward. I didn’t get to tell her about the message she got from Evan Scott or the fact that I blocked whoever the fucker was. Cole and I snuck out this morning before the girls had even woken up. It’s a Saturday. They both got wasted last night, and Lilly was sleeping over at her dance teacher’s house, so the odds of them sleeping in pretty late are on our side.

  “What I can’t figure out is why he was going to do it.” Bennett speaks. “He’s gay. Why would he fuck her …?”

  “Hate to be the dick in this situation,” Shane interrupts him. “But he could have been planning on fucking her ass. That is what they prefer.”

  My head snaps up, and I snatch the phone from Cole’s hand, but he speaks before I can bark at him more. “Or maybe he didn’t care where he had to fuck her. I mean, to some men, a hole is a hole.”

  “Shup the fuck up …”

  Cole takes his phone back from me. “He was forced. He told Deke there was a video of him fucking his professor.”

  “Who all knew he was gay?” Bennett asks.

  I run a hand down my face. “I’m guessing not many. Demi said she was his cover. And his friends who are on the swim team at UT think they have an open relationship.”

  “Hmm …” Bennett sighs. “What about the professor?”

  “I … I don’t know.” I growl and close my eyes. I try to put what few pieces we have so far together. “It can’t be him. Demi got a message last night from Evan Scott. You guys saw it. It stated she should have let him fuck her. How could the professor be Evan Scott? They wouldn’t know my information to get into it.”

  “True,” Bennett says. “Listen, I know it’s gonna be hard, but just lay low. We’ll be there later on tonight, and we’ll do whatever we gotta do to get the information we need to figure this out. Okay?”

  _______________

  I enter my room and remove my hoodie. Demi’s still in my bed passed out cold. It’s not even ten a.m. yet. And by how quiet the house was when we entered, I’d say Austin is still asleep as well.

  The guys and I have a plan. But I’m not gonna lie to her like Cole did Austin. I’m gonna be honest with Demi. She deserves that. She may not like it, and she may hate me, but I’m not gonna allow Evan Scott to fuck with us. Or her. I’m gonna protect her, and in order to do that, she needs to know just what we’re up against.

  Undoing my jeans, I kick off my shoes and then push them down my legs before removing my shirt and then climb in beside her. My knuckles run over her busted cheek and down over her jaw to her neck. The bruises from my hands remain. They’re worse today than they were last night.

  I wanted to kill her. If she hadn’t hit me with that stupid swimming trophy Austin put out of Cole’s, she would be dead right now. And it makes me sick to my stomach.

  I’ve killed people but not for sport. The men and woman I killed deserved it. Demi would have been innocent. She played me, yes, but I was jus
t jealous that for once, I met someone who knew how to play the game better than I did.

  She releases a little moan and shifts, causing the comforter to pull down and expose her chest to me. My fingers make their way over her chest bone and then her breast. She shifts again and my hand lowers over her stomach and between her legs. She’s naked. “Deke.” She sighs my name when I run a finger over her pussy.

  “Yes, princess?” I ask, leaning down and kissing her neck as my finger slides into her.

  “Oh, God, Deke.” She pants, her hips lifting off the bed.

  I shove off the covers and position myself between her legs. She looks up at me with heavy eyes. I remove my finger and slide two in this time. She arches her back and whimpers. “Does that hurt?” I ask as my thumb starts to rub her clit.

  “Yes.” Her hands grip the sheets.

  “Good,” I say and remove them before gripping my hard cock. She likes it when it hurts. And I hate to admit that she can take the pain. Becky hated it. Demi craves it. I like that I don’t have to pretend with her.

  DEMI

  I sit on Deke’s lap in the living room with my second cup of coffee in my hand. Austin sits beside me, glaring at Cole who lounges in the recliner across from us. I haven’t heard them say one word to each other all day. She’s pissed, and he seems indifferent about it. Like this is something that happens often. Not sure what went down after they left the bar last night, but she obviously isn’t over it.

  “I don’t understand how this is gonna work?” I finally say.

  “We’re gonna ask him,” Bennett says simply.

  He and Shane arrived an hour ago. That could be another reason the tension is high in this house. “He won’t tell you anything.”

  “Oh, he’ll talk.” Deke snorts.

  “You don’t know him,” I argue.

  “I don’t need to know him. There’s something he loves, and if he doesn’t tell us what we want, we take it from him.”

  Austin finally speaks. “You’re gonna kill the professor? That’s not smart. You’re all gonna end up in jail.”

  Cole smiles at her. “I’m glad to see you still care about me, sweetheart, but no. No one is gonna die tonight.”