DanielsDare

by Sasha Devlin

  “What exactly are we celebrating?”

  “Is that your truth or dare question?” A grin threatened at her disgruntled look.

  “You are obsessed!”

  “And you are avoiding the topic again.” He put the plate next to her hip and snagged a melon ball. He waited until she responded to the pressure against her mouth and ate it before he continued. Daniel trailed his fingertips over her lips and sighed at how soft they were. “Come on, make up your mind so we can get on with this game.”

  “Why are you so gung-ho now?

  “Let’s just say I have plans and the game can help me out.”

  “Let’s also say I don’t trust you.”

  He looked affronted and crammed another piece of fruit against her lips, trying to ignore the way her tongue snaked out to capture the moisture left behind. “Put up or shut up.”

  “Fine. Truth or dare?”

  “Truth for both.”

  Her jaw worked. “Do you think Tina’s beautiful?”

  “Yes.” He waited for her to realize he wasn’t going to say anything else. If she was going to ask dumb questions, he was going to give her dumb answers. He pressed a strawberry against her mouth but she turned her head and frowned.

  “That’s all you’re going to say?”

  “You asked a simple question, I gave you a simple answer. If there was something else you wanted to know, you should have asked. Or use your next question to ask it.”

  “You are a smug bastard, you know that?”

  “No. I’m a very nice bastard. Otherwise I’d count that as your second question.” Daniel caught her fist in his hand and eased her fingers straight. He wanted to feed her fingers into his mouth, but knew she needed words before action. “Now is there something you’d like to know? Think hard. Something deep.”

  Kaitlyn was quiet for so long, he didn’t think she would speak. He squeezed her fingers, not about to let her back down. This was too important. “Why don’t you tell me what you were thinking during my performance? You had a look like someone had spit soda in your face.”

  He rubbed a hand over his mouth in hopes of keeping a lascivious look from appearing. I wanted to jump your bones. I almost kicked my brother’s ass for saying he’d jump your bones. “I liked your performance. A lot. If I hadn’t just challenged you, I’d swear that you’d planned it all along. Besides. Doesn’t matter what I think. The guests loved it. Or didn’t you hear every man here whistling and catcalling for you?” His voice grew harsher with every word and her gaze met his. So much for keeping his cool. Kaitlyn cocked her head.

  “So how did you feel about that?”

  He shook his head. “Nothing doing. It’s not your turn. Unless you want to owe me two?”

  She chewed on her lip and Daniel forced his eyes back to the tray. If he had to look at her doing that he’d dump the food and be all over her in a heartbeat.

  “Fine. How’d it make you feel?”

  “I wanted to start kicking ass and taking names.” Her eyes widened at his tone. He rarely got serious, but in this he wouldn’t joke.

  “Even your brother? Your boss?”

  “Especially Deon, especially Oppenheimer.”

  She sputtered.

  “Why does that surprise you?”

  She rose to her knees, poked him in the chest with her free hand. “Idiot! What did you think would happen when you dared me to get half naked and dance and sing for a room full of slightly toasted people?”

  “I don’t know. You’ve never seemed the type to like to prance for attention.” But damn if he had known, he would have asked her to do it before. Repeatedly. And privately.

  “It wasn’t my idea. Maybe you should think harder before you dare me.”

  “Didn’t think you’d do it.”

  “Why not? Didn’t think I’d do a good job?”

  “I had no doubt you’d do a fantastic job and look beautiful doing it.” She ducked her head and would have tugged her fingers from his if he hadn’t clamped down tight. “Just didn’t think you’d get so close to naked.”

  She rolled her eyes and tugged harder on her fingers until it was let go or hurt her. Reluctantly he released her. “Aren’t you ready to sleep? I’m ready for sleep.”

  He shook his head. “Not yet. Truth or dare?”

  Her sigh could have doubled as a snow blower, but Daniel didn’t laugh. “Truth.”

  “Why did you ask me about Tina when you didn’t really want to know?” Her head came up and her gaze clashed with his. “I can tell by the sour face you didn’t want to know what I thought of Tina, not really. So spill it. Why bother?”

  “Why not?”

  “That’s not a good enough answer.” Daniel barely restrained a growl. She was reducing him to childishness. Any second now he was going to stick his tongue out and pull on her hair.

  “Now you know how it feels!” She shot him a smug glance and Daniel grabbed the couch so he wouldn’t shake her.

  “Do I have to remind you of the rules? If you’re not honest, it immediately turns into a dare.”

  “I was honest.”

  “Bullshit.” And there it was. Daniel tried for patience. It had been going well before he let her start thinking. If he could just get her back to doing, things would work out.

  “Stop swearing at me.” Her hands curled into fists and Daniel couldn’t resist the challenge.

  “Bullshit. Bullshit. Take your dare. Bullshit.”

  “No.”

  In desperation, he blurted, “Give me a real mistletoe kiss, I dare you.”

  Her eyes burned with fire and Daniel tensed in anticipation. She was either going to kiss the daylights out of him or punch his face in—after which he was going to kiss the daylights out of her.

  “Unless you want to lose the game?”

  “You are a despicable man and I hate you right now.”

  “So that means—” His words were cut off by the crush of her mouth and he wanted to shout with joy, but was too busy trying to hold on.

  Chapter Three

  There was nothing passionate about this kiss. It was rough and punishing and though it was supposed to put him off, Daniel grew even harder. The pressure was intense, but even that couldn’t diminish the softness of her lips. He let her feel like she’d proved her point, then grasped her chin and held her mouth still.

  Daniel licked across her lips and bit the bottom one, making her gasp. His tongue slid into her mouth and he felt her resistance melt under his lips. He gentled the kiss, his tongue stroking in languid motions, encouraging hers to meet his and play.

  Kaitlyn’s arms slowly slid up and around his neck and Daniel fought the desire to pin her to the couch. Her hold was still tentative so he gentled the kiss more, barely brushing his mouth across hers. To know that he could make such a confident, strong woman tremble made him want to beat his chest.

  “Daniel?” she whispered, pulling back.

  “Shh. Not yet.” He dove back into her sweetness, finally letting his arms close around her to mold her to his body. She jumped when she felt his cock nudge her stomach, but he didn’t allow her to retreat. He held her against him until her muscles loosened and then his hands roamed down to her bare thighs. Her mouth tasted better than he dreamed and he couldn’t wait to taste the rest of her. One night would never be enough. He wanted to devour her, take her now before she could start to doubt him, doubt them. And right now she would let him. It was in the rhythm of her kiss, the way she whimpered into his mouth. He could take her, he should. When he realized he was rationalizing ways to get her on her back, he eased away.

  The look of her, cheeks flushed, eyes glazed with passion, lips shiny from their kisses was enough to make him want to go back for seconds. His hands squeezed her ass, cuddling her closer to his cock. He leaned in, but she turned away.

  “We shouldn’t have done that.” She pulled farther out of his reach, refusing to meet his gaze. Daniel let her go, though his arms had never felt emptier.

>   “Why not?”

  “Just not a good idea.” The despair in her voice made him keep his hands at his sides. Somehow he had to convince her this was more than just physical. Daniel tried to catch her gaze, but she studied her clenched fingers as if they had all the answers in the world. She was shutting him out and he didn’t know how to stop it. In all their years together, Kaitlyn had never done this. Panic warred with anger and he wanted to shake her.

  His balls would turn blue and fall off before she realized it was a great idea and as much as he didn’t want to push her away, maybe his anger was the only way to make her see him. Words hadn’t worked, overwhelming her senses hadn’t worked, and he was quickly running out of ideas. “Give me one good reason. A true reason.”

  “It’s not your turn.” She flopped back on the couch, swaddling herself in that damnable blanket again. He growled.

  “Besides, I think we should go to bed. We have an early morning ahead of us.”

  “I’m not sleepy and I’m not about to let you sleep with this between us.”

  “There’s nothing between us except a silly little kiss that got a bit out of hand.” Her voice was husky and belied her words.

  “Fine.” He scooted over on the couch, crowding her into the corner.

  She pushed at his shoulder but he crossed his arms and refused to budge. Let her see what it felt like to be so uncomfortable. “Your turn.”

  “Daniel, move over!”

  “Unless you’re going to dare me to move, ain’t happening.” He sounded like a child, but screw it. He felt as if he’d been given exactly what he wanted for Christmas only to have it suddenly turn to coal.

  “Why are you being a jerk? This is why I thought it was a bad idea. Look how you’re acting.” She shoved at his shoulder, so he leaned on her more. At this rate, she’d be underneath him in a matter of moments, and though the circumstances could have been better, he wasn’t too proud to take it.

  “Get used to it. Unless you want to dare me to stop acting like this.”

  “Truth or dare.” She sounded ready to punch him again, and Daniel almost hoped she would. Any contact would be better than what she was giving him.

  “Truth.”

  She was quiet for a few moments, staring into the fire. “Are we still going to be friends after…that?”

  “Want to be more specific?”

  She sighed and finally looked at him, but only to roll her eyes. “You’re joking, right? We share one small kiss and you’re acting like I junked your hard drive and told your clients you worship the devil.”

  He shrugged as if he didn’t care, while trying not to give anything away. It was his birthday all over again and he refused to be that vulnerable again without a sign from her. Kaitlyn’s words said he was the only one affected, but her reactions said otherwise.

  “I don’t see why not. After all, you said it didn’t mean anything. Was a bad idea. Friends don’t stop being friends because other friends bring up bad ideas.”

  “Have you been drinking?”

  He wished he had. Maybe it would make all of this easier. Then again, he had liquid courage before and Kaitlyn had laughed it off as a case of beer goggles. “Just this.” He drained his wineglass and poured some more, grimacing at the fruity sweetness. She preferred wines that could double as dessert.

  Daniel stared into the fire and wondered what to do next. Short of throwing her to the couch and slobbering all over her, there wasn’t much he could do. She would undoubtedly pick truth three more times, and he didn’t know that he had the patience for it. It wasn’t lost on him that what could be his most adult relationship might be decided by something as juvenile as a schoolyard game.

  “It’s your turn, Daniel.”

  He shot her a sideways glance and turned his gaze back to the fire. His silence was making her squirm and while part of him hated it, the other part was beyond excited. It was good for her to be off balance, to not know what was coming next. He’d been on that particular roller coaster for too long to count.

  “Truth or dare?”

  “Truth.”

  He turned and looked her directly in the eye, allowing his gaze to roam over her face. She squirmed at his perusal, but he kept at it until he was satisfied that she was with him. He cleared his throat. “Might be uncomfortable, but I want to know.” He waited for her to nod. “Who was your most serious boyfriend and why did you break up?”

  Kaitlyn blinked. “What?”

  As a stalling tactic, it sucked, but it was the best she could do. Her brain had gone offline around the time he kissed her under the mistletoe. Not even the extra pep talk she’d given herself in the bathroom had helped.

  Without even thinking hard, she knew that Will had been most important. She also knew that she couldn’t tell Daniel why they broke up—Will had gotten tired of being number two in her affections.

  She’d tried, but Will just wasn’t Daniel. They had so much history together that she could and often did finish Daniel’s sentences. She never brought him the wrong sandwich, and knew he would always be game to see the new gross-out comedy with her opening weekend. She had loved Will, it just wasn’t the all-consuming, want-to-spend-every-minute-with-him-first-thought-in-the-morning-last-thought-at-night feeling she had for Daniel.

  The nail in the coffin had been when she shared the news about Cozy Corners with Daniel days before she’d told Will. Hell, Daniel had toured the place with her three times before she’d even thought to tell Will that she’d finally found a spot for her bed-and-breakfast.

  Will had left her, but they both had known she was the one who’d never truly been there. He had been her last-ditch effort to get over her best friend, and though she’d poured more into that relationship than any of her others, it still hadn’t been enough.

  “Why do you want to know?” She stared at the flames, willing her voice to remain neutral.

  “I’m interested. Haven’t heard of you dating anyone recently, so I thought I’d peek into your love life.”

  “I haven’t asked about yours.” The words came out petulant instead of confident. Truthfully, she’d rather spend the rest of the weekend in the silly Mrs. Claus outfit than know about whom he was dating. She’d managed to avoid talking about any of his girlfriends for almost a year and she wanted to keep it that way. Whoever she was, she wasn’t good enough for Daniel.

  “You could if you like. I wouldn’t keep it from you.”

  She bit her lip and his gaze lowered to her mouth and grew hot. He kept doing that tonight, and it was driving her bonkers. “I don’t want to know about your love life. Pretty sure I don’t have enough bleach here to remove any images you might bring to mind.”

  Kaitlyn hoped that would be enough to silence him. Otherwise, she’d have to eat a pound of chocolate to keep from killing whatever bimbo he was seeing. And another pound to make sure she didn’t punch his lights in for being so blind.

  “Well the offer stands. And I won’t even charge you a T and D question for it.” He leaned down until their eyes were level and Kaitlyn fought to keep her breathing steady. That look could make a nun become a showgirl. And she was neither.

  “I have no interest in listening to you pound your chest and go on about some girl you slept with halfway through the first date.” As soon as the words were out of her mouth, she wanted to cram them back in. That was not the way to pretend she didn’t feel anything.

  “Is that really how you see me?” He frowned, more serious than usual. Maybe even upset if that tic in his jaw was anything to go by.

  Kaitlyn dropped her gaze. “Maybe not all the time.” She knew that Daniel wasn’t promiscuous, but she also knew he always had his choice of available women. The thought depressed her and she hunkered farther into her blanket.

  “But enough of the time that you felt it was okay to say that to me?” Yep. Definitely upset. That muscle was doing the hokey pokey. In out, in out.

  “You’re overreacting.”

  He stood, f
ists clenching and unclenching, his face backlit and inscrutable. “You think I’m a manwhore. That I use women.”

  “Daniel, that’s not what I’m saying.”

  “Then what are you saying?”

  “You break a lot of hearts. That’s not news to anyone. Why are you so upset?” It was her heart that got trampled every time he picked someone else, so why was he complaining?

  He made a growly sort of noise and then walked away from her. It took her several moments before she realized he wasn’t coming back. At least not without some encouragement. She stood and wrapped herself toga style in a blanket before seeking him out. She found him in the kitchen, searching around in the liquor cabinet.

  “What are you doing?”

  “I want a real drink.” He sounded pissed.

  She reached a hand out and found his biceps tensed. “Daniel, it’s late.”

  “Don’t worry. I’m used to it. After all, I spend all of my nights staying up late, drinking and whoring.” Yep, definitely pissed and maybe a bit hurt. It wasn’t his fault she couldn’t stop wishing for more.

  “That’s not what I said.”

  He grunted, but continued to search. She did the only thing she could think of. She slid her arms around his waist and laid her head on his back. He felt so good against her she nearly moaned. “Daniel.”

  She’d wanted stern, but her voice was too breathy. Kaitlyn allowed her nose to slide on his spine, inhaling his special scent. This was all Daniel and he made her mouth water. She wanted to lick out and taste him to see if he was as delicious as he smelled.

  He stiffened in her arms, but didn’t back away.

  Her hand coasted up his chest, stopping over his heart. It was pumping fast, but it could have been anger or excitement.

  “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you.” She gave in and pressed a kiss against his warm flesh. She spoke with her mouth still against him. “Can you forgive me?”

  His body went stiffer. “Kaitlyn, what do you want from me?”