Dare

by Glenna Sinclair

  “Do you want me to do it?” Nicolas asked.

  He seemed sincere, so I handed the syringe to him.

  “Where do I…?”

  “A fatty area,” I said. “I was doing them in my hip in the hospital.”

  He nodded as he came to stand beside me. I tugged at a corner of my jeans and pulled them down just enough to expose the area where I had intended to inject myself. Nicolas picked up the alcohol pad I’d already prepared and pressed it to my flesh, making me hiss a little with the suddenly cold. And then his fingers were moving over my hip, pushing back my clothes, the contrast between the cold alcohol and his hot fingers distracting.

  Would I always feel this sort of reaction whenever he touched me?

  He carefully injected the insulin, moving quickly, but proficiently, making me wonder if he had experience with needles. And then thoughts of Aurora filled my mind, of her illegal drug use and the substances he’d supposedly seen her take. Did he help her inject herself with meth or heroin? Did he help her boil down crack cocaine and inject it into a vein?

  Those thoughts made me shudder. Nicolas must have thought it was a reaction from the shot because he tugged my jeans back into place and whispered, “All done,” in my ear.

  I pulled away from him, the scent of his cologne so intoxicating that I wasn’t sure I could control myself if I didn’t.

  We ate in silence for a few minutes, both of us lost in our own thoughts. And then he poured himself a glass of wine, staring into its depths rather than drinking from it.

  “I have a new project coming up in a month. It films here, so I’ll be close, but I won’t be at the house for the majority of the day.”

  “Okay,” I said, as I picked at a spicy egg roll. I thought I was going to eat a lot, but the babies had shifted and my stomach was already screaming that it was full.

  “Constance will be around if you need anything. And one of my security guys will always be within screaming distance.”

  “That’s reassuring.”

  “I just…I didn’t know that you would be having health problems when I agreed to this project.”

  “I didn’t either.”

  “I know.” He put the wine glass down and studied me for a second. “This has just made the whole thing a little more real for me.”

  I looked away. It had always been real for me. So real I’d called a lawyer while I was in the hospital. I wanted to know what my options were after the babies came. But his advice hadn’t been very hopeful. He’d promised to look over the contract, but he didn’t think I’d be able to keep the babies or even share in any part of their lives if Nicolas didn’t agree to it.

  Not very encouraging.

  “Aurora was pretty excited about it,” I said suddenly, needing to hurt him in some way for reasons I couldn’t even begin to explain. “She talked about decorating the nursery and buying all these cute little outfits. She even showed me one once, a pretty little sailor suit she couldn’t pass up in a department store.”

  “It was just a passing infatuation with Aurora,” Nicolas said. “A new thing to keep her busy for a while. She was always flitting from one thing to another.”

  “When she talked to the doctor and learned her eggs were dividing, she’d been so excited.”

  “Yeah. And then she went upstairs and snorted so much coke up her nose that she passed out with her head on the hors d’oeuvre plate.”

  There was such bitterness in his voice that I wanted to slap him. How could someone be that bitter about the woman he swore to love, honor, and obey for the rest of his life? Was that really how he looked at the marriage vows?

  “You know, you don’t have to constantly prove what an asshole you are,” I said, dropping my napkin onto my plate and pushing away from the table.

  I didn’t get far. He came up behind me and grabbed my arm, spinning me around so quickly that I got dizzy and nearly fell. As it was, I had to snatch at the front of his shirt to keep from toppling over.

  “I hate you,” I said, pushing back in an attempt to get away from him. “I hate everything you’ve done to me and everything you did to Aurora. I hate that you’re going to take these babies from me and raise them to be little self-centered asses just like you.”

  “You don’t hate me,” he said, his voice dangerously low as he moved closer to me. “And your body definitely doesn’t hate my touch.”

  I glanced down and realized my nipples were once again betraying me, standing up straight against the thin material of my tee.

  “My body’s not itself,” I muttered in disgust. “It’s so confused it doesn’t recognize a snake despite all the warnings my brain is sending.”

  His mouth curved in a brief flash of humor before he took a step, closing what little distance there was between us, his body pressed against mine.

  “You want me,” he said softly. “Despite everything you’ve said and done, you want me. I know it. And you know it.”

  “I don’t.”

  “Oh, you do.”

  I stared at him, and I knew I had my mouth hanging open. The nerve of the man! Did he really imagine I was going to have sex with him? I would not sleep with him again—even if he were the last man on Earth. Who the hell did he think he was? I tried to move away, but he held tight to my arm, jerking me even closer to him. If not for my belly, we would have been chest-to-chest, lip-to-lip. And then his arm snaked around my waist, and he pulled me closer until I couldn’t breathe. I felt the length of his erection against my lower belly, and I stilled. I looked up at him, and his pupils were dilated, his breathing ragged. My legs immediately turned to jelly. I curled my hand where it still held onto his shirt, burying itself there. His mouth was on mine, and we were kissing with such deep hunger that it shook me to the core. He slanted his mouth over mine and sucked my lower lip. I moaned deep in my throat and moved impossibly closer, searching for more. When I gasped for breath, his tongue slipped in and began to slowly drive me crazy. I kissed him back with everything I had, sucking on his tongue with such hunger that he groaned and pressed against me. I slipped my hand beneath his shirt and touched him everywhere I could. I writhed against his erection, but it was not enough. I wanted more.

  Nicolas broke the kiss and focused on the sensitive area behind my neck. He kissed and licked me there and, when he nipped that place, I began to tremble. In such a short time he’d brought me close to that cliff and my desperation was growing.

  Damn, the man knew me well. Too well.

  “We need to stop now,” I gasped and then lifted his shirt and placed my mouth on his turgid nipple. I licked it and suckled. He swore softly under his breath.

  “In a moment…”

  He sank his hands in my hair, and I felt my scalp tingle. “This is crazy,” I said as I shuddered with need.

  “You’re killing me.”

  “I don’t know what’s happening to me,” I muttered moving to the other nipple. I was shaking with desire so intense that it washed all common sense from my mind. “I’m on fire.”

  “You’re burning me up,” he growled when my hand snuck down to rub against his swollen head through his jeans. He lifted me up then and placed me on the edge of the table. He tugged at my clothes, ripping the rubber band from its temporary fix.

  He groaned as he tugged my tee away from my swollen belly.

  “Jesus…I have to taste you now,” he said, as he placed his mouth on my already sensitive nipples, returning the favor, practically kneeling before me. It was a powerful feeling, having this undeniably dominant man on his knees in front of me. And then he stood, needing to taste my lips again as much as I wanted to taste his. He moved between my legs, his manhood pressed against my mound. The effect of his denim clad erection against me was too much. I wrapped my legs around his waist and pulled, moaning at the combined assault of his mouth and his manhood. Suddenly, the pressure began to build. I felt everything fade away and narrow down to a single trajectory of intense pleasure. I stiffened and shut my eyes as I ho
vered on the precipice. Waves of pleasure began to waft through me and suddenly, everything exploded. I heard a low wail, and it was not until Nicolas covered my mouth in another very wet, very sexy kiss that I realized the wail was coming from me.

  I slowly came down from my climax. My limbs felt heavy, and my eyes were heavy. I was gasping for breath and wondering what the hell had happened when I felt his hands around my bottom. He pulled me to the edge of the table, tearing my jeans—my panties—from my body. I felt his tip against me. Just like that, I was hot and hungry again. I wriggled closer and bit my lip to stop the cry that was just begging to come out. He felt so good. I opened my legs wider to let him know I was ready and, without a word, he slid deep inside of me, biting his own lip as a groan slipped out. He wanted to be gentle. I could see it in the intensity of his stare, in the tremor of his hands.

  “It’s okay,” I said. “They’re protected.”

  It was as though that was all he needed to hear. He rammed into me with such force that a scream tore from my mouth. He pulled out of me, and I whimpered in protest before he rammed into me again.

  “Oh…ah…I…this is…!”

  I was incoherent. I could not form a single sentence to save my life. This was more intense than anything I had ever experienced. I forced my eyes open and looked into his. They were ablaze with passion as he stared intensely at me. I could see that he was at the edge of control. When he slammed into me a third time, I felt my sex begin to clench around him and knew that I was at the cusp of another fantastic orgasm. I tried to hold back, to see how much I could take, but he was having none of it. He slid his hand between us and pressed his thumb against my clit and, just like that, I fell apart. I held onto him and jerked, screaming, as the orgasm carried me high into the air. Then, I felt myself shatter into a million pieces. I heard him shout my name as his own climax hit, and it triggered mine again.

  We collapsed against each other, each shuddering at the strength of the passion we’d just experienced.

  “What the hell was that?” he murmured.

  I trembled in the aftershock, ridiculously glad that he didn’t deny the power of what had happened.

  “Crazy…,” I said, still not able to speak coherently. “Just crazy.”

  “Yeah,” he said and then kissed me.

  It was different from the hungry kiss we’d shared earlier. It wasn’t even the wet I-can’t-wait-to-be-inside-you kiss we’d shared just before he’d slid into me. This one was gentle and sweet, but no less intense. I sighed and knew I was in trouble.

  Slowly, he broke the kiss and touched his forehead to mine. “You are incredible, Ana,” he said at last. “I don’t know what to do with you.”

  “Take me to bed,” I suggested, too tired and aware of the change between us to deny this…whatever it was anymore.

  He didn’t have to be told twice. He gathered me into his arms and carried me up the stairs like a bride on her wedding night. Only this bride was already five-months pregnant and without benefit of the legal ceremony or even the love of her man.

  One thing at a time, I supposed.

  Chapter 13

  I was in the middle of a wonderful dream. The babies were here, sleeping happily in perfect white cribs and Nicolas had his arms around me, telling me what a wonderful life we were all going to have together. The dream made me smile, even in my sleep.

  And then a loud knocking made the dream fall apart around the edges.

  “What is it?” I heard Nicolas call.

  “You need to come downstairs, Mr. Costa.”

  “What the hell for?” He was angry now. I recognized that tone.

  “The police are here, Mr. Costa.”

  My eyes popped open then. The bed shifted as Nicolas climbed around me, padding off to the closet to get a pair of pants. He was still shirtless when he opened the door, and I saw the top of one of the bodyguard’s head before Nicolas stepped into the hallway.

  I sat up and picked up Nicolas’ discarded shirt from the night before and slipped it over my body. Despite my swollen belly, it managed to cover me to the top of my thighs. I slipped into the bathroom and cleaned myself up a little, wondering all the while what was going on.

  “You need to go,” Nicolas said, rushing back into the room and grabbing clothes from the closet.

  “What’s happening?”

  “I don’t know,” he said, not even looking at me. “The police are here with a search warrant. They want to look through Aurora’s things.”

  “Why?”

  “If I knew that, they wouldn’t have caught me by surprise, now would they have?”

  He glanced at me then, a touch of remorse skidding across his face.

  “I don’t want you here while they do the search. Adam is waiting to take you to Constance’s apartment.”

  I nodded, obediently marching to the door. Nicolas came up behind me and grabbed my arm.

  “I’m sorry, Ana. I’ll call you as soon as I know what this is all about.”

  I nodded again and melted a little when he kissed me.

  I went to my own room and dressed quickly, tossing a couple of things into a bag since I didn’t know how long I’d be at Constance’s. I was headed down the stairs with the bodyguard—Nicolas called him Adam—when I heard a deep voice reciting the Miranda Rights in the entry way. I pulled away from Adam and rushed to the bottom of the stairs just in time to see a cop in a cheap wool suit put Nicolas in handcuffs.

  “Nicolas Costa, you’re being arrested for the charge of murder in the first degree,” the detective said.

  “Nico!” I cried.

  He looked at me, a lost little boy with shame coloring his face.

  “Take her out of here,” Nicolas said roughly to Adam.

  I felt Adam take my arm, but all I saw was Nicolas being escorted out to a police cruiser.

  Chapter 14

  I was dreaming—a beautiful, wonderful dream—and then my world turned into a nightmare.

  Five months ago, I was just a kindergarten teacher, finishing up the spring semester at a small private school in a suburb of Los Angeles. And then everything imploded. My mother got cancer and that led to a desperate need to get money and that led to me volunteering to be a surrogate for the actress, Aurora Parker, and her ultra-famous, billionaire husband, Nicolas Costa. But, of course, it couldn’t all go smoothly. Right before the first insemination attempt, Nicolas came on to me in the same house he shared with his wife, then my mother died of a heart attack the night before she was supposed to start chemo, and then Aurora died a week later of an apparent drug overdose in New York City. It was all too much and I took off, well aware that the insemination had worked and I was pregnant. I didn’t think Nicolas would want the baby after all of that.

  But, of course, I was wrong.

  Nicolas followed me to Texas and insisted I return to L.A. until the baby’s birth. If I didn’t, he wasn’t going to hold up his end of the bargain I’d made with Aurora—that I would be allowed pictures and the occasional visit. And once we were settled in his house—the same house he once shared with Aurora and the house my mother’s best friend, Constance, worked as the housekeeper in—he dragged me off to a new doctor who quickly discovered that I wasn’t just having a baby, I was having twins. Plus, I have gestational diabetes that requires up to five shots a day to keep my blood sugar in tight alignment.

  My mom used to say Murphy’s law ruled my life. She wasn’t kidding.

  But last night, things seemed to be getting better. Nicolas and I sat down to dinner together. It was awkward, at first. But then…when he was touching me, it was like all common sense just disappeared. And he was so gentle, so kind and considerate. It felt like we’d actually made a connection for the first time since we met. He took me to bed and we lay in each other’s arms until the wee hours, touching and whispering to each other. Then I fell asleep and dreamed that the babies were here, sleeping happily in perfect white cribs and Nicolas had his arms around me, telling me what
a wonderful life we were all going to have together. The dream made me smile, even in my sleep. But then it turned into a nightmare with a knock on the door. Nicolas’s bodyguard, Adam, was there, telling him the police were there. And then:

  I was headed down the stairs with Adam when I heard a deep voice reciting the Miranda Rights in the entry way. I pulled away from Adam and rushed to the bottom of the stairs, just in time to see a cop in a cheap wool suit put Nicolas in handcuffs.

  “Nicolas Costa, you’re being arrested for the charge of murder in the first degree,” the detective said.

  “Nico!” I cried.

  He looked at me, a lost little boy with shame coloring his face.

  “Take her out of here,” Nicolas said roughly to Adam.

  I felt Adam take my arm, but all I saw was Nicolas being escorted out to a police cruiser.

  Now I was at Constance’s, curled up on the couch in her cramped living room, trying not to hear—but watching every second of the news reports on Nicolas’ arrest.

  “Police aren’t commenting at this time,” the pretty blond reporter was currently saying, “but sources close to the case say that police have found evidence that Nicolas Costa was in New York City on the night his wife died despite the fact that he told investigators he was home alone that night. The source states that a witness has come forward, claiming that he saw Nicolas Costa at the restaurant Aurora Parker had just left when she died in the back of her chauffeured limo. And another witness claims that Nicolas Costa threatened his wife on several occasions, most notably the night before her trip to New York City.”

  I shook my head, tears threatening, as I sat back and ran my hand slowly over my swelling belly.

  “Did he really do it?”

  I glanced at Mercedes, Constance’s thirteen year old niece. She, along with several cousins and Constance’s two teenaged sons, lived in this tiny apartment with Constance. It was like trying to study in a frat house. There were so many people I could hardly think.