The Dare Collection April 2020

I wanted to ask him what he meant by me needing something to occupy myself, but then I remembered that I wasn’t allowed to speak and had to catch my breath instead.

His relentless blue gaze turned approving. ‘Good girl. See? You can be quiet when you want to.’

Again, a weird warmth glowed in my chest, something in me liking that I’d pleased him. But then maybe it wasn’t weird. He was my friend and I liked doing things for him.

He’s not your friend now.

No, he wasn’t. Yet the warmth filled my chest all the same and somehow my nerves settled. Perhaps it was good I wasn’t allowed to talk. Not speaking meant I didn’t have to try and think of things to say, to be funny to ease the mood. I could stand here and not say anything, and it would be fine.

One corner of Everett’s mouth curved slightly and I found myself staring at it, fascinated, wondering what on earth was making him smile since he smiled so very rarely.

But he didn’t explain. That fascinating almost-smile played around his mouth, his blue eyes glittering. Then he said, ‘Strip for me, Freya.’

CHAPTER EIGHT

Everett

HER EYES WIDENED in shock then immediately darkened, and for a second there was a moment where I wondered if she’d actually refuse. I wasn’t sure what I would have done if she had, but then it didn’t matter because the moment passed and she was stepping back slightly, reaching behind herself for the zipper of her dress.

I didn’t say anything and I didn’t offer to help. I wanted her to take her clothes off for me of her own free will, unwrapping herself like a present just for me.

She had a bit of difficulty but then the zipper came down and she was shrugging the straps off her shoulders, the green silk sliding down, over her breasts and hips, down her thighs before pooling at her feet.

The lights of the city bathed her body, making her skin look pearlescent and the freckles scattered across it like gold dust.

It wasn’t anything I hadn’t seen before. I had seen her in a bikini after all and she was still wearing a nude bra and a pair of lacy panties in the same colour. This felt different though. Because now that underwear was the only thing between me and her naked body, and soon she would be taking that off too.

My cock ached, hard as a fucking rock, but I’d had a lot of experience in ignoring it and so I had no problem ignoring it now. In fact, nothing was a problem now. All the damn issues and dramas of before seemed to have vanished the moment Freya had looked into my eyes and told me that she wanted me.

Perhaps it had been a stupid decision to agree to this. Perhaps we’d regret it later. But I knew the moment she’d put her finger on my mouth that I was going to do this. That I was going to have her.

The dominant in me wanted her and, even though she had no idea what she was getting herself into, she’d given me her consent. It was something she’d only find out by experiencing anyway, and maybe afterwards she’d change her mind. But we weren’t at that point right now.

We were in the moment and that was exactly where I wanted to be. No future or past. Just me and her. Where I was in charge of her and where I could give us what we both wanted.

Complete control. It was a good feeling. A calm, settled feeling.

We’d both crossed the line and now there was nowhere to go but onward.

‘Nice,’ I said softly, letting my attention linger on her curves and making sure she noticed me look. ‘You’ve got a beautiful body, did you know that?’

A blush washed through her and her lashes swept down, veiling her gaze, though she didn’t move.

She wouldn’t agree and I knew it. She was probably thinking of her aunt and her cousins, and their narrow standards of beauty. How she wasn’t little and blonde and girly like they were. About how she wasn’t supposed to care about that, and yet somehow did.

Silly, Little.

It was time she learned just how good this lovely body of hers could make her feel.

‘Take off the rest,’ I ordered.

She hesitated a second, then began to take her bra off.

‘Slower,’ I murmured. ‘Tease me some.’

Again she flushed, but her movements slowed, the straps of her bra slowly falling, one arm holding the cups to her tits, while the other reached around to unclip it. She gave me a look from underneath her lashes and, whether she’d meant it to be or not, it was insanely sexy.

‘Very nice.’ I let her see how it pleased me. ‘Keep going.’

She glanced away again, but the tightness around her mouth eased as she let the fabric fall away, her bra dropping to the floor.

Beautiful. Sheer fucking perfection. Her breasts were full and round, and perfect for my hand. Her nipples hard and pink, all ready for my mouth.

Oh, yes, I was going to spend a lot of time with those pretty tits of hers.

‘Panties, please,’ I reminded her when it seemed like she’d stopped.

She blinked then pushed her hands into the waistband of her underwear and eased them over her hips, and down her thighs to her ankles. Then she stepped out of them and straightened up, finally and gloriously naked.

My breath caught, my fucking dick aching.

And for a second all I could do was stand there and look at her. Because she was gorgeous. Tall and athletic, and with curves to die for. Pale, silky skin and a pretty nest of bright red curls between her thighs.

Fuck, she was amazing. I’d known she was built like a goddess, but whenever I’d admired her it had always been in a detached, intellectual way. As a friend, not a lover. Tonight, though, it was different. Tonight, I could admire her in a way I never had before, a wholly sexual way.

And I did. As though the embers of attraction had always been there, glowing hot, and all it took was a breath to make them burst into flame.

I gritted my teeth, desire gripping me even tighter than before, and it took me a second to control my breathing, to get myself locked down.

Once I had myself back in hand again, I moved over to her. She stilled, and I could see that she was shaking a little. Which wasn’t a bad thing, because nervousness could make pleasure more intense for some people. Certainly, out in the corridor at the museum, she’d been shaking like a leaf. Just before she’d come all over my hand.

So I let her get nervous of me, let her get wary. Intruding into her physical space and letting her get a feel for how much bigger than her I was. Because the dark part of me loved to intimidate, loved to make someone feel small and vulnerable and exposed.

I watched her as I did so, studying her to make sure arousal was in her eyes alongside the fear and, sure enough, it was there. I hadn’t been mistaken back at the museum. She did like me looming over her physically.

I got even closer so she could feel my heat, and then very slowly I circled her, watching her, letting her get a taste of the predator in me.

She stood very still, her breathing getting faster and more audible in the silence, and her skin was deeply flushed. I could smell the musky scent of her arousal, see the shivers that chased over her skin, goosebumps rising in their wake.

Oh, yeah, she was finding this all very arousing.

You knew she’d like it. You knew she’d be into it.

I hadn’t known, not really. But I did now. Fuck, yes, I did now.

I stopped behind her, very close, and then I reached up and wrapped my fingers around the base of her plait, holding on to it. ‘You like me looming over you, don’t you? You can speak.’

‘I’m not sure—’

I tugged lightly on her plait. ‘Honesty, Little.’

She caught her breath. ‘I…guess I do. Yeah. I like it.’

‘Why?’ Slowly, letting her feel it, I wound the silky mass of her hair around my wrist.

She shuddered. ‘What are you doing?’

‘Answer the question.’

‘W-why do I like it?’ Her breathing had become ragged. ‘Because…because you’re tall. And you make me feel…small.’

I’d already suspected that was the answer, but it pleased me to hear her say it, pleased me that she was being honest, because we’d always been honest with each other.

‘And you want to feel small?’ I leaned in so my breath brushed the shell of her ear, sending another shudder through her. ‘Is that what you like to feel?’

‘I didn’t think I did, but…yes. I suppose I do.’

‘Why is that?’ I tugged on her hair again, hearing her breath catch.

‘I…don’t know. Maybe it makes me feel…’ She faltered. ‘I didn’t think it mattered. I thought I was over it.’

I tightened my grip on her plait, frowning at the note of hurt in her voice, a dark, possessive feeling uncurling inside me because I didn’t like the sound of that, not one fucking bit. ‘Over what?’

‘It doesn’t matter.’

Without warning, I wrapped one arm around her waist and pulled her against me. At the same time, I tugged hard on her plait, jerking her head back against my shoulder so she was looking straight up at me. ‘It matters,’ I said flatly. ‘Tell me.’

She trembled, her naked body warm and pliant, her eyes wide and dark with arousal. ‘Okay, okay. I like it when you make me feel small because it…it makes me feel more like, I don’t know, more kind of f-feminine.’

I should have felt satisfied that I’d been right, but I wasn’t satisfied. I was just fucking pissed off. Because I knew where this had come from. ‘Your fucking aunt, right?’ I demanded, staring down at her, holding her tightly.

‘Don’t be angry with her, E. Please. It’s not her fault that—’

‘It is her fault,’ I said sharply, the anger on Freya’s behalf making me feel a little bit savage. ‘Do you think you’re any less female? Any less of a woman because you’re tall? Because you’re built like a fucking goddess?’

Her mouth opened as she searched my face and I let her see the heat in my eyes. Then I pressed my aching dick against the softness of her ass, my fingers spreading out on her stomach and holding her there. ‘You feel what you’re doing to me? That hard cock is for you. Because of you.’

Colour swept over her skin and her throat worked as she swallowed, staring at me as if she was looking for lies. But there were none. I’d demanded honesty from her and I gave back the same. ‘I like you tall,’ I growled. ‘I like you strong. I like your body exactly the way it is. And you know what else?’ I pulled on her plait tighter, drawing her head back further, exposing her throat. Forcing her to rise on her tiptoes to prevent it from getting painful. ‘I like it because I’m a big man, Little. And you’re built to take me and that’s fucking hot.’

She blinked up at me, a whole raft of emotions flickering over her face, gone so fast I couldn’t read them.

‘Can you?’ I demanded, tightening my grip to make her aware of how I held her and how restrained she was by me. ‘Can you take me, or am I wrong?’

If I’d thought in any depth about how badly I wanted to hear her agree, it might have disturbed me. But I didn’t think about it. I simply held her gaze with mine, letting my authority do the work.

‘No,’ she whispered, her green eyes darkening still further. ‘You’re not wrong.’

A deep satisfaction unwound inside me, the pleasure of knowing I’d got it right, that I’d read her responses correctly. And I liked that she’d trusted me enough to tell me too.

And that trust was her gift to me.

If she only knew the real you…

Yeah, but she didn’t. And she wouldn’t. The only dark part of myself that she’d ever see would be the one I’d show her tonight. The one that would give her the most pleasure. And that was my gift to her. To tap into her deep desires, give her pleasure beyond anything she could imagine for herself. Pleasure she didn’t even realise she was capable of.

God, I wanted to show her that. In fact, I hadn’t realised how much until now, until I had her naked and in my arms, under my control.

‘Good,’ I murmured. ‘In that case let’s take this further.’ Tugging on her hair, I eased her head to one side, exposing her neck. Then I bent and kissed the silky skin just below her ear. ‘Remember what I told you in the car? About how I was going to pull your hair while you sucked me off? And then I was going to fuck you from behind?’

‘Yes,’ she said breathlessly.

‘And you thought it was a joke, didn’t you?’

‘I didn’t—’

‘Well, it’s not,’ I interrupted, then bit her, my teeth grazing the delicate cords at the side of her neck, the taste of her skin both salty and sweet in my mouth. Fucking delicious.

She gasped, trembling, and I nuzzled down the side of her neck to the sensitive place where it met her shoulder. Then I bit her again to prove my point, harder this time. Giving her a hint of pain. Showing her I was serious.

‘Ohhh…’ She exhaled sharply, squirming against me, her soft ass grinding against my hard dick. ‘Yesss…’

I grinned. And because I was an asshole and I loved making her break, I said, ‘Naughty, Little. You weren’t supposed to make a sound.’

She froze. ‘But you said—’

I let go of her hair, then smacked her on the ass at the same time as I gave her another bite, the sound of my palm connecting with her flesh echoing in the room.

She made a half-choked noise, jerking in my grip, and I grabbed her hair again, pulling it back so I could see her face. See what that small taste of punishment had done to her.

There was shock in her eyes, but it was clearing, giving way to heat and…yes, fuck yes, challenge. She didn’t speak and I waited, allowing her a moment to say her word if she needed to. But she remained silent, the deep green spark in her gaze daring me to do my worst.

She was brave to push me like this. But then that was Freya, wasn’t it? She always pushed me. Teasing me, giving me shit, not letting me take myself too seriously. Not letting me brood too long when things got dark. Cutting through my ego when I got too full of myself, being honest with me when other people were too afraid. Grounding me.

I’d had no idea she’d bring all that to what we were doing now, but she was and it made everything that much hotter.

‘That’s what will happen when you disobey,’ I said softly, looking down into her eyes, letting my own challenge meet hers. ‘Punishment. And I like giving out punishment, so by all means feel free to test me.’

She didn’t look away, only bared her teeth, which sent a jolt of electricity crackling down my spine.

Pretty, brave Little.

I tightened my grip on her plait, making sure she couldn’t move. ‘Time to get on your knees.’

She gave me a look that was nothing but fire. Another challenge, if I wasn’t much mistaken. Then, slowly—because I still had a grip on her hair—and not a little gracefully, she went down onto the floor in front of me.

Heat streaked through me and my dick was so hard it hurt, but I took a couple of moments to appreciate the view because she was so fucking fine. She was naked, her skin pale and lovely, the tips of her breasts pink and hard, the curls between her thighs glowing fiery red.

I could see her pulse beating fast in the hollow of her throat and the light coming through from the windows showed how flushed she was.

You don’t get that this is even slightly wrong? Making your best friend kneel before you?

Oh, yeah, it was fucking wrong. And maybe it was that wrongness that made it so damn hot. But I was in it now and there was no going back. Who knew if we could recover our friendship from this? All I could do was keep going, make sure that this was the best damn experience she’d ever had in her entire life.

‘Get my dick out.’ I kept up the tension on her plait, watching the flames leap in her eyes and her jaw get tight.

She didn’t like me ordering her around—or rather she did, but she was just annoyed that she did. And she was going to make me pay for it, I suspected.

Good. Bring it on.

Her hands came to my belt buckle and I could see her fingers trembling slightly as she pulled it open.

‘Not scared?’ I murmured, wanting to push her, get her into challenge mode because it was fucking turning me on in a major way. ‘Too much for you, huh?’

Her gaze flicked to mine, full of emerald flames, letting that speak for her. And I read her answer loud and clear.

Fuck you, asshole. I’ll show you how scared I am.

I grinned as her fingers found the button on my pants, flicking it open, letting her see how much I was enjoying her challenge. Because I had one of my own. ‘You know how I said you were built to take whatever I give you? Well, you’ve been good about not making a sound and I’m impressed. But I’m going to make it harder for you to stay quiet.’

I could see the muscle in her jaw flex as she bit down on whatever it was she was going to say and grabbed the tab of my zipper. I was expecting her to jerk it down roughly, but she didn’t. Instead she held my gaze as she drew it down slowly, so achingly slowly. Her knuckles brushed over my insanely hard cock, sending sparks scattering though me and I was aware, suddenly, that I was hanging by a thread.

And that she’d put me there.

How the hell did she do that?

I had no idea. I didn’t ever let myself get too on edge, not given how dangerous that was for me. Yet my best friend strips naked and brushes her hand over my dick and apparently I was holding onto that edge by the skin of my teeth.

Perhaps I should have pulled away, but it was too late for that and I knew it. I couldn’t have walked away from her if I’d tried.

My breathing was loud and getting louder and Freya’s gaze held a hint of triumph, as if she knew just how close to the boundaries of my control I was, not to mention her role in it, the hot little witch.

She was spreading the material of my pants wide now, fingers brushing over the ridge of the hard-on pressing against my boxers, and clearly very satisfied with what she was doing to me.

I needed to get control of this situation and fast.

I flexed my wrist, pulling her hair tight, and she let out a hissing breath. ‘No playing,’ I said flatly. ‘Get my cock out and suck it like you mean it.’

She was breathing fast, the quick rise and fall of her tits showing me how much. But the flames in her eyes didn’t lessen one iota.

She did as she was told, pulling down the front of my underwear, her fingers reaching inside the cotton, circling my dick, and it was all I could do not to make a sound. Because the feel of her touching me just about blew the back of my head clean off.

I gritted my teeth as she got me out and even though it was stupid given that I was a damn adult and didn’t need any kind of validation, I couldn’t stop the burst of satisfaction that went through me as her eyes widened.

I was not a small man.

Her fingers tightened around me and she squeezed, running her thumb up the length of my shaft and then over the slick head.

A growl rumbled in my chest, pleasure licking straight up my spine.

‘I said no playing,’ I murmured. ‘Which means you just earned yourself another punishment.’

She lifted one red brow, giving me a plain ‘Bring it on’ look.

Oh, she had no fucking idea, did she?

‘Open your mouth,’ I growled.

CHAPTER NINE

Freya

I COULD BARELY hear anything over the sound of my own heartbeat, chills chasing themselves all over my bare skin.

I was on my knees in front of my best friend, his cock was in my hand and I was naked.

He was giving me orders. He was talking about punishments. He was pulling my hair and biting me. He was telling me I was built to take him.

He was so fucking hot I swear I was seconds away from coming and he’d barely touched me.

Holy crap. What was wrong with me?

Everett’s cock was hot and smooth in my hands and a whole lot goddamned bigger than I was expecting. Though why I should have expected otherwise, I had no idea. Not when, as he’d said, he was a big guy anyway.

I’d never thought of that part of a man’s anatomy as beautiful. A little bit comical, a little bit ridiculous, kind of vulnerable maybe. But not beautiful.

Everett’s was though. He felt warm and smooth and hard, like the metal of a car sitting out in the hot sun. Yet not quite like a car because his skin had a velvety feel to it, making it silkily touchable. His dick curved up towards his stomach, giving me a glimpse of the chiselled lines of his six-pack beneath his shirt.

My mouth went even drier than it was already and I wanted to push his shirt up, lick my way up that fantastic abdomen, find his chest and stroke him there too, explore all those beautiful muscles.

‘What did I say?’ His voice was low and rough, scraping over me deliciously. ‘I gave you an order, Freya.’

Oh, yeah. Open my mouth, right?

I took a shaky breath, conscious of his hand holding my plait tightly, sending delicious prickles of pain over my scalp. I’d never thought that someone holding my hair like that would be so hot, but it was. And part of me wanted him to do it harder. The weird part of me that wanted to push him, make him do…more somehow.

I had no idea why I wanted that, but there was something in me that found it exciting to challenge him. That was thrilled with the leap of green in his eyes in response. Because he liked it when I did that too. I knew him well and I knew when he was excited about something.

You. He’s excited about you.

Heat washed over me at the thought, making the pressure between my thighs become even more intense than it was already. But I didn’t want to think about that too much and, anyway, he was getting impatient. And even though part of me didn’t want to do what he said purely to mess with him, I wanted to taste him more.

So I opened my mouth.

He didn’t hesitate, thrusting forward, his dick sliding into my mouth.

I groaned, I couldn’t help it, the salty, masculine taste of him hitting me with a vicious punch of lust. So. Damn. Good.

‘You like that?’ His grip on me tightened, sending more prickles of pain over my scalp. ‘You like having my cock in your mouth?’

I couldn’t speak so I just nodded, panting almost.

‘Look at me, Little.’

I didn’t even think about disobeying him this time and I looked up. He was so fucking tall from this angle. So fucking intimidating too, all power and authority. All blazing blue eyes, a ferocious expression on his handsome face.

I loved it.

‘I like this,’ he said roughly. ‘I like seeing my cock in your mouth. It’s fucking hot.’ He reached down with his other hand and stroked my cheek, his fingers unexpectedly gentle. ‘You know what to do now.’

Oh yes. I did.

Tightening my hold on his cock, I lifted my other hand and gripped one of his powerful thighs for leverage.

Then I proceeded to blow his fucking mind.

At least that was the idea. I’d never had particularly strong feelings about blow jobs one way or the other. Sometimes they were fine. Sometimes they weren’t. But they were, without exception, never hot.

Everett was now the exception.

I sucked him, teased him. I ran my tongue along his cock, licking around the sensitive head, teasing the tip, tasting his raw, masculine flavour. I heard the deep, rough sounds I drew from him, felt the grip in my hair change, become even tighter. Felt the muscles in his thigh get rock-hard. And an intense satisfaction filled me.

Yeah, I could do this to him. I could make my best friend the billionaire groan and shake. I could make him curse. I could push him.

I could give him pleasure.

Me, the big, awkward redhead. The elephant in a family of gazelles.

‘Deeper,’ he ordered roughly. ‘Harder.’

So I opened my mouth wider, took him deeper so he was brushing the back of my throat. I didn’t care. I just wanted more. I wanted to make him come.