Do You Dare? (Truth And Dare Duet #1)

by Lylah James

I brought the apple to my mouth and took a bite before I realized what I was doing. Maddox’s eyes flared before his lips quirked up. “I think we just shared our first indirect kiss.” Oh, for God’s sake!

I brought the apple to my mouth and took a bite before I realized what I was doing. Maddox’s eyes flared before his lips quirked up. “I think we just shared our first indirect kiss.” Oh, for God’s sake!

I shuffled through my bag and took out two very important items, shoving them in his hands. His dark eyebrows pulled together in confusion.

“Tampons and chocolate,” I explained with a fake smile. “You’re welcome. Have a good day, Maddox.” I pushed past him, and just before I walked away, his lips twitched. Did I just get Maddox Coulter to smile?

I wanted to throttle him and his stupid, smirking face. “Don’t exaggerate. I didn’t use glue. I used flour, water and feathers. Simple and harmless. Anyway, you looked cute with a nesting head.”

I silently gasped for breath as Maddox walked backward, away from me. The look on his face was something I’ve never seen before. “I dare you, Lila.”

“Maddox,” I breathed. “Boo,” he rumbled. All the horror and confusion slipped away, replaced with anger. My jaw snapped together, and I clenched my teeth.

My body seemed to overheat with his presence. My heart thudded in my chest. “You are crazy,” I whispered. His eyes glinted with something mischievous and roguish. “Wanna see just how crazy I am, Sweet Cheeks?”

“Kiss me and I’ll make it so you don’t have the ability to kiss another girl ever again,” I warned. “Challenge accepted.” Maddox leaned down as if to kiss me, his lips a mere inch from mine. I turned my head to the side, and I could feel his minty breath feathering against my cheek.

His deep voice rolled down my spine. “Don’t fall for me, Lila. I’ll break you.”

“I'm not going to be your Knight because I know you aren't a damsel in distress. You’re more like the dragon in the fairy tale.”

My eyes fluttered close. Before I became lost in the space between sleep and consciousness, a mouthy girl with pretty brown eyes and black hair came to haunt me. I slowly smiled. Fuck, she was something else.

have a one-track mind, Coulter.” “You’re running circles around my head, Garcia.” Was that a… confession?

“I solemnly swear not to be an asshole, but I’ll still think of sixty-nine ways of how I can dick you down every time you look at me or shake your ass my way.”

Lila waved at me to come inside, and my feet followed. If I was a puppy, my tail would be wagging back and forth. Ah, for fuck’s sake.

I made it my mission to find more about her, to study her… and to break her. She was my pet project, and I had wanted to bring her to her knees. Someone feisty as her? It would be sweet when she’d finally beg me. Two months later… Lila Garcia just fucking friend-zoned me. Well, shit.

Who was going to break first? The player or the prey? Well, this was going to be fun.

“No. I meant normal friends. As in, you respect my boundaries, and I respect yours. Stop. Getting. So. Touchy.” “So, you mean, I can’t slam you against the wall and fuck you?”

Even Riley was suspicious at first, but she finally understood the nature of our relationship when Maddox stole my apple, and in revenge, I sprayed ketchup on his crotch. Childish and stupid, right?

“You’re easily disposable, Lila. I claimed Maddox a long time ago, and all the girls of Berkshire know he’s my property. That’s the same as playing with fire.” Maddox… her property? My stomach cramped, and I busted out laughing. This was probably the most hilarious shit I’ve heard in this decade. They looked at me like I was a maniac. Maybe I was. I was about to get my ass beaten, and here I was laughing at my assailants.

Her voice told me everything I needed to know. I was poor and beneath them. Maybe I wasn’t as pretty or as rich as Bethany and the rest of Berkshire, but… Bethany, she felt threatened by me.

“I don’t need a protector. I can take care of myself.” His lips twitched. Even though his expression was hard and serious, the humor was back in his blue eyes. “No, you’re right. You’re the dragon.”

“What are you doing?” I asked with caution. “Holding your hand.”

His hand was warm and strong. I wasn’t sure how to feel about it, but I didn’t pull away. “Why?” His eyes briefly met mine before he went back to staring everyone else down. “Because I need the world to know they can’t mess with what’s mine.”

Her lips twitched, and she smirked. Yeah, I was definitely rubbing off on her. Miss Perfectionist was now a she-devil.

He gave me a petulant look, like a child who had their favorite toy taken away. “Yeah, dead like my heart because you won't let my dick anywhere near you because you friend zoned me. So here you go. Roses for you, Garcia.”

One dare at a time, I’d chase his smiles – because I realize Maddox needed someone who cared enough about his happiness and his anger. And I did.

“What am I? Your pet?” I snapped. Maddox hummed, thoughtfully. What a douchebag. “You’re such a wild chihuahua,” he said. “Careful, or you’ll end up with a nasty bite, Coulter.” His shoulders shook with silent laughter. “Bite me then, Garcia.”

“Lila, people’s opinions don’t matter to me. You shouldn’t care either. They live to gossip while we’re living our lives to the fullest. So, who cares if they think we’re friends or we’re fucking?”

She was the calm in my reckless life. I was the chaos in her peaceful one.

She didn’t move when I settled at her side on the bench, didn’t look up, didn’t even acknowledge my presence. Silently, I grasped her hand and pulled it away from her knees. She clutched my hand, and I squeezed hers in return, a silent vow. I’m not letting go, Lila.

For fuck’s sake, the moment a girl started shedding a few tears, I’d be running the other way as far as I could go. Girls and tears were the one thing I didn’t do, nope… never. Until Lila. Life had broken her. Just as it had broken me. Maybe it was why we found each other. Call it fate, kismet… or maybe it was God’s doing… Lila was meant to hold my broken pieces together; just as I was meant to hold the shattered pieces of hers.

No, she didn’t fix me, and I didn’t fix her. We just… held each other; it was that simple.

“You scare me,” she whispered. “Why?” You scare me, too. “Because I trust you. Because I want to tell you what I’ve never told anyone before.” Same, Lila. Fucking same.

“My mom was the only Hispanic in their neighborhood, and all the other kids would pick on her. My dad was apparently one of her bullies until she grabbed him one day and slammed her lips against his then pulled back, looked him straight in the eye and told him, ‘If you can't shut up, I'll shut you up.’ He said he fell in love with her

“Now, I have someone to lose, and I know it will break me. I know what it means to fear losing the person who means the most to you. That person has the power to destroy me.”

Love was too simple of a word to describe it because love was black and white. Love or don’t love – there was not really an in-between. What we had… it was a kaleidoscope of colors.

It was just the idea of her being with another guy, as close as she was with me, that didn’t sit well with me. I wasn’t jealous. I was just a bit territorial of my best friend.

I stepped closer, our bodies pressing against each other. Mine – fully clothed. Lila’s – in a state of half dressed. Her skin was warm underneath my touch. She peeked at me through her thick lashes with a look in her eyes that should have told me something… but I couldn’t understand what she was trying to convey. She breathed. I breathed. The world came to a stop, and the colors faded away, leaving us in a state of black and white.

So, we settled with a forehead kiss. That was safe and friend-like. “Lila?” “Hmm?” “You’re a beautiful dragon,” I said.

“The necklace or me?” I asked, my eyes still closed. Why… did I just ask that? “You,” he said. “Always you.” His voice was soft and hot, leaving me feeling things I couldn’t explain, couldn’t put into words.

“Good girls do bad things sometimes,” he drawled.

“I'm always coming to your rescue.” He tsked with a slight grin. Maddox gave me a finger salute as he started to backtrack. “Always at your service!” “I don't need a knight,” I said, loudly enough for him to hear a few feet away. “I know you don't. You're not the damsel in distress who I need to save.” My heart warmed, and my lips twisted in a smile. “You're right. I guess I am more like the dragon, eh?” “A cute and sexy dragon,” he called out.

“Whatever,” I mumbled. “Go shower. You stink.” “You're impossible.” Maddox shook his head with a slight curl of his lips. He walked back into the bathroom. “You love me,” I yelled loud enough for him to hear even with the door separating us. “YOU ARE A PAIN IN MY ASS.” “You still love me, though,” I whispered,

I charged down the stairs, faster than I knew I could and climbed into my car. The passenger’s door slammed shut, and I looked up. Colton settled in the seat. “You’re not stopping me,” I snarled. “No, I’m coming with you.” He cracked his knuckles, his lips splitting into a deadly grin. “He fucked with one of ours.”

“You stay out of it,” I warned Colton. My Lila, my fight. “I’ll let you beat the shit out of him, but I’m just here to keep you from killing him.”

Her teary eyes were the last thing I saw as they pulled me away from her. Lila brought her hand up and she touched her dreamcatcher necklace at her throat, as though it soothed her. It gutted me, because she was crying for me.

He gave me a mock pout. Yeah, he was a little drunk already. “I thought we were supposed to lick the ones we love. I licked you, so you’re mine.” I blew out an exasperated breath before hissing. “Are you a dog?” Maddox paused, as if he really was thinking about my question. And then he shrugged. “Doggy style is my favorite position to fuck. And I’m also your Poodle.”

Then Lila got a look on her face, a look that should have warned me of what was coming. “Lila–” “I dare you.” Jesus Christ, this woman! “Take that back,” I warned, my voice low. Lila smirked. “No.” She crossed her arms over her pert tits, pulling my attention to her chest. I was a goddamn weak man.

Lila looked like a Rated-R Snow White. I wanted to slide between her thighs and make us both forget that we were best friends.