If You Dare (Dare #3)

by Shantel Tessier

DEATH IS A debt we are all born owing. It’s something that money can’t buy nor can it be traded. You can’t bargain for more time. When it’s up, you accept it like a fucking man. I’ve never been afraid to die. Or to love, for that matter. Aren’t they the same? You surrender to a fate you have no control over. You don’t get to choose when or how you die, just as you can’t choose when and who you fall in love with.

I wrapped my hand around her throat, and she begged me to breathe. She stabbed me in the heart and demanded I bleed. She might as well have been fucking poison, but I would have drunk her anyway.

The devil doesn’t come to you as an ugly monster with fire breathing out of his ears. No. He is sent wrapped in a breathtaking smile and pretty eyes that can see to your soul.

All the movies tell you that it’s sweet and romantic, but it’s such bullshit. Cole and Austin are proof of that. You don’t always need hearts and flowers to prove you love someone. Sometimes you need each other’s names carved in blood.

Demi stands at the kitchen island with her hand in a plastic container full of brownies. She places one in her mouth and moans, closing her eyes. “This is by far the best thing I’ve ever put in my mouth.” I lean down, and whisper, “That’ll all change once I fuck that mouth with my cock.”

Placing my hand on her face, I say, “Cheeks flushed. Lips swollen and tears running down your pretty face.” I kiss her cheek and taste the saltiness. “You’ll be a beautiful mess, Demi.”

A guy can fuck four girls in one night, but a girl can’t fuck two guys in the same month without being tainted. Such bullshit!

He pulls away, and she licks her lips, her eyes slowly opening. “I’m not leaving,” she states. “I didn’t expect you would.” He lets go of her, grabs her hand, and says, “Dance with me,” before pulling her away from the bar. I sit on my stool and watch them take their place on the mini dance floor. There’s no grinding. Nothing to show that he once used her for his own sick game. He makes love to her out there. Slow and sweet. He holds her to him and kisses her while they dance to their own song. It’s beautiful. I realize I want that. The fighting. The passion. The love. I want someone to love me so much that I make them crazy. Anything less would be boring.

Evan Scott: You should have let him fuck you. It would have been far less painful than what’s to come. “Fuck!” Cole hisses. “Guess whoever it is knows that Seth didn’t succeed tonight.” “What the fuck?” I bark out. I type back. Demi: Try to touch her … If you dare.

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.”

“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.”

“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.

“I love her more than I could ever love you,” I say truthfully. “Does that make you feel better?”

Demi has her elbows on the table, her chin in her hands, and she looks at them wistfully. And I realize that I will do anything to keep that look on her face. It’s crazy how pissed off she used to always look.

She hated the world. Now she’s always smiling at me. And laughing. Fuck, that laugh. I tickle her just to hear it. I toss her over my shoulder to hear her squeal my name. And I lie awake at night to watch her sleep. I wonder what it would have been like if I would have picked her instead of Becky. I never even looked at Demi. She was once nonexistent to me. Just like she was to everyone else. But I see her now. And she’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.

“You’re mine, and I’m yours. Neither Becky nor your mother are going to change that.”

Fuck, I fell to my knees so fast. Like I was a sinner in church who was shown the light and needed to repent.

“I’m not gonna kill you, Becky.” She whimpers. “Death would be too easy for you. No, instead, I’m gonna spare your miserable, pathetic life.” My fingers tighten, gripping her cheeks. “Instead, you will watch your sister get the love that you always wanted.” Her bloodshot eyes widen. “You’ve already seen me fall in love with her. And you’ll live to watch me marry her and her have my children. You’ll watch her be everything you wanted to be.”