Don't You Dare (Reckless Games #1)

by C.E. Ricci

The thought has me grinding to a halt, because this is exactly what I’ve tried to protect myself from, especially when it comes to this thing between us. This beautiful, epic, and potentially tragic thing that absolutely terrifies me.

Can anyone blame me, though? I can’t destroy everything we’ve built together for our entire lives if this goes wrong. Because I could lose everything in my life, every damn person or thing I hold...

My heart thumps wildly in my chest when I pull away, chest heaving with effort. And then I do the scariest thing I’ve done yet; I let my...

“I want you. So much, I can’t think. Can’t breathe. I can’t do an...

And I do. In every sense of the word, I want him. Need him. Crave him. Every piece of who he is, I want to claim as mine. He swallows, his face more serious than I’ve probably ever seen. Almost like he’s in pain. ...

“Don’t you dare?”

“I’ll never hurt you,” he murmurs, teeth scraping against my shoulder. “I’d rather die.” The vulnerability in his words slices me open, leaving me raw and bare like never before. And I don’t have it in me to tell him that he’s already hurting me. He fucking hurts me with every touch, look, or kiss, painting an impossible picture in my brain. That this is real. That he might love me. But I know he doesn’t. Not the way I love him. “You’re not gonna break me,” I tell him for what might be the thousandth time, but the words taste bitter on my tongue, like the lie they are.

“Good. Because I’m about to fuck you like I hate you.”

It’s hard and fast and brutal, but it’s everything I’ve wanted. As he pounds into me, claiming me as his, I feel whole. Completely owned by him.

“You wanna be owned, huh, Kee?” he pants, grabbing my hips and dragging me back onto his cock. “Is this what you want?” “Yes,” I whisper, caught between the truth and a lie. Because I don’t want him to own my body alone. I want him to take my heart and soul too. Everything I have to give, I want him to own. Make his and protect it. Cherish it. But what I want is something I know I’ll never have…and I’d do well to remember that.

I’m desperate for some air, some space to get myself under control before I do something insanely stupid. Like crying right in front of him. Or telling him I want more. Or do the worst thing possible. Because those three words are right there, on the tip of my naughty tongue. Somehow, I manage to swallow them down, nearly choking on the acidic taste of deceit. But I know it’s for the best. It’s always for the best, keeping emotions separate from sex. That’s what he said, right?

“That what you meant by owning you?” he whispers, and I glance over my shoulder in time to watch him swipe up the cum seeping out of me before shoving it right back inside. “Claiming you?” My heart might as well be in a vice as I nod, telling him yet another lie. Tears begin blurring my vision, and I turn away quickly. Hell if I’ll let him see me losing my shit after sex.

Tears track down my face, and I swallow down the sob trying to work its way from my chest as I yank the shower on full blast to drown out the mangled sound that manages to slip free.

I’ve gone and fucking done it now. Proven that, no matter how hard I try, I can’t turn off my feelings for him. There’s only one way to survive being so stupidly in love with him. We have to stop. Otherwise, I’ll destroy everything.

me, I can also catch glimpses of my man’s ass as he does his thing behind the plate. Win-win. For some reason, my mind snags on the words that just ran through my brain. Two in particular. My man.

I mean, I’ve called Keene that before plenty of times over the years, just never in the context of…well…mine. My best friend or my number one, sure. But never just mine. I have to admit, the possessive side of me loves the way it feels and sounds, even just in my head.

A ring of gasps echo through the stadium, pulling Keene and I from the little bubble we were just living in, ignoring the rest of the world. And fuck. The second I look up to see why everyone seemed to collectively go into shock, I wish I didn’t look. I wish I could rewind three, five, ten seconds ago to that little bubble Keene and I were just in, oblivious to anyone or anything around us. To when shit was simple and we could smile and grin at each other without a care in the world. Without worry or fear or, most importantly, judgment. Like we have a secret no one else knows, because we do. Correction: we did.

Because fast forward to this moment we’re in, one that seems more like a nightmare than a dream, and the secret? Our secret? It’s not a fucking secret anymore.

My heart catches in my throat—or maybe it’s vomit trying to work itself free from my stomach—as I stare up at the screen of the scoreboard. At an image I know I didn’t have any input in adding to Keene’s slide show. Because if I did? I sure as fuck would’ve said hell no. Seeing as it’s one of the two of us kissing on the beach...

“Aspen?” Loraine whispers, though how I hear it over the murmurings floating through the crowd, I’m not sure. Words like gay and couple float over my skin with heat from people behind and beside us. And though we live in a very progressive plac...

Loraine says my name again, grabbing my arm this time to get my attention. When I look down at her, I’m not surprised to find the questions written on her face. But what I’m not prepared for…is the pity in her deep brown eyes. I swallow harshly, shaking my head without realizing I’m doing it. As if my body and mind is rejecting this as reality...

Time grinds to a halt as my eyes lift to find Keene. He looks like a deer caught in headlights, eyes wide and alert as he stares at me. The shock and disbelief on his face are more than enough to tell me this wasn’t his doing. Not intentionally, at least. Not that it fucking matters now. The damage is done already. Thousan...

His mask slides off his head and falls to the ground, and it’s like the action alone is enough to silence the thousands of people reeling by this extremely public coming out we were just forced into. Not that it matters, because I can’t hear a goddamn thing over the blood roaring in my ears. The only reason I even know Keene is trying to get m...