I Dare You by Lylah James

Our time in Paris had come to an end.

One week. A seven-day affair.

And now I just had to convince Lila to stay with me… forever.

But forever was a long time. Forever was just a daydream, a pretty fantasy, I thought.

I guessed, I just had to convince her that we were good together. Really fucking good. Good enough for us to work out as a couple and last for a very long time. As cheesy as it sounded (cheesy didn’t suit my character, but for Lila, I’d be my own version of cheesy romantic), I could see my future with Lila.

I didn’t do love, or I didn’t think I did. But she was everything I ever wanted, and it scared the living shit out of me. She was a slice of heaven, with hellish fires.

By the end of tonight, Lila Garcia was going to be my girlfriend.

It didn’t matter if I had to tie her to the bed and dick her down good enough to convince her. If she wanted romance, I was prepared to give her that, too. That and everything else she wanted. Lila wasn’t going to friendzone us any longer.

I could already feel her barrier coming up, shutting me out. I knew she was worried; I was too. As we walked out of the airport, Lila kept a careful distance between us. A distance that wasn’t there during our stay in Paris. Of course, it wasn’t there, I was all up in her pussy in the last seven days.

And We. Weren’t. Going. Back. To. Being. Just friends.

Fuck that. My dick agreed.

“I’m glad to be back home,” she said, hefting her travel bag over her shoulder. “I’m worried about Riley.”

“She’ll be fine,” I soothed, reaching for her hand. It was out of habit, almost like an instinct, that was now instilled in me. To touch her, to hold her, to kiss her.

Lila shied away from my touch, and I held back a growl. Goddamn it! Her lips were pressed in a firm line, as she avoided looking at me. I grabbed her suitcase and rolled it toward my black Bentley. “I had Colton drop off the car for us.”

“You didn’t have to do that,” she said, placing her bag into the backseat. “We could have taken an uber home.”

“I knew you wouldn’t like that.” I shoved our suitcases into the trunk, before walking around to the driver’s side. Lila settled in the passenger’s seat.

She might have gotten over her fear of cars. She was okay with driving around with me, but she wasn’t comfortable getting in a car with just anyone. Not yet, at least.

I was probably an asshole for thinking this… but I liked that she’d only get in a car with me. That I was her protector. She trusted me. Only I had seen the sides of Lila, she never wanted others to see.

I’d seen Lila strong and powerful.

I’d witnessed her fragile and vulnerable.

Lila nudged me with her elbow, her lips quirked up to the side. “That was very thoughtful of you, thank you.”

Really, Lila? We were back to sharing pleasantries and being… friendly?

The more reserved she appeared, the more I wanted to tease her, probe her temper and evoke her passion.

The more distance she put between us, the more I wanted to devour her.

Leaning in, I cupped her face and stole a kiss. Her lips parted against mine, and I shoved my tongue in her mouth, tasting her. I sucked and nibbled on her bottom lip, until she let out a small whimper that sounded so fucking needy. The sound traveled all the way to my dick.

Well, shit. Not now, big guy.

I pulled away from the kiss and licked my lips, tasting the remnants of her cherry lip gloss and the mint gum she had in her mouth… which… I now had between my teeth. She didn’t even notice I stole her gum. Her brown eyes were glassy, her cheeks tinted with pink blush, and Lila fluttered her lashes at me. Yeah, I got her good.

“Why did you do that?” she breathed, bringing her fingers to her plump well-kissed lips.

Because you’re mine.

I clunked my tongue at her and started the car. “I was just checking if you’ll turn into a princess. But alas, you’re still a frog – wait, no. Still a scaly, terrifying dragon, I see.”

Lila swatted my arm, a small breathy laugh escaped past her tempting lips. “As if you’re a prince. Ha!”

“You’re no princess, and I’m no prince charming.”

She rolled her eyes. “What are you then?”

“Your king, Baby.”

Lila’s throat bobbed in response. She turned to face her window without a smart comeback, like I expected. She ducked behind her hair, shielding her face from me. Hiding away, shutting me out…

Run, Lila. Run, little dragon. The faster she ran away from me, the harder I was going to chase her.

The drive to our place was rather quiet, and I gave her that. I allowed her the silence, gave her one last chance to overthink this, before I’d swoop in and turn her world upside down.

Fifteen minutes later, we pulled into the parking lot. Lila hurriedly got out of the car, before I could say a word. Was she thinking of making a beeline to her apartment without even acknowledging me?

What – the – fuck?

Lila and I were just stepping out of the car, when Colton rolled into the lot in his yellow Ferrari. Last month, he had the latest Jaguar Sport – in green. He liked his cars, like his women: flashy, bold and extravagant. Arrogant little shit, no wonder we were best friends.

We watched, as he jogged around to the passenger’s side, opened the door and out stepped… Riley?

Double – what – the – fu–

She wobbled out in her cast and grimaced as Colton wrapped an arm around her shoulders, helping her hop over to us. She waved, a little smile on her face. “Lila!”

Lila dropped her bag at my feet and raced over to Riley, before enveloping her friend into a tight hug. Colton reluctantly released his cargo into Lila’s arms and took a step back.

I walked over to the little group and bumped fists with Colton. Riley and he barely tolerated each other, and I was damn curious how he convinced her to let him help. I glanced down at the grocery bags he was holding. I could see there were vegetables, chocolates and… tampons. Yeah, that grocery bag definitely did not belong to Colton. He appeared to be Riley’s personal chauffeur and… helper?

“How’s the leg?” I nodded toward Riley’s blue cast.

Her lip jutted out, a sad pout. “It’s fine now.”

Lila made a strangled sound at the back of her throat, sounding both pissed… and cute with the look of outrage on her face. “I can’t believe you waited a whole day before you called and told me about your accident! You broke your leg, what the hell!”

“Fractured,” Colton amended. “Not broken. She’s lucky I was next door and heard her cry out.”

“You shouldn’t have climbed up that ladder when you were home alone. It was never stable.” Lila’s forehead creased with worry as she fretted over her friend. “You could have been hurt worse!”

“She could have just called me, and I would have fixed the broken cabinet,” Colton mumbled under his breath.

Riley hissed, her eyes flashing with annoyance. “I had it all handled if it wasn’t for the cat jumping into my ladder. Rory asked me to cat-sit for her while she and Jaxon were away this weekend.” She faced her nemesis, glaring. “I didn’t… and don’t need your help, Colton.”

“Funny. I’m the one who drove you to the hospital in the middle of the night.”

Her shoulder straightened, and her lips curled up in distaste. “Because you insisted.”

“You were in pain.”

“Who cares? I was fine on my own and could have called 9-1-1!”

“I care,” Colton growled.

Riley opened her mouth to snap back at him, but then paused at Colton’s confession. She blinked, opened her mouth again, before finally shutting up. No smartass comeback? Huh, interesting.

“Whatever,” she mumbled under her breath. “How was your trip, Lila?”

Lila’s gaze found mine, as she turned red. She blinked away and sputtered out a half-ass response to her friend. “Oh, fine. It was fine. Everything was nice and fine.”

“She said fine three times,” Colton muttered to me, soft enough the girls didn’t catch it.

Riley never shut up, and she asked way too many questions all the time. Surprisingly, today, she seemed more thoughtful. I didn’t miss the way she kept glancing between Lila and I, almost suspiciously.

“Was Paris like everything you imagined?” Colton pushed, a cocky grin plastered on his face. The shithead caught on easily. Of course, he did.

Lila let out a choked laugh. “Oh, yeah. Everything was…”

“Fine,” I finished for her.

Her head snapped toward mine, and her dark eyes burned darker. “I was going to say, everything was magical.”

“Was the sex magical, too?” I grinned.

Lila gasped, absolutely outraged.

Riley stumbled back and almost fell flat on her ass, if it wasn’t for Colton grabbing her.

Colton let out a holler, before disguising it with a coughing fit. His shoulders shook with his silent laughter.

“WHAT?” Riley screeched.

“Maddox,” Lila hissed. Her hands fisted by her sides, and I was pretty sure she was contemplating decking me. Gotcha, little dragon. There was nowhere for her to run now.

I grinned harder. “My dick is magic, Babe. Don’t be embarrassed to admit it.”

I ignored my girl, who was glaring daggers at me, and turned to our friends with an announcement. “She’s my girlfriend, and she’s moving in with me.”

Riley blinked.

Colton smirked.

When Lila started to protest, I leaned down and claimed her lips, not giving a shit that we had an audience or that she was going to murder me in our sleep. I kissed her, fuck the consequences. “Shut up.”

She pulled away from the kiss, opened her mouth to tell me off, but then snapped it shut again. She chose to glower instead.

“Lila?” Riley questioned softly.

My girl was already taking a step back, like she was about to bolt. Not. Fucking. Happening. I lunged forward and drove my shoulders into her hips, lifting her off the ground, slinging her over my shoulder. One hand gripped her ass firmly, while I hooked my other arm behind her knees and pinned them against my chest.

Lila let out a shout and started struggling, but there was no use; I had my precious cargo over my shoulder.

Neither Riley nor Colton tried to stop me, as I marched to our building. I took the stairs to the third floor, careful not to jar her too much. My heart thudded hard in my chest, and I knew I was playing with fire.

But then again, I had a habit of loving dangerous things. They called me heartbreaker, thrill-seeker and danger-devil.

And Lila?

She was danger with a big, red sign. Damn it all to hell, I craved her.

Lila let out a string of curses and peppered my back with her tiny fists. Once she came to the realization there was no point in struggling, she let out a soft cry and went limp over my shoulder. That was better. I lived for her fiery attitude, but, sometimes, I preferred her docile.

I walked down the corridor. When we passed hers and Riley’s apartment, Lila snarled. “My apartment is next door.”

I walked through my apartment and shut the door behind us. “This is our apartment now.”

I smacked her ass once – because, why not, she was mine now – and she gasped, before I placed her back on her feet. Grinning, I raised an eyebrow.

She gaped at me, her mouth hanging open. “No,” she sputtered.

“Get undressed.”

“Excuse me?” She crossed her arms over her chest. “No. This is kidnapping, Maddox.”

I stood in front of the door, blocking her way out of my apartment. “Undress. Now. Or I will do it for you.”

“Maddox,” Lila warned, taking a tentative step back. Her eyebrows furrowed, and she paused, giving me a suspicious look. “Why?”

She was finally catching on, smart girl. I took a step forward; she took one back. “Because you can’t run away when you’re naked. Simple logic, Sweet Cheeks.”

“Maddox,” she started, before lowering her head, ducking behind her goddamn hair again. She shook her head slowly and muttered to herself, so softly, I almost missed it. “This can’t happen.”

Lila sounded so heartbroken, so lost…and I didn’t like that. Didn’t like the way she hid from me, didn’t like the way she seemed to give up on us, before she even tried to make it work.

Anger and desperation rolled off me as I stalked forward. “What are you so scared of?”

“You,” Lila breathed, when I paused in front of her, a mere inch away. So close I could smell her lavender shampoo, so close I could feel her warmth, so fucking close I could taste her fear. My heart slammed against my rib cage.

“You’re scared of me?” I trailed a finger up her arm, and she gave me a small shiver in return. “I’ll never hurt you, don’t you know that?”

Lila licked her lips, still keeping her eyes downcast. “Not physically.”

Taking her chin between my fingers, I lifted her head up. She closed her eyes and drew in a shaky breath. “Look at me,” I said to her, my voice hoarse even to my own ears. “Look at me, please.”

My grip on her chin tightened, and she fluttered her eyes open, gazing right into mine. Misery etched her expression for a split second, before she blinked it away.

I had gotten a glimpse of something so good, and I didn’t want to lose it, lose her. I broke my rules for Lila Garcia, and this wasn’t our ending. We were not an incomplete story or a half-written page. We were the whole goddamn book, and I needed her to see that.

I cupped her jaw, as I watched her say a million unsaid words to me with her sad eyes. “I’ve put my whole fucking heart in your hands, Lila.”

Her throat bobbed, and her pretty brown eyes turned glassy. Her next words, her littlest whisper, was my undoing. “You terrify me.”

My sweet Lila. If only you knew what you do to me.

“The feeling is mutual.” A soft confession, a gentle promise.

I released her and quickly pulled my shirt over my head and threw it on the floor. Lila licked her lips, and her attention went to my bare torso, before her head snapped up again. I could see her trying to fight me, having an internal battle with herself.

She wanted me.

But she was scared of having me.

“We were perfect just the way we were before, Maddox. I don’t want to lose that.”

I let out a chuckle at her weak attempt. “Yeah, Babe. It’s a little too late. We stopped being just friends the moment you let me all up in your pussy without a condom.”

Lila shot me a fierce glare, and I grinned harder. She was so fucking easy to tease. I gripped her shirt and started pulling, but she smacked my hand away. “Maddox!”

I paused, watching her resolve grow weaker under my gaze. I wasn’t going to forcibly undress her. A heavy feeling wrapped around my chest, as I realized she could end this, push me back and walk away.

Thud. Thud. Thud. “Do you want to walk away?” I asked, as my voice hardened. “If that is really what you want, I’ll let you go.”

Uncertainty swirled in her eyes, and my palms grew clammy.

Thud. Thud. Thud.

My fingers clenched the fabric of her shirt, waiting. My head lowered, and I leaned my forehead against hers. “Walk away, Lila. Now,” I breathed against her lips. Not touching, not kissing… I waited. I was giving her a choice, a way out. Now… or never.

My heart lodged in my throat, as I waited for her to make up her mind. Thud. Thud. Thud.

She finally sighed softly, her lips parting, and she leaned into me, curling her arms around my neck. “Maddox.”

My name was a whispered prayer on her cherry lips. I loved the way my name sounded, the way it rolled off her tongue, like she was tasting sweet candy.

Goddamn it, my chest tightened, and I let out a ragged exhale. “Whatever we had before, it wasn’t enough. You know it; I know it. We’re perfect now.”

I pulled her shirt over her head, and she let me. The rest of our clothes quickly followed until we were both naked. Leaving our discarded clothes on the floor of the living room, Lila’s arms went around my neck again, and I hoisted her up. She wrapped her legs around my hips, and I walked us to my room. Her lips found mine, as we tumbled together onto the bed, and I slid between her thighs, hovering over her.

A flash of uncertainty flitted in her eyes again, before she blinked it away. I didn’t want her to regret this, regret not walking away. I rubbed my thumb across her jaw, and the touch seemed to make her feel at ease. “I’ll always be your best friend, Lila.”

The worry slowly melted away from her face, and there was a small coy smile on her lips, a smile that went all the way down to my dick. “But you’re also my boyfriend now?”

My heart skipped a fucking beat.

Boyfriend. A relationship…

I had never done a relationship, nothing as official as this. My dick was happy enough with all the chicks who eagerly landed on it for a fun time.

But Lila wasn’t just a chick looking for a fun time.

She wanted a relationship, romance… boyfriend and girlfriend.

And fuck me, I wanted that, too.

I gave her my signature smirk, guaranteed to melt anyone on the spot. “It could be worse.”

“What could be worse than this?” She rolled her eyes, but I could see the worry receding from her gaze. She turned soft under me, her hands sliding over my back, dragging her nails over my skin, like the tempting minx she was.

“I could be your husband.”

She smacked my shoulder with her tiny fist. “Maddox!”

I clasped her wrist and jerked her hand down, pressing her palm over my chest. My heart thudded at her touch, and her eyes softened. Feel me.

“I live for the adrenaline rush, Lila,” I said, keeping my voice low. “I love any adventure that gets my blood pumping, my heart racing… I love anything dangerous, anything wild, anything beautiful enough that makes me want to capture it. You are my favorite adventure, Lila Garcia.”

She hiccupped back a gasp, before catching her bottom lip between her teeth. Her fingers splayed over my chest, caressing me with her sweet, torturous touch. “You’re my favorite adventure too, Maddox.”

Her other hand curled behind my neck, and her fingers glided through my hair, pulling at the curled strands. My lips brushed against hers, feeling her soft moan. “I want to wake up every morning at 6 AM, while the world’s still sleeping. I’ll look beside me, and you’re there. I want to fall asleep knowing that you’ll be the first sight I see when I wake up. I want every ordinary day with you. I want your bad days; I want your tears and your laughter. Give it all to me, Lila. Be my girlfriend.”

She returned my kiss with a fierce one of her own, before she pulled away, just enough to whisper the words, “What if we go back to hating each other?”

I grinned down at her. “Then, we’ll just hate fuck. Problem solved.”

Her brows furrowed, and she tensed beneath me. “I can’t hate you. My heart won’t allow me. Even if you break me one day, I won’t be able to hate you. That terrifies me, Maddox.”

“Lila,” I murmured, feathering my lips across her cheek. “Lila… Baby, can you stop overthinking for one minute? Just for a minute. Tell me what you want.”

Her forehead creased with a tensed line. I kissed down her throat, and she gave me an involuntarily shudder. Her throat bobbed, as she swallowed hard, then my kiss whispered over the throbbing veins on the side of her neck, feeling her heartbeat against my lips. “Stop overthinking.”

My head lowered to her chest; her bare tits were a very tempting sight. The white and pink jagged lines between the two heavy mounds called to me. I lightly touched her scars with my mouth, kissing her past away with silent promises.

I knew Lila was scared of feeling too much, scared of losing the people who mattered to her. She kept her heart locked in a silver cage behind her chest, like an Ice Queen.

Too late, though, I had already broken through her barriers. I just needed her to accept it now.

Lila whimpered the moment my lips touched her scars, her nails digging into my shoulders, and I groaned at the sharp sting. “Don’t,” she said, letting out a soft cry. “It’s ugly. Stop, Maddox.”

My sweet, sweet Lila. Fierce and fragile. She wasn’t weak; she was never weak. But she was vulnerable.

I let my kiss linger over her scars, feeling the jagged, bumpy lines under my lips. “You’re so beautiful. You don’t even know what you do to me, Lila.”

Her nipples hardened at my rough voice, and her skin flushed. I cupped her breast in my palm and brought my mouth to its puckered nipple. Lila let out a soft mewl, as my lips wrapped around the little bud.

“You are so perfect,” I breathed against her flesh. Goosebumps flashed across her skin, and she trembled in my arms.

My teeth grazed her nipple, and I bit down gently. Lila rewarded me with a gasp and then a fevered moan. I knew I had her exactly where I wanted her. She was trying hard to concentrate on her thoughts, but when I started sucking on her tits, she arched her back. Her hands came to my head, almost frantic in her need, and she pulled at my hair, crying out my name.

“What do you want?” I asked, my voice thick with desire.

When she didn’t give me a verbal response, I switched to her other breast and gave it the same attention. At my sharp bite, her nipple swelled in my mouth, and her back bowed off the bed.

“You,” Lila breathed.

I smiled, before sucking on the pink swollen bud, chasing the sting away. I was finally in her head.

“What do you want, Lila?” I asked again.

“Maddox,” she whimpered, “hurry, please.”

“Answer me.”

Her legs hiked up, and her ankles hooked below my ass. There was an urgency in her voice now when she spoke. “You.”

My head lowered further, licking and nipping her taut stomach. I swirled my tongue around her cute belly button. She clutched the back of my head, a small impatient sound echoing from the back of her throat. “What do you want?”

“YOU!” Lila screamed, almost brokenly. “Oh God. You. Maddox, you. Goddamn it, I want you!”

I smiled, feeling the urge to beat my chest like a caveman. Lila Garcia was officially mine.

Raising my head, I regarded her with a look of triumph. “I dare you to be my girlfriend, little dragon.”

Her eyes grew darker than before and flashed, like molten lava – mixed with lust, fear and annoyance. “Yes,” she hissed.

I lowered my head between the apex of her thighs and buried my face in her heavenly scent. She was wet, hot and ready. I licked her slit and circled her throbbing clit.

“Just fuck me already,” Lila growled, her hips grinding into my face, hard. Her pussy was practically smothering me, and I loved every bit of it.

“Gladly.”

Mine.