Devlin's Dare (15 page)

“But—”

“Hands to yourself.”
She arranged his arms at his side and fit his fingers around the back legs of the wooden chair. “There. Hold on to that. And don’t let go.”

His Adam’s apple worked. “Or what?” A whisper. A hope?

“Or I’ll really punish you.”

Oh yeah. It was an act. She couldn’t stop her lips from tweaking, though he could tell she was trying very hard to appear adequately stern.

“Really?”

“Really.”

“Wh-hat… H-how…”

“I don’t know. Maybe I’ll tie you up and tease you for hours.”
Oh hell no.
“Or maybe I’ll tie you up and leave.”
Double hell no.

“Tara…” She ignored his plea. Was it a plea? Probably.

“You hold on and sit there like a good boy and I will finish you.” God, her tone excited him. He didn’t know why. Or maybe he did. “But if you let go…I stop. Got it?”

He shouldn’t have laughed, but it was a nervous laugh, a
holy-shit-is-this-really-happening
kind of laugh, so it probably didn’t count. “Tara…”

“What’s the matter, Devlin? Can’t you take a dare?”

Oooh. Her words got him right in the gut. Or maybe it was her sultry glance. He firmed his chin. “Okay. I accept your dare.”

“Don’t you let go.”

He wouldn’t. Not if it freaking killed him. And it might. “Okay, wench,” he said, trying to goad her back to work. “Do your worst.”

Maybe he shouldn’t have added that last bit. Maybe that goaded her too far, because she did go back to work and man, was she ruthless. But he held on as she worked him, as she stroked and sucked and fondled his rock hard, pounding erection. He held on for dear life.

The abrasion of the little chunks scraped at his nerves, his sanity, and when all the peanut butter was gone, she kept licking and lapping, kept sucking, kept teasing, until he wanted to scream.

Tension built and built within him. Heat, agony, a blistering ache for release.
“Tara…”

“Don’t bother me,” she said. “I’m busy.”

“Tara…”

His tone must have reached her
, the sheer naked desperation sinking through her absorption. She stilled and peeped up at him, her mouth stretched around his cock.

And fuck.

Fuck fuck fuck
.

He couldn’t stop the
scorching tide, the screaming rush of cum. It exploded from him in agonizing, rapturous jets. One after the other after the other, for eternity.

Despite his blinding bliss, they didn’t break eye contact as she took it all, took him.
She tightened her suction and urged him on to higher and higher pleasure, moaning around him in a hellish vibration as she tasted him, swallowed him, drank everything he had to give.

Tara sat back and looked up at Devlin. His eyes were closed, his muscles tight. He clung to the chair as though it were a lifeline in a churning sea. An expression of absolute elation and peace lit his striking features. Her heart thudded. She’d done that. She’d pleased him beyond bearing.

And good lord, had that been fun
. She hadn’t expected she’d enjoy bossing him around quite so much. She enjoyed even more that he’d obeyed.

His eyes opened and he gazed at her. His lips worked.

“Are you okay?” she asked.

In response he released his hold on the chair, threaded his fingers
in her hair and dragged her close. And he kissed her. It was hot, hard and feral. She tasted a gratitude that surprised her.

His intensity made her a little uncomfortable. She didn’t understand why. She covered her discomfort by reaching down to tug up his
briefs. He stood—a little wobbly—and pulled them all the way up, along with his slacks. Then he reached out a hand and helped her to her feet. And into his arms. And he kissed her again.

“Did you enjoy your PBBJ?” she asked when he gave her a chance to breathe.

His chuckle resonated through her. “Is that what the kids are calling it nowadays?”

She grinned. And then kissed him. Because he was too cute to resist.

“Come on,” he said, wrapping his arm around her and leading her into the hall.

“Where are we going?” she asked, though she really didn’t care. As long as he was there. She didn’t bother to examine that thought. Or what it might mean.

“Into the living room. I need to relax.” Indeed, he was still shaking a little.

They settled on his soft, leather couch and he pulled her into his arms, tucking her head beneath his chin.
And he held her. She liked the warmth of his embrace. His scent rose up to suffuse her. His heart beat against her ear in a rapid tattoo.

She
stroked his arm as he rubbed her back and slowly, his heartbeat returned to a less frantic pace.

“I enjoyed that
tremendously,” he said after a long long while.

“It was fun.”

His chest heaved as he barked a laugh.

“What?”

“You’re quite the little Domme when you choose to be.”

She snorted.

“No, really. When you glared at me and barked,
Sit,
I almost came right then.”

She tipped up her head and
raked him with a playful scrutiny. “Devlin Fox. I would never have pegged you for a kinky guy.”

“I can be.” He winked. “
Chunky peanut butter…”

She chuckled leaned her head against him again and the conversation lapsed. But it was a comfortable lapse. He toyed with her hair.
Teased her neck. It was nice.

“I’ve been wondering about something
,” he said into the breach.

“Hmmm?”

“Why do you think Avery gave us
Switch
at her party?”

Tara’s brow knit. She glanced up at him again. “I think it was random.”

“Was it?” He smiled. An angelic, beautiful mien. Her attention drifted to his lips. “Does Avery ever do anything random?”

Come to think of it…no. “Never.”

“I think she was making a statement to us.”

“Aside from matching us up, e
ven though we both insisted we were not together?”

“You insisted. Not me. And yes. Aside from that.”

“What do you think she was saying?”

“Typical Avery. She was commenting on the dynamics she saw in us during that pool game.”

“She was only there for a few minutes.”

“Maybe it was that clear.”

She pulled back so she could see him more clearly. She didn’t like the way the cool air rushed between them. “What?”

“Our energy. You know how in each relationship, one partner or another is a little more dominant?” He caught her expression and laughed. “Or, in some cases, a lot more dominant.”

“Yeah?”

“I think we’
re evenly matched.”

“Do you?”
Why his words warmed her, she had no clue. And the fact that he’d just said the “R” word and it didn’t cause the little hairs on her neck to rise was a mystery as well.

“You enjoyed my spanking and hell, I sure enjoyed that.” He thrust a thumb at the kitchen.

“Did you?”

“Shit, Tara. That was mind-blowing.”

She preened a little. “Why thank you sir.”

“I think it would be fun to explore this a little.”

Her heart hiccupped. “What do you mean? In a dominant submissive kind of way?”

“Not exactly…” He flicked a gaze at her. “Unless you want to—”

“No.” Unequivocally. No. It was fun to play around with it, but anything beyond that was too much for her. “So what were you thinking?”

“I kind of like our dares.”

She kind of liked that he pulled her back in his arms. Where it was warm. “Oh, do you?”

“Yeah. I think we should dare date.”

She had to glance up at him at that. “Dare date?”

“Mmm hmm.”

“And what is that, exactly?”

“We dare each other.”

“On a
date
?” He knew she didn’t want to date.

“Let’s call it a sexual interaction.”
Then, after a moment of thought, he added, “But there may be dinner, or a movie, or something like that included.”

“A package deal?”

“Yeah. Something like that. For example, I wouldn’t mind taking you to the movies. Nothing popular, nothing first run. Just a movie in a darkened theatre. Deserted, preferably.”

His meaning hit her like a ton of bricks. “And what would you dare me to do in that deserted, darkened theatre?” A purr.

His grin sent heat along every nerve. “You’ll have to wait and see, baby. “You’ll have to wait and see.

Charlie and Tina saw each other every day that week when Tara was at work and every afternoon, Devlin swung by to pick her up for a dare date. He made it a point to get her home by seven, on the dot.

Though
she appreciated his punctuality, it began to chafe after a while. Because sometimes, they’d be in the middle of something, something fun, and he’d check his watch and tell her they had to hurry. For the first time in her career, she began to resent the bakery. For the first time in her career, she began think about loosening the reins a little and hiring more help.

Jose loved the idea. He had a cousin with experience who was looking for work. And of course, Louisa was happy
for the extra shifts. With business picking up again, she could definitely afford it. She decided to interview Jose’s cousin and give him a test run that week with Jose’s supervision.

And damn, was it worth the cost.
Having time with Devlin, something more leisurely than a few snatched hours here and there, was wonderful. And, as it turned out, he was a devious son of a bitch. Definitely kinky, but in the best possible way.

He inspired her as well. Inspired her to come up with crazier and crazier dares.

They had sex in the movie theatre, of course, and in an elevator, on the ferry and in a bathroom stall of his favorite bar. He dared her to wear stilettos and a short skirt—and
no
underwear—to a Mariner’s game and she dared him to visit Bella’s sex shop and ask to be fitted for a collar.

T
he
coup de gras
was when she dared him to get a Brazilian Wax. He did it—which astounded her—but he screamed like a little girl.

It was a wild week. An amazing week.
Fun and sexy and exciting and crazy. She didn’t want it to ever end. To her surprise, she found she wanted to be with him more and more, and was annoyed when work—or life—pulled her away.

She didn’t mind their double dates with Tina and Charlie, because those two were so wrapped up in each other, they didn’t pay much attention to what Devlin and Tara were up to. Which was often
something naughty.

But
Tina was leaving soon. Time with her was precious, so Tara made arrangements to take her sister to the island that weekend, so she could see the retreat Tara loved so  much—and maybe meet some of her friends. But to her mortification, when Tina came to the bakery for breakfast Thursday morning, she let slip that she’d already made other plans. She and Charlie had booked an overnight trip to Victoria.

“An overnight? Seriously?” Tara gaped at her sister over the table.

“Yes.”

“But you just met.”

Tina laughed. “It doesn’t matter how long you’ve known someone, silly. When its right, you know it.”

Tara swallowed. “And…it’s right?”

“It’s very right. Charlie and I have so much in common. I enjoy his sense of humor and his strength. He gets me. I mean…” She flushed. “He
understands
. Really understands. And man, is he a good kisser.”

“A good…kisser?” For some reason, she’d never imagined the two of them, well, kissing.

“Hoo mama. I can’t wait for this weekend.”

It was hard not to put out a lip. “But what about me? This is your last weekend.”

Tina tipped her head to the side and gazed at her. “I’ll see you again. Soon. I’m…retiring.”

“Retiring! You’re too young to retire.”

She chuckled. “Not in military terms. I think I’ve had enough deployments.”

“I thought you loved it.”

“I do. But… Well, this visit helped me see that there was something missing from my life.”

“Charlie?” Tara swallowed the lump in her throat.

Tina’s lashes fluttered. “Maybe. I’ve always been a career soldier—to the exclusion of all else. But it’s time I paid attention to other aspects of my life. It’s time I settled down. And Tara… Charlie proposed.”

Tara gaped at her. “But you just met him!”

“Would you be so bummed if I moved here?”

“
Bummed? Hell no! I’d love it. But… Isn’t this moving pretty fast?”

“
In my experience, when an opportunity comes your way, you take it. You don’t dither. You don’t delay. If you do, next thing you know, it’s slipped away.” Her chin firmed. “I am not letting Charlie slip away. Oh sure, we could have a long-distance relationship, and that would probably work for a while. But I love being with him. I love his smile. I, well, I love him. He’s good for me.” She took Tara’s hand in hers. “I haven’t had a nightmare since I met him.”

Tara thought back and, damn. She hadn’t.

Though Tara didn’t understand the wash of bitterness at her sister’s words, she did get the peace surrounding her. Tina looked happier than she ever had.

S
o she hugged her and wished her well, but couldn’t help thinking how unfair it all was. Things were so easy for Tina. Things were so clear.

She loved Charlie and wanted to spend her life with him.

Knowing Tina, it would all probably work out.

But for Tara,
those things never worked out.

Never.

It just wasn’t fair.

“Charlie and Tina are engaged.” These were Tara’s first words to Devlin when he stopped by the bakery on Thursday. Her pout was adorable. He wanted to kiss it off her face.

“I know. Isn’t that
great?”

She snorted and tossed her towel over her shoulder, locking the door behind him. She always locked the door behind him. As though she were expecting pirates to attack
at three. “They’re going away this weekend. To
Victoria
.” She said it like it was Jupiter or something.

“I’m happy for them. Besides, it gives us the whole weekend together. Alone.” He waggled his brow in what he hoped was an alluring fashion. She was not allured.

“Seriously? They’ve known each other two weeks!”

“According to Charlie, two weeks can
seem like a lifetime.”

“Oh brother.” She stomped back
behind the cases. He followed, nicking a cream puff from the refrigerated case.

“Come on Tara. Cut the kids some slack. They’re young. They’re in love. They want some time away…from us, I guess.” He bit into the cream puff. Heaven.

She turned at his moan and glared at him. He counted himself lucky she hadn’t snatched it from him and given him some gluten-free
carob
muffin instead. She’d lightened up on the gluten-free rampage over the last week, for which he was inordinately grateful. And her cream puffs were sinful.

“I think they’re moving a little fast.”

“It’s their journey, Tara. They’re grown ups.”

“But—”

“They can make their own decisions about their lives.” The irony, that he was saying these words about his brother, did not escape him.