“Both of those are true. I still want you, but only if that’s what you want too, Elle. I dare you . . . to decide where we go from here.”

Chapter 11

Elle

His eyes bore into mine, with no subterfuge, just raw desire. I can feel the same echoing through my blood.

Is this a dare I dare to accept?

So many thoughts run through my mind at the same time, a tornado of ‘what-ifs’ and ‘then-whats’ that make me dizzy as chaos reigns inside me. I’m not wrong that this could be the most dangerous dare I ever take, both professionally and personally.

Big risks, big rewards, I think.

Big dick, Devil-Tiffany interjects, reminding of the hard ridge of cock Colton pressed against me as he helped me aim my mini-golf shots. There’s definitely nothing miniature about him.

I shouldn’t make a decision like this based on dick, though, or at least not solely on dick, right? But fire is working its way through my veins, not just hot but bubbly and bright. If I do this, I know exactly what’s going to happen, and I want that too.

Let the chips fall where they may.

He waits patiently, watching my every thought flash across my face. I’m not exactly known for my poker face, unless it’s lying about a dare, so there’s no telling what he sees.

Even as I think, I know what I’m going to do. I’ve been waiting for his attention for years and now I have it. It’s uglier and more complex than I wish it were, but I’m not going to lose this opportunity any more than I’m going to sit around at work and let the big boys play while I watch.

That’s not who I am, a sideline sitter. I’m a jump into the open waters of the dark ocean at midnight with no life vest kind of girl. Even if I can only doggie paddle, metaphorically speaking. Cannonball!

“Let’s go,” I say with a smile as I push on his chest. “But you’d better not disappoint. I’m gambling big here, Wolfe, so you’d better make it worth it.”

I aim for lightheartedness, but there’s a note of truth to the words. I’m risking a lot here, maybe even more than he is, given our roles at work and the complication my dad adds to the equation.

He lets me off the hook kindly, another point in his favor. “I’ll make it so worth it, love.”

“Love?” I question, one brow raised sharply. “Is that what you call your harem?”

He laughs loudly. “Harem? Do people even use that word anymore? And what makes you think I have a harem?”

That devil on my shoulder must be to blame for what pops out of my mouth. “Big dick energy.”

Colton’s mouth drops open for a moment, gaping like a fish, and I like that I’ve shocked him speechless. Especially when he starts shoving me out to the parking lot toward his Lotus. “Let’s go.”

Each block that passes as we wind our way deeper downtown ratchets up the tension between Colt and me.

His hand strokes up and down my leg, from knee to the edge of my thigh highs, leaving a trail of heated tingles. “Do you wear stockings often?”

“Why, do you like them?” I ask, trying not to whimper as his fingers move a little further between my thighs before stroking back down.

“Fucking love them,” he grits out, and I store that away in my deck of cards to use in my favor. Colton’s finger reaches my knee and then turns around, making the return trip to high on my thigh. “Any other surprises under here?”

“Hmm . . . play your cards right and you might find out,” I promise him.

Colton’s answering smile is full of hope. “I can’t wait to see what you dare me to do.”

It sounds like he means it, and I feel like we’re in this together. Adventures to a new land. Maybe I’ll call it Elle-topia because Colton-topia is too much of a mouthful. I can’t help the adolescent giggle that I hope he’s a mouthful.

Though, I might dare him to clean the toilet just to torment him . . . and to check out that ass. Nah, on second thought, maybe I’ll dare him to wiggle it for me Magic Mike style? Seems like that might be a bit more of a shock to his staid, stoic system.

And I want to shake him up a bit the way he does me.

Colton makes a left turn, pulling into a parking garage. “You live in Tristone Towers?” It’s a stupid question, considering he waves at the guardhouse and the security arm rises as we approach.

But Tristone Towers is the crown jewel of downtown’s residential district. The three slanted, triangular-shaped towers group together to make an even larger triangle, like a housing complex designed by a Zelda nerd.

Colton doesn’t seem at all phased by the opulence around us, and I wonder again at his past beyond what little I’ve read. He said he’s the black sheep of his family, but I can’t imagine that’s true with his success.

Colton pulls into a reserved spot, getting out and coming around to my side. He reaches in as though he’s going to help me from the car like a gentleman, but at the last moment, his hand traces up my thigh once more. “You ready?”

I nod silently, my eyes laser locked on his hand before I look up. But I don’t meet his eyes. Instead, my gaze stops at his waist and the very large bulge straining to break free of his slacks.

Holy shit! Mouthful? Definitely more than a mouthful. Can you get choked by cock? Because if so, I think I might gag on him.

As that particularly filthy thought shoots through my mind, I must make some noise because Colton moves his hand to cup my jaw. “Elle?” The tension in the single syllable is so sexy in its hesitancy. He’s giving me an out, but that’s not what I was thinking at all.

I’m standing on the edge, making that last instant decision. Do I jump and pray that I fly, risking that I might crash? Or do I play it safe and back away from the possibilities that lie ‘out there’ somewhere with no safety net?

It’s not the dare this time sending butterflies through me. It’s him. His very presence, dark and deliciously dangerous, along with the peeks behind the façade he wears to the kind and maybe even injured boy inside who wants to experience fun for the sheer joy of it.

I look up at him, still in his Lotus as he waits to help me out. “I dare you . . .” His breath catches excitedly. “I dare you to show me those Calvins.”

Who said that?

Colton looks surprised, shocked, and then delighted, so it must have been me.

I’m on the verge of laughing it off as a joke, but as his head turns left then right, scanning the parking garage and noting that we’re blessedly alone, I stay silent.

I’m not sure if people being around would make a difference to me now, though I’m not usually quite this adventurous in the bedroom. But I’m feeling more daring than ever, so I’m all in and praying he is too. I think it’ll be good for him, in more ways than one.

“Here?” The pause is so readily obvious, a sure sign that I’m pushing him outside his comfort zone.

I nod, letting him decide, but I help him along by dropping my gaze hungrily. I’m not exactly a pro with lots of tongue tricks, but I’ve never had complaints about my oral skills, and I’d like to show him that blowjobs can be a footnote on my list of talents.

“Fuckin’ hell,” Colton groans. His accent suddenly got thicker, like he’s forgotten to moderate it for being in America. “This is bonkers.”