31. The Dare
The Dare
SARAFINA
Carter loomed in the wide doorway, looking sexier than any human should as the soft lamplight glittered against his dark, watchful eyes.
I was doing my very best not to disintegrate under his intense gaze, while he was busy looking at me, like I was the only thing that existed in the entire universe.
My heart was racing, my hands were trembling, I was fluttering with anticipation, dying to see what might follow the kiss of all kisses.
In a matter of hours, everything had changed.
Carter hesitated in the doorway. “Will he or won’t he accept the dare?” I mused as nonchalantly as I could muster, though I could hardly steady my voice. This was all such new territory for us.
Carter pushed off the doorframe and sauntered into the room without a word. My entire body vibrated with awareness as he gave me a simple look that had me on the precipice of begging. I retreated a step towards the bed as he softly closed the ornate door behind him, before he fucking locked it.
The tension between us was a band ready to snap as Carter strolled over the lush Savonnerie rugs, and shrugged off his suit jacket, casually laying it over the arm of the closest chair.
I retreated another step, towards his luxurious bed.
The feel of his lips on mine was still a burn, branded on my skin as he unbuttoned one sleeve and then the other, before slowly rolling them up.
I suddenly bumped into the bedpost and fumbled, gripping it for stability while he leisurely unclasped his belt, pulling it out loop by fucking loop. My mouth went dry as he rhythmically wound it around his hand and then set it on the dresser, watching me very carefully as he did so.
Finally, Carter spoke, his voice exceptionally low and smooth. “I won the last dare. Now what?” He crossed his arms with a smirk and leaned against the dresser, keeping ample distance between us.
I could tell he was letting me guide the pace of things, letting me control how far tonight would go. That’s why it was so easy to trust him, why I’d always felt so safe with him—I knew he would never push me past my limits.
That tiny voice in the back of my head immediately went to work, reminding me that he was capable of rejecting me, that he’d done it before and he could do it again. But that didn’t stop me from imagining that muscular body looming over me, doing very dirty things.
“I guess that would make it my turn.” I whispered, still clutching the bedpost for dear life.
“Truth or dare then?” He murmured.
“Truth.” I breathed like a chicken.
He nodded, all too amused, and considered, finally, in a voice as soft as the starlight at the pier, “Tell me what the fuck Isaac did to make you react like that.”
Oh fuckerson.
I thought I’d been so clever by averting a dare, and this is what he wanted to talk about? Talk about a cold bucket of water. “ Pass.” I said, as Carter settled in against the ornate dresser, like he’d be there a long while. Just great.
Carter chuckled darkly. “You know, pretty girl, part of my job is getting people to talk.” His eyes glimmered, something determined lurking just beneath the surface, and I felt myself bristling.
I could dig in my metaphorical heels too.
Watch me. See if I tell you a damn thing.
Arrogant jerk. What was he going to do, muscle the answer out of me?
Carter continued, “You could save me some time and tell me yourself or alternatively,” His voice dropped low and menacing, and I suddenly realized he hadn’t been talking about me at all.
“I could just pay him a little visit. The options are really endless, but I doubt he’d hold out very long.
” Carter continued on as my lips started to form a question.
“Since the moment he laid eyes on you, I’ve been considering all sorts of interesting things. ”
“What the hell does that mean?” I demanded.
“It means,” His lips twitched, cocky confidence rippling off him like smoke off a signal fire. “Well, I don’t need to fill that pretty little head of yours with violent things, now do I?”
He was going to what? Beat him up? “You wouldn’t.” I set my jaw, wondering if in fact he would. All bets seemed to be off now.
“Try me, sweetheart.” Carter smirked. “Besides, if you don’t say your truth, then you lose, and that would bring our little game to an end tonight.” He tilted his head, a predator assessing its prey.
And how damn badly I wanted to be caught.
“Do you want our game to be over?” He asked too quietly.
Abso-fucking-lutely-not.
“How do you even know there is a story to tell?” I countered, inching towards the bed.
Wondering when I’d grown so bold. I’d only had one glass of wine with dinner, and now I could hardly feel it—I suddenly wished I’d slogged down a second or third before we’d left, but Carter hadn’t ordered the wine by the bottle like he usually did.
I knew a little liquid confidence would be so very nice right about now, but simple bravery would have to do .
Carter’s eyes flared as he watched me sit on the edge of his bed. “You think I didn’t notice how your entire body recoiled the moment you heard his voice?” He spoke softly, though his voice bordered on outrage. “Or how you belittled yourself in front of him.”
I shimmied back on the bed until only my heeled feet were dangling off the edge, arguing, “I did not.”
Carter’s jaw fanned. “I seriously beg to differ.”
“I did no such thing.” Heat flushed my cheeks because I couldn’t reasonably admit what he was saying was true. Not to him, not to myself. I didn’t want to acknowledge that I’d felt so horribly weak in that moment. Helpless.
Not like I felt now though, right now, I felt pretty damn powerful. Carter had always been so freaking restrained with me, and right now, it felt like he was wrapped around my finger, and I loved it.
“Did you sleep with him?” Carter asked, a wave of dark jealousy passing over his expression.
“With Isaac?” I raised a brow, tossing out casually. “Maybe I did.”
The look. On his. Face.
Jealous Carter wasn’t on my bingo card, but damn if I wasn’t happy to check off that box anyway.
I grabbed the cat ears off the nightstand and fiddled with them, trying to decide if I should tell Carter what actually happened or if that would ruin the mood. “Why do you want to know?” I mused, watching him carefully. “Would you care if I had?”
“ He was looking at you like he’d slept with you.” Carter glowered. “And you, on the other hand, did not seem to share that same enthusiasm.” Always so perceptive.
“I didn’t sleep with him.” I said smugly, shoving what I was really feeling down even harder.
Carter’s eyes narrowed, not buying it for a second. “So tell me your truth.” He drummed his fingers on his arm patiently. “What happened between the two of you?”
I stared at him for a long while before I finally dropped my gaze to the floor. “He befriended me when I was at my lowest this summer, and let’s just say he only had one thing in mind.”
“And what exactly was that?”
“I think you can guess.” I slid the headband into my hair and cocked my head against my shoulder flirtatiously before I leaned back on my elbows, trying not to think about it.
“I can guess a lot of things, but this isn’t a guessing game.” Carter hummed with a subtle smirk, clearly amused with the cat ears. “ You picked truth, so let’s hear it.”
“He wanted to be friends with benefits, and I—” Friends with financial benefits , is what I didn’t say because I couldn’t bear to admit that humiliating little detail. How to put the whole thing delicately? “I didn’t know I didn’t want it—until I knew, I didn’t want it.”
“Care to elaborate?” Carter asked darkly.
“Not particularly.” I avoided his gaze, suddenly feeling less into my game than I had a moment ago.
“Well, there’s only one thing I need to know.” His tone eased up because he noticed me withdraw, because of course he did.
“What’s that?” I asked, fiddling with my new necklace. His eyes tracked the movement.
“Do I need to bury him in a dark hole where no one will ever find him?”
I scoffed, wondering if he actually would.
“I’ll let you know when I decide.” There was so much context I could add.
About how I thought Carter was ignoring me, so I had tried to move on, albeit very unsuccessfully, but I didn’t say any of that, because it would have been humiliating to admit.
“It’s really not that big of a deal.” I tried to shrug it off, tried to convince myself of that fact just as much as him.
“It’s a big deal to me ,” Carter said quietly. “I don’t want to hurt you, and if I don’t know where your wounds are, I might. ”
“Carter.” I sucked in a small breath at the devastation in his voice, the fear there. “You have nothing to worry about.” He nodded once, but didn’t say anything.
So I offered him a tiny piece of the truth.
“I was lonely, and we kissed. He was moving faster than I was comfortable with, so I left, and then things were really fucking awkward after that.” I left out the most horrifying bits because it was humiliating—the fact that I hadn’t seen straight through it. I should have known better.
“And are things moving too fast for you now?” Carter asked gently, and I could tell he had this messed up idea in his head that he was the bad guy in all this, but that couldn’t have been further from the truth—he seemed to completely miss the fact that I was desperate for him, and that I always had been.
I swallowed hard, not sure what I was so afraid of as I looked Carter square in his kind, patient, brown eyes, and decided maybe I could admit this to him, and everything would be alright. That I would be alright if I unburied one of my dirty little secrets.