Daredevil
D are ran into Vixen’s store and found her standing between Savage and Vixen. She looked like hell, and so beautiful, all at the same time that she took his breath away. He wanted to run across the room and pull her into his arms, but he wasn’t sure if Vixen would allow it.
“What happened?” he asked.
“Wyatt showed up here, just like you said that he would,” she admitted. “I guess you’re happy about that, right?” He wasn’t happy about any of this.
“Why would him showing up here make me happy?” he asked. “I didn’t want him to come here, but I’ve known guys like Wyatt, and they don’t give up easily.” Dare knew that Vixen was scared and lashing out at him, but it still hurt.
“I’m sorry,” she breathed. “I guess I’m just shaken up about all of this.”
“I’m sure that you are, but for now, you need to get someplace safe,” Banshee insisted.
“I don’t think that Wyatt wants to hurt me—not really,” Vixen insisted.
“No, he just wants to kidnap you,” Banshee reminded. “You have no idea what he’s thinking. Maybe he just needs time to get over his feelings for you, but I think that there might be more to it than just that.” Dare knew that Banshee was right. Wyatt seemed almost unhinged when it came to chasing down Vixen. From what Savage had told him earlier; the guy spent the entire night outside of Dare’s apartment waiting for her to come back out. The only way to keep her safe was to keep her with him—not that it would be a hardship for him to keep Vixen close.
“How about you let me take you back to my place?” he asked. “I have one more run to make, and if you don’t mind riding along, we can be home before dinner time.” Vixen looked around her store as if trying to figure out her next move and for a second, he worried that she was going to be as stubborn as she had been earlier and tell him no.
“How about if I get a couple of the girls over here and we can close your shop?” Banshee asked. “Do you have anyone who knows the ropes around her? Maybe a coworker or something?”
“No, I never got around to hiring anyone to help out around here. I’m kind of particular about my store. But Phoenix, Rebel, and Juno have all pitched in when I was super busy. They know what to do around here, but I hate to bother them. They all have their own lives,” Vixen insisted.
“I know that they do, but they’ll all want to know what’s going on with you. They’ll want to help you out because that’s what the Harlots are about. We help out or sisters, and you’re just going to have to find a way to accept that,” Banshee explained. Vixen nodded her agreement and Dare let out the breath that he didn’t know he had been holding.
“Thank you for agreeing to that,” he said. “Will you let me help you too, Vixen? I can keep you safe if you let me.” He felt as though he was pouring his heart out in front of his Prez and Banshee, and although that should completely embarrass him, it didn’t. He’d decided that morning that fighting his feelings for Vixen was a waste of time. He wanted her—he had for a damn long time now, and he didn’t give a fuck who knew it.
“Are you sure that I won’t be a bother?” she asked.
He reached for her hand, happy that she let him take it into his own. “I’m sure,” he insisted. “I want to help you, Vixen. Let me take care of you.” He could still see the indecision in her eyes, and that was something that he planned on changing as soon as he got her back to his place. He was going to sit her down and explain the reason—the real reason, why he wanted to keep her safe so badly. He wanted her to be his, and hopefully, she’d want the same thing. If not, he’d still help her because that was just who he was.
“I’d appreciate your help,” she almost whispered.
“There you go,” Banshee almost shouted, causing them all to jump. “We have a plan in place, and I’ll call the girls. We’ll get everything around here settled—you don’t have a thing to worry about.” She pulled Vixen in for a quick, awkward hug and practically pushed her to the back door. “Now, off with you. I don’t want to give Wyatt a chance to come back while you’re still here. Trust me, love, we’ve got you.” Vixen didn’t look as though she trusted anyone easily, but for some reason, she seemed to believe Banshee. A part of Dare wondered if she’d ever look at him the same way she looked at her club’s Prez—with complete faith.
“Thank you,” Vixen whispered to Banshee.
She followed Dare to the back door as he opened it to peek out. “Looks clear to me.” He grabbed Vixen’s hand and led her out to his tow truck. “You sure that you don’t mind me making one last run? I can call Riggs if I need to.”
“Absolutely not,” she insisted. “I don’t want to interrupt his and Phoenix’s doctor appointment. I can’t wait to find out what they’re having.”
“They’re having a baby,” Dare joked as he hopped into the driver’s seat.
“Ha, ha,” she drawled. It was nice to have the old, joking Vixen back. She seemed more relaxed as soon as they left the shop, and that had him feeling more at ease. “Thanks again for doing all of this for me, Dare,” she breathed.
“Not a problem, honey,” he said. For the first time, Vixen didn’t correct him for using the term of endearment. He wasn’t sure what that meant, but he was going to take it as a good sign—even if that made him a foolish optimist.
By the time they got home, he decided to just order take out rather than cook. They were both exhausted after the day’s events, but that wasn’t going to stop him from sitting her down for a come-to-Jesus meeting. He was finally going to tell her exactly how he felt about her and let the chips fall where they may. Maybe spilling his guts right now wasn’t the best plan, but he knew that spending one more night with her under the same roof, and not telling her the truth wasn’t possible.
He handed her a plate of Chicken Lo Mein that she ordered, and she thanked him as they sat down at the kitchen table together. “You know, this is one of the first times I’ve used this table to eat. I usually just throw my mail on it, or my keys,” he admitted.
“Do you mind sitting here or is there someplace else we should sit?” Vixen asked.
“No, here is good,” he said. “Plus, it will give us some time to talk.” She was about to shove a fork full of food into her mouth when she stopped to look him over.
“Talk about what?” she asked.
“About us,” he breathed. He took another bite of his dinner as though he hadn’t just called the two of them an us.
“What us is there to talk about?” she asked. She put her fork on her plate and shoved it back from herself. He felt bad that he was bringing all of this up before they finished dinner. Maybe the polite thing to do would have been to wait for her to finish, but a part of him felt like a kid on Christmas ready to tear open his gifts.
“I’d like to disagree with you because I think that there should be an us,” he insisted.
“There should be?” she asked.
“Yes, I’ve wanted there to be an us for as long as I can remember, Vixen,” he admitted. This was the part where he was going to have to just push through, tell the truth, and hope like hell that she felt the same way about him.
“You have?” she questioned.
“I have. I’ve had a crush on you since school and hell, I’ve been acting like an ass all this time because I wasn’t sure how to tell you about how I felt. I even asked Phoenix to dance with me that night just to make you jealous,” he admitted.
“I see,” she whispered. “And why are you telling me this now?” she asked.
That was actually a good question and one that he didn’t have an answer for. Dare shrugged, “I have no fucking idea. I just knew that not telling you felt wrong—like I wasn’t being honest with myself, you know? Like I wasn’t being honest with you. I just want to lay it all out there, Vixen and I’ll understand if you don’t feel the same way.” He stood up and started pacing his small kitchen. “Hell, you’ve never given me any reason to believe that you do feel the same way about me, but I just couldn’t help myself—I had to tell you.”
Vixen stood and crossed the room to stand in front of him, effectively stopping his pacing. “Stop talking for a minute,” she ordered. He nodded and took a breath, letting it back out. When it came to sharing his feelings, he always seemed to get diarrhea of the mouth. The words just kind of spilled out of him and there was nothing that he could do about it.
He waited her out, hoping that she’d say something—anything, but instead, she leaned in and brushed her lips against his. The surprise kiss was more than he could have hoped for, and taking it a few steps further was something that he had to stop himself from doing. He didn’t want to rush things with Vixen. He had already waited so long for her—a few more minutes wouldn’t kill him.
She broke the kiss and took a step back from him. “What was that for?” he whispered.
“I wanted to see if I liked you or not,” she teased. “I think that I do.”
“Wait—you needed to kiss me to tell if you like me or not?” he asked. “What kind of gauge is that?”
“I think that it’s a pretty accurate one. I mean, I liked the kiss, did you?” she asked.
“Well, yeah, I did,” he admitted.
“Great, then I like you back, Dare,” she said.
“You can’t be serious,” he insisted.
“Why can’t I?” she asked. “Would you rather I not like you?” she challenged.
“No,” he almost shouted. “I’m just saying that liking someone has more to do than with just kissing. Do you have feelings for me?” he asked.
“Well, that kiss had me feeling something,” she teased.
“Be serious, Vixen,” he grumbled.
“Okay, you want me to be serious, Dare?” she asked. He nodded and waited for her to continue. “The truth is that I only went home that night with Wyatt because I was angry that you asked Phoenix to dance. I thought that it might make you jealous, seeing me with him. I just never planned on things going as far with him as they had. I didn’t plan on sleeping with him, it just kind of happened.”
He covered her mouth with his hand and shook his head. “I don’t want any details about you sleeping with Wyatt, honey,” he insisted. “I don’t need specifics.”
“Okay then, I was drunk and well, it just kind of happened. I hated myself for letting it happen because I wanted him to be you—but he wasn’t. I’m sorry,” she whispered.
Dare pulled her into his arms, kissing her again. “You have nothing to be sorry for,” he breathed against her lips. “We were both assholes. If we had just been honest from the start, we might have been able to avoid all this mess. How about we make a pact?” he asked.
“What kind of pact?” she asked.
“A pact where we both agree to be completely honest with each other from here on out,” he said.
“I think that sounds like a great idea,” Vixen agreed. “And for the sake of telling the truth, I think you should know that I really hate your sofa,” she teased. “It’s very uncomfortable.”
“Well, we should definitely do something about that then,” he offered.
“Like what?” she asked. He could see in her mischievous smile that she knew exactly what she wanted him to say.
“Like you sleep in my bed from here on out,” he said. From the smile that she gifted him, he had given her the correct answer.
“I like this honesty thing,” she said. “And I think that your suggestion is a brilliant one.” He lifted her into his arms as she straddled his waist, wrapping her arms around his neck so that he could carry her down the hallway to his room. He laid her back on the bed, and she giggled. It sounded magical.
He paused over her body, and she reached up for him. “Are you sure about this, honey?” he asked.
“Are you having second thoughts?” she asked.
“I’m not, but I want to be sure that you want this. I don’t want you to regret being with me,” he said.
“I’d never regret being with you, Dare. I was honest when I said that I’ve liked you for a while now too. I want this—I want you.” Hearing her say those words to him seemed to ramp up his libido. It was all that his brain and body seemed to need to kick into high gear.
Dare wasted no time stripping them both down, playfully kissing every inch of her body as he went. She was his walking wet dream and so much better in person than he could have ever imagined. And when she slid off the bed, to her knees on the floor, he nearly swallowed his damn tongue.
“What are you doing, honey?” he asked.
She wrapped her hands around his cock, stroking the shaft as she smiled up at him. “Is this okay?” she asked. It was more than okay, but if she kept it up, things would be over before they even got started. She dipped her head and sucked him into her hot mouth as he hissed out his breath. Dare couldn’t help but take what she was offering him, pumping in and out of her mouth until he felt about ready to lose himself.
“Not like this,” he growled. He pulled free from her mouth, loving the little pout that she gave him. “Sorry, honey, but I need to be inside of you first.” He helped her up from her knees and she pushed him back onto the mattress. His little Vixen liked to take charge, and she liked it a little rough. That worked for him. He’d let her have all the control that she wanted as long as he got to be inside of her when he came.
She climbed on top of his body and straddled his erection. He could feel the heat almost pouring out of her pussy, she was so wet for him already. “You’re going to feel good,” she whimpered, lowering herself onto his erection. Inch by excruciating inch, she slid down his cock until she was completely seated, and just when he thought that he wouldn’t be able to take anymore, she started moving.
Dare grabbed handfuls of her curvy ass and helped her slide up and down his shaft, setting the pace that had her coming for him in just minutes. He loved the way she closed her eyes and tossed her head back as she cried out his name. She was a goddess—his goddess and when he came deep inside of her, that was all he could think about. She was his and if he had his way, that would never change. Vixen
Vixen curled into his side and yawned. “Did I wear you out?” he teased.
“Yes, and no,” she admitted. “I think that the past few weeks have worn me out, honestly. I’ve just been so worried about everything with Wyatt following me around, I guess I just haven’t been sleeping well. Then, there was last night on your awful couch.”
“Yeah, remind me to burn that thing,” he teased. “We can get a new one that’s more comfortable. Not that I ever want you to sleep on my couch again. I like you right here,” he said, wrapping an arm around her body.
“Me too,” she agreed. “Do you mind if we talk a bit? It usually helps me to sleep.”
“Okay, what would you like to talk about?” he asked.
“Well, I’d really like to know why you quit being a cop, Dare,” she said. “I think that you’d make an awesome police officer.” Just from the way that he had taken care of her, she could tell that Dare would protect and serve his community. “You said that it was too painful to talk about, but I won’t judge you. I just want to know you, please.” She knew that she might be pushing him too quickly into the whole honesty pact that they made, but she had to know what happened to him to make him want to quit being a cop.
“I’ve already told you that I don’t want to talk about that, Vixen,” he reminded.
“Right, but then, you went and made that pact with me and well, we promised to give each other complete honesty.” She was being an ass by asking him something so personal, but if they were going to be in each other’s lives now, and she hoped that they would, they’d need to discuss even the hard topics that weren’t easy to talk about.
“Well, I’m being honest with you when I say that I do not want to discuss being a cop with you or anyone else. It’s too painful,” he admitted. She knew that it had to be painful for him to just walk away from a job that he would be perfect for. Vixen had a feeling that something awful happened, and that was why she looked him up and found out the details of that awful day when she got to work that morning. Curiosity might have killed the cat, but she wondered if it would make Dare mad at her.
“I have a confession to make,” she admitted.
“That doesn’t sound like something that I’m going to like hearing about, honey,” Dare drawled. It probably wasn’t going to be something that he wanted to hear, but she needed to come clean with him. Maybe then, he’d be willing to tell her about the day that he lost his entire team.
“It might not be, but I need to get this off my chest. When you were so secretive about your time on the force, I decided to look you up. This morning when I got to work, I Googled you and found out about your team, Dare,” she almost whispered his name. He was so quite next to her; she wasn’t sure if he was even listening to her. The only sign that she had was that his heart seemed to pick up its pace as she lay with her head against his chest.
“Are you mad?” she asked.
“I just need a minute,” he admitted.
“I’m sorry, but you really left me no choice, Dare. You refused to tell me about your time as a cop, and well, I wanted to know,” she admitted. That wasn’t much of an excuse, but it was all she had.
“You could have waited until I was ready to tell you about it,” he insisted.
“I could have, but if you remember correctly, you lied to me at first about what you did for a living. And when I asked you, point blank, if you were a cop, you lied and told me that you weren’t.”
“Yeah, I lied, but in my defense, we hadn’t made the pact at that point,” he reminded.
“Okay, so now, we’ve made the pact. How about you tell me about what happened, and we can move forward?” she asked.
“I’m afraid that if I say it all out loud, it will become real again,” he admitted. He stroked his hand down her bare back, and she wondered if he was trying to comfort her or take it from her.
“I know, but sometimes, it's good to get everything out—like releasing a toxin,” she insisted.
“I’ve already tried that, with therapy and it really didn’t work,” he grumbled. “I don’t want this to change how you feel about me, honey,” he said.
“That will never happen,” Vixen insisted, going up on her elbows to look down at him. “I’ve already told you that I like you back, so why not give me a chance to show you how much.”
He chuckled, “I believe that you’ve already shown me how much you like me,” he teased.
She slapped at his chest and giggled, “Come on Dare,” she said. “Don’t make me dare you.” She knew that he couldn’t resist a dare—it’s how he got his nickname, .
“Fine, you don’t have to dare me, but just keep in mind that I’m not the same guy who sent my team into that warehouse,” he insisted.
“Done,” Vixen agreed, settling back down against his chest.
“I was in charge of a team going into a warehouse for a drug bust. We had intel that a drug cartel had set up in Athens, and we were sent to investigate it, but I needed to do more. I was trying to prove myself to my boss and I was foolish enough to believe that I was invincible. I just never imagined that my team would have to be too.” He paused and she thought that he might be finished with his story, but he wasn’t.
“I gave the order for the guys to go into the warehouse and secure it. I knew in my gut that we’d find drugs, I just never imagined that they were actively making meth in that place.”
“Oh, God, that’s awful,” she insisted. “And so dangerous.”
“Yeah, it was. They were only in there for a matter of minutes—five at most, and that’s when the whole thing went sideways. They were all gone in less than five minutes,” he whispered. “All but one other guy besides myself. He died a few hours after getting to th hospital, and the doctors said that was a blessing in disguise since he was so badly burned. The fucking lab that the drug dealers were making meth in blew up and it took them all out.”
“I’m sorry,” she breathed. “Were you hurt?” She had read that he wasn’t, but no one would have picked up on the scars that Dare had on the inside from that awful day.
“Not physically. I had a few scrapes and bruises, but that was about it,” he said. “I was ordered to go to therapy, and when I realized that wasn’t working out for me, I officially quit the force. I just couldn’t go back to that life—it’s not for me.”
“I disagree,” she countered, “that is still your life. Helping people—even saving people is what you do. You did that for me last night when you asked me to come home with you. I think that you need to give yourself a break. You didn’t kill your men, Dare. You were doing your job, and by some miracle, you survived. Survivor’s guilt is a real thing, and I’m betting that once you work through that, you’ll see what I’m saying.”
“Are you sure that you own a shop and that you aren’t a psychiatrist?” he teased. “Because that was exactly what my therapist said. The rational side of me knows that’s true, but my brain isn’t working with my rational side. I just need some more time,” he insisted.
“And that’s you nicely trying to tell me that I need to butt out and give you that time, right?” she asked.
“I never want you to fully butt out,” he admitted. “It’s sweet that you want to try to help me, but I don’t feel lost right now. I just need time to process and think.”
“Well, I think that I can arrange that. I won’t bug you and you take all the time you need to process and think. I just want you to know that I’m here if you need to talk.” She snuggled into his side, even tossing her thigh over his legs. “I’ll be right here,” she teased.
He couldn’t help his chuckle. “Good to know, honey,” he said. “Thanks for coming home with me, Vixen,” he whispered, kissing the top of her head. She was pretty sure that it was the sweetest gesture that she had ever experienced.
“Thanks for coming to my rescue at the store today,” she said around a yawn.
“I didn’t rescue you, honey. I believe that honor went to Savage and Banshee. The more that I get to know your club’s Prez, the more I like her,” he said.
“Me too,” she mumbled. “I’m getting tired,” she admitted.
“So, you’re all talked out then?” he asked. She nodded against his chest, and he laughed again as she snuggled into his side. Dare pulled the blankets up over their bodies and tugged her close.
“Night, honey,” he whispered as she drifted off.