Page 41 of Dare To Break

He knows who I am. What I am to Eli.

Anxiety squeezes my chest.

The countdown until others know has begun.

I crush the delicate material of the panties in my pockets until my nails bite into my palm.

You’re being such a good girl. I like that. Your next dare is this. I want you to go outside after curfew tonight and hang a pair of panties on the entrance door to the gymnasium.

I latch onto those words, picturing the note, the dare.

The closer I get to the gymnasium, the stronger the excitement in the pit of my stomach builds, obliterating my apprehension that, at any moment, my world might implode. Curling my fingers into fists to stop them from shaking, adrenaline zigzags through my body.

I cast a look around, aware that security could be down here at any time.

I need to time the pattern of their rounds. The stray thought is something I tuck away for later consideration.

I keep to the wall, and inch toward the corner of the building. The brickwork is rough under my fingertips. When I reach the door, I take the scrap of cotton out of my pocket and hang it on the handle.

The white material is bright, like a flag against the metal. They aren’t anything special. I’d just seized the first pair of panties my fingers touched out of my drawer.

I spin around, and sprint back to the dorm building without a backward glance. My lungs are on fire, my heart is thumping madly in my chest. The sweet rush of adrenaline fuels my legs until I’m inside my room. I know it’s not going to last, though. As fast as the sensation has overtaken me, it leaks away, leaving me shaking, tired, but exhilarated.

Chapter 26

Eli

I picked the entrance to the gymnasium because I can see it from my window. I get up and check again.

Nothing.

Is she going to do it? I should have given her a time limit. She might not even do it tonight.

She will. She did the first dare the night she got it. She’s a person who needs to do as they’re told when they’re told.

She’ll do it tonight.

I’m about to go to bed when I see a flash of something white. I turn back to the window. There it is again.

“Turn off the light.” My order is tossed at Kellan in a low voice.

He doesn’t question it, just unfolds himself from where he’s sprawled and crosses the room to the light switch. The room is plunged into darkness, but it makes it easier to see outside.

A smile stretches my lips. She did it.

I watch as she darts across the campus back to the dorm building and slips through the door.

“What time is it?”

“Eleven.”

“When is security due?”

“Eleven-fifteen.”

Just enough time for me to go and collect my prize.

Arabella’s room is on the floor above mine, so I wait a little longer to give her time to get there, and so we don’t cross in the hallway.

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