Page 52 of P.S. I Dare You

“And what are you going to do after that?” I ask, folding my arms and unwilling to hide my skepticism. “After you sell WellesTech and move out here?”

His mouth rises at one side. “Finally start living for the first time in my life.”

He places one hand on the small of my back, pulling me in. Our mouths graze, his breath hot like cinnamon, his lips soft like silk.

“The dare thing …” I say before I let him kiss me. “How did you know?”

When I was a little girl, anytime I was afraid of something, all Rush had to do was incorporate it into some sort of dare, and suddenly it became this exciting challenge that I just had to do. After a while, I had a sticker chart and an impressive track record of completing every dare my brother ever gave me.

“I went to your place yesterday. Thought I could catch you,” he says. “I caught Rush instead.”

“I knew it.” I laugh, nuzzling my nose into the bend of his neck, inhaling his cedar and moss cologne like an addict in need of a fix. I knew this could only be the work of my brother—him “daring” me to have a little fun, to not take my life so seriously, to live a little.

Challenge accepted, Rush …

His hand finds my chin, and he tilts my mouth toward his.

“Are we going to do this?” he asks, eyes lit.

“We’re doing this,” I say in the seconds before he claims my mouth … my heart … my soul.

I’ve never been so terrified.

And I’ve never been so sure of anything.

“MARGOT, THIS IS CALDER.” Aerin squeezes my hand as she leads me inside her condo.

Margot sits on the sofa, long legs crossed, a stemmed glass of white wine in one hand as she studies me. A handful of minutes ago she lied to my face, but I’m willing to forgive and forget—she was only trying to protect her roommate.

“Sorry I lied,” she says in a monotone voice.

“We’re good,” I say, feeling Aerin’s watchful gaze passing between us.

The place is immaculate, not a speck of dust, not a rogue shoe out of place. Every pillow on the sofa has been fluffed, every candle wick trimmed. A short bookcase along one of the walls houses an impressive mini library, alphabetized from Alcott to Zafra.

“Can I show you around?” Aerin asks, chewing her inner lip as her eyes dance on mine.

I lift a brow, unsure of why she feels the need to be so formal. “Sure?”

She leads me down a hall first. “Bathroom. Closet. Margot’s room …”

And then she pulls me into the last room on the left.

“My room.” A smile curls her lips and she closes the door behind her.

“I don’t think I saw the kitchen yet,” I tease as her hands slide up my shoulders and her fingers lace behind my neck. “Was really looking forward to scoping out the way you organized your silverware drawer.”

“You making fun of me, Calder?” She grazes a kiss against my mouth, a kiss in the form of a smirk.

“I think it’s kind of hot actually.” I slip my hand along the underside of her jaw. “You being so uptight.”

“And why’s that?”

“Because I get to be the one to wind you down.” Sliding my hands down her sides, I stop just below her ass, pulling her thighs against me until she’s secure in my arms. Next, I carry her to her bed, but before I let her go, I yank the coverlet, making a mess of the sheets before placing Aerin in the center of it all. Climbing over her, I lift the hem of her shirt, pressing my mouth against her fiery skin. “Screw perfection.” I move lower. “Screw order.” I press another kiss into her flesh and she exhales, reaching for what’s left of the messy sheets and taking a fistful.

Peeling her leggings and panties down her thighs, I make a point to toss them aside.

Relationships are messy.

People are complicated.

Expectations are a precursor to disappointment.

I don’t know what lies beyond this. I don’t know what’s going to happen tomorrow or what’s going to come the day after that. All I know is whatever’s next, I want her in it—whatever that means.

Sliding her to the edge of the bed, I lower myself to my knees and hook her legs over my shoulders. Tasting her with my tongue, I feel her body writhe and watch her stomach cave and the small of her back arch. Her arousal fills my mouth, addictive and sweet, and I could stay here all night long if she let me.

Aerin Keane is mine. I have her undivided attention, her body, and her immediate future—and this time a signed contract has nothing to do with it.

I devour this beautiful creature until her body undulates and her breath quickens and her teeth dig into her bottom lip. When her hands find my hair and her body melts into the bed, I know she has finished. Climbing over her, I claim her mouth, letting her taste what I can do to her. She smiles, her nails spidering over my shoulders.

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