Dare Me Again (Angel Fire Falls Book 2) Read online

“Give me your hand!” She wedged her knees between the railing for leverage.

  “I’m too heavy. I’ll pull you over with me.” With an oomph, he eased a foot up onto the ledge, then used his strength to hoist himself up and over the railing. He leaned back against the balcony, closed his eyes, and tried to catch his breath. “I thought I was a goner.”

  “Would’ve served you right. What possessed you to climb up to my balcony in the rain?” she demanded.

  Finally, he opened his eyes. “I need to talk to you.” He took her in, his green eyes growing heavy with desire. “You’re wearing my jacket.”

  She looked down at herself. Oh. Yes. How ’bout that?

  “I was cold, and it was handy.” She fidgeted. “I’m not ready to talk.” She waved her arms in the air. “I’m not ready for this. Why are you here, Elliott?”

  He moved like a superhero and was on her before she could protest. “Because you still care enough about me to name your dog Rem.” A firm hand found her waist, and he backed her into the room. When they were inside, he reached behind him without looking and slid the door closed. He pulled her close, holding her against his chiseled body with a firm, possessive hand. “Because you still care enough about me to wear my jacket. I like seeing you in it.”

  With a dip of each shoulder, she shucked his jacket. “I’ll take it off.”

  His look said he wanted her to take off more than just the jacket.

  “Why are you here, Rebel?” He dipped his head so his nose was a fraction from hers.

  All the air rushed from her lungs.

  She’d been asking herself the same question for days. It was for her career. For her future. For her dream. But she’d be lying to herself if she couldn’t admit that it had been her first—and probably her last—chance to come back to the island and see him while hiding behind a good excuse.

  His hand inched around to the small of her back and dropped to her ass. He cupped her cheek and pressed her hips into his. The rock-hard shaft pulsing against her belly made her gasp.

  She mumbled something incoherent, hoping she hadn’t just offered him a towel in exchange for his clothes. Because seeing him that way—or in nothing at all—was the only thing she wanted at the moment. “I can’t stay on the island forever. I’m going to use the money from this event to open my own training facility in Portland. I’ve got some property in Portland in my crosshairs already.” Her voice was a throaty whisper, but she needed him to know that she’d be leaving eventually.

  Because she couldn’t resist a man who’d risked falling from a second-story balcony just to see her. Just to touch her. Just to grind against her.

  His nose brushed hers. “I’m not asking you to stay. I’ve learned never to expect forever, but I’ll take whatever amount of time you can give.” He grabbed two handfuls of her ass and lifted her off the ground.

  She squeaked and wrapped her arms and legs around him. When his shaft pulsed against her center, she moaned and let her head fall back.

  He took full advantage and devoured her neck with his mouth, his lips, his teeth, his tongue. “Do you want me to leave?”

  Good God, yes. She couldn’t make herself form the words. “No,” she breathed out. She stabbed a set of fingers into his hair at the back of his head and pulled his mouth to hers. Her kiss was deep and desperate. She breathed against his mouth, “Don’t go.” She crushed her lips to his once more.

  When she broke the kiss to look into his eyes, what she saw made her heart stutter. The raw need. The hungry desire.

  Maybe it was her imagination, but the unrequited feelings shimmering in his eyes seemed to match hers.

  It tore her heart into a thousand tiny pieces. With a fingertip, she traced along his jaw and whispered, “I had to leave you ten years ago. I’m sorry.” And she was. So, so sorry.

  He swallowed her words with a smoldering kiss and carried her to the bed. When they came up against the mattress, he broke the kiss and looked down at her, his lips curling in the sweetest way. She knew he was giving her an out.

  No way could she take it.

  Her body hadn’t just come to life. It had shifted into warp speed, the flames of desire engulfing her.

  She framed his face with her hands. His masculine beauty caused an ache that curled and coiled at her core. She put her feet on the ground and tugged off her fitted shirt. When she inserted both thumbs into the waistband of her athletic leggings, he covered her hands with his.

  “Let me.” Sexual electricity crackled through his voice. Gently, he inserted both hands into her pants, the spandex fabric molding his palms to the sides of her butt. His nimble fingers flexed into her aching flesh. He slid her pants down.

  She kicked off her shoes and stepped out of the leggings, leaving her in just a black lace bra and matching panties.

  He stepped back to look at her, his eyes turning the deepest shade of green she’d ever seen. They traveled the full length of her and back up again.

  Those eyes. Always those beautiful eyes. They scorched a trail of heat over her. “You’re even more fucking beautiful than I remembered,” he rasped out.

  Swear to God, her panties practically flew off on their own.

  The ache coiled tighter, making her thighs quiver oh so decadently.

  She couldn’t wait another second to touch him. Spinning an index finger in a tight circle, she said, “Now I want to see you.”

  He gave her a naughty smile.

  When she felt a blush coming on and looked down bashfully, he growled and took a step toward her.

  “Uh-uh.” She held up a hand. Then waggled her fingers while letting her own gaze slide down all six feet plus of him. Then up again. “Off.”

  One satiny brown brow arched high. “You’re giving commands now?” He reached behind his head and one-handed his shirt off, dropping it to the floor. “More subtle training that I’m not supposed to realize is happening?”

  “I don’t think I’m being all that subtle.” She glanced at the bed. “And would it really bother you if it was?”

  “Not a bit.” He kicked out of his boots, hooking his eyes into hers as he unbuttoned and unzipped his jeans.

  When he dropped them to the floor, she licked her lips. A pair of navy-blue boxer briefs clung to his powerful thighs. Slowly, he circled and came up behind her. She let out a tiny gasp as one arm slipped around her midsection, the other around her chest, and he put his mouth to her ear.

  “Do I get a reward if I’m a really good boy?” His sultry whisper sent a current to her nipples, turning them to hard peaks.

  “Yes.” She could barely speak. “A really good reward.” She reached up and let her hand wander through his hair. “Just tell me what you want, and it’s yours.”

  He growled against her ear, sending another shiver rioting through her. Then his fingers dipped between her thighs. “This.” He taunted her with slow, mesmerizing circles.

  She leaned her full weight back against him.

  Gently, slowly, he scraped his fingers along her neck until they caught on her bra strap and tugged it down her arm. His big, warm hand molded around her aching breast, kneading and massaging until she had to bite her lip to keep from screaming. He took her rock-hard nipple between his fingertips and toyed with it.

  “And this.” He suckled her neck, trailing hot kisses to her ear. Then he sank his teeth into her earlobe with just enough firmness for her to let out several tiny gasps, each one searching for small bits of air to stem the tide of orgasm that was threatening to send her over the edge.

  His satisfied chuckle against her ear caused another shock wave of desire to arrow straight to her core.

  She fisted his hair and turned her head to the side, hauling his mouth down to hers. His kiss scorched her lips.

  “You’re wet.” His voice, so thick with lust, made her shiver.

  “You’re hard.” She pressed her butt into his groin and did another shimmy and shake.

  “Christ, woman.” He bit off each word as
though fighting for control. He released her breast to unhook her bra and slid down her panties. They coasted to the floor, and she stepped out of them.

  He spun her around and guided her onto the bed, the comforter soft against her bare skin. When he started to crawl up her body, she opened to wrap her legs around his hips. He stopped and looked up at her with softness and warmth that was meant to ease her frantic nerves.

  It worked, her rigid body relaxing as she softly sighed.

  He settled between her legs and hooked her thighs over his broad shoulders.

  “Do I get an even better reward if I’m a really bad boy?” He parted her with his tongue, delving into her heat.

  “Absolutely,” she moaned, arching into him.

  He groaned and went back for more.

  “That’s . . . really . . . bad,” she rasped out.

  “So bad, it’s good.” His hot breaths against her moist folds sent a shiver racing through every molecule in her body.

  His nimble tongue circled and stroked her clit until she writhed under him. Her fingers curled into his shoulders as she held on for dear life.

  “Elliott,” she gasped out. “I’m about to—”

  He inserted two of his nimble fingers, searching out the deepest, most intimate part of her, and did a twitch-and-curl number.

  She came undone.

  Tumbling end over end into oblivion, she cried out. The exquisite pleasure of orgasm swallowed her whole as his tongue and fingers kept milking every drop of her essence. Every cell in her body burned with sweet satisfaction.

  While she was still soaring above the clouds, he moved away from her, his heat receding. He fumbled through the pockets of his jeans, and then he was back and covered with protection.

  This time he did crawl all the way up her body, his incredible erection poised at her pulsing center. He braced a hand on each side of her head and stared down into her eyes. He entered her slowly and lovingly, pressing in until she was filled and aching for the delicious friction of his movement.

  She bit her lip and let her eyes flutter shut, the entire room falling away as she concentrated on his pulsing shaft that filled her so exquisitely. Just as slowly, he pulled out until only his tip was left inside her wickedly wet center. Her eyes clamped tighter, and she turned her head to the side.

  “Look at me.” The roughness of his voice and the tenseness of his body said he was fighting for control too. “Look at me, baby.”

  She opened her eyes, fixating on the deep green pools that stared back at her. Only then did he start moving again. Slowly, entering and withdrawing, his measured strokes and deliberate rhythm hurtling her to the brink again.

  She let her hands glide over his cut torso, around his waist, and she gripped his muscular ass.

  Involuntarily, her eyelids drifted shut again as she tried to hold on to her sanity.

  He stilled, deep inside her. His cock pulsed and throbbed, making her want more.

  “Look at me.”

  She blinked him into focus and shook her head. “I don’t want to.”

  “Why?” he asked. “Tell me, sweetheart.”

  Tears stung the backs of her eyes. Tears of regret. Tears of loss. Tears of fear. “Because I’ll fall apart so much quicker that way.” And she didn’t want it to end too quickly, because it might be their last time.

  He took her mouth with his, kissing, biting, nipping. He braced an elbow on the bed next to each of her ears and gently massaged his fingers through her hair. He kissed down her neck, biting at the sensitive skin of her collarbone, then back up to her mouth for another long, sultry kiss.

  He brushed the tip of his nose across hers. “I want you to look into my eyes when I make love to you so I can see the real you.”

  She swallowed. That was exactly what she didn’t want him to see. Yet she couldn’t look away. She dug her nails into his hip so he’d start moving inside her again.

  He obliged, reaching down to grasp one of her thighs just above the back of the knee. He pulled her leg up, spreading her wide.

  “Oh,” she gasped. “Yes.” Another gasp.

  She kept looking into his eyes, the building storm inside him clouding them over. He picked up the pace as they both reached for that blissful climax that was drawing ever closer.

  His strokes deepened, quickened as he rode her hard and fast, never looking away.

  As though he were looking into her soul.

  It terrified her and excited her all at once.

  A powerful orgasm barreled through her, and her muscles exploded around him, plunging them both over the brink.

  He collapsed against her, dropping his head to the mattress. He turned his face in to her ear, so his heavy, erratic breaths feathered across her skin.

  They lay there for a long time, their hearts beating in unison. She swirled her fingertips along his dewy back.

  “Hey,” she whispered, stroking the hair from his forehead.

  He lifted his head. “Hmm?”

  “I owe you a treat,” she teased.

  His eyes sparkled with mischief. “Yeah? Give me a sec.” He rolled to the side of the bed and discarded his protection. Then he was hovering over her again. With one swift movement, he rolled onto his back, taking her with him.

  She straddled him, and he raised up to nuzzle the space between her breasts. “My kind of treat.”

  She braced both hands against his shoulders and pushed him back on the bed. “Lace your fingers behind your head.”

  He frowned.

  “Do you want your treat or not?” she warned.

  When he did as he was told, the muscles in his arms flexed.

  “Yum.” She lowered her torso to meet his, rubbing her breasts along his skin, which was still moist from round one. With her mouth and her tongue, she trailed hot, openmouthed kisses down his body and gave him the reward of a lifetime.

  Chapter Fifteen

  #MEAGAINSTTHEUNIVERSE

  After a few more rounds, Rebel curled into Elliott’s side, twining her bare legs with his. Long-term, getting naked with him might’ve been a mistake, but at the moment, it seemed magical and perfect.

  She hadn’t lived in the moment since her last night of sleeping on the streets. Maybe it was time.

  Wind whistled outside as rain pelted the windows.

  He wrapped his arms around her, caressing her arm and shoulder with his palm. It was the safest she’d felt since she’d left the island. The first time she hadn’t felt alone since she’d driven her mother’s car onto the ferry.

  She wished she could say she hadn’t looked back that day. But she had. She’d gotten out of her mom’s car and stood at the rear of the ferry, watching Angel Fire Falls fade into the distance.

  She’d been scared as hell. Turned out, she’d had every reason to be afraid. Her sad life growing up on the island had seemed like heaven compared to being eighteen and homeless. But now, lying in Elliott’s arms again, that fear was gone, even if it was only for a few brief hours.

  It was time for her to ask a few questions of her own. Time for a little soul baring, now that they’d bared everything else. “What will you do after the camp is over? Go back to your regular responsibilities?” She traced the outline of his pecs with a finger.

  He drew in a weighty breath and held it like he was trying to make a difficult decision. Finally, he blew it out. “I haven’t had the heart to tell my family yet, but I’ve taken a leave of absence from my firm to help with the resort. I’m going back to San Francisco . . . as soon as I can.” He ran a hand over his face. “God, it feels good to finally tell someone.”

  “I always knew you’d be a success,” she whispered against his chest, clamping her eyes shut against the reality of what that meant. Ten years ago, she hadn’t wanted to be the person who held him back. He’d been going places she knew she’d never belong because of her miserable background. If he was going back to his corporate job, then she was still caught between the same rock and hard place. A woman who’d bare
ly finished high school and came home from work every day smelling like dogs wouldn’t stand a chance in his circles.

  He scoffed. “So successful that I chose to work all the time to make partner as fast as possible and didn’t come around for years. So successful that I let the resort decline instead of helping my aging father take care of it. My hours are only going to get worse now that I’m a partner, so I’ll be even more neglectful of my family once I go back to work at the firm.” He let out a sarcastic laugh. “I’m a superstar all right.”

  “That lifestyle doesn’t sound like you.” She nuzzled his neck. “Your family has always been a priority.” The selfish description of himself didn’t match his decision to put a successful career on hold now to come home and help the resort. “Is that why you lied to your dad the other day about the camp going so smoothly when it’s not?”

  Elliott rubbed his eyes. “I just can’t stand to let him down again.”

  Again? Since when had Elliott let anyone down? He was one of the most responsible people she’d ever known.

  He placed a finger under her chin, tipped her head up, and kissed her. “Hopefully, I won’t have to. With an expert trainer here to save our asses, maybe I won’t be such a disappointment.” He placed a tender kiss on her forehead. “I shared a secret with you. Now, will you tell me what happened after you left the island?”

  She flattened a hand over the dip in the center of his chest. The gentle rhythm of his heart pulsed into her palm. Okay, here goes. He wanted to know what had happened after she left the island. She could be honest without telling him what had happened before she fled with her sick, frantic mother who didn’t want to spend her last days in prison.

  “The drinking destroyed her liver. She’d been feeling poorly for a while. By the time she finally went to a doctor, she needed a transplant.” Rebel suddenly felt cold. So cold. At the same time, it felt good to talk about it. “Her doctor on the Cape referred her to a specialist in Portland because she wasn’t going to make it much longer.”

  Elliott rolled onto his side to face her. He brushed her hair back and tucked it behind an ear. “She didn’t get the transplant?”