Dare Me

Chapter Three

Had three words ever sounded so sweet? Daren stared into her eyes for a moment, framing her face in his hands. Running his finger over her bottom lip, he could have kicked himself for asking, "Are you sure about this, Stephanie?"

Silently, he begged her to be sure. He didn't think he could walk away without having her.

He watched her bite her bottom lip, lick it, and pull him down to her. Daren kept his eyes open as her face came closer and closer. Then their lips met. Every muscle in his body tensed as they came together. Groaning against her mouth, he closed his eyes and got lost in her kiss. Her lips were soft and warm against his, perfection.

What was it about her that got to him? Just one look from Stephanie managed to get his blood boiling. When they kissed it was like nothing else existed, all he could feel, hear, smell was her. The entire damn place could be going up in flames and he wouldn't know it or care, as long as he had her in his arms.

Deepening the kiss, he licked the seam of her lips to gain access. He heard her whimper and couldn't stop. He didn't break their kiss as he backed her against the wall. Picking her up, she wrapped her legs around his waist and their tongues mated. He grinded his hips into hers and began trailing kisses and love bites down her neck.

As he sucked the skin of her neck against his teeth, he heard her moan, "Daren...please."

Cupping her ass in his hands, he palmed her. Sliding his hand under her robe, he growled as he felt nothing but bare skin. Daren felt her tremble in his arms as his fingers parted her and he slid one finger deep inside. Burying his head in her neck, he tried to breath, to slow down. The way her pussy clamped down on his finger and sucked it in had him so far gone that he didn't know if he could take this slow, the way he needed to.

His voice came out deeper than he had ever heard, "Damn, baby. If this isn't what you want..."

Stephanie clutched his head and brought her lips back to his. She wiggled her hips against his hand, "Please, don't stop."

Daren kissed her lips softly and leaned back to look into her eyes, he needed to know this was what she really wanted. Her hand snaked down his chest to the button on his jeans. He felt her hand slide inside and touch the head of his cock. Feeling her hand smear the pre-cum leaking from him was his undoing. Watching her bring her hand back to her mouth and lick her fingers, moaning as she did so, broke what little restraint he had been hanging onto.

Turning with her in his arms, he walked them to the bed and laid her down on it. He pulled the tie holding the robe closed, groaning as the silk slid from her body. Her soft breasts called his name and he bent down to suck a rose colored nipple deep into his mouth. While licking, sucking and biting on one, he plucked and pinched the other. Daren felt her legs wrap around him again and could feel her tugging his shirt up and out of his pants. Taking her cue, he pulled the shirt over his head quickly and got back to feasting on her breasts.

This time when her legs wrapped around him, he could feel her hot, wet center against his stomach. God, he needed inside of her...now. Pushing away from her, he placed her legs on the bed and bent them, spreading her wide open. He looked down and saw his own little form of heaven, her bare pussy, wet and open for him.

Slowly, he traced her outer lips with his finger as he watched her clutch the comforter on the bed. One taste, he told himself and then he would slide deep inside her welcoming body. Kneeling on the floor, he pulled her to the edge of the bed. Kissing her inner thighs, rubbing his hands up and spreading her pussy open, he groaned as her clit peaked out at him. He made one long, slow lick from the bottom of her pussy to her clit.

He felt her hands in his hair as he circled her clit with his tongue. Moaning as he did so, he brought his fingers up to pinch her clit gently, blowing on it. Her hips bucked up into him and he placed a hand on her stomach to hold her still. Sucking her clit had her gasping his name over and over. He was so hard and so close to losing it, he stopped. Placing a kiss on her mound, he fumbled with the zipper on his jeans. Finally, he managed to shove them down and to the floor, kicking his shoes and jeans off of his legs as he stood.

With her legs spread wide open, she had popped up on her elbows, staring at him. Daren smiled as he stroked his cock from base to tip as she watched, licking her lips. Never had he seen a vision quite like her before. Her long chestnut hair was in disarray as the wavy locks tumbled over one shoulder and he couldn't wait to wrap his hands in it as he thrust into her.

With her chocolate brown eyes glazed over with lust and need, she told him, "I want to taste you, Daren."

He groaned as her husky words registered in his brain, "Not this time, baby." He couldn't help but chuckle as she stuck her bottom lip out, pouting. Rubbing the head of his cock up and down her slit, he told her, "This time it's going to be fast and hard, Stephanie. I need you too damn much."

Stephanie's hand wrapped around his cock and guided the tip to her opening, pushing her hips towards him. He felt the head of his cock enter her and sweat broke out across his forehead. Her legs fell open, wide open. Grabbing her wrists, he pinned them above her head on the bed, "You are so fucking tight and wet."

She raised her hips more, trying to take more of him, "For you, Daren, only you."

That broke him right there. He slammed all the way into her and heard her cry out. Stopping about killed him, but he held still, buried inside her. Kissing her ear and neck, waiting for her to adjust to him almost made him lose it. Feeling her pussy clutch and milk his cock was too much and yet, not enough.

He felt her shift and move her hips a little, "Ready, baby?"

"Yes. Fuck me, Dare. I feel so full. I need you to fuck me."

Daren covered her mouth with his, kissing her, their tongues matching the rhythm of their hips. He felt the spasms start in her, causing her to clamp down on his cock and broke the kiss. Sliding a hand in between their bodies, he rubbed her clit as he pushed in and pulled out of her body, over and over, until he felt her nails dig into his forearms, clutching him. She cried out as her orgasm ripped through her body and Daren pumped into her harder and harder. He felt the first blast of cum erupt from him and moaned her name, filling her.

Slowly, they both caught their breath.

He didn't want to pull out of her body, "I want to stay like this forever."

Stephanie laughed, rubbing her hands up his chest, "Promises, promises big guy."

At some point they had crawled under the blankets and slept, because Stephanie woke up nestled next to a very large, sexy man. Her head was lying on his arm, his other arm wrapped around her waist, and she could feel his hard length resting against her butt. Sighing, she gave a little wiggle to see how asleep he really was.

Stephanie bit her lip as she felt his hand clutch her hip. His deep voice rumbling, "Baby, don't start something you aren't ready to finish."

As he cupped her breast, Stephanie rolled her hips. He was nibbling on her neck, rubbing against her as she lifted his hand to her mouth. Sucking his finger into her mouth, she traced and licked it, teasing him even more. Daren growled against her neck, lifting her leg and sliding into her from behind. She couldn't help it, she sucked his finger deeper and further into her mouth, moaning. He was impossibly deep inside of her in this position, taking her breath with each thrust.

"You feel so good, Stephanie. I can feel your pussy squeezing my cock, milking me."

Stephanie let his finger slide out of her mouth, "Dare..."

Suddenly, he was thrusting harder and faster, his fingers rubbing her clit and she felt it hit. Her climax shocked her in its intensity. Her body tightened, gasping for breath, she thought she was going to pass out. As the last of the waves diminished, Daren withdrew from her sensitized body and turned her over onto her back. He grabbed her legs and spread them wide, hooking them as he thrust home. As he bottomed out inside her willing body, Stephanie gripped his forearms, half moon crescents appeared from her nails.

Hearing her gasp and moan his name affected him more than any had before. He could feel it coming, feel that rush of blood and semen engorging his shaft, traveling up, that brief second right before the jets of cum began shooting out, coating inside her warm walls. Spine tingling, nerves alive and almost bone melting sensations coursed through his body. Fucking had always been good, but never had it completely consumed every fiber of his being before.

Burying his head in her neck, he tried to get his bearings back. What in the hell was happening here? Why was it so different with her? How could he ever walk away from this? Stephanie's ability to affect him like this, this soon, was baffling. Daren was having a hard time making heads or tails of the situation.

Lust.

That's all it could be. Well, lust and the ingrained aspect of needing to protect someone. As he struggled to come to terms with this new found clawing need for Stephanie, he stretched out beside her. Automatically, he pulled her into his side, keeping her close. The need to feel her against him caused him to pause. Suddenly, he tensed. Never had he felt the need to pull a woman close, especially after two rounds of hot and sweaty sex.

Stephanie must have noticed his body language, because he felt her shift a little. Daren wanted to pull her closer, feel her soft body against his, melting into him. She didn't give him a chance though, and he had no one to blame but himself. To keep himself from reaching for her again, he clenched one fist tight and slung one arm over his face.

He felt the bed dip slightly and knew she had gotten up. He heard the bathroom door close and lock. Clenching his jaw, he punched the bed, fighting the insane notion to kick the door in. With any other woman, this would have been his cue to get the hell out of dodge.

Daren sat up, swinging his legs over the edge of the bed. He sat there for a moment staring at the bathroom door, cursing it. Yet again, there was another barrier between them. Kicking it in or ripping it off the hinges would make him feel a hell of a lot better, but would only complicate things further.

Her walking away earlier because he demanded to know when she was leaving would be nothing compared to pulling a stunt like that. It confused him, how she could stand up to him and yet, with that Jeff guy, she just let him continue to torment her. Why? There had to be a reason.

The chemistry between Daren and Stephanie was instantaneous. Daren filtered through the previous encounters he'd had with women. He referred to them as encounters because let's face it. The longest had barely lasted two weeks. A week of that he'd used every maneuver possible to avoid the woman. So, technically, it was a week. Even then, no woman had the ability to get to him. Hell, when Stephanie had walked away it hurt. The thought of it happening again damn near caused him to have a panic attack.

For all of about thirty seconds, he'd chalked his reaction up to her stinging his pride. Who was she to walk away from him? Then it hit him. She felt right. The time she'd spent with him, that empty place he didn't even realize existed, was no longer there. But the two and a half hours she wasn't with him damn near destroyed him; definitely a humbling experience for someone like him.

All thoughts of walking away vanished. Stephanie would not be chalked up as another encounter. Daren pulled on his jeans and sat back on the bed, not bothering to button them. He'd wait her out. They needed to talk.

Naively, Stephanie had hoped that Daren would stop her hasty retreat from the bedroom, but evidently not. If she could kick her own butt, she would. Why on earth did she really think he'd want someone like her? Look what happened. Just trying to hold her caused him to freeze in a near state of panic. She removed her robe and looked at herself in the mirror. Seeing the mark that Daren left on her neck didn't help one bit. Angrily, she jerked open the shower curtain and started the water.

For the second time that day, tears threatened to fall all because of one man. If she wasn't so afraid of seeing his face and reaction to her, she'd go out there and tell him to get the hell out. Who was she kidding? She was a coward in the first degree. She'd rather hide out in here and give him the opportunity to leave. Ironic really, that the first man to ever make her turn into a big pile of goo and he didn't want to want to be there. Hell, not even Jeff had come close to sating her body like Daren did. Stephanie angrily scrubbed her body, trying to remove any trace of their sexual aerobics from her skin.

Why did he even come if he didn't want to be here? It's not like she hunted him down begging him to come fuck her! One second she cursed him in her mind, the next, she cursed herself and her foolishness. She had been in the shower so long that her skin had turned prune like. Sure that she had given him enough time to vacate the room, she stepped out of the shower and toweled off. Not bothering to dry her hair completely, she ran a brush through it and pulled on her robe.

As she opened the bathroom door, she noticed two things. It was pitch black in the room with only a little illumination coming from the bathroom and Daren was still sitting on the bed. The coward in her wanted to turn right back around and slam the bathroom door shut until he left, but the other part held on to a shred of hope. Had she read him wrong? She could have sworn he tensed earlier.

She stood there silently, barely breathing, waiting for some type of reaction from him. His elbows were braced on his knees, his hands in his face. Stephanie nervously chewed on her bottom lip. She stood there like a deer in headlights when he looked up. The way his eyes looked at her caused goose bumps to break out across her skin. Everything seemed to stand still as they stared at each other.

"Come here."

She wanted to deny his gravelly command, but didn't. Slowly she walked towards him, only stopping about two feet from him. His eyes searched her face as he held his hand out. It reminded her of someone trying to get a frightened animal to come closer. That offered hand could either hurt her further, or be the best thing to ever happen to her. She hesitated, but ended up giving in. Gently, she placed her hand in his and hoped for the best.

Daren pulled her in between his legs. His hands gripped her hips briefly before he leaned his head against her stomach. One single tear escaped and rolled down her cheek as his arms wrapped around her tight. For a second she didn't know what to do. She'd never been in this situation before.

She was almost afraid to breathe, afraid to lose this moment. Eventually, she ended up running her fingers through his hair. Stephanie wondered if this moment meant as much to him as it did to her.

Daren shocked her when he leaned back on the bed, taking her with him. A moan escaped her lips as his hands roamed up her back. He cupped her head and kissed her with a desperation she'd never forget. She was so lost in their kiss that she didn't even realize when he rolled them over.

He broke the kiss and told her, "You walked away again."

Stephanie glared at him, "You wanted me to."

Daren grudgingly admitted, "I panicked."

Stephanie gave him points for being honest, but absolutely refused to voice it. Staring over his shoulder, she tried to ignore the fact that his body was on top of hers. When his hand guided her face back to look at him,

she

wanted to panic.

His thumb rubbed her bottom lip, "I'm sorry." His cell phone rang and he cursed.

Stephanie decided she would kiss whoever chose that moment to call, "Answer it, Daren."

He all but growled as he answered his phone, moving enough to allow her up. Stephanie turned on the lamp and could feel him watching her as she pulled on a pair of jeans, bra and t-shirt. Even though he'd seen every inch of her already, it made her feel marginally better being dressed.

Daren became more and more pissed off by the second. Chase called to tell him that Jeff had called Stephanie three times in the twenty-four hours. As recently as four hours ago, right before he had come to her room. Daren agreed with Chase. There was no way in hell Stephanie was going back home without them. He finished his call and grabbed his shirt. He tried to reign in his temper as he pulled it on.

He watched Stephanie pack up her clothes, "What are you doing?"

She mumbled, "Packing."

"We need to talk, Stephanie."

Putting her hands on her hips, "Men don't 'talk'."

Daren stalked over to her, "Remember your psycho ex?" He raised his eyebrow, "You know the one. He called right before I got here."

Stephanie's face went completely pale, "How did...?"

Holding up his hand, "Chase just told me. He's getting info on the guy, so we can help. Here's my question. Why in the hell didn't

you

tell

me

?" She stiffened her back and stiffly walked away from him and he swore, "Dammit, Steph..."

That's when he heard another man's voice, "Where did you go with those whores you call friends?" She hit a button and the next played, "You know when you come home I'll have to punish you for your actions." She hit another button, "Do you really think you can leave me? I know where you are and will be waiting when you get back!"

Stephanie threw her phone at him, "Happy now? What else do you want to know, Daren?" He'd only caught the phone by reflex, but let her continue, "Do you want to hear about how he chose my clothes and the way I styled my hair? How I wasn't allowed around my family and friends?" She paced back and forth, "Oh I know. How about when he beat the hell out of me? That was because someone thanked me for helping their child. I didn't tell Chase this, but...ready, Daren? Are you listening?"

Daren stood there immobile as Stephanie stared at him, tears filling her eyes. It was almost as if the fight left her, her voice seemed vacant, "After he beat me, before he took me to the hospital, he raped me. For over two hours he did things..."

Daren felt rage course through his body at her words. Grabbing her, he held her tight, "I won't let him hurt you anymore. I swear." He felt the dampness on his chest from her tears and it about killed him. He just held her until she calmed down, "Baby?"

Stephanie stepped away from him, wiping her face with the back of her hand, "Sorry, I shouldn't have unloaded on you like that."

Daren shrugged his shoulders, "Anytime, baby. I guess I asked for it." Clearing his throat, "Will you let me and the guys help? Do what we say to keep you safe and stop this guy?"

She stared at him in disbelief, "Why would you want to?"

Daren sat in the chair and pulled her on his lap. He hesitated briefly, trying to find a way to explain his need to help her and be with her even confused him, so how to explain? He ran his hand through her still damp hair, inhaling the scent.

"Just hear me out on this, OK?" When she nodded and settled on his lap, he told her, "I know I panicked earlier. I've never felt the need or want for a woman that I feel for you. It shocked me when I went to hold you after we made love." She tried to turn and look at him, but he held her tighter, "Just listen, baby."

He kissed her head, "Yes, I want you, Stephanie. But, there's also this need that I have. I need to make sure you are safe. I know it's crazy and fucked up, since we just met earlier, but the thought of you leaving tomorrow and still dealing with that asshole without me..." he cringed.