Page 39 of If You Dare

She was resilient, even back then.

I flash her my cockiest smile. “So you could live long enough to meet me.”

She lets out a musical laugh. “That must be it.”

“And Chloe. I’m glad you’re friends.” Chloe’s never had a friend like Violet. She’s been waiting for Violet her whole life.

Part of me thinks I’ve been waiting for her my whole life too.

“I’m glad I have a friend like her. And that she has a brother like you looking out for her.”

“I’ll look out for you too,” I promise.

Her pretty lips twist just a little. “Like a sister?”

“No,” I tell her. “Not like a sister.”

Her smile widens. “Thanks. I’d like that.”

“Do you want to try out the raft?”

She flashes me those adorable, bashful eyes through thick lashes. Always gets my heart going. “You just spent all that time inflating it. You should get your turn.”

What I really want is to see Violet’s body in a bikini floating across my pool. “I’m cool hanging out with my feet in the water. You’re the guest—you should try it out. I’ll help you in.”

No way she doesn’t see right through my flimsy excuse to touch her wet body, but she still moves toward the ladder and climbs out. My mouth goes dry as Violet emerges from the pool, every exposed inch of her nearly at my fingertips. Her tits could easily fit in my hands, and I want to yank that top down with a single finger and suck her nipples into my mouth. Then when she’s squirming hard enough, hook a finger in her bottoms and slide those down slowly. Explore her thighs with my mouth first and then between them.

She moves behind me, wet feet slapping against the concrete. I hold out my hand for hers, and when she slides her palm into mine, I can’t remember what I’m doing. So distracted by her that I’m lost in a trance until she finally reaches for the raft herself.

“Here.” I hold the raft while helping her ease her tight little ass down onto it.

When the raft settles, every inch of her perfect body glistens in the sun. Fuck yeah. I want her living in this pool.

Maybe if I fuck her once, I can get it out of my system. Get her out of my head.

“So what do you want other than the NHL?” she asks, leaning her head back and basking in the sun.

“What?” My mind is so overwhelmed with thoughts of getting Violet naked and being the first guy to make her come that I barely understand her question.

“What else do you want after college? A house? Kids? Or are you trying to be a Leonardo DiCaprio?”

“Dating hot twenty-year-olds for the rest of my life doesn’t sound too bad.” Even as the words leave my mouth, I know they aren’t true. I want what my parents have. The kind of marriage that’s like a forever honeymoon. The loyalty, the commitment, the love.

But I need a loyal girl. A ride or die.

“Really?” Violet lifts a brow, hazel eyes locking on mine. She’s getting braver now. I like it. I want her meeting my gaze when my head is between her legs, when she finally comes around my cock. “That doesn’t seem like you.”

“What do I seem like?” I tease. Last time, she called me a mystery. Doubt she knows much more about me now. It’s easy to learn as much as you want about a girl when you follow her around campus and your sister is her roommate.

Violet chews on her lip for a second. “The kind of guy with a big heart he doesn’t like to show. You drop everything to be there when your sister needs you. You come home for the weekend just because your mom misses you. You don’t date because you put your whole heart into the relationship, and when it’s broken, it takes a long time to repair. You want the big house and kids, but you’re too afraid to admit it to yourself. Because if you let yourself want something, if you put your heart on the line again and it breaks, you’re not sure you’ll ever be able to fix it.”

Fuck. I’m supposed to be the one who knows her better. The one who knows things about her that she never told me. Her favorite candy (chocolate peanut butter cups), the scent of her shampoo (honeydew melon), the sub she orders (turkey with mayo, lettuce, tomatoes, and bell peppers on wheat bread). Who understands things about her she’s never admitted out loud to anyone.

Somehow, she sees right through my bullshit to everything I’ve been hiding so well from everyone else.

I play it cool, leaning my hands back on the concrete. “So you’ve got me figured out, huh?”

She shrugs. “Not entirely. I still need to figure out your favorite candy.”

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