Page 68 of Wild Stars

What have I done?

I can’t even blame this on the alcohol.Two drinks may be enough to level me, but it is not enough to get me drunk enough to lower my inhibitions by any means.

I’m worried that any moment this bubble will break, and reality will set in, so I do the only thing I can think of.

I slide out of the car, and open his door.

Dare gazes up at me as he slides out of the limo, pausing for a moment as if he, too, is afraid to move.

And because I enjoy the torment, I implore him with my gaze, and my weakness takes hold.

“Let me walk you,” I say, but it is not a command.

It is a wish, a prayer.

A sliver of hope that perhaps I can make this moment last a fraction longer before things get awkward.

I said this couldn’t happen.

I promised myself I wouldn’tletthis happen.

But here I stand, before this magnetic man, bracing for the impact.

For the fall.

Dare nods as he looks up at me from underneath his dark lashes.“I’d like that,” he replies, flashing me with a smirk.

And so, I walk him down the sidewalk, up the steps to his front door like a gentleman, and for the moment, it is enough that I can pretend we are just two people enjoying this fragile moment; the calm before the storm.

Dare pauses, and I know it is time to say goodbye.

“Well, I suppose this is where I?—”

Dare leans in, wrapping one hand around my throat as he pulls me close, his soft lips pressing against mine, and all my resolve disappears.

I fall into his gravitational pull, opening my mouth once more for him, and his tongue probes mine.

I can still taste him in my mouth, and his kiss fills me with renewed desire.

I am powerless to resist this, resist him.

Dare irritates the living hell out of me, but he also illuminates me, terrifies me, and drives me fucking mad.

Perhaps it is I who is certifiable.

He breaks away from me, gazing up at me with glassy, dark eyes.

“Stay.”He says the words firmly, with absolute clarity.

It isn’t a suggestion.

It is ademand.

My dying heart aches to beat again at those words, but they frighten me.

More than anything.

My heart catches in my throat as I spiral out, debating what to say.

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