The Dare Collection: August 2018

The stout, middle-aged man smiled back. “Morning, Miss Gracen.”

“This is Mr. Steele. He’s a...consultant visiting from LA for...a while. Can you sort out a security pass for him?”

Charlie’s gaze swung to Caleb before he nodded. “Sure thing.”

Caleb handed over his ID for verification, took the pass handed over and studied it with a frown as we headed for the elevator.

“What?”

He leveled his blue-eyed gaze at me. “You’re a lousy liar.”

Heat rushed into my face and I redirected my attention to the LED floor counter. “I’ll take that as a compliment.”

From the corner of my eye, I caught his deepening scowl.

“Something else bothering you, Mr. Steele?”

“Charlie suspected I wasn’t a consultant, and yet he gave me a security pass anyway. I wasn’t searched. Like those rent-a-cops in LA, he would’ve been useless if I truly wished you harm,” he snapped.

I hit the emergency stop button on the elevator, my temper once again bubbling to the surface. “First of all, Charlie is good at his job. The normal procedure for bringing a guest into the building is way more stringent than that. He let a few things slide because he knows me. Second, you assume that if you’d been holding a weapon on me I would’ve folded like a cheap noodle. I can take care of myself. If you don’t believe me, try me.”

The words were hardly out of my mouth before he lunged for me. Strong hands gripped my waist, lifted me high and pinned me against the wall.

“What the hell?” My voice was a husky mess.

“Okay. Challenge accepted.”

I tried to snatch the breath he’d knocked out of me with his action and proximity. All I got was a knee-weakening hit of his intoxicating scent. That and intense deep-blue eyes.

His gaze dropped to my lips. He exhaled, long and deep, still staring at my mouth for breath-stealing seconds. His grip tightened around my waist, imprinting heat from his touch directly onto my skin. A low, insistent throb started between my legs.

I dropped my satchel and brought one knee up, only to have him block me with a smooth deflection a few inches before it made contact between his legs. His low laugh made me see red. I slammed both wrists against his neck. The gleam in his eyes mocked me and I knew he could’ve evaded me if he’d wanted to. But with the semi-blunt spikes from my cuffs digging into his carotid, he was going nowhere.

His thumbs pressed into my hipbones, his body pinning me harder into the wall. “And here I thought those cuffs were just to drive up a man’s blood pressure,” he breathed against my lips.

The ends of his hair teased my fingers, sparking a need to twist them into his hair. “You can’t really be talking since I’ve just virtually ripped your throat out,” I murmured.

He gave another laugh. “True. Score one to you.”

“Great. You can...let me go now.” Why did the second part of that sentence stick in my throat?

He shook his head. “Not until you agree to stop calling me Mr. Steele.”

“And if I don’t?” I challenged.

“Technically, I’m dying. I deserve a last wish, don’t you think?”

“And your last wish is for me to say your name?”

His gaze dropped to devour my mouth. “Yeah. But I wouldn’t mind another taste of you, too. Or those hot little hands on my cock again. Hell, I’ll take whatever you give.”

“You... I...”

“Ball’s in your court, baby,” he encouraged thickly, then flexed his hips, offering the vivid imprint of his cock between my thighs as he gave a strained laugh. “Literally.”

Dear God. He was thick. And long.

The ache between my legs intensified a thousand times, plumping my clit as my pussy clenched hungrily. I tunneled my fingers through his hair, then grabbed a handful, exerting a little force as I hooked my legs around his waist.

His chest vibrated with a smothered growl as he planted himself more firmly between my thighs. The layers of clothing between us were all but nonexistent as he pressed the solid rod of his cock against my sex.

“Fuck,” he groaned. “Your hot little pussy feels so good against my cock.”

I lowered my head until our lips were millimeters apart. Then I slowly undulated my hips, deepening the friction.

“Shit,” he growled, his gaze darting between my mouth and where we were pressed together below the waist.

“You like that...Mr. Steele?” I drew my hips back up, nice and slow.

His jaw clenched tight and a shudder powered through him. “You teasing little witch. You’d like nothing better than to see me come right here, wouldn’t you?” he muttered.

I wanted him to lose a little control, but not with the bothersome layers of clothes between us. I wasn’t going to tell him that, though. “Would you die happy, then?”

“Not even close,” he hissed. “Not when I’d rather have you, hot and wet and tight around my—”

“Hello? Is everything okay in there?” A disembodied voice asked from the panel on the elevator wall.

Caleb’s jaw flexed, and he swore under his breath. “We’re fine,” he growled without taking his eyes off me.

“You sure? We have a technician here if you need help?” the helpful voice offered.

“Let me go,” I muttered against his lips.

For a charged moment he resisted. Then his grip loosened and he allowed me to slide down the wall. With every inch, the heat of his erection singed me, announced its potency in a way that made my nipples sting and my pussy wetter.

It was ten kinds of inappropriate but for the life of me, I couldn’t summon an ounce of regret. All I could think about was what it would feel like to have that thickness inside me.

“To be continued, I hope,” he murmured against my cheek as my feet met the floor.

He took a step back. Then another. Reluctantly, his hands dropped. Then, without taking his eyes off me, he stabbed the button that released the elevator.

The small rattle before the carriage continued its journey restored some sanity. But even then a large part of me was suspended in disbelief at what I’d done.

Sex with Scott—before I found out that Chance had planted him in my life to control and spy on me—had been lukewarm at best.

What happened to my body when it was within touching distance of Caleb was nothing short of stupefying.

I avoided looking at him as I led us through the open plan space that led to my corner office. Like most tech companies in Silicon Valley, the space was designed to invite easy lounging with the aim of sparking ideas through socializing.

I entered my office, set my satchel down and fired up my three monitors. From the corner of my eye, I saw Caleb checking out the area before refocusing on me.

When he started walking toward me, I reached into my satchel. “Here’s the list you asked for.”

His hot gaze lingered on my face and mouth for a few ferocious moments before he took the piece of paper. “Thanks.”

“If you need somewhere to work, there’s a spare desk and computer next door.”

He reached into his jacket and I forced myself not to ogle the way his T-shirt stretched across his torso. “No, thanks. This is all I need.” He waved his phone at me.

He walked across the room, dropped onto the sectional sofa next to the wall and propped one foot on the coffee table. A minute later his fingers were flying over the keyboard.

I greatly resented the fifteen teeth-grinding minutes it took for me to focus, but eventually I was back in the groove. I spent the next few hours going over the tweaks I’d made that morning.

The snags my coding had hit were frustrating, but I couldn’t rush this or SDM would miss the first major beta-testing deadline.

Not gonna happen.

My burning need to be done with Chance depended on everything going smoothly.

There were times I wished I hadn’t hacked him. Times I wished I’d called his bluff when he’d turned up at my house with a patrol car and threatened me with jail unless I did what he—and my opportunity-grabbing stepfather—wanted.

Thoughts of how easily Stephen Gracen had thrown his own stepdaughter under the bus slashed painfully through me.

I was stealthily breathing my way through it when Miranda, my assistant, entered.

Her gaze swung to Caleb. And stayed.

His head snapped up, but the laser-eyed scrutiny he’d given my other employees was nowhere in sight. Instead, a slow smile broke over his face as he stared at my tall, attractive assistant.

“Hi,” he drawled, slowly rising to his feet.

Miranda’s toothpaste-white smile lit up her face. “Hi, I’m Miranda.” She strode to him, her hand outstretched. “And you are?”

He took her hand. “Caleb.”

“Caleb. Hi,” she repeated. Then just stood staring up at him.

I slowly disengaged my clenched jaw. Cleared my throat. They both looked at me.

I opened my mouth to explain Caleb’s presence, then remembered his gibe about me being a lousy liar. When his eyebrow started to creep up, I redirected my attention to Miranda. “I wasn’t expecting you in today.”

She reluctantly dropped Caleb’s hand, but I noticed a pronounced sway in her hips as she crossed to my desk. “It was either go off-road biking with the guys from design or finish the assignment you gave me on Wednesday.”

“It could’ve waited till Monday,” I replied. Her work had nothing to do with my secret project but she had an aptitude for programming that I utilized when necessary.

She shrugged. “Programming beats the risk of a broken arm, no matter how exhilarating the boys claim biking can be.” She glided a hand over her sweater dress and glanced at Caleb. “I prefer a different type of excitement.”

He slid his phone into his back pocket and crossed his arms, and I swore Miranda groaned under her breath.

“I’ll let you get on with it, then.” I couldn’t help the irritation filtering through my voice.

She nodded, then flicked Caleb one last glance. “See you around?”

Caleb smiled. “I’m sure you will.”

To his credit, or more likely because he knew he could have her if he wanted, he didn’t watch her sashay to the door. Instead, he turned his blue gaze on me.

Oh, hell no. I wasn’t about to answer questions about Miranda.

The tall brunette could double as a supermodel any day of the week, and was constantly hit on outside the office.

And technically, she didn’t fall under Caleb’s no-dating-clients rule.

I fixed my gaze on my screen and continued working.

He got the message and returned to the sofa.

An hour later his shadow fell across my desk.

The breath I sucked in didn’t quite catch. Irritated by my body’s continued betrayal, I raised my head. “Can I help you?”

His mouth twisted in a parody of a smile. “You seem different. Much less...tense.” He snapped his fingers. “That’s it. You look relaxed.”

I cursed the flush that crawled up my neck. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Sure you do. You’re in your element.”

“Is this conversation going anywhere? I have a ton of work—”

My breath rushed out when he leaned across the desk and drifted a finger down my cheek. “You really don’t need to be so jumpy around me. You especially don’t need to get defensive every time I give you a compliment.”

“I wasn’t—”

“You want to pretend you’re offended because I said you’re more at home here with your computers than in that gilded cage you call a home. But you don’t have to be.”

The accuracy of his words made me jerk away from his touch.

My house was luxurious on many levels. But there was more to what I’d told Caleb last night. Truth was, it was also my cage. Chance had stashed me there when I’d first arrived in San Francisco because he’d wanted me isolated. Still wanted me isolated. For now it was a place to eat and sleep but it would never be my home.

Caleb was watching me closely, reading my every expression.

My gaze dropped to his throat as I cleared mine. “I’m not. You’re mistaken.”

He sighed. “What’s your favorite restaurant?”

I blinked. “What?”

“Food. Lunch. Where?”

“Why?”

“Jesus. You love making me sweat, don’t you, Lily?”

My fingers curled around the edge of my desk, unable to stop myself from replaying those moments in the elevator. The feel of his cock between my legs, his strained voice as he whispered his wishes to me.

All that power and glory under my control...

He leaned closer, sunlight glinting off his dark, mahogany-tipped hair. “What’s going through that mind of yours, I wonder?”

I dragged my gaze from his body and named the Japanese restaurant I liked. He tapped it into his phone and I heard a whoosh of a text.

“Why do we need to go out at all? This place has a takeout service. We could just order in.”

He shook his head. “Like I said, it’s time to change things up a little. Your stalker knows your routines so let’s introduce a new element into the equation.”

“Let me guess? You?”

“Yep. We’re putting ourselves out there. Besides, I have questions about the people on the list you gave me. I prefer we do it somewhere we won’t be interrupted.” He jerked his head to where a couple of analysts conversed outside my office. One of them looked up and started to wave.

Caleb’s glower froze it dead. They quickly dispersed.

“Wow, you must be very proud of yourself,” I said.

He turned back. “Last night you told me what you’re working on is top secret.”

“It is.”

He indicated the clear glass windows. “I would’ve thought you’d be locked away in a basement somewhere in one of those Faraday Cages.”

I opened my mouth, closed it again and tapped a command to shut down my laptop.

“Come on. I’ll show you how it works. Then maybe you’ll stop glaring at everyone who comes into my office.”

He smirked. “I can’t make that promise. And I didn’t glare at everyone.”

No. Miranda got the full effect of his megawatt smile. I didn’t want to examine why that bothered me so much.

In the elevator, I made sure to keep a distance between us although I didn’t escape the sizzling heat of his gaze as he lounged against the opposite wall.

Damn, I’d probably never ride an elevator again without thinking about Caleb Steele.

The code I inputted dropped us down to Basement Level 3. The guard outside the elevator took Caleb’s electronic gadgets. We walked down a corridor to a silver metallic door.

“To answer your question, both buildings are equipped with specialist reflective glass that makes it hard to spy on monitors from outside. And then there’s this.” I led him into a warehouse-size room completely empty except for the large meshed structure in its center with a desk and one chair.

“The Faraday Cage,” Caleb muttered.

I nodded.

“What’s that?” He nodded to the pedestal set up against the left wall with a small laptop built into it.

“Every keystroke I make on my laptop or work station upstairs is immediately saved into that laptop. Every twenty-four hours, I transfer data from the laptop to the supercomputer in the cage. Hacking it isn’t impossible, but it’ll be very difficult. And I didn’t come down here to work because as you can see there’s only room for one down here.” I didn’t want him prowling outside the cage, like a predator wolf, disturbing me with his presence.

Caleb walked around the cage, examined every inch of the space before returning to where I stood.

“You designed all this?”

I licked my top lip. “Yes.”

His gaze heated up, his eyes telling me he wanted to touch me and do other intensely filthy things to me. Things forbidden by his rule. “All that beauty and brains in this killer little package.”

That darned swell of pride rose again, mingling with the sizzling fires his eyes evoked in me. “Is that your way of saying you’re impressed?”

“It’s my way of saying I’m very impressed.”

Before I could stop myself, I was smiling, shamelessly basking in his praise.

His eyes dropped to linger on my mouth, and his nostrils pinched a little as he inhaled. “You have a beautiful smile, Lily. You should use it more often.”

I knew Caleb was attracted to me, but the look in his eyes as he called me beautiful shook loose something mildly disquieting inside me.

Just shut up and enjoy the moment.

Except I was enjoying too much of it altogether.

I was paying him to be here. Once his job was done, this would be a distant memory.

Unless you make it infinitely memorable?

I turned away sharply, the potency of that temptation taking me by surprise. Under the guise of taking the laptop to the Faraday Cage to transfer my latest work, I couldn’t stop thinking about the possibilities.

Caleb and me.

Doing the dirty.

Last night he’d given me the green light. This morning in the elevator, he’d all but begged me to third-base him.

What was stopping me?

The discovery that Scott was just a pawn strategically placed in my life and not just a guy I’d met at a party and subsequently dated had left a huge deficit in my trust bank, not to mention a gaping vacancy in my sex life. This might be my chance to balance the sex part without the messiness of wondering about authentic emotions.

Plus, if our three brief encounters were an indication, the sex would be off the charts.

“Lily.”

God, that voice. Would he sound like that when he was deep inside me, pounding my brains out?