Dare Me

2

2

EDITH

I was consumed with tension.

Forty-five minutes, seated on a white leather chair, in one of the most austere waiting rooms I knew and with the anguish of not being able to achieve the goal for which I had made that appointment sixteen days earlier, was too much even for me.

I felt my resolve slipping away. I had never felt more vulnerable than at that moment and nothing seemed to be able to give me peace of mind. Not even the fact that I had come so close to that meeting, which had already been postponed twice by Mitchell Carson, gave me relief.

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.

"Edith, you're going to make it! Whatever it takes," I muttered to myself as I clenched my fists to stop the trembling.

My whole existence and that of my father depended on that meeting.

I still couldn't believe how life had spiralled so quickly.

It was inconceivable that I had to leave Yale a year after graduating law school, run across the continent to care for my father who was hospitalised with a stroke, and find out that my family was bankrupt.

Goodbye home, goodbye life of luxury, goodbye Yale and goodbye to everything I was used to.

I was desperate but I would have died rather than see it.

During those weeks I had rolled up my sleeves, thoroughly analysed every loss and my father's bad investments. I had even talked to three of Seattle's top financial advisors and they had all advised me to sell every asset before my father went to jail.

I had done that.

My heart was still bleeding with pain.

If I thought that would be enough, I was very mistaken.

The losses were huge but the chances of recovery were there. Too bad that after that economic disaster, the banks had closed the doors in my face. A humiliation that kept me awake for nights on end until my father convinced me to ask his old friend, Mitchell Carson, for help.

I hadn't seen the man since the summer of my graduation, but the memories that name triggered in me was like sharp shards of glass running through my skin.

It wasn't so much Mitchell that caused me that tension but everything he brought with him. I had even gone so far as to leave for the other side of the United States to get away from Oregon. That was why I had chosen Yale instead of Stanford.

"Miss Merivale, Mr. Carson is ready to see you," announced the very elegant personal assistant to the president of Carson & Co.

I fixed my hair and stood up feigning nonchalance as I followed the secretary.

Arriving at the door, I was invited to enter alone.

I shrugged my shoulders and strutted forward in my Jimmy Choo's vertiginous heels.

However, as soon as I took a few steps into the imposing white, minimalist office, where the large black glass desk stood out, I suddenly stopped.

Standing behind it was not Mitchell Carson, but his son.

"Jake," I whispered, feeling those splinters scratch my body again as his ice-blue, transparent eyes ran from head to toe. It was the first time I had seen him in a suit and tie. He looked much more mature, poised and determined than he used to. He was now a man in his own right and the magnetism of his manhood struck me violently, leaving me breathless.

"After three years, you still remember my name," he told me with that dangerous, bewitching smile of his that I remembered. Could it be that he hadn't changed at all?

Beneath that blue haute couture suit and white shirt, I knew that a far more rebellious and unpredictable soul lurked.

The pronounced jawline, that brown hair framing his face and those eyes... Oh my God!

'They say that the worst experiences in one's life are the hardest to forget,' I blurted defensively. I had promised myself to be loose, spontaneous, determined, but that look still had the capacity to make me lose my mind. With him it had always been complicated to remain neutral and impassive. With him that wall I always put between myself and others was as if it did not exist. Something I couldn't bear. Even three years later.

"Edith... Edith... I don't know if you should tell me such things. I thought you came all this way to ask me for a favour, not to insult me."

"I'm not insulting you. I just stated the obvious. The same one you must have already heard a thousand times from the trail of broken hearts outside your door, I imagine," I replied unable to control myself. Only he could hit me hard enough to poison my every word or gesture.

"So I broke your heart too?" he mocked me, chuckling. He knew I wouldn't admit to such a thing even under torture.

"I left early."

"Yeah, I forgot you had to run away to Connecticut to escape me."

"I did not run away. I simply chose to continue my studies at Yale."

"Even if you had been admitted to Stanford," he reminded me, determined to win. I bit my tongue.

"I prefer Yale."

"Before or after you found out I was attending Stanford Law?" he taunted me.

"You were just yet another incentive to choose one of the best universities in the world," I demeaned, determined to strip him of that arrogant, self-centred aura.

"But now you're back," he changed tactics, making me tense up like a violin string.

"Temporarily," I specified, punctuating the word well, syllable by syllable.

"Are you sure about that? I thought your future depended on this meeting."

"On this meeting and on your father," I specified, determined to get rid of him as soon as possible.

"My father is currently unavailable."

"When will he be? His secretary has already postponed the appointment twice and I urgently need to talk to him."

"You can talk to me."

"No, thanks," I asserted dryly, stepping back to leave.

"Perfect. I'll have your interview scheduled, but I don't know when my father will be available again. He's had a heart attack. The second one this year. Now he'll have to be laid up for a couple of months and I took his place temporarily because I realised it was important, but it's obvious I was wrong,' Jake explained, extending his hand to greet me and take my leave.

"I didn't know. I'm sorry about your father. Mine is sick too and I'm here on his behalf,' I muttered uncomfortably. As much of a bastard as he had been, I knew he would never lie about the state of his father's health, so I believed him and felt guilty for not realising it right away. Although I knew little about Jake, I knew that he had always hated working in his father's company, so only if something serious had happened would he have given in to such a request.

Despondent over that adverse fate, I shook his hand firmly but gently. However, his closed further around mine and suddenly he pushed me against him. I literally ran into him. I placed my hands on his broad, firm chest. I forced myself to pull him away from me, but I couldn't because his other hand was planted on my back, forcing me to arch it so I could look him in the face.

I was breathless as his zesty citrus scent with a undertone of juniper and amber enveloped me like an earthy breeze on a sultry day.

I gasped as his face brushed mine, his eyes shaded by thick dark lashes searched me and stared at my mouth with greed.

I thought he wanted to kiss me, as his pupils dilated like those of a predator a few steps away from its prey. I stood there, still, waiting.

Without realising it, I parted my lips and emitted a pained moan for that wait that was wearing me down and bending me like a blade of grass at the first gust of wind.

His mouth was only a few centimetres from mine and even though a little voice kept shouting at me to move away, to stop him and run away, I remained still.

Then at some point, his nose brushed my cheek and his mouth came close to my ear.

"Come back to me when you are desperate enough to save your father from bankruptcy and jail, as your life falls apart just a step away from your dream in the drawer," he whispered slowly, his voice hoarse and vibrant, capable of touching my every nerve ending.

I gasped and recoiled. I felt naked in front of him, now that I knew he was aware of my financial situation.

Jake let go of my hand instantly and I was able to pull away and stare at him with the same hate-filled venom with which I had left for Yale years before.

The defiance I read in his eyes was eloquent enough to silence me, but it was the desperate word that brought me back to my senses.

I wanted to slap him, insult him, throw him out the window, but I knew he was there and waiting for nothing else. If he hadn't changed in those years, I knew his provocation was just a way to break me down or commit a faux pas.

"Goodbye, Jake," I managed to say, picking up my wounded pride with all the dignity I possessed.

"See you soon, Edith," he greeted me in turn with a wicked smile and that 'this isn't over' expression.

I knew he wanted to have me. He had tried before, when we had first met, but he had never succeeded and I had sworn to myself that I would never give him such satisfaction.

I turned and walked determinedly towards the door.

Jake didn't say a word, but I could feel his fiery gaze set my back on fire.

I opened the door, stepped through and closed it behind me.

I had just blown my only chance to save my family!

I closed my eyes and leaned against the wall.

"Are you all right, Miss?" The secretary had approached with concern.

"Yes, I just needed to catch my breath for a moment."

"I understand. Mr Carson always has that effect," she giggled.

I didn't dare contradict her for fear she might catch on to my lie.

I took a deep breath and thought back to my father. He was sick and it was the fault of the bankruptcy that was hitting him with the violence of a tsunami. I was the only one who could save him.

Then I thought back to Jake. Fate had really enjoyed being an asshole, leaving me at the mercy of Mitchell Carson's son, the very person I had sworn never to see again.

Because of him, I was giving up on saving my family?

No, I couldn't give up!

I wasn't going to let Jake win... I was really desperate.

I straightened my back and threw out all that negativity.

I put my hand on the handle of Jake's office door and opened it again.

The end justifies the means and I will get what I want no matter what.

JAKE

I took a deep breath.

Seeing Edith again after three years had been like being hit by a hurricane.

I closed my eyes and for a moment the newly graduated Edith, who had swept me off my feet three years earlier, merged with the image of my current one.

Fuck, she hadn't changed at all!

She was still beautiful with those jade-green eyes, that silky amber skin, that black, straight, ass-length hair that was the sexiest I'd ever seen.

Not to mention that mole a couple of centimetres above her upper lip!

That day she was wearing a very tight emerald-green sheath dress with a shallow neckline, but which by no means hid her disruptive shape in all the right places.

It was an attack on a man's sanity.

Every part of her body seemed to say 'f**k me', but then it was enough to dwell on those eyes to hit a wall and realise she was out of his reach.

Edith had been the only woman capable of resisting me and had always made me feel that I was in the off-limits zone next to her.

I had never been able to accept that boundary. I had lived my entire adolescence destroying and trampling on every stake, law and morality in my life.

She was the only one who had withstood the blow, sending me out of her life with no chance of reply.

I was crazy about her and when she left for Yale, I found myself not even knowing who I was anymore.

I had hated her for that.

I had sworn that I would take revenge and that sooner or later she would be mine no matter what.

Now, after years, I was convinced I had forgotten her and instead, there I was, in that damn office, with an erection so painful it squeezed my balls, and the woman I wanted who had just slammed yet another door in my face.

Was I going to see her again?

I was sure I would. When my father's secretary had alerted me to a certain Edith Merivale who kept urgently asking for an appointment, I had immediately started investigating her and her family.

I knew about her father's financial disaster, her mother's avoidance of problems, and her difficulty in finishing her studies, so much so that she had cancelled her final year because the scholarship did not cover the full cost of Yale. She had an overdraft of fifty thousand dollars and after what had happened to her father, her reputation was compromised. Even applying for a student loan had become a pipe dream.

If she was lucky, she could have finished law school at a second-rate state university and hoped to get an underpaid job as a public defender.

Or be a model as she had a killer body and a face that made you want to kiss her after the first look, but I knew she hated people who stopped at appearances and for her, beauty was a real curse.

I was about to grab my jacket and leave the office when I saw the door open again.

I had to stifle a cry of triumph when I saw Edith shyly re-enter.

"Assuming I am desperate enough to ask for your help, are you willing to meet me?" she exclaimed with flushed cheeks.

"That's up to you," I replied, forcing myself to assume a relaxed and indifferent posture, even though I was throbbing inside. "What are you willing to give me in return?"

Edith, I've got you!

She stared at me with wide eyes for a long moment, but then recovered and lowered her gaze in embarrassment.

"Anything you want." It was only a whisper but I heard it loud and clear.

"Watch what you say or I might ask a lot more of you than what you're willing to give me."

"I'll do whatever you ask," she reiterated determinedly, carefully treading her words as she walked to the seating area to the left of my desk. I saw her sit calmly and seductively on the small sofa, signalling for me to follow her.

Suspicious but too excited not to seize the opportunity she was handing me on a silver platter, I sat down next to her, leaning in until I brushed against her. How could I resist her?

"Even ask you to sleep with me?", I teased her determined to drive her crazy. My tactic worked because the shock on her face was obvious, but she recovered quickly. It was obvious she was trying to hide her vulnerability.

"Just once or...?" she asked, without looking at my face and playing with a lock of her raven hair.

This time it was I who was stunned. Was she really considering my proposal?

I was convinced she was going to yell at me, accuse me of suing or kill me with a stapler... Anything, but not that she would give in like that and so easily!

"Excuse me, can I have something to drink?" she asked me, before I could reason enough to give her an answer.

At that moment I also felt the urgent need for a drink and ran to the small bar cabinet at the back of the room. I took two glasses and poured some whisky.

Then I came back to her just as she pulled her Filofax out of her bag and placed it on the small table in front of us.

"Do you need to take notes?", I asked her, pointing to the diary and handing her the glass.

"I think it's only fair that in a negotiation, any doubts are clarified and I would like more clarification from you," she replied seriously, sipping the drink with her eyes closed and relaxing against the back of the sofa. She took deep breaths and with each inhalation her breasts pressed against the light fabric.

She was so sexy that I had to take a deep breath myself not to get on top of her and make her mine in that instant.

"What do you want to know?"

"Everything. You know my father has huge problems and we've already lost everything, but you're the only one who can help him get going again. You were right before, I am desperate and I swear I would do anything. Now, you talked to me about... about sleeping with you. You know I can't say no to you, but I want to know how long this commitment should go on and what you're basically proposing."

"In a nutshell, you're asking me for a contract between dominant and submissive."

"Exactly."

"You said you would do anything, so that will be rule number one. Write it in your diary," I replied, hiding the amusement I felt at the absurd turn that interview was taking.

"Timing?"

"As long as I want."

"That's rule number two?"

"I can see you're a fast learner."

"And you will help my father in return by funding him?"

"If you're good, yes."

"In what way?"

"I'm sure you'll get there on your own."

"Like, for example, getting down on my knees in front of you," she proposed, actually kneeling in front of me. I remained dumbfounded as her hands rested on my knees, making space between them. "And unzip your trousers?"

"That can be a good start," I whispered hoarsely, as her fingers stroked my groin, turning me on like crazy.

Then she set about undoing my belt and pulling down my zip and making her way to my boxers.

I looked at her and realised that this was not the Edith I knew. Or was she, but I hadn't noticed?

I stopped her, pinning her wrist.

"Don't play games with me, Edith."

"I'm not playing, I just want you to help me," she replied, before licking her upper lip and pulling her face closer as she lowered my boxers.

I was one step away from losing control. I could feel it.

Driven by the darkest, most raging desire that only Edith could unleash within my soul, I placed a hand on the nape of her neck, entwined my fingers in her incredibly silky hair, pulled her even closer to me and kissed her.

Her mouth immediately became rigid, but I did not let myself be restrained. I bit her lower lip and rubbed my lips over her icy lips until they became warm and yielding. I deepened the kiss, forcing her to open up for me and let me in. I wanted total control, to feel her mine, to brand her.

Under my assault, I felt her trembling and panting, but I gave her no respite. I continued undaunted, kissing her, devouring her, stripping her of all armour, wondering how I had managed to stay away from her during those three years.

Why hadn't I followed her to Yale? I couldn't remember. The only thing I was aware of was that Edith had never been mine as I had always wanted her to be, and now having her so close, kneeling before me had unleashed desires as roaring and sharp as blades. Yes, because she could be dangerous and capable of tearing me apart as and when she wanted, but I had sworn to myself that I would never again allow her to have such power over me.

Now, even though what we were doing was not planned, I felt that I would continue that perverse game if it would get me what I had been craving for years.

Breathlessly, we pulled away.

The red lipstick on Edith's lips was smeared and her hair ruffled.

Not to mention her wide eyes, green and lit up like headlights, as she stared at me shocked and excited.

Fuck, how I wanted her!

"Do you want me to lick and suck you until you c*m?" she suddenly asked coldly, after a long breath. In an instant I felt her barriers rise again, and that made me furious. I had always hated this ability of hers to knock me out of her mind.

'I thought it was obvious,' I hissed through clenched teeth as her hand stroked my thigh.

"Here? In your father's office?" she worried fearfully.

"We're alone."

"Yes, but I feel uncomfortable. Please..." she pleaded, rearranging my underwear and closing my trousers.

The magic was over and I didn't even know how it had happened.

"Edith," I hissed one step away from losing my temper. She couldn't turn me on like that and then dump me at the most beautiful moment.

"Tonight. At your house. I'll... I'll be all yours, if you help my dad," she begged uncomfortably, getting up and hastily grabbing her things from the coffee table. By the looks of it, fear or shame had gotten the better of her.

I stared at her and noticed that she had changed. It was not like her to show such fragility and for a moment I felt sorry for her.

"Who's to say you won't change your mind again?"

"I promise that by six o'clock tonight, I will be ready. As I have already told you, I will do anything to save my family."

"Every promise is a debt, you know that?"

"It is my motto. I never break my word. You should know me."

It was true. Edith had always been famous for never breaking her word and that put me on alert, because that was the part of her that had blocked me before. I had to be careful.

"I thought I knew you... until you knelt in front of me."

"You didn't stop me."

"And miss such an opportunity? Never!"

"Beware of wanting something too badly or you might get burnt," she said in a seductive voice, caressing my face and giving me a brief but intense kiss on the lips.

I had already learnt that lesson years earlier thanks to her, but I did not say so.

As quickly as she had approached, she pulled away. I wanted to stop her, but I couldn't. Edith had been and still remained elusive, but now I had a chance to make her mine and I would not miss it.