A Dare Kiss With My Hockey Step-brother

Eden pov “I’ll do anything.” My voice sounded smaller than I wanted, trembling with nerves I could no longer hide. I watched Jaxon’s dark eyes narrow as he stared at me, his expression unreadable yet suffocating in its intensity. The silence between us stretched too long before he repeated the word, slowly, like he was testing it. “Anything?” A shiver ran down my spine. I nodded, but the word caught in my throat, refusing to be spoken again. When he stepped forward, I instinctively backed away, the coolness of the wall pressing into my spine. I had nowhere else to go. His presence surrounded me, and the air between us thickened, stifling and warm. “Be careful, Eden,” he murmured, dragging a hand through his jet-black hair. The action was careless, yet every movement of his felt deliberate, as though he knew the effect he had on me. His fingers disappeared in those dark waves and I fought back the childish urge to reach out, just to feel them once. “Don’t make promises you can’t keep.” I wasn’t. He didn’t know that. He could ask anything of me, anything, and I’d give it to him with a smile. Even now, with my heart hammering in fear and something deeper I refused to name, I knew I wouldn’t walk away. “Please.” My whisper cracked. I wasn’t sure what I was begging for anymore—his approval, his mercy, or his touch. His scent hit me harder than it should have, fresh mint over something darker, something that made me dizzy and weak in the knees. My skin felt too tight as he stepped even closer, the heat radiating from him burning into me. “You really want me to do this?” His voice was lower now, reverberating through my entire body. I nodded, swallowing hard. The words wouldn’t come. “Use your words, Eden.” His breath, cool and intimate, brushed against my lips. He stood so close, if I dared tilt my chin up even slightly, my mouth would meet his. The thought sent a dangerous ache deep into my stomach, one that felt like hunger and fear mixed in equal parts. “Yes.” My voice was soft, dazed, barely audible. He watched me carefully, his gaze flicking down to my lips, lingering there long enough to make my pulse falter. My tongue darted out, wetting my dry lips out of habit, but the small action had the opposite effect. His jaw tightened, nostrils flaring as though he could smell my weakness. Then he stepped back. Just like that, the air shifted. The pressure between us dissolved like smoke, leaving me cold, empty. I stood frozen, staring at the space where he’d been, my body still vibrating with his nearness, his voice echoing in my ears. I didn’t even realize I was trembling until the soft chime of my phone pulled me violently back into reality. Isla’s voice burst into my ear the second I answered, her tone far too loud, too real. “What did he say? Did he agree?” I blinked, still lost in the aftershocks of whatever had just happened. “What?” “Jaxon! Did he say yes?” she groaned, sounding as frustrated as I felt confused. “Yes,” I whispered, hearing myself sound fragile. “He agreed.” There was a sharp squeal on the other end, her excitement piercing through the haze clouding my mind. I pulled the phone away slightly as she rambled. “I can’t believe it! You actually convinced Jaxon Avner to be a mascot for the fundraiser. Eden, do you even realize what you’ve done?” I swallowed. The reality of what I’d asked him—and more terrifying, what I’d promised—was finally crashing over me. Isla didn’t know that. No one did. “I… may have forgotten to tell him what being a mascot actually involves.” There was a pause. I could picture Isla’s expression without even seeing her. “Eden… tell me you’re joking.” I didn’t reply. “You’re not joking. Oh my God, Eden! Jaxon is going to kill you.” A laugh escaped her but it wasn’t amused; it was the nervous kind of laughter people made before a disaster. I dropped my back against the wall, sliding down until I was sitting on the cold floor, curling my knees into my chest. “Maybe he won’t. Maybe it’ll be fine.” “You’re delusional. You just tricked the scariest guy on campus into wearing a mascot costume. What exactly did you offer him to get him to agree?” She didn’t understand. I couldn’t tell her the truth. I couldn’t admit that it wasn’t a deal, it wasn’t a negotiation. I would have offered him anything. My soul. My body. My love. Except none of that mattered, because the world would call me sick for craving my stepbrother. I heard Isla call my name but I barely registered it. My mind spiraled back to the day Jaxon had entered my life. One dinner. That’s all it took for my quiet, predictable existence to unravel. I’d hated my father for loving Jaxon’s mother, for dragging me into their perfect little family picture. But it wasn’t the marriage I resented. It was him. Jaxon Avner wasn’t supposed to look at me. He wasn’t supposed to be the center of every dream I had, the reason my stomach flipped whenever he stepped into a room. But he was. And there was no way out. “Eden!” Isla’s voice dragged me back again. “Do you think I should talk to Xavier?” she asked quickly. “Maybe he can help soften Jaxon up. He’s his best friend.” “No.” My voice came out sharp, more desperate than I intended. I knew Isla meant well, but Xavier couldn’t help. No one could. Whatever price Jaxon would ask, I was the one who owed it. “Eden.” I heard my name long before I processed it. Jaxon’s voice. Low. Commanding. My heart crashed into my ribs. I didn’t even say goodbye to Isla. The call cut off as I scrambled up the stairs, dread wrapping itself around my throat. My mind screamed at me to slow down, to prepare myself, but my body kept moving until I stood at his door. He was waiting. His arms were crossed over his chest, muscles flexed beneath ink and skin, the familiar bleeding rose tattoo partially visible from beneath his sleeve. The one I’d memorized in the dark when he wasn’t looking. He said nothing for a long moment, letting me drown in silence. “You’re sneaky,” he said finally, voice low and disapproving. My stomach tightened painfully. “Tell me, Eden. What exactly did I agree to?” My brain refused to function properly, his voice already unraveling me. The way he said my name was almost tender, and that made it worse. It made the walls I’d built crack and splinter. “A… a mascot,” I whispered. His silence was worse than his anger. He simply watched me, gaze dragging over every inch of me until I felt bare, exposed. And then… something changed in his expression. His jaw tightened. His eyes burned. “A mascot?” His voice finally broke the quiet, but it wasn’t confusion I heard. It was something darker. Something I shouldn’t have wanted. He laughed. Quietly. A sound that held no humor. “Please tell me it’s not something that’ll haunt me for the rest of my life.” I hesitated too long. He saw it. He always saw everything. “Eden.” His voice was sharper now, and my heart obeyed before my mind could. “A tail… and a big fluffy head.” The silence that followed was suffocating. My chest ached. I expected him to lash out, to refuse, to leave. Instead, he smirked. Not the charming, casual grin he threw at the girls who chased after him. This smirk was slow. Dark. Like he’d just decided something important. “Okay.” My breath caught. “You will?” He moved then, deliberate, slow steps that made my knees weak. He didn’t stop until he stood directly in front of me again, tilting his head slightly as his hand lifted—only to tuck a loose strand of my hair behind my ear, fingers grazing the skin of my cheek. His touch felt like a brand. “When I want my price…” His voice dropped to a dangerous murmur. “I’ll take everything.” My body betrayed me. Heat pooled low in my stomach, my cheeks burning. My breathing turned ragged. I closed my eyes for just a moment, but when I opened them again, he was gone. The door slammed shut. And I stood there, alone, shaking. His words echoed in my mind. I’ll take everything. I’d summoned the devil.