Page 295 of The First Taste

A flush creeps up from her chest to her neck. She looks at me but doesn’t move. I give her a small smile and touch her shoulder again. She shivers and pulls away.

Before she can protest, I shake my head and look at her sternly. "If this is going to work, we’re going to have to get very comfortable with each other. We are going to have to touch each other. We will have to kiss and do all the things that couples who are in love do. We don’t have a choice if we want people to believe us."

Talia looks me in the eyes, her gaze inquisitive. "So… what are we supposed to do? Practice?"

My neck heats, but I press on. I nod and slide my hand from her shoulder to the nape of her neck. "That’s exactly what we are supposed to do. That is what I brought you here for."

Her throat works as she swallows. I can smell the floral notes of her perfume. A tiny part of me wants to lean in close to her throat and get a better sniff. But I must restrain myself. Now is not the time or the place.

Instead, I wrap my arm around her waist and pull her close so she comes to me naturally, as partners do when they dance together.

Her hand touches my shoulder, smoothing the fabric that she finds there. I understand her feeling of trepidation. Her touch is so intimate. I look down into her big blue eyes, thinking for a moment that I need to escape this room and her gaze.

But no, I’m not going to do that. I’m going to man up, bear down, and get through this. It doesn’t matter that she feels so slight in my arms. It doesn’t matter that she smells good or that she is now dressed in a manner that would make my jaw drop under any other circumstances. It doesn’t matter at all that I find her skin silky smooth to the touch or that I am hyperaware of the faintest stirrings of attraction that I feel.

My heart beats faster as I bring my hands low around her waist, cupping her ass and pulling it into rough contact with my body.

Her eyes widen, and her nostrils flare. "Dare!" she protests.

I smirk at her and shake my head. "It’s better if we just dive in. We can take a ton of time to test the waters, or we can just submerge ourselves. Let’s do it and be done with it."

Her lips tremble. "What do you mean, do it?"

I grunt and release her, rolling my eyes. This is proving harder than I anticipated. I don’t feel the need to mention that my cock stirs when she says ‘do it’. As if I'm a thirteen-year-old boy, and she's casually mentioning sex.

It has been a long time since I’ve gotten hard from just a girl talking to me.

She steps back and covers her chest with her arms. The move is defensive, but it only draws attention to her cleavage. My gaze drops there, and she scowls at me.

"This is a terrible idea," she says. "You know that, right?"

"Yeah, well. If you hadn’t already gotten horizontal with my brother, maybe this could go a different way. We could take our time and get to know each other before we started fucking like rabbits. But unfortunately, that wasn’t meant to be. You just happened to sleep with my twin and got pregnant before we even met. So that forces a certain timeframe on us, doesn’t it?"

She makes a soft sound of disgust and looks away, shaking her head.

I grab her by the hips, pulling her softly against my body and growling. "It does. So now you just have to deal with it. I’m about to kiss you, and you better get used to it. Don’t forget, I have you and your child’s entire future in my hand."

Talia looks up at me, her eyes wide. But she doesn’t protest or push back against my body. Instead, she gulps and slips her arms around my neck, looking frightened but determined.

Her lips part as her tongue darts out to wet them. I can’t help the animal instinct that takes over me at that point.

Pulling her against my waist, I bury my hands in her hair, my fingers pulling her head back. She exhales the tiniest gasp, and I realize that sound turns me on more than anything she’s done to this point. I angle her head and plunge my mouth down against hers, mercilessly kissing her.

Her whole body shudders as I grip her waist, and I take that as a compliment. Her body tenses up as her hands push gently at my chest. Her response only throws kerosene onto my already-lit fire. It makes me hungry. I wrap my arm around her waist and lift her off her feet as I plunder her mouth, pressing my tongue against hers.

In this moment, I have complete control, dominating her small body so completely. I can feel fury of my own satisfaction running through my veins.

I know that I should stop myself, that I should bring myself in, but I can’t. I am a feral beast, and Talia is my prey, locked into my deadly embrace.

My cock throbs and I thrust into her soft body, pulling back from her lips only long enough to let out a snarl.

God, Talia feels too good. I look down into her eyes and see terror written there, mixed with a note of pure desire. At least, that’s what I like to imagine.

She pushes against me again, her brow descending as her small body fights mine.

I relax my grip and release her. My dick is so hard that it hurts.

"Jesus, Dare!" She quickly takes a step back, her eyes contemptuous. She wipes her mouth and straightens her dress.