The Dare Collection January 2019. JC Harroway

was easier to handle.

      People were difficult, complicated. I’d always felt more comfortable with numbers, with money. They didn’t require an emotional response from me or demand that I do things for them.

      Or take care of them.

      I couldn’t take care of anyone, not people. That much I did know. I couldn’t and I didn’t want to.

      But...taking care of Poppy right now, in my apartment, well...maybe that I could do. Sex—even the kind of sex that I wanted—was simple at least.

      And, apart from anything else, I’d known ignoring her would hurt her and it had. But I’d never thought it would hurt her that much. It made me feel like shit. Made me feel like I had to make it up to her somehow.

      She was standing just inside the door, facing me, her eyes wide, heat glinting in the depths. There was anger, yes, and something more.

      I shut the door behind me then stepped in front of her, deliberately looming over her, trying to intimidate her.

      The heat in her eyes flared hotter.

      She liked this. She liked it when I took charge.

      And shit, so did I.

      ‘You know what you’re doing, bad girl?’ I took another step, even closer. ‘That by coming inside you’re saying you want more of what we did in my office?’

      She lifted her chin, obviously determined not to retreat. ‘I thought I wouldn’t, not after the way you treated me. But... I changed my mind.’ Her delicious, biteable mouth had firmed, her gaze roaming over me as if she couldn’t decide what part of me she wanted to touch first. ‘Yes. I want it.’

      ‘It’ll just be for one night. That’s all I can do.’

      ‘One night is all I want.’

      ‘Ah, but you don’t even know what that means yet, not really.’ I came even closer, inches away, making her aware of how much taller I was, how much broader. How much more powerful. ‘Not when you have no idea of the things I want to do to you.’

      Her breath caught. I heard it. The pulse at the base of her throat was fluttering, and for the briefest moment I wanted to brush my mouth over it. Just lightly. I wanted to taste her excitement and her desire.

      For me.

      Something possessive and dark turned over in my gut. ‘You want to do this with any other man? Or is it just me?’

      ‘J-Just you,’ she said thickly, holding my gaze. ‘I didn’t... I don’t trust anyone else enough.’

      The possessive feeling roared up inside me even as I felt my stomach drop away.

      She trusted me? Why the fuck would she do that? When I’d done nothing but be cold and distant towards her for years?

      Still, I was the only one. She hadn’t wanted this with any other man.

       And she never will again. It will always be you. Only and ever you.

      It sounded like a vow in my head and I couldn’t figure out where it had come from. I didn’t want to be the only one for her. There wasn’t going to be anything permanent about this or even long-term. One night—that was all I could do.

       Ruin her for other men...

      Yes, that appealed to me. That appealed to me very much indeed.

      ‘It’s good that you trust me,’ I murmured, taking another step, and this time she took a tiny step back. ‘It’s good because tonight you’re mine.’ I lifted one hand and slid my fingers into the cloud of her soft black hair then curled them into a fist, tugging her head back. ‘Tonight, I’m your master.’

      As I’d hoped, the word made the heat in her eyes flare.

      ‘Do you understand?’ I went on softly. ‘Do you know what I mean by that?’

      ‘Yes. I do whatever you say, right?’

      ‘That’s right.’ Lowering my head, I looked down into those beautiful, fascinating eyes. ‘Tonight you’ll be my little fuck toy and I’ll do whatever I want with you. Tell me you understand.’

      Her breathing had become uneven, the flush in her cheeks deepening.

      Jesus, she was so unbelievably beautiful she made my heart ache.

      ‘I...understand.’

      Satisfaction curled through me and, along with it, a kind of wonder that she’d agreed to this. That she was going to give herself to me. I’d never asked for this from any woman before—never thought I’d want it. But I did. I wanted it so badly I ached.

      To have someone who was mine. Mine completely...

      ‘Good. But you need a way to let me know if what I’m doing isn’t okay for you.’

      ‘I won’t need—’

      ‘You will. Because telling me no won’t be enough.’ I’d never had to think about this before because I’d never wanted to do the things I wanted to do to Poppy to anyone else before. But I did now. And she had to know that I took what she’d given me very seriously. That I respected it. That I would never do anything she didn’t want.

      ‘Okay. So what do I say instead?’

      I thought for a moment. ‘Say seven. Repeat it to me.’

      ‘S-Seven,’ she whispered, breathing fast.

      I loved that hitch in her voice, the husky, breathless timbre of it. As if just talking about all of this was getting her off.

      ‘That’s it.’ I tightened my fist in her hair, pulling her head back even further, exposing her lovely throat. ‘But you still came here when you shouldn’t and you know what that means, don’t you?’

      She stared right up at me, her eyes darkening. ‘Wh-What does it mean?’

      ‘That I’ll have to punish you.’

      Her mouth opened, a quiver going through her. ‘I...want that.’

      ‘What you want doesn’t matter.’ I lifted my other hand, let my fingers trail along her throat, feeling her soft silky skin. ‘Only what I want. You’re my fuck toy, remember? Say it.’

      ‘I... I’m your f-fuck toy.’

      She was so responsive. So obedient. My cock was hard already, the blood pumping in my veins.

      Mine. She was mine.

      The sense of possessiveness I’d felt earlier stretched out inside me, relaxing me. I was hard yet there was no feeling of urgency. It was a strong feeling, powerful. I’d never experienced it before. Yes, I liked to take charge in the bedroom, but this was different. This was someone willingly giving up control of their body—to me.

      There was a gift in that. And a sacrifice.

      Jesus, she had courage. It was humbling.

      I would make sure she never regretted it.

      I let go of her hair and took her hand, leading her down the short hallway from the front door and out into the lounge.

      The windows that gave the magnificent view of the Opera House were right in front of us, the slatted shutters that allowed me to shield my apartment from the sun or from the lights outside at night were open.

      Neon and starlight filled the room, dark bars of shadow crossing the pale wooden floor.

      Right in front of me was a sectional sofa covered in pale linen and I pulled Poppy over to it. Then I sat and tugged her down with me, arranging her so that her rounded ass was over my knees.

      ‘What’s—?’ she began.

      I put my hand on the back of her neck, pressing down lightly. ‘Keep still. I told