Triple Dare (Sterling Shore 7)

When his hand goes back to my hair, tilting my head back again, I continue to stare at him.

“What’s it going to be, Ruby? Are you going to keep saying we haven’t changed? Or do you want to give us one last shot? Because I’m not going to fuck it up this time.”

I shudder against him when his lips start working on my neck again, but I can’t form words. He picks me up, and my legs dangle as he carries me toward a different room. Just when I start to protest, the vibrations start up once again, and I whimper.

My legs slide up and around his waist, and I feel the remote against my leg as he holds onto me. As soon as he sits down on the bed, I scramble to reach for the remote. He jerks his hand up over his head, putting it out of reach, and he holds me in place with one arm so I can’t get up.

“Uh-uh,” he says teasingly, but I rock against him as I grab his arm with both hands, trying to pull it down. It pushes my chest right into his face, and he bites—yes, bites—my nipple through my bra.

I stop fighting him, realizing I’m straddling his lap as the vibrations continue, and my hands move to his shoulders as I start rocking back and forth, grinding on him like a hormonal crazy lady.

“Say you’ll be mine again, Ruby, and I’ll give you exactly what you want,” he whispers.

“This is extortion or something,” I mumble, barely able to stop myself from whimpering when he clicks that terrible off button once again.

His lips catch mine before any embarrassing noises can escape me this time, and I grind harder on his lap.

“This is the only thing that didn’t work between us before.”

“It’s not the only thing,” I groan, burying my face in his neck, and maybe I’m still grinding on his lap. “You’re Corbin Sterling. You have a life that doesn’t involve the tattoo parlor chick.” Taking a deep breath, I lean back in his lap, meeting his eyes. “You’ll destroy me this time.”

He shakes his head, acting as though he can’t accept that. “Ruby, I’ve been destroyed for a long fucking time. I promise the only thing I’m going to do is prove how good it can be.”

Ah hell. When did he get so good with saying all the right things?

He adjusts so that he’s sitting taller, and our faces are almost even as he stares at me. When he starts undoing his jeans, I don’t stop him, even though I should.

He holds my gaze, waiting on me to once again reject him, but this time I just sit here, banishing all the thoughts of running away.

My shirt is pulled over my head, and his eyes lock with mine again the second he tosses it a side. His shirt goes next, joining mine in the corner. When he unhooks my bra with one hand, I almost remind myself how experienced he is in comparison to when we were kids. But I don’t ruin the moment.

A smart girl would stay strong and remind herself of the broken girl who cried on the bedroom floor for days and days the last time he left me shattered. A smart girl would get down and act as though he had no effect on her. A smart girl would laugh this off and keep it from getting awkward.

Me? I’m the dumbest bitch there ever was.

He pushes his jeans down between us, and the only thing I do to conserve my sanity is refuse to look down. Even as I hear the foil crinkling, knowing what that means, I keep my eyes on his. There’s no waver. No hesitation. He’s being serious.

“I’d like to wake up with you this time,” he murmurs, kissing the corner of my mouth. “And the next day.” Another kiss. “You get the idea.”

His hand winds around my hair before he tugs it to angle my head back, and my world spins this time when his lips crash down on mine.

In this moment, I truly ignore my heart for the first time since the last time he broke it.

The vibrations start again, and I moan into his mouth while grinding again.

We’ve been playing games for too long. Now shit is getting real. Corbin Fucking Sterling is killing me slowly, and like the fool I am, I’m just letting him. That reckless devil on my shoulder is so much louder than the angel reminding me how ugly this can get.

“Is that a yes?” he asks when he breaks the kiss, but I’m almost incoherent with need.

I just nod, and his lips return to mine seconds before he rips the vibrating panties off me. He stands, and my legs clamp around his waist as I hold back a few strings of curses, but all that spills out of my mouth when my back hits the wall is an audible, “Thank you,” as he buries himself inside me without warning.