Dare To Love Series: The Marriage Dare (Kindle Worlds Novella) Read online

  Christian jerked.

  And then he was coming, his teeth biting down on her nipple, and she screamed even as she continued rubbing his cock, wanting everything out.

  Her “punishment” resumed when they made it back to his place, but only as far as the couch, which he had flung her on just before kneeling down, impatiently tearing her skirt and panties out of the way.

  And then he was fucking her with his tongue.

  She threw her legs over his shoulders just as his hands delved under her ass, squeezing the cheeks hard before lifting her up.

  His mouth moved to her clit, and when he sucked on it hard, she shattered easily, screaming, and he lifted her even higher, her butt in the air, her legs pounding his back while she held on to his head, feeling like her world was being torn apart----

  And she never wanted it to end.

  After, she lay on top of him, her body reduced into a limbless heap of exhaustion.

  He stroked her hair all the while, the movement…tender.

  But she didn’t think she could – or should – tell him that.

  “Jane.”

  His British accent was so damn evident at that moment, her pussy actually quivered at the sound.

  He felt it of course, and Christian chuckled. “Does that mean you’re ready, pet?”

  “Please, no,” Jane begged. If he made her come again so soon, she didn’t think she’d be able to walk tomorrow.

  “Alright.” His hand on her hair stilled. “But you know what I intended to say, don’t you?”

  Ah. She gave a tiny nod against his chest.

  “And?”

  “It’s just too fast,” she whispered.

  “Is it?” His hand resumed stroking her hair. “Or could it be you think it’s safer if you wait for a declaration of love?” Christian tipped her chin up. “It’s not that I can’t or don’t want to love you, pet. And I know you’re smart enough to know that.”

  Yes. She was. But what her brain knew, her heart didn’t always understand.

  “I wish I had some kind of traumatic story to share with you, so you’d understand that I have this psychological problem that prevents me from falling in love. But the truth is – I’m as normal as they go. Before my work took over my life, I had a pretty ordinary family – I was an only child, but my parents were great, and I grew up loved and disciplined.”

  Just like her, Jane realized. But the difference was that Christian hadn’t let it hold him back. He hadn’t let his so-called ordinary upbringing hinder him from forging on, from bringing his work to life. He had taken risks. He had made things happen rather than wait for them. And he had done so because he had believed that his work was worth it.

  So what about her, she wondered. She loved her job, but it wasn’t an end-all be-all the way it was for Christian.

  What had she always wanted?

  What had she always dreamt?

  Christian suddenly cupped her cheeks. “Marry me, Jane.”

  She heard herself say, “Okay.”

  And as soon as the words slipped out, she could feel her soul drifting towards its unnamed destiny---

  She still wasn’t certain what it was that she wanted, but marrying Christian felt like a step in the right direction.

  Chapter Seven

  Electro Trade Show

  AMC Booth

  Jane was still pinching herself every other minute or so, and every time she did the huge diamond winking on her finger would catch rays of light and proceed to blind the people around her.

  Thankfully, there weren’t that many yet. First days of trade shows were typically closed to the public and reserved only for VIP guests, and the Electro Trade Show was no different.

  “Can you get the display to start playing our video?” Sandy called out from the other end of the booth.

  “On it!” Jane had to raise her voice a little to make sure she was heard. AMC having the largest booth in the trade show was something to be proud of, but on the other hand, her throat was starting to hurt from all the yelling.

  As she switched the display and played the pre-loaded video, she caught sight of her finger---

  The diamond on her engagement ring winked at Jane, as if saying mockingly, You go, girl.

  Jane almost made a face. Everyone had been a little bit too enthusiastic about her engagement, the news of which had spread like wildfire from AMC’s lobby all the way to the executive floor, thanks to her boss Vince.

  As it turned out, Vince was an obsessed H player, and when he learned the reason behind her resignation, his mood had swung from disappointment to ecstasy. Jane, in his exact words, was “H royalty” by virtue of her connection to its developer, and other obsessed H players working at AMC seemingly shared the sentiment. Before Jane realized what was happening, people she only knew by name and people she hadn’t even seen because they were so high up in AMC’s hierarchy were dropping by her cubicle, offering Jane congratulations and gawking at her like – well – H royalty. It was as if merely talking to Jane took them one step closer to discovering all the game’s secrets.

  If only they knew, Jane thought, discomfited. Christian had never talked to her about the “third party,” and to be honest, she was too afraid and insecure to ask why. If he said he believed she wasn’t smart enough to understand the nature of his work, she might just kill him.

  A well-dressed couple drifted towards AMC’s booth, and Jane shoved all thoughts of her newfound popularity to the side. It was time to work, and since Vince had been nice enough to reduce the required one-month notice to a mere week, the least she could do was work her ass off on her remaining days.

  Stepping forward, Jane greeted the couple with a warm smile before seguing to a brief but concise spiel about her company’s latest offerings – digital news subscription, event management apps, advertising opportunities.

  “Some of our partners include…” Jane rattled off a couple of well-known businesses, knowing full well – and not caring – that she was totally name-dropping. That was what P.R. was all about, after all.

  “If you have any questions,” Jane ended, “feel free to approach me.”

  The man smiled hesitantly. “Actually, I do have one, but it’s not…”

  Jane was concerned. “You can ask me anything.” Had bad news of any kind about AMC broken out without her getting wind of it?

  The woman blurted out, “Are you Jane Cooper, the fiancée of Christian Ravenhearst?”

  Oh. At her cautious nod, the couple grinned at each other like they had hit the jackpot. Surreal, Jane couldn’t help but think, despite knowing it was the understatement of the year. And it really was, especially for someone who used to think that the world wouldn’t even blink if she had dropped dead for no reason.

  “I’m just fangirling right now,” the woman blubbered, eyes shining with excitement. “I feel like I’m talking to Christian Ravenhearst himself. I saw the announcement on the newspaper, you know, and then when I saw your name listed on the booth, I was wondering – could it be her? Could I be so lucky?”

  As soon as the couple left, Jane quickly searched for her name on any news article, and the results that popped up had her gaping. Why hadn’t Christian told her he was going to---

  “Oh, Jane, there you are.”

  Jane’s stomach sank. Was it too late to pretend she hadn’t heard anything? Could she still escape---

  The news anchor came into view, her beautiful face marred by her carnivorous-looking smile.

  Shit.

  “I almost didn’t see you.”

  Shit again. Did Merry always have to make Jane feel like she was a few inches short of being visible?

  “I saw the engagement in the newspaper.” Merry’s lips curled in its best attempt at a smile.

  “Oh? Uh? Thanks?” It was hard to be coherent, with Merry staring at Jane like she was something to be chewed into pieces – for the sake of chewing.

  Another woman approached the news anchor then, and Jane almost did a
double take. Wow. It was like seeing Merry’s doppelganger, never mind if the other woman had wavy auburn hair and icy gray eyes.

  It was all in the aura, Jane thought. These two acted like it was the world’s privilege to give them a Disney moment or two.

  “Is this her?” The woman was sneering at Jane.

  Jane blinked. What did I do?

  Merry looked like she was enjoying herself, drawling throatily, “Jane, darling, I don’t think you’ve met Elizannie yet?”

  Elizannie? Really? That made for a rather complicated name, like parents vomiting on the names Eliza and Anne until the two were one unidentifiable mess.

  “Bonjour,” the woman said coolly.

  Oh. French. How properly intimidating. She gave the two a dutiful smile. “Bonjour, Elz.”

  The Frenchwoman scowled. “It’s Elizannie.”

  But I don’t want to say it, Jane protested silently. It sounded stupid. But since Merry’s friend was still scowling, she reluctantly added another syllable, hoping it would be sufficient. “Bonjour, Eli---”

  Still scowling.

  “Zan---”

  Really scowling now.

  “Nie,” Jane finished glumly. Gah. That tasted horrible on her tongue.

  The other woman finally deigned to smile.

  Oh, goody, Jane thought. She was being rewarded.

  “It’s so nice to see women like you two so civilized,” Merry enthused. Seeing Jane blink, she elaborated with vindictive pleasure, “Elizannie used to date Christian. They’ve known each other since their university days.”

  Jane struggled to hide her surprise. “I see.”

  “Georgette must be overjoyed,” the Frenchwoman murmured.

  “I…suppose?” Who was Georgette?

  Elizannie’s icy gray eyes went wide with incredulity. “Do you mean to say you haven’t met Christian’s mother?”

  Shit. Why hadn’t she ever thought to ask the name of Christian’s mother?

  “It’s been a whirlwind thing,” Jane said lamely.

  “Évidemment,” the Frenchwoman purred.

  “Évidemment.” Jane threw the words back without thinking, hoping she could purr like a cat, but instead she ended up croaking like a frog.

  The two women laughed as they walked away.

  Shit. What the hell had she said anyway? Jane stared hard at the wall.

  Head, meet wall.

  Just as she started making good on her introduction, her head leaning towards the wall, she heard a voice murmur lazily behind her, “Good morning, Jane.”

  Jane whirled around in surprise and saw AMC’s CEO partially hidden behind the row of digital boards, leaning against the wall with his hands in his pockets.

  How long had he been standing there, Jane wondered anxiously.

  Straightening, Jared commented, “That was quite an amusing showdown.”

  And with that, her question was answered.

  “Good morning, Mr. Westland,” Jane said glumly.

  “Jared, please.”

  She opened her mouth to protest.

  “Or I could always make a company-wide announcement about certain skills you have…”

  She said right away, “What do you think of our booth, Jared?”

  “I’d rather you tell me what you think of Elizannie---” Jared broke off, his lips twitching at Jane’s side-eye. “What?”

  “Seriously?”

  “Seriously what?”

  “Seriously that name doesn’t make you choke?” she blurted out. “It’s like chocolate cake laced with, I don’t know, olive oil? They’re great separately, but not together.”

  “I see.” Jared did his best to suppress his amusement. “I’m afraid I’ve never, err, thought of it that way---” He saw disappointment flicker in Jane’s eyes and added hastily, “But you do have a point.”

  Jane brightened. “I knoooooow.”

  Jared turned his back to Jane then, ostensibly to study the videos playing on the digital display but really, it was just his way of making sure he didn’t start laughing. When he had himself sufficiently under control, he faced her again, saying, “Have coffee with me.”

  Since Christian’s friend was using his CEO voice, Jane said, “Of course, sir. I saw a rather nice vendo close by. I’ve heard the others say it makes a mean cup of cappuccino.” She smiled politely. “Shall we, sir?”

  Touché, Ms. Cooper. Jared smiled, not at all bothered that Jane had found a way to avoid spending time with him privately. It only spoke of her loyalty, which wasn’t bad at all, and made her a challenge, which he thrived on.

  “Lead the way, Jane,” he told her, deliberately injecting a note of huskiness to her name. He was summarily remunerated with Jane’s flustered look.

  On their way to the vendo, the CEO asked her once more about her little tête-à-tête with Christian’s ex, and Jane made a face, admitting ruefully, “She made me feel properly awful over how little I know about Christian’s background.”

  “Are you saying you’ve not talked about his family once?”

  “Of course we have.” Did she sound a little defensive there?

  “I told him my family’s inviting us to stay with them for Halloween, and he told me his mother wants us to join her for Thanksgiving.” Yes, she totally sounded defensive.

  “So…obviously…we talk.” And they did. They really did! Only…maybe not as much as they should, Jane thought guiltily. But then – was that really surprising? It was Christian’s fault, for teaching her of the other more interesting things they could do with their mouths.

  “Obviously.” The CEO’s tone had suddenly become cool. “Évidemment.”

  Oh, so that was what the word meant!

  A moment later, she realized what was so obvious to Christian’s friend, and her face burned. “It’s just---”

  The CEO’s dark eyes bored through hers.

  “Anyway…here we are!” She hurried to the vendo, relieved for a change of subject. “Do you want---”

  “Let me.” Jared took his wallet out. “Cappuccino?”

  “Yes, Mr. – Jared.” She let her purse fall back into her cardigan’s pocket. After a few minutes, the CEO handed Jane her coffee, and she murmured her thanks.

  Watching Jane take a sip of her cappuccino, Jared asked casually, “How is it?”

  “Great.”

  “And how are you and Christian since you’ve gotten engaged?”

  “Great.”

  “And how far have you and Christian gone in the bedroom?”

  Lulled by the CEO’s tone, she answered without thinking, “Third base---” She choked. What the hell had she just said? Jane glared down at her cup. Did coffee really serve as truth serum these days?

  She took a deep breath, intending to tell Jared Westland off, CEO or not---

  He beat her to speaking, asking almost inaudibly, “Does it really have to be him?”

  Jane ended up choking. Looking up, she asked faintly, “Are you really his friend?”

  “Believe it or not,” the CEO murmured just as faintly, “but yes.”

  “You don’t act like it.”

  “Christian won’t take it personally.” A dry smile formed on the CEO’s lips. “We’re friends who also happen to be rivals. We’ve been competing with each other for years, and Christian understands you’re fair game until you make it to the altar.”

  Jane started sipping her coffee again, trying not to fume at the way Jared Westland was talking about her like she was some piece of bone dogs could fight over.

  “You’re mad.”

  How observant, Jane thought sarcastically.

  Jared laughed. “You’re really mad.”

  “Shouldn’t I be?” she muttered. “You make me sound like some kind of helpless prey, with no say over what happens---”

  “Then why don’t you tell me,” Jared cut her off silkily.

  She broke off. “Huh?”

  Jared gazed at her with dark, inscrutable eyes. “What do you want to happe
n? Is marriage really the end goal?”

  Her lips parted.

  Shit.

  She involuntarily took a step back.

  What did she really want?

  Something that strongly resembled anxiety started stirring inside her, and Jane’s head started to pound. There was something she wanted…something on the tip of her tongue.

  When she took another involuntary step back, the CEO suddenly reached for her, his fingers circling her wrist, and she stilled, her eyes widening at the way the CEO’s fingers tightened. “Sir?”

  Silence.

  “Jared.”

  Silence.

  “I have to---”

  “No.”

  The low, flat reply had Jane’s head jerking up, and she found Jared Westland’s dark eyes fixed sharply on her. And yet when he spoke---

  “If I let you go now…”

  His voice was almost hurtfully gentle.

  “I have a feeling the next time we meet, you’ll be a married woman.”

  Oh.

  “So tell me, Jane Cooper.” His fingers around her wrist tightened even more. “Why should I let you go?”

  Chapter Eight

  Shady Hills Towers

  Penthouse: C. Ravenhearst

  Jane’s knees had been shaking nonstop all throughout the cab ride, and they only got worse when she finally made it to Christian’s apartment building. Making her way to reception, she prepared herself for a battle royal just to get inside the elevator, but instead the concierge smiled politely at her.

  “Good morning, Ms. Cooper. My warmest congratulations for your engagement.”

  The words startled her, and she stammered, “Thank you.”

  The man nodded at someone behind her, and when she looked around, she saw another guy holding the elevator doors open for her.

  “Dave will take you to the penthouse, Ms. Cooper.”

  Oh. Her head snapped back to the concierge. “You’re really letting me in just like that?” she asked dumbly.

  “Mr. Ravenhearst added you to the list of authorized guests…” The concierge tapped on his keyboard. “Ever since…ah.”

  Her eyes widened at the date the concierge supplied her. That was the first night Christian had brought her here. He had given her access that early?