Dare Me, Part Two Dare Duet Sawyer and Billie: Unchained Attraction Series

by Shandwick, K. L.

  “Wouldn’t I? Don’t dare me to show you, Sawyer, it wouldn’t be a good look if you creamed your pants in front of our guests.”

  “I don’t want to see them, not here … not like this. However, I’m all for dares. You can’t tell me not to and get away with it, so I must. Billie Collier, I dare you to go to the restroom, take them off and slip them into my pocket when I’m in conversation.” She immediately giggled, a naughty glint in her eyes.

  “Like … I should stroll right up to you with them bunched in my hand?”

  “Mm-hm,” I nodded, sweeping the dark hair blocking my view of her bust with the back of my hand and flicked it over her shoulder. My fingertips caught on the bare silky skin on her shoulder and I trailed it on up to her neck. Wrapping my hand around a thick strand, I saw the wanton look in her eyes.

  “You dare me?” she asked again. “We know how those dares tend to turn out, don’t you?”

  “I’m banking on it, darlin’.”

  Heat immediately rose to her cheeks and I chuckled softly. “Am I making you wet?” Without giving her time to answer, I leaned in and kissed her tenderly. My hand slid through her hair, but before I could deepen the kiss she pulled away from me and slid out of my arms.

  Backing away, she held my gaze with a sultry stare. “Sorry, I have a sudden need to visit the restroom.” My cock had been semi-hard and who knew those words could make me hard in a heartbeat. As I started to walk toward her, she held up her index finger and waved it left and right, forbidding me from following her. “Go mingle, I’ll catch up with you later,” she said with a tip of her chin in the direction of our guests and walked away.

  Standing there watching her go, I waited until she was out of sight and sighed to relieve the ache in my chest when I couldn’t see her anymore, before quickly shoving my hands in my dress pants pockets to hide the effect she had on me. Through my pocket material I squeezed my dick hard to relieve the sudden ache.

  “She’s gorgeous, Sawyer, the boy did good,” Brian, another of my old friends, said as he nudged my shoulder with his, jolting me out of my reverie. “Aiden said she was a knockout. I’m very happy for you, dude.”

  I should have told him I owed him a debt of gratitude for marrying his girl, Emelia, his bachelor party was the reason Billie and I were together now.

  “Does this mean your band days are over and you’re going to get a proper job?”

  “Sorry to disappoint you, but we’re back out again in a few months. We haven’t confirmed any gigs yet, we’re waiting for Wiggy…”

  “Yeah, Strings told me. I’ve never understood the need for recreational drugs.”

  “We can’t judge what we don’t know. We don’t walk in their shoes, Bry, the world takes all kinds of people,” I replied, wondering if Wiggy would feel the same about Brian, who had his own way of dealing with stress. The guy was an adrenaline junkie.

  “I suppose. Glad you’re above all that, I’ve always admired your strength and independence, Sawyer. Most guys in your shoes would take what Daddy offered and kick back with a pretty lady on each arm.”

  “That’s not how I was brought up. I’m thankful for my parents and how they chose not to spoil us. James is more suited to that lifestyle. I feel I’ve found my weakness though, until Billie; music had been the only thing that gave me a natural high.”

  “Jesus, I heard everyone say it but, Saw, my friend, you’re totally whipped.”

  “I am, and flogged and handcuffed,” I joked back.

  “You mean …”

  “No.” I chuckled. “And don’t even tell Billie I joked about that, she’d be mortified. What I mean is, I used to look at people with complex lives and think, thank fuck I’m single. I’ve seen my share of one partner fucking another over in the past and I swore I’d never put myself in the position where someone had the ability to do that to me. Yet, Charlotte managed that, married or not. With Billie and her ex, it’s complicated, but inconsequential to how happy I feel when I’m with her. I gladly take all the shit that comes with her because there is no other place I’d rather be than with her.”

  “Holy shit balls, you’ve got a terminal dose of love there, buddy.” I grinned and nodded sheepishly at his assessment of how Billie had gotten to me.

  “Brian, Sawyer, come over here and settle an argument, will you?” Aiden shouted, as he stood with James and Josh by the patio doors. I had largely managed to avoid James for most of the evening, still getting used to him being in the same room, when my close buddy waved me over.

  Knowing all eyes would be curiously watching for signs of strain between James and me, I joined the group and nodded toward my brother before I began to talk. Fortunately the topic in question was baseball, which led to a heated debate between us all, but it was the kind of familiar discussion I’d missed from my past, the kind of passion for sports I never experienced when I spent time with my band on the road.

  I was partway through a long explanation about how a pitcher we all knew had been found to be rigging the game when Billie came up behind me, placed her hand on my butt, and rubbed it as she joined us. Initially, I’d thought it a brave move until I checked the balcony behind me and noted there was no one out there.

  Slipping my hand around her waist, I cuddled her into my side and immediately felt centered. I continued in conversation and was conscious she had fallen into the role she had been so used to when she was with Logan.

  Right as I had begun to feel this, she took my hand and slid a damp lacy garment into it and I knew what she’d done instantly. Naturally my train of thought went out the window completely as I palmed them in my hand, and everyone stared in expectation when the explanation I had been giving stalled abruptly.

  Turning to look at Billie, I tried not to laugh at her because she stood with a totally straight face staring back at me, like she’d been hanging on my every word. To the others I must have looked foolish or as if I’d been struck with temporary amnesia.

  “And?” Josh suddenly interjected, drawing my attention back to the conversation and I shook my head.

  “Sorry, where was I? My cell phone was vibrating in my pocket and I lost my train of thought.” When Billie scoffed at my lie, I could have choked her, and I knew she trusted me completely because she wasn’t even a tiny bit scared I’d have given up what had distracted me.

  As quick as was practical, I wound up the story, placed my hand with the panties in it into my pocket, and grabbed Billie’s hand with the other. “If you’ll excuse us, please, I’ve just remembered something I need to attend to, and I need to consult with my woman before I can deal with it.”

  I’m not sure how it looked to the others as we headed back in the direction of the restrooms, but my curiosity had been killing me about the tiny lacy panties I had yet to see bunched in the palm of my hand.

  More than this, it told me Billie had total trust in me, was willing to take herself out of her comfort zone for me, and as her confidence grew it excited me to know she had the same wicked sense of humor as me.

  Chapter Sixteen

  I guess I must have been drunk when I agreed to stay in one of my parents’ pool houses the night before the wedding. It wasn’t so much the accommodation, which was more luxurious than most peoples’ primary residences, it had everything to do with spending the whole night in James’s company, but fortunately Hammer was there as well.

  For two hours solid I spoke to Billie on the phone about how our lives be after we were married, and when we hung up, an ache in my chest grew tighter, as I missed her already.

  James, Hammer, and I sat talking about the last tour our band, DisKord had completed, and then discussed what we’d wanted to do next, until Hammer checked his phone and a goofy grin came over his face. I could always tell when he was loved up because there was always this faraway look in his eyes, like his body was present and his mouth was moving, but his mind was totally someplace else.

  I marveled at how he’d managed to find a girl between babysit
ting Logan and visiting Wiggy. He retired shortly afterward with a large glass of soda when he noticed his woman had tried to reach him, and stood to slip away to call her back.

  “Why don’t you invite her to the wedding?” I offered. “I’m guessing she’s in state since you’ve not had time to go anywhere.”

  “Weddings are tricky,” he replied, which gave me nothing, before he chuckled and winked. “Besides, isn’t it traditional for the groomsmen to hook up with the bridesmaids?” He stepped into his bedroom and quietly closed the door before his comment sunk in. Then it dawned on me that the bridesmaids were Tricia and my sister and that was wrong on many so many levels.

  With my bandmate safely tucked in and out of the way, it left James and I sitting alone for the first time since he’d confronted Charlotte, and I found myself a bit tongue-tied for something to say. Luckily, James hadn’t felt the same.

  “I wanted to thank you for this,” he started then stopped talking.

  I nodded. “It was Billie’s idea,” I told him honestly, then felt like shit for not thinking before I spoke. “What I meant was—”

  “It’s okay, Sawyer, I get it. You’re a better man than I am. Had this been the other way around …” he left the rest unsaid.

  “Anyway, on to happier times,” I said, moving the conversation on.

  “Yeah, and Billie’s incredible, Sawyer, you’re very lucky.”

  “The age thing bothered her,” I disclosed, knowing the age gap between my brother and I was almost the same as Billie and me.

  “I figured, what with her having Colby to consider. You being part of a rock band probably didn’t help either.”

  I smirked, wryly. “I took her on the tour bus.”

  “You did? It’s amazing she’s still here in that case.” He chuckled, his eyebrows almost in his hairline. “I can only imagine what traveling around on a tour bus with your band must have done to her.”

  “Me too … imagine I mean, I should have known better. She took one look at the guys and left.” We both burst out laughing this time.

  “Never thought you’d end up with a quiet girl,” he said, honestly.

  “To be frank, I don’t think Billie has ever been allowed to grow and shine. Inside my reserved, nerdy girl is someone who’s been conditioned how to behave. She’s a deep thinker; the only child of an only child who doesn’t push herself forward. But if you’re lucky enough to be let in you’d find she’s strong, funny, and full of compassion. She’s been through a lot, but we have this amazing connection. There are so many things I love about her, she’s full of surprises, and when her belly is full of fire she doesn’t take shit from anyone when she knows she’s right.”

  “The first time I met her I could tell immediately from the way she looked at me she wasn’t a very confident person, but she’s got your back, Bro, and I think she’s the perfect woman for you.”

  “Sorry, it doesn’t feel right talking about her like this with you,” I told him honestly, and grabbed the Jack Daniels bottle from the coffee table. I poured us both another drink.

  “Don’t apologize, I get it,” he replied sadly and shrugged a shoulder, as if saying ‘it is what it is.’ “It’s me who should be apologizing, but if I keep doing it, we’ll never bury the past enough to move forward.”

  “You’re right, and dare I say you’ve grown up through all of this.”

  “That’s a rich statement coming from my baby brother,” he said through a chuckle but he took it in good humor. It was true, the transformation from the guy he was when Charlotte targeted him to how he was since had been nothing short of remarkable. Playboy James had turned into a serious man from what I’d gathered about him since he’d come back into my life.

  “One day we’ll be okay,” I told him, because I had to start believing in him if that was to come to fruition.

  “I hope,” he said, swallowing roughly and I watched his Adam’s apple bob in his neck. For a few moments we sat in silence then he looked up and flashed me his winning smile. “So … tomorrow,” he started and widened his eyes. “My little brother is getting married. Who would have thought we’d see the day? You were so determined this would never happen.”

  “I know, but I hadn’t met Billie.” I smiled at the thought of her and a mental picture of her smiling face flashed through my mind.

  “How did you meet?” I didn’t mind sharing this with him. I had wanted him to understand the trust Billie had shown in me, a total stranger, and I suppose I had wanted him to know the risk I had taken when I’d kissed her.

  “Remember when Brian had his bachelor party? It was a pretty wild weekend.” I chuckled when I thought about what we’d gotten up to. “On the last night I had a hookup, man, I was drunk. Anyway, the following morning the girl, Alison or Addison or something became clingy, and although I tried to let her down gently, she had obviously decided not to take no for an answer.”

  “Damn,” he said and smirked.

  “I was supposed to meet up with Strings, but my hookup was harder to shake than faith in a cult. When I left her she followed me. I hadn’t wanted to go to Strings’ place or she’d have known where he lived.

  Anyway, it began pouring from the heavens, and I mean torrential sheet rain, so I used the storm to slip inside a wine bar in the hope of drying off and giving her the slip.”

  “Did you lose her?” he asked, sinking farther into his chair and resting an ankle on his other knee.

  “Yeah, but I was dripping wet and as soon as I’d gotten inside the wine bar I realized half of New York was in there as well. Billie’s table had the only chair left, and I quickly shrugged off my jacket and slid into the seat across from her.”

  “I bet she thought you were hitting on her.”

  I chuckled. “From the look she gave me it was obvious she had no idea what to make of me, but I explained about the stalker and fortunately the heavy rain outside kept us seated and talking. There was just … something about her, you know?”

  “Maybe.” He shrugged and I wondered if he’d ever had a connection like the one I’d had with Billie. Somehow, I’d doubted this.

  “So within a few minutes we’d exchanged names and I flirted unashamedly with her. I thought she was stunning and loved her gentle aura, and although she was a little older than me, I had this … buzz from our connection. I could tell straightaway she was quiet and naturally shy, and fuck if I hadn’t teased her to see her blush.”

  “That could have been the wine.” He grinned. “I was surprised when Tammy said Billie’s around my age, she looks much younger.”

  “You know me, I’ve never been caught up with prejudice of any kind, but even if I had been, it wouldn’t have mattered with her. I felt something special about Billie from the moment I met her. She’s mature, yet innocent, full of genuine coy smiles and blushes when I pay her compliments and she made me feel high just being with her.”

  “Insta-love?” He chuckled.

  “No, that wasn’t it. It had been a long time since I’d talked to a woman who was open and honest. It was refreshing after all the groupies I’d met over the years. As she spoke, I found myself watching her lips and I fantasized how it would feel to kiss her.”

  “Are you fucking kidding me?”

  “Not at all.” I grinned, wickedly. “Once I knew her cheating husband was in the same bar I felt protective of her. Crazy, right? I had no real clue about her, yet this became important to me. Then, when I saw her face, I knew instinctively her husband was approaching us. Leaning toward her I asked her to trust me—me a total stranger—and I asked her to dare me to kiss her. And fuck me, she went right ahead and dared me to do it.”

  “Was that kiss for her or for you?”

  “At that point it was about revenge, I had wanted to send him a real fuck you on her behalf, but it definitely became about something else entirely for the both of us.”

  “Wow, that really was a rock star move, I mean in a nightclub, sure, we’ve all done that, but an older di
vorcée in a wine bar, when you’re not even with her and her estranged husband is looking on? Dude, that takes some balls.”

  “I didn’t think about the consequences at all, it was pure animal instinct and I wanted payback for her toward her fuckwit husband and his new partner … who incidentally was my age. Thing is, you said it yourself, Billie’s a shy person. I think if she hadn’t been drinking wine it would never have happened, because I didn’t take the kiss, I asked her permission. She had the choice, but I was banking on her wanting to get even and she did.”

  “And here we are,” he said, throwing his arms wide and smiling a toothy grin, like he was genuinely pleased for me.

  I didn’t bother to explain what happened next, all everyone had to know was we were together, and the thought that it was forever gave me the kind of excited feeling I’d only had a few times in my life.

  Most people would think I was crazy I’d allowed James anywhere near me after what had happened, but I couldn’t describe how good it felt to have a brother to talk to. I may not have trusted him fully, but there was a connection there that hadn’t previously existed before. Perhaps this was because we’d never managed a civil conversation until now.

  As we continued to talk, James expressed his concerns about trusting other women in the future, which was an aspect of what he’d been through I hadn’t considered either. It had been four full months since he’d split with Charlotte and it dawned on me my brother had made no attempt to date again. In that sense, I felt quite sad for him when he told me this.

  Eventually we went to bed at 2:45 a.m. and although I was buzzed about the events scheduled for later that day, I was sufficiently tired to finally fall asleep.

  A knock on the door stirred me from sleep at 7:00 a.m. that same the morning. “Breakfast is here. Should I wake up James?” Hammer asked from the other side of the door.

  “Sure,” I croaked, sitting up. I felt groggy until I saw the time and remembered that in four short hours, I’d be standing in the family ballroom marrying the love of my life. My heart filled with anticipation.