If You Dare (Dare Series Book 3)

by Shantel Tessier

  We all stare at a girl who sits in a white clawfoot tub against the opposite wall. Water black as night, not allowing you to see through it, fills the bath, coming all the way up to the sides. She’s wearing a dirty, cheaply made replica of a straitjacket, and the wet fabric clings to her small frame. You can tell she isn’t wearing a bra because you can see her hard nipples poking through the thin fabric, showcasing a set of big tits.

  A man who looks to be about our age kneels beside the tub. He gently runs his hand down the back of her wet, dark hair. “Did you learn your lesson?” he asks her sternly.

  Her body shakes uncontrollably, her lips are blue, and her eyes are red from crying. She has tears running down her face, leaving black streaks in their wake. She turns to look at us; gray eyes meet mine, and she whispers. “Help … me …”

  He grips a fistful of her hair, and a scream erupts, cutting off her words. Rising to his feet, he bends at the waist and shoves her face-first into the black water. It splashes us, and the girls jump back, but Becky is the only one who screams in surprise.

  He holds her under the black liquid surface as she thrashes around, water continuing to splash onto the floor. He yanks her back up, and she gasps for breath. He lowers his face down to hers, pulling her head back by her hair as she openly chokes and weeps. His other hand grips her chin tightly. “You will either learn, or you will die,” he says simply.

  “Please … don’t—”

  “The choice is always yours.” He shoves her head into the water once again.

  A door to the left opens, and Cole pushes Austin through it, entering a hallway. She’s trying to look over his shoulder at the girl still submerged. Once we’re through the door, it slams shut behind us.

  “I wanted to see how long she could hold her breath.” Austin pouts, disappointed.

  “Long enough,” he tells her.

  The hallway curves to the right, and we follow it. It’s narrow and only allows you enough space to walk single file. Cole grabs Austin’s hand, taking the lead, so I take up the back. She rolls her eyes and then bumps into his back when he takes another turn and comes to a stop.

  We’ve reached an opening. A man stands before us in a white lab coat covered in blood. His arms lie against his chest and cross at his wrists. He lifts his eyes to us, and a light that he has around his forehead shines on us. “Separate,” he demands.

  The main hallway splits, leading to the different doors. Cole drags Austin through the one closest to them. Demi and her boyfriend go through the second one, leaving me and Becky alone. She bites her bottom lip nervously, and I refrain from smiling.

  I can do far worse things to you than anyone in this haunted house could possibly think of, baby.

  I gesture for her to enter. “After you.”

  She sighs heavily and then enters. It’s dark, but the light that comes through the seams in the makeshift wall is enough for me to see where the hallway leads us.

  “Where do we go?” she asks, and her voice shakes with fear of what is to come.

  She thinks something is going to jump out at us, grab her, and drag her to hell. I laugh at that thought. Honey, I’m the closest to hell you can get.

  A scream erupts from the left, behind the wall, and she jumps, bringing her hands to her pounding chest.

  “Here, let me get in front of you.” Reaching out, I place my hands on her shoulders and push her behind me. She grips my upper arms and doesn’t let go. Another sound to my right has my head whipping in that direction. It’s a door, and a light shines from the room on the other side of it. A man dressed in all black stands there. You can’t see his face through the black mesh mask over it.

  Becky shrieks, pressing her body into mine. “Please don’t touch me,” she begs.

  I nod to the guy and push open the door, leading us into a new room. A woman lies on what looks like a hospital gurney. She wears a dingy gown that has been torn. Her wrists and ankles are strapped to the bed with brown leather straps and blood drips from the restraints. She tries to sit up, but the straps across her chest and stomach prevent any movement. A man stands next to her, his back toward us as he faces a white table.

  “Okay, Beatrice. Do you know why I have to do this to you?” he asks.

  She stares up at the ceiling, no longer struggling. The only movement is her chest rising and falling slowly. “Because I survived,” she whispers, and Becky stiffens against me.

  “Very good,” he praises her. “But why did you do it?” he asks.

  She swallows, and whispers, “Because the voices told me to.”

  I look at the dirty floor and see a bloody razor blade by the bed. The blood running from her bound wrists suddenly makes sense. She’s suicidal. She told him that voices told her to kill herself, and now she’s being punished because she survived.

  He walks to the head of the gurney and stands, wearing the same black costume as the man out in the hall sans mask. She arches her back, looking up at him longingly as though they’re lovers. “Don’t worry, I’m gonna make them go away.” He snaps a brown leather belt between his fists, and she opens up her mouth for him. Her hips rise, and she moans as if it’s turning her on. He places it between her teeth and runs his knuckles gently down the side of her cheek. She lets out a muffled groan, and then he reaches over and grabs two paddles, pressing them to her temples. The lights flicker on and off as her restrained body thrashes in the bed.

  Becky buries her head into my chest. “Jesus, this place isn’t scary. It’s fucked up.”

  I smile. Yeah, it is. I like it.

  I grab her hand, and we exit the door to the right and come to a new room with two more doors. Austin and Cole come through the one to the left. Demi and her boyfriend to the right. Austin is smiling like a kid in a candy store. Demi looks bored.

  A door opening to the right has Becky jumping back, causing Demi to laugh at her expense. We follow each other into the next room. The floor and all four walls have tiles that once were white, but now are brown and have been stained with blood on them.

  A small woman stands with her nose to the far wall, her back to us. She’s completely naked. Scratches run up and down her back and thighs. Blood trails down them and pools at her feet. Her blond hair is tangled and dirty. A man stands behind her holding a hose. He turns it on and sprays her, and she screams as the water hits her skin and splashes us. Smoke instantly fills the room so you think it’s steam from the hot water. Becky grips my shirt as it quickly engulfs the space, making it hard to see. I cover my mouth and push through a door just as Becky lets go of me. The lights shut off, leaving us in complete darkness, and a small body runs into my back. “Shit.” I hear her hiss.

  “Here.” I reach back and take her hand. Putting my free hand on the wall to the right of me, I slide it across the area. It curves to the right, and I follow it, pulling Becky behind me. She doesn’t say anything or try to pull away.

  My hand comes to a new wall, and it’s right in front of me. “What the fuck …?” It’s a dead end. I sigh. Silence meets me. No more music plays from above, and I don’t hear any screams off in the distance. “Cole?” He doesn’t answer. “Austin?” Still nothing. “Guess it’s just us.” I turn around to head back to where we came from and run right into her. We both trip over our tangled feet and her back hits a wall. “Becky,” I breathe. My body is up against hers, pinning her in place. Her heavy breathing fills the silent hallway. I have to remind myself why I hate her so much and how this is just a game I intend to win.

  My hands grip her wrists, pinning them down to her mattress. She arches her neck, and I kiss my way up the soft skin to her ear. “I love you,” she whispers.

  I pause and pull away to look down at her. Blue eyes fill with tears, and she sniffs. “I love you, Deke—”

  “I love you too, Becky,” I interrupt, then kiss her.

  I make love to her, showing her just how much she means to me. Her face is flushed, her hair a wild mess, and her lips swollen. She looks absolutely
fucking perfect. “Tell me again,” I order, pushing my hips forward. She no longer belongs to that fuckface David. He went off to college and dumped her like the ass I knew him to be. Cole is busy playing with his new toy, Austin. Becky is all mine, and she fills the hole left in my heart from my three dead friends. She makes it go away. I’m never going to let her go now that she’s all mine.

  “I love you.” She gasps, licking her lips. “I love you …”

  I slam my lips to hers again.

  This fucking bitch never loved me. We slept with each other and with other people for a long time to hide how we really felt for one another, so I’m not innocent in this situation. But I believed it would be me and her in the long run, and then she played me. If I were an honest loser, I would bow and tell her good fucking job. But I’m a sore loser. Especially at my own game.

  Her hands come up to my chest, and I smile in the darkness. That’s right, baby, come to me. Let yourself think I’ll save you from the darkness when I’m really gonna drown you in it. Mine go to her hips, and I slide my fingers in the belt loops of her jeans.

  “Deke, I’m …” She whispers so softly that I barely hear her, but the sound travels straight to my dick, and it goes hard on its own. Fuck, I want to pin her down and fuck my hate out on her. She gasps when I rub my hips into hers.

  “I know, baby.” She can’t deny it anymore. She wants me, just not like I want her.

  My hands leave her jeans and trail up her sides and then my knuckles skim over her breasts through her shirt. Her heavy breathing fills the confined blackness we have found ourselves in alone. I run my hand over the skin of her neck, and I can feel her pulse racing. And like before, she doesn’t stop me and makes no move to push me away, so I push a little further. My hand fists her hair, and I gently pull her head back. She’s panting when I skim my lips against hers. My other hand cups her face, and I can feel the tremble in her body pushed up against mine.

  I smile to myself.

  “I’m gonna kiss you now.” I give her one warning. One chance to push me away or kick me in the balls. If she doesn’t, who knows how far this will go right here and now. I’ve got three months of pent-up aggression for this woman, and I’ll make her like every fucking moment of it.

  Her hands fist my shirt, and I chuckle before pressing my lips to hers. Her body goes stiff against mine. I move my hand on her face down to wrap around her waist and grip her ass over her jeans, rubbing my hips into hers again. She begins to soften. Her hands come up to wrap around my neck, and my kiss grows frantic when her tongue sweeps over mine. She tastes different. She used to remind me of fresh air—the woman I loved. A woman I planned to spend the rest of my life with. Silly, right? Now she tastes like betrayal and bitterness—the lying little slut I know her to be. And for some reason, that turns me on even more. No more pretending. No more lies. I can fucking hate her while making her love me.

  My hand tightens in her hair, and she whimpers into my mouth. She pulls away from the kiss, and I spin her around to face the wall I had her back pressed up against. She gasps as I press her chest into the wall. I push my hips forward, letting her feel my hard dick rubbing on her ass. She never gave that up to me, but she will this time. My right hand still holds her by her hair, and the other comes around her waist to undo the button on her jeans. She sucks in breath after breath as I slide my fingers down into her lace underwear. When I make it to her shaved pussy, she whimpers. I can’t help but chuckle to myself because she’s so fucking wet.

  That’s something no woman can fake.

  I smirk in the darkness and lean down to kiss her neck when I pull her head back. She wears the same perfume that reminds me of cherries, and it makes my mouth water. “Miss me, baby?” I nip at the skin, pushing two fingers into her. Her breath hitches as she squirms under my touch. I pull them out and then slide them in again. “I missed this fucking pussy wrapped around my cock … sitting on my face …”

  She tilts her head back farther, twisting in my grasp, and her lips find mine. She’s frantic, nipping my lips with her teeth and sucking on my tongue. She twists in my arms, and her nails dig into my neck. My fingers work in and out of her while she bucks her hips. Yanking her head back, she sucks in a deep breath and one of her hands goes to my hard dick. She presses on it through my jeans. I expect her to take it out and start stroking it, but she doesn’t. I add a third finger, and a strangled cry rips though the darkness as her pussy tightens around my fingers. “Fuck, baby. Come for me,” I order, panting myself. “Show me how much you’ve missed me.”

  She pulls my lips to hers again, and I feel her body shudder against mine while my thumb massages her clit, and then she’s coming all over my fingers. She whimpers into my mouth, her shaking body clinging to mine, and her nails digging into my skin as I hold her to me. I knew it wouldn’t be hard to make her weak.

  I’m just about to undo my pants and fuck her right here inside this haunted house when her hands hit my chest, and she shoves me back. When I reach out, all I feel is wall. “Becky?” I reach to my right. Nothing.

  I spin around as a light shines in my eyes, and I blink quickly at the invasion. “Hey, man. Sorry about that. We’re having some electrical difficulties in this building. Everyone has to exit this part of the tour.” It’s the guy from the first scene. The one who was giving the woman in a straitjacket hydrotherapy. His jeans and shirt drip water onto the floor. He smiles at me and gestures to a door behind me with his flashlight, that I hadn’t found earlier.

  “Thanks,” I grumble, readjusting my hard dick.

  I shove open the door and look across a courtyard to see Austin and Cole talking to Becky and Seth while they stand next to a few vendors.

  Cole looks up and spots me walking toward them. “Where the hell have you been?” he asks.

  “Got lost.” I look at Becky, and she doesn’t even acknowledge me. Just bows her head and takes a drink of the Coke in her hand.

  I smirk. She’s embarrassed. Cute.

  “How did you get lost?” Austin asks. “They kicked us out the moment the lights went off.”

  “Huh?” I question, looking away from Becky to her.

  Austin pops some Sour Patch gummies in her mouth before answering. “The lights went out. I thought it was the blackout attraction.” She frowns, clearly disappointed. “But a guy grabbed Cole and ushered us all out here.”

  I look at Becky. Her drink is almost gone. And I frown. How did she …? “How long have you been out here?” My question is directed at her. She gives me her back, turning to face Austin, still ignoring me.

  I roll my eyes at her. So, we’re going to pretend I didn’t just get her off in a haunted house.

  “Oh, there you are, babe,” Seth calls out.

  We all spin around to see Demi coming toward us. Her blond hair is now up in a messy bun on top of her head, but she has a smug smile on her face. Not her usual scowl. It makes me frown.

  “Where did you go?” he asks her. “I’ve been worried.”

  I look back at Becky, and she still faces away from me. My eyes scan over her jeans and tennis shoes. Then I look over her shirt and notice she’s wearing a jacket. She didn’t have that on a minute ago. Maybe she went to my SUV and got it. But then I realize I have the keys in my pocket.

  I start to get a sickening feeling in my stomach. Oh, God no … I look back at Demi.

  Her blue eyes meet mine before returning to her boyfriend. “Restroom.” Then she blows a bubble.

  “Hey, I asked if you had gum earlier, and you said no.”

  Her eyes find mine again. And my entire body goes rigid as fear creeps up my spine.

  “I didn’t. Borrowed it from a friend.”

  “Have any more?” he asks her.

  “Nope. But you can have this one.” She puts her finger in her mouth, twirls it around and pulls it out with the gum on the end. He places her finger in his mouth, and he sucks it off.

  I think I’m going to vomit. Was that my gum? Did I kiss and f
inger Becky or was it fucking Demi?

  Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! This can’t be happening … No! It was Becky. No doubt in my mind. It was Becky! Wasn’t it?

  “Mmm, cinnamon,” he says, nodding his head.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  DEMI

  THE LOOK ON Deke’s face is priceless. The bastard really had no idea who the fuck I was. How did he not know I wasn’t Becky? I told him earlier that guys only think with their dicks, and I just proved myself right. All he needed was a willing body, and he pounced. It didn’t fucking matter who I was.

  My eyes go to Cole who stands next to Austin with his hands in the front pockets of his jeans, staring at me and Deke. I smile sweetly at him, but he doesn’t return it because he knows something is up. That’s Cole Reynolds for you. Always fucking watching. Always aware of what is going on around him. He has to be three steps ahead of everyone and ready to pounce if need be.

  Everyone else is oblivious to Deke’s unease and my smug smile. All in their own little world talking about pointless shit.

  “Aww, man. I’m out.” Austin pouts, crumpling her empty bag of gummies.

  “I’ll get you some more.” I take the opportunity to walk away and make my way over to the somewhat long line while everyone decides if we’re going to stay at this pathetic freak show or call it a night. This place just doesn’t do it for me. I like to be scared. I like the thrill—heart racing, paralyzing fear—and this place doesn’t give me that. Throw spiders on me or chase me down with a knife. Hell, lock me in a tomb and make me think I was buried alive. If I wanted to watch a woman being drowned in a bathtub, I would stay home and watch a Lifetime movie about a jealous boyfriend.

  I just pull my cell out of my back pocket to check the time when I’m spun around. Deke stands there, glaring down at me. His blue eyes shimmering with rage. Guess the shock has worn off.

  “What the fuck was that?” he demands.