CHAPTER ONE: DARE

MIA'S POV

I have exactly one rule for parties like this: never learn anyone's last name before midnight. Last names lead to context. Context leads to consequences. And I'd flown eleven hours from London to a stepfamily I'd never met, in a city I didn't know, three days before I was expected to walk into a house full of strangers and call it home—so tonight, of all nights, I wanted exactly zero consequences.

The party was some fraternity-adjacent thing off campus, borrowed from a friend of a friend of the girl I'd sat next to on the plane, and I'd said yes to the invitation for the same reason I said yes to most things lately: because saying no meant sitting alone in a hotel room thinking about the wedding photos my mother kept texting me, of a man I'd met exactly twice and a house full of sons I'd never met at all.

By eleven, I'd been folded into a circle on the back patio without quite agreeing to it—a loose ring of strangers sitting on overturned crates and a sagging outdoor sofa, someone's phone glowing in the middle of the circle spinning through a truth-or-dare app.

"Truth," said the girl to my left.

"Dare," said the guy across from me.

Then the phone spun, wobbled, and stopped on me.

"Truth or dare, London?" The guy holding the phone had already given up trying to pronounce my actual name after the second attempt.

I glanced around the circle—strangers, every one of them—and felt something reckless and jet-lagged rise up in my chest.

"Dare," I said.

The screen lit up with white block letters: Kiss a stranger. Doesn't count if you know their name.

That was how I ended up crossing a stranger's dark backyard at 11:40 p.m., barefoot because my heels had come off an hour ago, toward a man I couldn't fully see until I was almost close enough to touch him—dark hair, broad shoulders, and a stillness that made the noise of the party recede.

"Apparently this is happening," I said.

"Apparently." His voice was low, amused. "You don't have to. Dares aren't contracts."

"I want to."

He tipped his head, studying me with an intensity that made my pulse pick up. "Rules of the dare. No names. That's the deal, right?"

"That's the deal."

The kiss started as a dare, but the moment his lips crashed into mine, the game ended. He didn't just kiss me; he claimed me. His mouth was hungry, tasting of expensive bourbon and something primal, his tongue sliding against mine with a confidence that made my knees buckle. He groaned low in his throat, his hand sliding up to cup the back of my neck, pulling me flush against the hard planes of his chest.

The heat between us was instantaneous, a chemical reaction that obliterated everything else. He broke the kiss just an inch, his breath hot against my lips.

"I want you," he whispered, his voice a rough command. "Right now. In a room where no one can see us."

He didn't wait for a verbal answer; he took my hand and led me through the house, weaving through the crowd until he found a door at the end of a hallway. He pushed me inside and shut the door, the click of the lock echoing in the sudden silence.

The room was dim, smelling of old wood and masculine cologne. He didn't pounce. Instead, he stepped back, his dark eyes scanning my body, making me feel completely naked even though I was still dressed. I felt a sudden wave of shyness wash over me, my cheeks flushing as I looked down at my bare toes.

He stepped closer, his presence overwhelming. He reached out, his thumb grazing my jawline, tilting my face up to meet his gaze.

"I want you," he said, his voice dropping to a gravelly register that vibrated in my gut. "I want to take every inch of you. But only if you want it. Do I have your permission, London?"

The way he said my name—the wrong name, the city name—sent a shiver of electricity straight to my clit. I nodded shyly, my voice barely a whisper. "Yes. Please."

That was the only invitation he needed. He lunged, his mouth slamming back onto mine while his hands tore at my clothes with a focused urgency. He ripped my dress upward, the fabric bunching around my waist, and his palms slid over my thighs, squeezing the soft flesh before he found the lace of my panties. He didn't waste time; he hooked two fingers into the silk and yanked them down and off in one fluid motion.

He lifted me effortlessly, my legs wrapping around his waist, and slammed me back against the closed door. The impact made me gasp, and then I felt it—his cock, thick and pulsing, pressing hard against my soaking wet slit.

"You're so wet for me," he growled, his lips moving to my neck, biting and sucking the sensitive skin.

He shifted his grip, guiding his head to my opening. He paused for a heartbeat, his eyes locking onto mine, asking one last silent question. I arched my back, grinding my pussy against him, silently screaming now.

He thrust upward with one powerful, violent shove, burying his entire length inside me in one go.

"Oh god!" I screamed, my head hitting the door. He was massive, stretching me to the absolute limit, filling every void I didn't know I had. The sensation was overwhelming, a sudden explosion of fullness that made my vision blur.

He didn't give me time to adjust. He began to fuck me with a rhythmic, punishing intensity. Each thrust was deep and deliberate, his cock slamming into my cervix, sending jolts of pleasure radiating through my entire lower body. I could hear the wet, slapping sound of his balls hitting my ass, the visceral noise of our bodies colliding.

"You feel fucking incredible," he groaned, his voice strained. He shifted his hold, sliding one hand down between us. His fingers found my clit, rubbing it in fast, circular motions while he continued to hammer into me.

The dual stimulation was too much. I was shaking, my fingers digging into his shoulders, my breath coming in ragged, shallow sobs. He picked up the pace, his thrusts becoming shorter, faster, more animalistic. He was drilling into me, his cock sliding in and out of my tight, dripping pussy with a friction that felt like liquid fire.

"Look at me," he commanded.

I opened my eyes, seeing the raw, unchecked lust in his expression. He gave one final, devastatingly deep thrust, pinning me to the door, and I felt my orgasm rip through me. My internal muscles clamped down on him in violent spasms, milking him as I screamed into his shoulder, my entire body vibrating with a climax so intense it felt like I was breaking.

The feeling of my walls squeezing him triggered his own release. He let out a guttural roar, his body stiffening as he pumped load after load of hot, thick cum on the floor.

I slid down the door, collapsing onto the floor in a heap of tangled limbs and ruined clothes. He looked down at me, a small, satisfied smirk on his lips.

"Best dare of my life," he whispered.

I left before sunrise, slipping out of the room while he was still asleep, the feeling of his seed still leaking down my thighs. I didn't think I'd ever see him again. Statistically, in a city of two million people, the odds were laughably small.

I was wrong for approximately three days.