Chapter 1: A Dare That Started It All

A standalone novel from the Daddy Series. 🌶🌶

If you enjoyed my book Falling For My Ex's Dad, then you would love this even more.

Forbidden love.

Love triangles.

Passion.

Obsession.

And a dangerous addiction that threatens to consume them both.

Kiara's POV

"Shots! Shots! Shots!"

Lisa slammed three glasses on our table, tequila sloshing over the rims.

"I don't think..."

"Don't think!" Amy shoved another glass into my hand. "Tonight is about NOT thinking, remember?"

Right. Not thinking. Two weeks before senior year, before real life swallowed us whole. One reckless night to forget my father had spent twenty-one years building a cage around me.

"To freedom!" Lisa raised her glass.

"To bad decisions!" Amy added.

"To finally living." I lifted mine.

The vodka burned down my throat.

Amy had gotten us into Eclipse, where billionaires rubbed shoulders with supermodels whose bodies looked carved by gods. Neon lights colored the dance floor where people moved like they were fucking with their clothes on. The music pulsed through my bones.

This wasn't my world. I was the good girl who studied on Friday nights. I'd kissed maybe three guys, awkward attempts that left me wondering what the fuss was about.

But tonight, in the silver dress Amy forced me into, backless, neckline plunging between my breasts, hem so short I kept tugging it down, I was starting to believe I could be someone else.

On the dance floor, a blonde ground her ass against a man whose hands gripped her hips. Another couple pressed together, her leg wrapped around him as his mouth worked her neck, hand sliding up her thigh.

Heat crawled up my neck.

"Truth or dare time!" Amy announced at our table, eyes glassy.

"No."

"Come on, Ki. We got you out of your father's cage. You owe us one round."

"Fine. One round."

"Truth or dare?"

"Truth."

"Have you ever had an orgasm?"

My face burned. "Amy!"

"Answer."

I couldn't lie. "No."

"Not even by yourself?" Lisa's eyes went wide.

"Can we move on?"

"Oh honey." Amy put her hand over mine. "That's actually sad."

"Next question!" I interrupted desperately.

Amy grinned. "My turn. Truth or dare?"

I opened my mouth to say truth again, but I couldn't handle more questions about my pathetic sex life. And the alcohol was making me brave, making me want to see what would happen if I finally said yes to something reckless.

"Dare."

"Yes!" Amy bounced in her seat. Her eyes scanned the club, then stopped. Her smile turned wicked. "Oh. This is perfect."

"What?" I followed her gaze toward the VIP section.

"You see that man? The one in the black suit?"

My eyes landed on him, and my breath caught.

Tall, easily over six feet. Broad shoulders that filled out his tailored suit in a way that should be illegal. Dark hair styled perfectly, strong jawline, a face that was all hard angles and brutal masculine beauty. Even from this distance, I noticed the way he commanded space, the way other men deferred to him.

He looked dangerous. Powerful. Like he could ruin your life or make your wildest fantasies come true with equal ease.

"I see him," I replied, my voice breathy.

"I dare you," Amy said slowly, "to go over there and kiss him."

My head whipped toward her. "What? No. Absolutely not."

"It's a dare."

"I don't care. I'm not doing that."

"Then you lose," Lisa chimed in. "And if you lose, you have to do that presentation for Professor Mitchell's class. The one about human sexuality and intimacy. In front of three hundred students."

Professor Mitchell had offered extra credit for a presentation about sexual health, discussing everything from anatomy to orgasms to contraception in explicit detail. I'd rather die than stand in front of three hundred peers and say the word "clitoris" out loud.

"That's not fair," I protested weakly.

"Life's not fair, babe. Now go kiss the hot billionaire, or prepare your speech about the female orgasm." Amy made shooing motions. "Clock's ticking."

"I can't just walk up to a stranger and kiss him!"

"Sure you can. You're hot. You're in a killer dress. He's a man." Lisa shrugged. "Trust me, he's not going to complain."

"But..."

"No buts. You want to live a little? This is living." Amy pushed another shot toward me. "Liquid courage."

I downed it without thinking.

The alcohol hit my system, warm and emboldening. My head was spinning, but in a good way. In a way that made everything seem possible.

"What if he has a girlfriend?" I tried one last time.

"Then she should be here watching him," Lisa said with zero sympathy. "Now go. Before you chicken out."

I took a deep breath, smoothed down my dress, and started walking.

The VIP section was separated by velvet ropes and two massive security guards who looked like they could snap me in half.

My heart hammered as I approached. The security guard stepped forward. "VIP only."

I channeled every ounce of confidence I didn't feel. "They sent for me."

He frowned. "Who sent for you?"

I gestured vaguely toward the VIP section, letting my voice drop to a breathy and suggestive tone.

I swung my hips from side to side, letting my body language suggest exactly what kind of "entertainment" I was supposed to be providing. "Him."

The guard's eyes traveled down my body. His expression shifted from suspicious to understanding. He thought I was a bottle girl, or worse, an escort.

"Go ahead." He unclipped the rope.

Oh God. It actually worked.

I walked up the steps, the voice of reason warning me to turn around, to run, but I didn't.

The man was still talking to his companions, his back partially to me.

I reached out, placing a hand on his shoulder.

He began to turn, and I panicked.

My heel caught on nothing, and I stumbled forward with a small gasp.

His hand shot out instinctively, catching my arm. "Careful..."

But before he could finish, he spun me around, his other hand pressing against the small of my back as he backed me against the wall, like he'd done it a thousand times before.

Then our eyes met.

The music, people, the lights... all of it faded until there was nothing but him.

Up close, he was devastating. Dark eyes, almost black in the dim light, intense and focused entirely on me. A chill ran down my spine. My gaze trailed down to lips that were full and made me wonder what they'd feel like everywhere. He was older than me, maybe early thirties, and he had that look, that confidence that came from bending the world to his will.

My breath came faster. And before he could speak, before I could think, before I could lose my nerve... I kissed him.

My lips pressed against his, desperate and graceless, and his entire body went rigid with shock.

Oh God. I actually kissed a complete stranger. The alcohol was making everything fuzzy and hot, making my body feel like it was humming, like every nerve ending was suddenly awake for the first time.

For a horrible moment, he didn't move, didn't react, and panic flooded through me. He hated it, of course he hated it. I was a novice at this. I didn't know what I was doing.

Just when I was about to pull away, his lips crushed against mine in a way that stole the breath from my lungs.

His hand slid into my hair, gripping tight, angling my head exactly where he wanted it.

His tongue swept into my mouth, tangling with mine, and a sound escaped me, half gasp, half moan. He tasted like whiskey.

This wasn't like those awkward kisses from boys who didn't know what they were doing. This was a man who knew exactly what he wanted and how to take it.

My hands slid up his chest, hard muscle beneath expensive fabric, and he made a low sound in his throat that vibrated through me. His hands slid down my back roughly, cupping my ass and pulling me hard against him.

His thigh pushed between my legs and I gasped against his mouth. Tingles shot up my spine.

My nipples tightened against the thin fabric of my dress, suddenly sensitive, aching.

What was happening to me?

My core throbbed with a desperate need I didn't understand.

My hand slid down his back, gripping his ass and pulling him harder against me so I could feel every inch of him pressing into me.

A needy moan escaped me.

He groaned, the sound raw and masculine, and his hips rolled against mine...

Then he broke the kiss.

He pulled away like he'd been hypnotized and was suddenly back in control of his senses.

His chest heaved, his eyes wild and dark as they searched my face.

For a moment, neither of us moved.

I shivered under the intensity of that look.

Then his face hardened.

"What the hell did you just do?"