Within the small space directly ahead of us was a mannequin dressed in a green taffeta gown. It was holding up a book and was surrounded by many more that were artfully positioned here and there. Liberty had created a glamorous shop window with a colorful collection of romance novels. The museum plaque stated this one was called “The love of reading captured in a moment of time.”
Daisy let out a gasp filled with awe.
“I want the rest of today to be about you.”
She seemed dazed. “What?”
“Go look.” I nudged her forward.
She hurried over and peered through the glass window, mesmerized by the display. She started to press her nose against the window, but then seemed to think better of it.
“Does it inspire you?” I asked.
“Tremendously! Thank you so much, Max.” She fell back against me as my arms closed around her.
“I can’t stop looking at it,” I said. “It’s the spectrum of colors and the unique way the display conveys its meaning.”
“When I was little,” she said, excitement in her tone, “we went Christmas shopping, me and my mum, and all I wanted to do was peer into the shop windows. They really can be magical.”
I released her and tilted her chin up, staring intently into her eyes. “When you’re drawn to something like this you have to listen to your heart.”
“It isn’t easy to join the design teams. There’s a lot of competition.”
“You have to believe in yourself.”
She looked away. “After Liam died, nothing seemed to matter.”
“Your dream matters now more than ever,” I said softly.
She gazed up at me. “If you reconsider your career, I will too.”
That made me smile. “I’d sit in on my dad’s court cases…always in awe at how he tore apart the prosecution’s case.”
“How old were you?”
“I was a teenager.”
“And here you are now,” she said. “A top lawyer.”
“I’ve never taken three weeks off before.” I gave a shrug. “There was never a reason.”
“Thank you so much for today. It’s been special.”
“I don’t want this day to end, Daisy.”
“What would you like to do?”
“How about we go back to the hotel for dinner?”
“I’m still full from lunch.”
I smiled suggestively. “Go back for a drink, then?”
“I have a fun idea.”
She wouldn’t tell me what it was, though. She kept her secret from the time we left the museum, all the way back to the Waldorf Hotel.
We snuggled in the backseat of the taxi grateful for the warmth.
When we arrived at the Waldorf, she guided me to the lift with mischief in her step, and punched the UP button. I was amused by her enthusiasm, the way she kept glancing back at me with a cheeky grin.
We arrived at the hotel’s top floor bar.
Ahead of us was that long glass chute that went down several floors.
“I’ll go first,” she said.
After receiving a nod from a member of the staff, Daisy climbed into the entrance of the chute and sat on the blue mat. Her confidence made my heart soar. She looked back at me and grinned, then shot down the chute, screaming and laughing as she disappeared from view.
I climbed in behind her, waiting for the staff member to give me the go ahead. Below me was a sheer breathtaking drop and to my left was a wall of glass. The view was spectacular.
I hesitated before pushing off, realizing the profoundness of this moment.
This act represented me risking everything to go after what I wanted—the person waiting for me at the end of this dare. I had to change my life to get to a place where I could find fulfillment.
I shot down the chute, zooming around the corner with my heart racing, my throat tight, adrenaline surging through my veins, sparking an uncommon joy inside me as the world whooshed by.
The end came up fast, but I slowed just enough to avoid doing a “Daisy”—coming to a halt and using the momentum to stand.
Daisy ran forward and fell into my arms. We laughed hysterically at ourselves. It was ridiculous and yet liberating.
Feeling high from our mutual rush, we jumped on the lift and virtually tripped over each other to get to my hotel room. I fumbled for my door key impatiently.
Finally, we made it inside…
I immediately nudged Daisy back against the wall, pressing my body against hers and kissing her passionately.
I yanked off her coat and then my fingers found the zipper of her jeans, tugging them off her hips and pulling them down. She stepped out of them, her fingers trailing through my hair. Neither of us could stand not touching the other.
With perspiration misting my forehead, I unzipped my jeans and hopped out of them. Neither of us cared about the rest of our clothes.
I cupped her face in my hands. “You’re a part of me now, Daisy.”
She sealed her lips to mine, fighting to get closer.
I ripped off her panties, needing to be inside her, lifting her up so that she could wrap her legs around me.
I entered her in one thrust, feeling her wet warmth envelope my cock, hearing her moan loudly as she tugged at my hair, both of us captured in a feverish embrace.
Hearing our ragged breathing—and the erotic sounds of our bodies banging against the wall as I took her—only aroused me more.
I wanted to give her everything, every last part of me.
I was consumed with need whenever I was around Daisy, starved even when she was with me, even with me buried deep inside her, her hands around my neck as we clung to each other.
She climaxed with a thready cry, her body trembling against mine.
When it was over, I rested my forehead against hers and whispered, “Daisy Whitby, I love everything about you.”
“You don’t have to say that,” she whispered back.
“But I can show it,” I said, lifting her up in my arms and carrying her over to the bed. “I can show you how I feel.”
My life was perfect.
Max and I had indulged in a whirlwind romance over the last four days. I’d been having the best sex of my life with the best man I’d ever met—a man who treated me with dignity, who occupied my every thought.
Today, though, things had taken a weird twist with one of those moments you wished wasn’t happening.
Dare Club members had been invited to a large warehouse in Soho, in the arts and fashion district. It was all very exciting right up until I was sitting in a flimsy chair in front of a round mirror with a makeup artist going to town on my face.
This was humiliating. “What am I meant to be, exactly?”
Ted rolled his eyes in that condescending way I’d come to love. “Take a wild guess, Daisy.”
Wiggling my nose, I tried to lose the red bauble. “You’re lucky I don’t have a clown phobia.”
“Get over yourself. This is a charity event for sick children,” he said. “It’s about making them laugh.”
“They’ll laugh, all right.”
“It’s a theme. Your job is to walk down the runway like a model showing off your pretty dress and make those kids scream with delight.”
“This isn’t a dare, it’s a punishment.”