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‘So you want to hurt me?’ he surmises—correctly.
‘I want to regain some pride,’ I mutter, squeezing my eyes shut.
‘Oh, baby, you didn’t lose any pride—it was me. All me. I had resisted you for so long I thought I could be close to you and ignore how much I wanted you. But then it all blew up in my face. That’s my fault, not yours. It’s my problem.’
‘None of this is a problem!’
I shake my head, and when he doesn’t say anything I push my hand against his chest, shoving him.
‘Why are you running from this? We’re two consenting adults…’
‘Who have the same parents!’ he says softly, slowly, as if he’s talking to a child. ‘Parents who would hate this. Parents this could kill.’
I catch my breath, thinking of Carter and how weakened he’s become lately. How terrifying his heart attacks have been, how dreadful for all of us, and for my mother particularly.
But then I imagine life without Manning, and my own heart lurches dangerously, painfully.
‘I love your father, Manning, you know I do. He’s the only dad I’ve ever known. And I don’t want to hurt him. But I’m not going to sacrifice this—us, what we are—for him or anyone. Tell me you don’t feel the same.’
He opens his mouth and I hold my breath, waiting for what he’s going to say, needing him to give me what I want, to promise me that he wants what I do.
‘I feel…’
I wait, breath held, heart twisting.
‘You know I fucking love you, angel. But being with you is a different story.’
I let my breath go, relief saturating my body. He loves me. I knew he did. And I love him. It is enough, for now, to know that we feel the same way.
‘Then hold my hand and we’ll face this together, Manning.’
His eyes lock to mine.
‘I’m not walking out that door. I’m not leaving you. And I’m going to bet you won’t make me.’
‘I’ve had a year of wanting you—hell, I’ve had years of wanting you. I’m not going to make you go anywhere. But, Astra… This is a thousand degrees of madness.’
‘Yeah.’ I grin, closing the distance between us and peeling my dress off once more. ‘And doesn’t it feel all kinds of wonderful?’
Read on for an excerpt from Clare’s first sexy Dare story Off Limits…
PROLOGUE
The stars are not wanted now: put out every one;
Pack up the moon and dismantle the sun;
Pour away the ocean and sweep up the wood.
For nothing now can ever come to any good.
—WH Auden
‘YOU’VE GOT THE Prime Minister calling in ten minutes.’
Jack nods, showing not a flicker of response at the prospect of this. Then again, nothing about Jack Grant is what you’d expect. For a self-made billionaire-investor-cum-philanthropist-cum-sex-god he is wild, disrespectful of authority and the establishment, and rough around the edges. Deliciously so.
Take this situation: Jack, in his bed, naked as the day he was born, uncaring that he should have been at his desk an hour ago. That I can see most of his beautiful back and backside. That my insides are clenching with hot, steamy lust.
