Hazel's pov

The air in our shared apartment had always been comfortable, smelling of stale coffee and Asher’s expensive sandalwood cologne. But tonight, the atmosphere shifted. It thickened, becoming heavy with a sudden, predatory tension that made the hair on my arms stand up.

"Do you wanna play truth or dare?" Asher whispered against the shell of my ear, his breath a warm, dangerous ghost against my skin. "I’ll make sure it’s interesting."

I looked at him—really looked at him. His dark hair was tousled, and that signature smirk played on his lips, but his eyes held a glint I hadn't seen before. It was a challenge. A dare in itself. Unable to resist the gravity of his presence, I felt a flush creep up my neck. "Sounds fun," I managed, my voice steadier than I felt.

He sat beside me, his muscular thigh pressing firmly against mine, sending a jolt of electricity through my hip. "I’ll start then," he murmured, his gaze dropping to my lips for a fraction of a second. "Truth or dare?"

"Truth."

"Hmm, let's start simple. Do you have a crush on anyone right now?" He knew the answer—or thought he did. We told each other everything. Usually.

I decided to lean into the mischief. "Actually, I think I do. You remember the guy who dropped me off last week? There’s just something about him..." I trailed off, feigning a dreamy sigh.

The temperature in the room seemed to drop ten degrees. Asher’s expression didn't just shift; it hardened. His eyes darkened, the pupils dilating until they were abyssal pools of possessiveness. He lunged forward, his movements a blur of controlled aggression, and hauled me onto his lap. His hands gripped my waist with a bruising intensity.

"I will fucking kill him," he growled, his voice vibrating deep in his chest. "I’ll end him before he even thinks about touching what's mine."

For a heartbeat, I believed him. The raw, primal jealousy radiating off him was intoxicating. I reached up, my palm sliding over the hard, jumping muscle of his bicep. "Asher, stop. I was joking. There’s no one else."

The tension bled out of him in a ragged sigh of relief, but he didn't let go. Instead, he crushed me against his chest, burying his face in the crook of my neck. "Better," he muttered darkly. "Because that would have been our last hug before my life sentence." Then, he nipped the sensitive skin of my earlobe, a sharp sting that sent a low, involuntary moan vibrating through my throat.

He pulled back, that devastating smirk returning. "As punishment for that little stunt, your turn is cancelled. I’m going again."

"That’s cheating!" I protested, though my heart was hammering against my ribs.

"Everything is fair in love and war, Hazel." He leaned in closer, his nose brushing mine. "And what do you think this is?"

I swallowed hard, my mind racing. "I... I think I'm the one studying psychology, you tell me."

He laughed, a low, melodic sound. "Truth or dare, princess?"

"Dare," I whispered, the word feeling like a surrender.

His hand slid slowly up my thigh, his palm scorching my skin. "I dare you to wear that tiny pink skirt you bought recently for the rest of the night. That’s part one. Part two comes once you're wearing it." His fingers traced slow, deliberate circles higher and higher. "And Hazel? No panties."

My breath hitched. "You’re going to check?" I challenged, my voice trembling with a mix of fear and heat.

He arched a dark brow, his hand stopping just an inch from the hem of my shorts. "Is that a challenge, or an invitation?"

"Neither. Just curious."

"Then wear a skirt so short I won't need to check," he growled.

I practically fled to my room. My hands shook as I dug through my wardrobe, finding the scrap of fabric that barely qualified as a garment. When I slid it on, the hem finished just below my hips, leaving nothing to the imagination. I looked in the mirror; my chest was heaving, my skin flushed.

When I walked back into the living room, Asher stopped breathing. His gaze started at my ankles and traveled slowly, hungrily, up the length of my bare legs.

"Jesus Christ," he rasped, his knuckles white where he gripped the arm of the couch.

"You like it?" I asked, my voice barely a whisper.

He stood up, stalking toward me until he was a wall of heat and muscle. He pinned me against the wall, his arms caging me in. "I love it. You have no idea how hard it’s going to be to keep my hands off you."

"Is that a threat or a promise?"

He chuckled, his lips hovering mere millimeters from mine. "It’s a fact. Now, part two of your dare: sit on my lap for the rest of the game."

I obeyed, my skin humming as I lowered myself onto him. The thin fabric of the skirt did nothing; I could feel every ridge of his denim, the heat of him radiating directly into me.

"My turn," I breathed, trying to regain some control. "Truth or dare?"

"Truth," he said, his eyes never leaving mine.

"What would you do to me tonight if this were a real date?"

The air between us practically combusted. Asher pulled me closer until I was flush against his chest. "I would tear those clothes off you," he whispered, his voice a dark promise. "I’d mark every inch of your skin until you forgot your own name. I’d bend you over every surface in this apartment and fuck you so hard you’d feel me in every step you take for a week."

He leaned in, his lips brushing mine as he spoke, his hand sliding under the hem of the skirt to cup my bare ass. "I’d fill you up until you couldn't take any more, then I'd make you come again just by saying my name."

A sharp ache bloomed between my legs. I didn't think; I just moved, grinding my hips against the hard length of him. He let out a feral growl, his fingers digging into my hips. "You’re playing with fire, Hazel."

"Then let me burn," I countered, my voice thick with wanting. "Truth or dare?"

"Truth."

"Tell me what you want me to do. Right now."

"I want you to rip my top off," I confessed, my heart thudding. "I want you to bite my nipples until it hurts."

He leaned in, his focus narrowing entirely on my chest. When his mouth finally latched onto my nipple, the sensation was electric. He sucked hard, his tongue swirling in a rhythmic, torturous dance around the sensitive peak.

"Ahh..."

"You taste so fucking good, princess," he rasped against my skin. He migrated to the other side, offering it the same agonizingly perfect attention, his teeth grazing the bud just enough to make me gasp.

A heavy cloud of pleasure settled over my mind, blurring the edges of the room until there was only the feeling of him. He flicked his tongue over the tip one last time before blowing a cool breath over the damp skin. The contrast made my core clench with a sharp, needy ache.

Suddenly, he engulfed one breast entirely while his hand found the other, squeezing with a possessive strength. I let out a jagged breath, my fingers tangling in his hair, pulling him closer. He growled low in his throat—a primal sound—and bit down hard enough to leave a mark. Then, he moved to my ear, his voice dropping to a needy, gravelly tone.

"You’re driving me crazy, Hazel. You have no idea what you do to me."

I tried to find my voice through the haze. "I... I don't get why you did that. You just asked for the truth, and I gave it."

He chuckled, the vibration echoing against my neck. "Yeah, right. I forgot for a second. I just like giving you everything you want. I got carried away." To my utter disappointment, he smirked and pulled back, settling into the cushions of the couch.

The sudden loss of contact felt like a physical blow. I sat back, trying to compose myself, but he wasn't done playing. Effortlessly, he reached out and hauled me onto his lap. I gasped as I felt him—he was rock hard, a thick ridge beneath my thighs. I sat there, chest bared and marked by his teeth, while that tiny excuse for a skirt did nothing to hide how much I wanted him.

"Your turn," I managed, my voice trembling. 

"Truth or dare?"

"Dare," he said, his eyes challenging me to go further.

"I dare you... I dare you to suck and bite my nipples until I cum."

His eyes flared with heat. "That's my girl."

He didn't waste a second. He gripped my waist and tossed me back onto the couch, hovering over me like a predator. His movements were dominant, rough, and entirely focused on my undoing. He paused for a moment, his fingers tracing my jawline with a mixture of raw lust and terrifying tenderness.

"You're so beautiful," he whispered. "So perfect. And you’re fucking mine. Only mine."

He crushed his lips to mine in a bruising kiss, his tongue demanding entry and finding it instantly. We fought for dominance, our breaths mingling as he pressed his heavy body into mine, leaving no inch of skin untouched. He broke away, trailing a path of fire down my neck to my chest.

He gathered my breasts in his hands, squeezing them together before delivering a sharp, stinging slap to the side of one. I let out a loud, startled moan.

"You're so sensitive here, princess. I love it," he murmured. He began to twist and pull at the peaks, his fingers relentless. Another slap followed, then another, the sharp stings sending jolts of pleasure straight to my center.

"Ahh, fuck... Asher!"

He grinned at the sound of my distress, leaning down to take one reddened nipple into his mouth, nibbling roughly. "You sound so good when you moan like that. I could listen to you all day."

He alternated between punishing sucks and soothing licks, making sure both sides were equally swollen and sensitive. I arched off the couch, fisting his hair and shoving my chest further into his mouth. The sound of his palm meeting my skin echoed through the room.

"You like it when I’m rough, don't you?" he breathed against my skin. "You love it when I mark you."

"Yes! I fucking love it!"

That was all the permission he needed. His movements became frenzied. He pushed my breasts together with one hand, bringing the nipples inches apart, and delivered a series of sharp, rhythmic slaps. Each one made my hips buck involuntarily.

"Asher... please!"

He looked up, his eyes hooded and dark with adoration. "Fuck, princess. My name sounds so good on your lips. Say it again."

He rubbed my throbbing, bright-red nipples harshly, his fingers digging into the soft tissue of my breasts. The stimulation was overwhelming. I was right on the edge, the tension in my core tightening into a knot.

"Fuck... yes! I'm cumming!"

"That’s it, princess. Cum for me."

He redoubled his efforts, his teeth sinking into the sensitive skin one last time as my body finally gave way. I cried out his name, my back arching as a violent wave of pleasure crashed through me.

As I drifted down from the high, he stayed with me, offering soft licks and gentle kisses to the marks he’d made. Finally, he picked me up and sat back on the couch, tucking me into his lap while I nuzzled into the crook of his neck, trying to find my breath. But the game wasn't over. Not by a long shot.

"Truth or dare?" he asked, his voice low and vibrating.

"Dare."

"I want you to play with yourself. Right here. In front of me."

The thought alone made me wet. I moved to the coffee table, spreading my legs wide so he had a front-row seat to my ruin. I watched his eyes darken to black as I slid my fingers inside myself, the squelching sound of my own slickness echoing in the quiet room. I used my other hand to pinch my own nipples, mimicking the way he had just marked me.

"Fuck, Hazel," he groaned, his hand flying to his own throat as he watched me work.

I was lost in it—the way he watched me, the way his breath hitched every time I thrust my fingers deeper. When I finally came for the second time, my body convulsing as I called out his name, he looked like a man possessed.

I crawled back into his lap, sensing the shift. The playfulness was gone. This was something deeper. "Truth or dare?" I whispered.

"Truth."

"How do you really feel about me?"

The silence stretched, thick and heavy. Asher reached out, cupping my face with a tenderness that brought tears to my eyes. "I love you, Hazel. I’ve loved you since the day we skipped economics and shared that shitty coffee in the rain. It’s always been you."

"I love you too," I whispered, the words a release.

He kissed me then, and it wasn't a game anymore. It was a claim. He laid me back on the couch, his eyes fixed on mine. "Truth or dare, princess?"

"Dare."

He moved between my legs, his face inches from my aching center. "I'm going to make you come with my tongue. But here's the catch: if you make a single sound, I stop. And you get a punishment."

I bit my lip, nodding frantically. But the moment his tongue swiped across my clit, I knew I was in trouble. He was a master, using his lips and teeth to push me higher and higher. I buried my face in a cushion, my muffled whimpers the only sound in the room.

But as he dipped two fingers inside me while sucking my clit, a sharp, high-pitched moan escaped my throat.

Asher froze. He looked up, a slow, devilish smirk spreading across his face.

"Oops," he whispered, his eyes dancing with dark intent. "Time for your punishment."

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