Nightfall (Nightmare Dragons Book 2) Read online

  Nightfall

  Terry Bolryder

  Contents

  Author’s Note

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Epilogue

  Date A Dragon Boxed Set Sample

  Also by Terry Bolryder

  Author’s Note

  Wait! This is the second book in the Nightmare Dragons series, so make sure you read Midnight before you continue! Each of my books has a new couple and a happy ending, but some characters do show up in other books so you get the best experience by reading the series in order.

  Here’s the first book!

  Midnight (Nightmare Dragons Book 1)

  Thanks for reading,

  Terry

  Chapter 1

  Sasha Harrington hesitated before putting the next book on the shelf above her, suddenly aware of prying eyes.

  She quickly turned around, didn’t see anyone, and let out a nervous sigh as she went back to what she was doing.

  She located the appropriate code on the shelf, matched it to the book, and placed it gently in its spot, smiling at it in satisfaction.

  Saturdays were always quiet at the library, and it gave her a chance to do returns and get caught up on work without being interrupted.

  Which was good because it had only been about a week since she’d escaped a bad kidnapping and realized there were creatures in the world beyond comprehension.

  Towering nightmares that hid amongst humans while secretly preying on them.

  And her best friend was dating one of them.

  But Nathan Lancaster was an exception, and Sasha had promised Lilian and Nathan she would keep quiet about what she’d seen. After all, what choice did she have?

  She had seen the good man Nathan was, unlike the creature that had taken them, and she had resolved herself to just seeing him as a normal person.

  Which was hard sometimes when she remembered… what she’d seen.

  Blood-red eyes, vivid and flashing in the darkness. Terrible teeth. That awful pale skin that was lightly scaled and reflected red in the moonlight.

  She shuddered slightly and told herself to put it out of her mind and focus back in on her life.

  A life that was boring but currently needed to stay that way so she didn’t make more bad decisions.

  Her last attempt at a date had been disastrous. From the outset, he’d seemed like an improvement from other men who had wooed her. He had a job and a permanent residence. And since Sasha had a soft heart and was kind of a sucker for a sob story, that hadn’t always been the case.

  There wasn’t a stray cat she could resist feeding or a homeless person she couldn’t give change… and she knew all of that had to stop soon.

  She had to learn to grow a spine, or she’d end up in more situations like the one with Phillip, where he’d insulted her friends on their double date and then tried to assault her in a locked car.

  She sighed.

  The other men had been hurtful, used her. Played with her feelings and not been serious. Perhaps she hadn’t felt she deserved better, as an introverted librarian who preferred quiet nights at home to exciting nighttime activities.

  When she was finished replacing the books, she felt that odd sense that someone was staring again, and she slowly climbed down off the ladder so she could get a better look around.

  Had someone entered the library and she hadn’t heard them?

  Her co-worker, Jan, was there as well, so maybe she had greeted more patrons while Sasha was lost in thought.

  She tried not to think of that night too often, but sometimes that was harder than she wanted.

  There had been something about that creature. It had been so terrified but also so… lost.

  No, Sasha. You can’t do that. You absolutely can’t pity a monster. If you don’t use better judgment, you’re going to get into even more trouble than you have so far.

  She gave herself a determined nod and walked down the aisle with another armful of books, tucking her light-blond hair behind one ear.

  “Excuse me,” a deep voice said from behind her.

  A prickle of recognition went up her spine at the sound, and she bit her lip, trying to remember which of their regular patrons it belonged to.

  But when she turned around, the man standing there was unlike anyone she’d ever seen in the library.

  She looked behind him and saw Jan in the background, fanning her face feverishly as she looked at Sasha for agreement.

  Sasha gave her a small nod, then turned her attention on the man, who was smiling pleasantly.

  He was handsome; that was for sure. Like a Greek sculpture brought to life, but with smooth skin, delicate features hardened by a sharp jaw and long nose, with dark-blue eyes rimmed by long, almost feminine lashes.

  But there was nothing feminine about his expression as he slowly looked her over or his body as he towered almost a foot over her height.

  He was broad shouldered, and she could tell his muscles were large as well as defined, from the wide pectorals evident in his blazer to the taut abs showing under his thin tee to the hard quads bulging from perfectly fitted jeans.

  But despite his beauty, there was something hard about him.

  And damn if that didn’t make the old Sasha want to sit up and take notice.

  No. Not again. Not anymore.

  “What can I help you with?” she asked patiently, pushing down any untoward impulses. He was just a patron, just here to find a book.

  “Your co-worker said you were the best one to ask on the type of book I was trying to find.”

  “On any book, really. My name’s Sasha, by the way.” She stepped forward and extended a hand, still feeling that odd sense of unease at how familiar his voice was. She somehow imagined it rougher… deeper.

  Hm.

  He shook her hand briefly and then stuck both hands in his pockets, rocking slightly back on his heels. His expression hardened slightly, as if he were taken aback by her touch.

  Not what she expected at all, but then again, he was hot and she was supremely average.

  “So what can I help you find?”

  “I’m looking for a book on romance.”

  Oh, heavens. “What for?” As if a guy like that needed any help.

  “I’m thinking of entering the dating pool,” he said. “I want to know more about what women want.”

  “Why?” she asked stupidly, her tongue feeling slightly numb. Why did she have to be so affected by him? Why did he have to be so hot?

  He kept his hands in his pockets and cocked a hip, leaning to the side. “What do you mean why? I want to know what I want to know.”

  So demanding. That part felt familiar as well.

  “It just seems someone like you shouldn’t have any problem in that area.”

  As he cocked his head, his unfashionably long, golden-blond hair fell against his face and neck in unruly layers. He shook it away irritably, then folded his arms and took a step closer, making her move back.

  She felt fear go through her. She couldn’t help it. He was just so… big.

  But was she really afraid he would do something to
her? Or that he wouldn’t?

  He looked her over with that appraising gaze again, and she felt heat forming in her toes.

  He put a hand on the shelf behind her and leaned in. “Do you ask all of your patrons these questions?”

  She nodded. “I have to know what you want.”

  He looked as if he wanted to reach for her, just for a moment, but then a muscle ticked in his cheek and he pushed back, giving her room to breathe again. “Anyway, what I want it for is none of your business.” He continued walking between a row of shelves, his hands clasped behind his back, showing off impressive back muscles.

  Oh, Sasha, what is wrong with you? I told you we are done with men.

  “All right,” she said, nodding and walking forward with a purposeful, brisk stride, as if she could leave all prior awkwardness behind. “I’ll show you the section you’ll want to look in. Self-help is over here.”

  He raised a golden-brown eyebrow. “Self-help? Why would I want to help myself? I want you to help me. I’m a patron.”

  “No, it’s a genre of books.” She blinked. “You know, books you read to help you with something.”

  “Ah,” he said, relaxing completely. “Yes, I’m looking for that. For romance.”

  She smiled a little as she took him to the appropriate books and pulled a few out for him. “Do any of these look like what you need? I’ve heard they are good ones.”

  He frowned as he turned them over. “These look like they were written for women.”

  She took one back from him impatiently. “They are. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t good tips.”

  He raised an eyebrow in amusement. “And do you look at books like these, Sasha?” He said her name almost mockingly, and she wondered how he knew it, until she remembered she was wearing her name tag.

  “No,” she said, blushing. “Of course not.” She jerked the book back. “Look, I mean, women are usually the ones concerned with romance, so just look through those and see if—”

  He opened one, reading it mockingly. “Let’s see. ‘Four easy makeup tips to make a man take notice.’” He grinned. “Should I try them out?”

  She jerked the book back. “Well, if you’re just going to make fun of my recommendations.”

  “They won’t help me,” he drawled, putting his hands back in his pockets. “I want to know what women want.”

  Wasn’t there a convention of male models somewhere missing him? Couldn’t he go bother someone else instead?

  She eyed him warily, not sure if he was just messing with her at this point, if he just found it fun to go into libraries and mess with nerds.

  “You really want to understand women? What they want?”

  He nodded.

  “Come with me.”

  She walked innocently down to her favorite section of the library, which just happened to have exactly what he would want.

  Whether he would actually accept it was something else entirely.

  “Here,” she said, pointing at a whole row of shelves with options. “Read these.”

  “All of them?”

  “Any,” she said, reaching out and grabbing a particularly thick one. “You could start with this. It’s an anthology.”

  He picked one up carelessly and began thumbing through the pages, skimming the words. To her surprise, he seemed to be a fairly quick reader.

  When he closed the book, there was a hint of a grin on his lips. “These books are dirty.”

  God, could she get any redder?

  “You asked what women want. We aren’t angels. We’re people. We want the same things as anyone else. To be loved and respected. To belong.”

  “Belong to what?”

  “To the world. To someone in particular, I suppose, for some of us. Most of us maybe.”

  “Do you want to belong, Sasha? To a man?” He leaned in.

  She jerked back, putting her hands up. “I don’t know how we got to that question, but I think you should just pick a couple and go. I gave you what you wanted.”

  So why did this feel like more than her regular job?

  “Okay,” he said, grabbing a couple. “I don’t mind if they’re dirty. I’m just sort of surprised.”

  She doubted any woman kept a clean mind around a man like that, so she wasn’t sure what he meant, but she nodded. “Okay.”

  He walked with her to the checkout counter so she could get him set up. She woke up her computer as she scanned the bar codes on his books and then set them aside in a pile.

  Then she opened a new account. “Okay,” she said. “Name?”

  “Do I have to tell you that?”

  “Yes, to open a library card.”

  “I’d rather not,” he said quietly, his voice almost a hum.

  She looked up to see his eyes blazing, such an interesting shade of dark blue.

  “Well, I can’t lend them out unless…”

  “Fine,” he said, leaning an elbow on the counter as he let out an annoyed sigh. “Darian Lancaster.”

  She was typing it in diligently when she suddenly realized what he’d said.

  She stared at the letters on the screen in front of her and then up at the man’s face as fear and shock warred inside.

  Darian Lancaster. Nathan Lancaster’s brother. This was the creature who had kidnapped her and Lillian that night?

  This was his human form?

  His perfect lips curved into a grin. “That’s right. Nice to see you, too… snack.”

  Chapter 2

  Dare enjoyed the emotions warring on the small human’s face as it sank in exactly who and what he was.

  It made him feel powerful to make someone react. Not that feeling powerful was unusual for him, as a freak of nature endowed with nothing but unusual powers, immortality, and the ability to knock out anything on earth with a wave of his hand, but it was the only thing he truly enjoyed.

  Her hands trembled slightly as she paused in front of the computer, staring at the screen and avoiding his eyes as if she could be burned by them in some way.

  Hilarious.

  He hadn’t known how the little human would react to seeing him. A part of him had been disappointed to see not even the slightest bit of recognition when he greeted her, but he knew the other side of him was a monster, as far from his current form as anything could be, so he didn’t blame her for that.

  What he did blame her for was standing there like a deer frozen by a snowstorm, as if she were just waiting for him to devour her.

  As if he didn’t have better options for feeding.

  He tapped his fingertips on the countertop. “I’m bored, snack. Aren’t you going to check out my books?”

  She took a deep breath and surprised him by picking up the book and hurling it at him as hard as she presumably could. He had to admit it smarted a little as it bounced off his head, spine first, and then flopped onto the library floor.

  He calmly bent to retrieve it and put it back on the counter again. “So volatile, just like a human.”

  “I am human,” she said with grated teeth, shoving her light-blond hair behind one ear as her gray-blue eyes flashed back at him. “Unlike you.”

  “That’s the other thing,” he said, leaning an elbow on the counter so he could get even closer to her eyes. “I wanted to check up on you, make sure you’re never going to tell about what you saw.”

  She muttered something unintelligible under her breath and swiped the book over some kind of scanner, making it beep. Then she handed it over. “If that’s what you’re worried about, then no problem. I promised Nathan and Lillian.”

  He cocked his head to the side, then nodded, taking the book and straightening.

  “Besides,” she said, fidgeting nervously as she clicked something on the computer, “they assured me you aren’t really that bad.”

  He raised an eyebrow curiously. “Did they? I wonder why they would say that.”

  “Well…” She looked around them quickly, then sighed in exasperation and walked ar
ound the side of the desk to take him by the arm and pull him to a quiet corner of the library.

  How brave.

  She released him instantly, as if his touch burned, then folded her arms as she stepped back. “You didn’t eat us, so I guess that…”

  “Means nothing,” he said, stepping forward and planting a hand on the wall next to her head.

  He liked how small she looked this way. Her pale face. Beautiful features, little dimples next to small but full lips. Soft, light-colored hair.

  A rounded, curvaceous body clothed in soft, draped fabrics that emphasized her feminine shape.

  All in all, she looked like a helpless, plump little rabbit, and for some reason, that turned him on.

  He quickly pushed off the wall at that unexpected complication and refused to face her, feeling heat infuse his neck.

  No, nightmare dragons didn’t do this. They didn’t show mercy, and they didn’t retreat. And they definitely didn’t fall for humans. Even soft, little round ones with fiery gray eyes and no idea how helpless they really were.

  He tucked the book into his jacket and faced her again, thinking he must not be thinking straight due to not feeding recently.

  He got in her space once again, making her squeak in surprise as she backed up against the wall. “I came because I need your help, snack.”

  “You need to stop calling me snack.” Her tone was defiant, but her eyes held fear.

  He liked that.

  He cupped her chin, grazing it lightly. “I’ll call you what I want, snack.”

  She slapped his hand away. “I’ll scream.”

  His eyes narrowed, the monster in him awakening at the threat of discovery. “Try it.”

  She bit her lip, and it was so full and pink and sumptuous looking that he almost brushed a finger over it but resisted the urge.