Nightfall (Nightmare Dragons Book 2) Read online

  “So how did you find the club?” He turned her again, charmingly, catching her once more in his arms, pressed to his body. It was firm, hard, but just didn’t excite her like the thought of someone else…

  “I’m here with Dare,” she said, glancing over at the doorway, which occasionally opened, giving a glimpse of him.

  “Ah,” Lock said, glancing at the door. “Then why is he working instead of pressing up against your luscious body?”

  She blinked. The thought was so absurd. Dare had never looked at her in a way that made her feel she was anything but prey, let alone luscious. She shrugged. “We aren’t like that.”

  “Good. Then can I be like that?” Lock spun her against him so her back was to his front and then slid his hands down, trapping her around her shoulders and waist.

  For a moment, she was almost tempted, but then she pulled his hands off her and pushed away, taking a deep breath. She wasn’t dating right now, and she definitely wasn’t ready for something physical with a total stranger, no matter how attractive they were. “Sorry, I don’t—”

  But before she could finish, a big hand pushed Lock back, and a large figure stepped between them.

  Dare.

  His blue eyes flashed at her, glowing even in the club lights, and he folded his substantial arms over his chest. “What’s going on here? Do I need to throw you out, Lock?”

  Lock just cocked his head, flicking a lock of hair off his forehead. “You can’t bounce me out of my own club, Dare. I’m your boss.”

  Dare didn’t appear to think so, and a muscle ticked in his hard jaw. “For unwelcome contact, I will. Benny would back me up on it.”

  Lock rubbed the back of his neck. “He probably would, too.” He looked at Sasha. “Was it unwanted?”

  Sasha thought about it for a moment. Lock had let her go when she pushed away, and he seemed to be nothing but playful.

  Not to mention she didn’t really want a confrontation between Dare and his boss, though Dare looked completely willing to have one.

  “No,” she said. “I’m fine.”

  Lock turned to Dare, who was still scowling. “What’s the problem, then?”

  Dare’s brows screwed together in obvious irritation, but Sasha could see he had nothing he could say to them.

  It wasn’t his place.

  “Fine, but keep your hands to yourself if she wants you to,” Dare said finally. He shook his head. “I’m going on break.”

  She felt oddly amused by the way Dare was acting. He was always the one in control, the one mocking and calling her snack, but for some reason, right now he was the one disturbed.

  It was kind of nice for once.

  She turned back to Lock and saw he was raising an eyebrow as he looked back and forth between her and Dare.

  “Ah, I see.” He folded his arms and cocked a hip.

  “What?”

  Before she could resist, he grabbed her arm and pulled her closer, brushing her hair back with one hand as the other encircled her waist, trapping her. “You remind me of someone. Someone I knew quite a while ago.”

  “Oh?” She didn’t know what to say to that.

  “She was into someone else, too, though she couldn’t admit it.”

  She blinked up at him, shock going through her. “You mean Dare? I’m not into him.”

  “No? Your eyes follow him.”

  “A lot of eyes follow him,” she said. “It’s like he was created that way.”

  “Maybe he was.” He pulled her closer. “He doesn’t have pheromones like I do, so he has to do what he can.”

  “Pheromones?” She looked up at him, wide-eyed, and he laughed.

  “How much has he told you about our world?”

  “What world?” She gaped at him. Pheromones. Was that why she felt odd around him? But how did that work?

  “How interesting,” he said, frowning as he looked down at her. “I knew there were innocent humans here, but not ones that came with shifters.”

  “Shifters?” Did he mean creatures like Dare?

  Lock winked at her. “If you don’t know, you will soon. And if it’s a problem, I can always erase your memory.” He winked. “Alpha powers. But I don’t think it’ll be necessary. I think you’ll know more soon. If you hadn’t noticed, he likes you.”

  She stared at him, open-mouthed, and it took a few seconds to regain her composure after everything he’d said. “Dare doesn’t like me. He doesn’t ‘like’ anyone, and I have no earthly idea about the rest of what you’re talking about.”

  Lock released her hair to put a finger up to her lips. “Shh.”

  “What?” Confusion moved through her as Lock’s hand wound tighter, holding her against him, creeping toward her hips, then lower. “Wait a second. Stop it.” She pushed against him, struggling slightly, and he ignored her. “You aren’t being a very good guy right now.”

  He hummed, pressing his mouth against her neck lightly and then bringing his lips to her ear. “That’s the thing. I’m not a good guy. Anyone who knows me will tell you that’s the last thing I am.”

  “But why—”

  But before she could reengage in shoving him, she felt him jerked away from her and shoved to the side. She looked up to find herself facing a very angry-looking Dare.

  He glared at Lock. “Get out of here or I’m kicking your ass, owner or not.”

  “You’re welcome,” Lock said to Sasha, putting his hands up with a smile and giving her a wink as he pressed back into the dark crowd, disappearing from sight.

  As Dare grabbed her hand and began pulling her toward a back exit, she had to wonder…

  You’re welcome for what?

  Chapter 7

  Dare glared down at Sasha once they were outside, alone in the back lot.

  He was angry with her for making him feel this way and angry with himself for having emotions at all.

  She was a human. He knew better.

  But seeing Lock put his hands on her, no matter how wanted, had driven him mad. Made something he hadn’t sensed inside him wake up and want to roar.

  And then Lock had put his hands on her in a way that definitely looked unwanted, and Dare had his chance to move in.

  “Just what were you doing in there?” he asked angrily.

  She folded her arms defiantly. “What was I doing? What were you doing? You brought me to a shifter club without even telling me where I was!”

  Dare had the sense to feel slightly guilty for a second, but that quickly passed as he took a step toward her, backing her in the direction of the wall. “Can’t you even go a minute without getting in trouble? You had to pick the worst man in the place.”

  She glared up at him, gray-blue eyes sparkling in the light of the moon. “He isn’t the worst.”

  “Oh, he definitely is,” Dare insisted, still irritated by the anger burning in his chest.

  “I didn’t mind him,” Sasha declared stubbornly, and Dare felt the predator in him fire up in response.

  “Oh? You liked what he was doing to you?”

  She hesitated then, just for a moment, and he saw the second she decided she wasn’t going to let this go. “Maybe.”

  He jerked her in against him, making her gasp. Then he tilted her chin up with one firm move of his finger. “You like it rough, then? You like to struggle?”

  She gaped at him, eyes going wide with fear and maybe even a little excitement.

  It didn’t matter.

  “Struggle, then,” he said fiercely, and then he trapped her against him and captured her mouth with his own.

  She let out a muffled squeak, and at first, she did struggle, but the creature inside him was too crazy to be able to let go, and somehow, he sensed she didn’t want him to.

  Her hands stopped pushing against him and cupped his pecs as her body slowly pressed into his, melting them together.

  The kiss was hot, unexpected, and he felt it reaching new parts of his soul.

  He didn’t like it, how vulnerable it m
ade him feel, but he couldn’t stop either.

  His tongue swirled inside her mouth, and she opened with a little moan, wrapping her arms around him.

  He finished the kiss by biting her lower lip, taking it gently between his teeth and letting it slowly drag out.

  Then he looked down at her, noting they were both panting.

  “Why did you do that?” She put a hand to her mouth, her eyes wide with wonder.

  He shoved his hands in his pockets, trying to ignore how quickly his heart was beating. Trying to remember he was a monster and not human at all. “I don’t know.”

  They stared at each other for a long moment, bathed in moonlight, and then the tension broke and Sasha was reaching for him. Dare couldn’t help but reach back, pulling her in so their mouths could crash together once again.

  They were a tangle of legs and arms, hungrily fighting for dominance, as Dare moved them up against the nearby wall for balance.

  Her hands were in his hair and then roving all over his body, and he returned the favor, exploring her soft form, desperate for more of her. She let out a hungry moan against his lips, and it was nearly his undoing as he pulled back to place a hard kiss at the juncture of her neck and shoulder as he tried to let his body calm.

  But she was relentless, tugging at his shirt as he reached for the hem of hers, feeling that what was between them was unstoppable, unavoidable. He had to have her, and now…

  Then a harsh breeze blew through the alley, and he pulled back, pressing his forehead lightly to hers as he waited for his senses to return to him.

  “What are we doing?” Her voice was quiet, but she was right.

  What were they doing? Ravishing each other outside a busy club, at night, where cars were passing and anyone could walk past and see them.

  He pulled back and looked down at her face, flushed and wanting him, and felt disdain and anger rise up. At himself for wanting her. At her for making it easy for him.

  At himself for being a monster who could never be with her. At her for being so very… human.

  She could never accept a monster like him, and he could never accept a lover who was meant to be a snack.

  But he wanted her. That was the worst of it, and he felt it down to his core in a way nothing else had ever touched him.

  There were many things he had wanted but couldn’t have, but he’d felt none as bitterly as this. So in that moment, he hated her.

  Shining up at him with those eyes he could swear saw him as some kind of hero.

  He couldn’t afford to have hope with her. He had to somehow put out that fire.

  He put a hand on the wall on either side of her and braced himself for her pain. “You really do have the worst taste in men.”

  He watched anger wash over her, saw her eyes widen in shock as her lower lip trembled, and then she pushed him away from her. He let her go as she ran back into the club, leaving him out in the darkness.

  He’d hurt her, and he hated that, but he knew things were better this way.

  She shouldn’t have hope in something impossible. He knew from experience that it only led to more pain.

  As Sasha strode back into the club, slamming the door behind her so Dare couldn’t follow, she tried to focus on rage rather than pain.

  How could he say that? He was the one who had kissed her, practically forced her, though she was provoking him and she was the one who had initiated the next move.

  Why kiss her if he was just going to look down on her for accepting it?

  His kiss had been hungry, punishing, and the hottest thing she’d ever felt in her life. He’d been so possessive, so terrifyingly strong and passionate, and his hands had been all over her with just as much zeal as hers had been over him.

  But was she deluding herself? What was his real reason for making a move or getting so angry over Lock?

  If she didn’t know that he was a cold monster who hated humans, she’d say he was actually jealous.

  Was it possible that Lock was right?

  She gazed around, not wanting to see Lock, and saw he was still out on the dance floor, probably schmoozing some other girls. She rolled her eyes, knowing he was a player, and headed for the bathrooms, wanting some time to herself.

  Dare didn’t seem big on boundaries, but she hoped he wouldn’t go in a girl’s toilet at least.

  The door was closed, so she guessed maybe these were single stall bathrooms and knocked on the door, tapping her foot as she waited.

  When she heard no reply, she knocked again, wondering if whoever was inside was okay. Maybe they just didn’t like yelling back when they were going to the bathroom.

  It was fine. Sasha could probably find somewhere else to go instead.

  The club was dark and pulsing with energy, still packed with a crowd she had no desire to engage with. Dare had said he’d help her find someone to date, but she didn’t think she could find them here.

  Something blocked the lasers streaming into the hallway that led to the bathrooms, and she put a hand up to see someone coming toward her. Someone tall with longer hair. Was it Dare?

  Her heart started beating faster, but then she saw dark hair and eyes and realized it was just some random guy who needed to use the bathroom.

  She tried to step out of the way, giving him room to go in the opposite direction, but was surprised when he caught her by the hand, opening the men’s room and then jerking her inside.

  She didn’t have time to even struggle before he was shutting the door behind her and locking it with one hand.

  She looked up at him, wondering if she should scream or if anyone could hear her, but decided that now that she was trapped, it couldn’t hurt to hear him out. Maybe he wanted something reasonable.

  “Um, can you unlock the door?”

  The man paced in front of her, wearing a blue button-up shirt that was semi undone in the front and black jeans that fit over thickly muscled legs.

  Huge and muscular like the others in the club. Maybe even a shifter, whatever that meant.

  He fixed her with a glare. “I saw you with Lock. And Dare. You’re new here, right?”

  She nodded, keeping her back to the door and trying to discretely reach for the handle.

  “Most beautiful girl in here, and I’m going to do you a favor.” He was smiling now, and she didn’t like it at all. “You seem to want alphas to compete for you. Fair enough. I’m game. I’m going to claim you right now, make it easier.”

  He stepped forward to put his arms around her, and she kicked out, trying to hit him in the shins as he easily dodged out of the way. She shoved at his arms, trying to push him back, but it was hopeless. He was as immovable as a rock wall.

  He began to drag her toward the back of the room and she opened her mouth to scream as she struggled and fought.

  He slapped a hand over her mouth as he pushed her back toward the toilet. Then his other hand found the top of her sleeve and pulled hard, and she heard her clothing begin to rip.

  Panic lashed through her, and she made one final attempt to escape, stomping her foot down on his instep and making him howl as she hurried to run for the door.

  She was almost out when he caught her by the back of her shirt, ripping it as he yanked her back in again.

  This time, he trapped her against the toilet, preventing any hope of escape as he pulled her in against him and began to tear at her clothes.

  As tears formed on her lashes, she couldn’t help but think of Dare.

  Dare might think himself monstrous, but men like this were the real monsters.

  She shoved against her attacker hopelessly. She might hate Dare, might still be mad at him, but at that moment, she would have given anything for him to be there.

  Chapter 8

  Dare felt like shit.

  The crisp nighttime air did nothing to comfort him. The darkness of the brick exterior of the club was punctuated by stark lights from passing cars, and in frustration, he leaned his back against the wall, flipping the bir
d at one particularly aggressive car that seemed insistent on blinding him with its bright-blue LED headlamps.

  But not even spite could dampen the hollow ache inside him where Dare assumed humans felt guilt. He, however, was not usually burdened by such feelings, so why the acute pain?

  Besides, he had done what was right by cutting things off between them.

  But then why had he kissed her if he was just going to say something so mean afterward?

  Truthfully, he didn’t even know. What he did know was it was the first time in his life that he’d felt bad hurting a human.

  In his mind, they had all just been snacks.

  Yet she’d been more than just a snack in his arms. More than a snack when he’d kissed her. More than a snack when he’d realized he couldn’t have her for his own.

  Seeing Sasha with Lock earlier had made something very uncomfortable wrench at his insides. A sharp pang of what he could only assume was jealousy. Why, he didn’t know for sure. Maybe because Dare wanted to be the one to hold her like that, be close to her like that. Be the only one Sasha looked at.

  Even if he had no right.

  It felt as if she had woken something inside him, an echo that was still going now that she’d left his side.

  He had no idea what to do with it.

  Ignoring the passing cars, he turned again to the wall, propping his elbows against it and looking at the ground.

  “I should go after her, huh?” he said to himself.

  The faded red bricks, cold to the touch, kept silent as the heavy beat of music and bass inside the club made the air hum.

  Above all else, Dare hated apologizing. Despite his dark existence, he usually justified his actions. He’d had to since the very first time he’d ended another life so he could survive. So it wasn’t often he did something he could admit was a mistake.

  Then again, it wasn’t often he hung out with humans as friends, and he was obviously very bad at it.

  Sasha had looked so upset when she left him. Would Lock be comforting her right now? Were his arms around her, holding her?