Paranormal After Dark: 20 Paranormal Tales of Demons, Shifters, Werewolves, Vampires, Fae, Witches, Magics, Ghosts and More

by Rebecca Hamilton

  “Fight, damn it. You’ve gone up against the scariest males in your life to protect me, so why the hell won’t you fight for what you want?”

  She shook her head and pushed her hair out of her face. “Because fighting for what I want is fighting against what you want. How does that make sense?”

  “So you just give me what I want?” His brow jacked up as he crossed his arms over his chest. “In that case, if that’s how this works, I want sex, so let’s do this.”

  He stripped off his shirt and she couldn’t help but gape at him. “You really have lost your mind.” She dashed around him to lock the door, then turned in time to see him unbuttoning his jeans. She swallowed hard, her gaze locked on his gorgeous, massive chest. “We are not having sex!”

  He hesitated with his hand on the waist of his jeans and cocked a brow at her. “Why not? I thought what we had was mutual, but if it’s all been about giving me what I want…”

  She covered her eyes with her hand so she didn’t do something stupid, like jump him despite all common sense. “We are not having sex with my brother and half the California dragon population on the other side of that door. And two, what’s wrong with me wanting to make sure you have what you want and need in your life? If you don’t want a mate that loves you, it’s better for me to walk out now, isn’t it?”

  * * *

  “NO.” DALLAS SNAPPED without thinking. He shoved a hand through his hair and threw his shirt on the floor as he stalked over to her. He didn’t know what was wrong with him, but the more she argued with him, the more determined he became to keep her. He didn’t like her finding excuses not to be with him. At fucking all. “Who the hell is stupid enough to turn down someone loving them?”

  Confusion rippled over her beautiful face as she lowered her hand from her eyes, her mouth hanging open. “So you want me to love you, but you refuse to feel anything more than like for me?”

  He worked his jaw. “I’m assuming by the look on your face yes is the wrong answer?”

  She growled at him. An honest-to-the-gods growl that made him smile as fire and temper and the need to hurt him leapt into her eyes. There it was. He’d known she had magic buried inside of her somewhere.

  “Yes,” she ground out. “It’s the wrong answer.”

  “I know, damn it,” he snapped back at her as he started a slow prowl around his room. It was sparse and ugly and fully functional, but that was it. He didn’t do the shopping thing, and even if he did, he had no idea—or desire to know—how to decorate. “But what do you want me to say?”

  Her teeth tugged at her full bottom lip as she shook her head slowly. “I don’t know, Dallas.” She sat down on the edge of his bed and watched him pace. “I don’t know what you want me to do here.”

  “Neither do I,” he muttered. Then his frustration and need broke and snapped his control. “Bullshit, yes I do.” He didn’t say anything, and without a word, he stalked over to her, shoved a hand in her thick mahogany hair, and dragged her mouth to his. Because she was sitting, he had to bend nearly double to do it.

  Despite everything, she responded instantly, her arms winding around his neck as if to pull him closer and keep him there, a soft sound of pleasure humming in her throat.

  He meant to tell her he wanted her. Despite everything and all the obstacles in their way, all he knew was he wanted her. By his side, in his bed, and however he could have her, but she gave herself so completely to him that all rational thought simply vanished.

  He didn’t give a shit that her brother was in the next room, any more than he gave a shit that the other dragons were down there with him. He didn’t give a shit that he and Lily were fighting and sex was not going to solve anything. He wanted her. He wanted her so goddamn much his chest ached and he couldn’t think about anything else. Just knew that he had to have her, claim her, mark her as his before he lost his fucking mind.

  She pulled back and scrambled up on her knees, then tangled her hands in his hair and kissed him again. He growled quietly and moved in closer, his arm banding around her bottom to drag her against him. He lifted her, turning them both until he was on the bed and she was straddled over his lap, and before common sense could rear its head again, he dragged her shirt off and devoured one breast while his hand molded over the other. Her breath shuddered out on a raw moan as her hands and mouth scorched over his skin, burning him alive.

  When they were both panting with need, he stood them up long enough to get out of their pants. Hitching her up, he settled her back on his lap. He wrapped her hair around his fist, holding her head where he wanted it as he slowly slid into her, needing to see the pleasure in her eyes.

  His other hand slipped over her body, memorizing her, touching her, feeling her. She was so soft and perfect, and he was so afraid of hurting her, marring her perfect skin.

  He dragged his mouth up her throat and over her jaw, then growled quietly in her ear. “Ride me, Lil. I want to see your face as you ride me.”

  He loved the way her eyes went wide, shy suddenly, and he gripped her hips, grinding them against his as his gaze stayed locked on hers. He almost came right then and there at the purr that sounded in her throat. “However you want, baby. Your pace.”

  She nodded, her teeth catching her bottom lip. She brought her hands to his shoulders, and with only a brief hesitation, her fingers splayed wide, gripping him as she slowly moved over him. His head dropped back on a groan, the muscles in his neck tightening as he struggled to control himself.

  He wanted to touch her, he wanted to watch her, to let her do this her way so he could learn the speed and pressure she loved, but his legendary control was slipping with every second she moved so sweetly over him.

  But where she started off shy, hesitant, she grew bolder until her fingers dug into his shoulders and he was blind with lust.

  “That’s it, baby.” His tongue licked over her nipple, his hand slipping between their bodies to rub at her sensitive nub. “Come for me. Scream.”

  He didn’t care that they weren’t alone, that there were others in his apartment. She was his mate, and it was all he cared about.

  She bowed away from him when his hands cupped her breasts, her head falling back as a scream of pure, unadulterated pleasure tore out of her, and he gave up the fight against his own orgasm. Emotion and pleasure ripped through him like a freight train with so much force he roared with it.

  Unable to breathe or do anything as stupid as thinking, he hooked his arm around her and fell back on the bed, bringing her with so she was sprawled naked and sated on his chest. Where she belonged. He knew it wouldn’t take long before realization hit her, but it was over and done. There was no taking it back now.

  She was his. Forever.

  Chapter 17

  HE WAS HERS now. Forever.

  Lily wasn’t sure how long she had stayed curled up against his chest, the reality of what they’d done slowly beginning to intrude on her yummy, peaceful afterglow. They were mated. As in forever. The Destroyer and the Hunter.

  Blowing out a shuddering breath, she focused on tracing the tip of her finger over the mate mark above his heart. Unique to him, it was the outline of a dragon in a nosedive, his mouth open wide, ready to breathe fire on the enemy. And its identical counterpoint was now above her left breast.

  “This isn’t going to end well, Dallas, is it?”

  His relaxed body stiffened underneath her. He skimmed his fingertips gently down her back. “It ends how we want it to end, sweetheart. No more and no less.”

  Her hand flattened against his mark as she lifted her head so she could see his face. She wasn’t sure what she expected to see in him—anger, rage, resentment, acceptance…but what she didn’t expect was the exhausted peace in his eyes.

  She felt… different. Still the same Lily, with the same thoughts and fears and issues, but an emptiness she’d never realized was inside of her had been filled. He was the other half of herself, and she was complete, finally.

  It
felt right. Perfect. As if she had finally found what she’d always been unconsciously looking for. More, she was suddenly sure she could do anything, be anything, with this new knowledge that she was not alone and the crystal clear certainty that this man, her dragon, her mate, would never allow anything to hurt her ever again.

  She chewed on her bottom lip, turned her head, and rested her cheek against the still-rapid pounding of his heart. There weren’t any words that she could find to describe how it felt to know she did that to him, that after two thousand years of living and fighting and war, she was the one he had chosen. Because she was pretty sure she would have waited forever for him.

  She had no magic to give back to him. While she was a Hunter and could hide in plain sight when needed, most of the powers they were all born with were missing from her. She would never grow old, never die unless someone killed her, but she was just Lily. And Dallas had chosen her, anyway.

  That feeling of rightness in her chest grew when he tangled a hand in her hair and brought her mouth to his. He kissed her gently. “It’s too late for regrets, woman.”

  She scowled at him and sat up on his chest. He dragged his eyes over her, and she couldn’t help the delicious thrill that swept over her at the dark lust in his eyes. He’d had her three times already and mated to her.

  She raised her arms to cover her breasts. “Why aren’t you angry?” she asked, keeping her voice a soft murmur.

  “No point.” He sat up, hooked his arm around her neck, and pulled her in for a quick kiss before he lifted her off his lap and set her on the bed. “It’s done and over, and now we get to spend the rest of forever learning how to live with each other.”

  She turned to watch him get dressed, a soft purr of pleasure escaping her as he pulled on his jeans. She loved him naked, but there was something about him in nothing but a pair of jeans that sat low on his hips that sent lust straight through her.

  His lips lifted in a cocky-as-all hell smirk when he realized what was going through her head. He winked at her, then moved over and sat next to her on the bed. “Are you all right?” he asked, his fingers gently brushing the tousled curls out of her face. “I know we didn’t exactly plan this.”

  She snorted at him, even as her hand came up and wrapped around his wrist, holding his palm pressed to her cheek. “I’m trying to understand,” she admitted softly as she looked up at him, confused. “I’m a Hunter and you’re the Destroyer. How is this going to work?”

  “Sex.”

  Lily blinked at him, frowned, and then blinked at him again. It didn’t help. He didn’t appear to be joking, and she still couldn’t believe that was his answer. “Sex?”

  He shrugged. “You have to admit the sex is fucking fantastic.”

  She handed him his black button-down shirt, then put her shorts and tank top back on, finishing off the look by pulling her hair into a messy bun.

  She blushed. “Well, yeah, but that doesn’t mean anything if we don’t like each other.”

  His brow jacked up. “Do you like me?”

  Like him? She could barely contain how much she liked him. She was about to burst with it. She pulled on his shirt and got to her feet, her eyes never leaving his face. “You are handling this really, really well.”

  “That’s not an answer.”

  She walked into his chest and wrapped her arms around him, sighing contentedly when his own arms hooked around her neck and dragged her closer. She loved how he did that. No matter how tight she hugged him, he always wanted her closer. “Yes,” she whispered honestly, “I like you. A lot, Dallas.”

  “Then we’ll make it work,” he murmured. “As long as your brother doesn’t kill me.”

  She went lightheaded. “Oh gods, he’s going to kill you.”

  The damn dragon didn’t even look the slightest bit worried. “No, he won’t.” He leaned down, kissed the tip of her nose, and rested his head against hers for a moment before he turned and headed for the door. “He needs you safe more than he wants me dead.”

  “Have you met my brother?” She ran after him and grabbed his hand as he hit the hallway. “And did he look in the least bit stable or capable of making a sane decision last night?”

  When he shrugged and continued down the hallway, Lily face-palmed herself. The man was insane. That was all there was to it. It was the only explanation she had for the sudden and complete turnaround in his feelings on the whole mated thing. The fact that he seemed…happy should have warmed her and thrilled her, instead of making her worry about his sanity.

  And then it hit her like an ice-cold glass of water. It wasn’t the mating thing he had been opposed to. It had been the whole idea of loving his mate who, above all things, was a Hunter. The very thing he detested to his soul.

  She blew out a breath and slumped against the wall, fatigue and exhaustion hitting her suddenly. She wasn’t silly enough to think he hated her or had mated to her as some kind of way to get even with the Hunters that had killed his potential mate and his family a thousand years ago. No, he liked her. But if anyone was capable of locking their feelings down to make sure they felt only what they wanted to feel, it would be her Dallas. If he didn’t want to love her, he wouldn’t. It was that simple.

  Which was absolutely perfect considering how quickly she was falling head over heels in love with him.

  Despite her body craving a nap, she forced herself to push off against the wall and go see her brother. She had to figure out what was wrong with Adrian. She needed him so much, in so many ways, but she’d only known Dallas for a few days and already couldn’t imagine how much it would hurt to lose him. Adrian’s absence had to be tearing Seren apart. Lily knew it helped that Seren had Ava—

  Lily stopped short when every male in the room shut up and swung around to stare at her. She plastered on a cheesy smile and ignored the way Adrian was trying to goad Dallas into a fight. She made sure the mark over her heart was covered and smiled at her mate. “What’s going on?”

  One glance at Gabriel’s ice blue gaze told her he knew everything. She blushed, but damn it all, she wasn’t ashamed or embarrassed, so she held his eyes and refused to cower. She just wasn’t ready to tell her brother in case it sent him over the edge again.

  Finally, Gabriel cleared his throat. “Dallas, Micah’s supposed to be sending over some addresses Lily needs to take a look at. Since you’re the one who broke her building, I volunteer you to take her apartment shopping today.”

  When Adrian’s snarl went rabid as the giant man dropped that bomb into the center of the room, Lily could have kicked him.

  Instead, she moved into her brother and hugged him, her heart aching. She loved his face so much. For all the important moments of her life, he’d been home to her. He was her safety net, her protector, the scary being that kept the monsters away. He was her legal brother but deep in her heart of hearts, she didn’t think of him that way. He was the father she’d never had, the father Ava deserved.

  “Don’t listen to Gabriel. It wasn’t Dallas’s fault.”

  Adrian pulled his cap off and dragged his hand over his shaved head. She went rigid and took a step back. He yanked the hat back on when he saw her reaction, hiding his new scars from her view. “We’ll talk about it later,” was all he said.

  She clamped her mouth shut before the bile rising in her throat could escape. Finally, she swallowed back the distress and gently grabbed his arm. She knew Gabriel was kicking her out until he got a better read on Adrian, but she wasn’t walking out the door without a guarantee. “Is there going to be a later? Will you be here when I get back?”

  He shifted his gaze to Gabriel, who nodded once.

  “All right,” he finally murmured as he kissed the top of her head, his voice quiet. “Just hurry back, all right?”

  “I will.”

  She hugged him one last time before leaving. Dallas didn’t say anything until they had left the building and were on the sidewalk. Then he stopped walking and crossed his arms over his chest,
his brow jacked up as he waited.

  She tried another sweet smile. “What?”

  He ignored her attempt to distract him. “Where are we going? You agreed to leave your brother way too easily.”

  “To find a healer.” When he didn’t move after she’d started walking, she turned to look at him, confused. He had more experience than she did with them, so why wasn’t he getting it? “Gabriel was kicking us out.”

  “I got that part.”

  “Then what—”

  He dragged both hands down his face. Then, without a word, he closed the distance between them and wrapped her in his arms, his large body shielding her from the world.

  She tried. She tried to hold the distress back, but it broke free in a desperate rush. “What am I going to do, Dallas? You saw him. He can’t go home like this, and I can’t…I can’t lie to Seren.”

  One large hand slipped into her hair at her nape, and he tugged until she looked at him. “Yes,” he said softly, firmly, “you can.”

  Swiping angrily at a tear that slipped past her defenses, she tried to shove away from him. It didn’t surprise her that he continued to hold on, but it warmed her in places that were quickly turning to ice. “What if it was me? What if I was out there somewhere and they knew it, and no one told you?”

  * * *

  DALLAS DIDN’T WANT to argue with her. Now that they were officially mated, he found that he’d tear the earth apart at its very seams to erase the devastation and pain in her eyes.

  But this was not something he could give her. He’d seen the hope building in her eyes when her brother had shown up, and he’d watched that hope turn, second by vicious second, into pain and despair and helplessness.

  Dallas was going to end the bastard for that.

  Lily was his mate now, and he had to keep her safe. It wasn’t common sense or instinct. It was something he knew in every fiber of his being, a connection he had never imagined and stronger than anything he’d ever experienced. While he firmly believed he only felt like for her, the possession that had welled inside of him the instant he’d seen his mark on her breast had staggered him. He’d wanted to roar with it, to tell the world that she was his. Because she was, and she always would be—his.