NIGHT CREATURES
BOOK 2
by
Ebony Brightman
COPYRIGHT
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either products of the writer’s imagination or are used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
Night Creatures: Book 2
Copyright © 2018 by Ebony Brightman
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
No part of this work maybe used, reproduced, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical without prior permission in writing from the author, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.
Cover Illustration by Marta Nael
Cover Typography by Jay Aheer
Copy Editing by Troy Wilderson
Table of Contents
COPYRIGHT
A NOTE ON CONSENT
CHAPTER One
CHAPTER Two
CHAPTER Three
CHAPTER Four
CHAPTER Five
CHAPTER Six
CHAPTER Seven
CHAPTER Eight
CHAPTER Nine
CHAPTER Ten
CHAPTER Eleven
CHAPTER Twelve
CHAPTER Thirteen
CHAPTER Fourteen
Epilogue
A NOTE TO THE READERS
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
EBONY’S OTHER WORKS
Night CreatureS Playlist
A NOTE ON CONSENT
While this story is meant to titillate, it is simply that—a story. It’s a fantasy.
In real life, it’s never okay to touch another person in a sexual manner without their consent. If you do, you’ll find yourself the villain, instead of the hero.
CHAPTER One
Nisa had forgotten to close the drapes. Once Arlo had climbed through her window the night before, she’d forgotten about everything except being in his arms. Now their bodies lay entwined, baking in morning sun.
Arlo exhaled, sighing into the crook of Nisa’s neck. He was still asleep—his arm draped heavy just under her breasts, his leg draped over her thigh. They’d worn each other out and, somewhere in the wee hours, sleep had come to claim them. Now the room was awash with daylight, and her body was starting to rouse.
The last four months had passed like years, her hope a tenuous levee against the constant ache of loneliness. Then suddenly he was there, fulfilling his promise. She silently vowed they’d never be apart again.
Somewhere in the yard a gardener laughed, then fired up a leaf blower. Arlo startled awake—on guard as if he’d forgotten where he was—then calm flooded his face as his eyes found Nisa.
She smiled, running light fingers over his forearm, then he leaned in and pressed a kiss to her lips.
“I missed you,” he murmured.
“And I missed you,” she murmured back.
The covers lay banished somewhere on the floor leaving Arlo keen to explore Nisa’s flesh. He propped himself on an elbow, his fingers remembering her face, then trailing her body to remember her curves. First the hollow of her neck, then the slope of her breast. From torso to belly to the softness between her legs.
Nisa closed her eyes as his fingers worked their magic. Their love was not incidental or forged from friendship. It was born of savagery and lust, and her body was once again ready for more.
The knock on the door was rough. “Nisa! I’ve got notes for you.” It was Shane. He knocked again, harder. “Nees!”
Nisa grimaced, willing Shane to go away—to simply disappear. This was part of his routine. His campaign for attention and control. She’d given him the latest draft of their script almost a week ago. But only today, when it was well past the time she usually emerged, was giving feedback suddenly vital. He banged with his whole fist this time. “The third act needs a lot of work!”
A tremor rocked the bed. Nisa’s eyes snapped open to see Arlo in predator mode rolling up and off the mattress. She scrambled in his wake, grabbing his arm as he reached for the handle, but it was too late. He yanked the door open in all his naked glory. Shane looked up, ready to barge in. But instead of an exasperated Nisa, he found Arlo looking altogether lethal.
Shane’s mouth twisted as though tasting something rotten, eyes shifting from Arlo to his own equally nude wife. Nisa lifted her chin, daring Shane to say something stupid. Script pages scattered as Shane lunged at Arlo. Arlo was clearly the bigger man—heavily muscled and well over six feet—but Shane was running on rage and bruised ego, his fury fed by the lingering scent of sex.
Arlo stumbled backward a foot, then returned the shove with interest. Wood cracked as Shane banged against a bannister. The master bedroom was at the rear of the house, mere steps from the back stairwell. Shane struggled to regain his balance, his feet slipping on loose papers. Then he fell forward to take an awkward swing at Arlo’s chin. Arlo dodged left, letting the blow glance his shoulder, then spun and caught Shane in a headlock.
Shane panicked, struggling against Arlo’s strength. They crashed into the wall, knocking picture frames from hooks. Nisa protected her belly with her hands, staying close but clear of the fray. She’d known this moment was coming but naively thought it would be more civil—that she’d have more time to come up with a plan. She and Arlo locked eyes, the Beast ready to rip free on her command.
Her voice was quiet and steady. “Let him go, please.” Arlo’s response was instant. No argument. No second-guessing. He simply let Shane go, then moved to Nisa’s side.
Shane stumbled out of Arlo’s reach. “I’ll tell,” he wheezed. “I’ll tell the world.”
“Hard to tell anything if you’re dead,” Arlo quipped.
Nisa bowed her head, trying to stifle a laugh.
“Oh, is that funny?” Shane spat. “Let’s call Willa and ask her.”
Arlo piped up again. “Hard to dial with—”
Nisa nudged Arlo in the ribs. Shane was a jerk, but a jerk they had to negotiate with. And for that, Nisa needed Shane calm and closer to reasonable. Arlo put his hand on the back of Nisa’s neck. His touch was light but deliberate—partly to show solidarity, partly to get under Shane’s skin.
Shane narrowed his eyes. “That’s my wife. And that,”—he pointed at Nisa’s belly—“is my baby.”
Nisa opened her mouth to respond, but Arlo spoke first. His voice was low and deadly. “I don’t think so.”
Shane cocked his head, enjoying that he’d struck a nerve. “Can your kind even make babies? Or do you just eat them?”
Arlo tensed, taking the bait. “Any baby Nisa has will be my baby, whether it has my DNA or not.”
“If she squirts out a mongrel I guess we’ll know for sure.”
Arlo lunged first this time. He was quick, but Nisa was quick too, positioning herself between them. She put her hands on Arlo’s chest. “Let me talk to him. Alone.”
Arlo was still looking at Shane. “No way.”
“Arlo.” His eyes flicked to hers as she traced the stubble on his cheek. Then she pushed to her tiptoes and kissed him on the lips. “Let me talk to him.” Shane huffed. Nisa could tell he wanted to rage again but knew he was outmatched. She looked over her shoulder. “Shane, wait for me downstairs.”
Shane hesitated at the order, then started down the steps. Nisa thought he’d be easier to handle if it was just the two of them, and he probably thought she’d be easier to manipulate.
Nisa wrapped her arms around Arlo’s neck. “Wait for me in the bedroom?”
Arlo closed his eyes and held his forehead to hers. “I don’t trust him, Nisa. Not for a second.”
Nisa smoo
thed her hands over Arlo’s hair. It was shoulder length and wavy. He had dark, heavy-lidded eyes and full, sensual lips. She could lose herself in this man, forever. At least that was the plan. “Shane’s a snake. But for now we need to compromise.”
Arlo pulled her closer, molding her body to his. “I can’t be away from you again.”
“You won’t be,” she whispered. “Not even for a day.” He moaned as she rubbed against him and her favorite part of his body stiffened. Fingers tangled in her hair, pulling her head back to part her lips. She flicked her tongue against his, and he crushed her mouth with another lingering kiss.
Shane’s voice was distant but insistent. “Are you coming or not?”
Arlo growled as Nisa broke from his embrace. He turned away, walking back into her bedroom and then to the bed. His body rivaled an Olympian’s. His back a plane of perfect muscles. His ass sculpted. His legs made for endurance. And this man wanted her—wanted her thunder thighs, her paunchy belly, the extra weight she could never quite lose. And he wanted her baby. No matter what.
She headed for the stairs, suddenly feeling strong. Ready for whatever bullshit Shane threw her way.
#
Shane was brewing coffee—a Kenyan roast made with freshly ground beans. Nisa could smell it from the laundry room where she’d stopped to snag clothes from the dryer. She stepped into the hallway, pulling on a tee shirt before heading to the kitchen.
She twisted her hair into a messy bun, then slid onto a stool at the kitchen island. She’d spent much of their marriage perfecting the house. Their home wasn’t huge but it was comfortable and stylish and, most importantly, impressed Shane’s friends.
The kitchen was her favorite. The Portuguese tile flooring. The white counters and cabinets. The Viking range and premium Sub-Zero. She’d chosen it all. Now this room was to be her battleground.
Shane pushed a mug across the counter. He’d shifted to loving husband. “I noticed you’ve been skipping the coffee, lately. I made you tea instead.”
Nisa accepted the mug, catching a whiff of peach and mango.
“It’s got honey in it. Just how you like it.”
She blew on the surface and took a sip. “Thank you. It’s perfect.”
Shane leaned his hip against the counter. “Listen,” he started. “We had an agreement. Far as I know, we both signed. We can’t move on or heal as a family if he starts coming around. You’ve never not held up your end of a bargain. Don’t start now.”
Nisa sipped more tea, then carefully placed her cup on the counter. “We’re not family, Shane. We’re business partners. The most important part of our agreement is that we keep writing together.”
Shane shook his head. “You’re my wife. Your last name is Lennox. It’s my name, it’s my parents’ name, and it’ll be our baby’s name.”
Nisa continued as though Shane hadn’t spoken. “Arlo and I will move out. You and I will work via email, Skype, and Google Drive.”
Shane’s knuckles went white as he gripped his mug. “No.”
“Okay. Then you move out. I’ll stay here and you can find an apartment or a house.”
“And Arlo would stay here with you?”
“Of course.”
“Then no!” Shane’s cup smashed as he threw it into the sink. “That goddamn monster cannot have my wife!”
Nisa gasped, pulling her shirt away from her chest. She’d been hit with hot coffee and ceramic debris. “Lower your voice,” she hissed. “Unless you want that ‘monster’ to come in here and end you.” She stood up, waving Shane away as she rounded his side of the island. “Go. Sit down.”
Shane’s ears went red. But he did what he was told and sat on Nisa’s stool as she walked to the pantry. “Where you’re mistaken, Shane, is in thinking that I am yours to keep or give away.” She returned with a paper grocery bag, a dustpan, and a broom. “The only person I belong to is me. And in five or six months, this baby.”
She stood at the sink, putting the bigger broken pieces into the bag. Shane watched with contempt as she wiped up the smaller shards, then began to sweep the floor. “I have no delusions,” she said. “We both know that you’re holding most of the cards right now. That if you decided to, you could tell the world about Lycans and have your revenge. But let me ask you . . .” She emptied the dustpan into the bag. “What do you think will happen, contract or no, if you violate Willa’s trust? Do you think she’ll say, ‘Welp, Shane had no choice,’ or do you think she’ll do all she can to shut you up?”
Nisa let him think on that as she returned to the pantry. Shane was watching the gardeners trim the tall privacy hedges in the backyard. They lined the fence and hid them from the neighbors.
Nisa returned to the sink. “I’ll be honest with you. Willa knowing Arlo’s here isn’t good for either of us. If we can’t come to an agreement . . . Your screenplays, your three-picture deal. She’ll make that all disappear.”
“And what do you not get?” Shane questioned. “You don’t get Arlo, right?”
Nisa sponged coffee off the counter. “Let me be very clear. I will have Arlo no matter what. But for now it’s easier if she doesn’t know. So tell me what you want. How can we make this work?”
Shane impulsively grabbed Nisa’s wrist. “Is there anywhere we haven’t fucked in this house? We even did it on this counter at the last Friendsgiving.” He chuckled at the memory. “Your sister caught me eating your pussy . . .”
Nisa yanked her hand away. “I had food poisoning that night, remember? I never came downstairs.”
Shane paused to remember, then cleared his throat. “You’ll stay here, where I can see you. Exposing the Lycans might not improve my position, but if I don’t get those scripts, I’ll take my chances.”
“I’ve already promised you’ll get your scripts.”
“You also promised you’d stay with me.” He had her there. “And regardless of what that thing has to say, that could very well be my baby.”
“Then Arlo stays, too.”
“You hardly even know him!” he shouted.
“And yet I know he’s a better man than you.”
Shane glared. And Nisa glared back.
“Fine.” Shane stood up. “But keep him the fuck away from me.”
A smile stretched Nisa’s face. “I will.”
Shane slammed the den door. She was still smiling when she stuffed the broken mug down in the trash.
#
Most of the house had herringbone floors—the slats laid in alternating zigzags which formed chevrons that pointed in opposing directions. It summed up Nisa’s life with Shane and how seamlessly his affection intermingled with derision.
With Arlo it was different. The only thing she could offer him was her love and her passion, and for that he was risking everything. He’d chosen her, not to write his screenplays or be his doormat, but to be his partner. If he was willing to risk it all, then so was she.
Nisa gathered up scattered script pages, then leaned against the doorjamb. Arlo was sitting in the bed, his back against the headboard. He’d recovered the top sheet and pulled it up to his hips, but the rest of him was still deliciously naked.
Nisa smiled and he smiled back.
“Come here,” he beckoned.
She stepped inside, closing the door behind her and locked the slide bolt. She’d installed it to keep Shane out of her room at night. But now she wanted to lock out the world. She tossed the pages on her dresser, then stopped a few feet from the bed.
“How much did you hear?”
“All of it.”
She sighed. “Your hearing is that good, huh?”
“Sometimes. And I was listening from the top of the stairs.”
This made them both smile again. “Are you okay with this? The three of us living here?”
“As much as I can be. I know we’re low on choices right now.”
Nisa stepped closer, hugging herself. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about the baby.”
Arlo s
hook his head. “You couldn’t have. You didn’t even know how to reach me.”
“I meant, I’m sorry I didn’t tell you that the baby could be Shane’s. I should have said it last night, but I was scared you’d leave.”
Arlo took a deep breath. “I meant what I said. I’m this baby’s father. I love you. And even if this child isn’t Lycan, I promise you, we’ll still find a way to be pack.”
Nisa trembled, praying that she was awake. That this moment was truly happening.
“Do you love me, Nisa?”
“Desperately.”
“Then come here and show me.”
He never took his eyes from her—just watched and hungered as she pulled her coffee-stained tee shirt over her head. She raised her arms to shake out her hair, then unbuttoned her shorts and wriggled them to the floor. Her skin tingled under his gaze. He pushed the sheet away as she crawled across the bed.
He swept a curl back from her face as she straddled his hips. He traced her lips, then pushed his thumb into her mouth as her tongue swirled the tip. Her sex clinched, recalling that night he’d ripped her dress to ravish her breasts. She’d been terrified—scared she was about to die. Now she feared nothing except losing him and this chance to really live. She arched her back, her tits an offering, and he was far less tender as he began to devour them.
She came to her knees, steadying herself on the headboard as her free hand reached for his cock. Her fingers formed a “v” at the tip, and she spread her legs wider to guide him in.
“Wait,” he said, “wait.”
He slipped from her grasp as he scooted down the bed, pausing to kiss her belly, then sliding until his head was between her thighs. She braced herself, still on her knees as his fingers parted her flesh. Nisa groaned, a shiver running through her body. Then his tongue was stroking her cunt, slow and merciless. She cried out, pressing her forehead against the wall. In turn he sucked her clit and her hips began to rock, riding his face.
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