Nightfall (Nightmare Dragons Book 2)

by Terry Bolryder

  “Do you think they’ll be able to help?” Sasha asked, coming back into the front room to join him.

  “Help? Who?” Stop thinking about Sasha naked, Dare. Just stop it.

  “The group. Help solve your problem.” There was a hint of a smile on her lips. God, why were they so luscious, so kissable?

  “I don’t know,” he replied, lacking the brainpower to come up with a better answer. And honestly, he didn’t know if they could actually help him find his creator or not.

  All of that seemed so far compared to Sasha’s warmth only an arm’s length away right now.

  The seconds drew out like prolonged fermatas of silence. Her refrigerator hummed lightly, cooling its contents, while Sasha rocked back slightly from one leg to the other, fingers twiddling.

  “Are you going to mark me?” she asked, words so quiet only pervasive silence would make them audible.

  He crossed his arms, looking at the ground, somehow fearful that if he looked up, he’d never be able to look away again.

  “I don’t know. I haven’t decided yet.”

  She straightened slightly, formulating her words before speaking again. “We don’t have to go that far, from the sound of it. Enough to just make sure there isn’t more trouble.”

  Dammit, why did she have to make it sound so logical.

  Yet, having justified eating people as food his entire life, justifying a little action seemed incredibly simple.

  And dangerous.

  He uncrossed his arms, looking to the side. “I mean, yeah, it probably would be a good idea.” He was going along with this. Why was he going along with this?

  Why wasn’t he going along with this?

  Because aside from how badly he wanted to touch her, he couldn’t stand the thought of another guy touching her. Ever again.

  He walked past Sasha, her scent so erotic, the warmth of her body prickling at his skin as he moved to the couch and sat down.

  She was so beautiful, wearing that blue dress, showing off just enough leg to give him ideas.

  And by the way she kept looking at places other than his face, he could very easily tell he wasn’t the only tense one in this apartment.

  “It would probably put a stop to complaints from Lock and Max,” she exclaimed, walking toward him. The modest surroundings of Sasha’s apartment seemed to melt around her as his focus centered solely on her movements. Dare felt his body awaken to her, and when she sat on his lap, straddling him, his body went rigid. “I mean, it would lead to less trouble.”

  Or maybe more trouble.

  But trouble was Dare’s middle name.

  He wrapped an arm behind her, soaking in the feel of her soft legs and hips above him, pulling her closer so he could feel her better.

  “And it would probably help keep the peace so we could work quickly.”

  His finger felt the small vertical divot of her spine, and she flinched slightly, mouth opening as they came closer, lips only inches from each other now.

  “Right,” she said. “I mean, neither of us really wants to, but it does make sense.” Her voice was low, husky.

  It was a safe out for both of them. They could have a little fun, but they wouldn’t stray from their mission.

  After all, he was supposed to be finding someone else for her.

  Internally, Dare decided that they wouldn’t go very far. Just enough to “mark” her, right?

  Chapter 13

  Dare’s lips closed over Sasha’s, their mouths connecting as he wrapped his other arm around her, trapping her against him. But she didn’t complain, giving out a muffled moan as her mouth parted for him and he entered.

  This time he wanted to explore, wanted to uncover her secrets and make them his own. Languidly, he stroked the inside of her mouth with his tongue, teasing her and licking her and making her squirm with arousal.

  When her hands wrapped around his neck, holding him for stability as he continued, a little voice far in the back of his head warned they were getting in too deep.

  He ignored it.

  After several minutes, he ended the kiss, appraising with pleasure Sasha’s face, flushed red. Strands of her blond hair were misplaced here and there, adding to her look of wanton arousal.

  “Do you think that’s enough?” Dare asked, silently hoping they were far from done.

  “I don’t know. Benny made it sound like the process was more… involved.”

  “Well, how about we try this?” At that, Dare’s lips closed over her neck, moving upward until he reached her ear. He played with the soft lobe, loving the way the muscles in her neck tensed as he bit down.

  “More,” she pled softly, and he kissed down the other side, her soft skin getting warmer by the second. When he reached the seam of her dress, he pulled it aside with his hand so he could move to her shoulder, then lower to her collar.

  The little voice warned more sternly now. Warned that he had no business as a creature of darkness being with a being of light like Sasha, a human who knew nothing of the evil he did. But he couldn’t stop. He’d never yearned for something, for someone like this.

  Maybe he just needed to get this whole thing out of his system. But nothing had been that simple ever since he’d met Sasha.

  Sasha made the next move, reaching behind her and pulling down the zipper of her dress, then pulling off the shoulders so the fabric bunched around her hips. The pink-colored bra she wore was bright and cheery, as she was, and he reached behind to undo the clasp, desperate to devour every inch of her, starting there.

  “You think this is working?” Dare asked, wanting to make sure she wasn’t just testing him.

  “I mean, I think so. Keep doing what you were doing,” she said between raspy breaths. “I don’t think we can be too thorough if this is going to have the desired effect.”

  Fuck. If this was a game, Sasha had him in checkmate.

  The beast within him growled in approval, and he squeezed both her breasts, lowering himself so he could cover one nipple with his mouth, then the other. She groaned, pressing herself forward into him to intensify their touch, her eagerness its own kind of turn-on.

  Dare licked over the hardened tip of her breast, and she arched. Every response from her locked him in more tightly, made him lose control. Then, as he kissed up between her cleavage and to her neck again, he let his thumbs press into the center of her breasts, watching with excitement how it turned her on.

  Sex had never been like this before. So eager. So out of control—but in the way that makes you want it that way.

  Dare reached a hand between them, underneath her dress, and she paused, watching intently as he did. He found her inner thigh, and she nodded before he let his finger stroke up the center of her legs, over her underwear.

  She gasped, arching so hard she almost fell to one side. He caught her, and rather than risk having her fall off his lap completely, moved her so she lay back on the couch, head propped up by the arm at one end.

  “Good idea… Can’t be too thorough… marking.” The light blue-gray of her eyes seemed to intensify as they kept going, her hands wrapped behind him as he propped himself above her on the sofa.

  And when his finger closed over her clit again, pressing lightly, her eyes shut, face tensing from the sensation.

  God, he liked her reactions.

  He continued to press her center over the soft material of her panties, over and over, making her writhe beneath him. The yielding cushions of the couch only made her sink in harder, trapped by his legs as he stroked, taking in the sight of her nearly naked body, flushed and soft and receptive to his touch.

  Then with a harsh gasp, her hands dug into his back, and Sasha orgasmed, legs clenching around his hand.

  “Dare. Oh, Dare—” Sasha cried out, squirming back and forth as release overtook her. Dare’s mouth went dry watching her, devouring her pleasure as it rocked through her like a storm.

  By the time she was done, he was already thinking of the next thing he was going to
do to her. With a little help from Sasha, he pulled off her dress, lowering it past her legs and setting it aside before pulling her panties off, too. He spread her legs, almost overcome with the need to see her come again.

  “Do you think it will help mark me?” Sasha asked expectantly, eyes twinkling as she watched him come lower.

  “I don’t know. Do you?” Dare paused for a moment. Maybe he was getting ahead of himself.

  “I hope so,” she responded, sounding much more excited about it than she’d probably intended.

  Which wasn’t a problem because he couldn’t contain his own excitement anyway.

  “Well, that makes two of us. Can’t be too thorough, as you said.”

  She huffed in amusement, lips turning up in a smile that was interrupted by his tongue licking directly up her clit. Her entire body clenched, going tight for a moment before slowly relaxing from his touch.

  “Oh God. That’s strong.” Her teeth closed over her lower lip, hands raised above her, grasping the arm of the couch.

  “I’ll assume that’s a good thing,” Dare remarked shortly before going back to what he was doing.

  He’d never done this before. Had never seen the point. But somehow, with Sasha, it was as if he were overcome by some feral need to pleasure her senseless. A need that was as intense as breathing. Or feeding. Maybe stronger.

  Dare swirled his tongue in tiny circles around the small nub, enjoying the feel of her slick folds as he gently explored her sex with his mouth. She gasped, begged for more, and he didn’t relent, flicking up then down in swift motions that got her closer to release faster than even he expected.

  When she was almost there, breaths racing and toes curling, he paused for a moment, kissing up the insides of her legs, loving how even the lightest touch made her muscles twitch. Then, when he was tired of teasing her, he kissed her apex, suckling her clit with his tongue.

  Sasha, no longer able to do anything but let go now, came with incredible force. Her hands, which had been grasping the couch for dear life, shot out to grab him, surprising him and pulling him down to her. He didn’t resist, though, letting her hold him as she navigated her release.

  It was the least he could do since he was the one doing all of this to her.

  He counted the seconds, noting exactly how long her orgasm was before it was clear she was through the thick of it and floating in post-release ecstasy.

  The new voice inside him screamed to keep going, roaring like some beast to take her and make Sasha his own. But he brushed it aside, certain that, at least for the time being, this would deter any rogue shifters who got ideas about the woman he was beginning to see as his friend (and perhaps something much more, if he was honest with himself).

  He sat up, appraising Sasha for a second and admiring his handiwork as she stared up like the world began and ended with him.

  Which confused him. No nightmare deserved to be looked at that way.

  He was too caught up in trying to figure out what all of it meant when he felt Sasha’s hands on his jeans, undoing the zipper eagerly.

  “Hey, what are you doing?” He wanted to push her off, but she was so small, so soft.

  And so insistent.

  “Well, maybe you need to be marked, too. It only makes sense,” Sasha said, stopping for a second and looking up at him with fire coursing through her blue gaze.

  Dare disagreed. They were marking Sasha so no guys would creep on her at the club. The opposite logic didn’t exactly apply in this situation.

  “I don’t think that’s necessary,” Dare tried to state matter-of-factly. But to his shock, she didn’t stop, tugging at his jeans until he felt her hand on his dick. He jerked a bit, but she didn’t let go.

  He tried to move back, but between trying to not be too forceful with her and having an awkward kneeling position on top of unstably soft couch cushions, he fell backward onto the sofa beneath him.

  “Don’t be weird about it. This is important.” Sasha was on top of him with surprising speed, prowling until her hips were over his legs, straddling him.

  “I’m not being weird.” He tried to survey his escape routes, but with her above him, there weren’t any he wanted to take. “I just wasn’t planning on you… doing what you’re doing.”

  “Oh, so you don’t want to be marked by me?” Sasha said, making a pouty face with her lips even while she pulled his cock free of his pants.

  Damn, she was horny.

  “No. I mean, yes. I mean—dammit, I can’t think with you doing that.” Her fingers were like silk up and down his shaft. It didn’t hurt that seeing her come had made him harder than fucking stone down there. And now, seeing her naked, doing that, it was almost too much.

  “Maybe marking is a two-way street?” Sasha posited. The gleam in her eyes said she wasn’t backing down.

  How were things that made no sense suddenly supposed to make sense?

  “Let’s admit neither of us has any clue what we’re doing. Which means everything we said is probably just guesses and bullsh—”

  But Dare’s own tongue did a backflip in his throat as her mouth swallowed his tip, wet and sucking for a second before she looked up at him.

  “I…” Dare begged for words. For reason. Any way to feel in control of the situation. But Sasha was relentless. “Fuck it. You win. You won’t take no for an answer, will you?”

  She shook her head, smiling, and he almost laughed at the sight of Sasha—the so-called shy librarian—now sitting on top of him, curves everywhere, taking him just as he’d taken her only moments ago.

  Truly nothing made sense if a woman like her could want a man, a monster, like him.

  All thought escaped as she took him into her mouth again, deeper this time, holding the base of his length with her hands as she did. His insides wrenched with arousal, pent up from watching Sasha orgasm and unable to resist her touch.

  He still wanted to resist. Wanted to turn things around. But he had to admit turnabout was nothing if not fair play.

  For a moment, Sasha explored him, running her tongue over the ridge of his tip, her hands caressing his balls then feeling the hard muscles up his thighs and down the corners of his hips. His fingers itched to be the one touching her again, tingled with sensation as zaps of lightning went through his spine.

  Then she sucked on him in earnest, and he felt his walls fast crumbling.

  He kept his mouth shut, refusing to give Sasha the satisfaction of knowing she completely owned him in this moment. But by the way her gaze flitted to his, a knowing smile in her eyes, Dare got the idea she already knew who was in charge, at least for the time being.

  He clenched his hands into fists, but she was going faster now, tongue sliding up and down as she squeezed and stroked with her hands. His body screamed for release, overwhelmed by Sasha’s onslaught of sensation. It didn’t help that every time he looked down at her, all he could picture was her coming beneath him, orgasming with such perfection it defied description.

  Nobody. Nobody else was ever allowed to touch her like this. Never, for as along as he lived…

  Dare’s vision blurred as Sasha tipped him over the edge, and he lost control of his senses. His entire body throbbed with release, and even though he was dimly aware of Sasha watching him with more than a little glee, he was helpless to do anything about it as tiny tornadoes of pleasure tore through his veins.

  Sasha just sucked a little more, pulling him in deeper until it felt he was melting through the couch and into the floor. He wasn’t sure how long it even was before slowly his sight returned to him and his body decided it was done for the night.

  Sasha sat up, licking her lips with one eyebrow raised.

  “That was definitely hot,” she said, gaze roving over him the way his wanted to while she was naked, “but nothing came out. Is that normal?”

  He took a breath, still only one foot back in reality but conscious enough to think at least.

  “Yeah, it’s a nightmare thing. Nothing to be alarme
d about.” He didn’t want to ruin the moment by admitting he secretly felt it was some intentional thing to prevent him and his brothers from ever propagating the species. Which even Dare had to admit made a cruel sort of sense.

  Three in the world was more than enough.

  “Oh, okay,” she said, looking utterly pleased with herself now, practically grinning from ear to ear. “Now I’ve marked you, too.” The arousal and satisfaction in her voice was utterly infectious.

  Like everything else about her.

  “I… I guess you have,” he said, not having the heart to disagree with her anymore. “Or at least something like that.”

  “That’s good enough for me,” she said happily, taking a long breath and sighing.

  Instinctively, even though he’d never done it before in his life, he reached an arm to Sasha’s side and ushered her down, laying her next to him on the couch for a moment as the intensity of the night slowly wore off. Even though he hated himself for it, he couldn’t deny that having Sasha so close was something like heaven.

  At least, he could only guess. Dare had known nothing but hell before the day he’d met her.

  After what could have been minutes or even hours, Sasha sat up, looking down at him, body relaxed.

  “Um, do you want me to go? I can sleep in my room if you want to leave. I should be safe here until tomorrow, especially now that I’m marked.”

  A million responses to the situation battled to be spoken in his mind.

  “No, don’t go. I’m okay staying here.”

  “You want to stay here tonight?” She sounded a little surprised. Heck, even Dare was surprised. The call of the night was strong.

  But not as strong as Sasha.

  “Yeah, I don’t want to transform tonight,” he said, sitting up and coming off the couch, then pulling her into his arms and heading in the direction he assumed was her bedroom. “Is it okay if I stay with you?”

  Of all the excuses he could make to be with her, it seemed the least pathetic, the least weak.