“It could be the back of a dump truck and I’d still be happy with you.”
Had Dare ever taken someone to see his home? Given how reclusive he was, how closed off he’d been with people, Sasha thought it highly unlikely.
“Like hell I’d let my mate live in a dump truck. I’m a nightmare, not a sadist.” The more romantic she was, the more he seemed to bristle. Yet he wasn’t pushing her away anymore, wasn’t running from his feelings.
And Sasha knew, with time, he’d get more comfortable with himself.
She opened her mouth to ask about the whole mate thing when the elevator dinged. She followed Dare down a short hallway with only two other doors to the end with a tall black door. He opened it, and she came inside, greeted by the sight of an incredibly wide, single-story condo that looked like something from an article in GQ.
The door clicked shut behind her as she took in the place. White granite countertops and steel appliances, floor set with shimmering black tile. The windows lined the walls on two sides, taller than her and looking out onto the city below.
But aside from the quality of the place itself, Sasha noticed grimly that there were practically no furnishings. Aside from a small white sofa in front of a gigantic television mounted on an asymmetric wall, there was no other sign that anyone had even lived here.
“What do you think?” Dare asked, not doing a very good job at hiding the slight twinge of nervousness in his tone.
“I love it. The view is amazing,” she responded, coming toward the floor-height windows. Far below her, cars moved like glowing ants down the interstate, while lights from houses and apartment buildings flashed like toys.
“Yeah, that’s why I like it here. It’s a good place to clear your head, so far above all the rat race down below.” His arm was on her side, pulling her in close, as though he didn’t want to let go now that the possibility of them being together was in sight.
No amount of touch from Dare would be too much.
“You don’t spend a lot of time here, though, do you?” Sasha asked, looking up at him.
His eyes shuttered, looking down at something dozens of stories below them. “Not really. Peace and quiet is fine, but it’s also hard knowing you’re all alone in a world full of people.”
She placed her hand on his cheek, turning him to face her.
“Not anymore.”
His eyes smiled at that, and he leaned down to kiss her. Even the lightest brush of his lips was like fire, making warmth coil deep within her. Even when he broke the contact, she could still feel him on the tip of her tongue.
“If you want, we can go back to your place tonight.”
“Like hell, to paraphrase a certain stubborn man I know,” she said with mock offense. “If this is home for you, then this is where we’ll be. Wherever you are is home, Dare.”
“You took the words right out of my mouth.”
She pulled away from his grip for a second, an idea formulating as she looked around the place. Near the door, an empty end table stood stoically, waiting for something.
“I think you just need to let yourself turn this into home. If you’re going to start being a part of my world, the human world, you’re going need to start living in it, too.”
Dare followed her as she made her way to the table. She checked her pockets, but they were sadly empty. Then, with a little surprise, she noticed a small splinter of wood a couple inches long caught in her hair, probably from the club when Dare had almost torn through the roof.
This would do.
“Here,” she said, pulling the twig free and setting it on the table. “Your first decoration. See, already the place feels a little more like home.”
Dare came beside her and frowned down at the dark little piece of wood sitting atop the pristine white glass of his table. “I’m not letting you put rubble there.”
“It’s not rubble. It’s a decoration. A little avant-garde, sure, but that’s hardly the point. It’s our first memory together as a couple.”
Dare crossed his arms, impressive muscles bulging, staring at the thing like it was refuse.
Which it was.
“Unless you have something better to put here?” Sasha offered up.
“As a matter of fact, I do,” Dare said, and he disappeared down a hallway into what looked like his room. A second later, he came back, a beat-up picture frame in his hand, the worn wood at the edges looking aged.
He set it down, and when Sasha looked down at it, she saw an old black-and-white photo. In it, three young men were standing next to each other, not smiling, but looking handsome nonetheless.
In the center, she could make out Dare. His hair was shorter, his face more youthful, but his intense gaze was the same nonetheless, like looking through time at the person she knew she was in love with.
Even after all this time, Dare had been holding on to something that proved he wasn’t all alone in the world.
Sasha swore to remind him every day that was no longer the case.
“And tomorrow, we’re taking a picture and putting it up here, too, dammit,” Dare said tersely. Then suddenly, Sasha’s feet disappeared from under her, and she was in his arms, headed toward the bedroom. “But for now, I have a mate to claim.”
Mate. Claim.
“So what does that mean?” Sasha asked, wrapping her arms around him, loving the feel of his strength and the safety that only his embrace could bring. “I mean, we talked about marking, but I’m still new to all of this.”
“From what I understand, mates are a shifter thing. Like being married but stronger. Something you feel, an inescapable bond that ties you to your significant other forever.”
“Wow,” she said, somewhat speechless as he turned on the light in his room. Inside, only a bed and a nightstand with a laptop on it greeted them. But then she looked up at Dare because he was the only thing she needed in her life right now.
“So claiming is when two people make it all permanent. Seal the deal, so to speak.”
“And how do we do that?”
He looked down at her with that feral glint in his eye, his smile showing a wolfish canine, and she didn’t need to guess to know what he had on his mind.
Good. The same thing she had on her mind.
“But first…” Dare looked around, noting with disdain some accumulated dust on his shoulders that hadn’t come off from earlier. “Let’s clean all this shit off. I doubt fucking a dusty nightmare sounds like a great idea to you.”
Sasha actually didn’t mind one bit. They could just throw off their clothes and do it right here on the floor, but she wasn’t going to turn down an excuse to get her man naked in the shower.
The bathroom was almost as large as the bedroom, with a gigantic tub and a shower with two opposite heads surrounded by a wall of glass accented with steel and marble.
When he set her down, Sasha’s legs buckled. She was already starting to feel like jelly at his touch. So she didn’t complain as he helped her out of her clothes, ushering her into the transparent shower before throwing off his own clothes and coming inside.
Dare turned on both showerheads, and warm water cascaded over her, renewing her strength with enlivening wetness.
“Allow me,” Dare said, squirting a large puddle of liquid soap into his hands and coming next to her.
“Please.” Her brain couldn’t decide if she was asking or begging. Either way, it had the desired effect as Dare’s silk-soaked palms roved over her body.
He started at her shoulders, working up a soapy lather, then ran down her back, pulling her close to him as his fingertips studied the curve of her spine, making her knees jerk with arousal. The steam from the shower was slowly building up, the air thickening with microscopic droplets that made her feel like she was being bathed in warm clouds.
When he squeezed her ass, her feet almost slipped out from beneath her, despite the roughly textured tile beneath her and its improved grip. But Dare was there, keeping her pinned against him with
one arm while his other palm, still slightly soapy, cupped her cheek.
“Let me hold you,” Dare said, his voice low, serious, attentive. And when he lowered his mouth to kiss her, Sasha tilted her chin up to meet him. As their lips crashed together, he picked her up and moved forward, bathing them in the hot rain of the two opposing streams of water, leading them to the back of the shower and pinning her against the wall.
But his tongue didn’t let up, swiping inside and doing wicked things while Sasha’s body anticipated even more wicked things from her lover in the coming moments.
Her mate.
Her forever.
Dare parted, still only inches from her face, and when she opened her eyes to see his hair, wet and swept over one side of his face, he looked like some fallen angel looking down at salvation in his arms.
Past the dark-blue hue of the eye color she’d become so accustomed to seeing, she noticed that deep purple within, a veneer over the true man she knew.
“You wear contacts,” Sasha said, holding his face with one hand. “Let me see you. The real you.”
Dare glanced to the side, but she diverted his gaze to meet hers again. When he looked up, his mouth opened slightly in question, but no words came forth.
Instead, he lifted a hand to his eyes. And using his thumb and middle finger, he pushed outward across his partially hooded lids. With one swipe, two translucent discs fell to the floor of the shower, and when his gaze centered on hers again, she saw him.
Red eyes, dark like blood. A deep crimson the color of sin and violence. The same color Sasha had seen the night she and Lillian had been captured.
But now, instead of rage, instead of sorrow and horror, she saw only kindness. A stoic softness reserved only for her.
The true man behind the monster Dare believed himself to be.
Their breathing synced, both of them taking long exhales as the moment hung heavy over them.
“What do you think? Do you wish I hadn’t taken them off?” He sounded vulnerable, like an animal ready to run or lash out for fear of being hurt. The secret he’d hidden a century now open, on display for her to see.
No words sufficient to express her true feelings seemed enough. So instead, Sasha pulled herself up to meet him, pressing her lips into his until Dare’s body relaxed against her. Then, with both hands, he lifted her higher until her legs were around his midsection and she was above him, shower falling like raindrops around them in a symphony of renewal.
“I love you, Dare. Never change,” she exclaimed.
“I love you, too, Sasha.” His eyes almost glowed with satisfaction, possessive, all-consuming want showing through in a way she’d never seen before.
Somehow, the nightmare she thought had only just begun the day Dare had walked into the library—proclaiming her as nothing more than his snack—had become a dream. A wondrous dream seemingly too good to be true.
She leaned down to his ear and whispered,
“Now mate me, before I have to take care of it myself, Dare.”
She didn’t have to tell him twice.
Once was all he needed.
Dare’s mouth covered the sensual spot at the base of Sasha’s neck, sucking and biting as the feel of slick wetness intermixed with soap and skin and sex in a cloud of intoxicating steam. Sasha moaned loudly, and he kissed her harder, drawing a ragged breath from her lips.
In a period of one night, she’d seen it all. Seen his monster again. Seen the creature he was even in his human form. Seen him for who he really was.
And she hadn’t run.
So he was going to make her his forever.
Her fingers tightened around his shoulders as Dare kissed lower, raising Sasha so his lips could tease at her breasts, suckling one then the other, the smooth feel of them on his tongue erotic and tempting. When each nipple formed a hardened tip, he nibbled lightly, alternating as her body tensed in his arms, so beautiful in this moment, in every moment.
Then Dare lowered her, her toes barely touching the ground as he supported her with one hand. The other he reached between them, fingers playing amongst the folds of her sex for a moment before pressing her clit.
Sasha arched backward, pressing herself into the wall of the shower as he held her more tightly so she could keep her balance. But he didn’t let up, stroking over her as her hands twisted into his wet hair for support.
She muttered his name, a choked sound struggling for breath, then came in his arms.
Dare just held her tightly, giving her all his strength so she could enjoy her release without having to think about simple things like not falling. She writhed, gripping and pulling at him, crying out for mercy as it throbbed through her entire being before finally receding.
Around them, the steam thickened, the showerheads silent sentinels overlooking the consummation of their love.
Sasha’s entire body was flushed from head to toe, and as she looked up at him, she brushed a wayward lock of wet hair out of her face.
“To the bed?” she asked, wobbling back and forth slightly as he held her so she didn’t slip.
“Whatever you want.” He had never wanted to say no to her before. He just couldn’t say yes.
But now all his yeses were for her alone.
He helped her step out, and they toweled off haphazardly before he put a robe on each of them and they left the shower. Steam rolled out of the bathroom like a fog as they emerged into the cool air of the bedroom. Dare dimmed the lights, leaving only the low gleam of the quieting city beneath and the awakening sky above to illuminate the room.
Sasha’s hand gripped Dare’s tightly, and he followed as she tugged him toward the humongous bed he couldn’t remember the last time he’d slept in.
A hundred years without Sasha had gone by in a horrific flash. Now that she was with him, every moment was precious.
She pulled him closer, his back to the bed, and she pulled off his robe, letting it pile on the floor as she did the same for hers. Her still-wet hair curled in blond waves around her neck, and little droplets of water on her skin begged to be kissed away.
She came closer, but when he lowered to kiss her, she shoved him onto the bed. He bounced a little and looked up in surprise.
“Hey,” he exclaimed.
But Sasha was already crawling over him on the bed, and he moved up so his legs weren’t hanging off. Mentally, he didn’t know how to react, even if his dick clearly didn’t care either way and was more than pleased to see her naked.
“Don’t you ‘hey’ me. I get a say in how we mate, too,” Sasha said, placing a hand lightly on his chest. He wanted to say something, hated not being in control, but he relented.
He’d give his life for his woman. A little control was nothing in comparison.
So he didn’t resist as she positioned herself over his hips, all softness a contrast to his hardness. And when she slipped over his length, ensconcing him completely within her tight wetness, the muscles in his neck went haywire and his eyes rolled back in his skull.
She gasped with pleasure but didn’t wait to move again, thrusting down into him as he rose a little to meet her.
But just because she wanted to be on top didn’t mean he was going to let himself be a passive participant. So he raised both hands, squeezing her breasts as she lifted again, pressing his thumbs into her nipples. Her body tensed, but Sasha kept her rhythm going, much to Dare’s surprise.
Her hips were so soft as she rested on top of him, her hands so small as she held on to his pecs for support, damp hair dangling around her face like a surfacing mermaid.
For a moment, he considered giving her a helping “hand” in getting to her desired destination but thought better of it.
If Sasha wanted control, she could have it.
Anyways, it didn’t take much longer before Dare could feel her knees tightening around his waist, her fingers trembling as her nails scraped along his skin. Then, holding her hips, he thrust into her one more time, his own body buzzing with need
for release but able to hold back a little longer.
Sasha’s orgasm was more beautiful than art, body curled around his, their hips still together as she screamed out staccato sounds of pleasure. Her body clenching from head to toe threatened to drag him past his own limits, but he focused on her as she came above him.
By the time air was back in her lungs, Sasha looked exhausted and happy and all the things he loved to see when they were pleasuring each other senseless.
“I give. I give. That’s enough for me,” Sasha said with a prolonged sigh.
But before she could come away, he placed a hand on the small of her back and gingerly switched their positions on the bed. In awe, she looked up at him, eyes going wide as they sparkled with starlight and the cool blue hue of the moon.
“I must warn you, Sasha. After this, you’re stuck with me,” he said, loving the way her gaze flitted from one side of his face to the other, looking at him without fear or reservation. “And rumor has it I’m a nightmare.” For the first time in his life, though, he felt human. Like the monster within was only a part of him, not his defining aspect.
“I know. Whatever shall I do?” She shrugged in feigned resignation. “I guess my poor taste in men has gotten the better of me.” She finished with a tiny pump of her fist.
“Or maybe, after all, you really had the best taste in men.” He couldn’t hold back a smile as he said it, coming down to place a kiss on her cheek. “Because somehow, against all odds, you picked me.”
She flushed, looking away as he placed another kiss on the other cheek before popping himself back up. Sasha took in a deep breath, and then he began to move.
And the rest of the world melted into nothingness around them.
As Dare thrust into her, Sasha closed her eyes against the throng of sensations that overwhelmed them both.
“Oh, Dare—”
But her sentence went no further as their hips came together. Dare’s mouth twitched as his fingers dug into the damp bed beneath, shocked by his own inability to hold back.
So he quickened the pace, sliding out then in with quick succession as Sasha held him tightly. The slick sounds of his hardness meeting her wetness, coupled with the sight of her naked curves, made him come dangerously close to release. But he steeled himself, muscles screaming as moments dragged out breath by bated breath.
Nightfall (Nightmare Dragons Book 2) Page 17
