“It’s this a strip club?” she yelled over the noise.
He walked around to meet her, wondering if he should have opened the car door for her or if they were past feigning human niceties.
“No, just a normal club. I’m a bouncer here.”
She looked up at him. “That makes sense, I guess.” She glanced at the line winding around the block and the girls who began to scream as he walked by them. “I’m guessing you bring in a lot of business.”
“Some,” he admitted, waving apathetically to the girls as he helped open the door to the club to allow Sasha inside.
“You did say you had to work,” Sasha said. “Should I just go home until you need me?”
“I still need you,” he said. “And besides, I can start my part of the bargain here. You can stay at the bar, and Benny will look out for you. If you see someone you like, I can check them out for you. Under the guise of being a bouncer, of course.”
He led her to a stool at the bar and offered a hand to help her onto it, but she refused, seating herself.
“I’m fine,” she said, turning to the bartender. “Whisky. Neat.”
Dare raised an eyebrow and shared a puzzled look with Benny. “Hardcore.”
She took the drink when it was set on the counter and tossed it back. “Another.”
“Careful, snack. I’ll still need you later.”
“I can hold my alcohol. Besides, I’ll need it to be in this club.”
“Not your scene?” He lazily leaned against the counter, surveying the room. Despite the women waiting outside, there were a lot of men in here currently, and he wasn’t sure how he felt about leaving Sasha here to go tend to the door.
“I’ll be fine,” she said, waving a hand. “Benny will watch out for me. Besides, how am I supposed to attract a man if you’re here glowering over me?”
He hadn’t even thought of that, the idea that him standing next to her would deter other males. A dark, primitive part of him liked it. Wanted to stay near her.
But he wasn’t going to be weak, like Nathan.
“Benny, keep an eye on her.” He shrugged as he headed back to the door, then called to her over his shoulder. “And let me know if you see anything you like.”
She gave him a false smile that didn’t reach her eyes and turned back to the next drink Benny was handing her.
Dare narrowed his gaze, resisting the urge to stay there, to watch her, drink with her.
Maybe even try to seduce her. The longer he was with her, the sillier his ideas seemed to be.
He rubbed his head as he went to the front door to take over for Max. “I got this,” he said, still sneaking a glance at the bar.
“You sure?” Max asked, folding his giant arms. “You can work inside if you want.”
“You already took half my shift,” Dare said. “Besides, it’s a cold night. You don’t want to be out here. I’ll be inside in a couple hours.”
“Suit yourself,” Max said, scowling as usual.
Dare nodded vaguely. He sensed Max was something, with his huge body and superior muscles to normal humans, but he couldn’t quite scent what.
And Dare needed to focus on the doorway, to track those who came inside and see if any were of the type he needed to monitor.
He needed to know where he should go after midnight and who he should talk to, and he needed Sasha by his side to do exactly that.
He grimaced as he thought of her alone in the club, drinking with Benny.
Or worse, not alone at all.
He opened the door to peek behind him and saw with relief she was simply talking to the bartender with an animated smile on her face.
A warm, unwelcome surge of tenderness went through him, and he reminded himself harshly that he was a monster. One with a mission.
He didn’t have time to stare at her, not if he was going to focus. She would be safe, and if she attracted some of the beings he was looking for, all the better.
She was probably their type after all.
The worst part was she might be his type as well, and that was a complication he just didn’t need.
Sasha wasn’t sure how she had ended up there. When she’d agreed to help Dare, showing up at a club with him and drinking alone hadn’t been exactly what she expected.
Occasionally, she could see the door swing open, and through the gap, she could see Dare cocking his head at the women flirting with him while holding the door for them to go inside.
No one else in the club held a candle to him. His hair was so thick and mussed looking. So effortlessly sexy. She wondered how long he had been growing it out.
And that beautiful body. So tall. So hard.
It was almost difficult to remember she’d ever seen him as a monster.
She turned back to the bar, frowning at her drink and wondering if she hadn’t hit the alcohol a little too hard after all.
But she hated places like this. She liked quiet places like the library and got social anxiety when it came to these types of locations.
She wasn’t into talking to strangers, not unless they approached her while she was in her comfort zone.
Which probably explained why she had ended up with so many weirdos through meeting men in the library.
The type of man who went after a librarian while she was working probably wasn’t normal.
She looked to the door, hoping for a glimpse of Dare again.
Don’t do it, Sasha. Don’t fall for him. You’ve had some real winners in your life, but a pretty face has never been more dangerous.
A part of her ached at her bad taste, but she was a woman, wasn’t she? And Dare had been seemingly designed to make women want to bed him.
Like a beautiful, powerful predator slinking among the tall grass, captivating its prey, and stopping it from moving.
And she was potential prey. A snack. She never forgot that.
“One more,” she said, slurring her words a little as she pushed her glass back to Benny.
“No way,” the big, wide-chested bartender said. “Not tonight, honey. I’m cutting you off. Besides, you should be out there dancing.”
She felt the world swirl a bit as she looked at the bodies writhing together in the dark as strobes flashed overhead and lasers moved. “Pass.”
Benny leaned both arms onto the bar, cocking his head curiously. “I’m a little confused to see you here. This doesn’t seem like your kind of scene.” He glanced at the door. “You dating Dare?”
She shook her head. “Of course not.”
Benny laughed. “Good. Can’t blame a guy for thinking that. You did walk in with him.”
She squinted at Benny. “I did, didn’t I?” She really shouldn’t have drunk so much, but she was nervous. Nervous to help Dare after midnight. Nervous to try and find a man he could check out for her. Nervous… in general.
Benny seemed like a nice guy, though. “So, um. What do you mean ‘good?’”
Benny grinned, and friendly brown eyes slowly appraised her. “Just that I might be interested is all.”
She flushed deeply, wobbling as she tried to reseat herself on her stool. “Oh, really?” Perhaps she should have Dare check him out.
Benny was handsome in a kind of burly way. He wore a flannel shirt that bulged around hard pectorals, with sleeves that rolled up to show roped, muscular forearms dusted with brown hair.
Masculine was how she would put it.
But if she was attracted to him, there had to be something wrong.
“I don’t know,” she said. “I might not be dating.”
He sighed as he stood up, grabbing a dishrag to dry glasses before putting them on a nearby rack. “Might? What does that mean?”
He had to serve a couple drink orders before getting back to her, and by that time, she was swaying to the music, watching people dancing, and deciding she didn’t mind clubs so much after all.
“What?”
“What do you mean might?” Benny asked, narrowing his eyes. “You
said you might not be dating.”
She sat on her hands to stop fidgeting. “I don’t know. I just… would have to find the right guy.”
Benny leaned over the counter again, a smirk on his lips and a twinkle in his golden-brown eyes. He was so big, so handsome. There was almost something otherworldly about him. “What would make someone the right guy?”
He was close now, and she blinked as the world still felt a little swirly.
“I don’t know,” she said uncertainly. He was the type a lot of girls would have found attractive, yet she found her stupid heart fixated on the miscreant monster who was currently guarding the door.
She guessed her eyes must have darted that way, because Benny looked at the door and then slowly stood, nodding knowingly.
“I get it,” he said, folding his arms. “Unrequited.”
“No,” she said. “There’s nothing between Dare and me.”
“Really?” Benny frowned. “Then why not go out with me? I’m a stand-up guy. Dare can vouch for me.”
“I think I… need to go dance now,” she said carefully. She gave Benny an apologetic smile. “Maybe we can talk more later.” If Dare truly checked Benny out and approved him, perhaps Sasha had no reason to say no.
No normal reason.
“Hey, Sasha,” Benny called after her, drying his hands on a towel.
She turned, purse in hand, and looked over at him. “Yes?”
“He isn’t the committing type. Keep that in mind, would ya?”
She smiled, fighting back a laugh. “I told you I’m not with him.”
“But you want to be.”
“I… No.” She wasn’t that stupid anymore. Not after what Phil had done. She looked wistfully at the door, wishing she could take someone like Dare at face value.
Wishing Dare wasn’t a monster.
Wishing someone like that could be hers.
Wishing she wasn’t so damn attracted to him.
But those were all stupid wishes, so she slung her purse securely over her shoulder.
“Thanks, Benny, but I’ll talk to you later.” She headed out onto the dance floor, where the flashing lights and darkness and crowds could overwhelm all of her thoughts.
But as she looked around her, aware of the darkness and the fact that she knew no one, a pair of glowing amber eyes locked with hers.
As the man strode toward her, she felt oddly drawn in, and though she sent a glance toward the door and in Dare’s direction, she couldn’t resist finding out just who this new man was.
Dare wanted her to meet new people, after all.
Chapter 6
“Is she your mate?”
Dare looked up from the clipboard he was checking for the names of the girls in front of him and stared blankly at Benny, who had seemingly appeared out of nowhere. “My what?”
“Oh, come on. Don’t think we don’t know you’re one of us. You’ve been here for weeks, and we’ve invited you to meetings. We aren’t sure what you are, though. Even Lock can’t scent it.”
“Hm.”
“What are you? You can tell me.” Benny nudged his shoulder as Dare moved a velvet rope to let another group inside.
Dare had nothing against Benny. He seemed to be a good guy and generally in good humor, unlike grumpy, stoic Max.
But he still wasn’t ready to let anyone inside the walls that surrounded his secret. Even if they seemed to be ludicrously open with him.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Benny patted his shoulder. “You like your privacy. I get it. Maybe like us, you haven’t had the best shake out there. But it could be different. Why haven’t you come to Crimson?”
That was the name of the club after midnight, when Benny held events and meetings at the club for their kind only.
And Dare hadn’t come because after midnight, his whole body was partially crimson, and he wasn’t ready for anyone to know that.
He knew enough about other shifters to know they didn’t look anything like his own form.
“I may be coming soon,” he said quietly, for Benny’s ears only.
Benny perked up. “Sounds good. When?”
“Tonight or tomorrow night, I think.”
“Either is fine. Let me know, and we’ll set up an officer meeting.”
“Fine.” Dare didn’t know what that meant, but it sounded like he could get information.
“You can bring your mate,” Benny said, his tone leading.
“I told you she’s not my mate.”
Benny cocked his head. “You keep peeking through the door. Yeah, I see you.”
“She’s my friend,” Dare replied. “And actually, I’m just helping her find a hookup.” It was close to the truth.
Benny cocked an eyebrow. “So she’s free?”
Dare’s jaw tightened. “Only if I okay the guy. She has bad taste otherwise.”
Benny rubbed his slightly stubbled jaw. “I guess that’s true, since she’s currently dancing with Lock.”
Dare let out a potent curse. “Lock’s here tonight?”
Lock was one of the owners and Dare’s least favorite person, based on their limited interactions. The man was everything Dare wasn’t. Flagrant, open, thoughtless, selfish…
Benny peeked through the open door again. “Looks like it.”
“That idiot player.” Dare cracked his knuckles.
“He’s not so bad,” Benny said.
Dare tried to focus on the list again, knowing Lock wouldn’t try anything forceful at the club. He wasn’t a good man for Sasha to date. Then again, dating wasn’t what Lock would be going for.
Dare turned to Benny, trying to focus. “Listen, if I do come, I’m not ready to fully disclose yet.”
“That’s fine,” Benny said, putting up a hand. “But eventually you’ll have to.”
“I don’t need a shitty support group. I need information.”
“That’s why we’re here. We work with the other shifter groups. We work in the shadows. And if you want to become one of us, eventually you’ll have to say what you are.”
“I know.”
But he didn’t want to become one of them. He just wanted to know if there was anyone in their world who could help him find the woman who had created him. He’d been forced to hunt darkness all his life, and now he just wanted to track it back to the source.
“And, Dare?” Benny cocked his head again, giving him an appraising glance.
“Yes?”
“I don’t know what you do with our clients who disappear sometimes, and I don’t have to because you aren’t one of us, but you should know we don’t condone killing without cause.”
There was a short pause. Then Dare spoke. “Neither do I.”
Benny smiled, showing teeth that were a little too white and long at the canines. “Perfect.”
Dare couldn’t help wondering what Benny was as Benny shook his hand in a way that was oddly welcoming. It was strange to think that after so long, he might have found somewhere to fit in, however temporary.
He wasn’t sure he liked it at all.
He’d always been more comfortable in the shadows, alone.
Then again, he hadn’t really had a choice. Until now.
That thought brought his mind back to Sasha, and he opened the door to peek in slightly, eyes darting around. “You say Lock is hitting on her?”
Benny’s eyes twinkled, a knowing gleam in them. “If it were me, I’d go check on it. That guy will fuck anything that moves.”
Dare frowned at the anger that flooded him, a totally unfamiliar reaction as his hands tightened into fists. Why should it matter to him if the repressed little female got some action?
Except it did matter.
Somehow, all he could think about was Lock’s hands on her silky soft skin, and it made him want to burn things to the ground.
More importantly, he had promised to protect her, so it wasn’t out of line if he just went and made sure she was okay.
&n
bsp; That was his job right now, wasn’t it?
He rubbed his head in frustration.
“I can watch the door for you,” Benny said matter-of-factly. “Why don’t you go check on your girl?”
“She’s not mine,” Dare said angrily as he opened the door and strode into the club.
But he wasn’t sure if the words were meant to convince Benny or himself.
Sasha looked up at the handsome man she was dancing with, unsure how it had even happened.
From the moment he’d begun walking over, she’d just felt really… attracted.
Sure, she’d always had a soft spot for hot guys before, but this was different. She felt drawn in by him, but not necessarily comfortable about it.
As they swayed together, his strong, lean hands on her back, his amber eyes were hypnotic, looking yellow at some angles and orange at others.
Unlike any human eyes she had seen.
His hair was a dark, purplish cherry red and long, grazing his collar. He wore a distressed leather motorcycle jacket, and there were cuffs at his wrists and a braid with a pendant around his neck.
He was tall, only a little shorter than Dare, and his features were rakish. Handsome but tempered with a constant smirk that crooked his mouth up at one side and smile lines at the sides of his large eyes.
He was beautiful.
And she didn’t really want to be in his arms.
Men moving around her occasionally showed interest, but Lock waved them away, supremely uninterested in sharing.
She was a little surprised by how popular she seemed to be with the men in this club.
“So tell me more about you,” Lock said. “You’re new here, right?”
“Yes,” she said. “What about you?”
“I’m one of the owners,” he said with a smile.
“Oh,” she said lightly, keeping her hands on his shoulders. “I had no idea.” She looked around. “Aren’t you supposed to be working?”
“I’m not on shift,” he said.
“What do you do, then?”
He pulled her in a little closer against him. “This, probably more often than I should. Benefits of ownership.”
“Well, you don’t own me.” She pushed away from him, but he caught her hand and pulled her back with a little spin. His movements were so elegant she felt caught up in him.
Nightfall (Nightmare Dragons Book 2) Page 4