Dare grunted as anger surged through him, and he pushed off the wall. In frustration, he kicked the closest thing to him, which happened to be a hapless little pebble, and the pebble whizzed across the street, making a loud click as it connected with something on the other side.
Somehow, Dare knew he would just have to put up with these odd feelings for the human, whatever they were, until they worked through what they had to do together. At this point, not even he knew what that was going to entail.
But for the time being, it was better if he at least tried to make things right, rather than let Sasha run into the arms of some other man and deal with the strangely painful emotions that stabbed at him whenever that happened.
He took one more calming breath, then made his way back into the club. By now, the crowd was more than sufficiently boozed for the night, the heavy throng of people undulating back and forth to the rhythm of heavy sounds. He looked over them, searching for Sasha’s distinct light-blond hair, but didn’t see her. Maybe she was at the bar?
But a quick glance in the direction of the club’s inebriation station pulled up nothing. Where had she gone?
He scented the air, senses sharpening as midnight approached. A million smells came to him—cologne, sweat, alcohol, fruit—and above it, the tinge of the now-familiar human whose distinctly flowery scent was as soft as the body it belonged to.
The bathroom. Had she gone there to cry?
He carved a path through the throbbing crowd, ignoring other women’s furtive glances and offers to sway with them as he made his way to the back of the club. His heart dropped into his stomach at the thought of Sasha’s face, tears running, eyes reddened because of him.
Dammit, how did humans get things done with all these wanton feelings running around recklessly?
He finally reached the bathroom and peeked his head near the entrance to the women’s side, sniffing the air. But no Sasha inside.
Strange.
Just then, he heard several distinct thumps a few feet from him, coming from the adjoining men’s bathroom.
And with it, Sasha’s scent.
Not caring a damn about the club or its patrons right now, Dare slammed the door open. The hinges groaned with the effort, and he stepped inside.
What he saw in front of him made the blood in his veins boil with rage.
“Dare!” Sasha yelled out, looking over at him with tear-stained cheeks. Her shirt had been torn in several places, revealing her bra strap over her shoulder, her hands pushing against a much larger man who now appraised Dare with an annoyed sneer.
There was definitely something inside Dare other than the nightmare.
And that something just snapped.
Hope and relief overwhelmed Sasha at the sight of Dare in the doorway, knowing she was safe.
He’d promised to protect her, and here he was.
But God, he looked angrier than she’d ever seen him.
So fucking pissed.
The air seemed to crackle with intensity as Dare covered the distance between them like a flash. In surprise, the douchebag’s grip on her slackened for a moment, and she felt herself snatched away in an instant, now behind Dare instead of in front of him.
He was almost scarier like this than in his monster form. And that had been the stuff of nightmares.
In the same motion as Sasha had been gently and forcefully moved, she saw the man pushed forward, and he stumbled back a pace. But before he could even stand straight, let alone say something, Sasha felt air whoosh around her and an almost deafening crack as Dare’s fist slammed into the guy’s face, squarely in the center.
He flew backward, crashing into a ceramic urinal and shattering it, the dashed pieces clinking to the ground as water spewed around him.
Then to Sasha’s shock, Dare drew back and let out an inhuman roar, feral and furious, right at the guy’s face. The spine-tingling sound made Sasha’s knees buckle, the primitive part of her screaming for her to run from such fury.
Yet a different part of her couldn’t help but watch with intense curiosity. There was something so primal about it, something over-the-top and almost… possessive in the way he acted.
Abruptly, Dare grabbed the man by his shirt with both hands and wrenched him upward, his face already streaming with blood, eyes dazed as he moved limply. In a motion that defied physical explanation, so fast and so forceful, Dare arched back and smashed his forehead forward, head-butting the guy right in his face and sending him careening back into the wet wall with a crash. The horrible crunch sound made by the act made Sasha’s stomach curdle.
Maybe Sasha had just read too many novels. Dare might be angry, but he definitely wasn’t like the heroes in her books.
He’d made that clear enough by pointing out her bad taste in men only minutes ago.
But here he was defending her. Granted, maybe it was just part of his promise while she was helping him, but it sure seemed a lot more personal than that.
Then again, he’d said he personally hated rape above all other acts, so yeah, that was probably it.
The man groaned, struggling to move but unable to get up. Dare frowned and kicked him forcefully in the gut, knocking the wind out of him before lowering to one knee on the ground.
“Look away.” Dare’s voice was low, commanding, resolute. One hand reached forward, grasping the guy’s neck, and she could see Dare’s fingers trembling, digging into the thick skin of his nearly lifeless prey’s neck.
“No!” she cried out, horrified.
Dare shook his head. “I’m going to do this. Don’t watch.” He turned over his shoulder to look at her now, bloody tendrils crawling down his forehead and over the grooves of his handsome features, blood she knew was not his own. His eyes were a deep purple, almost red, wide and focused like a predator before the kill.
“I’ll scream.”
“You want me to let him go? Why?” His lips turned down in a frown, his gaze unflinching, locked onto hers.
“It’s not up to you.” Her nerves were going haywire, frozen in place and screaming to run and begging to go to him all at the same time. It took everything in her to just stay standing.
“You think there are people in your government who can catch a man like him? Who will actually do anything to stop him?”
“It’s not your job.”
“But what if it is?” His grip tightened, and the man let out a choked sound, struggling for air. “I’ve been getting rid of creeps for a hundred years, Sasha. I think it is my job.”
She rubbed her arms with her hands. “I’ll get Benny. I’ll tell him.”
His eyes narrowed, and for a moment, they seemed to glow almost pure red. “You wouldn’t.”
“You need me, Dare. We’re working together. I don’t want to see you kill.”
He let out a breath, and she saw the viselike clutch of his hand slacken a little. “I have to kill, Sasha. That’s how I survive.” His tone was softer now.
“Not him,” she exclaimed. “That’s not why you’re going to kill him.”
She could tell she was right, that normally, Dare would have hunted more carefully. This was an act of passion, as kidnapping her and Lillian had been.
And Dare hadn’t gone through with that either.
Dare paused for a moment, something warring within him. Then he closed his eyes, and when they opened, they were dark blue again.
“Fine.” Then his hand released the guy’s throat, and he stood, back to his utterly intimidating height. But at least for now, the rage, the animal she’d seen for just a brief moment, was gone.
The silence was interrupted as Dare kicked behind him, knocking the guy over with the heel of his boot before coming forward toward Sasha.
Her entire being let out a sigh of relief, and instinctively, she grabbed several paper towels to wipe the blood off his face. But when she came near, he shook his head and raised his arm, using his sleeve to do the deed. Here and there, several maroon splotches marred his features, but S
asha didn’t think anyone would take notice.
There was a short pause, and Sasha opened her mouth to break the silence.
“I just wanted to say, Dare, thank—”
But before Sasha could finish her sentence, she felt herself whisked off the ground and onto Dare’s shoulder. She was so high off the ground she was afraid she might bump the ceiling.
“If you won’t let me kill, then we’re leaving. You’re too much trouble here. Too attractive to shifters,” Dare said matter-of-factly. He moved forward, and the ground beneath her blurred from the motion.
“Shifters?” Even with her fear of heights, there was something kind of hot about being carried away like this.
He sighed. “This club is a shifter club. After midnight, it’s openly a meet-up for them.”
She gasped. “So that’s why you want me here. So you can meet your kind.”
“They aren’t my kind, but they might be able to help me find them. But not if I kill a bunch of their members for looking at you first.”
As they moved through the crowd toward the back exit, Sasha tried to ignore the curious glares from the people around her. Dare seemed less than fazed by their reactions, though.
“I don’t think the others are like that one.” At least she hoped they weren’t.
“I don’t care,” he said. “I’ll decide later if we’re coming back after midnight. I’m taking the rest of my shift off.” By now, they were at the exit, and he kicked the door open with his leg. Frigid air wafted around her, cooling and awakening her senses.
In frustration, she hit his back, confused by his logic. “But the whole reason we came here was—”
“I can’t see you with another man’s hands on you,” he said seriously, looking up over his shoulder at her for a moment. “I just… I can’t.” Then after he said it, his gaze fell to the ground, and he resumed walking forward.
That silenced her until they got in the car to drive home.
Chapter 9
Sasha was still processing what had happened when they arrived at her apartment.
She looked down to see her shirt was still in tatters, and her heart began to beat hard once again. She fumbled with the buttons, trying to make sense of things, trying not to think of everything that could have happened if Dare hadn’t shown up.
She was surprised to see his warm fingers cover hers, helping her with one of the buttons.
She smiled at him, calming slightly. At least he hadn’t killed anyone. “Thanks, but I think it’s hopeless.”
He nodded and went to sit on a couch in the living room, putting his face in his hands.
“I’m going up to change,” she said.
Just then, Dare’s phone rang, and he answered it, shaking his head.
“No,” he said. “Sorry. Something happened with Sasha. Yeah, a tool attacked her in the bathroom. Thanks for taking care of it. I’m sorry. Thanks.”
He hung up, and she looked at him apologetically. “Did I get you in trouble at work?”
Dare waved a hand. “No. If anything, it’s my job to take care of creeps like that so they can’t bother the humans. Don’t worry about it, not your problem.”
“Was that Benny?”
He nodded. “It’s fine.” There was something rigid in his expression that said he didn’t want to further talk about it, so she simply climbed up the stairs and went into her room.
As she changed, she still felt slightly dazed. She could still feel that man’s hands on her, pulling at her, and she felt tears sting her eyes as she sat on the bed, taking off her shirt.
She changed into a more comfortable bra, and a soft tee shirt, and sweatpants and curled up into a little ball on the bed.
So much had happened, and they hadn’t even reached midnight or been able to stay at the club. She’d met Lock, been assaulted, and she’d… kissed Dare.
She grabbed a pillow and buried her face in it, wondering if she should tell Lillian. But lately, Lillian felt so far away, with her new home and her new hottie.
Sasha hugged the pillow a little more tightly and startled when she heard a knock at her door.
“You okay in there?”
Her heart leapt at Dare’s voice. Despite knowing what he was, how little he cared for humans, she felt safe with him.
Most of the time, anyway.
“You can come in,” she said, not bothering to come out of a fetal position.
He walked in and stopped in front of the bed, eyeing her, and then sat down next to her quietly. “What’s wrong, snack?”
She sighed slightly. “Still a little scared, I guess.”
“That’s illogical,” Dare said, scratching his head. “As far as I’m aware, the danger is over.”
“But we had to come home. I ruined everything.”
His exhaled slowly, putting a hand through his dark-blond hair. “No, I did. I’m sorry for what I said to you. I’m sorry for kissing you.”
She lifted her head. “Are you really?”
He chuckled. “No.”
She curled her hands tighter around her pillow. “Thank you for saving me.”
“No problem,” he said tightly. “It’s my job right now, since you’re helping me.”
“So you wouldn’t have done it otherwise?”
“I didn’t say that.”
Then there was quiet between them.
“So what do you want to do? Do you want to go back there?”
“I can’t,” Dare said. “I still need to calm down. And it might be good to check if you stop my transformation at midnight without other people around.”
“That makes sense.”
He reached out a hand and stroked her hair lightly. “Is that okay?”
She nodded. “Feels good, oddly enough.”
He snorted. “Not everything I do feels bad, snack.”
“Oh, I’m very aware of that.” A blush grew over her cheeks as she realized what she’d said to him. Thoughts of their kiss came unbidden to her mind.
She curled even tighter around her pillow.
“I don’t think we’ll go back tonight,” he said, looking at the clock. “It’s almost midnight.”
“Tomorrow, then?”
“Tomorrow.”
He released her hair and sat back on the bed, quietly thinking, and Sasha let her own thoughts wander as well.
“Going there tonight, was it all for nothing?”
“No, at least the owners now know you and won’t think it’s weird if you come to the meeting tomorrow night.”
“What meeting? And did you take me to the club on purpose, knowing I would attract shifters?”
He rubbed the back of his neck. “I knew it was a club for shifters. I work there, and they sense that I’m one of them, though I’m not quite. But I wasn’t expecting you to attract that much attention. I don’t understand human and shifter breeding rituals at all.”
She smirked. “Nathan seems to understand them just fine.”
“Oh, I understand sex, though it seems rudimentary. I mean I don’t understand mate selection, though I have noticed shifters seem to prefer women on the more… substantial side.”
Sasha rolled her eyes and decided to forgive his rude comment, given that he’d just saved her life. “So shifters… Are they like you?”
He shook his head. “I don’t think so. They’re presumably wolves and bears, from my research. But I’ve never gotten close to another shifter. They aren’t like us. We were warned when we were created that we were an abomination, even to their world.”
She frowned. “But you don’t fit in the human world either?”
“No.”
She rested her cheek on her hand, still on the pillow. “Sounds lonely.”
His glare narrowed. “I already told you to save your pity. You’re the one who seems to get in trouble wherever you go.”
She sighed. “More of it since I’ve been with you. I’m not usually that… sought after.”
“Well, I’ll be more care
ful from here on out. Who knew shifters were such douchebags?”
“Just one…”
His brows lowered. “And you wouldn’t let me kill him, even as you stood there with your shirt torn open.”
“You stopped him before he could hurt me. I didn’t want you to kill him for a prevented crime.”
“Benny’s going to just hand him over to people who will probably do worse to him.”
She nodded. “But if that’s how things are done, then that’s what matters.”
He folded his arms stubbornly. “Fine. But I’ll still kill as I have to and as I deem it worthy.”
“Fine,” she retorted. “And I don’t have to say it’s okay.”
They glared at each other, and then the tension broke, and for a second, Dare actually made something like a genuine smile. It was gone so fast she could almost think she imagined it, but she knew it was real.
“I shouldn’t have forced a kiss on you.”
“True, but I shouldn’t have baited you. And I didn’t end up minding the kiss after all.”
“It won’t happen again,” he said firmly. “I promise.”
“Okay,” she said, not knowing how she felt about that.
“Sasha… why did you kiss me back?”
She stared at him, and the moment was frozen, as if time had stopped between them. She truly didn’t know what to say.
Instead, she looked at the clock on the bedside table. “Oh, look, it’s almost midnight. So what do you want to do?”
He hesitated, then crawled back onto the bed by the headboard. “Can I hold you?”
His arms looked tempting. “But what if it doesn’t work? What if you break my bedroom?”
“I have money beyond what you can imagine. I can pay you back. But I really think it’ll work.”
She sighed and crawled into his lap, feeling his muscular thighs beneath her as she rested her head against his chest.
His heartbeat sounded so normal, so human, yet she knew he was anything but.
Thinking she was probably still stupid for trusting him, she put a hand up to rest on his shoulder. “It’s nice like this.”
“I’m glad you like it.” His tone sounded genuine.
“But… I thought you hated humans. They’re all snacks.”
Nightfall (Nightmare Dragons Book 2) Page 6