“Maybe not all of them,” he said, putting a hand through her hair.
She let him run his fingertips gently over her scalp, causing little tingles wherever he touched her. “Dare?”
“Yes.”
“Do you like me?”
He was quiet, as if thinking about it. “Why do you ask?”
“Lock said… and I don’t know. You seemed jealous, and you came for me, and…” She yawned. “I don’t know. It’d be good to know if you did, even if it didn’t make sense to me.”
“Hm,” Dare replied.
She blinked heavily. How was she so incredibly tired?
“Don’t be mad, snack, but I think you should be asleep when I do this.”
She yawned again, barely able to keep her eyes open. “What?”
“You’re getting in too deep with me, and we’ve only just started. I’ll hold you, but I need you to sleep. I can’t answer your questions right now.”
She snuggled in against him as darkness took over, warm and comforting. “Okay, Dare.”
And then she was out.
Dare felt a little bad for using his sleep powers on Sasha, but he hadn’t known how to deal with the answers she sought.
Did he like her? He didn’t know.
Was he obsessed with her? Probably.
He held her close, liking the soft feel of her, the way she was depending on him in his arms.
He’d never had someone to protect. Well, someone of his own. Even if this was temporary. He’d watched out for his brothers, and the people he’d killed had harmed mankind, so he supposed he protected humans as well.
But it had never felt like this.
It still felt like something was awake in him. Something very odd.
Maybe it was all the unexpected touching. The connection. Despite his attempts to stay busy and focused on his mission, he’d touched and talked to Sasha in a short time more than he had with humankind over the entire span of his life.
So that was interesting.
Darkness was calling, and Dare could feel the pull of the moon from outside Sasha’s window. But as the clock moved slowly toward midnight, he was surprised not to feel the transformation taking hold.
His senses were still heightened, and he tensed as the clock hit the correct position, wondering if wings would suddenly tear out of him, but instead, nothing happened at all.
His heart pounded, and he looked around him, staring at the room, at his hands, at Sasha in his lap.
All so incredibly normal and more than he’d ever dreamed.
For just once in his life, he looked like a human in the darkness. What did that even mean?
If being with humans had been the key to restricting transformation, then why had their creator been so terrible as to tell them to stay apart?
He hated that woman with all his heart, and hopefully, one day soon, he would get to tell her that. Show her that.
In the meantime, he looked down at Sasha.
Sometimes it was hard to believe how fragile she was, how beautiful.
How human.
He wasn’t supposed to be near one, yet now he had one in his lap. He stroked her hair back lightly, marveling at the curves and lines of her face, her smoky lashes resting atop her cheeks, her mouth slightly parted while breathing.
Deep down, he was aware he was obsessed with her. Probably had been from the moment he kidnapped and saw her in the moonlight, so sassy, so fragile, so kind.
Even then, she had tried to pity him, and even then, he had hated it.
He’d taken his rage and anger out on humans who were attempting a gang rape later that night.
He could still remember the taste of it.
What would Sasha think of him if she knew the extent of his monster? If she really understood what he did to survive?
And sometimes, just because he wanted to.
He leaned back with his head on the headboard, suddenly wishing he was out hunting. The world was so much simpler then. He was so much less vulnerable then.
Amazing that, for one of the strongest creatures in the universe, a little human was all it took to make him feel scared to death.
Perhaps his obsession was simply because she could help him solve his problem, but he suspected it was more than that.
After what had happened at the club tonight, he had totally forgotten his original purpose. He didn’t even want to go back there, the thought of something else happening to her filling him with rage.
But he knew it was a fluke, just terrible luck for her, and even that could be avoided if they just stuck to going after midnight to officer meetings.
He let out a weary sigh, wondering if Club Crimson could even help him.
No matter what information they gave him, he would still be a monster, and Sasha would still be better off finding someone else.
He would be better off finding a way back to the world where he was created or a way to disappear altogether, if that wasn’t the case.
He was tired—of hunting humans, of watching from afar, of being a monster and only having lonely justifications for why.
He was tired in general.
So it was nice to have this quiet moment with his human in his arms, even if it was on borrowed time. Somehow, she was holding him together, keeping him from madness, pushing away his monster form.
So he would enjoy it for a few moments, but at the end of this, he was just someone who needed help with a mystery, and she was just someone who needed a good human to date.
He would do well to keep that in mind.
Chapter 10
Sasha woke early the next morning, while it was still somewhat dark outside. She stretched, feeling sore and crampy, as if her muscles hadn’t moved all night.
Then something moved against her and she shrieked, looking up to see Dare still above her, realizing she was still in his lap.
She scrambled onto the bed and looked around them for any sign of damage. “You didn’t transform? Why didn’t you wake me?”
“Because I’m the one who put you to sleep.”
She blinked at him. “What?”
“You heard me,” he said. “You were overwhelmed after everything, and I wanted to take the risk on my own. I didn’t want anything to happen to you.”
And there was that warm, stupid bit of hope she had for him, coming back again. “I see.”
“Just until you finish helping me that is. We’ll be going to the club together tonight, and I’ll need you to look lively.”
She wrinkled her nose. “That’s an odd expression.” She wrapped her arms around herself, feeling thoughtful. “But thanks for last night, though. For saving me and holding me, and…”
He met her eyes, looking distinctly uncomfortable. His eyes were their usual deep-blue color, his hair looking sexily mussed. “It’s not a problem. I should be going.”
She sat up abruptly. “Wait, why?”
“I have things to do during the day, and I’m sure you do, too. You’ll be safer without me, I suppose. And I won’t need you until midnight tonight.”
That made sense. Sasha should go to the library. She was scheduled, after all.
But for some reason, despite Dare’s impossible nature, she didn’t want to leave him.
So odd.
He got off the bed and went to the door, and she caught him by the arm, stopping him before he could leave. He looked back at her. Was that a blush she saw on his face?
“What?”
“I wish you weren’t leaving.”
He ran a hand through his hair irritably. “This is what I was talking about last night. You’re getting ideas, and they’re going to hurt both of us.”
“Why both of us?” She walked forward, and it was his turn to get backed into a door. She couldn’t resist raising a finger and running it down his chest.
He swallowed hard. “Stop doing that.”
“I don’t want to.”
He took her hand and gently pulled it away. “Look, we can�
��t be like this. I was thinking about it, and—”
“Don’t be all decent about it. That just makes me want you more.”
A small smile quirked one side of his lips, but he quickly stifled it. “You want me?”
“Look at you.”
He frowned. “The other me.”
She sighed. “I know you think you’re just some monster, but there’s more to you than you let on.”
“Or maybe humans just catch feelings too easily.” He gently gripped her arms and set her to the side. “Sasha, I don’t think we should. Let’s keep this strictly business, nothing else.”
Hurt lashed through her, and she felt stupid for putting herself out there. “You don’t want me. I get it. But then why do you act crazy if anyone else does?”
“I told you I would protect you. I need you for my task.”
Her eyes fell, studying the carpet as if something interesting were there. He was right; she was being stupid. What had ever given her the idea there could be more between them? She was delusional as all hell.
Yes, he kissed her in the heat of a moment, but he was being clear with her now. He didn’t want to be with her, not as anything but a partner in crime.
“I get it,” she said quietly.
“Sasha, I’m a ruthless hunter. A punisher in the dark. Nothing more there, no matter how much you want there to be.”
She fisted her hands in frustration. “So when do you want me at the club?”
“Just before midnight.”
“Okay.”
He started to leave. Then just before he did, he turned back with a regretful look on his face. “I’m sorry, Sasha. I’m just not what you think I am.”
“No,” she said, following him out the door and down the stairs as he headed for the exit. “Maybe you’re the one who’s wrong. Maybe you aren’t what you think you are.”
“Could be,” he said apathetically. “That’s what I’m trying to find out here. But I do know one thing. You’re a creature of light, and I was always meant for the dark.”
Then he slammed the door behind him and was gone.
Sasha had just finished her lunch break when she decided to finally pick up a call from Lillian. She knew her friend was worried, but Sasha still didn’t know what to say.
So much had happened in only a day. In Dare’s world, things just seemed to move at hyper speed. Being back in the real world, stacking books, filing holds, dusting shelves… it no longer felt like the right place to be.
She was invested in Dare now. In figuring him out. She could understand now what drew Lillian to Nathan, why she couldn’t let go of him, even when things were odd.
Yes, nothing romantic could happen between her and Dare, but she could still be friends with him, see if she could shine a little light into his world. And be with him at nightfall to help him stay in his human form.
She picked up the phone reluctantly. “Hello?”
“You jerk!” Lillian’s voice was playfully angry. “How could you just ignore me.”
“I texted you that I was fine and was going to work. Nothing bad happened to me.” Well, that wasn’t entirely true, but Dare had solved the problem, and Lillian didn’t need to worry about it.
Sasha was still surprised by how heroic he’d been. How fierce. She could still remember that roar, shaking her to her very toes. All that rage, all for her.
She wished Dare could see how little sense he made.
“So he didn’t hurt you? And no one else did? Did you stop him from changing? Did you find out what he needed?”
“No,” she said. “We ended up going home early to try the change on our own, just in case.”
“And?”
“And it stopped it. He didn’t transform with me. I guess we solved the issue. Cracked the code.”
“I guess it’s not just mates that stop the transformation, then. So awful that the bitch who made them told them not to get close to humans. They could have been helped all along.”
“I don’t know,” Sasha said. “Giving Dare’s proclivity for killing, I think some distance might have been good. But wait, what do you mean the woman who made them?”
“Their creator, I guess. Their mom maybe. Remember on the roof when he talked about being made in a test tube? Anyway, that woman made Dare and his brothers some kind of promise and didn’t show up to keep it. That’s what I’m guessing Dare is obsessed with. Finding that woman and figuring out where they all belong.”
“Oh.”
“Though, I know where Nathan belongs. Right here with me.”
Warmth moved through Sasha at her friend’s words. “I’m glad you’re happy.”
Why hadn’t Dare told her more about his mission or his creation? Didn’t he trust her at all? The answer was easy: probably no.
“So how are things between you and Dare? Easy? Hard? Sexy?”
Sasha laughed, blushing and grateful that Lillian couldn’t see her face. “Things are fine. Yes, he’s difficult, but he’s not as completely awful as we may have thought.”
“Small mercies at least,” Lillian grumbled. “You tell that overgrown jerk bag that if I get wind of him hurting you at all, the darkness will be the last thing he needs to worry about.”
Sasha laughed heartily. “I appreciate the protectiveness, but I’m fine. Besides, he’s going to help me find someone. He can see pasts like Nathan can see futures. He’s going to make sure they are all right.”
“No matter what his powers, I’m not sure I would trust Dare to pick someone out for me.”
“Well, you’ve already found someone. Some of us haven’t.”
“Sasha, you’re a wonderful person. There’s no need to rush it.”
“I wasn’t. I was just going to be single, supposing I had bad enough taste to be with someone like Phil. But working with Dare… gives me hope that things can be different.”
“Be careful,” Lillian said. “Hope can be bad.”
“How?”
“It can lead to us being disappointed or worse. Don’t hope for things with Dare, Sasha. It would only be bad in the end. If he does happen to find someone, let Nathan and me meet him, okay?”
Sasha sighed. “I know. Okay. That’s not for a while yet. I have to help him first. Tonight we’re going to the club.”
“Right, so which club are you going to be at?”
“Lillian…”
“Come on, Sasha, at least let us know where you are. I promise not to show up unless you call me or if I don’t hear from you by tomorrow.”
Sasha sighed. “You and Nathan supported me working with him, remember?”
Lillian sighed. “I know. I just worry sometimes.”
“I got this,” Sasha said. “I did fine last night, okay? Besides, he’s Nathan’s brother. Do you really think I’ll be in danger?”
“No, but just in case, it’d be nice to know where you are.”
“And you really promise you won’t show up there? Dare can’t know.”
“I promise. I swear.”
“All right,” Sasha said. “That club on main. After midnight, when it becomes Club Crimson.”
“Great,” Lillian said, sounding like she was marking it down. “Check in with me when you leave and when you’re home safe, if it’s not too much to ask.”
“I will.”
“And let me know how it’s going.”
“I will,” Sasha said with a giggle. “Now stop worrying and go enjoy your handsome man.”
“Well, okay,” Lillian said begrudgingly. “But it’s hard to enjoy myself when I don’t know if you’re okay.”
“I’m fine, Lil. I’m going to be okay. I swear.”
“All right, love you, girl.”
“Love you, too.”
Then Lillian hung up and Sasha set her phone down, looking out at the streaming sunlight and wondering if things were truly going to be okay. Her phone buzzed, jerking her from her reverie, and she frowned as she looked down at it, seeing a text from the devil himself.<
br />
Dare: When you come tonight, wear something conservative. We don’t need to draw any more attention than we already have.
She gaped in offense as she stared at his message. Then a smirk slowly lifted the corners of her mouth.
She would help him, she would keep her distance emotionally since he wanted her to, but she’d be damned if she let him tell her how to dress.
Chapter 11
When Dare came to pick up Sasha that night, he was pissed, but not surprised to see she’d ignored his text about her clothing.
Perhaps she was still angry about him rejecting her earlier, saying they couldn’t be anything romantic. Perhaps she just wanted to show him who was in charge.
Either way, he decided not to rise to the bait. Regardless of what she was wearing, for now she was his human and he would protect her. Short of the creature who’d created him, there was nothing else in the world that could take him on.
She got in and looked over at him, clearly waiting for him to comment on her fitted blue dress that nipped in around the middle and showed off general cleavage, but he didn’t, simply waiting for her to shut the door so he could get going.
He wasn’t going to think about how cute her hair looked in curls like that or how the silvery earrings she wore dangled and caught the light, looking like little bells.
As they pulled out onto the main road, he felt her eyes boring into him.
“So what are we doing at this meeting? You haven’t exactly been forthright about what information you are trying to extract.”
He glanced at her as they stopped at a light, wondering what had made her ask. “That’s because you don’t really need to know what is happening. You just need to be there so I don’t transform.”
She folded her arms and pouted. “It’s not like it would hurt to open up to me. I’m putting myself out there for you.”
“And you’re going to be rewarded for it.”
She huffed. “We both know you’re not actually going to find anyone to hook up with me.”
“No, we don’t. I may be a monster, but I keep my word.”
She grumbled something under her breath, but he decided he didn’t need to hear it.
Nightfall (Nightmare Dragons Book 2) Page 7