Nyght's Eve (16 page)

“I think that’s a perfect name for him. Let’s
let them rest.” Evie led the way out of the clinic back into the main part of
the kennel. “Have you eaten? Did you want—”

“I’m not hungry.” Dare blew out a breath.
“After we left the clearing, we buried the bodies of the dogs in that place you
arranged in the cemetery.”

“Thank you for that. You should have called
me, I could have—”

Dare’s jaw tightened. “It’s done. Storm
arrested Conroy. Christ, the stupid fucker admitted to everything, and even
gave up some of his contacts in the dog fighting circuit he was a part of.”

“That’s great news! I was hoping he’d pay for
what he did.”

Dare’s mood darkened as he thought about what
had happened. “About that...we need to speak. Privately.”

He didn’t give her much of a choice as he
grabbed her arm and dragged her through the building until he reached her
office. He shut the door after pulling her in, and locked it for good measure.
The center was mostly empty, but the night staff was still roaming around, and
this was a conversation better kept between the two of them.

“Dare, what is wrong with you?”

He rounded on her. “What’s wrong with me?
What the hell is matter with you? What the fuck did you think you were doing
today?”

Evie’s back stiffened, her blue eyes all but
sparking with outrage. “Excuse me?”

“Don’t give me that,” he snapped. “You heard
me. You had no business going into that clearing today, not with a crazy man shooting
at you!”

“But it
is
my business. We rescue dogs all the time, Dare. Unfortunately, it’s not always
under the best conditions. I’m sorry you had to deal with all of this today,
and I appreciate all of your help—”

“I don’t want your fucking thanks!”

Evie blinked as he shouted at her. She opened
her mouth to snap back at him, but stopped herself when she got a good look at
him. His face looked...ravaged. She belatedly realized at the events of the day
had taken their toll on him, and this was his way of dealing with the grief and
his pain. She knew exactly how he felt. Usually she only allowed herself to
breakdown after she was alone in her house after a day like today.

But Dare had been alone for too long...and
perhaps so has she.

Once they had left the clearing, Evie had
gone into automatic pilot mode, doing what needed to be done to treat and care
for the dogs. After they got back to the rescue center, her cousin Beckett had
taken over, and her relief at hearing the four dogs they rescued would be fine had
made her knees go weak.

Now, she could see all the signs of the grief
eating away at Dare. People were forced to deal with a myriad of emotions doing
the work they did at the rescue center. There were good days and then there
were bad, but the bad were so much worse when lives were lost.

Unable to bear the anguish in his eyes, Evie
moved toward Dare, wrapping her arms around his waist. He stood as still as a
statue, but she didn’t let that bother her. She felt this...need to take his
pain away, almost like a compulsion she couldn’t deny. She needed to give him
some kind of comfort, however she could. Dare’s hands moved to grip her by the
upper arms like he would shove her away, but he didn’t. Instead, he held on for
a second then wound his arms around her in an embrace so tight she could barely
breathe.

“Damn it, Eve. Conroy could have fucking shot
you!”

“You didn’t let him.” His hold tightened
enough to make her squeak. She tried rubbed her hands over his back in a
soothing motion, trying to ease the tension from his muscles.

“Stop trying to pet me like I’m one of your
damn dogs,” he growled.

She peeked up at him with a frown. “That’s
insulting to both you and me.”

Dare let out an irritated sigh as he shoved
her head back down on his shoulder. “Don’t try to be rational when I’m yelling
at you, damn it.”

Her laugh was muffled by his shirt. “Okay,
then. Would it be a good time to mention that I had a tranquilizer gun pointed
at Conroy?”

“No,” he snapped. “It’s not. Christ, woman. You
need a fucking keeper.”

“Hey, now wait a minute—” She pulled back
enough so she was looking at him again.

“You do. You’re going to get yourself killed
one day.”

“Dare, this is what we do here. What I do. Part
of the job is going out on rescues, and most of the time we never know what
we’re walking into.”

“Well, then we’ll damn well talk about your
security measures, because clearly they fucking suck.”

She raised a brow at that. “We will, will
we?”

“Don’t get all prissy with me. You know I’m
right,” he said jerking her closer. “You could have fucking died today.”

“I’m fine,” she assured him, responding to
his anguish. She leaned in to press her lips to his cheek, but Dare turned at
the last second and captured her lips with his in a kiss so hot she felt singed
by it. She melted against him, loving the feel of his hard, hot body against
hers.

“I need you, Eve.”

The stark longing in his hoarse voice touched
her in a way she’d never felt before. She could feel that need running over her
skin like an electrical current as she felt the hard length of him press
against her. Evie felt like she was on precipice of a life changing decision.
She knew she should tell him that this was going too fast, that she needed more
time. It was the smart thing to do, but she couldn’t seem to make herself give
a damn about doing the smart thing at the moment.

She wanted Dare more than she’d ever wanted
another man, and she couldn’t deny either of them any longer. Wrapping her arms
around him, she gave him the answer that came straight from her heart. “Then be
with me, Daryk. Be with me now.”

There was a pause as they simply stared at
each other, sparks sizzling in the air as blue eyes met dark-gray. Then they both
moved, coming together in a clash, like two wild animals ready to devour. His
mouth slammed down on hers and her hands lifted into his hair, holding tight as
they fed off one another. He lifted her up, carrying her over to her desk, his
mouth never leaving hers. With one arm, he swiped papers and other items off
one side of the desk, neither of them caring about the clatter of sound they
made as they fell to the ground.

Holding onto her hips, Dare lifted her so she
was sitting on the desk. He spread her thighs wide, moving between them as they
continued to desperately feed off one another, tasting and caressing. Evie
wrapped her legs around Dare’s waist, pulling him closer. “Dare...”

“God, Eve. You drive me fucking crazy. It’s
like a madness inside me that I can’t get rid of. I don’t want it. Do you hear
me? I don’t, but I can’t seem to make it stop.”

She let out a little laugh. “You are the
absolute worst at pillow talk.”

Dare stared down at her with intensity that
seared her straight to her soul. He tugged on her hair so her head tilted back.
 
“I can’t think with all the blood in my
body draining straight to my dick. You need to tell me right now if you don’t
want this. Because once I take you, you’ll be mine. There will be no more
pretense between us. No going back.”

She reached up to stroke his cheek with her
hand and he captured it with his own, holding her to him. “I want this, Dare. I
want you. But you won’t take me. Equal measure, or nothing at all. We’re in
this together.”

“Together.”

He let out a growl and slammed him mouth back
down on hers, making her head swim. She opened her mouth so his tongue could
drive deep, and met it with her own in a seductive dance. Every touch, every
taste just made her want more. Their tongues stroked and played together,
mouths fused tight as they began to rip at each other’s clothes in a savage
display of impatience.

Their lips parted as Evie lifted Dare’s shirt
over his head, baring all those hard muscles to her stroking hands. Her
fingertips tingled as she finally got to rub them all over his beautiful body.
She moved her hands lower, playing over the contours of his abs until they
reached the front of his jeans.

She was waylaid as he pulled back and tore
her shirt off of her, jerking her bra with it. He bent down and took one of her
taut nipples into his hot mouth, flicking it with his tongue so she moaned in
pleasure. When his mouth switched to her other breast she felt him fumbling
with the fastenings of her pants and lifted her hips so he could pull them off
her. Her head fell back as his lips trailed back up her neck until he was once
again claiming her lips with his.

Frantic with the need to feel him, she stroked
her hand over the rigid length of his cock through the material of his jeans. She
was rewarded with his low groan and was thrilled when she felt him harden under
her palm. Wanting to feel his flesh with hers, she began working the top button
of his jeans open.

“Christ. You need to stop that or this will
be over before it’s begun.”

“I’m sure you will manage just fine.” Evie
smiled up at him as she drew the zipper of his jeans down, allowing the thick
length of him to spring free. Then he was hot and hard in her hand. Her
fingertips didn’t touch around his thick shaft, but she did her best to stroke
him as she watched his eyes darken with pleasure.

“That’s it. Consider yourself fucked,
princess.”

Dare felt his control snap and he roughly
shoved her so she was flat on her back. He rubbed one of his large hands down
the valley between her breasts, enjoying the feel of her silky skin. Dare
thought she looked so beautiful laying there on the desk like some pagan
offering. She was a real woman whose passion matched his own.

And now she was his.

His knees felt weak as he saw the need
shining in her brighter blue eyes. He wanted to touch her everywhere. Taste her
everywhere. He loved the little strip of blonde hair on her mound pointing down
to the treasure that lay beneath. Her pussy glistened in the light with proof
of her desire for him, and it made him want to shove her thighs wide so he
could taste her.

But not yet.

He didn’t have the patience to wait any
longer.

Reaching down, he grabbed his wallet from the
back pocket of his jeans. He pulled out a condom, then threw his wallet on the
ground. Tearing open the packet, he sheathed himself in record time.

“Come to me, Dare. I want to feel you inside
me.”

Dare’s breath left in a rush as he stroked
his fingers into the slick dew spilling from her pussy. He wanted to pound
himself into that hot little hole, and the proof on his fingers told him of her
readiness. Grabbing her hips, he slid her forward so her ass was at the end of
the desk. Taking her hands, he braced them at the edge by her hips.

“Hold on,” he gritted out between clenched
teeth.

When he saw she had a good grip on the desk,
he lifted one of her legs and fit the mushroomed head of his cock tight against
the entrance to her pussy. With one hard surge, he shoved the length of his
cock into her hot, silken depths, and groaned as the sheer pleasure of being
inside her.

“So fucking tight. You’re so fucking tight
and hot. Perfect.” Dare’s voice was raw with lust as he ground himself into
her, wanting to be as deep inside her as he could possibly get. It was as if he
were a part of her, and she had somehow become a part of him.

It felt like coming home.

Evie moaned. “Dare, I need you to…”

“What, Eve?” Dare growled. “Tell me and I’ll
give it to you.”

“I need you to move. Now. Right now!”

“Hold the fuck on. This is gonna be hard and
fast.”

With savage glee, Dare began pumping into her
hard, filling her pussy with his cock over and over again. He jerked both of
her legs up so they were resting on his shoulders. He pressed opened mouthed
kisses onto the skin of her calves as his arms held them firm. Her soft moans
drove him wild as he shoved his cock into her hot little hole, driving deeper
with every thrust.

There were no more words spoken, just the
sound of flesh slapping against flesh and the harsh pants of breath filled the
room. They were connected by the wild passion that raged between them on a
level that went beyond speech.

Sweat dripped down his face as he continued
to pound into her like a man gone mad, stretching her tight hole around his
invading flesh. Dare muttered a curse as his hips pistoned hard and fast,
thrusting into her heat with startling force. Her tight, wet pussy was gripping
him so hard that he felt like he was shoving his cock into a velvet vise. He
could feel her milking him, driving him closer and closer to the pinnacle of
ecstasy, but he wouldn’t fall off that edge without her.

Her eyes closed but they snapped back open as
he let out a vicious snarl. “Damn you, look at me! Look. At. Me!”

He punctuated each word with a hard thrust.
He needed that connection with her as he pounded his full length into her. Dark
triumph surged through him as she began chanting his name on a breathless cry.
Knowing he was driving her closer to the edge, Dare moved his hand between her
legs to stroke his fingers over the hard crest of her clit.