Darkness Falls: Submit to Darkness, #2

By AJ Spencer

Continue the descent into darkness with book 2 of the Submit to Darkness series.

Follow FBI Profiler, Natasha Stolt, as she attempts the unthinkable – trying to get into the mind of the serial killer known as Grimm.  After weeks of studying his patterns, reviewing his horrific crime scenes and finding herself the focus of his latest game, Natasha is relentless.  Grimm may be a ruthless hunter, but so is she!  But what about Natasha’s growing obsession?  She is becoming consumed with curiosity about what the man behind the monster will be like.  His letters to her are insightful and taunting – just who is studying whom?  

Grimm may be the vilest and most dangerous of all killers as he has no code, no clear ritual, and certainly no boundaries!  He feeds an uncontrollable rage with each victim and shows no signs of ever sating that hunger.  His interest in Natasha is becoming insatiable as well, and he finds his little huntress to be a worthy adversary.  She is strong, intelligent, and he wants to provoke her, dominate her, and own her!

What will happen when these two opposing forces of nature finally clash?  Will Natasha’s ever-growing curiosity about the man, lead her dangerously close to a darkness she cannot escape from?  Will Grimm have his way and finally feel Natasha within his grasp? 

Note from the author - Please be aware this book contains graphic content and is intended for mature readers only.  This book will bring you front and center to witness violent acts performed by a brutal killer as well as explicit sex scenes.  This book is also part two in a three part series, it is recommended you read book one EDGE OF DARKNESS to fully understand the story. 

~Reviews for EDGE OF DARKNESS~
By Books and Beyond Fifty Shades
This was a great book. I loved Natasha, especially the way she handled some members of the police force she was working alongside with when they didn’t take to kindly to her job. Natasha is clearly dedicated to her job. When they tried to pull her for her own safety she was adamant that she wanted to stay. I really love when a book has a strong female character. It’s refreshing to see a woman who can handle her own and stick up for herself.

By Angela Gibbs
It is fast-paced, with characters that are well-developed and detailed descriptions that easily have you watching this story in your mind as you are reading it. You can see the characters, and you have empathy for them. Well, some of them. Derik Ryder; not so much.

By michelle ryan
I almost chewed my fingernail off. Derik is one sick thing...I call him a thing because of what he does. He makes Hannibal look like a sweet little kitten.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AJ Spencer
• Release date: Dec 16, 2014
• ISBN: 9781505551389

AJ Spencer

AJ Spencer has found the true beauty of being an Indie Author – No Boundaries!  Having always had a fascination with the dark depths of the human mind, AJ finds that being an independent author allows her the freedom to push the envelope of crime and erotic novels alike!  The extreme acts humans are capable of, whether heroic or hedonistic, fascinate this author and so she enjoys writing about these extremes.  Her debut novel EDGE OF DARKNESS, an erotic thriller and book one of the Submit to Darkness series, hit the Amazon Top 100 list across four genres and has made its dark presence known in several countries. AJ lives in sunny Florida with her husband and two fur-babies!  For the latest musings and book information, stop by for a visit on her website or other social media sites. 

Book preview

Natasha

Failure is only the opportunity to begin again –

more intelligently.  ~Henry Ford

Chapter 1 ~ Fall from grace

Deep uncontrollable sobs escaped my chest as I fell to my knees on the living room floor of the safe house provided by the FBI.  I dropped my purse and keys at my side and just let out the heartbreak I’d been trying to hide from my colleagues all morning.  With my head bowed and my hands covering my face, I opened the floodgates.

Everything had changed for me in the aftermath of a television interview that took less than 30 minutes to air.  The serial killer that the world knew as Grimm, the one I was assigned to profile and help apprehend had taken my life as I knew it.  All those years of study, all the years of training at Quantico, and all the personal sacrifices I made were in vain – I was removed from the case in absolute disgrace. 

Grimm’s response to my interview last night, to my goading, and to my carefully thought out plan to entice his communication, arrived this morning.  I received a large gift-wrapped package at the police station for the entire world to see with the following note attached:

––––––––

Dr. Stolt,

When provoking a beast, do be more mindful of its nature.  Enclosed you will find the consequence of your arrogance and the lack of your foresight.

With great disappointment,

M~

Within the elegantly wrapped crate we found what remained of a ten year old girl.  She had been raped, sodomized, beaten, and then literally torn apart limb from limb.  It looked as though a pack of wolves ravaged her.  Yet in truth, it was not the predators of the forest, but something far more terrifying that had done those brutal acts to her - the killer the world still knew as Grimm, but the man I knew as M had done this.  It was this man, this killer, this monster I provoked, that I was now bound to in ways I had yet to comprehend. 

I heard my cell phone ring from the depths of my purse but couldn’t muster the strength to reach for it.  Would it be reporters or my superiors?  Either way, I couldn’t face anyone.  After the four grueling hours it took them to first question me and then dismiss me, I was spent.  I stared at the carpeting as if it would open up and swallow me whole.  Perhaps I hoped it would. 

Flashes of the case tripped through my mind – all my mistakes and all my prideful choices now crashed to the forefront of my consciousness. 

What do I do now? I whispered to the floor as it grew closer to my face.

I laid down and stared across the expanse of cream carpet and felt the tears pool in the corner of my eye.  My heart ached for that little girl and for my part in her demise.  I squeezed my eyes shut at the image of her small limbs laying dislocated from her bruised torso.  I could not even begin to imagine the rage it would take for one to do that to something so innocent and vulnerable.  Can this man I have come to know as M even be human anymore?  What manner of man can rend a child limb from limb?  What manner of killer is so confident in his anonymity that he delivers his kill to the front door of the police station?

So many questions and feelings of guilt ran through me at once I was overwhelmed by it all.  I felt my eyes float slowly open, but I couldn’t focus on anything.  All I could see were the victims and my inadequacies.  Then there was that one wisp of thought that I refused to allow to surface; the one that made my guts twist in guilt and shame – what would it be like to come face-to-face with such a man?  I curled up tighter into a ball as if trying to hide from that confession.

Sick!  I am so fucking sick!

The head of FBI Behavioral Sciences, Meredith Walker, was going to be arriving here in Manhattan in a few hours to review the case and no doubt take my badge.  While there was still some form of legal obligation to protect me from the notorious killer, I was certain I would end up in law enforcements version of Siberia.  Everything I had worked for would be taken from me, and instead of standing up for myself, I was curled up on the floor of this strange house, in a city that was not my home, all because of an assignment that was no longer mine...

Lost.  I feel so lost. 

Knocking at the door pulled me from my self-pity puddle but I ignore it, however the lock was being turned and so I sighed in resignation.

Agent Stolt? called the familiar voice of Detective Giovanni Tagliente.

Go away. was all I whispered.

Oh shit!  What the Hell?  Come on now girl.  We aren’t playing this game.  Get up and talk to me.  Tag spoke as he crossed the room to where I was curled up.

When he reached me, he knelt down and put his hand on my shoulder, which only made the tears come faster.  His touch had actually comforted me just the other night after I was kidnapped from the hotel and taken on a mysterious ride to Central Park where M had another one of his gifts for me.  Yet today Tag’s warmth and strength couldn’t reach that icy pit forming in my gut.

Come on Natasha, I need you to be stronger than this.  Just talk to me ok? he said soothingly and when I didn’t respond, I felt his arms slide under me and lift my body to his chest.

Tag! I gasped his nickname in surprise at the sudden movement and his strength.

The chest I was pulled against was, as always, covered by the soft leather jacket he wore and smelled like cool autumn air.  I relaxed in his arms and leaned my head on his shoulder for a brief moment.  I only wanted to feel a connection to someone for just one insignificant flash of time.  I was so tired of always having to seem emotionless.  I was tired of pretending the things I saw didn’t scare me or make me want to vomit from the horrible sights and smells.  Just for a tiny moment of time, I wanted to feel consoled and connected to someone.  Was that really so bad?

However, I couldn’t quite bring myself to leave the comfort of his arms as he approached the couch.  He seemed to sense my needs and instead of setting me down, he sat with me cradled on his lap like a little girl.

You know those long legs of yours make this a bit more difficult than I thought. he chuckled against my temple as his left arm stretched out my legs onto the sofa. 

While it was true that I was an above average height at 5’8, being cuddled to his broad muscular body made me feel small somehow.  I curled into his warm chest even more and put my hand between his leather jacket and my cheek.  I inhaled his scent a few times before I was composed enough to speak.

I want to say that I don’t need your comfort and that I am strong and will fight this, but...well right now, I just can’t.  I think I am still in shock over what happened to that poor little girl and then the chaos that followed.  All of it ending with me being dismissed and driven here to await further orders – it just feels like I am in a fog I guess.  I spoke and continued to stare at nothing.

While the sobs had stopped, I could still feel the tears leak from my eyes.  I felt the ice in my gut spread to my chest and the numbness was starting to set in.  As I lay against Tag’s chest, I could feel my walls struggling to rebuild themselves; to offer a place for me to shove all these rare emotions behind.  I was good at that – hiding emotions.  I suppose I had to be given the nature of my job.  However, it started long before that.  It started when I had to keep secrets from my family about bad things that happened to me.  It started when I had no one to cry to because my parents were always working and never home.  It continued through my young adulthood, sometimes out of necessity, sometimes out of conditioning. 

But at this particular moment in time, it was becoming difficult to just flip the switch and so I curled up tighter to this man’s warmth – absorbing it, needing it, and finding solace from it.  Tag just sat quietly with me and slowly ran his right hand through my long hair.  I never even noticed he took it out of the bun.  He was gentle for a man so physically intimidating.  At this moment, he was a mysterious mixture of protector and consoler. 

Dammit, I was stronger than this! 

I was never a fragile little thing that needed to be coddled or reassured in any way.  Growing up I was fiercely independent and strong willed.  I never relied on or needed anyone before.  I lived on my own from the time I was eighteen, all through college, and even after being accepted into the Behavioral Sciences division at Quantico, I was a loner. 

But right now?  Right now being held by a man as physically large and well-built as Giovanni Tagliente felt really damn good and I wasn’t about to give it up any time soon.

You gonna talk to me?  I need to know where your head is at right now Natasha.  The last forty eight hours have thrown you all over the fucking place and I need you to level with me.  What are you thinking? he asked in that quiet yet stern voice of his.

I couldn’t help but feel a bit of a twinge in my gut whenever he said my name instead of my title.  It made me blush and I took a moment to answer him as I thought about that.

I feel foolish and embarrassed and horrified.  I am thinking I was a fool and my ego got the best of me.  My head is a tornado of images of that child; the child he killed in direct response to my foolish words and actions.  And finally my body is exhausted and I just want to sleep and hide from it all.  I blurted out to him and closed my eyes tightly against the truth of what I said.

M ravaged that child due to his rage at me.

I don’t know how long I dosed in Tag’s arms but it must have been at least an hour since my hand was now numb from me laying on it.  Oh God his poor arms!

Tag I’m so sorry!  Why did you let me fall asleep?  I exclaimed as I tried to crawl off his lap.

I felt his strong arm wrap tighter around my waist and he pulled me back.  I looked over at him in surprise and we were eye to eye.  I allowed myself a brief moment where I took in the details of his handsome face.  His dark brown eyes had a few gold flecks in them that made them not only unique but added a sense of depth and dimension.  His thick dark hair was always disheveled and some of it hung over his eye, then there was that full-lipped mouth that was permanently fixed into a wicked half smile.  Although at the moment that smile was fading and his eyes were losing that spark of humor they perpetually held.

Tag reached up slowly and traced his index finger along my temple and cheek as he tucked a strand of hair behind my ear.  That gentle touch and kind gesture made my body relax a little.  I kept looking into his eyes and watched his gaze slide over my face.  I could see several emotions alter his expression – curiosity, discovery, want, and something akin to confusion.  I stopped analyzing as he lowered his head and then I stopped breathing as he exhaled warm breath against my mouth just seconds before his lips brushed mine. 

My head tilted slightly to allow him better access, his mouth pressed harder to mine and his tongue swept lazily along my bottom lip.  It felt warm and sensual.  He took his time teasing my lips with his.  I reacted minimally at first, knowing this was not a good idea.  However, his soft exploration of my lips with his tongue was hypnotic, his embrace strong, and his attentions so desperately needed.  So I granted his tongue’s request for entry into my mouth.  The moment I parted my lips, he changed. 

He inhaled deeply in through his nose, his body sat up straighter, his hands pushed into my hair on either side of my head, and he groaned in such a way that made me moan.  Where his body became tense and hard, mine went supple and compliant.  I let my hands slide under his jacket and roam over that wide well-muscled chest.  I could feel his muscles twitch slightly in reaction to my touch.  He pulled my head closer to him and his tongue danced with mine in a slow seductive Tango.  He was an amazing kisser!

I felt the ice start to thaw in my veins, my muscles become slack, and my body boneless under his sensual spell.  His scent and his larger than life presence engulfed me into a cocoon of sexuality, safety, and submission.

I turned slowly in his arms and straddled his lap.  His hands never stopped touching my face, or stroking my neck, or sliding back into my hair.  He acted hungry and his passion all but burned me as his kiss went deeper and demanded more.  Kissing him was like tossing a match on a lake of gasoline – he didn’t ignite, he exploded.  And God help me but I loved it!

I have ached to touch you like this, Natasha.  Tag said against my lips as he tightened his grip in my hair as a way to emphasize his words.

At that, I felt myself melt into him.

Wait!  What am I doing?  What am I doing?

My mind was trying to insert logic where I only wanted lust.  His passion was taking away the feelings of hurt and fear; he replaced them with feelings of desire and distraction.  As we

Reviews for Darkness Falls

[edensteffey · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I liked this book. There is a lot of unknown with the plot and characters that makes it really interesting to read.

[angz84 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

The story itself was interesting but there were major issues with her writing that made it difficult for me to finish this book.

She was using a lot of words either totally wrong or just in a way that seemed awkward in the sentence. This book needed some serious editing as well.

Also, the plot involved the main character not remembering key details and followed her as she tried to understand what was happening which is fine, but the information that was given was scattered, sometimes repeated, and just all around confusing. It was hard to follow what she knew and what was assumed. And often when the book finally started to get on course it would veer right off again.

I would recommend this book only to those able to overlook amateur writing style and plotting.

[jamiesbookblog · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Well I downloaded Darkness Falls for free along with a bunch of other free books and after reading one or two and not being horribly impressed with any of them I decided to try Darkness Falls. I liked the cover and it sounded interesting and now I'm so glad I read it.Kayla is an interesting chracters. She's strong and driven to question. Caring yet sometimes a bit cold and aloof. She's very much different from the rest of the people in the Colony. For one she questions authority and likes to take risks whereas everyone else keeps their heads down and their minds closed. She's also got a secret or secrets and everytime I think I have her or the plot figured out something new will happen making me realize I don't have a clue what's going on. This is a great book with lots of twists, a deep mystery, action and characters that feel and act real. As unbelievable as the setting is, it never actually feels unreal or unbelievable. Nothing seems forced and I found myself reading this book in one sit through. Darkness falls isn't your average small sized book you normally get for free or dirt cheap on Kindle. It's actually a fairly decent sized book.Sometimes I'm amazed that certain books sell so well like Maze Runner (which in my opinion had an excellent idea but poor execution) while really great books like Darkness Falls are self published. This book deserves to be on the book shelf just as much if not more so than alot of the YA Urban Fantasy/sci fi type books you find in stores such as Maze Runner or Perseus Jackson and the Olympians. It's a much better story and just as well written. I actually just bought the second book today and I'm enjoying it just as much as I did the first. Give it a try, it's free. You have nothing to lose and might actually find yourself in a world you enjoy.

[heather.c · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This is a dark, post-apocalyptic story about vampires. It has a good bit of action in the beginning but overall the plot is slow to develop and the main character is not very engaging or even likeable. It did keep me reading to learn more about the main character’s story and the different types of beings in this story.