Kick at the Darkness (22 page)

Adam still wouldn’t meet his gaze, but after a few moments, his eyes glowed, hair spread down over his forehead, and his beard grew far thicker. Two of his teeth seamlessly elongated into fangs. Parker teased the new hair with his fingertips. It was thick and surprisingly soft, just like the rest of Adam’s hair. Then he ran his index finger over each fang. Adam was completely still, and didn’t even seem to be breathing as Parker explored.

When Parker leaned in and kissed him gently, tracing each fang with his tongue, Adam shuddered and gripped his shoulders. Parker reached down between them and felt Adam’s thickening cock through denim. He pulled back from the kiss and bit the side of Adam’s neck. His exhaustion had evaporated, and desire pooled low in his belly.

With a growl, Adam rolled on top of him. Almost as quickly as the transformation had occurred, his werewolf attributes receded, and he plunged his tongue into Parker’s mouth. They rutted together frantically, and Parker spread his legs and locked his thighs around Adam’s hips. He didn’t care if he messed up his jeans. He needed to come. Needed Adam.

Adam pushed himself up on one powerful arm and tugged at the buttons on their jeans. They both moaned as he took their cocks in his hand, rubbing them together as they thrust their hips in a clumsy rhythm. It didn’t take long before their shafts leaked, and Parker’s whole body vibrated on the hard earth.

“Jesus, I want you to fuck me again.”

Groaning, Adam nodded. “But now… I need…”

“Oh fuck yeah, don’t stop. I can’t wait now. Need this. Keep going.”

With a hard kiss, Adam thrust his hips faster. He panted over Parker, warm bursts across Parker’s face.

Meanwhile, Parker couldn’t seem to stop talking. “I want you to stretch me open and fill me up again and again. Until it’s dripping out of me, and you lick it up and feed it to me, and then you fuck my mouth and I swallow it all and—” Parker gasped as he came in long spurts over Adam’s hand.

Adam didn’t let up, and Parker’s dick was oversensitive, but it was a delicious pain as another wave of pleasure hit him. He whimpered, the glow of release easing his aching body. Adam groaned, the arm holding him up trembling as he climaxed. Breathing hard, he slid onto his hip and buried his face in Parker’s neck.

As they came back down, Parker replayed his rambling words in his mind and flushed. Adam raised his head. His brow was furrowed.

“Okay?”

“Yeah, yeah.” Parker stared up at the Big Dipper. Or maybe the little one—he was shit at astronomy. “I just said some, you know, raunchy stuff. I don’t want you to think I’m weird.”

Adam tilted Parker’s chin until Parker looked at him. “I don’t think you’re weird.”

“You don’t?” Parker smiled tentatively.

“I
know
you’re weird.” He kissed him lightly.

“Shut up!” Laughing, Parker smacked his shoulder. “You know what I mean.”

With a gleam in his eyes, Adam lifted his right hand. He kept his gaze locked on Parker’s as he slowly licked his sticky fingers clean one by one.

Parker’s breath hitched. “You’re going to make me hard again.”

Sweeping his tongue languorously against Parker’s, Adam kissed him. Parker could taste both of them and
he loved it
.

Adam leaned their foreheads together. “Whatever you think might be too kinky or weird?” He traced the shell of Parker’s ear with his tongue and whispered, “I guarantee I want it too.”

Another spike of adrenaline made Parker’s heart skip. “Good to know.”

For a few minutes they rested, tangled together, and Parker watched the stars. “I don’t think I can sleep after all. Got my second wind. What about you?”

“Let’s keep going.” Adam smiled slyly. “Find a bed.”

Parker grinned. “Shit, what are we waiting for?”

Stretching his arms and legs, Parker let out a long, silent yawn. The motel sheets may not have been the highest thread count, but they felt positively luxurious against his bare skin. It had taken until dawn, but they’d found a bed, goddamn it. He opened his eyes and blinked at the clock radio’s glowing numbers.

7:47 P.M.

Miracle of miracles, the deserted roadside motel on the outskirts of a small town had power. Well, it did after they’d turned on the Desert Retreat’s emergency generator. Even though he hadn’t been sure of the exact time, Parker hadn’t been able to resist setting the clock earlier. It was a little slice of normalcy that made him happy. A search of the radio bands had come up empty.

Adam slept naked beside him in the dark room, tangled in the cheap sheets and flopped on his stomach, his arm over Parker’s waist. For all their grand plans for fucking each other’s brains out, they’d showered in the mildewy little bathroom, devoured a pile of half-melted chocolate bars from the empty office, and pulled down the blackout blinds before crashing. It was the first time either of them had slept properly in days, but especially Adam, who Parker knew stayed on guard far more than he did. But apparently werewolves needed their sleep too, and this crash for Adam was overdue.

He knew it was indulgent to stay in the room for a whole day, but burning themselves out wouldn’t do them any favors. He’d wake Adam soon, and they could get back on the road. Although he wasn’t leaving this little oasis until they’d fucked every which way to Sunday—and Wednesday and Friday too.

He watched Adam in the faint glow of the clock. He was still dead to the world, snoring softly in a way that was ridiculously adorable and made Parker grin stupidly. He loved how easy and
right
it felt to sleep with Adam and look at his body. He resisted the urge to turn on the light and lick every mole and freckle he could find.

He eased out of bed, tiptoeing on the threadbare carpet. He pulled on his underwear and jeans before shoving his bare feet into his sneakers. His eyes had adjusted, and he could pick his way around the vague shapes of the room. He rubbed his arms. The air conditioning probably sucked up way too much power, but the day had been scorching and they hadn’t been able to resist. It hummed and rattled loudly, and the sound was so reassuringly ordinary that Parker decided to keep it on for a bit longer.

The ice bucket sat on the cheap desk. Grinning, he grabbed the plastic container. They’d found a fridge full of warm soda in the office, but now it should be cold, and by now the ice machine should have filled. Oh yes, there would be ice. Parker wondered if there was any beer around, although an ice-cold cola would pretty much taste like liquid crack at this point.

With his flashlight in hand, he tip-toed past the bike, which they’d brought inside for safekeeping.

“Where are you going?” Adam mumbled. “What’s that noise?” He groaned.

“It’s the A/C. Keep sleeping.”

“No—got to get up. Turn on the light. That’ll help. Damn, this bed is comfortable.”

Parker flicked on the overhead light, holding up his hand to block the harsh glare. “I’ll be right back.” He unbolted the door and twisted the handle.

“Wait!” Adam shot up.

But Parker was already staring at the writhing sea of creepers in the parking lot. Blinking, he realized the motel’s flashing neon sign had come on in the twilight, a three-story beacon to the hundreds of chattering creepers that jerked around its base as darkness set in.

WELCOME! POOL TV VACANCY

“Parker!”

There was no time to answer, because nearby creepers on their pilgrimage to the neon sign detoured straight for him and their bright room, moving faster than he could.

PARKER SCRAMBLED BACK and tried to slam the door, but it was no use. The creepers shoved into the room, five or six of them reaching for him with rigid fingers and open, bloody mouths. Panic stole the breath from him, and he lunged for his machete.

With a roar that rattled the window pane, Adam put himself between Parker and the invading creepers. He was still naked, and hair spread over his thick shoulders and thighs. He was already slashing with his claws, laying waste to the nearest infected, tearing into their throats as he shoved them toward the door, but more poured in.

Parker frantically hacked at the arm of an old woman who didn’t scream, but instead chattered with a new ferocity, lunging for him.
Fuck, fuck! No!
He stumbled back, tripping over something on the carpet. She followed, her teeth smashing together as she descended on him. He slashed at her neck, but then her head was torn free, Adam turning away from the door to rescue him.

Before Parker could blink, they were on Adam.

Jumping to his feet, Parker whacked at one as its teeth sank into Adam’s neck, another taking a glistening chunk of Adam’s shoulder. “No!” Parker raised his blade again and again, hacking into them in a bloody frenzy until he and Adam were able to drive the rest back out the door.

Adam dug in his heels and pushed back against the shuddering piece of wood as Parker flipped off the damn light.

“Adam?” His voice was little more than a croak. In the sudden darkness, he could only see Adam’s golden eyes glowing. “Oh God. They didn’t…you’re okay. You’re okay!” Parker’s mind spun, and he gasped, a thick band squeezing around his chest and constricting his lungs. “You’re okay!”
He has to be. Oh fuck. They bit him
.

Adam still held the door. His voice was little more than a growl. “Get the pack. Get on the bike.”

“You’re okay, right?” Parker’s chest was unbearably tight.
Please. Please, God
.

He didn’t answer.

“No.” Parker shook his head violently. “Do you feel different? It might not work on you. You’re a werewolf. You’ll be okay!”

“Too many. If I’m infected, you’ll never make it. I’ll kill you.”

“But—”

“
I’ll kill you
. You only have a minute.” Every word was bitten out around his fangs.

“But—”

He roared, “Pick up the pack and get on the fucking bike!
Now
!”

With trembling hands in the dark, Parker slung the pack over his bare back and straddled the motorcycle, the machete still clutched in his right hand. He started the engine, and Mariah hummed to life beneath him. “Get on, Adam.”

“I’ll distract them. Don’t look back. Go.”

“Not without you!” Parker’s heart pounded so hard he thought it might explode.

“You’re going to stay alive, Parker.” Adam flicked on the light. For a moment, he smiled, so much tenderness and sorrow in his golden eyes. “If I’m still me, I’ll find you.”

With a mighty shove, Adam toppled the door backward and off its hinges, splintering the frame as the nearby creepers went flying. The parking lot was thick with them, and Adam was a blur as he sliced and ripped. Parker raced through the open space, weaving into the crowd and hacking at the infected in his way.

But fuck, fuck, fuck—there were still too many. Something tugged hard on the pack, and he slashed back desperately, gunning the engine as others came from both sides, closing in. Then Adam was there in a burst of thunder, and Parker was free, Mariah zooming through a gap in the crowd.

He skirted the edge of the parking lot in seconds, and then he was back on the blacktop of the highway, escaping into the night and the cold, empty desert. Creepers filled the road in the direction of the town, so he headed the way they’d come.

He forced himself not to look back.

Some miles down the road, Parker stopped. He had no idea how far he’d gone, and he staggered off the bike, cracking his knees on the asphalt as his legs gave out and he vomited the remnants of the chocolate. He trembled violently, his teeth chattering so loudly that for a moment he thought maybe he was infected after all.

Parker crawled away from the mess and struggled to get the pack off. It took forever for his hands to cooperate and unzip it. He pulled on a T-shirt and zipped up his hoodie and jacket. Sitting back on his heels, he wrapped his arms around himself. He couldn’t stop shaking.

He clenched his eyes shut.
Please, God. Please let me wake up. I need to wake up. This isn’t happening. It’s not real
. He whimpered when he opened his eyes.

The moon was almost full, illuminating the stretch of the highway in both directions, the faint dotted yellow line disappearing into the distance. The wind swept across the dry land, and he thought of last night, huddling with Adam under the stars, safe and alive. He would give anything to go back there. In a heartbeat, everything had changed.

They’d let themselves relax. They’d figured out in the desert, there wouldn’t be any creepers. How the fuck the infection had gotten to the town, Parker didn’t know. But it didn’t matter. It had. And they’d bitten Adam.

“If I’m still me, I’ll find you.”

He had to be okay. He’d come. The infection wouldn’t get him. It couldn’t. Shuddering, Parker squeezed his eyes shut again. He thought of Adam, who had annoyed him so much when they met. Adam, who had saved him again and again. Adam, who was so brave and beautiful and generous and patient, and who he’d just woken up beside.