Kick at the Darkness (27 page)

The delicate green glow on the sleek digital clock showed after midnight when Parker blearily opened his eyes. He wasn’t sure what time he’d fallen asleep. He reached out and found the mattress cold—but an instinct told him there was someone else in the room, breathing heavily. His heart skipped a beat as he peered into the inky darkness beyond the bed.

“It’s me,” Adam said quietly. He sounded like he was maybe sitting in one of the chairs close to the covered windows. Maybe he was doing that meditation thing.

There were a million questions Parker wanted to ask, but instead he just reached out his hand. “Come to bed?”

“Soon.”

Parker rolled over and closed his eyes, curling into a ball. The feather duvet was wonderfully warm, but he still shivered. He was almost asleep again when he felt Adam caress his hair. The touch was barely a whisper, but it was there.

“HOLY SHIT.”

“What?” Adam called out through the open bathroom door, his voice tight.

Parker blinked and rubbed his eyes as the wooden blinds ascended, folding up into a slot in the ceiling. Nope. Still there. “Snow.” He was only wearing his boxers, and he shivered even though it was warm inside.

Then Adam was beside him, shaving cream on half his face. He’d already been dressed in jeans and a maroon Henley when Parker woke, and Parker wasn’t even sure Adam had slept at all.

Adam stared. “Snow.”

And lots of it. It blanketed the ground with at least a foot already, and fat flakes continued to come down. The world had gone entirely white, the mountain peaks hazy in the distance. “I guess we should wait until it stops coming down before we leave.”

“Parker, we have to wait until it melts.”

His heart thumped. “What if that’s not until spring? I know it’s only October, but we’re in the mountains. For all we know this is the start of winter. No, I’m sure we can go when—”

“The roads won’t be plowed, let alone salted.”

“Fuck.” Parker thumped his forehead against the glass. “Fuck, fuck, fuck.”

“It’s okay. I’m sure it’ll melt soon. It’s still early for winter. Even up here. We’ll figure it out.” He stared down at the snow-covered lawn.

Parker followed his gaze, and a lead ball dropped in his stomach. There was Ramon having a snowball fight. The kids appeared to be shrieking with laughter, but the window was completely soundproofed. Stupid Ramon with his square jaw and broad shoulders dove behind a half-built snow fort, one of the kids tackling him as Adam watched closely.

Be mature. Don’t flip out. You’re an adult now, remember?
So Adam apparently had an interest in Ramon. It was natural, right? After all, he and Parker had been thrown together by circumstance.
It’s not like he had any other options. I was the only guy available. Now I have competition.

Parker wasn’t sure if he should punch something or curl up and go back to sleep. He cleared his throat. “I guess we’ll see what it’s like tomorrow.”

Adam’s gaze was still on Ramon. “Yeah. Sounds good.”

“And then I was thinking we could murder one of the kids and eat them for lunch. That tender meat should grill up really well. It’ll go great with leftover risotto.”

“Hmm. Sure.”

“Oh for fuck’s sake!” Parker exploded, stalking away. “Why don’t you go share a room with your new pal?”

His brow furrowed, Adam turned from the window. “What?”

“Ramon’s obviously hot. You barely even look at me, but you’re sure keen on eye-fucking him. I get it. Message received.”

“Parker, you’re being ridiculous.” Adam shook his head wearily.

“I am not! You won’t even touch me, and I’m…I’m…” He wanted to scream his frustration.

“Look, I know you’re horny, but—”

“Horny?
Horny
? Are you kidding me right now?”

Adam held up his hands. “Are you telling me you’re not horny?”

“Of course I am! But that’s not the fucking point! But fine, sure. I’m horny. I guess I’ll just jerk off, and that’ll solve everything.” He stormed into the bathroom and grabbed a tube of K-Y from the basket holding every kind of lotion and whatnot a guest could want. When he came back out, Adam was facing the window again, which made Parker’s blood boil even hotter as he stripped off his boxers and kicked them across the room.

“Look, I—” Adam froze as he turned, his breath seeming to catch in his throat.

Gaze locked with Adam’s, Parker stretched out on the bed atop the duvet. Spreading his legs wide, he bent his knees, his feet flat.

“Parker.” Adam scraped the word out, his voice hoarse.

He flipped the lid on the tube and squeezed a cool dollop into his palm before smoothing it over his cock with long strokes. As blood rushed to his groin, he teased his nipples with his other fingers, pinching and caressing.

He’d never exposed himself like this to someone who was only watching, and
Jesus Christ
it made him so hard. His heart pounded, and arousal hummed through him, swirling with his anger. He barely blinked, his eyes locked still with Adam’s as Adam stared with lips parted, his chest rising and falling rapidly.

Parker reached for the lube and squeezed more onto his left fingers. As he stroked his dick again with his right hand, he spread his legs even wider and lifted his hips so he could reach down and finger himself. First he just teased the rim of his hole, skating around it.

“Parker.” Adam barely gritted the word out.

Moaning shamelessly, Parker pushed into his ass roughly, tightening around his finger.

Eyes flickering, Adam
growled
and stalked to the bed, pushing up the sleeves of his Henley. He kneeled between Parker’s legs on the huge bed and shoved Parker’s hands away, replacing them with his own. Parker gasped as Adam started fingering him in a staccato rhythm, first one, then two digits seeming to find the right spot like magnets on metal.

“Yes,” Parker groaned.

He was spread out wantonly, laid utterly bare. His whole body thrummed, and he was practically whimpering. Using more lube, Adam shoved in a third finger, stretching Parker mercilessly.

“You like that?”

He moaned. “You know I do.”

“You love it.” Adam’s eyes flashed. “Want more?”

Parker nodded frantically. “Wish it was your cock.”

It burned like hell as Adam worked in a fourth finger, and Parker pulled his knees to his chest, gasping. “Don’t stop.”

He was begging for release by the time he came with four fingers deep in his ass and Adam’s other hand around his dick, stroking him through his climax. He shot over his belly and chest, and barely had time to take a breath before Adam was lapping it up, his fingers still jammed inside Parker.

Adam’s breath was hot on Parker’s stomach as he licked almost frantically, sweeping his tongue to capture every drop. He rested his head on Parker’s belly and pressed little kisses there as Parker let his legs flop open. When Adam slid his fingers out, Parker felt unbearably empty again, and he gripped Adam’s shoulder.

“Don’t run away.” He swallowed thickly. “Don’t leave me. Please.”

They were both breathing hard, and Adam flattened out, his head on Parker’s belly and his feet hanging off the end of the bed. “Parker…”

“It’s about more than sex. You know that, don’t you? It’s about the way you make me feel when you touch me. When you look at me like I matter. When I make you laugh. When I wake up in the middle of the night, and I know I’m okay because I’m in your arms. When we have a stupid fight, but then it doesn’t matter because you kiss me like you could do it all day.” He sucked in a breath. “Adam, I’m dying to kiss you again,” he whispered.

Adam gripped Parker’s sides, his face rubbing against Parker’s stomach. “You think I’m not?”

“I have no idea what you’re thinking. You don’t look at me. You’re right here, but you’re hiding. I feel alone.”

Adam pressed kisses to Parker’s skin. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry,” he murmured.

“Do you still want me?” It was barely a whisper.

Pushing himself up, Adam sat back on his heels and met Parker’s gaze. “Always.”

“Then if I can’t touch you, let me see you. Stop hiding.”

With a shaky breath, Adam shoved down his jeans enough to pull out his dick. He was already leaking and flushed a deep red, and he jerked himself, panting softly, his eyes on Parker’s. It felt achingly intimate in the hush of the room, and the rest of the world disappeared. It was just the two of them again, in the moment together as Adam pleasured himself, vulnerable and open.

When he came over his hand, tipping his head back with a little cry, he was
beautiful
.

Parker blinked back tears, and before Adam could close off again, he sat up and tugged him back down into his arms, pulling Adam’s head to his chest and wrapping his legs around him. “Thank you,” he murmured, petting Adam’s thick hair.

“Parker, I want you so much I can’t…I’m afraid I won’t be able to stop. That if I let myself touch and be close to you I’ll lose control. I wanted to throw your legs over your shoulders and bury myself inside you, but I can’t. We can’t. Not if it means risking you.”

Parker groaned. “Okay, first off? That’s a hell of a visual. Second, we really need to figure this infection thing out because I need that to happen. Like, yesterday.”

With a real smile brightening his face, Adam pushed himself up and rested on his elbow on his side, his other palm warm and solid on Parker’s chest. “You still make me laugh. Even about this.”

“It’s my superpower, I guess. Hey, maybe we can ask Angela’s scientist brother more about how the infection works. He’s actually already set up a lab in the basement and everything, and he knows about epidemiology.” He traced his fingertip down Adam’s nose and over his mouth. “Or his assistant, Neil. He seems cool. I could ask him a few questions. Try to be casual.”

“Ramon might be able to help too.”

The tension returned to Parker’s body like the flare of a headlight on a dark road. “How the hell would
Ramon
be able to help?” He enunciated the man’s name as if it were a strain of particularly virulent diarrhea.

With a sigh, Adam rubbed his face. “Parker, it’s not what you think.”

“Then what is it? Because I saw you two outside having a private little moment, and—”

“He’s a werewolf.”

“Plus, I—” Parker blinked. “Wait. What?”

Adam raised his eyebrows. “He’s. A. Werewolf.”

Parker opened his mouth and closed it. “Are you shitting me?”

“Yes, Parker. I’m shitting you. That’s precisely what I’m doing.”

He sat up and stared down at Adam incredulously. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

Adam sat up too. “I was going to. Today. I just needed to process. It was a lot to take in.” He took a deep breath, and Parker waited for him to say more. “I’ve never met anyone like me before. I guess I wanted to talk to him first and make sure I was right. Make sure he seems okay and not dangerous. I didn’t know what to think.”

“Are you sure he’s a werewolf? How do you know?”

“I could sense it right away. There’s a scent. A feeling. I can’t explain it. But he knew it too.”

“And you talked to him, so he confirmed it? Is he the only one here?”

Adam nodded. “He’s got a sister in Florida, and parents in San Diego. He came here to run the outdoor programs. Rock climbing and that kind of stuff. He got a text from his sister when the infection happened, saying she was going to make her way here.”

“Did you tell him you were bitten by a creeper? That you guys seem to be immune?”

“Not yet. But maybe he can help. He knows a lot more about being a wolf than I do.”

“That’s cool, right? Hey, does he know how to turn into an actual wolf?”

“Apparently.” Adam shrugged, but the lines of his mouth gave away his nerves. “He said he can show me, but not until the right time. Whatever that means. I guess he’s leery. Understandably—he doesn’t even know me.”

“Right. Well, obviously you can get to know him. At least a little.” A horrible thought dawned on Parker, and he suddenly felt like puking.

“Parker?” Adam frowned.

“It just occurred to me that you and Ramon wouldn’t have to worry about infecting each other. So you could…if you wanted.”

Adam raised an eyebrow. “We could what? Have sex? Hmm. You know, that’s a great idea. I’m going to go do that. Not sure if he’s gay, but I bet I can talk him round. Can you grab me a bagel at breakfast? I’ll be hungry afterwards.”

The pillow made an enjoyable
thwacking
sound as Parker smacked Adam with it. “Okay, okay.” He huffed out a laugh. “But the guy’s hot, and you got stuck with me, and you have this mystical bond with him.”

Adam brushed back Parker’s mussed hair. He smiled. “We got stuck with each other, remember? Parker, you’re the only one I want.”

“Even if—”

“Even if
everything
. Okay?” He watched Parker seriously. “You’re the one I want.”

That was sure nice to hear. “Okay.” Parker leaned back on his elbows. “It must be weird, meeting him. But nice? Especially if he can tell you things.”