Kick at the Darkness (19 page)

There was nothing outwardly different about Adam. He still gripped the mattress and moaned softly as Parker teased the ridge on the underside of his shaft before licking his balls. Even though Parker had seen what he could become, he was still just Adam, and Parker wanted more than anything to make him feel good.

He nuzzled at Adam’s sac. “You like my mouth?”

Panting, Adam murmured a yes.

“You want to fuck it?”

With a low groan that was almost a growl, Adam took hold of Parker’s head. Parker planted his hands on the mattress. “Yeah. Like that. Do it.” When Adam paused, he met his gaze. “I trust you.”

Digging in his heels, Adam lifted his hips with a moan. He clutched Parker’s head, keeping him in place as he thrust into his mouth. Parker concentrated on breathing through his nose and keeping relaxed, letting Adam in as deeply as he could. Adam was pulling his hair, and Parker’s eyes were watering, saliva dripping from the corners of his mouth.

And he loved it. He was painfully hard in his boxers, and with his other hand he shoved them down to free his dick and tug it.

Adam was almost whining now, his eyes locked on where his shaft disappeared over and over into Parker’s mouth. When he came, his rhythm stuttered, and he splashed over Parker’s face. With a small cry, Adam painted Parker’s cheeks and mouth. It dripped down to his chin, and Parker swiped at it with his tongue.

Then Adam was kissing him like his life depended on it, messily licking up his own spunk and shoving it into Parker’s mouth with his tongue. It was salty and bitter, and Parker swallowed every bit he could. He’d always loved swallowing, and with Adam it was even better somehow. Everything was better.

Adam flopped back and urged Parker up to straddle his face, opening his mouth wide. Parker was only too pleased to oblige, and fucked Adam’s mouth in return, clutching one of the slats on the top bunk as he worked his hips. It didn’t even take thirty seconds before he shot down Adam’s throat, shuddering as his toes curled.

They kissed again, and Parker could taste them both now. Adam ran his hands up Parker’s sides, and then he shoved his face into Parker’s armpit and inhaled deeply. Parker couldn’t bite back a giggle. “Ticklish, dude.”

Of course then Adam was tickling him in earnest, his fingers under Parker’s T-shirt and feather light over his ribs. Parker smacked his head on the upper bunk trying to get away, but Adam kissed it better, so in the end it was a win.

They were dressing when Parker blurted out a question that popped into his mind. “Do you bite people and turn them into werewolves too? I mean, can you? Not that you
do
. I’m sure you don’t run around biting people.”

Adam smiled stiffly. “No, I don’t bite people, and even if I did, I can’t turn them into werewolves. My parents told us all that stuff in movies isn’t true. It’s genetic. We’re just like everyone else. You were born a human. Bears are bears. Dogs are dogs. Werewolves are werewolves. We can’t bite people and change them.”

“Oh, okay. That makes sense. I was just curious. I wasn’t trying to say you’d bite me or anything. I know you wouldn’t.”

Sighing, Adam ran a hand through his hair. “I’m being defensive. Sorry. I haven’t talked about any of this since my family was alive. I’m not used to it.”

“It’s cool. I get it. Well, I might have to ask more questions in pursuit of getting it, but getting it is my ultimate goal.”

“I know.” Adam zipped up his jeans and kissed Parker softly. “Most people would have run for their lives by now,” he murmured.

“I guess I’m not most people.”

“Lucky for me.”

Parker couldn’t help but preen
. I am a pretty awesome boyfriend, it’s true. Whoa. Boyfriend?

Adam frowned. “What’s going on in that head of yours?”

“The usual overthinking.” He waved his hand dismissively. “Standard issue. You’ll get used to it. Okay, we’d better get on the road. There’s a gas can in that storage box out back. Hunters probably bring ATVs up here. We can fill up, at least.”

As they left the cabin, the sun was peeking over the horizon through the trees. Adam tossed Parker the keys. “You should practice driving for real.” He strapped on the backpack.

“Hey, what about the shotgun?” Parker stood in the cabin door and glanced back. The gun and box of shells rested on the old table.

“Leave it for someone else. Once it’s out of shells, it’s useless, and…I don’t need it. It was really just for show.”

“Right. Okay.” Claws and super strength did seem quite effective against the creepers.

“Unless you want it?”

“Nah. I’ll stick to my machete.” Parker pulled the door shut and tossed the motorcycle keys from hand to hand. “I’ve still got the pistol just in case. It’s a lot lighter than the shotgun.”

Adam motioned to the bike. “It’s all yours.”

With a deep breath, Parker straddled the red metal and chrome. He put in the key and went through the steps Adam had taught him to turn on the bike. He patted its console. “Okay, Mariah. Sing me a sweet song. Do you have any favorites, Adam? I assume you must. Let me try and guess.”

Adam rolled his eyes. “Whatever. She’s got a great voice.”

“I’m not denying that! My mom loves her, and I may or may not know all the words to the
Daydream
album. I was too young to know any better. I was brainwashed, really. But Mariah’s got pipes. That I will admit.”

Adam’s tone was wistful. “My mom liked her too.”

He climbed on and wrapped his arms around Parker’s waist, his thighs powerful against Parker’s hips. It felt good to have Adam pressed up against him, and it sent heat through Parker’s veins even though they’d just gotten off. Hmm. Maybe they could fool around a bit more, since it wasn’t like they had a strict schedule to follow, aside from penciling in:
Don’t get eaten by creepers
.

But then he thought of his mom humming “Always Be My Baby” as she cut his toast into soldiers he could dip into his eggs. He had to get home.

Parker took a deep breath and revved the engine. “Hold on to your butts,” he shouted as they shot forward, since quoting Samuel L. Jackson was always,
always
the right thing to do.

By late afternoon, they were skirting Yosemite, looking for a way into the park that wasn’t clogged with creepers. They’d beaten a hasty retreat from the one entrance they’d tried, and now headed north on a paved road. The odd time, Adam picked up the sound of another vehicle or people in the area, but they had only seen bodies. It was frightening how normal that was becoming.

Parker had never been to Yosemite, and the sheer rock faces and sparkling lakes were breathtaking. As they drove around a corner and a new vista unfurled—a waterfall cliff that jutted out over a swath of green, the water thundering, Parker’s breath caught. The sun shone, reflected in the water, and a rainbow arced through the sky.

For a moment, he could only stare, soaking it in as he let up on the throttle. The absurd thought that they should take a picture flitted through his mind, and the magic evaporated. How could he be admiring the view when so many people were dead or infected? When his parents, brother, and friends could be?

Behind him, Adam asked, “You okay?” He squeezed Parker’s thigh. “That rainbow is amazing, huh?”

“Yeah.” He concentrated on a light tone. “I keep waiting for a cop to pull us over for not wearing helmets.” He’d gotten the hang of driving the bike, and he honestly felt like a bit of a badass.

Adam snorted. He spoke loudly so Parker could hear, even though Parker could talk in a normal voice and Adam heard every word just fine. “I wish they would. Wouldn’t mind seeing a cop or twenty out here. Either they’re hiding, they’re dead, they’re infected, or they’re planning some amazing creeper takedown.”

“Oh, like the SWAT team, maybe? Any second now, they’ll swoop in and take out all the creepers, and we’ll never have to hear that godawful sound they make again.”

“Yep. Any second now. Or Thor and Iron Man are going to arrive and save the day.”

Grinning, Parker nodded. “With the Hulk. And Hawkeye, although I dunno how much help he is with just those arrows.”

“He’s hot. That’s help enough.”

Parker laughed. “True, true. But fuck, man. Looks like we might never see that next
Avengers
movie.”

“Yeah. I guess not.”

It made his stomach churn to really think about how completely different the world was going to be if this pandemic was everywhere. Eric had said it was in London, so it could well be in Europe. And if it was in Europe, it could spread to Asia even if Asia hadn’t been targeted. Considering how quickly it had spread in the US, bioterrorism seemed to make the most sense. But to accomplish
what
? For all they knew it was on every continent. If it wasn’t, it didn’t seem like any of their allies were in a rush to come help.

“What’s wrong?” Adam rubbed a hand over Parker’s thigh.

He realized he’d tensed up, and tried to relax as he slowed to take a curve on the tree-lined road. “Just thinking.” Their lives had already been hugely turned upside down, but there would be all the little changes too. The shit they took for granted, like superhero movies. If he pondered it too much, he wanted to cry. He forced a light tone. “What do you think happened in Hollywood? Like, are Clooney and Pitt twitching their way through the hills with bug eyes, trying to eat the Botoxed face of every starlet they come across?”

“It would be only fair, really.”

“Maybe Hollywood was contained, and they can keep making movies and TV shows. I was really looking forward to that next sequel.”

“And we’ll never get to see—” Adam broke off and gripped Parker’s waist harder, digging in his fingers. “Slow down. People ahead.”

Parker let up on the throttle. As they went around the next corner, he saw the people. More importantly, he saw the two pickup trucks parked across the road, nose to nose. “Fuck. This gives me a bad feeling.” He slowed even more.

“Stay on the bike.” Adam still sounded calm. “Get ready to go without me.” Then he was fiddling with the pocket of Parker’s jacket, pushing something heavy inside. “The safety’s on. It’s loaded.”

“I’m not going without you! What the fuck?” Parker’s heart thumped.

“In case this goes bad. I’ll catch up. I’m fast, remember?”

“But—”

“Just be ready.”

Parker wanted to crawl out of his skin as they approached the trucks. To the right was a small clearing with a few more vehicles. He counted four men and one woman. One of the men walked onto the road, a shotgun leaning casually on his shoulder. He had dark hair and was about thirty, wearing jeans and a plaid shirt. Parker stopped twenty feet away. He didn’t like the man on sight.

“Hi there, boys,” the man said. He smiled and spat onto the blacktop. “How goes it?”

“Fine,” Parker replied warily. “You know, there’s this whole sort-of zombie attack thing happening. But other than that, we’re great. How are you folks doing?”

His teeth gleamed. “Making the best of it. We’ve claimed this land. Have a whole community sprouting up over yonder.” He nodded to indicate the forest.

Adam was a wall of tension behind Parker, and Parker struggled to keep his voice light. “That’s great. We’re just passing through, so. Good luck to you all. Be careful. There were a lot of creepers at the park entrance. They’re attracted to light, so keep them off at night.”

“Is that right?” He spat again. “Thanks for the tip. Where you headed?”

“East Coast. I have family there.” Although he didn’t trust this guy as far as he could throw him, he couldn’t resist asking, “Have you heard anything about what’s going on out there?”

“Nothing concrete. But we’ve got a ham radio and antenna, and word is this shit’s all over the damn place. Had to be coordinated. Guy down in Mexico said they’re just as fucked as we seem to be.”

“Anyone know why? I mean, what’s there to gain?”

His smile was sharp. “I guess the strong will survive. Maybe the good lord’s got a plan for us like he did for Noah.”

Parker tried to laugh, although he was afraid the man was serious. “Maybe. Well, we’ll get going now. Take care.”