by Tina Folsom
There was no occasion to tell Eddie what this meant to him. Suddenly Thomas felt accepted by him, because Eddie was fully acknowledging his maleness by performing the most intimate sexual act on him without any sign of embarrassment or shame. On the contrary, the soft moans and sighs that came from Eddie’s chest and blew against his cock were confirmation that Eddie was finally ready for him.
With tenderness and adoration, Thomas licked Eddie’s cock, sucking him firmly and in a rhythm Eddie’s body dictated while he cupped his balls in one hand, fondling the precious sac.
But he found it hard to concentrate on pleasuring Eddie while his lover did the same to him.
Eddie’s hands forced him to angle his knees, giving him full access to his balls and ass.
When Eddie’s fingers, moist from his saliva, slid over Thomas’s balls, then dipped into the crease of his ass, Thomas groaned, his back arching off the concrete of the garage. But Eddie was giving him no reprieve to this sensual torture, because his dew-covered finger now circled his anus and pressed against it. The sucking motion on his cock intensified just as Eddie’s finger breached his portal and drove into him.
Eddie’s cock in Thomas’s mouth jerked, reminding him of his lover’s need. Bringing one hand to aid, he sucked him harder, letting him slide in and out of his mouth, while he squeezed Eddie’s balls in concert with his motions.
He’d never thought that Eddie would be so enthusiastic about finger-fucking him, but this wasn’t the first time he was doing it, nor, Thomas hoped, would it be the last. With every thrust, Eddie’s head dipped lower, taking him deeper into his mouth, and with each movement, Eddie’s ass lifted up in the air, his thighs spreading wider.
The temptation was getting too much, and Thomas extended the middle finger of his hand that was caressing Eddie’s balls and bathed it in the saliva that was escaping from his mouth.
Then he let his finger slide into the crack of Eddie’s ass. Eddie jolted slightly, but then he eased back into the touch, and Thomas let his finger slide over the spot again, feeling the ring of muscle that was hidden there. He rimmed it, slowly at first, then faster, noticing how Eddie suddenly finger-fucked him harder and more rapidly, his mouth mimicking the movement. His hips pumped up and down and his ass pressed against Thomas’s finger as if he wanted him to thrust inside.
Unable to resist the erotic pull of Eddie’s movements, Thomas pushed past the tight muscle and plunged inside.
Above him, Eddie’s body convulsed, and a second later, hot seed shot into Thomas’s mouth.
Eddie’s orgasm triggered his own, making him explode in Eddie’s mouth without having had time to warn him. He realized with joy that Eddie didn’t pull back, and instead kept him in his mouth as wave after wave shot through his cock. His entire body felt weightless, and for a few moments his vision went black.
When Thomas finally released Eddie’s cock, having licked him clean, with Eddie having done the same to him, he couldn’t talk. It was hard enough to pump oxygen through his body.
His lover was breathing as heavily as he, his cheek now resting on one of Thomas’s thighs, his groin still braced over him.
“I’ve gotta go,” Eddie murmured, pulling himself up.
When he turned, their eyes locked for a long moment, and Thomas recognized the promise in Eddie’s gaze. Everything would work out all right between them.
33
“We have to split up or we’re going to lose one of them,” Cain said to Oliver, his patrolling partner for the night.
“We can’t do that!” his colleague whispered back under his breath. “Gabriel’s instructions were to stay together in teams.”
“Things change,” Cain said, shrugging. “There are times when you have to improvise. So go!
You’re taking the fat guy. I’ll follow that other goon. And don’t get too close. Those guys are dangerous.”
Without waiting for a confirmation from Oliver, he turned into the next street, careful not to lose sight of the vampire he’d been trailing through half of San Francisco. He and his associate had left the house where Xander was holed up, and had made various stops throughout town. At every point, Cain and Oliver had watched carefully to make sure they weren’t committing any atrocities, but it seemed that the two were simply on a reconnaissance mission. However, once they’d reached the Civic Center area, they’d parted ways.
Not knowing which of the two might possibly lead them to another hideout or more of their kind, Cain had made a quick decision. If Gabriel wanted to come down hard on him for it later, so be it. But he wasn’t going to let this opportunity slip through his fingers.
Foot traffic thinned somewhat as he continued to follow the other vampire west on Market Street. There were fewer bars and restaurants. Cain had to stay farther back in order not to attract any attention.
For several blocks nothing unusual happened. At the turnaround of the tram that ran along Market Street, the vampire turned into the Castro, and Cain followed at a safe distance. The vapor trail the guy left behind reminded him of a cheap brothel. It practically overpowered the vampire’s own scent.
There was more activity in the area he’d turned into, and Cain shortened the distance between him and the other vampire.
The man was of average height, dressed in casual clothes, without any distinguishing features. He looked average, yet at the same time something in his aura—which identified him as a vampire—seemed different from other vampires Cain had met. It was nothing he could actually see, but the closer he walked behind him, the more he could sense something radiating from him that he couldn’t put a name to. He only knew that he didn’t like it. Was this the superior mind control skill Samson had talked about? Strangely enough, he’d never noticed anything similar around Thomas, even though he had that same skill.
Following the vampire farther up the hill, Cain suddenly heard a voice he recognized. His head whirled to the side, and his eyes searched for the person. He saw her a second later: Roxanne was surrounded by three men who were clearly intoxicated.
“Step aside, or I’ll have your balls!” Roxanne claimed, but the human idiots didn’t take her seriously.
And why should they? They had no idea that the curvy woman who wore her black dress like a second skin could rip their balls out in less than fifteen seconds, should she wish to do so. For a moment, he contemplated helping her, but he wasn’t entirely sure whether she would even appreciate his help. She was more than capable of dealing with those three drunkards herself and would probably even get annoyed at him for having interfered.
But just in case, he figured he needed to at least offer his help. “Roxanne, you need me to take care of them for you?” he called out to her from across the street.
Her gaze shifted to him and she shook her head. “Don’t spoil my fun,” she answered.
Turning back in the direction in which his suspect had been heading, he froze. There was no trace of him, even though the encounter and exchange with Roxanne had lasted less than fifteen seconds.
Cain inhaled deeply, and luckily he could still smell the cheap aftershave the vampire wore.
He followed the trail, speeding up even as the street became steeper. It wound around a corner, and Cain stopped for a moment, sniffing again. The scent was becoming fainter.
Shit! He had to get closer.
Cain ran farther up the hill, his eyes searching for any sign of the vampire, his nose constantly examining the air around him until he finally had to admit that he’d lost him.
Cain looked around the neighborhood and realized that he’d reached Twin Peaks, the area where Thomas lived. What had the vampire wanted here? Or had he merely come up here to lead him on a wild goose chase? In any case, considering how close to Thomas’s house he’d lost him, it was better to alert Thomas.
He oriented himself and turned right at the next street, then headed farther uphill. At the bend before Thomas’s house, he heard a noise and stopped, remaining behind the bushes along the border
ing property. He peeked out from his hiding place and saw the garage door of Thomas’s house lifting. He was about to step forward and wave to Thomas, when his eyes zeroed in on the scene playing out in the garage. Surprise made him hold his breath.
Eddie sat on his motorcycle, the engine running. Thomas stood next to the bike, his arms around Eddie, his lips fused with the younger vampire’s. Eddie leaned into him, one hand on Thomas’s nape, his head angled for a passionate kiss, one that seemed to go on forever.
Thomas wore only a robe. Eddie was fully dressed in his motorcycle leathers. They looked like two lovers saying goodbye after making love. It was written as clearly on their faces as if they’d shouted it off the rooftops.
Cain stepped back behind the bushes, not wanting to watch their intimate embrace any longer. They deserved privacy, and would certainly not appreciate it if they knew they were being watched. After all, nobody at Scanguards knew they were lovers, which could only mean that they went to great lengths to hide their relationship. And he wasn’t one to nose around in other people’s business. If Thomas and Eddie didn’t want anybody to know what was going on between them, he wouldn’t be the one to divulge that secret.
He was only surprised at himself that he’d never noticed the chemistry between them. It was so clearly visible now. How had it escaped him all these months he’d been with Scanguards?
He’d always considered himself a good judge of people, and figured he’d see beyond the things others were trying to hide. Obviously those two had fooled even him.
Cain turned back and quietly took a path leading between two houses to walk down the hill, not wanting to be seen by Eddie when he drove by with the motorcycle. He would call Thomas on the phone and tell him about the other vampire, so he would not suspect that his and Eddie’s kiss had been witnessed.
34
Eddie parked his motorcycle in front of Quinn’s Pacific Heights mansion and rushed up the stairs. The message he’d received had said to hurry. He rang the doorbell and waited. From the inside he could already hear several voices. Something was up. Before he could wonder what was going on, the door was opened by Quinn.
“I got here as fast as I could,” Eddie said without proper greeting.
Quinn waved him inside. “Come in. You’re one of the last. Thomas with you?”
Stiffening, Eddie shook his head. Did anybody know about him and Thomas? Had somebody noticed anything in the way they interacted at the office? “No, should he be?”
“Just thought he might be with you. He didn’t reply to the text I sent him.”
Eddie shrugged, trying to appear unaffected and walked past Quinn toward the source of the voices. The door to the living room was ajar. Eddie pushed it open farther and perused the room.
He was surprised to see half of Scanguards assembled, and they’d brought their wives.
He turned his head to Quinn. “What’s this about?”
“You’ll find out when everybody else does. So, go and mingle.”
He swept his gaze over the crowd and caught Samson’s eyes. Noticing him motioning to approach, Eddie walked to him, stopping in front of him.
“Hey, Samson, you know what this is all about?”
“You’ll find out. So, how did the meeting with Luther go?” Samson’s eyes seemed to want to look through him.
Eddie evaded his gaze and feigned interest in a spot of dirt on his leather jacket. “Fine.”
“Did you get what you wanted?” Samson continued.
No, he didn’t get the answer that he’d wanted to hear, but he couldn’t very well tell his boss about that without revealing what was going on. He still wasn’t sure that he was okay with the direction his life was taking. As he looked past Samson, he noticed his sister talking to Portia.
How disappointed would Nina be when she found out that her little brother was having sex with Thomas? Or did she already suspect it? And the rest of Scanguards, would they look at him in an odd way? Would they treat him differently? Would they too make fun of him like the boys in his high school?
“I don’t mean to pry,” Samson’s voice drifted back to him.
“No. No, that’s okay. Everything was all right. Luther seems well.”
“Well, good then.”
There was an awkward pause, but Eddie was saved from saying any more when Nina spotted him and waved to him. She said something to Portia, then walked toward him.
“Excuse me, there’s Nina,” he said to Samson, glad for the excuse, and strode toward his sister, meeting her halfway.
“Hey, Eddie,” she greeted him with a smile and a hug. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen as much of you since when we were living together.”
She was right. Ever since she’d started looking for an apartment for him, they’d seen each other practically every day, or had at least talked on the phone. Nina was putting a lot of work into this apartment search, and he felt like an ass for leading her on. But this wasn’t the time or the place to tell her to cool the search. There were too many people in the room who could eavesdrop.
“Getting sick of me?” he asked, grinning back at her to hide his guilty conscience.
She boxed him in the side. “No chance. So where’s Thomas? Haven’t seen him yet.” Her eyes wandered around the room.
Defensiveness crept up in him. “How should I know?” Why did everybody have to ask him about Thomas as if they were an item?
Nina tilted her head, giving him a curious look. “Are you in a bad mood?”
“No, I’m not!” But if she kept going on about this, he would be very shortly.
“Hey, buddy,” Blake’s voice came from behind him, a hand landing on Eddie’s shoulder, giving him an overly friendly pat. “Nina.”
Eddie turned to look at the human. He wasn’t mad at him or at Oliver anymore for having leaked that Thomas had feelings for him. Blake just couldn’t help himself: he was a bit of a klutz. He meant well, but being the newest member of the extended Scanguards family, he still had lots to learn. As Rose and Quinn’s 4th great-grandson, he had become part of their group overnight and, given the circumstances, he had adjusted surprisingly well.
“Blake. So what’s this all about? Samson seemed to know but didn’t say anything,” Eddie asked.
“Your guess is as good as mine. Can’t be long now. Almost everybody is here. Even Wesley.” He pointed to the window where Wesley stood talking to his brother Haven, making wild gestures with his hands. Blake leaned in, lowering his booming voice. “He’s been working on his witchcraft, and I don’t think Haven is too pleased with the outcome of his experiments.”
Nina drew her head closer. “What happened? I thought Haven was okay with Wesley trying to regain his witch powers.”
Eddie had thought the same, and in fact he was grateful for it: Wesley’s witchcraft had helped save Thomas’s life when he’d fought his maker, Keegan. Had Wesley not cast a spell to break Keegan’s concentration during the mind control fight he and Thomas had been locked into, Thomas could have perished in the fight. Even now, Eddie still shuddered at the thought.
“He already has some of his powers back. I’ve seen it,” Eddie added.
Blake grinned. “Yeah, but apparently he has trouble controlling his powers. Last night when he was visiting to have a look at the baby, he was trying out some spells on Haven’s two puppies and turned them into piglets. Haven was pissed to say the least.”
“Oh no!” Nina laughed out loud.
Eddie couldn’t suppress his own laugh. “That’s too comical.”
“Well, Yvette didn’t think so. She’s afraid of Wesley being around the baby now, because who knows what he might turn her into.”
Nina stopped laughing. “She’s got a point.”
“Has he turned them back into puppies yet?” Eddie asked.
Blake gestured toward Haven, the witch-turned-vampire, and his witch brother. “Doesn’t look like it. From what I could overhear, the place where Wesley buys his ingredients ran out of something
he needs for the reversal spell.”
“You mean those two puppies are still running around like pigs?” Eddie could virtually see them before his eyes.
Blake chuckled. “Yes, Bacon and Sausage are roaming Haven’s house, driving everybody crazy.”
“Bacon and Sausage?” Nina echoed.
“Yeah. Like the names? I’m going to suggest they rename the puppies. And maybe the names will stick even after Wesley has managed to turn them back into dogs.” Mischief twinkled in Blake’s eyes.
Eddie nudged him in the ribs. “You do that and Haven is going to have your hide.”
Suddenly a tingling spread over his back and Eddie tried to ward off the bolt of desire that shot through his body. He didn’t have to turn around to know who was approaching.
“What is that about Bacon and Sausage?” Thomas’s voice sounded from only a few feet behind Eddie.
Only turning his head by a fraction to acknowledge Thomas’s arrival, Eddie answered, “Blake’s getting himself into trouble again by insulting Haven’s puppies.”
“Well, they’re not puppies right now. More like ham and pork rinds,” Blake shot back.
Thomas gave him a questioning look. “Do I want to know what this is about?”
Nina shook her head. “No, you don’t. It’s just Blake being silly. Again.”
“You’re calling me silly?” Blake asked. “That’s outrageous!”
As Nina and Blake continued arguing about what constituted silly, Thomas stepped closer to Eddie. Eddie felt as if little charges of electricity were jumping from Thomas’s body to his.
“Hey.” The husky tone with which Thomas had spoken the single word made Eddie’s throat go dry in an instant. He dared not respond, knowing that he wouldn’t be able to utter a coherent sentence. Ever since he’d sucked Thomas in the garage, he knew something was going to change between them. When he’d felt Thomas’s finger inside him for a brief moment and had come uncontrollably, he realized that he’d crossed a bridge from which there was no way back. And it scared the shit out of him. Because if he continued on this path, it would mean that his entire life had been a lie.
