The Darkling Hunters_Fox Company Alpha

by Rhiannon Ayers

  Almost too late, her inner senses screamed an alarm. Sydney dropped to her knees, rolling sideways as a large man clothed in torn overalls tried to wrap his arms around the place where her torso had just been. He stumbled, snarling with outrage, and tried to twist around to face her. She met his soulless, dead black eyes as she wrapped a hand around his ankle and released her power for the third time. His face screwed up in agony as the white light engulfed him, then his remains joined the other two, making a veritable snowbank of thick, white ash. Sydney grimaced, slapping her hands together to get rid of some of the grit that had landed on her.

  Damn. Should have worn a white sweater.

  The pile of jeans huddled under a mound of darkling ash, so she left those where they were. Slipping out of the dressing room, she carefully closed the door, walked out of the six-room complex, and headed straight for the women’s department. She chose three sweaters, two pairs of jeans, and a matched set of lacy black underwear while casually shaking the last of the powder out of her hair and clothing. By the time she reached the checkout line, she looked no different than any other patron of this metropolis of materialism. The cashier took her money, the bag-boy handed her two plastic bags, and she headed for the exit without a single glance backward.

  No point, really, Sydney thought as she climbed into the brand new Rav-4 she’d also purchased that morning. Those darklings, whoever they were, didn’t appear to be locals. Probably brought up from Levi’s personal compound, where he kept several dozen sick, dying, and homeless people in a basement holding facility not unlike a prison. He used them for cannon-fodder, crushing their souls and turning them into focused weapons who would stop at nothing to hunt down his enemies. No one would be looking for them. No one would be missing them. She doubted if anyone working at the Walmart even noticed they’d come in, which meant no one would be expecting them to come out.

  Levi had sent them; no doubt about that. He only sent the Broken when he felt personally threatened. Which meant he knew—or at least suspected—that someone had caught up with him at long last.

  Good. Let him sweat.

  I’m coming for you, Levi. I’m coming for you.

  ◆◆◆

  “Boss is getting restless,” Sam said, tossing the Com-Sat into his go-bag with a grimace. “He’s not used to us having this much trouble locating a darkling.”

  “Boss would shit his pants if he found out what we were really hunting,” Dex replied absently, still watching out the window through the part in the curtains. Sydney had been gone a long time.

  “Yeah, well, the more I think about it, the more I agree with Syd about not getting the Agency involved. They’d issue an immediate catch-and-detain directive—which means we would be exposed to an uncontrollable darkling-maker. Bad enough we have to fight the assholes who’ve already lost their souls. We’ve never had to fear becoming one of them.”

  Dex ground his teeth, his eyes still on parking lot outside. “I get it. Still irks me, though.” He let the curtain fall from his fingertips and caste a dubious frown toward Sam. “Are you still buying Syd’s caution here? Two days she’s had us holed up in this motel while she goes out scouting alone. I get where she wants us to pop up as new faces and all, but I’m going to go stir-crazy if she keeps us trapped here much longer.”

  “There are worse things than being trapped in a room with two big beds,” Sam said, his voice dropping to a sexy rumble. “And worse ways to wile away the time between planning sessions.”

  Like what we did last night…and the night before that. Dex felt his ears heat with a self-conscious blush, and he quickly looked back out the window. Damn it, he needed to get over that. His body was more than enthusiastic about the recent changes in his lifestyle. His mind, on the other hand…

  “Is it really so terrible being stuck here with me?”

  Dex pivoted, the wistful tone in Sam’s voice making his heart ache. He dropped to a half-crouch beside Sam’s chair. “Of course not. You know me, man. I hate enforced inactivity. That has nothing to do with you and everything to do with my dumbass need to be right smack in the middle of everything.”

  Sam’s lips quirked. “I think Syd and I are both extremely pleased with that part of your personality.”

  Damn it, there went that blush again. Dex looked down, the memory of last night overwhelming him for a moment. Sydney, straddling his face while he ate out her sweet pussy. And Sam, kneeling over him on the bed, putting his hot, sucking mouth around…

  He cleared his throat as his cock pulsed against his zipper. Fuck, he really needed to get over himself. He shouldn’t be trailing off in his own damn mind. But this was all so new, so unexpected, so…exhilarating…

  “It’s okay if you’re not okay with this yet,” Sam said quietly. “I know…being with me…hasn’t really crossed your mind before.”

  Dex cleared his throat, looking down hastily, then forced himself to look up again. “Not…exactly true.”

  Oh, the look of intense interest on Sam’s face. Dex had to swallow. Hard.

  “When Syd made her…suggestion…I kept telling myself it was all her fantasy, that I’d never even thought of you that way. But I guess I’ve been lying to myself for such a long time, I started believing my own bullshit. I just wish…” He trailed off with a frustrated huff.

  “Wish what?”

  Sam wasn’t going to let him off the hook. Dex steeled himself. “I wish I hadn’t wasted all this time, you know? I mean, you’ve been right here…right fucking here. If I hadn’t been so stupid, so blind, we could have…” He trailed off with a helpless shrug.

  Sam’s eyes went liquid silver. He relaxed in his chair, allowing his arms to extend over the end of the armrests. That movement put his wrist near Dex’s cheek, close but not touching. “It’s my fault as much as yours, Dex. I convinced myself when we were eighteen that you would never be into me that way.” He lifted one fingertip and gently stroked the stubble on Dex’s cheek, making him shiver. “I should have been the aggressor.”

  Oh, fuck. Dex had a brief vision of Sam manhandling him onto a bed, tearing his clothes off and…

  His voice went rough and gravelly. “You told Syd no more secrets. I think that should apply to me, too. So…I have a confession to make.”

  Sam said nothing, but his expression burned.

  God, could he really do this? Tell Sam about that time when…? Shit. Why was he still hesitating? No matter what Sam did to put him at ease, Dex found himself holding back, still terrified that the other man would pull away from him. He had to get over this shit. Had to find a way to come to terms with it.

  Maybe, if he told Sam the truth, he could find a path to move forward.

  That thought in mind, Dex dropped from his half-squat to a full-kneel. It felt…appropriate. Damn if he knew why.

  Dex braced himself—and told the truth.

  “Back when we’d just graduated the DEA Academy. We were on that case in Fort Worth, where that darkling was running a sports-betting ring and killing people who couldn’t pay their debts. You and I had been on the road for several days, no sleep. Do you remember that?”

  Sam nodded.

  Dex’s chest heaved with a silent intake of breath. “We finally decided to find a motel and get some rest. Before then, we always got separate rooms. But there was some kind of convention in town, and the only place we could find had just one room available. We took it because we had no choice.”

  “I remember,” Sam said, lips quirking. “You said you were so tired you could sleep on broken glass, so sharing a room with me wouldn’t be that much of a downgrade.”

  Dex snorted, fiddling with a loose thread on his pant leg. “Yeah, well. Anyway, after we got to the room, you said you needed a shower, and you disappeared into the bathroom. I sat on the bed and started channel surfing, waiting my turn. I heard the shower turn on, but didn’t pay much attention.

  “A few minutes later, you came busting out again.”

  Dex had to swall
ow as the memory engulfed him. His eyes went unfocused. “Fuck, Sam. You had nothing but a little white towel around your hips, and you were soaking wet. I could see the droplets clinging to your skin, dripping down your shoulders from your hair. You didn’t even pay attention to me; you were grumbling to yourself about being an idiot for forgetting to take your clothes in there with you. I watched you stomp across the room, scowling and mumbling, and snatch up your go-bag. And then…then you turned around.”

  Sam chuckled, just a little. Dex felt his ears heat with another blush. “The towel didn’t cover everything. And what I saw…” He shivered, certain his ears had to be glowing like road-flares. “Fuck, Sam. I know we’d seen each other naked in the Marine Corps—hard not to with close quarters—but I’d never seen you like that before. I just…everything in me wanted to reach out and…”

  He gulped, shoulders tensing as Sam’s eyes lit with obvious lust. “I got a hard-on so fast it made me dizzy. But I wasn’t expecting it, so I…panicked, I guess. I was so scared. I thought you’d be…disgusted. So I ran out of the room the moment you got back in the shower, found a secluded spot, and jerked myself off. Didn’t take much. Three strokes and I was done, I was so fucking hard.”

  “Jesus,” Sam whispered, reaching down to adjust his zipper. Dex tracked the movement with his eyes, saliva pooling in his mouth. He could clearly see Sam’s erection bulging beneath his jeans.

  “I went to a bar after that,” Dex confessed. “Found an easy lay and fucked her brains out in the alley behind the place. I told myself I was doing it to erase the memory, to make it into some random need to fuck someone. But…that’s not the real reason I ran that night.”

  “Why did you?”

  He licked his lips and whispered, “I ran because…I was afraid you’d know what I’d been thinking. But, even more than that, I was afraid if I went back into that room without releasing some of that tension, I would…” A shudder rocked his shoulders. “I wanted to join you in that shower, Sam. God help me, I wanted to join you so bad I couldn’t stand it. And I was so scared that if I did, you’d hate me for the rest of your life.”

  Sam traced his jawline with one fingertip. “I wish you had,” he whispered. “I would have welcomed it.”

  Dex groaned, looking down at his knees. He felt jumpy, on edge, like fire ants were stinging his skin all over. Part of him—the biggest part—wanted to reach out and touch Sam, stroke his hands all up and down that gloriously hard body. But the other part, the part that still hadn’t caught up…

  “I don’t know how to do this,” Dex blurted, looking up with wild eyes. “I still…there’s a big part of me that’s still afraid you’ll turn on me, Sam. That you’ll pull away if I…if I try to touch you. I don’t know how to get over that. I don’t know—”

  “Hush.”

  That single word quieted the riot of emotions in Dex’s mind. He froze, breathless.

  Sam’s eyes gleamed like quicksilver. “Come here. Stay on your knees.”

  Oh, God. That tone did all kinds of terrible things to his libido. Dex did as required, moving forward and sideways until he knelt between Sam’s splayed legs. Sam sat up straight, sliding to the edge of the chair and towering over Dex, caging him with his body.

  “Put your hands on my thighs. No, just there, right above my knees. Good. Now, look at me.”

  Dex did, trembling inside and out, as Sam collared his throat with one big hand. The pressure sent zings of pleasure down toward his aching cock.

  “You can stop worrying about when, or if, you’re allowed to touch me. I’ll tell you what I want from now on. And right now, I want you to stay still. Understand?”

  Dex nodded as much as Sam’s grip on his neck would allow, dizzy with sudden, overpowering lust. The muscles beneath his palms were heavy and taut, and he desperately wanted to slide his hands up Sam’s thighs, track just how far the tension went. But Sam’s simple command kept him shackled there, unable to move even if he wanted to—which somehow made it all…easier. There was a big difference between wondering if he should and knowing that he couldn’t. The former left him feeling anxious, unsure. But with Sam’s command in place, he knew, without a doubt, that he was doing the right thing. Somehow, that simple command seemed to…set him free.

  And so, he could do nothing but watch, mesmerized, as Sam leaned down, rubbed a thumb of Dex’s lower lip, then claimed his mouth in a slow, devouring kiss.

  God, those lips. He would never, ever, not in a million years, get over this. He groaned, his whole body trembling as he fought the urge to slide his hands up Sam’s thighs. But he couldn’t, not when Sam wanted him right where he was, right on a level that gave him easy access to Dex’s mouth. Sam took his time, exploring that mouth with lips, teeth, and tongue, delving deep. Dex could do nothing but go along for the ride.

  There was only one thing missing…

  “Damn,” said a husky, feminine voice near the doorway, “that’s got to be the sexiest thing I’ve ever seen.”

  Dex groaned, muscles jumping in anticipation. Being with Sam, alone, was hot. Being with both Sam and Sydney? More like wildfire.

  And he couldn’t fucking wait.

  Sam didn’t break the kiss right away. He kept control of Dex’s mouth, holding him still, and let Sydney enjoy the show for a moment. When he finally did pull away, Dex felt dizzy, breathless, ready to melt into a puddle on the floor. But even though Sam released his lips, he still kept his grip on Dex’s neck, letting him know he wanted Dex to stay right where he was.

  “You were gone a long time,” Sam said. “What were you up to?”

  “What does any hot-blooded woman do on a Saturday afternoon?” she said breezily. “I went shopping. I got us a new ride, and I bought digs for our trip to the Spiked Collar Bar. I can’t wait to see the two of you in the outfits I picked out. I assure you, panties will be thrown.”

  Dex looked over as she kicked the door closed behind her and hefted three large, black paper bags and a couple of plastic grocery bags onto the small table. Then, without saying a word, she crossed the room, straddled Dex’s calves, and pressed her thighs against his shoulder blades. He leaned into her, resting the back of his head against her mid-riff as she ran her fingers through his hair. Sam stroked his neck at the same time, making Dex let out another needy groan.

  “So many delicious things we could do with you in this position,” Sydney purred, fisting his hair and pulling his head back so he had to look up at her. Her ice-blue eyes sparkled with anticipation. “Too bad we’ll have to take a rain check.”

  Sam perked up at that. “You found something?”

  She nodded, released her grip on Dex’s hair, and bent down to give him a slow, sweet kiss. Then she straightened, ruffled Dex’s hair, and settled on the arm of Sam’s chair, leaning into him with an elbow resting on his shoulder. “I had hoped to visit the Spiked Collar on a slow night, so we would stand out and hopefully get Marlon’s attention right away. But we’re going to have to move up our timeline. Someone is still hunting for us.”

  Sam went on high alert, letting his hand fall from Dex’s throat. “And you know this because…”

  She looked down at her nails. “Because I was attacked by three darklings at the local Walmart.”

  Dex shot to his feet. “What the fuck? Are you all right?”

  “Do I appear all right?”

  “Goddamn it, Syd. What happened? Are we going to see news coverage of a shoot-out or something?”

  “Of course not. I lured them to a changing room. No cameras in there. They’re not a threat to anyone anymore.”

  “What about the bodies?” Sam demanded.

  Sydney looked at him, expression totally blank. “What bodies?”

  Silence.

  Then Dex sighed. “Woman, you are going to give me a heart attack one of these days. You don’t need to be out there alone—”

  “Done and handled.” She flipped a hand dismissively. “But it does put a kink in our plans. If we wa
nt to stay ahead of the hunters, we need to move tonight.” One eyebrow and the corner of her lip quirked with amusement. “Hence the shopping spree.”

  Dex eyed the three black paper bags. “I’m not going to like this, am I?”

  Sydney and Sam both laughed.

  Chapter 17

  “I am not wearing this.”

  The grumpy tone of Dex’s voice made Sam chuckle. He finished adjusting the thick, black leather cuff on his left wrist, then straightened his black silk button-up shirt. His pants, also black, still had the crisp iron line down the fronts of the legs, which ended in sharp, business-like cuffs at the ankles. Black shoes, black belt. The only color on him was the four-foot-long, silver-chain-and-leather leash that dangled from his belt loop.

  Finished, he sauntered over to where Dex scowled at himself in the full-length mirror that hung on the inside of the small closet door. “What’s wrong with it? You look sexy as fuck.”

  “I look like an idiot,” Dex growled. He wore a contraption of thick leather straps strung together by steel o-rings to form a harness around his torso. The straps outlined his pecs and abs, forming a cross over his chest and gathering together in a crisscrossed starburst on his back. Paired with black jeans that looked tight enough to have been painted on and a silver chain-link belt, he looked like a male stripper hot enough to join the Thunder Down Under.

  Sam moved up behind Dex, pressing close enough to feel his body heat but not quite touching. Then he reached around Dex’s torso and ran his fingertips along the leather straps that crossed his mid-section, careful not to touch any exposed skin. Dex shivered, eyes dilating as he watched Sam’s movements in the mirror.

  “When we get back tonight,” Sam whispered in his ear, “you’re going to leave the harness on and remove everything else. Syd and I can come up with many, many ways to take advantage of you in this convenient little contraption. Lots of…handholds.”

  Dex groaned, making Sam smile. He squeezed the other man’s waist, then took a chance and placed a gentle kiss on the curve of his neck. Dex swayed backward so that his back hit Sam’s chest, trembling against him. He looked like he might pass out—or perhaps drop to his knees.