Their Dark Reflections

by Amanda Meuwissen

  “Now what?” Ed asked, holding Sam tightly like he never wanted to let go.

  Sam was fine with that. “Now we call 911.”

  Chapter 9

  AS MUCH as part of Sam wished they could head back to Ed’s place and wait out the aftermath, he knew he couldn’t hide when his friends would be some of the first to react to the news of Alverez being found dead.

  Ed stayed in the shadows, watching as Sam drove his bike back to the hotel. The bike hadn’t been anywhere near Lucifer’s Rest since earlier, and it was going to stay that way.

  By the time he arrived, Ed had texted him that the police were at the bar. They would question everyone, those who’d been on shift especially, since the body had been found in the back, and from there, Lara would be out of their way, even if she wasn’t arrested.

  Sam was certain her fingerprints would be in the system, but even if they weren’t, all eyes would be on her and the few others who’d been there that night, making it harder for her to help Black.

  And he wasn’t going to be happy about that.

  Mim and Gerry entered the hotel room just as Sam finished packing—his things and theirs.

  “What the hell, Sammy—”

  “Grab your stuff. Check for anything I might have missed, but we need to go.”

  “Why—”

  “Now.”

  The urgency in his tone ceased any further arguing from Mim and Gerry. They’d been through too much together to question him when he was that serious.

  All three were the picture of calm as they checked out and headed across town to the Marriot, which was closer to Lucifer’s Rest. It had to be in case anyone thought it odd that they’d changed locations the same night as Alverez’s murder.

  Sam just wanted to be somewhere else and to make the move before Black had the chance to pay attention. He didn’t want any more surprise visits.

  An hour had passed since he’d made an anonymous 911 call when Gerry got a text from Lara.

  Sam knew who it was immediately, because Gerry looked at his phone, looked at Sam like he’d been slapped, and turned on the TV.

  This wasn’t some back-alley body found the next day; this was a business with a body found during working hours when frequent murders had been plaguing the city for weeks. Of course it was on the news.

  And Marie’s friend Linda was reporting on it.

  “Police have yet to reveal the identity of the victim,” she was saying, with the sign for Lucifer’s Rest clear behind her, “but he’s said to be a regular at this establishment. Everyone inside, along with employees, are currently being questioned. The body was found—”

  “Lara got the chance to contact me finally after being interrogated,” Gerry said, eerily icy for someone usually so warm. “She says she recognizes the guy who was killed, thinks it’s a friend of yours. Says she remembers you talking to him at the bar.”

  “Gerr—”

  “It’s Alverez, isn’t it? Or Brock Cramer?”

  Sam didn’t answer. He could feel Gerry’s eyes glaring into the side of his face. Mim’s too.

  “Tell me!” Gerry shrieked, the sudden cry making Sam shudder. “Why is he dead in our bar, and why are they looking at Lara?”

  “I’m sorry,” Sam said, glancing up at him slowly. “I couldn’t tell you. She’s part of this.”

  “Bullshit.”

  “She’s always been part of this, Gerry. She threatened me. She threatened you. She was just using you.”

  “No way! You’re wrong. I… I can’t believe it.”

  “Gerry—”

  “She didn’t kill whoever is dead in that bar! She couldn’t have!” He spun around, storming into his room and slamming the door behind him.

  Sam never thought he’d miss when they used to share a loft and couldn’t hide from each other. Right now, he’d settle for a normal hotel room without separate doors.

  It was better to not explain further, because he couldn’t explain everything, not about Ed, and he didn’t want to lie to Gerry again.

  “Don’t tell her where we moved to, Gerry!” he called through the door instead. “Please.”

  “Fine! Now leave me alone!” Gerry shouted back.

  Sam looked back at Mim to see her shaking her head at him. “She threatened bodily harm to both of you if I said anything.”

  “Like I’d be afraid of her.”

  Admittedly, Mim and Lara might be evenly matched as petite powerhouses, but still. “She isn’t working alone.”

  “The Cramers?”

  “The man who hired them to hire us.”

  She pursed her lips and crossed her arms in indignation. “You still should have said something. Who’s the vic?”

  “Alverez.”

  “Lara didn’t kill him, did she?”

  “No, but she’d do worse. Her boss would do worse. To you. To Gerry. I can’t tell you more—”

  “This is what I was talking about,” Mim hissed, keeping her voice low, but her eyes were aflame as she stalked up to him and got in his face by stretching up on her toes. “It’s all because of Simons. Look what he has you doing. Lying to us? To us? Framing people for murder?”

  “That part was my idea,” Sam said.

  She rocked back on her heels, aghast, and for a moment, Sam wanted to tell her everything. But she and Gerry were already in too much danger.

  “I have things under control—”

  “You know, I think I need to be away from you right now too,” she cut him off, pushing roughly past him to retreat like Gerry, only with a slightly less jarring bang of her door.

  They were his best friends, his family. He knew it must seem awful that he was choosing Ed over them, but it wasn’t like that. He was choosing all of them. He didn’t want to give Ed up if he could have him and keep his friends safe at the same time.

  Honestly, Sam was grateful they’d shuttered themselves away to cool off. They’d forgive him eventually. For now he just wanted them to sleep, secure here in a new location.

  He made sure the main door was deadbolted and turned on the Do Not Disturb light with the press of a button. Then he retired to his own room and softly shut the door.

  This time he wasn’t afraid of the figure hiding in the darkness, because he knew it was Ed.

  “I’m sorry,” Ed said, stepping from the shadows as if he’d been made of them until that moment. He must have heard everything.

  “They’ll forgive me when it’s over.”

  Ed nodded as Sam moved closer to him.

  He could feel the bruises he’d have in the morning from Alverez’s attack—the soreness, the exhaustion—but that did nothing to diminish how much he wanted to feel Ed’s hands on him.

  “Would you… like to go to bed?” Ed asked, meaning sleep, but that was the last thing on Sam’s mind.

  “With you,” he said, punctuating each following phrase with another step closer. “Yes. I would. Right now. Back at the house.”

  Ed’s eyes widened, and he cast a nervous glance at the door.

  “They’ll be fine. Even if Black tracks us, that won’t be until tomorrow.”

  “He was at the scene,” Ed confirmed, “so I know he didn’t follow you.”

  “Then let’s go home.” Sam used the word purposely, completing his trek into Ed’s arms and cuddling his chest. “You can bring me back in the morning. I don’t want to miss another chance to be with you, Eddie. All of you.”

  ALL OF him.

  Sam wanted….

  Yes. Ed wanted that too.

  He brought them back to the house, directly up to the bedroom. It amused him that he’d spent more time in that room in the past two weeks than the entire two months he’d lived there. So much had changed since Sam’s first day. Ed had blown up and hung one of the photographs he took of downtown Riverside over his safe, outfitted with a more difficult to crack lock, thanks to Sam, who grinned at the bunny slippers resting beside the dresser as Ed once again led him to the bed.

  All
Ed wanted was to keep Sam in his arms and kiss him, but still, he had to ask, “Are you sure we’re doing enough?”

  “Why do you think I had you bring me back to your place?” Sam winked.

  “I mean about the situation!”

  Sam knew that, of course, only teasing him, but while the smile slipped from Sam’s face, he looked resolute. “We need to find proof that Lara and Black are connected. Or that Black and Cheroneau are the same person. Or both. With Lara under scrutiny by the police, it’ll be easier to figure that out.”

  “Sounds easier said than done.”

  “There has to be a trail. I’m also hoping that once Gerry calms down, he’ll use his hacking skills to help us. With that account, he has Black’s real name. From there, I know he can do it.”

  “It’s still a tall order, but it does seem like our only option.”

  “Tell me if you have a better one, Eddie. You’re the expert.”

  “At covering my tracks, not pointing them at someone else or playing detective.” Ed’s idea would have been to just kill them both, but if Black was telling the truth about evidence sent to the police in the event of his or Lara’s deaths, then he’d have to run again.

  And there were so many things worth staying for.

  Sam smirking at him was one, close enough that he could feel the contact of their bodies all down the length of him from chest to thigh, with a hint of arousal and promise in Sam’s eyes.

  “It’s late, I’m tired, but before I sleep, I want you,” Sam said plainly, “and to only think about you for as long as I can. Tomorrow, once we know how things stand with Lara, we’ll move forward. I have ideas for every possible way this can go, but right now, all I need to know is… how do you feel?” He slid his hands from Ed’s hips down and around to squeeze his ass.

  “G-good,” Ed said with a shiver.

  “Satiated?”

  “I don’t… know about that. But I’m not hungry right now for anything but this.” Ed gripped the side of Sam’s face gently and pulled him in for a kiss.

  Sam responded with eagerness, even though Ed’s mouth and fangs had been stained in blood only an hour ago. They needed to wash their clothes or incinerate everything in case there were traces remaining, but that could come later.

  As they kissed, at first Ed didn’t feel any of his true nature stirring, so well fed from earlier, but Sam’s hands shucking up his shirt to paw at his abdomen made him rumble a growl. He let Sam tear the shirt over his head, careful not to literally tear Sam’s when he returned the favor, and they both went for each other’s pants.

  Divesting Sam of his clothing, seeing him bare and being bare for him in return, brought out Ed’s sharpness after all, eyes glowing and fangs extending. He was too conditioned to separate the two desires, since everyone he’d been with since he was turned had been a vampire and clawing and biting at each other was part of the fun.

  With Sam, Ed had to be careful, and that made Sam even more precious to him, something fragile but all his. Not a possession, Sam wasn’t just another thing Ed owned to fill up a long life spent mostly alone, but a companion he could imagine wanting to keep.

  Gathering Sam in his arms, Ed laid him out on the bed, taking in his lean figure and tanned skin, as well as the warmth and affection in his dark eyes.

  Sam touched Ed’s brow, and then down to his lips to lightly tap his fangs.

  “I’m sorry,” Ed said, turning to kiss Sam’s fingertips. “I can’t seem to hold back around you, but I still want to try this. I won’t let myself hurt you.”

  “I know,” Sam said, drawing his thumb across Ed’s lips. “Open me up, Eddie. Get me ready for you. Then I have plans for how this can go too.”

  “Do you?” Ed raised an eyebrow at him.

  “Just living up to my job description as your personal assistant.”

  Ed laughed, and the break in tension helped his face become human again—at least for a little while.

  He made sure Sam was comfortably stretched out on the bed as he settled between his legs. While Ed’s fangs were retracted, he wanted to get his mouth on Sam and bring him as close to the brink as possible.

  Sam’s length made his mouth water more than any pulsing neck veins, that human smell of salt and sweat and pheromones assaulting him. He twirled his tongue around Sam’s head, humming at the pleasant taste, and sucked him in with his teeth held carefully back.

  Sam’s hands went straight for Ed’s hair, carding through the strawberry locks and tugging as he whined approval. “I won’t… last long… if you start like that,” he mumbled breathlessly.

  “Yes, you will.” Ed grinned, darting out his tongue once more with a light flick. “Now, can you reach the drawer there?” He nodded at the nightstand.

  It was a struggle without scooting away, but Sam managed to open the drawer and slip his hand inside, finding what Ed intended and pulling out a bottle of lube. Usually, Ed tended to himself, but finally, he had a partner.

  Tantalizing as it was to imagine Sam wetting Ed’s fingers again, he needed to stretch him properly this time. The smooth silkiness of the lube helped warm his otherwise cold skin, and he reveled in Sam’s contented sigh at the first press of a finger, while at the same time, Ed sucked Sam’s cock back down his throat.

  Sam’s moan was his reward, but Ed was vigilant to the patterns of Sam’s breathing, the tightening of his fingers in the bedding beneath and in Ed’s hair, and the tension in his muscles. Ed didn’t want Sam to come yet; he wanted him teetering on the edge without being able to topple over it.

  Whenever Sam seemed close, Ed tapered off, changing his firm sucking and rhythmic bobs to slow, teasing licks and a blow of air against Sam’s skin.

  “F-fuck….”

  Ed added a second finger.

  “Eddie!”

  “What are these plans of yours, Sam?” Ed asked, pumping his digits in and out slowly, scissoring every few thrusts.

  “I-I want—” Sam whined louder as he hoisted his hips off the bed, presenting himself to Ed that much more wantonly. “—to switch positions so I can ride you. Keep you pinned. I’ll ride you so sweetly, Eddie, you’ll never want to leave this bed.”

  Ed grazed a third finger along Sam’s rim, gradually letting the tip slip inside until he no longer needed to thrust, because Sam was unabashedly rocking his hips down with constant mewling noises spilling from his throat.

  “That sounds lovely,” Ed said, meaning the noises and Sam’s plan. He ceased his attentions on Sam’s cock, feeling his fangs lengthen again with the rise of his arousal. “Yes… I want to grip your thighs while you impale yourself on my cock until your cries fill this room.”

  “Ngnn,” Sam moaned incoherently, dropping his hips down and seizing Ed by the shoulders to throw him onto the mattress, dislodging Ed’s fingers as he scrambled to take Ed’s place on top. “You need to talk dirty more often,” he said and kissed Ed roughly while straddling him, rocking his hips back to tease Ed’s tip along his slick and ready hole.

  Ed rocked up to meet him, feeling that torturous slide and wet slap. He wanted to fuck Sam, but he wanted Sam to decide when, to guide him in so he knew how much Sam could handle and at what speed. It would be so easy for Ed to lose himself and forget his own strength with how amazing even just this felt with Sam’s thighs spread across his hips.

  Slowing their kiss, wet and hungry but still careful around his fangs, Ed squeezed Sam’s thighs like he’d promised. Sam panted against his mouth, reaching behind to grip Ed’s shaft and hold him right where he needed him to be to properly sit back.

  Ed broke from Sam’s lips with the force of his moan.

  Finally. He could feel Sam’s tight muscles devouring him, slow but easy from how well he’d stretched him. He wanted to pump upward with abandon but clenched his eyes shut to make his inner beast behave.

  When he opened them again, he saw that Sam’s were closed, his brow scrunched as he worried his bottom lip with his teeth, chest heaving and looking posit
ively lost in lust as he seated himself on Ed. Then he groaned indulgently and his eyes opened, heavy-lidded with his lips reddened and his cheeks flushed.

  Ed wanted to taste the robust rush of Sam’s blood more than anything.

  No. He had to stay focused—

  Sam surged down to kiss him, sending Ed’s fractured psyche of man-made-beast into a spiral of conflicting desires, because in that same motion, Sam started to rock, sliding Ed’s cock in and out—in and out—and then slamming down to the hilt. He found a rhythm quickly, kissing around Ed’s fangs without any worry at all.

  But he should be worried. He should always be worried, always think of protecting himself, because Ed was a predator first, and it was dangerous to forget that.

  Sam’s moans came more insistently, mouth turning to the side to pant, puffing warm breath on Ed’s cheek. He let their foreheads press together as he rawed himself on Ed in a frenzy.

  “I knew you’d feel good, Eddie….”

  And Ed knew Sam would taste amazing.

  He smelled amazing. Felt amazing, every slick, hot slide of him, muscles clenching on Ed tighter with every thrust. Ed wanted to possess him entirely, to have every part of him as his—his. He wanted to claim Sam and take all of him as his own, the true nature of his beast overtaking him, mind reeling with nothing but thoughts of sweat and come and blood—and tearing into Sam to get it.

  The primal urges grew stronger, until Ed couldn’t stand it anymore when Sam made eye contact, pupils blown, and huffed, “Fuck me, Eddie. I know you got more in you.”

  Ed was on top again in an instant, having grabbed Sam around the waist and flipped them with such speed that Sam couldn’t possibly have processed it. Ed held Sam’s hips, tilting him up into his mad thrusts so that only Sam’s head touched the mattress.

  He slammed into him so hard, Sam shouted, a keen of pleasure that made Ed want to go harder, deeper. Sam’s hands flailed up to find some part of Ed to grasp on to, barely dragging up his chest, but as he got higher, Ed snapped down to suck one of Sam’s fingers into his mouth and let his fangs scrape the skin.