The Old County Morgue waited at the edge of the medical district, where buildings gave way to chain link and empty roads. Low clouds pressed down, flattening the sky, smothering the streetlights into weak amber puddles. Rain drifted in and out, never settling, ghostlike. The air clung damp and cold, the wind sharper than it should have been.

Almost ten. Jared stepped out, collar pulled high against the drizzle. Adrian circled the car, the lock clicking shut. Rain threaded through Adrian’s hair, left a sheen on his coat. He did not flinch. His eyes were already on the morgue.

Two stories of concrete, windows stretched long and thin, leaking weak fluorescent light. The place was quiet, emptied of all but the night staff. Rain, wet pavement, and a metallic tang from the waste chute hung in the air.

Jared shifted the holster under his coat as they moved closer. The Dark inside him stirred, slow and coiling at the base of his spine. Awake. Watching. Not hostile. Not yet.

The glass doors buzzed open after Adrian showed their credentials. The laminated badges read Special Investigations Unit. Official enough to get them past any front desk. Unofficial enough that no one liked asking questions. Then again, no one from Department 7 really looked like they were an official of any kind.

The night receptionist looked them over as they approached the counter. He swallowed once and adjusted his glasses.

“You’re from Department 7,” he said.

“That's correct,” Adrian replied, his voice even and polite. “We're here to speak with Dr. Baker regarding an ongoing investigation.”

The receptionist nodded and picked up the phone. Jared let his senses slip outward. The Dark pressed against his skin, sending out thin threads, tasting the building. He stood in the center of a web, every shift of air, every flicker of movement, every wrongness echoing back into him.

Something off, deeper in. A thrum at the base of his skull. Something trying to stay quiet, but not quite hidden.

The receptionist hung up and cleared his throat. “He said he will meet you in Autopsy Three. Just go straight down that hall, pass the storage room, and take the left corridor.”

Adrian thanked him in a warm tone. He then nodded for Jared to take the lead.

The hallway was long and lit with harsh white fluorescents that hummed above their heads. Their footsteps echoed on the tile, the sound bouncing back with a hollow cadence. The walls were lined with bulletin boards and outdated safety posters. Every so often, a vent released a breath of cold air that mingled with the scent of antiseptics and faint preservatives.

Passing the supply room, the Dark inside him pulled tight, a string drawn to breaking. He paused by a side door, letting his awareness slip further. Something waited here. Sluggish. Heavy.

Adrian noticed him stop and lowered his voice. “Sense something?”

“It's big,” Jared said quietly.

Adrian nodded and followed as Jared continued forward.

Autopsy Three sat near the corner of the hall. Its door was stainless steel, with a frosted-glass window at eye level. The light inside glowed sterile and flat, highlighting the shape of a metal table within. Dr. Baker was already there, pacing near a workstation with a clipboard in hand.

He looked up the moment they entered. “Officers. I was expecting you earlier.”

Adrian stepped forward with a calm professionalism that could have disarmed a bomb. “We appreciate you meeting us, Dr. Baker. We have some questions regarding bodies that passed through your facility in the last several weeks.”

Jared hung back, drifting behind Adrian, eyes on the exits, the corners. He watched Baker’s every movement. Silent. Steady. Hands near the pistols under his coat.

Baker’s eyes moved between them. He was sweating lightly even in the cold fluorescent environment. His fingers tapped restlessly against the clipboard. “You will have to be more specific.”

Adrian tilted his head slightly. “Several bodies arrived here missing hands. There are records of you signing them in. We also recovered notes from a suspect referencing your name and this facility.”

Jared felt a tightening in the room. Baker stiffened. His heartbeat elevated sharply. His gaze skittered to the side for a moment before snapping back.

“I only handled what came in. I don't know what your suspect wrote.”

Adrian was patient. “Then it would help if you walked us through the intake procedures for the past month and any unusual activity you noticed.”

Baker swallowed and glanced briefly at Jared, as if evaluating which of them was the greater threat. He made the wrong assumption and chose to focus on Adrian.

Jared let his senses slip further. The Dark curled around the room, tasting the air, sliding into the folds of thought. Baker was lying. Not all the way, but enough. The Dark pulsed, sharp and hungry.

Adrian continued at a measured pace, guiding Baker through each relevant question. Jared listened without interrupting. He watched Baker’s posture. There was a tightness in his shoulders and a small tremor in his fingers. He watched the doorway and the hallway behind them.

A cold ripple ran through the floor. Jared straightened. Something massive moved in the lockers. Waiting. 

Adrian caught the change in Jared’s expression from the corner of his eye and gently closed in on the point he had been circling. “Dr. Baker, we need to know if you assisted LeMere in obtaining bodies. This is the time to be honest. People have died. Your cooperation is essential.”

Baker’s breath hitched. His pupils widened. His veneer cracked.

“I did not help him,” he said, voice rising. “I just did what I was told. The department heads wanted certain forms moved. I didn't know what he was doing with them.”

Jared’s voice cut in, quiet and steady. “Yes, you did.”

The Dark swelled, a low thrum inside him. Lights flickered. The steel tray rattled, a warning.

Baker backed up a step. “I didn't. I swear I didn't.”

Jared stepped forward once. Not threatening. Just closing the space enough to keep Baker from bolting.

“You knew,” Jared said. “You delivered bodies to him. You removed hands and organs on request. You knew what he was using them for.”

Baker’s breath came faster. He shook his head over and over, a frantic twitching movement.

Adrian softened his voice. “Dr. Baker. Look at me.”

Baker did.

Adrian held his gaze with calm focus. “Tell us the truth. You will be safer if you do.”

Baker’s shoulders sagged. His expression collapsed into panic.

“He said he needed them for a ritual. He said he was trying to fix something that went wrong last time. He said he needed fresh pieces because the old ones were losing strength.”

A low vibration rolled through the morgue floor. Jared felt it in his bones. The Dark snapped to a taunt line.

Adrian asked, “What did he create?”

Baker’s mouth opened soundlessly. His eyes went wide and glassy.

Behind him, the storage lockers trembled. A deep crack echoed through the metal, followed by a wet thud. Another. And another.

Jared moved first.

“Adrian. Back.”

Adrian complied, moving back so he was behind Jared. He positioned himself behind a metal workstation just as the first locker door violently dented outward.

Jared’s hands found the pistols. The Dark flooded down his arms, liquid night, coating the barrels in a thin, pulsing sheen. The guns felt heavier, not in weight but in meaning. The Dark had claimed them, made them into something that could pierce what should not exist.

The locker tore open with a shriek of metal. A massive form lurched out and dropped to the floor with a wet slap. Its limbs were thick and stitched. Its skin was pale and swollen. One of its arms ended in a mess of fused bone. The chest cavity rose and fell with a grotesque rhythm that had nothing to do with breath.

The flesh golem lifted its head. Its single eye burned with a dull, hateful awareness.

Jared fired twice. Both shots cracked through the morgue with sharp, concussive force. Each bullet struck the creature’s shoulder and carved deep, burning channels through the dead flesh. Smoke curled from the wounds.

The golem roared and charged.

Jared pivoted to the side with a fast sidestep just as the monster’s arm slammed into the metal table he had been standing beside. The impact dented the steel with a loud crunch. Jared rolled across the floor, came up on one knee, and fired again. The Dark-enhanced bullets tore through the creature’s torso, each one leaving a smoldering crater.

Adrian flipped open his medical kit and pulled out an Unhealthy Psychostimulant Injection. He stayed low and came up behind Jared, giving him the shot in the thigh. When the creature barreled toward Jared again, Adrian shouted a sharp warning and dove out of the way. Jared shifted his weight just in time to avoid a sweeping strike that would have crushed his ribs.

The golem lunged, faster than it should have been. Jared twisted, dragging a veil of Dark across his body. Shadow snapped into place, cold and thin. The fist struck his chest, force ringing through him, but not breaking him.

Jared slid back, boots skidding. He let the shield fall, fired three more shots. Shadows licked up the golem’s body where the bullets struck.

Adrian circled behind it. He pulled out his air dart gun and loaded it with a paralysis injection. He shot the creature in the leg with it. The injection didn't seem to slow it down, but it did draw the creature's attention.

Jared took the opening. He dove into a roll, came up at the far angle, and shot directly into the creature’s exposed spine. The bullet hit with a burst of shadow that cracked through the morgue like a dark flare.

The golem let out a guttural bellow. It stumbled, lurched sideways, and crashed into the wall, metal trays scattering everywhere.

For a moment, everything went still.

Until Baker screamed.

The golem turned toward the sound. Something in its eye gleamed with terrible recognition. Baker scrambled back until his shoulders hit the autopsy table. His hands clawed at the metal edge.

Jared fired at the creature’s head. The bullet sank in, but did not drop it. The golem lunged past Jared with startling acceleration.

Adrian moved before Jared could shout. He slammed his shoulder into Baker, knocking him out of the creature’s immediate path. The golem missed Baker by inches and crashed into the table instead, sending instruments flying.

Jared swung his second pistol up and poured a line of shots into the creature’s neck. Each bullet thrummed with the pulse of the Dark. A final shot hit the creature directly in the sternum. Shadows erupted across its chest like a spiderweb fracturing.

The golem let out one last distorted groan before collapsing forward onto the floor.

Silence thudded through the room.

Baker trembled on the ground. Adrian knelt beside him, hands calm. Jared moved closer, senses stretched thin. The Dark drew tight at the base of his skull. The air shifted. Wrongness blooming.

Baker’s breath hitched sharply. His hands flew to his throat as if something were strangling him from the inside. His eyes widened with a pure, frantic terror.

Adrian stepped forward and caught his shoulders. “Baker. Look at me. You are safe. Breathe.”

Baker tried. He could not.

A guttural sound tore from his chest. “LeMere.” The word came out as a ragged gasp.

His back arched violently. The skin along his sternum split with a wet crack. A thin, black tendril of energy forced its way up through the rupture, writhing like a living thread cut from shadow.

Jared’s stomach dropped. He knew exactly what Baker had done.

Adrian pulled away fast and came to Jared’s side. “What is he doing?”

“He tried to use Dark,” Jared said, voice dropping into something cold.

The Dark inside Jared recoiled. Disgust. It had not done this. It did not want him. Baker had reached for something he could not see, could not shape. Now it was eating him from the inside out.

Baker convulsed on the floor. His voice broke into a wet gargle.

“He wanted what LeMere had,” Jared murmured. “He thought he could use it.”

The tendril pulsed violently. Baker’s chest tore open wider. There was a sudden eruption, a burst of uncontrolled shadow energy that ripped through his torso. Tiny fragments of bone and tissue were scattered across the tile. The overhead lights flickered wildly, humming as if straining against the surge. The shadowy flare collapsed on itself as fast as it had expanded, dissolving into faint wisps that evaporated into nothing. Baker’s body fell sideways and went still. His eyes stared at the ceiling, already hollow and empty.

Jared did not move. The Dark pulsed, heavy and tense, repulsed by what it had seen.

Adrian rose from Baker’s side slowly, wiping his hands on the thighs of his pants even though there was no blood on him. His expression was steady. He took a slow breath, pulled his phone from his jacket pocket, and stepped toward the workstation.

“I am calling it in,” he said softly.

Jared nodded, leaning against the cabinet. Tension dropped in broken jolts as the injection faded. Aftershocks rattled through him, fingertips tingling, muscles threatening to cramp. The Dark inside him was restless, quieter, unsettled by Baker’s death. By the wrongness of a human reaching for what should never be touched.

Adrian kept his voice low as he spoke on the phone. “This is Field Medic Korr. We have a confirmed death of Dr. Charles Baker and the destruction of an animated construct created by LeMere. We need a full-scene processing unit and a containment crew at the Old County Morgue. Yes. Immediate deployment.”

He listened for a moment. “Yes. Both bodies are secure. The construct is down. No further threats detected.”

He glanced at Jared. Jared rubbed his jaw. Tired, not in the bones but at the edges of himself, as if the injection had burned away the last reserves. The crash left the room too bright, too cold.

Adrian finished the call and lowered the phone. He walked back to Jared.

“They are sending a full team,” Adrian said. “Two forensic techs, a containment crew, and a pair of officers from Bravo team.”

“Good,” Jared murmured.

Adrian came closer, looking him over with the steady attention of someone who had spent years learning his cues. “How are you feeling?”

Jared rolled one shoulder. “Coming off the injection.” His muscles jumped under his skin. “Twitchy.”

Adrian placed a hand on his arm. “Your body will level out soon. Just breathe.”

Jared did. The Dark settled a little further.

While they waited, Adrian moved through the room with quiet precision. He adjusted the overturned trays, marked the position of the creature’s remains with his phone camera, and recorded a short log for the department’s case file. His movements were steady, efficient, and entirely in control. He checked Baker’s body again, then began documenting the scorch marks left by the dark eruption.

Jared watched from the side, arms folded, breath evening out. Adrian’s movements soothed. Calm. Methodical. Deliberate. Easier to watch than to think about the weight in his chest, the tremors in his limbs.

Adrian paused long enough to look over his shoulder at him. “I know that feeling. The post-injection exhaustion. Try to stay standing. Once we get home, you can rest.”

Jared made a soft noise of agreement.

The sound of boots in the hallway signaled the arrival of the processing team. The first two officers entered with containment gear, followed by the forensic techs in white suits. One of the Bravo officers gave Jared a nod of recognition before moving past him to examine the collapsed creature.

Adrian briefed them all with concise clarity. He outlined the sequence of events, the creature’s movements, Baker’s final moments, and the location of every important piece of evidence. His tone never wavered. His posture remained straight and confident.

Jared watched from near the door. The Dark had gone mostly still. The twitching in his limbs had eased.

Adrian stepped back from the cluster of officers and approached Jared.

“They can take it from here,” Adrian said quietly. “There is nothing else we need to stay for.”

Jared looked at Baker’s body, the empty eyes staring up at the ceiling tiles that would never answer whatever last fear he had felt. Then he looked at the ruined golem, its pieces already being carefully lifted into containment bags.

“It is over,” Jared said.

Adrian nodded.

They stepped out into the hallway together.

The building felt colder now, emptied of danger, the energy drained away. Fluorescent lights hummed. Rain tapped at the windows.

The two of them walked toward the front doors without speaking. Their footsteps echoed in a steady, familiar rhythm. The receptionist at the front desk looked at them with wide eyes but did not ask any questions as they passed.

Outside, the drizzle had become a fine mist, clinging to their coats. The air was damp, sharp with winter. Their breath fogged as they crossed the lot.

Adrian unlocked the car, slid into the driver’s seat with a quiet exhale. Jared followed, hands resting in his lap.

“You did well,” Adrian said.

Jared stared through the windshield for a moment as the wipers cleared the glass. “You kept Baker alive long enough to tell us what happened.”

Adrian gave a small nod. “He made the choice to reach for something he didn't understand. All we could do was witness the result.”

Adrian started the engine. The hum of the motor filled the quiet space between them.

Adrian looked at him with a warm, steady expression. “Let us go home.” He put the car in gear.

They pulled away, leaving the morgue behind. Dim windows faded into the wet dark of winter.

Adrian pulled the car into the drive, turned off the engine, and got out. All while Jared sat staring at nothing. He closed his eyes against the pressure of the Dark rolling itself against his ribs. The apartment seemed like an insurmountable distance. Adrian opened the passenger door, and Jared looked up at him, afraid that Adrian was actually going to carry him into the house.

​“You alright?” Adrian asked.

​Jared nodded. “I’m just drained.”

​“Maybe I shouldn’t have used the injection,” Adrian said.

​Jared shrugged and stood. Always the same after the Unhealthy Psychostimulant. He would never tell Adrian how much he missed the drugs, the way they made him feel in combat. The sharpness. The speed. The way his body could move. It was incredible. Until it ended. Then came the crash. The ache.

​Jared shuffled into the building, pressed the elevator button. Stared at the glowing number. Adrian’s eyes on him, heavy. In the elevator, he caught his reflection in the ceiling mirror. He looked bad. Hollow. But it would fade. It always did.

​Adrian followed him down the hallway, close enough to catch him if he fell. Jared sighed, fished the key from his wallet. The door slid open with its familiar whisk.

​Inside, Adrian moved around, busy. Jared took the protein shake, drank it on his way to the bathroom. The empty bottle clattered onto the counter. He undressed, leaving a trail of clothes behind him.

​He turned the shower as hot as it would go and stepped in. Water fell over him. Time slipped. He didn’t know how long he stood there before Adrian entered, moving quietly. The shower door slid open. Adrian stepped in behind him.

​No words. Adrian moved slowly, washing him with careful hands. He reached past Jared, turned the water down. Soap, slick and warm, glided over his skin. Fingers pressed into the knots in his muscles, working them loose. The water stopped. Adrian wrapped him in a towel.

​“You have clean clothes on the bed,” Adrian said while he rubbed the towel briskly.

Jared nodded.

​“Do you want me to dress you?” Adrian asked.

​Jared blushed, shook his head. He hadn’t asked to be washed, but it had been good. The aftereffects of the drug washed away, mostly. He felt almost like himself. Only the Dark remained, prowling under his skin, pressing up, insistent.

​Everything Adrian did felt wonderful. But it made him small. Helpless. Not even an adult. Jared sighed, pulled the towel from Adrian’s hands, and stepped out of the shower, eyes down.

​Shame burned in him.

​He left Adrian in the shower, walked to the bedroom. Water started again behind him. Did it bother Adrian? Jared never knew. He flopped onto the bed, rolled into the blankets. Adrian was stone, a perfect carving. Nothing showed beneath.

​Jared closed his eyes, drifted. Sleep, thin and restless. Adrian slipped into the bed behind him. Hot skin against his own. Thighs fitting perfectly, bodies pressed close. The hard line of Adrian’s erection settled into the small of his back. Jared’s breath caught. A low growl. Adrian’s lips brushed his neck, nuzzled his shoulder. An arm draped over him, hand resting on his stomach.

"Tell me to let you sleep," Adrian whispered. His voice was a soft, gentle whisper and a sharp contrast to the demanding press of his erection.

“No,” Jared rasped. He pushed Adrian’s hand down his stomach until it brushed against the tip of his own erection.

Adrian’s fingers trailed down, along the inside of Jared’s thigh. He cupped him, gentle. Teeth glided along Jared’s shoulder. As Adrian’s hand closed around him, he bit down. Hard. Enough to break skin.

Jared cried out. Pleasure broke his hold on the Dark. It slipped out, cool and weightless, pouring from his skin with his breath. A new pleasure. Lightness. Openness. It coursed through him, senses alive, changing him. His hair deepened to a deep black. Fingernails lengthened, gleamed obsidian. When he opened his eyes, they were pools of black, feral, and hungry.

A living veil of night settled over them. Cool, weightless as silk. Something snapped into place. Adrian’s breath caught as sensation flooded him. Jared’s sensation. The ache. The desperate throb. Need pooling deep. Doubt. Fear. Certainty of not being enough.

Is this alright? Am I hurting him? Can he even want this? What if I lose control?

And over it all, shame. Unworthiness. The ache of wanting Adrian and not deserving him.

“Jared,” Adrian whispered. He wanted to erase it all. But there was nothing he could say that would make Jared believe. He hugged Jared tightly.

Jared was lost in the Dark, not noticing the communion, the projection into Adrian’s mind. He rode the high of his own power, his own need. Beautiful. Terrifying. Shadow and desire. He rolled over, predator’s grace, pushing Adrian onto his back, covering him. Darkness swirled. Jared’s mouth found Adrian’s. Searing, desperate, all teeth and hunger. Bottomless ache.

He pressed himself against Adrian’s stomach, the thrusts frantic. Then he shifted, a hand reaching between them to guide Adrian inside.

Adrian’s hands came up, firm on Jared’s hips, stopping him. “Jared, wait. We need to slow down.”

A low growl rumbled in Jared’s chest. Pure frustration. Shadows pulsed.

His thumbs stroked the sharp angles of Jared’s hip bones. He looked up into those endless black eyes. “Be a good boy for me and lie on your stomach.”

The command stirred something deep. The growl faded. Jared rolled over, face buried in the pillow, shuddering. He hoped Adrian didn’t see the blush. His body was a tense line, anticipation thrumming. The Dark shimmered over his skin, oil on water.

Shame pulsed between them. But beneath it, the need to be owned, to be cared for. Jared pressed himself into the bed, trying to hide his flushed cheeks. Adrian watched.

Adrian could give him what he needed, even if Jared was too ashamed to ask. Strong hands gripped his hips, lifting him. A pillow tucked beneath, lifting, exposing. Jared shuddered.

“Shh,” Adrian soothed, his voice a low rumble. One broad hand stroked down the line of his spine, a calming, possessive gesture. “Just relax.”

Jared pressed into the pillow. Skin cold and burning, the Dark pulsing over him. One hand fisted the sheet, the other took hold of himself.

“So impatient,” Adrian whispered.

A cap snapped open. Adrian’s hand, cool lubricant slick against his skin. Jared moaned, took himself in both hands, rocking his hips into his fists.

Adrian watched as Jared pleasured himself, forgetting he was not alone. More lubricant, cool fingers tracing along Jared’s cleft. Jared jumped, moaning at the contact. Adrian’s other hand pressed firmly on his back, holding him.

A finger pressed in, slow, insistent. Jared lifted into it, pushing deeper. The Dark flared, white-hot. Adrian gasped, suddenly inside his own body, inside Jared’s. The feel of it. He curled his finger, searching, finding the spot that made Jared’s body bow off the bed, a choked moan torn from his throat. Jared’s hands clung to the bed, hips straining, Adrian’s hand holding him down.

Dizzying feedback. Adrian felt the jolt of pleasure as if it were his own. A lightning strike up his spine. A second finger, slow. Each movement sent waves through their nerves, tangled together. Jared’s control unraveled.

“Please,” Jared begged, his voice ragged. The Dark swirled around them, filling the room and pulsing in time with Jared's heartbeat.

“Tell me what you want,” Adrian commanded.

Jared moaned, straining upward against Adrian’s hand, fingers working inside him.

Shame, a shearing bolt through the Dark. Jared buried his face into the bed, panting. Silent. But the images came. Adrian gasped at the intensity. Secret fantasies. Fleeting hopes. Everything Jared had ever dreamed Adrian would do flooded his mind. Adrian kept it all.

“Tell me what you want,” Adrian commanded again.

Jared panted, writhed against Adrian’s hand. For a moment, Adrian thought he wouldn’t say it. Then, quiet, shaking: "fuck me."

Adrian needed nothing more. The Dark was a live wire, thrumming with Jared’s desperation, his own need. He withdrew his fingers. Jared whimpered, hips pushing back into empty air.

Adrian watched Jared take hold of himself, stroking hard. The Dark swirled around them. Adrian coated himself with cool gel, positioned, the broad head nudging Jared’s entrance.

He pressed forward, slow, inexorable. Resistance, immense. Silken heat clung to him, refusing to yield. Through the connection, Adrian felt the spike of sensation in Jared. A sharp, breathless stretch, pain melting into fullness. Jared’s muffled cry was shock and relief.

Adrian held there, buried in clenching heat. He dropped forward, weight braced on his forearms, blanketing Jared’s back. Lips pressed to the nape of Jared’s neck, feeling the frantic flutter of his pulse.

Breathe, my love. Just breathe. Feel me. By the Gods, you are perfect.

The Dark pulsed with their heartbeats, alive, tightening the bond. Jared moved, guttural sound in his throat. He pushed up onto hands and knees, forcing Adrian back. The new angle was exquisite. Both of them gasped.

Jared moved, slow, experimental roll of his hips, pushing back. Clumsy at first, uncoordinated. But the intent was pure, feral need. Adrian’s hands found his hips, fingers pressing into shadow-slick skin, guiding him.

“That’s it,” Adrian encouraged, his voice husky. “Just like that.”

Adrian set a deep, measured pace. Each thrust, deliberate, soul-searing. The Dark swirled, tendrils of nothingness caressing heated skin, amplifying sensation. Jared’s pleasure echoed in Adrian’s nerves.

Overwhelming. Perfect. But Adrian wanted more. He wanted to see him.

One fluid motion. Adrian’s arm wrapped around Jared’s chest, hauling him upright, back against his chest. Jared’s head lolled onto Adrian’s shoulder. The new position drove Adrian deeper. Jared cried out, obsidian-clawed hands scrabbling for purchase.

“Adrian!”

“I want to see you,” Adrian murmured, breath ghosting over Jared’s ear. One arm banded across Jared’s chest, holding him. The other hand drifted down, fingers wrapping around Jared’s aching length. Jared bucked, a strangled moan torn from him. “God…”

“Ride me, Jared,” Adrian commanded, his voice dropping to a dark, possessive whisper. “Show me how much you need this.”

Jared froze. Old insecurities flared through the connection. Am I doing it right? Is this what he wants? Uncertainty trembled in his muscles.

“You are perfect,” Adrian stated, the words leaving no room for argument. He squeezed his length in his hand, a firm, encouraging stroke. “Now. Move.”

The command broke him free. Jared obeyed, lifting on his knees, shaky breath, then sinking down, taking Adrian to the hilt. Awkward, unpracticed, devastating. Adrian met him with a thrust. Jared’s broken cry filled the room.

Again. And again. Each drop, each surrender, more confident. Awkwardness burned away in the furnace of pleasure. A raw, grinding rhythm, theirs alone. Adrian’s hand worked him in time, slick and tight, counterpoint to their joining.

Adrian buried his face in the crook of Jared’s shoulder, inhaling sweat, shadow, Jared. Feral energy, intoxicating. The need to mark, to claim, to reassure this beautiful, fractured man surged through him.

He opened his mouth against the corded muscle of Jared’s shoulder and bit down.

Not a playful nip. A claim. Hard. Possessive. Unforgettable.

Jared screamed. His body seized, clenching around Adrian, a shattering wave of pleasure-pain ricocheting through the connection. Copper bloomed on Adrian’s tongue. The taste of blood, of Jared, sent a dark thrill through him.

The Dark coalesced, shadows thickening, drinking in Jared’s cry, the scent of their joining. It pulsed around them, a third presence in their dance.

Jared’s movements turned frantic, rhythm lost, driven by instinct. So close. Teetering on the edge. His pleasure screamed through Adrian’s mind.

Adrian gentled the bite, soothing lick over the reddening mark. “Easy,” he breathed, control fraying. Thrusts harder, deeper, pistoning into heat. His hand moved faster, thumb swiping over slickness. “Let go. I have you. I will always have you.”

He felt it. The tidal wave building in Jared, through the connection, through frantic clenching. Adrian’s own climax coiled tight, a live wire ready to snap.

“Look at me, Jared,” he commanded, his voice rough with strain. “I want to see you when you fall.”

With effort, Jared turned his head, pitch-black eyes meeting Adrian’s. In those endless depths, Adrian saw everything. Fear, trust, love, and shattering ecstasy.

“I’m… I can’t…” Jared choked, body trembling.

Adrian took hold of Jared by the throat with one hand and grabbed his hip with the other. He drove himself into Jared savagely. He bit him again, marking him again in blood next to the previous bite. Jared cried out and came into Adrian’s fist. Adrian continued his thrusts, holding Jared tightly, and finished shortly after Jared.

They collapsed onto the bed together in a tangle of arms and legs, panting hard. Adrian rolled onto his back and pulled Jared against his chest. Jared buried his face against Adrian’s neck, hiding.