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Following him home had been the easiest of tasks. Were he blinded, Mathias could have tracked the progress of the man along the empty streets, sounds etched in memory leading him onwards. He’d lagged behind intentionally to see how far away he could sense the man, finding the connection lasted for a surprising distance. Even now, an hour’s stroll from where the man lived and currently lay in a deep, lethargic sleep after being fed upon, Mathias could feel the tumbling heartbeat as if it were still within his grasp.

Pushing away the glimmer rolling through his head of what a connection like this might mean, Mathias focused his mind on reliving those moments with the man. Carson. Mathias’ head twisted to the side, nose to his own shoulder as he breathed in deeply again, pulling in the perfume of Carson’s being, holding it deep, savoring the rich and nuanced smell, then reclaiming the scent again. And again.

He rolled his bottom lip between his teeth, not reacting when the sharp edge of a fang nicked the tender inner flesh. The blood that entered his mouth drop by drop enhanced the scent, carrying tones of Carson as it did, and he found his arousal surging to a crescendo quickly. Mathias’ fingers deftly worked his belt and the fastenings on his pants, exposing his cock to the chill of the night air. That coolness didn’t matter, because Mathias was filled with enough borrowed heat to beat it back. He restarted his heart with a thought, the liquid sigh of blood flowing through his veins loud as it rushed to his groin.

Two strokes later, he was fully hard and aching, the roughened palm of his hand stripping his cock efficiently, brutally fast. He remembered the sensual dancing, just for him, no matter what the humans in the bar may have believed. Temptation was Carson posing, just for his eyes. How the man arched in his grip and pressed back against him, trusting in his passion. The man’s deep physical need had temporarily overpowered the mesmerizing quality of Mathias’ voice. He heard again the soft cry as Carson came, a sound just for his ears. Teeth aching, he sighed, “Exquisite,” in a deliberate echo from earlier, a declaration still true. A stream of red-tinted liquid shot forth from his cock, spraying the stalks of nearby sunflowers in great arcs as he climaxed.

“Too perfect.”

***

Carson

Staring at his sleep-logged face in the bathroom mirror, Carson ran a hand under the stream of water flowing from the faucet. It was past time for him to be ready to leave, because even if it wasn’t his dream job, work at the single marketing company in town was steady and paid the bills. He just couldn’t get himself into action this morning. A strange lassitude still held control of him. That damn dream.

It had been so real, so there, that his first thoughts upon waking had been to roll over and find the man who could make him come that hard. The bed had been empty of anyone except himself, and a quick touch had told him there’d been no nocturnal activities of even the solo kind, his cock and belly clean and dry. The disappointment had been visceral, a cramped longing in his middle that slowly drained away.

Standing at the sink, each slow blink threatened a resumption of slumber, something he didn’t have time for. Maybe I’m coming down with something. He bent and cupped his palm to his mouth, taking in a mouthful of water that trickled down his parched throat in a welcome flood of wet as he swallowed once, then again, thirst nowhere near quenched. Finally feeling slightly more alert, he flicked the ends of his hair with dampened fingers, then dragged a rough touch across his face and chin. Traveling around the lines of his jaw, he carefully traced a point just under the hinge that felt strangely tender. Arching and twisting in front of the mirror as best he could, he could find nothing of note.

For a moment, he experienced a remembered surge of desire, but the pit of his stomach turned acidic in an instant and he bent to the faucet again, rinsing bitter bile from his mouth. Straightening, he prodded the sore spot a final time and then shook his head. “Exquisite.” His voice quavered, warbling unfamiliarly, the unique acoustics of the room doubling the sound, turning it deeper, and he suppressed a shiver.

So what, he thought. The voice in the dream wasn’t me.

With a shrug, he tossed off the final aftereffects of his restless night, preparing for another Friday at work.

Just a dream.

***

Mathias

“Brother.” Mathias inclined his head to the shadows in the corner of the room, darker and thicker than any other place within view. He didn’t have to see him to know Ezekiel was there. “You didn’t have to wait for me.” His pace never faltered, carrying him quickly and surely forwards.

“And yet, I did.” Movement in the dimness resolved into Zeke’s arm, sweeping away shadows he’d been gathering close. “It’s near to her appearance, far closer than you normally allow. I was less waiting on you and more hoping none of the young ones were still out.”

Just as Mathias took his next step inside, dawn broke over the horizon, the upper curve of the sun showing itself, ghost rays spearing through the gloom to dog Mathias’ heels. He measured the distance traveled into the building stride by stride before cutting to the side and approaching the corner where Zeke stood. Far away from the buzzing impression of her brilliance, Mathias stood near the man who’d become his unintentional best friend fourteen years ago.

“You shouldn’t be this close, brother. You may not fit the category of ‘young ones’ you throw about with such impunity, but still.” He let the muscles of his face soften, then stilled his heart. “She calls all of us home.”

“Matti.” A female voice cut through the room, his name quietly spoken yet ringing in his ears. “I’m glad to see you made it back. Zeki was worried about you.”

Mathias turned to watch his other close friend, the dam to his sire in the cohort of their camp, Regina “Gina” Doucette dance through the darkness towards where he stood. She looked deceptively young, her early-twenties face framed by thick, wavy hair that cascaded past her shoulders. Her intense dark eyes held ancient knowledge, framed by strong brows, while full lips curved in a knowing, seductive smile. Pale olive skin glowed against the shadows, her curvy yet athletic build moving with graceful, predatory confidence.

He flung out an arm and captured her as she moved to slip past him, eyes fixed on the bright opening in the side of the building. Her muscles strained for a moment, pressing against his hold, but then she relaxed into him, boneless in her submission.

“She’s loud today,” he observed and watched as Gina nodded, her dark waves tumbled over her shoulder as she smiled.

“She is. It’s been a long time.” Staring at the sunshine now streaming in, Gina hummed quietly as she took a deliberate breath. “You’re warm. Oh, Mathias, you smell.”

He chuckled and smiled, knowing what she meant. “Yes, I do.”

“A successful hunt, then? That’s glorious.” Gina abandoned her study of the sun and faced him, palms flat on his chest. “Tell, tell, tell me.”

Mathias inclined his head and turned her in his arm to head for the deeper reaches of the building. “Zeke, are you coming?”

Footsteps behind him were his answer, and he reached his other hand back, holding it out in a silent invitation quickly accepted as Zeke’s cold fingers wrapped around his warm ones. Mathias kept the cornerstones of his camp moving away from the lure of the sun, headed to the interior rooms where no natural light existed.

The sun was a hypnotizing, greedy bitch, and she’d taken far too much from Mathias over the decades. He wouldn’t allow the chance of her winning the dam of their camp, or even his newest chit. Gina looked in her early twenties, while Zeke appeared fully mature, and he was by human standards, past forty when turned. Gina had existed for far more than a hundred years, and by their figuring, she’d been around three decades longer than Mathias himself. Natural age didn’t matter once the change happened, and Mathias would forever wear his mid-thirties face. Craggy and well used, his visage inspired trust for most humans.