Page 36 of Lust

There’s a sound, like a growl. I recognize it from sexier moments and turn to see Brad, nostrils flaring.

Cody must have picked up on it too, since he shoots Brad a look. “I’m not going under until you calm your ass down.”

“I can’t fucking help it,” Brad says.

“Don’t worry,” Seth chimes in. “He comes over here, and he won’t have a dick to fuck anyone with. Got it?”

Cody rolls his eyes. “Boys, boys.” He smirks, clearly not entirely hating their sparring.

And I must admit, there’s something comforting about knowing Brad’s getting jealous over whatever the hell we’re doing. If for no other reason than knowing he’ll keep me safe just to ensure he can fuck around with me again.

Cody rests his palms against mine. “Okay, so I know I said it’s not like a sex thing…” he says in an uneasy tone.

“This seems a little late for a warning.”

“When we’re done, there’s gonna be a bit of a mess.”

“A mess?”

Cody tilts his head, quirking his brow in a way that’s plenty suggestive.

I pull my hands away. “What the hell? Maybe someone should have told me about this.”

Brad shrugs. “If I’d said that, would that have changed what you had to do?”

“I don’t have a fucking clue, but God forbid I get a heads-up about any of this.”

“The guy’s wasting our fucking time,” Seth says.

I grunt. “It’s fine. Let’s get it over with.”

“Relax,” Cody says. “I have tissues and moist towelettes in my bag.”

The way he saysmoistmakes me think he’s trying to guarantee this will be the least erotic experience of my life.

“Can you please just start?” Brad asks, and when I look at him, I notice his fist clenched at his side like he’s having to restrain himself, and Seth has his eyes on him like if Brad makes a move, blows will be exchanged.

“Okay, okay,” Cody says. “I’m gonna count backward from ten, and just listen to me and pay attention to how you’re feeling in your body.”

I nod as he presses firmly up against me. He interlocks his fingers with mine, and I wrap my fingers over his hand. Ican’t help thinking that for a guy who considered himself totally straight, I’ve sure been doing a lot of gay shit the past few weeks.

I close my eyes and try to focus on my breathing, but I’m fixated on this heat Cody warned me about and wondering how and why this is gonna end up messy.

I don’t have to wonder for long before I feel a sensation, but it’s not heat; it’s like someone took a baseball bat to my chest.

“Fuck,” I say, the wind knocked out of me.

When I open my eyes, I’m not in the church cellar anymore. I’m running through the woods, racing behind someone who screams, “Help! Somebody help me!” I move like an animal, lurching forward on all fours. An overwhelming sensation grips me. Hunger—no, starvation.

Before I know it, I’ve caught up with my prey. Then suddenly I’m right on top of…a man, who stares up at me and screams in terror. As that horror-struck face burns into my brain, a rush pulses through me, sating my intense hunger before everything changes.

What feels like memories come in flashes.

Yellow vision…crawling from some kind of thick film, covered in goo.

I can see my hands, but they aren’t human. They look almost like branches that have formed the shape of a hand, with long fingernails at the ends.

There’s a deep hunger within me that must be sated.

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