Shadows of Doubt

by Lynn Hagen

“Do you feel like taking a walk?” Eric stuffed his keys into his pocket as they passed his Rubicon. He couldn’t believe how nervous he was. His goddamn palms were sweaty, and his heart thumped so hard against his chest that it felt like it was trying to escape. “It’s warm outside, the night is still young, and I have great company. You wouldn’t want your eye candy to disappear so soon, would you?”

  He loved how deeply Samson blushed. His blushing face was so fucking sexy.

  “Well, when you put it like that, I guess I don’t want it to end so soon either. Walking off my dinner sounds appealing.”

  “Dude, you ate half your burger, and there was still a large pile of fries on your plate.” He curled his lips in. Was he trying to talk Samson out of taking that walk?

  “I can’t help it I’m not as big as you are,” Samson teased as they strolled down the street. “And my plate was empty when we left, thanks to you polishing off your dinner and then the rest of mine.”

  “I’m a growing boy.” Eric chuckled. “I need the calories.”

  He should have ordered something to take home with him. A lot of shifters consumed big meals because they shifted and burned a huge amount of calories.

  Speaking of shifters…

  Eric wasn’t sure if he should just blurt everything out or ease into the conversation. He didn’t want to blow Samson’s mind or make his mate run away, but Samson needed to know what he was getting into.

  “Do you believe in…” Eric wasn’t sure what word to use. Aliens? The supernatural? The existence of another species living right under his nose? “The unexplained?”

  The unexplained? Seriously? Could you be any more vague? Why don’t you ask him if he believes in Santa Claus or the Easter Bunny, you moron?

  “Like ghosts?” Samson crinkled his nose, and wasn’t that the cutest thing? “Don’t tell me you’re one of those people that chase after the paranormal.”

  “More like the supernatural.”

  “Same difference,” Samson said as they passed the post office

  “No,” Eric said. “Paranormal deals with ghosts. The supernatural deals with things created beyond nature.”

  “Beyond nature?” Samson stopped walking and turned to face Eric. He brushed strands of his sandy-blond hair from his gorgeous eyes. His mate had the cutest heart-shaped face, with plump, kissable lips that Eric was dying to taste. “Treat me like I’m an idiot and explain things in simpler terms because I don’t understand what you’re getting at.”

  “Okay, I’m just gonna come out and say it.” Eric’s heart beat even faster, like he’d just run a mile in under a minute. He was sweating enough to fill a pool and prayed Samson didn’t run screaming from him.

  “I wish you would.” Samson started walking again, so Eric kept pace, although he had to slow himself down because his legs stretched a lot longer than his mate’s did.

  “Shape-shifters, demons, vampires, that sort of thing.”

  “Now you’re mixing things up,” Samson said. “Angels and demons belong to the preternatural category.” He shrugged. “I watch a lot of movies.”

  “In my world, we categorize them under both,” Eric said. “Now you’re getting into Catholicism, when our beliefs cover a span of religions.”

  Again, Samson stopped walking. Only this time he scowled as he looked up at Eric. “Just spit it out because the longer you talk, the more confused I get, and I really don’t like when my date tries to confuse me.”

  “Your date?”

  Samson bit his lower lip and nodded. “You paid for my dinner, which makes that a date. Now out with whatever you’re trying to tell me.”

  “You’re cute when you’re frustrated.”

  “You’re annoying when you beat around the bush.” He furrowed his brows. “You think I’m cute?” He shook his head. “No, I’m not gonna be sidetracked. We’ll get back to that later.”

  “Do you believe in that sort of thing?” Eric leaned against the brick wall behind him and crossed his arms. “I need your answer before I can explain anything else.”

  Samson continued to bite his lower lip, as though he wasn’t sure his answer would be the right one. Eric was hoping the guy said yes, because that would make his explaining go a lot smoother.

  His mate glanced up at him from under his thick lashes and nodded. “Yeah, I do. But I don’t believe in ghosts, Bigfoot, or UFOs. Are you gonna make fun of me now?”

  “I’m a shifter,” Eric blurted out.

  “What kind of shifter?” Slight fear had entered Samson’s eyes as he took a step back. That wasn’t the question Eric had expected. Just because Samson believed in the stuff didn’t mean he would believe Eric was the real thing.

  “Why do you ask?” Eric cocked his head to the side, studying his mate closely. Samson knew about the preternatural world. How? He was human and shouldn’t know anything about it. Samson should’ve been questioning Eric’s sanity, not going along for the ride.

  “Just tell me,” Samson demanded.

  He placed his hands on his hips, trying to look serious, but instead, he looked downright adorable. Eric had to force himself not to pull Samson into his arms and kiss that frown from his expression.

  “I’m a cougar.”

  “A cat?” Relief flooded his mate’s dark blue eyes.

  Eric pushed from the wall. “Why did you look so worried, and how do you know about shifters?”

  “I told you I watch a lot of television.”

  Samson started to walk away, but Eric grabbed his arm to stop him. When Samson flinched, Eric held his hands up and took a step back.

  “What’s going on, Samson?”

  “Nothing, I just don’t like being grabbed.” He looked pale, and his breathing was a bit raspy. “I think I’m ready to go home.”

  Eric gave a slight nod, confused at his mate’s reaction. Samson hadn’t explained how he knew about shifters, and for now, Eric let it go as he walked his mate back to his Rubicon and drove him home in silence.

  Chapter Three

  After Eric dropped him off, Samson cracked his mother’s bedroom door open and saw a lump on her bed. He wanted to go in and give her a kiss on the cheek but didn’t want to disturb her. If she was asleep by eight, her day must’ve been hectic.

  In the morning, Samson would make her the best breakfast to show her just how much he appreciated and loved her. Mirabelle Woods was the sweetest woman he knew, with the biggest heart and a smile that always lit up his world.

  Samson rolled his eyes, not because he didn’t feel that way about his mom but because he’d found a guy super-hot and now he was going all sunshine and daises like he should write for some greeting card company.

  If he got that bad, he would put himself out of his own misery.

  He eased the door closed and went into his bedroom, but there was no way in hell he could sleep. Not when all he could see were those dreamy brown eyes and that sexy cop’s face. When Samson had mentioned that their dinner had been a date, Eric hadn’t argued the fact.

  Which made heat rise inside Samson, made him feel hungry and restless. He wanted to find Eric, to get a kiss, to feel those silky lips slipping over his body, and to feel those perfect lips wrapped around his aching cock.

  Now I need an ice-cold shower.

  Instead, he dropped onto his back on the bed and stared up at the ceiling, sighing as he thought about what Eric had confessed to him. He was a cougar shifter. The revelation was no surprise to Samson. He’d been around shifters for years, had loved that side of his step-family…until he didn’t.

  Thanks, James, for ruining everything.

  Samson rolled to his stomach and rested his chin on his folded hands, wishing he had one more day with the deputy—one more hour to hear his deep, sexy voice, one more minute to appreciate how muscled and tall he was. One more second to stare into those gorgeous eyes as Eric smiled.

  The deputy had given Samson his phone number just in case Samson wanted to volunteer again. Eric had said he’d give hi
m a ride. But that wasn’t the kind of ride Samson was interested in.

  “You’re so bad,” he said to himself. “Stop drooling over a guy who clearly just wants to be friends.”

  If Eric had wanted more from Samson, he would’ve tried to give him a good-night kiss. But Eric had remained the complete gentleman, which frustrated Samson. The cop might only want friendship, but Samson wanted friends with benefits. At this point, he would settle for a one-night stand. Anything to relieve the buildup in his balls.

  He pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and stared at the blank screen, debating on whether he should call Eric or simply take a cold shower and forget about the growing problem between his legs. After all, he had to be up early for work. He didn’t have time to pine away like some love-struck dumbass who couldn’t control his urges.

  He jerked when his phone began to ring, filling the silence of the apartment. Samson smiled, and his heart quickened when he saw the number on the screen. “Hello?”

  “Just calling to make sure you’re tucked into bed.”

  Samson shivered at the deep, rumbling voice. He could listen to Eric talk all night and never tire of it.

  “And if I wasn’t tucked in?” He rolled to his back, phone trapped between his ear and his shoulder as he stared at the slow rotation of his ceiling fan. “What would you do?”

  Eric’s low, vibrating chuckle sent shivers through Samson. “Then I just might have to come back there and tuck you in myself.”

  Okay, this wasn’t a “friendship” kind of conversation. That was clearly an innuendo, one that made Samson’s stomach fill with lust. He sighed at the sound, wanting to hear more of that voice that wet dreams were made of.

  “If my mom wasn’t here, I’d tell you I wasn’t tucked in.”

  “She made it home okay?” The concern in Eric’s voice touched Samson. “You seemed worried earlier.”

  “Not really worried,” Samson corrected as he glided his hand up and down his chest, brushing his fingers over his hardening nipples that poked up under his shirt. “She’s never gone in to work when she wasn’t on the schedule. She covets her days off.”

  “A mama’s boy.” Eric chuckled.

  “There’s nothing wrong with that,” Samson defended, though there was no heat in his voice.

  “Nothing at all,” Eric said. “I wish I could—”

  The abrupt ending to his sentence had Samson thinking of only one conclusion. Eric’s mom was no longer living. Samson’s heart went out to Eric. He wasn’t sure what he would do if his mother passed away. His heart ached at just the thought of never seeing her again.

  “So,” Samson said, changing the subject, “are you volunteering again tomorrow?”

  “Bright and early,” Eric said. “Not that we need to search for anyone, but we need to clean up the town and put it back to the way it was or as best we can. Roman Construction is volunteering their time and equipment, Sweet Delight is donating pastries for the hard workers, and the feedstore has donated over a dozen shovels and other supplies that will help out. I even heard that The Lucky Clover is giving the first round of beers free to all those that helped out.”

  “Wow, it sounds like this town pulls together in a crisis.” Samson had fallen in love with Brac Village the moment he and his mother had driven through it. The town was quaint and serene, like a lost gem that was kept secret from the rest of the world. Samson wanted to belong to a community like this, to be able to lay down roots, and to wave to his neighbors from his front yard.

  But first he had to get a front yard, and with the income he and his mother pulled in, that might not be for a long while.

  “Were you thinking about me when I dropped you off?”

  Samson grinned. “You were obviously thinking about me.” His hand glided farther down his stomach until he pressed his palm over his aching cock, stifling the hiss of pleasure.

  “That I was.” Eric cleared his throat. “Listen, I hope I didn’t scare you by telling you that I’m a shifter. I’m not sure why you looked worried when I confessed what I was, but I can promise you’ll always be safe with me.”

  “And why is that?” Samson plunged his hands down into his jeans and gripped the head of his cock. The hard flesh throbbed in his hand in response. He set the phone down, shoved his pants down his legs, then picked the phone back up as he wrapped his fingers around his erection.

  “Because you’re…special,” Eric said.

  Samson slowly stroked his hard length, biting his bottom lip as he forced the moans to stay trapped in his throat. “Special?”

  “Come on.” Eric chuckled. Samson moved his hand a bit faster. “Are you trying to make me confess to something?”

  No, Samson was just trying to make Eric talk. His voice was like an aphrodisiac and spurred the need inside Samson higher. “That depends. Do you have anything to confess?”

  Samson toed his shoes off and kicked his pants and underwear the rest of the way down his legs until he was able to kick them off him. He spread his legs, squeezing the base of his dick, and sucked in a quick breath.

  “Eric?” Samson frowned when the deputy had grown quiet. “Are you still there?”

  “I’m still here,” Eric said. “My confession will have to wait until we’re together again.”

  “Why?”

  “Because it’s not something that should be done over the phone.”

  Now Samson was curious. What could Eric have to confess? “You can’t say something like that and then not tell me what it is.”

  Samson tightened his fist and moved his hand faster. He felt his balls draw close. The buildup squeezed his spine and sent shivers of pleasure throughout his body.

  “Does that mean you want me to come back over?” Eric asked. “If you want the truth, I’m still parked downstairs. I felt too restless to go home.”

  Samson slammed his eyes closed, knowing just how close Eric was. He bit into his lower lip but was unable to stop the moan from escaping as his cum erupted all over his upper body. Choppy pants rattled Samson’s chest as he slowly opened his eyes.

  “Did you just…” Eric gave a low throaty growl. “Were you masturbating just now?”

  Samson wasn’t the only one who was quickly panting. He heard Eric’s breathing grow faster as he lay there blinking up at the ceiling, spent, but still not satisfied. He couldn’t believe his dick was still hard. “I…maybe.”

  Eric’s breath deepened, as if he were running, and then he said, “Open your door.”

  Samson jumped up and scrambled to pull his pants and underwear on then tiptoed from his room and snuck down the hallway. When he opened the door, Eric grabbed the phone from his ear, ended the call, then kissed him so passionately that Samson ran out of air in his lungs.

  He picked Samson up and carried him to his bedroom, quietly closing the door behind him. “You shouldn’t have started without me,” he said in a low growl.

  Oh hell. This was really happening. Samson wasn’t just fantasizing about Eric. The guy was actually in his room! It took Eric less than a second to strip Samson naked, and then he tossed Samson onto the bed as he shoved his own clothes off.

  The body he revealed had Samson’s heart slamming against his ribs. Was he really going to have sex with this almost-stranger? Fuck yeah, he was. Even if it happened only once, Samson wanted a piece of that rocking body.

  Eric crawled onto the bed and hovered over Samson. “Now show me what you were doing while we were talking on the phone.”

  His voice was husky, and his eyes were filled with lust and need. Eric looked like he would shatter if Samson didn’t do exactly what he wanted.

  “Show you this?” Samson curled his fingers around his cock and started stroking his still-hard dick. He arched his back, licked his bottom lip, and moaned. “Is this what you wanted to see?”

  On his hands and knees, their gazes locked, Eric moved backward down the bed, his face aligning with Samson’s cock. “Don’t stop stroking yourself,” he said right
before he sucked the head into his mouth.

  “Oh fuck!” Samson curled his lips in, hoping he wasn’t too loud as Eric lashed his cock with his tongue, drawing in the pre-cum that was beading the head. “You’re gonna make me come again.”

  Eric winked but didn’t pull away. The stubble that lined his jaw scraped against the sensitive flesh, making Samson’s buildup shoot right to his climax. He cried out as Eric swatted his hand away and swallowed him down the root.

  Even after his second orgasm, Samson was still needy. He grabbed for Eric’s arms, wanting to return the favor.

  His lover shook his head. “Where’s the lube? I gotta get inside you before I come.”

  Samson slapped at his nightstand, opened the drawer, and then pulled his arm away. Eric reached inside and snagged the bottle. “Do you know what mates are?” he asked as he lubed his fingers and inserted them into Samson’s greedy ass.

  “Yes!” Samson writhed as Eric stretched him, the burn eating up his backside, but he pushed through it as he curled his fingers at his sides.

  “You’re mine.” Eric added another finger, turning Samson mindless. “And I’m about to claim what’s mine.”

  Samson didn’t care if Eric told him he was an alien from another planet. The only thing he wanted to concentrate on was getting Eric’s dick in his ass.

  But clearly Eric was into torture, because he took his sweet time, kissing his way over Samson’s chest as his fingers rocked in and out of Samson’s body.

  The moment felt tense, like Samson was being hung over an abyss while his feet dangled. His heart rate was through the roof, his pulse thrashed in his ears, and he couldn’t seem to catch his breath, all while Eric was worshipping his body with his mouth and fingers.

  His buildup came quickly…again, and if Samson climaxed for the third time, he just might turn into a shriveled raisin from his bodily fluids exiting through his dick. He’d never come so many times in a week, let alone in the span of an hour.

  Heat spread across Samson’s entire body as he gulped down air and moved his ass slightly to the right, hoping some of the pressure subsided.