The Dark Ones by Bryan Smith Page B

making fun of him. But it didn’t bother him. “Yeah. I do.”
    “Of course you do. I’m awesome.”
    “I know.”
    She grabbed him and kissed him with sudden enthusiasm. He staggered a bit and wrapped his arms around her to keep from falling over. She pressed into him, continuing to kiss him, her mouth working against his with a hunger that made his whole body feel electrified. She broke the kiss off just as abruptly and they stood panting in the middle of the road, eyes locked, her hands hooked around the back of his neck.
    “Holy shit.”
    Natasha made a purring sound. “Mmm. You taste like bubble gum and liquor.”
    “Uh . . . yeah. Had a stick of Doublemint earlier.”
    She pushed against him again. “You should see a doctor. There’s a lump in your pants.”
    He held her tight and said, “You’re the only cure for that.” His eyes widened. “Oh, shit!”
    Her face twisted with confusion. “Mark? What—”
    No time to break it down for her. A police cruiser was at the far end of the block. Its blue lights weren’t on and it was possible they hadn’t been spotted yet, but that wouldn’t last long. He seized Natasha by a wrist and dragged her into the closest yard. She yelped once, but quickly fell into step with him as they pounded across the grass and passed beneath the long and low-hanging branches of an old tree. In the darkness, the branches looked like the extended limbs and talons of some scary creature. It didn’t take long to orient themselves. This was the Smith property. The house abutted a small field cleared out by bulldozers some time ago. Nothing had been built there yet and it was overgrown. Several huge slabs of rock had been pulled out of the ground from the field and placed along one side of the Smith property and down a small stretch along the edge of the front yard, forming an L-shaped barrier of granite. Neighborhood kids liked to play on the rock barrier. They would pretend to be soldiers storming a beach or ancient warriors guarding a stone fortress. There was a deep depression in the part of the field where the rocks had been excavated, but because the field was so overgrown, the depression wasn’t obvious to the naked eye.
    Mark risked a quick glance over his shoulder just before they reached the rock barrier. The cruiser’s blue lights still weren’t on, but its spotlight was. It was closer by half now, and the slowly rotating light was just beginning to turn in their direction.
    They vaulted over the rock barrier and landed in the narrow dirt path between the rocks and the field, ducking as a wash of light approached. In the next instant they were plunging into the field and sliding down into the depression. Natasha gasped when Mark piled into her at the bottom of the hole. She twisted around in discomfort and got her body straightened out as he stretched out beside her. He put his face close to hers and started to speak: “Do you think—”
    She clapped a hand over his mouth and shook her head.
    He nodded and held his breath, waiting.
    He turned his head in the direction of the road and stayed very still as he listened for the cruiser. Its engine soon became audible. The soft rumble indicated it was just sort of creeping along. This wasn’t an unusual occurrence. Bored cops would occasionally make slow sweeps of the neighborhood because they had fuck all else to do. Ransom wasn’t exactly a hotbed of criminal activity. So the local law liked to hassle the kids, especially newcomers.
    Fucking asshole cops . . .
    But the sound of the cruiser’s engine faded at last. “Shit. That was close.”
    He braced his hands on the ground and started to push himself up.
    Natasha grabbed the front of his shirt and pulled him back down.
    “Hey. They’re gone. What’s—”
    “I know.”
    She slid a cool hand inside his waistband and down the front of his jeans. Her hand curled around his dick and he instantly grew hard. He looked into her eyes, able to see her more clearly now