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.More than ever, he would never be able togive Adam up.Not to another to keep him, not to another to feed him.Batu might not want Adam.But Ean did.Ean slammed his mouth against Adam s, and as soon as theirtongues swept together, they both came, shouting into each other sthroats, drinking down one another s names.For a few terrifying seconds, the metaphysical heat coming fromAdam rippled the air.Adam bucked under Ean, his body arching, hismuscles rolling.He tore his mouth away from Ean s and snapped at theair.Terrible sounds, inhuman growls, ripped out of Adam s throat.Eanknew if Adam shifted now, he would die.Without the sex, Adamwould have to feed; like a hatchling, he d be driven by instinct tosurvive at all costs. Ean&. Adam shoved his shoulders, trying to push him off, butEan grabbed his wrists and pinned them above his head.Bodies stilllocked together, Adam rode against him, his eyes peeled wide andterrified.Sweat rolled down Ean s back, and his muscles trembled withthe exertion of holding Adam back.Adam was getting stronger; thepower of metaphysics was beginning to change himKill me.He wants to kill me and eat the softest parts.And thefantasy of committing the act was practically flashing through Adam seyes. I m not afraid, Ean told him.And he wasn t.Even knowing hisdeath could be seconds away, Ean wouldn t have traded this momentfor anything.Not even belonging.That thought exhilarated andconfused him all in a single breath.Belonging had been Ean s solefocus in life until this moment.Now his focus was keeping Adam.Even if it meant losing everything else.Adam arched against Ean, exhaling one last cry.Then the heat hewas making flickered out.His eyelids fluttered once and closed. To Adam With Love 91Chapter 10ADAM was standing in line at the cash register with two Yoo-hoosunder one arm and a package of Fig Newtons in his hand whensomeone behind him spoke. What s your name? Adam turned.The smile the other boy wore flashed his perfectteeth, and they were as beautiful as the rest of him all over caramel-colored skin, chocolate-colored eyes, chocolate-colored hair.He wasabout the same height as Adam, but he had a lot more muscle.The poloshirt he wore sported the logo for the local high school.Adam blinked and tossed a quick look around. Yes, I m talking to you. If it were even possible, his smile wenteven brighter.Adam looked away.He wasn t supposed to talk to people outsidethe Gray Zone.If his mom knew he d come to the other side of theFringe, she d tan his ass.Or worse, ground him from seeing Ean for aweek.But they didn t sell Yoo-hoos on the inside of the Zone, or FigNewtons, and Ean really wanted some.Adam glanced out the window.He couldn t see Ean because hewas on the other side of the buildings.He wasn t allowed outside theZone either, and since lying to Batu wasn t an option&. What s wrong ? Don t you know how to talk? When Adam brought his eyes back, the caramel-skinned boy wasstill looking at him and still smiling.What would it hurt to tell him? Adam.My name s Adam. 92 Adrienne Wilder I m Brian Stanson.So, do you live around here? Adam nodded.Brian threw his thumb over his shoulder. My friends and I aregonna play some basketball at the park.You wanna come? For whatever reason, that made Adam blush.He shook his head. C mon, it ll be fun. Brian put a hand on his arm.Adam s eyes went to where Brian touched him.His skin feltfunny, tingly.Come to think of it, his stomach felt kind of weird too.Adam said, I can t. Why not? I m not allowed.I can only play in the eastside park. Brian s eyes widened. In the Zone? Who s in the Zone? A way-too-tall redheaded boy stepped upbeside Brian. Uh, no one.Adam, this is Craige.Craige, Adam. The redhead grinned.Unlike Brian, it wasn t a pretty expression.In fact, it kind of reminded Adam of sharks. Dude, what s with thehair? One of Craige s big hands came up and flicked the braid overAdam s ear. Going for the all-over wyrm-fodder look? Adam knewwhat he meant.No shirt, no shoes, ratty Levi s, braids, beads, andcopper wire.He was dressed like the ferals, and normal folks didn tdress like that.Craige gave him some more up and down, and then hiseyes landed on Adam s stomach. Holy fuck.What the hell happened toyou? Brian punched Craige in the shoulder. Don t be such anasshole. Craige waved a hand. Well, hell, look at the scars on hisstomach.Someone did some serious ginsu on his ass. Yeah, this was exactly why talking to people on the outside wasbad.The customers in front of Adam vacated the spot at the counter, sohe stepped up and placed his items beside the cash register.While theman rang up his bill, Adam dug his money out of his pocket.Quarters,nickels, and dimes.He piled them on the counter and counted out theright amount as quickly as he could. To Adam With Love 93Brian said something else, but Adam was in too much of a hurry.He needed out of there, and now.Behind him, Craige laughed, andBrian told him to shut up again.Adam shoved his change back into hispocket, stuffed the drinks and cookies under his arm, and made a breakfor the door. Hey. Brian was right behind him.Adam tossed a look back.It was amistake.Distracted, he didn t see the guy step from around the cornerand bounced right off his chest.He fell back, dropping both drinks andthe cookies.With a pop, the Yoo-hoos expelled their contents onto thesidewalk, and Adam wound up sitting on his ass in the middle of themess.From the open door of the convenience store, Craige laughed. Hey, are you okay? Brian knelt down. Here, let me help. I m fine. But Adam wasn t.Not really.He d lost the drinks.The cookies were salvageable, but there was no getting back the Yoo-hoos unless they planned on sucking them off the ground with a straw.Adam knocked the glass out of his way, snatched up the Fig Newtons,and stood. You re bleeding. Brian grabbed his wrist.Adam froze. Damn, this looks really bad. Fingers played over his palm,then traced his thumb. It s fine. Not that Adam could really say for sure.He stillhadn t looked at it yet.For all Adam knew, all four fingers and histhumb had been cut clean off.His eyes were still on Brian.Brian pulled something out of his pocket; then he pressed it toAdam s thumb.Now it hurt.Adam hissed. Sorry, but you re bleeding all over. Adam looked down towhere Brian was holding a Micky D s napkin to the cut at the base ofhis thumb.Brian was right; he was bleeding all over the place. Sitdown over here
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