Page 6 of By the Blood Moon

Finn twisted so he was laying back against the armrest with Jaime straddling him from above. Taking his mouth in a searing kiss, Finn guided Jaime’s hips to grind down against his own, making Jaime’s head go fuzzy from the friction.

Breaking the kiss, Jaime palmed Finn’s chest and shoulders. “This is a little better, but I’m still not sure,” he teased.

Finn growled and nipped at Jaime’s fingertips, before he heaved him further up his chest, working his sweatpants down so that Jaime was straddling Finn’s face, his cock bobbing heavily. “How about you just take a seat on these shoulders while you think it through, and I’ll make myself busy until you’ve made your decision.”

Jaime wasn’t capable of making any more jokes or decisions for a while after that.

HALLOWEEN MORNING

“How does that look?” Jaime asked, turning toward Sam.

His brother was standing out on the sidewalk in front of Silas' house, arms crossed against the chilly breeze and head slightly tilted. “It's crooked.”

Jaime looked at where Finn and Silas were each holding up the end of a banner that read, “Trick-or-Treat!” in large, block letters. “Go up a little on the left.”

Finn reached further, the banner pulling tight as he angled it higher up the porch awning. “There?” he huffed, out of breath from how long they’d been standing with their arms stretched above their heads.

“Still crooked, you need to go over a little more on the right,” Sam said, motioning to the end Silas was holding.

He grumbled something under his breath, but shifted the banner further out. Both wolves had refused to use a ladder, claiming it wouldn’t be too hard to hang, but the spot Jaime had picked out just above the porch steps was proving more difficult to align than they’d thought.

That, or Sam was just fucking with them. Which was entirely possible.

“Now?” Silas asked, voice strained, the bottom of his shirt pulling up from the stretch of his arms over his head.

Jaime took a step back to peer up at where they were holding it in place. It looked straight to him, so he turned to Sam for confirmation from his vantage point on the sidewalk, only to find his brother's gaze wasn't fixed on the banner at all, but on Silas' exposed midriff.

Ugh.

"Seriously?" he asked, trying not to grin. "You've got a bit of drool, just there." Jaime mimed wiping his chin, and Sam snapped out of his daze, narrowing his eyes in warning.

"It looks fine,” he sniped, chin raised. “Now, I’m cold. I’m going inside to carve another pumpkin.” Sam stomped up the porch and through the front door, passing under the banner thatwas definitely straight, and probably had been for the last few minutes while he ogled Silas.

Jaime rolled his eyes and turned just in time to catch the shit-eating grin Silas shot Sam as he walked by, like he knew exactly what he’d been up to the entire time, and played along anyway.

And they complain Finn and I are bad.

Silas and Finn finished securing the banner in place while Jaime tore open a bag of faux spider web material and began stringing it up along the porch railings.

Last night they’d gathered all the decorations Jaime wanted to bring to Silas and Sam’s, and on their way over this morning he and Finn had stopped off at the Silver Dollar, the general store they had wandered around in on their very first “date,” to grab some pumpkins to carve for this evening.

Jaime had even scrounged together a few things to pass as costumes for him and Sam to wear, if he was up for it. It had been a rough few weeks for them all, Sam especially, and Jaime thought that forgetting about everything for an evening and having a little fun would do them good.

Other than messing with Silas and Finn in a clear attempt to stare at Silas without anyone noticing, Sam had been more reserved than usual, today. Not in the same way he’d been last year—no, he was still present, in the sense that he answered Jaime’s questions, and volunteered to be the designated pumpkin carver when Jaime and Finn had hauled in half a dozen of them this morning, and seemed genuinely happy that he and Finn were there.

But there was still something off, something missing in his countenance. Almost as though he was watching them all through a window; like the three of them were inside, decorating and laughing and making the most of this lull in the hellscapetheir lives had become lately, while Sam watched from outside, staying just long enough to soak it in before he turned and left.

Jaime shuddered at the comparison. No. Sam wasn’t leaving—he was right there, with them. He’d been through some tough shit, and just needed more time to recover.

Lost in thought, Jaime made his way along the side of the house where the porch wrapped around, and finished stringing the spiderwebs all over the railing. He felt Finn come up behind him, and turned just in time to intercept the kiss he’d meant for his cheek.

“Are you alright, baby?” Finn whispered, raking his claws through Jaime’s hair.

Jaime smiled. His observant mate always sensed when his thoughts were weighing on him. “I’m fine. Just thinking. Pass me those spiders?”

The crease between Finn’s eyebrows appeared, but he handed over one of the plastic, fuzzy creatures anyway and watched as Jaime tucked it into the giant web. “Are you nervous about this evening?”

Jaime shook his head, grateful for the turn in his thoughts. He looked around to check that they were alone, before whispering, “No, I’m not nervous for this evening. I’m actually quite… ready, if you know what I mean. Very, very ready.”

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