Thirteen
Cruz
T he house was in pretty good shape considering both doors had been left swinging open, allowing the weather to blow through. A few corpses were bumbling around inside when Remy and Gabe performed their sweep, but they'd already dragged the bodies out the back and aired out the place. Although the interior was almost as worn as the exterior, it was clean and solid enough for an overnight stop.
Jonah, Liv, and I were the only ones wearing putrid, wet clothes, so we took turns washing up in the river behind the property. Now, we were scrubbed clean and sitting with the others on red vinyl chairs in the kitchen. Dawn and Jonah had laid out fruits and vegetables on the sixties’ style tabletop, while Liv and I mixed up powdered milk and poured it into glasses.
I scanned the faces around the table as we ate and talked, amazed at the group we’d assembled in such a short time.
When your last family member died and everything that once kept you grounded disappeared, it tended to change your view of the world. Not long back, I was alone and questioning if there was any point to life after everything had been obliterated. Now, I had five friends… well, four and a woman who was something else.
Something more.
Liv sat opposite me, her gaze catching mine as she laughed at something Dawn said. Seeing her like this, open and relaxed, gave me a glimpse of the woman she would have been before our lives changed—and a peek into what the future might be like with her once we were settled. The corner of my mouth kicked up and affection swept through me. Her laughter faded, and she smiled, her gaze lingering on me for a beat before she returned her attention to the conversation.
The kiss she demanded from me when we were walking together stoked something inside me that didn't appear to be fading. Seeing her ask for what she wanted and accept it with her entire body was a major turn on, and although she’d apparently moved on from the moment, I couldn’t.
I wanted more.
As the others talked around the table, my attention dropped to her lips and lingered. Liv seemed to sense my eyes on her and glanced my way again, but then her skin turned pink, and she quickly averted her gaze. She liked to act as if she had it all under control, but it was easy to send her over the edge. I loved being the only one who could do that to her.
“Do you have a destination in mind while you’re travelling?” Dawn picked a couple of grapes from the bunch and looked from Gabe to Remy. "You must have been picturing what kind of life you want for yourselves. What does that look like?"
She'd already warmed to the new guys, her posture more relaxed, and her body language open. She kept adding extra food to their plates in case they were hesitant about grabbing more.
Gabe crunched into an apple and spoke around the mouthful. “Haven't talked about the future,” he said, using the back of his hand to wipe juice from his chin. "Everyone's gone, so nowhere feels like home anymore."
Remy finished his milk, then looked around the table and frowned. "How do you all even know each other, anyway?"
Liv took a handful of grapes from the plate, and the four of us swapped stories about where we'd been and how we came to be together.
Remy explained that he and Gabe had moved to Australia from South Sudan with their family when they were young enough to have very few memories of their home country now. When the virus began taking family members, their mother's health deteriorated with each loss, and although they claimed she’d had a heart attack, it sounded more like it was broken by grief. Coming from such a big family must have left them feeling more lost than the rest of us now that they were alone.
Once we'd shared stories about our pasts, I moved on to more practical matters to get a feel for their plans. “Are you interested in sticking with us?” My question earned a smile from Liv across the table. “We’re looking at building a community with a specific destination in mind.”
Remy nodded slowly, as if thinking it over. “Depends on where you're headed.”
“Wait, I’ll show you.” Liv wasted no time jumping up from the table and rushing to her backpack in the lounge room. She returned with her folded magazine article, spreading both pages on the table between the twins. Excitement vibrated from her, just like it had when she first shared the pictures with me. “It’s a little under two hours from here on the east coast," she said, her features animated. "Fully sustainable. Power, water, space to grow food—or build more homes, so we're not living under one another's feet.”
“What are the chances of a place like this being empty?” Remy glanced at Liv, then me. “Even if the owners are long gone, any locals who knew about the property would have moved in by now. That's what I would have done.”
“It’s almost too good to be true,” Gabe added.
They had the same train of thought as the rest of us. “You're right,” I said. “It could be occupied, or trashed, or overtaken by a bigger group—but that’s where we’re focusing our energy until we find out otherwise.”
Liv left the article between them and took her seat again. “Even if another group has already claimed it, we could talk our way in—hopefully.”
“And if we can’t?” Remy asked.
I didn’t want to give the wrong impression to people who barely knew us, so instead of suggesting we force our way in by any means necessary, I kept my answer ambiguous. "We’ll figure it out when we get there." The darkening sky cast shadows over the kitchen, and a sudden crack of lightning illuminated the room. We still had to find candles and do another sweep of the exterior before night settled in. “What do you think?”
They looked at each other, but they must have had a twin-connection going on because an entire conversation appeared to be taking place without a word being spoken. “We’re in—until we get there and scope out the situation.”
Dawn's face lit up, and she gave Jonah's arm a nudge. "That's good news."
Jonah met my eyes with a subtle smile. Approval and relief.
Since everyone appeared happy with their answer, I pushed back my chair and stood. “I’m heading out to do another walk around the grounds. When I get back, we can work out who’s taking first watch.”
Liv shot up from her seat and rounded the table to join me. "I'll come with you." The speed of her reaction must have given the impression this was a private outing, because no one else volunteered to come along.
“Back in ten,” I said to the group, then I held the door open so she could pass through ahead of me.
Liv didn’t look at me, but I sensed the restlessness coming off her. Almost like a pressure cooker needing to let off some steam to avoid an explosion.
“It’s getting dark earlier now,” Liv commented as we inspected the area behind the sheds.
We had our weapons drawn, but there didn’t appear to be a need for them. After clearing the initial cluster of corpses when we arrived, no others had turned up to take their place.
Leaf litter covered the ground and wind rustled through the trees, stronger now than it was when we first got here. I stepped up to the wire boundary fence that separated the rear of the property from the river. The fast-flowing water made it impossible for corpses to cross without being swept away, and any human in their right mind wouldn't take on the freezing temperature only to come out soaked to the bone on the other side.
This area wouldn't require close surveillance. It was the driveway we needed to monitor—and the weather. Thunder rumbled as ominous clouds gathered, darkening by the minute. We were in for another storm, and the way the wind had picked up made me wonder if it would be worse than the last one.
I turned to find Liv watching me, and when our eyes met, she refused to look away, holding my gaze like she was trying to send me a message. Her features were flooded with emotion, her free hand clenched at her side. While I was thinking about surveillance, security, and cloud patterns, she clearly had something more interesting on her mind.
“What’s going on?” I asked as I strolled toward her.
She kept her eyes locked with mine, retreating slowly until her back met the rear wall of the shed. Her face tipped up as I closed in on her, and her body gave off a riveting kind of energy, like a ball of nerves wound tight with nowhere to go. “I don’t want to beg,” she said, her voice husky and soft.
She stared at me like I held some kind of invisible power over her, and I suddenly wanted to be gentle with her for reasons I couldn’t explain. “For what?”
“You’ve given me so much. Taken care of me, protected me.”
“You’ve done the same for me,” I reminded her. "More than once."
Liv paused and pulled in a shaky breath. “You’ve given me so much,” she said again, as if she hadn’t heard me speak. She tucked a few strands of hair behind her ear, still damp from our bathing session in the river roaring behind me.
My attention lowered to take in the rest of her. She’d changed into a blue button-up shirt a couple of shades darker than her eyes, and I glimpsed hardened nipples pressing up against the fabric. Only a clueless man wouldn’t be able to pick up on the direction of her thoughts. We’d discussed putting the brakes on until we were among the relative safety of a group—and now here we were surrounded by others.
Six of us, when just yesterday morning there were two.
Her twitchiness had me biting back a smile. A current of desire moved through me, and I swept my gaze over our surroundings before I brought my attention back to her. I didn't feel the same need to be so vigilant anymore—like one wrong move could mean the end for us. We had backup now, people who’d come running without a second thought. “But?”
“I want more.”
It was impossible to look at her face, all flushed with need, and pretend I didn’t understand. She wanted more—specifically from me—and I couldn't let her make another move that resulted in rejection.
“In what way?” I took the last step that separated us. “Talk to me like I’m an idiot. Spell it out with very clear, very detailed instructions.”
I knew the exact moment she caught onto the fact that I was onto her. A bright smile flashed across her face, and she shoved my chest with her free hand, since we were both still carrying weapons. “Wow. You are an idiot.”
I lifted my brows. “A handsome one?”
She nodded slowly, looking me over. “Almost too handsome. It's… distracting.” Liv gazed up at me, her eyes imploring me to get on board quickly before she lost her nerve. “I want you to kiss me again.”
“How?”
“Soft and slow, while you grind against me like you did in that house on the bed when it was just the two of us. Maybe cop a feel if the thought occurs to you.”
With a laughing breath, I looked her over. If the thought occurred to me?
I moved closer, stopping when my chest touched hers. We were in a private space and a safer position than we'd ever been in, but I was still conscious of our limited time. Someone might come looking for us any minute to make sure nothing had happened to us out here. We couldn’t disappear for long stretches without causing concern.
My hatchet dangled from my free hand, and I clasped the base of her neck in a loose hold. Liv drew a sharp breath and stared at me, her lips open, and her eyes soft with longing.
I dipped my head and let my mouth hover over hers, waiting and letting the tension build. We were standing so close, I could feel the nervous energy flowing through her, but she closed her eyes and seemed to just hand herself over to me, trusting me to take care of her out here in the elements. As I kissed her upper lip, then her lower lip, her pulse quickened against my fingers, and I couldn’t remember wanting her more than I did in this moment.
Liv sighed and grabbed a handful of my shirt. She pulled me hard against her, but when her mouth began moving with mine, it was soft and tentative at first, the innocence of it making the moment more erotic.
She smelled like rain and earth, felt like heaven and every fantasy come to life. I’d wanted her from the moment I saw her darting across the street in the city, back before I even knew her name.Now she was here, with me, telling me with her body that she wanted and needed me. For a man who thought he’d be living out the rest of his life alone, I couldn’t put into words how much her touch meant to me.
I swept my tongue across hers, and when she made an urgent, desperate sound in her throat, my head nearly exploded. Her back bowed, her breasts pushed against my chest, then her tongue met mine and pulled a groan from me.
With a pause and a quick check of our surroundings, I took the kiss deeper, pressing her into the wall of the shed, imprinting every part of me on her, so we’d both remember this when we went back inside.
“I need you,” she said breathlessly against my mouth.
And I’d kidded myself into thinking keeping our distance would be the best thing for both of us. All we’d done was build the anticipation, the sexual tension, until it reached the level where both of us were ready to implode. I wanted to drop my hatchet and get both hands on her. Instead, I gripped her ass with my free hand and rubbed her against my hard-on, wishing I could have been inside her.
Her guttural moan turned the kiss wild. Out of control. It went on and on until finally we broke away, and she leaned her head against the wall with a thud. “This isn’t fair,” she said, breathing hard and struggling to contain herself. She could barely look at me.
“I know.” I moved my hand to the back of her neck and waited for her eyes to meet mine. “But we don’t have long until the others start worrying about us—and when we’re together for the first time, I want you naked and underneath me in a bed, not pinned against a fucking tin shed.”
My words turned her eyes into miniature storms, and the wild beauty of her had me trying to catch my breath. “That’s not helping at all. ”
Before I could stop her, she unfastened the row of buttons on her shirt with her free hand, and with another deft flick of her fingers, the front catch on her bra sprung open. The sight had me internally groaning and feeling like someone had punched me in the stomach at the same time. She kept her eyes on me as she showed me her breasts, and I wanted to bury my face right there and never come up for air again. God, if she smothered me to death, I’d die happy.
I hadn’t seen a naked woman in a long time, but that wasn’t the main reason my heart pounded so hard it thudded in my ears. She was so real and raw that I had to swallow the emotion creeping up my throat. “Olivia,” I said, noting the huskiness in my voice.
Her deep breath when she heard her name made her chest rise, and my gaze lowered to her breasts again. I stepped in close and pressed my mouth to hers in a single, lingering kiss. “You’re breathtaking,” I said against her mouth, “and you’re mine.”
My hand slid down her neck, skating across her skin until I had one of her breasts cupped in my hand. The weight of it filled my palm, and as her breathing turned shallow, I leaned back and gazed into her eyes. “Tell me you’re mine,” I said, my voice coming out gruffer than intended.
Her mouth parted as she stared up at me, her cheeks flushed with heat in the cool air. “I’m yours. In every way.”
Thunder cracked, and the wind whipped around our bodies, swirling leaves and shaking the steel wall of the shed. Her words had my heart swelling until it felt too big for my chest. I kissed her again, using my tongue as my thumb stroked her nipple and teased it to a hardened peak. She was soft, and silky, and so perfect I could barely stand it, and she kissed me back with an enthusiasm that bordered on aggression.
I groaned and pushed my lower body against hers, shoving her against the shed wall to show her how hard she’d made me. Liv clutched me to her, and her tongue thrust into my mouth as her hips moved restlessly, seeking more. We kissed a while longer, diving deeper, until her sword dropped to the dirt with a thunk and I knew we were taking this too far.
She’d stopped paying attention, and I was only seconds away from joining her.
I reluctantly pulled my mouth from hers, and her moan of protest had me smiling and pinching her chin to give her one final peck. “We’re losing control, querida . If we don’t stop now, there’ll be no stopping us.”
Her eyes were still clouded with desire, her lips an appealing shade of pink from the pressure of my mouth. A myriad of emotions passed over her features, but in the end, logic appeared to win out. “I hate to say it—I mean, I really hate to say it—but you’re right. It’s almost dark, and this is all kinds of crazy. Anything could happen out here.”
As if to prove her point, a smattering of rain fell, and another rumble of thunder filled the sky.
“Hold this,” I said, passing her my weapon.
I cradled her breasts and lowered my head to kiss a silent, regretful goodbye to each nipple, fighting the urge to take them in my mouth and suck until I had her writhing and doing some of that begging she’d mentioned. When I finished locking a mental snapshot away for later, I pulled the cups together and clicked the catch in place. One by one, I fastened her shirt buttons while she watched me with a slight smile on her face.
I narrowed my eyes. “Why are you looking at me like that?”
“I’m just picturing what I’m going to do to you when you finally give me the green light.”
Feeling happier than I had in a long time, I grinned as I bent to pick up her sword and swap it for my hatchet. “You just can't behave yourself, can you?”
She laughed and stood on her toes to press another kiss on my mouth, making an adorable hum of pleasure before our lips parted. “Not when I'm around you.”