Chapter 5
Only One Bed
Allie
She didn’t know how long she’d stood there, holding Cam as if she could keep him from flying apart while his heart tried to pound out of his chest and his breath shuddered into her hair.
She didn’t really care. At some point, the embrace—“hug” seemed too tame a word—had become necessary for both of them.
It had been so long since anyone had touched her, needed her.
Tears swam behind her closed eyelids, and she burrowed even deeper into him, rubbing her cheek against the soft cloth of the robe covering his shoulder.
She turned her head, and her nose came tantalizingly close to the skin where the robe and the neckline of his T-shirt ended.
She could smell his clean skin under the harsher scent of the bunker’s laundry detergent.
She slid a little closer to his neck, imagining what it would be like to bury her face there and inhale.
She wanted to bury her mouth there and run her tongue over that smooth expanse of warm skin.
Her heart quickened as his was beginning to slow.
If she did those things, would he pull away or push closer?
Cam stirred, uncurving himself a bit, and she raised her head. Their eyes met, hers still damp, his dark with emotion, more pewter-gray than blue.
“Thank you,” he said again, so gravely and sincerely that tears welled up in her eyes again.
This time, one escaped to trace its way down her cheek.
Cam caught it with his thumb. “Please don’t cry,” he murmured. “Not for me.”
She did her best to smile. “Not only for you. For me.” She raised her chin. “That stuff up there.” Then she sighed shakily and laid her cheek back on his shoulder. “This stuff down here.”
He swallowed hard. “I don’t want to make things difficult for you.”
“Being with you is actually the least difficult thing I’ve done in a long time.” Her face grew warm, and she sniffled self-consciously. “I mean, holding you. Being... close. I’m not saying this right.”
His chest vibrated again, and she clutched him in alarm—another wave of Z-terror?—before she realized he was laughing softly. Laughing. He raised his head, his eyes crinkled appealingly.
She couldn’t help returning his smile. “I’m glad this is amusing.”
“You have no idea, Allie.” Cam gave her a final squeeze before he let her go.
She stepped back a bit then realized he’d begun to sag. She grabbed his arm to help him stand. “Hey.” Fear zigzagged through her and threatened to take all their warmth away. “You need to lie down?”
He blinked, propping one hand against the wall. “I’m about out of gas, I think.” He aimed tired eyes at her. “Is that extra bedroom available?”
“Of course,” she said, ducking her head under his free arm and slinging it around her shoulder. But then she stopped. “Shit. No, it’s not.”
That made him laugh again, weakly, just a faint toothpaste-scented gust of breath. “You expecting company?”
“The other bedroom has a leak. I went in to check it out while you were in the shower, and the bed is damp and musty. I never use it, so I had no idea.” She grimaced. “I’m not sure if we can salvage that mattress.”
“I can sleep anywhere.” He braced himself between her and the wall. “That little love seat thing in the living room. An open space on the floor.”
“No,” she said. “No way. You can sleep in my bed.”
“I can’t do that.”
“You don’t have much choice. You’re about to fall over.”
He frowned. “I’m not going to take your bed, Allison.”
She rolled her eyes. “Well, I’m not going to let you sleep anywhere else, Cameron.”
They stared each other down for a moment, then both burst into laughter, rather pathetically.
Cam groaned. “God, I’m tired.”
She waited.
“Fine.” He sighed. “I’ll lie down in your bed, boss. But I’m not taking it from you. We can share it for tonight.”
Whoa. “Oh, can we?” She ignored the longing that knotted in her belly at the thought of him in her bed. Them in her bed.
“Why not? You never shared a hotel room with a friend?”
“We’re not exactly friends.” Yikes. Load that sentence right up, Allie.
Cam held firm. “Fine. We’re... allies. Right?”
Allies. A good word. It felt right. “Yes.”
“We’re also adults. And we’re both exhausted.”
Allie sighed. Her sleep had been in bits and pieces lately. “You need rest.”
“So do you. We need to feel safe. We’ll sleep better together than we would apart.”
“Rest,” she repeated, giving him what she hoped was a stern look.
“I’m honored that you think I’ve got it in me right now.” He shook his head ruefully, and it lolled a bit along the way. “But... I don’t want to be alone. Do you?”
She couldn’t speak past the sudden lump in her throat.
He pressed his advantage, pulling himself upright with effort. “No funny business. Fully clothed. Separate sides. Scout’s honor.”
His earnestness had her fighting a smile. It also prompted her to tamp down the last of her nerves. “Fine. But you get under the covers, and I’ll stay on top. Deal?”
A smile lit his weary, angular face. “I’ll even give you my robe.”
She huffed, taking a step and pulling him with her. “It’s my robe.”
When they made it to her bed, Cam pulled off the robe and lay down while Allie hovered, watching to make sure he got comfortable before pulling the blanket up over him.
“Now you,” he insisted, his eyes heavy. “Please.” His mouth twisted a little, as if he were experiencing a bad memory. “Don’t leave.”
Allie sat on the side of the bed, the robe that now smelled like him in her lap.
Getting in that bed was a bad idea, even with him under the covers.
They were becoming emotionally dependent on each other already.
Making their interactions more physical so soon was bound to cause problems. She had no idea how long it would take the horde to pass or what would happen when Cam contacted his people.
Or what Morrigan would demand of them once they left the bunker.
Allie felt in her bones that leaving the bunker was part of Her plan. The thought brought both terror and excitement.
But that was in the future. Right then, all she could see was Cam, his haunted, exhausted eyes begging her to stay. He untucked one arm enough to stretch out one hand, almost as if he couldn’t stop himself, and ran it lightly down her arm. Her skin sang at the contact, her resistance melting.
Who was she kidding? It would take a fucking tow truck to haul her out of that room now.
She crawled over him as carefully as she could, settled her head on the other pillow, then pulled the robe and its aroma of clean Cam over herself.
The bed was big enough for the two of them, but their bodies were still close.
Between the quiet, the warm robe, and Cam’s solid physical presence, this was maybe the most peaceful feeling of her adult life, pre-Z or otherwise.
What a bizarre thought. Especially with a legion of the undead likely directly above them.
“You good? Comfortable?” Cam mumbled, his eyelids drooping. Even so, he refused to let them fully close.
Fighting sleep like a stubborn toddler. The thought made her smile.
Cam smiled back, so sweetly and sleepily that her breath snagged.
“I’m not leaving,” she whispered. “Now go to sleep.”
He sighed and let his eyes close. “Yes, ma’am.”
He turned on his side, facing her. Allie mirrored his position, watching as he relaxed and let his body settle into the mattress, the lines around his eyes and mouth smoothing.
When he began to snore, she grinned.
Suddenly weary beyond belief, she gave herself over to sleep. Her last conscious thought was that for the first time in more than a year, she was looking forward to waking up.
Cam
When Cam awoke, it was with extreme reluctance.
If he’d ever been this comfortable, he couldn’t remember it.
The bed was soft and cozy, and it smelled amazing.
Or maybe that was the woman curled up against him, her breathing soft and even.
Allie’s head pressed into his shoulder, her knees against his legs.
In sleep, she’d found her way nearer to his body.
His heart turned over at the realization.
For a while, Cam simply lay there and luxuriated in the novelty of being safe, warm, and content. Even knowing an army of zombies was probably thronging above wasn’t enough to disrupt the way he felt just then.
The bedroom held only the bed and a large cabinet beside it, but the rest of the room was filled with books. In lieu of shelves, stacks of them lined the juncture of floor and wall, carefully aligned by size and genre. He swiveled his head and rose up a little to take it all in.
No way had the bunker’s owner brought all those books here—he’d seen the mysterious prepper’s actual library on the tour, all useful guides and manuals for everything from edible plants to building windmills and waterwheels and all organized neatly on shelves beside the radio equipment.
Those were books meant to master the physical world, not stories that could take the reader away from that world for a few hours.
He'd learned yet another important detail about his angel. Allie was a reader, and if she loved books like he did, at least she hadn’t been totally alone during the past year.
He looked back down at her only to see that her big brown eyes were open, watching him.
“Hey,” she said softly.
“Hey.” His voice, rough as sandpaper, cracked on the word. “I like your books.”
“The only good thing about the apocalypse. I’ve had plenty of time to read.” Allie gave him a tentative smile. “If you need some water, I keep bottles in the cabinet.” She eased back to her side of the bed.
Cam already missed her warmth. He rolled onto his side, groaning a little at his aching muscles, and opened the cabinet.
A few more books lived there, as well as some containers of melatonin capsules and a few bottles of water.
On the bottom shelf sat a large box marked Trojan with a familiar symbol.
That is a fucking enormous, unopened box of condoms.