Chapter Five
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ZOE COULDN’T BELIEVE she was having a conversation about the average size of dongs with this man.
Amaros was perfect in every way, from his disheveled black hair to his toes.
He didn’t have a single flaw that she could see and she’d seen pretty much everything he had to offer.
The knight could have been sculpted by a master craftsman.
He had high cheekbones, a razor jawline and the blackest eyes she’d ever seen.
She didn’t even want to think about his body.
The memory of his muscles would haunt her for life.
He might not be an angel, but Amaros had talents no human possessed.
“What are you?” she asked, repeating the question he had yet to answer as they reached the outskirts of town.
“I’ll fill you in later,” Amaros said absently.
Shouts were coming from some of the houses. Screams of loss or rage came from others. Zoe heard a young woman screaming a name over and over, but couldn’t quite make it out. “We can’t stay here,” she said as her intuition kicked in.
“Why not?” her strange new companion asked.
“It’s going to be too dangerous,” she replied. “We’ll make a quick stop at my house, then we need to get moving.”
He nodded rather than arguing, which was a surprise. She had the sense that Amaros was a leader among his kind, whatever they were. The fact that he was deferring to her seemed weird. Then again, he’d scanned her soul and apparently knew everything about her now.
Flushing in fresh shame that he probably knew she was practically an innocent, she took the back streets to her home.
Doors stood open in some houses. People were out on the streets, searching for their missing friends and family.
She braked hard to avoid hitting a man when he lunged in front of them.
His fists slammed down on the hood and he glared at them both. “Where’s my wife?” he shouted in fury.
Amaros made a waving gesture and Zoe felt a small surge of power flow from him.
The man shied away and took off, searching for the wife who’d gone to a better place.
“That’s why we can’t stay here,” she said, pulling over in front of her house rather than driving into the garage.
“Things are going to get crazy during the next few days.” It would be more like months, but she didn’t want to voice that likelihood.
“I’ll search for suitable clothing and meet you back here,” Amaros said.
She nodded, but he already had the door open and was climbing out. She stared at his perfect butt until he closed the door. He strode off, wrapping her coat around his waist as he headed to a house across the street.
The Rapture had only happened just over an hour ago, but word was spreading faster than she’d expected. Soon, the roads would be clogged with panicked people. She’d already had a vision of the chaos that would ensue. They needed to be far away before mayhem kicked in.
Zoe locked her car, which wasn’t her usual habit in this small, sleepy town.
Her neighbors weren’t themselves right now.
Or maybe the masks they’d always worn had been stripped away.
Two men were fighting just a few houses down.
Cursing horribly, they traded punches, vowing to kill each other.
In church, they’d always been pious and well-behaved.
Her mother had left their house unlocked, so she barged inside.
It only took a few minutes to pack a suitcase.
She made a trip to the kitchen to grab food and water, then lugged everything outside.
Her heart almost stopped when she saw someone sitting in the car, but it was just Amaros.
He leaned down to show her his face, then gestured at her to hurry.
He’d taken a quick shower and his hair was still wet.
“You could help,” she complained quietly as she carried the suitcase and two bags of supplies. She was stronger than average and they weren’t heavy, but it was polite for men to assist women.
Opening his door, the warrior climbed out. He strode over to open the back door of the car for her. “My lady,” he said mockingly and gave her a sarcastic bow.
“Did you hear me?” she asked in horror, hoping his hearing wasn’t as good as hers.
“Of course,” he confirmed.
“Then you heard what I said at the crater?” she said, face already going red.
“About my trouser monster waving around and making it hard for you to concentrate?” he said, taking the bags and placing them in the car.
“Kill me now,” Zoe groaned in mortification.
“I haven’t decided your fate yet, Zoe Zayden,” he said gravely. “I need to get to know you on a deeper level before I can make my decision.”
“You’re kidding, right?” she said as he tossed her suitcase onto the back seat. “Right?” she repeated when he trotted back to the passenger side.
“Get in and drive,” Amaros ordered, yanking his door shut.
Grumbling beneath her breath, she climbed in and took off. Deep down, she knew she’d never see her house, or this town again. Her destiny had changed forever, along with everyone else’s. No one would ever be the same again.
“Where are we going?” Amaros asked.
It was too dangerous to take her eyes off the road and look at him.
Some people were milling around in confusion and others were getting into their vehicles.
“Northeast,” she replied, veering around a man who was sitting in the middle of the road.
His elderly mother’s purse was clutched to his chubby chest and he was weeping hysterically.
“How far to the northeast will we be traveling?” Amaros asked with a hint of annoyance.
“I don’t know yet,” Zoe said with a shrug. “My vision only told me to head in that direction.”
“I’ve come a very long way. Wake me up if you need me,” he told her, then tilted his seat back.
Zoe cast a dour look at him as he made himself comfortable and closed his eyes.
He was now dressed in a black t-shirt and jeans.
They were too small for him and strained at the seams. It was better than being trapped in a car with a naked man, or so she told herself.
She’d intended to grill the warrior about exactly what he was, where he’d come from and why he was here.
Now, she would have to wait until he woke up to get the answers she was seeking.
From what she’d seen in her vision, Amaros and the other knights weren’t human.
They apparently weren’t angels either. They were a different kind of breed who’d been trained to fight evil.
Their foes didn’t look much different to them.
It was the malevolence that emanated from their eyes and their snarling mouths that set them apart.
It was tempting to reach over and touch Amaros’ arm. Direct contact was the fastest way to spark a vision. His senses were far more attuned than normal, so she kept her fingers to herself.
Zoe drove through the long night, glad she’d filled the tank with gas a couple of days ago.
Following her intuition, she avoided the cities as she headed northeastward.
Dawn neared and she needed to get some rest. Her hunch led her to a small motel just off the interstate that appeared to be abandoned.
Amaros woke up the moment the car stopped. “This is where your vision led you?” he asked incredulously, peering at the structure.
“No,” she said crankily, giving him the side-eye. “We’ve still got a long way to go. I need to get some sleep.”
“I could drive,” he offered as she opened her door.
“Sure,” she agreed sarcastically. “Let’s see how far your intuition will lead you.”
Amaros scowled, confirming that he didn’t possess the same skills that she did. “How long will you need to rest?” he asked as they climbed out of the car.
“A few hours,” she said vaguely as she looked around. “There are a couple of cars here, but I can’t sense anyone,” she added.
“We need to have a discussion about exactly what sort of talents you have,” the warrior murmured as he followed in her wake.
“When I wake up,” she agreed.
The office door was unlocked when she tried it. An unpleasant aroma of old melted cheese and overcooked meat greeted them. It was coming from a microwave that had been left open behind the counter.
“The owner must have abandoned his motel,” Amaros figured.
“He might have been raptured,” Zoe suggested and received a skeptical look.
Leaning over the counter, the knight picked up an ancient magazine and showed it to her. “Guess again,” he said in a wry tone.
She glanced at the photos of naked women and grimaced. “Grab a couple of keycards, will you?” she requested, pointing at a shelf on the wall. Each keycard was neatly lined up in slots with the number of the room overhead.
“We’ll be sleeping together,” Amaros said in his usual imperious tone.
“Excuse me?” she exclaimed, planting her hands on her hips.
“I mean we’ll be in the same room, not in the same bed,” he explained stiffly. He clearly wasn’t used to dealing with humans.
“Why do we have to be in the same room?” she grumbled when he snatched one of the keycards.
“So I can protect you,” he replied, guiding her out of the room.
His fingertips brushed the small of her back and a jolt of lust spread through her again.
He hadn’t been the only one who’d been affected when he’d scanned her soul at the crater.
She’d felt a strange connection to him at the time.
Her instinct had been to succumb to the temptation she’d felt, even though she didn’t know what the outcome would be.
They had a lot of things to discuss, but they would have to wait for now.