Chapter 4
CHAPTER FOUR
NAV
Heart pounding, I swam to the surface with the female.
I had done it.
I had found a female.
A living female, who did not scream or run away.
She had been running, but from the infected, not from me. Once I’d jumped into the water, she hadn’t tried to swim away. Even now, as I broke the surface, she remained calm in my arms.
Carefully, I set her on the dock and sat back on my heels beside her to wait for her to open her eyes.
She didn’t move. She was probably tired from running and swimming.
Where had she come from? How had she survived? Were there more females like her and her companion? I did not want a second female—I liked this one—but many of my brothers did not yet have females of their own.
I studied her as I waited for her to recover. This one did not have anger lines between her pretty eyebrows, as so many females who were afraid of us did. It gave me hope. As did her hands. She didn’t wear a ring to signify she already had a partner.
My gaze returned to her face. She had brown hair and delicate features. I wondered what color her eyes would be. Blue like the sky? Brown like the earth? Both were good colors.
I frowned when I considered the color of her mouth.
Her lips were not pink like most humans’ were. Hers were bluish.
That was not good.
Concerned, I wiped the water from her face, feeling how cold she was. Too cold for a human. Even more so for a human female. They were fragile and did not recover quickly from injuries. They also did not self-heat well.
But more troubling than her temperature were her unmoving breasts. I stared at her chest, focusing on the faint beat of her heart, but not seeing or hearing her breath.
I tore her jacket off and rested my head on her chest. Her heart still beat strongly, but her breath was missing.
In the distance, an engine roared. I glanced up and saw the other female had reached the waiting vessel, where another helped her aboard.
Although the distance was far by human standards and the sun was reflecting off the water, I saw two more people.
Both had longer hair peeking out from under knit caps.
Females, most likely. They favored longer hair while most human males preferred shorter hair.
Four females?
Together?
Where were their males?
My gaze returned to the female beside me, who was still not breathing.
I rubbed her cheek, trying to warm her. Her chest remained still.
“Breathe, female,” I said softly, willing her breasts to move. “Please breathe.”
But she did not.
Instead, her pulse started to slow.
I understood what that meant.
Death.
An ache started in my chest.
No… I had just found her.
An infected groaned nearby, and a snarling roar of frustration ripped from me.
The female jerked and then started coughing, water bubbling up from her mouth. I quickly rolled her to her side. She coughed and spat more water before falling silent again.
However, this time, her breasts were moving—pretty, small mounds under her wet clothing.
Another infected groaned, and I glanced up at the pair slowly pulling themselves toward us.
They had been with the group running after the two females.
When I had grabbed their heads and pulled upward as I passed them, their bodies had disconnected from their legs instead of their heads from their necks.
Frozen infected didn’t come apart the same as the ones that hadn’t been frozen.
Taking my female into my arms so they would not be able to reach her, I kicked them off the dock into the water and watched them sink.
I debated going in after them to remove their heads, but then my female started to shiver.
“I know, my female. The water was cold for you. I found a clean room. We can go there to remove your clothes and warm you.”
She remained silent. Knowing her silence was not agreement, I jogged away from the water. Once we were inside, I would try waking her so she understood the dangers of being too cold and why she should remove her clothes so I could warm her.
But what if she did not want my heat?
Could I watch her fade to nothing without trying to save her?
Returning to the clean bedroom, I set the female on the floor.
“Female? Can you hear me? I need to remove your wet outer layers.”
She didn’t respond. Frowning, I hesitated for only a moment before I began to remove her clothes. I wasn’t careful. Fabric ripped. I hoped the sound would wake her. It didn’t.
Layer by layer, I peeled away her clothes, revealing skin so much paler than my own.
Her nipples were already pebbled when I tossed her bra away.
Pretty.
Perfect.
Pink, unlike her lips.
“Female, open your eyes. You are too cold.”
Her breathing remained steady, as did her heartbeat. But she did not open her eyes.
Frowning, I glanced at her underwear, the last bit of cloth covering her.
My cock jerked in my pants at the thought of removing them and seeing what lay beneath. Would she be lightly dusted with hair, or would it be thick and lush? Would she part her legs to let me see her glistening center? Would she let me taste her?
I swallowed hard and looked up at her pale face.
“Female, if you do not remove the last layer yourself, I will do it for you.”
She did not answer. I knew she would not be happy if I removed the last of her clothing. But being cold and wet was bad for her. She needed dry covering and heat.
My heat.
My heart thumped heavily in my chest at the thought of warming her, skin to skin.
Rather than reaching for her, I stood and went to the bathroom for a towel. When I returned, I rubbed her skin dry, watching how her breasts jostled on her chest at the brisk movements.
What would they feel like pressed against me?
I swallowed hard and tossed the towel aside, my gaze going to her still-damp underwear.
My fingers hooked on the material. I glanced at her face.
Nothing. Not even an eyelash flutter. I tore the material.
She did not twitch. Carefully easing it from her body, I glimpsed what I’d been waiting to see since I learned of females.
The space between her legs was covered with hair lighter than her head. Soft, springy curls that were not dense. I knew because I lightly ran my fingertips over it before pulling my hand back.
“It is dry enough,” I said.
I trailed my fingers up her stomach and slipped my hands underneath her shoulders, lifting her into my arms. She shivered again.
It would be better to warm her with my body, but if she woke in bed with me, she might scream and want to run.
I wished the building had a wood stove to help heat her.
There were other homes that I passed that had them, but I didn’t want to leave in case her companions returned for her.
“Come, you will warm better in the bed.” She remained limp in my arms as I pulled back the covers and placed her underneath. My fingers grazed her hardened nipples as I covered her.
Curling my fingers into a fist, I studied her.
“I will give you time to warm yourself. But if you’re not warm by the time I return, I will use my heat to warm you. I don’t believe you are the type of human who would rather die than allow me to warm you.” A sigh escaped me. “I hope you are not.”
My gaze swept over her face again.
She was so small compared to me. So…perfect. Soft.
I wanted her.
Turning away, I left the room to remove the infected from the room next to ours.
His feet stuck to the carpet and took more time than I would have liked to unstick.
Then, I gathered what I thought I would need.
All the lotion bottles from the little supply room I located.
Water to wash. And toilet paper. I even found an emergency lantern that worked and placed it in the bathroom with the rest of the supplies.
She didn’t look like she had moved since I left, and when I touched her, she felt even colder. Knowing I could no longer put off what needed to be done, I stripped out of my clothes.
I paused, considering them.
If they were close by, would she tell me to put them back on once she was awake? I quickly hid them in the second room and returned to her.
My cock, which had been hard since I started removing her clothes, twitched at the thought of joining her. She would be very angry if she woke and found I’d released on her while she was sleeping. Females did not like a male who released prematurely. Or in their hair.
The ache in my shaft grew at the thought, and I quickly went to the bathroom.
I emptied one of the tiny lotion bottles into my palm and fisted my length.
A groan escaped me as I slicked down to the base, squeezing there before sliding up to the head.
It only took a few strokes before I came harshly.
Bracing a hand on the wall, I watched my seed fall into the toilet.
The tightness in my sack did not feel any better, though, so I continued.
The second time I came, only a few minutes later, brought more relief.
After the third time, I felt confident I would not spontaneously rupture once she was lying naked on top of me.
My cock jerked.
I glared at it with annoyance and considered trying to empty myself another time but knew it would not help. No matter how many times I stroked myself, the thought of feeling her skin against mine would make me ache and need to empty myself again.
Giving up, I washed myself and returned to her side. She remained so still as I pulled back the covers. My gaze slid over her naked limbs, admiring and catching on her hands again. Was she truly unclaimed by a male?
Gently easing her aside, I took her spot. It was cold, and I hissed out a breath as I pulled her toward me and covered us both.
I should have warmed her sooner.
I should not have made her wait so long.
Selfish, stupid male.
Setting my hand on her side, I slowly rubbed her skin, trying to give her my heat.
“Please wake soon, female. And when you do, don’t scream. I am nothing to fear. You are safe with me.”
I hoped she was listening.