Chapter 9
CHAPTER NINE
ARENA
I tugged the shirt over my head, trying to ignore the lingering sensation between my asscheeks. Despite seeing how big he was everywhere else and how “it” had bounced off his thighs when he ran, exactly how well-endowed he was hadn’t truly registered until he’d cock-spanked me.
Turning toward the window, I tore into the meat stick to give myself a moment to calm down.
However, the view wasn’t nearly as soothing as it should have been…
not with his reflection in the glass. He was watching me, one arm tucked behind his head in a relaxed pose, the blanket blatantly tented at his hips.
It didn’t look like I’d need to work too hard at keeping his attention.
Had he actually only been trying to warm me when he suggested tucking my feet under him?
Maybe.
Hopefully?
But what if I was giving him more credit than he deserved?
If so, then that cock-spanking was only the beginning of what he’d do to me.
I thought of home and the people I needed to protect. Was Lettie curled in a ball, whispering her fears to Baxter? Was Lynn thinking another person had joined her husband in the legion of undead? Was Gwen blaming herself for not holding onto me?
Regardless of what they were doing now, I knew what would happen next. They would rally and head out again at first light.
We islanders had emergency signals for a reason. We didn’t abandon our own. We took care of each other. We fought for each other. The only way they would give up on me was if I signaled the situation had gone tits up.
Otherwise, they’d dock tomorrow.
And Nav was right here…waiting.
I needed to find a bra and figure out how to slip away from him long enough to hang it out a window. I was sure I’d find more clothes in one of these rooms. The hotel wouldn’t have been completely empty at the end of everything. But would Nav let me leave to look?
“Do you think I could explore the rooms and see if anyone left any clothes behind?” My tone was casual, but my pulse wasn’t as I glanced at him.
His gaze swept over my exposed legs, but he didn’t say anything.
Silence was actually promising. Better than a flat refusal.
He’d left to get me a shirt when I’d asked. Sure, it’d been a trade, but a trade for what I liked, not anything serious. Why not try another trade?
Taking his silence as a sign that he might be willing to negotiate, I returned to the bed. He watched my approach passively, but I knew what he was thinking when the tent twitched. Just like I knew I’d need to offer something better than information to get him to agree.
His pupils grew larger in the dim light as I pulled the blanket back and climbed on top of him, legs closed this time.
His hand immediately settled on my back, rubbing the skin just below the shirt, warming me.
It felt good, and I liked it more than I should have.
“What if we make a deal? Something you want for something I want,” I said, propping my chin on my fist to look at him as I relaxed on his chest.
“You want to cover yourself so you feel safer, and I want to prove you are safe with me, even bare.”
My chest tightened the same way it did before I had to step onto the boat to get to the trade center.
He knew I didn’t like being naked…exposed. And if he knew that I didn’t feel safe around him, then he also knew I didn’t trust him.
Yet, I couldn’t think of a single thing he’d done that had contradicted what he’d said at any point.
He said he wanted willing sex and hadn’t tried forcing me.
Yes, he hadn’t given me an option about getting into bed with him, but that had been to keep me warm.
Again, no forcing anything else. Even now, his hand was skimming over my lower back and over my butt and down part of my thigh, but his fingers weren’t probing anywhere.
No pauses to explore. Just slow paths of warmth.
Normally, I wasn’t stupid or gullible. Yet I found myself wanting to believe he was being real.
“Okay,” I said. “You want to prove I’m safe around you naked, and I want clothes. Our goals seem a little counterproductive.”
“You can have clothes, but any clothes you find you take off again when we are somewhere safe. You let me warm you instead. Like this.”
In a fluid motion, he parted my legs as he lifted his hips.
Slap.
Panic ignited as he tucked my feet under his thighs, his cock firmly wedged between my cheeks. When he settled his weight again, his branding length vanished, but the sensation didn’t.
He watched me, seeing the fear I’d been too shocked to hide, and didn’t allow my retreat. Keeping one hand on my hip to pin me in place, he returned the other to my back and resumed his leisurely, trailing path of warmth.
The golden yellow of his eyes was almost a non-existent ring as he calmly waited for my reaction. It took several moments for my fear to ebb enough to allow rational thoughts again. Not that they felt rational when I could still feel “it” there, and it was making my core clench around nothing.
What the hell was my problem?
I was feeling things I knew I shouldn’t be feeling. And if this was my reaction to a third cock-spank, I was in trouble.
But I couldn’t say no. I needed those clothes. I needed to signal the others.
“Okay. Any clothes I find, I won’t wear while we’re together in the room.”
I didn’t say anything about letting him warm me like this, though. Would he take that omission as agreement? I had no idea. Would I try to deny him when he attempted this again later? Probably not. At least not until I had a signal hung somewhere and knew the others weren’t coming back for me.
He tugged at my shirt.
“Will you take this off then?” he asked.
“I’d rather look for clothes now before we lose all the light.”
His hand circled the curve of my hip. “This still feels cold.”
My outside might have felt that way, but my insides didn’t. His touch was doing things to me that I couldn’t afford to feel.
“It’ll get cold again looking for clothes. Please?”
His gaze swept over my face, and he pulled back the blanket.
Taking that as a yes, I hurried to get off of him, successfully avoiding clipping him this time. Not thinking straight, I watched him get out of bed. I should have averted my gaze. Instead, I was mesmerized by the way his muscles moved and how his…
I blinked.
It was bobbing in time with my heartbeat, and as I stared, a bead of precum appeared.
Tearing my gaze from it, I found him watching me, a small curve to his lips.
“Come.” He held out his hand. “I will keep you safe while you search.”
I wasn’t stupid and saw the offer for what it was.
A leash.
But one that gets you out of this room, I reminded myself.
His smile grew as I reached for his hand. It made me more nervous. So did the way he pulled back a little before I could take it.
My gaze flew to his. The hunger I saw there robbed me of thought for a few seconds.
“I don’t like men who play games,” I said.
“All games?” he asked. “What about the ones with the colored cards?”
Was he being serious?
I closed the distance between us and took his hand. He looked down at our hands. So did I. Mine looked so tiny compared to his. He rubbed his thumb over my skin and exhaled heavily.
It sounded…content?
I was still trying to decipher his sigh while he led me out of the room.
The hallway was colder and much darker now, which was a good thing. I could smell death.
He stopped at the first room and tapped on the door. After a few seconds, he opened it with a wood-snapping push. He went in first, keeping me close as he opened the curtains all the way.
The room looked completely untouched, likely unused when everything fell apart.
I caught sight of myself in the room’s mirror. The red crop top ended at my navel, leaving me completely bare from the waist down.
A soft snort escaped me.
“I look like Winnie the Pooh.”
“You look beautiful,” Nav said, watching me.
Everything about the moment felt…strange. The compliment. The way he was petting the back of my hand with his thumb. The way he was watching me. It almost felt…tender. Which was crazy.
I nodded toward the hallway.
“Can we keep going?”
We went to the next room. A rancid smell permeated the air just outside the door. Someone was inside. Dead or undead, though? I didn’t really want to find out, but knew where there were people, there were supplies.
Releasing Nav’s hand, I moved to stand behind him, one hand on his back, just above his very sculpted ass.
He tapped on the door.
Nothing moved inside in response, though.
A relieved breath escaped me.
“Wait here. I will open a window,” he said before breaking the door.
I quickly covered my mouth with my t-shirt. While he went inside, I glanced up and down the hallway, feeling very vulnerable without him. Or maybe it was just because I was still walking around bottomless.
A clatter from inside startled me. It sounded like ripped fabric and metal.
Heart racing, I glanced at the open door of the room.
“Come in,” he said. “I’ve covered them.”
Oh.
Appreciating the warning and the consideration, I hesitantly went inside.
The couple was on the bed, and Nav had used the curtains to conceal them. The broken mirror in the bathroom and the glass shard on the floor beside the bed told their story. Even after surviving that first awful week, so many people had given up.
Their suitcase was laid open with a note on top of their neatly folded clothes.
We’re sorry. We’ll see you soon.
Love,
Mom and Dad
A tear fell onto the paper. Nav turned me and tipped my face up to study me. The concern I saw in his eyes surprised me, and so did the gentle way he wiped my tears.
He was a walking contradiction. Brutal strength. Beheading infected without flinching. Saving me from drowning. Keeping me safe and warm without asking anything in return.
But wasn’t he? It wasn’t like he gave me a choice about staying with him.
Don’t lose sight of reality, I told myself. You’re his captive. He’s treating you well so you’ll be willing.
“Did you know them?” he asked.
I shook my head, thinking of how desperate and hopeless they must have felt to choose as they had when they obviously had kids. Was this what Lynn was feeling for her kids? The need to get back to my found family was so strong that a fresh wave of tears ran down my cheeks.
Nav's concern turned into something else that confused me.
Fear.
He plucked the note from my fingers and hugged me hard.
“Please do not be sad.”
His desperation to comfort me dried my tears, and I found myself wrapping my arms around his waist to pat his back.