Chapter 14
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
NAV
My pulse pounded in my ears as her words echoed in my heart.
…I’ll be more willing.
I want a real bath…
…a food supply…
…back rubs…on top of you…
…I’ll be more willing.
The lingering sensation of her pussy rubbing wetly against my cock had me fisting it again. No. It would not be enough now. I needed Arena rubbing herself against me again. I needed to feel her wet heat welcoming my—
Letting go with a sigh, I cleaned up and turned toward the door. The sooner I left, the sooner I could find her what she wanted.
A heated home and food. Once she had both, she would feel safe enough for sex.
Arena was still in bed, sitting up, watching for me, her breasts exposed to the cool air. I didn’t want to cover her, but I knew, without me there, she would grow cold quickly.
Going to her, I pulled the blanket up to her shoulders, meeting her wide-eyed gaze.
“Stay in bed where it’s warm. I’ll find what you asked for.” I set my forehead to hers briefly and then walked to the door. I looked back one last time, hating that I was leaving her.
“Don’t worry,” she said. “I promise I won’t wander off like before. If I get cold, I’ll put on some clothes and eat some more chocolate. Okay?”
I nodded and shut the door behind me. Although I believed she would stay in the room, I hesitated to leave without clearing the floor and securing the doors. Today, I would not be across the street to hear if she called for help.
After verifying the rooms on this side of the second floor were still clear, I closed the heavy doors that separated it from the other side of the large building and went to the third floor to do the same.
I opened the curtains to the growing sunlight as I went from room to room and found the pretty bra hanging out the window of the room she had organized the day before.
Was she hiding it from me? Did she think I would misunderstand and believe she was willing if she wore it?
I set it on top of the supply pile she’d made and took everything with me to look for the perfect house. Things like solar, fences, and wood stoves could be added to make a home safer and more comfortable.
After several minutes searching, I found a promising area near a large school. The homes were in good condition, had their own wells, and had enough space to create a fence to keep infected from wandering in.
I found one with a fireplace that had also been winterized so the water pipes were undamaged.
Lighting a fire to start warming the air, I quickly checked the rooms. The house did not have any personal belongings.
No pictures of people. No little items for decoration or plants.
The humans called these kinds of homes rentals.
It explained why there were no supplies in any of the cupboards. That was easy to fix though.
Dust coated everything, but that was better than the smell of death.
I opened the windows, swept the floors, and shook the bedding outside.
Once everything was clean, I carried the smallest mattress into the living room and remade a bed on the floor in front of the fireplace so Arena would be warmer until I found solar for the house.
I want a real bath…
…I’ll be more willing.
And perhaps a wood stove for the kitchen.
Looking around one last time, I closed the windows, checked the fire, and then jogged toward the large school. Their kitchen storerooms usually had large cans of vegetables and sauces. Sometimes meat. Although most meat was not in cans and had gone bad in the freezer when the power went out.
When I reached the school, I saw the broken glass in the doors, a sign the building had already been searched. On the outskirts of town, it made an easier target for scavengers than heading into town for the store I found.
I walked the hallways, listening for movement. Everything was silent. I followed the faint boot prints on the floor. Whoever had come here before me had methodically checked the rooms and marked the doors of the rooms they had cleared of supplies.
It was easy to find the kitchen by following their path. It had been cleared as well. How many people had been here? And how long ago?
A groan had me turning to face the infected shuffling toward me. The woman’s eyes were cloudy, and her cheek was missing, but her clothes looked clean and undamaged.
She was newly turned.
It worried me a little. Hungry humans would attack humans with food. If I moved Arena to the new house, would humans see the smoke and try to take our supplies?
I knew I could keep her safe, but would she be upset if I had to hurt a healthy human to do so?
The woman groaned again, watching me, confused. She did not know what to think of me other than that I was not prey.
“I am sorry I did not find you sooner,” I said to her even though I knew she did not understand me.
Once they were bitten, they turned stupid. No longer human.
As I removed her head so that she would not hurt anyone else, I hoped she was not one of Arena’s companions.
I did not want Arena to blame me for only saving her that day.
Yet, I did not think this was one of the three who had been with Arena.
The strong swimmer had yellow hair. The two on the boat had light hair and brown hair. This female’s hair was black.
How many females were in this area?
I thought of my brothers and wondered how I could get word to them. If Arena was willing, I could carry her back with me. But it was still too cold to travel that far without a vehicle for her. And leaving her here, alone… I shook my head.
Hopefully, Belak would decide to come soon now that the female he had hoped to pursue was no longer speaking to him.
I carried her outside and left her a distance from the door.
Wanting to return to Arena, I hurried back to the new house to check the temperature. It was still too cold for her inside, despite the fire, but she would have me to keep her warm.
I turned on the water and let it run for several minutes before washing with it. This house did not have everything Arena had asked for yet, but I did not want to wait any longer. The sun was already climbing higher in the sky.
Jogging back down the same main road, I debated whether to move her.
Moving would take her farther from the water and her friends if they returned.
Staying would delay giving Arena some of what she asked for. No warm baths. No sense of security. I could still gather supplies for her and put them in another room. But I doubted that was what she wanted. Females liked cozy homes where they could walk around freely without worry of infected.
Moving would give her that—safety from infected.
But what about from other humans?
Still torn between which was the safer option, I took the stairs to the second floor two at a time. Distracted, I opened the door without knocking.
Arena screamed.
The can of soup in her hand went flying into the air. The contents spattered the bed and the floor before it landed. I barely noticed that.
My attention was on Arena.
Dressed in several warm layers, she sat on top of the covers, a circle of empty wrappers around her. She had eaten all of the chocolate and the chips.
Hand pressed to her chest, she glanced down at the wrappers. Guilt filled her gaze when it met mine.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t realize I’d eaten so much.”
“Do not apologize, my Arena,” I said, trying not to show how excited I was by what I was seeing. “Are you close to your period? Do you need pain relievers? Chips? A breast massage?”
I hoped she would say yes to the last question.