Chapter 24
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
NAV
I couldn’t stop thinking about the intense, hungry way Arena had kissed me. Although I craved more of those, I knew she wasn’t ready. I’d seen the hesitation in her gaze before she’d given in to her need for me, and I didn’t want her to regret a second moment of weakness.
After I stacked the bodies I had carried in the field near the school, I went back for more. It would take several trips to get them all, and I worried about being away from Arena, despite the fixed door and how quickly I ran. She didn’t like when I left her.
When I returned, I saw her standing by a window, watching for me. I waved. Her shy smile made it impossible not to think of her kiss again as I ran.
Each time I returned, I looked for her and didn’t leave until she saw me. And each time I left, I thought of her kiss.
When she didn’t appear in the window as usual, I grew worried and started for the door.
My reflection in the glass stopped me from going inside, though. Infected blood covered me.
She was right. I needed some way to wash outside.
I checked nearby houses until I found a rain barrel. Sitting in the sun, the water wasn’t completely frozen. I scooped out enough to wash my torso.
As I rinsed away the blood, another infected called out nearby.
I glanced over my shoulder at it, feeling frustrated.
I had placed several posts and attached a section of fence before Arena noticed the infected pile.
But the progress I’d made wasn’t yet enough to keep the infected away or for Arena to feel safe.
I was working quickly, but the number of infected that heard the noise was slowing down my progress. I itched to get back to work. Instead, I jogged over to the infected, dragged it to another house, and shoved it inside to deal with later.
“What are you doing?”
My heart clenched at the sound of Arena’s voice, and I slowly turned to face her as the infected called out. Arena stood in the doorway of our house, watching me with a raised brow, a sign that she didn’t like what I’d done.
“Putting it somewhere it can’t get you so I can work on the fence?”
A hint of a smile flashed on her lips, confusing me, before she shook her head.
“Isn’t that more dangerous? What if it bites you when you go inside for it later?”
I jogged over, thinking of the kiss again and craving more. But when I stopped in front of her, I didn’t reach for her.
“It won’t.”
She gave me a long, considering look that softened then drifted over my chest. My cock started to throb, and my chest tightened with hope.
Touch me. Please touch me, I thought.
“You missed a little when you were washing,” she said, her gaze returning to mine. “I’ll heat some water and leave it on the back porch for you. Will you come in and eat lunch with me when it’s done?”
She wanted to eat with me?
I nodded, thinking of what I was really hungry for.
Her gaze dipped to my mouth, showing me she was thinking about the kiss, too, before she turned and went back inside.
Heart soaring, I focused on setting more fence posts as quickly as possible.
It was the noisiest part of the work and drew the most infected.
But I knew dealing with them now would mean that I would be able to work on stretching the fencing with fewer interruptions later.
By lunch, I had set over half the posts.
I had enough fencing and posts to enclose two blocks.
Our street would be in the center, and the perimeter of the fence extended to the edge of the front yards of the outer homes.
About twenty houses in one small area. Plenty of room for any of Arena’s family who joined us in the future.
She didn’t seem excited by the news, though.
I began to worry that I hadn’t planned for enough houses, but I didn’t want to ask how many females had survived with her.
Each time I mentioned them, she grew upset.
In her heart, she still worried that I would be interested in other females and she would need to share me.
How could I prove I only wanted her?
“I will need to take the infected away again soon. Would you like some of the books I saw in the library?”
The humans back in the communities often traded books, using them as evening entertainment. And I knew exactly the types of books the females preferred.
“Books?” Arena asked. “Actually, that would be nice, especially any atlases you find.” With a light of excitement in her eyes, she explained what they were.
I left with a new purpose. If Arena liked maps, I would bring back as many as I could find.
After depositing the bodies in the field, I ran to the school.
The doors creaked as I entered. Jogging down the hallways, I found the large room filled with books.
The atlases were easy to locate, and so was a container to carry them all.
I was almost back at the doors when I heard the rumble of an engine.
Curious, I went to a classroom with a window and watched several vehicles stop in front of the school. The humans who got out cautiously approached the infected I had left outside when I first explored the building.
“Do we need more evidence than this?” I heard one ask.
“We need to know how many are here. But not today. We’ll come back with more backup.”
They moved back to their vehicles and drove off again.
As I left with the container of books, their conversation replayed in my head. Were they here for supplies but worried about the number of infected? I thought of how little they would find inside and the still mostly untouched grocery store in the center of town.
Arena was right. The arrows leading to our home were dangerous.
She was watching for me when I returned to the yard. Her gaze shifted from me to the container I carried. Excitement lit her gaze, and she smiled before hurrying to open the door.
“You actually found some?”
“There are more,” I said as I brought the container inside. “I want to go back for them, but not until after dark. While I was there, humans found the school. I did not talk to them, but I listened. They plan on returning with more people to take whatever supplies are left.”
She watched me set down the container and met my gaze as I gently held her arms.
“You are right. The arrows are dangerous. Will you be angry if I remove them?”
She shook her head decisively. “No. Not at all.”
I nodded and touched my forehead to hers. “I’ll remove the ones closest to the house now and wait until after dark to remove the rest so I don’t accidentally encounter any humans.”
“Good. I like it when you stay close,” she said, already bending to look at the books.
Thinking of what she’d said about the possibility of sleeping naked tonight, I reached out to touch her hair then thought better of it. One touch wouldn’t be enough. I wanted as much of the fence finished as possible before dark so I could enjoy uninterrupted touches.
By dusk, I had all the posts set and the fence attached. Infected shuffled along the road on the other side, but the neighborhood was clear. I’d checked twice.
Leaving the remaining ones where they were, I jogged between the houses to reach ours. Arena had left warm water outside for me to wash.
After cleaning away the blood, I let myself in through the back door. The scent of cooked meat greeted me.
“Done for the night?” she asked, looking up from the book she was studying.
“Done with the fence. I will move some of the cars tonight after you are asleep to make it harder for humans to drive to the store for supplies.”
“That’s a good idea. Wait. You mean you have the fence done-done?”
“Yes.”
“Can I see it?”
“Of course.”
She stood and indicated I should pick her up. Greedy for the contact, I moved quickly and startled a gasp out of her. The sound went straight to my cock. I rested my forehead against her temple, just holding her for a moment.
“You smell good,” I admitted.
She snorted. “I smell like someone who hasn’t had a decent bath in a long time, but thank you.”
That was right. She hadn’t bathed. She was waiting for me to finish the fence.
Anticipation coursing through me, I carried her outside.
The light hadn’t yet faded so much that she couldn’t see the fence stretching across the end of the road.
“Is that a gate?” she asked.
I grunted in acknowledgment and moved closer so she could see it better. It was a rolling gate that I’d taken from one of the driveways near the school. I’d added fencing to it to prevent infected from getting through.
“Although there are still many supplies here, I wanted a way to be able to bring in supplies from the communities when we start to run out.”
“What kind of supplies?”
“Fresh fruit and vegetables. They have greenhouses they have been using for several weeks now. I saw the white strawberries before I left. And they are harvesting many kinds of vegetables already. Peas, beans, and lettuce. I don’t like them, but all of the humans do. Do you like vegetables?”
“Very much. I haven’t had any fresh ones in a long time.”
I grunted in acknowledgment, already thinking of asking for one of my brothers to get some for her.
An infected shuffled into view outside of the fence, and Arena leaned into me.
“Where do they keep coming from?” she asked softly. “You killed so many of them already.”
“I think some of them were frozen in place and are being freed as the weather warms.”
The infected paused at the sound of my voice and turned to look at us.
“I hate when they watch me,” she said softly enough for it not to hear her.
“It’s not watching you. It’s listening,” I said. “But if you see any watching you with clear eyes, not cloudy ones, tell me right away. I think all of the smarter ones died, but I found one in the hotel when I first came here that I wasn’t sure about.”
“Smart infected?” She shivered in my arms. “You mean the ones who knew how to hide and climb and set traps?”
“Yes,” I said, turning toward the house and ignoring the infected. “You’re too cold. Let me take you back.”