Chapter 39
CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE
ARENA
When I opened my eyes, it was pitch black in the hut and would have been freezing if not for Nav’s body heat.
Listening to his breathing, I debated trying to sneak out. In theory, it shouldn’t be hard. As his little spoon, I was facing the door, so I wouldn’t have to climb over him. I just needed to slip out from under his arm.
But I hesitated. His breathing had evened out almost immediately after lying down. He obviously needed the rest. Would he wake up if I moved, though?
I felt, more than heard, my stomach growl and knew, if leaving didn’t wake him, it would as it grew louder. So I carefully lifted his arm.
His breathing changed.
“Sleep,” I whispered, sitting up. “I have to pee. I’ll be right back.”
He grunted, and his breathing evened out again.
Quietly slipping from the hut, I hurried to the outhouse—I really did need to use it—then to the central lodge for something to eat. Over half the island’s population was inside, around the fire. They all turned to look at me when I entered.
“How is he?” Gwen asked.
“Sleeping.”
“Is he as hung as Gwen says?” Rita, Tori’s mom, asked.
Tori tried to hush her, while Gwen grinned.
Rita never shied away from embarrassing topics to the amusement of everyone except her grown daughter.
At almost 30, Tori should have been used to her mom by now.
Rita was embracing every single one of her fifty-two years to get away with everything she could.
“Are you really having sex with him?” Kelby asked.
“I’m here for something to eat, not to answer personal questions,” I said, going straight for the cooking pot. It wasn’t the same fish stew as usual. But some kind of creamy rice soup.
“We’re putting the evaporated milk to good use,” Tori said. “Putting it in soup stretches it and makes sure we’re all getting a little. The kids are sharing a can every other day.”
I hadn’t even known what supplies Nav and Belak had left for them.
“How did you find so much for us?” Evi said, blinking at me. I knew she couldn’t see a thing without her contacts in. She had another pair, but the eye infection she’d gotten a few weeks ago had scared her enough not to wear them again. It wasn’t sanitary enough on the island.
“I didn’t,” I said, serving myself a bowl. “Nav and his friend Belak did. They left every night to get what we needed from the bigger stores on the east side of Ashland. The infected kind of avoid them unless there’s a human around.”
I sat with my soup and took a bite.
“Seriously?” Gwen said. “Is that why there weren’t any infected in town? They’re avoiding him?”
“I don’t know about that…but he was beheading a lot of them as he put up the fence,” I said between bites.
“What fence?” Tori asked.
I told them about the neighborhood, the fence, and how it kept infected out but not the raiders who’d come looking for me. Gwen cringed a little at that.
“Does your house really have running water?” Evi said.
“Yep.”
“How many women does he want?” Lettie asked.
“And how often do you have to have sex with him for all these supplies?” Rita asked, making Tori’s face flame. “We need dimensions too. I’m not trying to get personal. I’m trying to figure out if my hip could survive volunteering.”
“I think you’d need to worry about more than your hip with the girth he’s carrying,” Gwen said dryly.
I held up my hands to stop any more questions.
“First, he’s not interested in more women. Second, I’m not trading sex for anything. I’d misunderstood him when I said that to Lettie and Gwen.”
“So you’re not having sex with him?” Rita asked, sounding mildly disappointed.
I sighed, knowing they wouldn’t let up until they had an answer.
“Yes. We’re having sex. No, it’s not because I want something from him.
No, he is not the carrier for infection.
Actually, he’s immune to it. So they don’t have to worry about being bitten.
Yes, he does behead infected, but only infected.
Yes, he is a bit larger than average. No, I’m not giving you dimensions.
Yes, there are more houses open in that fenced-in area.
No, they don’t all have heat and electricity. ”
“But they can,” Nav said, stepping into the hut and causing Lettie to scream.
Gwen wrapped an arm around her shoulders, her gaze locking on Nav’s shorts. Specifically the size of the much-discussed appendage currently trapped against his thigh.
How could he possibly have enough blood in him for it to be semi-hard already?
“Are you hungry?” I asked, standing with my bowl.
His gaze swept over all the faces.
“Are there no males here?” he asked.
“There are,” Gwen said. “They’re patrolling the shoreline right now to make sure we weren’t followed.”
Nav grunted and came to stand by me. Everyone watched as he kissed my forehead and looked at my soup. I saw the aversion in his gaze.
“You don’t have to have this,” I said. “There’s fresh fish if you’d like that.”
“There’s always fresh fish,” Rita said.
Tori glanced at her mom, likely trying to decide whether she was hinting at what we all thought she was hinting at, or bragging because she did, in fact, catch something almost every day.
“Fresh fish is good,” Nav said.
Tori went to get it from the cold space outside.
I tugged Nav’s pinky to get his attention. His expression softened when he looked at me. I patted the bench beside me. It dipped a little under his weight.
“Damn,” someone whispered too softly to know who said it.
But Nav heard. His gaze flicked to his captive audience, and his ears started to darken.
Understanding that he was embarrassed by the attention, my heart melted a little, and I leaned into him, resting my head on his shoulder.
“Aren’t you cold?” Gwen asked him.
“No.”
“Are you grey all over?” Rita asked.
“Mom!” Tori scolded, coming back in with a chunk of fish.
Rita shrugged and stood. “I’ll cook it.”
“No,” Nav said.
“No to the grey or the fish?” Rita asked.
“I’m grey all over, and I like to eat fish uncooked.”
Rita grinned at Tori. Ignoring her mom, Tori handed the fish to Nav.
“There’s a chance you can get parasites if it’s not cooked.”
“I will be fine,” he said.
She didn’t look convinced as she sat down.
“So, about the houses,” Evi said. “Will they eventually have power and heat?”
“Yes,” Nav said. “And running water. But the cities will not have water for long. The towers will run out. It would be better to find another location before then, where the houses have their own wells.”
“Do you have a location in mind?” Gwen asked. Although she kept the suspicion from her voice, I knew she was thinking it was a setup.
“No,” Nav said. “I’m not familiar with the area, but Arena has a book of maps that might help.”
I grinned at Gwen and gave in to the urge to wrap my arm around his waist.
“Yes, ladies, he’s as irresistibly huggable as he seems.”
He glanced at me as he swallowed his bite of fish, and I noticed the darker circles under his eyes.
“And I think we’re going to take the rest of this meal to go,” I said. “We’ll see everyone in the morning.”
They were quiet as we left the hut. Nav finished the fish before we reached the outhouse, and I showed him where the sink was to wash. My toes and nose were cold by the time we were back in my hut, and I was quick to kick off my boots and climb into bed with him.
His hands rubbed my arms and back as I tucked my cold face against his warm chest.
“They’re afraid of me,” he said after a moment.
“They don’t know you,” I said. “It’s pretty common for people to fear what they don’t know. Give them a few days, and they’ll warm up to you.”
“Do you think they will let me stay here?”
“Do you want to?”
“I want to stay with you.”
“Me too. But if I had to choose between staying here without you or staying with you in Ashland, I’d pick Ashland every time.”
“Because you choose me or because you choose the house with the fireplace and the working shower and the supplies?”
I tipped my head back to meet his gaze.
“Because I choose you. Without hesitation. Without fear. To be clear, I’m willing, Nav. Very, very willing.”
His pupils started to dilate.
“Nope. None of that. I’m not putting myself in a position where I have to explain to Tori how you ripped your stitches. Go to sleep. When your stitches are out, we can have some fun time again.”
He let out an aggrieved sigh and kissed my forehead.