Barrett caught me looking at him and my gaze widened, but he didn’t do his normal chauvinistic routine. Instead, he stared back at me stoically, his eyes dark and probing. Heat rose in my cheeks, and I turned away as Elias began to treat his wound, cleaning it and wrapping it up with supplies they’d apparently found elsewhere.
The door to a dark brown RV with cream and orange stripes was open nearby. It was far from the most attractive in the lot, but it was large, and when I entered it I noted that it had two separate bedrooms: one of them part of a large section of cab that expanded outwards for more square footage, and a large sectional that faced a wall-mounted television. Plenty of sleeping room, and even two toilets and a shower
I had no idea how bathrooms worked on an RV. Where did the waste go? My only real knowledge about motorhomes came from a Christmas movie where a guy basically dumped what looked like toxic ooze from an RV while wearing a bathrobe and smoking a cigar. If I remembered right…it blew up later. Was there that much methane gas inside of shit?
Thinking about methane made me remember my argument with Rose over what a chemist was. I smiled, dropping the duffel bag on the ground and moving to the sectional to curl up against it. It was soft and yielding and it wasn’t long before I felt my eyelids drop as sleep tried to claim me.
The last thing I remembered was Rose and Nolan entering the newly claimed RV.
I gave her a half-hearted wave with my eyes barely open, and I thought I heard her tell me to go to sleep, that she’d watch over me.
Of course she would, though. She didn’t have to say it.
Chapter Seven.
Rose
I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t scared of what Barrett would do next.
When I’d shot him, I really hadn’t been thinking, I’d been reacting. I hadn’t even reacted well, because I’d missed, skimmed his arm, and now he was out for blood. There was no point in trying to deny it, and no matter how many reassurances Nolan gave me that it would be okay, I knew it wouldn’t.
Men like Barrett didn’t forgive and forget.
Sooner or later he’d come for me. Sooner if Sam decided to come with Nolan and me.
I glanced worriedly in Barrett’s direction and my blood ran cold at the look he gave me. I wasn’t sure if it was just because of me shooting him or if it was more to do with turning Sam against him. Under normal circumstances I would have argued that this mess was all his fault and not mine. That he was the one who’d tried to manipulate us all. That he’d almost gotten me and Nolan killed, just so he could keep Sam for himself. He had actually started this. But a line had been crossed and Barrett was beyond arguing with. In his mind, I’d done worse.
Barrett was out for blood.
My blood.
Nolan’s callused hand stroked up my arm as he led me into the RV and I looked away from Barrett with a shiver. Sam was curled up on the small sofa in the center of the RV, her eyes closed. She opened them as we came in, and I smiled at her.
“It’s okay, get some rest. I’ll watch over you,” I murmured, and she gave me a sleepy smile and closed her eyes again. I’d barely taken a step when I heard her soft snores.
We piled the backpacks we were carrying into the corner of the RV, rummaging through quickly to pull out some of the packets of crisps and chocolate bars.
“That serve as a four-course meal in the UK, Rose?” Nolan said, a small grin on his broken face.
“I’m more of a pie and chips girl, truth be told, but times are tough, so I’ll take chocolate and crisps.” We sat at the small table to eat and I laid my spoils between us. “Time to divvy up the goods!”
“Divvy up?” Nolan said, his face cracking into a grin, and despite his bruises and cuts, he looked handsome as hell.
I looked up, a blush rising to my cheeks. “Yeah, like sharing the loot,” I laughed, feeling silly. I glanced down at the crisps before looking back up self-consciously. “Salt and vinegar crisps or cheese puffs?”
“Chips,” Nolan said, his tone dry.
I raised an eyebrow. “Excuse me?”
“These are chips.”
“No, these are crisps. Chips are the potato things you put in the oven and eat with pie.”
He barked out a laugh that made Sam flinch in her sleep, and then he shook his head. “I’ll take the candy bar.” He reached for the chocolate, and now it was my turn to shake my head and laugh.
“I mean, it’s a chocolate bar, but whatever.” I smirked and he opened his mouth to say something when the RV groaned as Elias and Barrett came aboard.
The air turned icy as Barrett glanced over at me with a death glare that would put even the clown from IT to shame. His attitude towards me was worse now that Sam was asleep—that much was obvious. And I felt like he was still watering it down around her, hoping that she’d change her mind about him. Elias looked past Barrett, noting Sam asleep on the small sofa.
“I’ll take the bedroom,” he said, turning towards it.
Barrett reached out and stopped him, and the two men had a glare-off.
That was the only way to describe it.
“I’ll put her in bed,” Barrett eventually said, realizing that Elias wasn’t going to back down. We all needed sleep; it had been a ridiculously long and arduous day, and though at least one of us needed to keep watch, it was clear that none of us was looking forward to it. Despite what I’d said to Sam, I was exhausted and wanted to sleep too.
“I’ll take first watch,” Elias yawned.
“Are you going to be okay staying awake?” Nolan asked, and Barrett paused in his steps to listen to the discussion.
Elias nodded. “Yeah, I’m used to sleeping with one eye open, so to speak. I’ve got this.”
Barrett headed to Sam and scooped her up in his arms like she weighed less than nothing, and I opened my mouth to protest. She wouldn’t want him anywhere near her—not after everything that had happened. Nolan put his hand on my arm and jerked his head to the bedroom.
“Help me clean up these wounds?” he asked.
I glanced between Barrett carrying an unconscious Sam to the other bedroom and Nolan’s broken and bloody face.
“He won’t hurt her. I know that for certain. He cares about her, even if he hates that he cares about her. She’ll be safe with him,” Nolan replied as Barrett closed the bedroom door and took Sam away from my view. “I need you right now, Rose.”
I looked into his face, into his eyes, seeing how much that statement was true. He did need me. He needed me to clean him up, to care for him, to let him rest while I watched over him. Because as strong as he was, right now he was broken. Beyond the physical pain he was in, there was also something more there, and I was confused for a moment. It wasn’t until he reached out and placed a hand on the side of my face that I recognized it.
Longing.
Nolan wanted to spend time with me, and only me, and I doubted that he was thinking about talking about how many zombie kills we’d had. For a brief time, we were in the eye of the storm. Things were calm. The RV was clean and relatively safe. Safe, if Barrett kept his focus on Sam, that is. I knew the peace was precious and precarious. And, if I was honest with myself, I needed Nolan too.
I nodded, slowly, nervously, suddenly self-conscious about not having washed for…god, how long had it been? I’d had a wipe-down at the Sins’ place, but it wasn’t the same.
Nolan guided me into the second bedroom, clicking the door closed behind us. I stared around the small room, apprehensive, my heart thumping wildly inside my chest. His hands came up to my shoulders and my muscles tightened uncomfortably like they were trying to freeze themselves in place.
“Rose?” His voice came from behind me, thick with lust, and I turned in his arms and looked up into his eyes.
His face was bruised in a myriad of colors, dried blood was crusted down the side of his face and in his hair. His damaged eye had fully opened now, but it was bloodshot and looked painful. It reminded me of Sam when she was zomming out.
“Let me clean you up,” I said quietly, pretending the air wasn’t thick with sexual tension.
Nolan nodded and moved to sit on the edge of the small double bed. I took one of the offered water bottles from him and started to unscrew the top, stopping as he reached for the hem of his shirt and lifted it over his head to reveal a wall of hard but bruised muscle underneath.
I stared for an obscene amount of time.
Just stared, and stared, like I hadn’t seen a man’s naked muscular chest before. I was practically salivating.
It was getting to the point of awkwardness until I finally managed to tear my gaze away and look up into his face, finding him staring right back at me with a wonky grin twisting his beautiful mouth. He held his T-shirt out to me and I realized he had taken it off so I could use it to wipe the blood away. My cheeks flamed like they were on fire.
“I err…” I stammered, “thanks.” I took the shirt, and used the water to dampen it before wiping away at the dried blood on him. Five minutes later and he was looking a lot better. The bruises were still really bad, and there was definitely something wrong with his ribs, but he was alive and he was here, and I was so very, very glad about that.
I stepped closer and swiped gently at the blood down the side of his face, his masculine scent washing over me. It should have been gross—I sure smelled gross—but with Nolan it wasn’t.
The cut that had been bleeding profusely was actually only small, and once the blood had been cleaned off, I did another check to make sure I hadn’t missed anything.
“Better?” he asked, his voice thick and gravelly.
I nodded. “Much. You know, for such a small cut it sure did bleed a lot. I thought it was—”
But I didn’t get to finish my sentence as Nolan reached up and pulled my mouth towards him, pressing his lips roughly against mine and kissing me like his life depended on it. I kissed him back automatically.
Kissing Nolan was like nothing I had ever experienced before. It was like taking a deep breath after almost drowning. Or a cold glass of water when you were too hot. It satisfied and fulfilled my mind, body, and soul in ways I couldn’t have predicted.
Nolan pulled me to him, laying me down next to him on the bed, our mouths finally separating so he could look down at me, his large hands on my waist. My heart was drumming away in my chest and I stared up at him, hungry for more of his kisses. Kisses that stole me away from the dark, vicious world we were in and delivered me somewhere more beautiful.
“Been wanting to do that for so long.” His hand stroked along my hip and I felt myself shudder under his heated touch.
“I’m glad you did,” I said, my voice low as my hands explored the contoured muscles of his back.
His wonky smile was back. “Me too,” he replied before stealing another kiss.
We kissed for what seemed like an age, my body alive with need and longing and moving with his every touch. It had been so long since I’d been kissed like that—maybe forever, because Nolan didn’t kiss like he just wanted to. He kissed like he needed to. Like the world and our lives depended on each kiss he placed upon my lips, my jawline, my neck. His mouth slowly working its way up and down my body.
My hands found their way to his hair and I sighed to the ceiling, letting my mind forget where we were for the moment. Right then, there was just Nolan and me and no one else. No running, no hiding, no fighting. There was just his mouth and his hands on me, and my body feeling like every touch was filled with magic.
“Nolan…” I sighed into the air as he kissed along my jaw again.
I needed more.
I wanted more.
I needed Nolan to make me forget where I was and what I had been through and remember who I was and where I’d come from.
Nolan placed his mouth back on mine, kissing me deeper before reaching out to unbutton my jeans. He hesitated momentarily, his hands wavering at my hips, ready to push them down my thighs. Our lips separated and he stared down at me, eyes full of so much…hope, lust, desire…something more, maybe. I nodded, my own hands reaching to unbutton his jeans, and it spurred him on.
He pushed my shorts and knickers down my legs, and I flushed with embarrassment at my nakedness, even as I pushed at his jeans, eager to get them off of him. Nolan stood up, sliding his jeans down his hips, and my breath caught in my throat as I looked up at him, naked and handsome, strong and genuine.
“When I first saw you enter the arena,” he said, his voice like steel as he lay back down with me, “short skirt, baseball top all cut up like that…all my survival instincts flew out of the window.” His hand trailed along my hip bone and left heated trails in its wake. “All I could think about was getting to you and keeping you safe. Seeing you like that, I knew every man in there would be thinking the same thing as me.”
My chest was heaving, and my skin prickled with goose bumps. “And what were you thinking, Nolan?” I asked, holding his steady gaze.
His tongue darted out to wet his bottom lip, and it took all of my willpower not to reach up and kiss him.
“That I wanted you, just like this. I’d felt something for you right from the start, but I’d ignored it and pushed it away, but then it all went out the window when you walked in holding that sign up.” He looked down at me, suddenly realizing that I was still wearing my top, and he frowned and looked back up at me with an almost impish grin, his hands reaching for the hem of it. “Actually, I wanted you way more naked than this,” he chuckled, freeing me of the rest of my clothing, his pupils dilating at the sight of my now fully naked body. “Just like this,” he said huskily, his fingers trailing along my collarbone. “I’m not sure how long we’ll be able to survive out here; there’s so much against us, Rose, but for as long as we’re alive, I swear I’ll do whatever it takes to keep you alive.”
I wasn’t sure what to say. This was all so new and so strange to me. I’d never expected to meet someone when I’d set off from home. Maybe a brief holiday romance, sure, but not an until we die thing—and yet here we were. Right in the middle of a zombie apocalypse, trapped in an abandoned RV yard, and being hunted by crazed maniacs. But as I stared into Nolan’s eyes, I knew that this was exactly where I wanted to be.
I didn’t know if Nolan and I were a forever thing or a for now thing, but what I did know was that I felt safe with him. I felt wanted by him. And I cared deeply for him. Just like he said he’d protect me, I knew I’d do the same for him.
A sigh left my lips as his fingers trailed lower down my body, and I reached up for him. I held his strong shoulders in my grip and tugged him on top of me, opening my legs for him and welcoming his heat, his closeness. And then we were kissing again, and I was lost to him, to the moment, and lost in the apocalypse.
And for once, it wasn’t such a bad thing.
Chapter Eight.
Sam
I came back to the world slowly, everything fuzzy and too quiet, like my ears were filled with cotton balls. My body was a limp noodle, boneless, as if all the strength and structure had abandoned me while I was lost to dreamland.
Groaning, I shifted and then paused. The surface beneath me felt too plush. The sectional, though it had been a smooth sort of velour material, had been very firm when I’d fallen asleep.
Blinking, my lashes rapidly parting and threading together again as I tested out the light around me, I tried to sit up. My head rushed, unpleasantly so, but I persisted until I was upright.
The room was still blurry as I finally stopped fluttering my eyelids, but soon everything came into focus. The space was barely large enough to accommodate the full-sized bed and there was one window, the glass obscured by thin beige blinds which, despite being closed, allowed plenty of sun rays to filter into the space.
I was on top of the slick comforter, not underneath, and I was still fully dressed. I felt bad, for a moment, about dirtying up the bedding. My newly procured combat boots were already filthy. The knot in the oversized shirt had come undone and I frown
ed at the wrinkled material, making short work of tying it up again around my waist once more.
“Rose?” I murmured her name, asking if she was nearby. I was on a bed, in one of the separate rooms. She was probably with me. I doubted she’d leave me alone, not after our reunion.
But the mattress beside me was unoccupied, and there was nowhere to hide in the cramped bedroom.
I swung my legs off the side of the bed, preparing to stand. But when I did lift myself up off the covers and walk, my feet made almost instant contact with something that definitely wasn’t floor. My half-asleep brain couldn’t make sense of it and couldn’t react fast enough to avoid tripping, and I was sent reeling forward to slam down into the tiny hallway between the bed and the door back into the RV’s main area.
“What in the Sam hell,” a deep, sleepy voice grumbled.
I scrambled away, the narrow hall giving me very little maneuvering room. I recognized who it was on the floor immediately. Barrett. He was having to rest on his side, face toward the bed and back turned to lean against the partial walls flanking the short hallway that I was currently smashed into. He barely fit there; his giant muscular body was crammed like sardines in a can.
“Why are you in here?” I stood, fussing with my hair and clothing, self-conscious now. It was an automatic reaction, and my hate for him made no difference. We were all like this—primping ourselves to look better, despite the end of the world.
“What’s it look like I’m doing, Sam?” He worked his way out of the small space, his expression full of broody shadows. “Trying to sleep.”
“But why…there?” I pointed down at the floor. “And why am I in here and not on the sofa?”
“Elias wanted to sleep.”
“He could have taken the bedroom,” I countered, crossing my arms and leaning against the thin door behind me. It creaked against my weight.
Red Eye | Season 3 | Episode 4 Page 6