by Jenika Snow
“You’re okay?” he murmured against their mouth.
“I’m fine,” she said softly and pulled back, smiling. He tried to pull her in for a kiss again, but she placed a hand on his chest. “Collin…” She looked at his mouth. “Please, let me just get you cleaned up before an infection sets in.” She smiled, knowing he wanted to do a hell of a lot more than get his cut tended to.
“It’s just a scratch, Rebecca.” He grinned when she rolled her eyes. They had only kissed a few times, but she was anxious for more, and it was clear he was too.
“It’s not just a scratch, Collin. The blade was no doubt rusty. I hope you had your tetanus shot in the last ten years.” She went back to cleaning the gouge in his arm, washing it out with some saline she had and spreading some ointment on it. Once she had it bandaged, Rebecca said, “I hope it doesn’t get infected, but we need to keep it clean and watch it.”
“Okay, baby.” He reached out and cupped her cheek. He leaned in close enough that they shared the same air. “I really want to kiss you again, Rebecca.”
She looked at his mouth, wanting that too, even though this was the most inappropriate time. They could have died, both of their lives just snuffed out because of some loon who had been living out here in the woods, with infected roaming around him for far too long. “Then kiss me. But you should rest—”
Collin didn’t let her finish that sentence. He slammed his mouth on hers and speared his tongue between her lips. He slid his hand behind her head and curled his fingers into her hair. He tangled his fingers in the strands and tugged her head back, baring her throat.
Collin looked at her with this hard, desire-filled expression that made her feel as though she were naked before him, and he couldn’t get enough of the sight of her.
He groaned again. “I need you so badly, but I know I have to wait. Right now isn’t the time, especially not in an abandoned elementary school.”
She breathed out softly, and when she looked at him, she saw he was just as into this moment as she was. He lowered his head back down to hers so he could take control of her mouth once more. The sound of their heavy breathing and of his groaning had her so wet, so aroused.
This was so not the time, but she couldn’t help herself or how she felt around him. She placed her hands on his chest and curled her fingers into the flesh. He grunted in pleasure.
“Collin, it feels so good, but I’m filthy, and so are you.” She chuckled softly.
“Yeah, it feels really good, and as much as I don’t want to stop, I don’t want our first time being in this rundown school. Besides, that asshole could come back, and I want to make sure I’m ready if he does.”
She made a small noise in the back of her throat, and he wrapped his arms around her, trying to pull her closer to his body. “You think he’ll come back?”
“Not if he’s smart, but then again, he is clearly a crazy motherfucker, so who the hell knows.” He pulled her closer, leaned back on the wall, and had his weapons right on his lap, at the ready. “If that bastard decides to come back, I’m ready, and this time I won’t let him escape. I want you, Rebecca, and not just because I am a man and you’re a woman and I haven’t been with a female in far too fucking long.”
Licking her suddenly dry lips, she said, “I want you too, Collin. I feel safe with you, protected.” But she knew there was more that needed to be said. She could see it in the way he held himself, in the way he watched her, and the air around them that was electrically charged.
“There are things about me that you should know, even if it doesn’t mean anything anymore.”
Goose bumps popped out along her body at the deep, dark way he spoke. Settling closer to him, he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her in close. Rebecca tilted her head back and stared at the sky that was visible through the roof of the school and the treetops.
The sky was dusky-pinks and oranges throughout the blue and white. For several long moments, they didn’t speak, but it wasn’t uncomfortable. The sound of the wind whistling through the trees had a lulling quality.
“Before all this went down with the infection, I ran the biggest drug empire in New York, pimped out willing women, and sold illegal firearms.”
His words startled her, but she stayed quiet and waited for him to continue.
“I killed people, took their lives as if they meant nothing, because they didn’t, Rebecca.” He stared at her with a hard, unforgiving expression. “I liked taking their lives, especially if they crossed me or my business.” He swallowed roughly, and she saw the way his throat worked, as if he didn’t want to tell her and was forcing himself to continue. He was ruggedly handsome, with a few days’ worth of scruff lining his face.
“I-I don’t know what to say.” She shouldn’t have even spoken, because this whole revelation was a shock, but at the same time, it really wasn’t. Rebecca had known he was a bad man before all this, could sense it in the way he held himself. She just hadn’t realized or even contemplated that he could have been this big-time drug lord and pimp.
“But even though you probably want to run from me—” He shifted so he could fully face her. “—I can’t let you go. I won’t. You’re mine. I knew that from the moment I saw you, and it isn’t in my make-up to let things go when I want them as badly as I want you.”
Her heart thundered in her chest, pounded so hard she swore it would burst right through her ribs.
“I didn’t tell you these things to make you afraid of me, although that would be the smart reaction. I told you, because I want you to know who and what I was, but in this world, I will protect you with my fucking life.”
When she felt his lips at her temple, everything faded away. She shut her mouth, not wanting to make this any harder, not wanting to worry about what happened in the past. She should be afraid of him, of what Collin used to be in his former life. But what did it matter now? This world was destroyed, and everything that happened since then was what was important.
“Could you accept me for who I am?” he asked, but there was this strange tone in his voice. “Because I can’t change. I won’t. This is how I was in my old life, and in this new one, I am even worse. I have to be in order to survive, in order to keep you safe.”
Rebecca licked her lips, not knowing how to respond, because she did want him, badly. But at the same time, she should also be afraid. He was just as dangerous as the savages out there, the ones who killed and maimed for sport. But Collin had saved her, had done so much for her and made sure she was safe in the short amount of time they had been together.
Rebecca glanced down, knew she wasn’t about to go into detail about what almost happened to her all those months ago, but wanted to be honest with Collin. “I was almost raped months ago, but they stopped, had to stop, when a horde of infected came through. I barely escaped with my life.”
Looking away, feeling those memories wash through her, she knew this was what was right. If they were going to be in this world together, fighting side by side, trying to survive, then she needed to be honest.
He didn’t say anything when she looked at him again, just stared at her with this expression that told her he had known all along. She didn’t want to have to run anymore, didn’t want to have to look over her shoulder because there were men out there who wanted her body to use and abuse.
Rebecca closed her eyes and breathed out when he pulled her in close and whispered how everything was going to be okay.
But this world made that just a fantasy.
14
Rebecca followed closely behind Collin. They had been walking for several days, into the thicker woods, farther away from the towns that she knew dotted this area, but for some inexplicable reason, she trusted him and his decisions. Collin had taken her tote, even though he had his own bag to carry.
She tried to take it back, telling him she could carry her own things, but he refused. A part of her felt warmth at the thought he wanted to do that small thing for her, to make sure she was as
comfortable as possible, but another part of her said she needed to stay as independent as possible. This world could eat both of them up in an instant.
Of course, she thought about why exactly she was letting him call the shots when she had survived just fine by herself this whole time. Truth was, she was lonely. That isolation ate at her and made her think the world was closing in on her.
Loneliness was a horrible fate, to her at least. Maybe she just wasn’t built for this kind of world, for this kind of life. He stopped, held his hand out, and she stood there, silent, waiting to see what the next move was.
She had no idea where they were going, and maybe that should have frightened her. But strangely enough, she wasn’t afraid of Collin. He hadn’t hurt her and had instead protected her on every occasion. It actually felt right and good to be in his presence.
Maybe this kind of attention, affection from him, was something she should be wary of, fearful of even.
A small rabbit moved fast across their path. It was gone before they could really react, and then Collin motioned for her to follow forward with a curl of his fingers, and they walked farther into the thick covering of the trees. He lowered his hand to the knife tucked in the back of his jeans.
Collin held his lethal-looking knife, and she held her handmade one. But the way he was acting, as if he were on high alert, had her growing conscious of everything around them too.
“Look,” he said and pointed to the dirt road.
She moved closer, saw what looked like a pond or lake in the distance, and this little bit of excitement ran through her. Yeah, it was cold as hell, but she was filthy, had grime under her nails, and the water sounded heavenly. It would be the quickest wash off she had ever had, mainly because of the risk of being seen by the infected or savage fucking humans, and the fact that it was cold, but she’d take it.
“And there.” He pointed to the other side of the body of water.
She narrowed her eyes, trying to see straight, and then she spotted the small white structure that was tucked into the woods.
“Stay behind me, Rebecca.” Collin kept his voice low, but before she could take one more step, he curled his fingers around her waist and pulled forward until she was flush with his body. Her chest was pressed to his back, and she had to look around his arm just to see anything. It felt good to be this close to him, and although this wasn’t the time to think about sex, that was what was on her mind.
Ever since their kiss, she had been having these lewd, totally inappropriate thoughts about being with him. It was inevitable, because she knew he wanted her too, and that was on her mind as well. It fueled her desire, her erotic images, and made her feel alive again.
They continued to move through the woods, her steps crunching over the fallen, dried leaves and creating this echoing effect around them. And then she stopped, gripped onto Collin’s arm so he would do the same, and lifted her hand to point to the three infected walking on the road ahead of them.
She could barely see them through the break in the trees, but they were stumbling along, clearly unaware they were only feet from human flesh. And then the sound of something moving close by, across from where Rebecca and Collin stood, had the infected turning toward it.
Rebecca could see a doe standing between two thick oaks, her ears twitching, and her big black eyes taking in the three infected moving toward her.
For whatever reason, when someone turned into these disgusting walking corpses that fed on human flesh, that was all they fed on. They didn’t go after animals, and Rebecca was sure there was a reason behind it, but she never heard details. After everything crashed in on itself, the government and the scientists who had been working on all this seemed to drop off the planet.
They hadn’t been prepared, that was for sure, and the idea they survived, maybe bunkered down in a hole somewhere, was totally plausible.
But it didn’t matter one way or another, because a lot of time passed since the infection spread, and there was no more civilization. If the government or the scientists were alive, they were probably suffering as much as everyone else was.
But the movement kept the infected occupied, had them curious maybe, so when the doe ran off into the woods, they followed her—slowly, but they still followed.
And then she and Collin were moving through the forest again, toward the lake and that white structure in the distance. Rebecca just hoped there weren’t any more surprises for them in the near future, because as it was since meeting up with Collin, it had felt like one thing after another.
15
Collin stayed in the tree line, watching their surroundings, and only when he felt it was safe to move forward did he take a step out of the protection of the trees. He had a firm hold on Rebecca’s hand, pulled her behind him, and this wave of possession filled him when she squeezed his hand tighter.
The body of water looked to be a manmade pond, and the small white building across from it was a church. The cross atop it was large, but the church itself only had two levels. The single front door was open and hanging off the hinges. A gray shutter was banging against the window.
“It’s a church, but there isn’t a parking lot or anything, and it’s out in the middle of nowhere?” Rebecca questioned, almost as if she was speaking to herself.
“Have your weapon ready,” he said low, keeping his voice soft enough that only she could hear. He looked at the structure, scanned the property, and when he moved up the wooden steps to the front door and looked inside, the sight of a dead body was what greeted him.
The person was draped over the podium that was on the altar, his body nearly rotted to the bone. Clearly the man had died shortly after the infection hit nearly two years ago, judging by the state of decomposition.
“Stay close,” Collin said to her, pulled her forward with him, and stepped inside the church.
“Uh, yeah, I have no plans to go anywhere,” she said just as softly, and he chuckled lightly.
There were two sets of pews, with three rows each. “Looks like this was a private congregation, maybe even a backwater church or something.” Collin wasn’t familiar with happenings out in the boonies. He lived in New York all his life, where it was busy with nonstop action and where everything was out in the open.
This could have been a cult, possibly, although right now it didn’t matter. The pews were weathered and worn, but the only other windows in this building, aside from the small one by the front door, were ones about twenty feet high. They were stained glass and let in plenty of light, but what really caught his attention was the second story.
It was open, with beams running parallel. It was very similar to the loft back at the warehouse, and he assumed it was for storage.
“You think someone is up there?” she whispered.
“I don’t know.” He pointed at the corner toward the front doors. “Stay over there, because although I know you can handle yourself, my mind will be at ease if I know where you are and that you aren’t trying to hold your own.” Collin stared at her, and pleasure moved through him that she gazed at him with her wide green eyes full of trust.
And she didn’t argue, just nodded, looked back at the loft area, and moved over to the corner. It was shadowed, and the back of the door blocked her from prying eyes. Collin moved over to the stairs that he could see behind the altar.
He stopped when he was close to the man slouched over the podium. There was a handgun beside the corpse’s feet and a bullet hole in the side of his head.
Collin knew enough to see that the wound was self-inflicted. He’d have to clear the body out, use the podium and pews as firewood if need be, and as long as this place was secure, he could see them staying here. Moving away from the corpse, he walked over to the ladder, with his knife in hand, and slowly climbed.
Once at the top, he stared down at where Rebecca was. She watched him, her knife at the ready, and pride and arousal filled him. This woman had only come into his life yesterday, and as much as he wanted h
er, and had thought she would have put up a fight, she had been just as lonely as he was.
He looked around. There were more pews stacked in the corner, even a couple cots, an outdated desk and lamp, drapes, and some religious artifacts. He went closer, moved away some of the dusty boxes, seeing if there was anything of use up here, and noticed a small latch that had been covered.
He lifted the small brass ring, felt his adrenaline pump through his veins at what was underneath this door, and had his knife at the ready just in case. The light from the stained glass cast a multicolored illumination around the floor and wall.
He swallowed and then just opened the damn thing. He stood, ready to attack, but what he was greeted with was not a threat. In fact, it was the opposite. “Well shit,” he said under his breath. Collin made sure the upper level was clear and safe, and then he called Rebecca up.
When he glanced over the railing, he saw her slowly approaching, her attention on the corpse slumped over the podium.
“Baby, don’t look at that. I’ll clear it all out soon, but I want to show you something first.”
She moved quickly toward him, climbed the stairs, and then she stood beside him and looked down to see the items in the hidden compartment. Her eyes widened.
“Seriously?” She got on her knees and started picking up cans of food, ran her fingers over the jugs of water, and then crouched to open one of the plastic containers on the floor. There were bags of dried food, beans and rice, and other items that were shelf-ready and nonperishable. When she sat on the floor beside the food, she glanced over at him.
“There has to be several months’ worth of food here.” She stared at him with this wide, confused expression on her face. “But why is it still here?” She looked at the food again and ran her fingers over the cans. “I can’t believe no one looted this stuff.”