Apocalypse Dance

by M. Barnette

  He couldn't help but watch the jiggle of her breasts as she sat up, looking for her clothes, and had to grit his teeth and look away as his cock jumped to attention.

  Her soft laughter caught him off guard. “I guess you like what you see,” she remarked.

  "Yeah, I guess I do,” he agreed, picking up her pink panties. They were too dirty for her to wear now, smelling of aroused female. He could still smell how hot she'd been. Hot for him.

  A cool hand closed around the ridged shaft beneath his jeans and he gasped.

  "I'd say you definitely like what you're seeing,” she whispered right before she unbuttoned his jeans and freed him. He gasped when she took him into her mouth.

  "Nikki ... we don't have time,” he hissed, trying to fight what she was making him feel. But it was no use. The Dragon slipped free, and before he fully realized what he was doing she was down flat on the bed, his clothing gone, cock inside the slick heat of her sheath, driving into it in a frenzy of passion she met stroke for stroke.

  * * * *

  It felt so good to have him inside her, mouth kissing along her collarbone. The quietly murmured whispers of encouragement as they fucked served to help her through the loss of her second family, the way simple words alone could never have done. And his weight over her was no threat. He wasn't pinning her down, he was making passion sing through her body the way no one had ever done before.

  Nikki locked her long legs around his hips and helped him get deeper, adding her strength to his to gain more force. He was letting her set the pace, allowing her to use him for her own pleasure.

  She came in a bright flash of spicy ecstasy that made her shudder, but she didn't stop the drive of her legs because she wanted him to cum, too.

  Heat filled her and she heard him groan, and give a few sharp thrusts before he collapsed on the bed, his arms wrapped around her sweat dampened body as he drew her closer, a sigh ruffling her hair.

  They lay there, relaxed in the afterglow of quickly sated passions. Nikki's hand stroked his braids, caressing the curve of his ear, fingers following the line of his stubbled jaw. His face was still slightly flushed from what they'd done, his breathing ragged. With his eyes closed he seemed even younger. It was only when they were open, with the icy killer looking out at the world, that he seemed older. They were ancient eyes, she realized. Dragon's eyes. Blue as summer's brightest sky, cold as a glacier.

  But not when he made love. They glowed with life then. And Bells—Jason—became who she suspected he really wanted to be, or who he'd once been. A lover. A man. Not a killer. Not the Dragon. Just Jason.

  She kissed him, a golden braid between her fingers, using the grey feathers at the end to tickle his ribs, a contented smile pulling at her bruised mouth. The bottom lip was sore, tender from where she'd been hit yesterday. The previous day's events rose up in her thoughts, making her sad, her kiss becoming more passion filled, more needy. Jason was the only one left. And she hardly knew him.

  But she'd fucked him just to have the reassurance of another human presence. To remind herself that she still lived. And so did he.

  He actually smiled into the kiss and mumbled, “You're tickling me."

  "I know."

  "Well, just so long as you know what you're doing,” he replied, giving her another languid, slowly exploring kiss.

  Nikki was perfectly content to just lay there, kissing the man in her arms, until she heard his stomach complaining loudly and realized she too was hungry.

  People died, but life went on anyway. Pragmatic, after so much loss, she'd done her crying, might even cry again, but right now her Jason needed food. And so did she.

  "Okay, Don Juan, I think we need to find some food and water."

  "Don Juan?” he asked, one pale gold eyebrow lifting, a sexy little smile curling his lips.

  "Hm...” she smiled coyly, “maybe not Don Juan.” She kissed him again. “Mister Dragon, have you finished ravishing this fair damsel?"

  He actually grinned, and Nikki felt her heart soar. The smile was for her, and he was so incredibly handsome it stole her breath.

  Looking at him with that warm, totally human expression, the glint in his eyes, Nikki could only stare. He was more than handsome. Hawk and Dal had both been that. Bells—her Jason—was heart-thuddingly, breathtakingly gorgeous. Perfect. She found herself wondering if he'd always looked like that, or if the Dragon had changed more than just his mortality.

  "Hardly. But I'll refrain for the moment,” he replied, the grin sliding away.

  Warm lips caressed her mouth, touching the sore lower lip gently, the kiss tingling. His gentleness awakened emotions she couldn't set any name too, but they were emotions that made her think of blond babies and lazy summer afternoons.

  The kiss broke and Nikki watched him roll off the bed. He started picking up his clothes. “I'm going to have to be careful."

  "Oh? Why's that?"

  "Damsels are habit forming."

  She couldn't help it; he was standing there, stark naked, the picture of strength, of masculine beauty, and he was actually joking with her. There was a human being under the killer, hidden inside the power of the Dragon. She started to giggle and found she couldn't stop, her laughter as much a part of the grief she'd felt yesterday as their desperate sexual encounter last night had been.

  He didn't really want her. He'd just done something to make her forget.

  The laughter broke on a gasping sob. Before the first tear rolled down her cheek he was there, wearing nothing but his jeans, his strong arms wrapped around her, pulling her close. He was strong, his embrace comforting, reassuring.

  "Don't cry, Nikki. I swear I'll make this good for you. I'll make a better life for you out of the ashes we've been handed."

  That got her attention. Sable eyes met his intensely blue gaze.

  "What ... what do you mean?"

  His arms tightened, “I'm not going to let anyone hurt you ever again, Nikki. Not ever. I swear."

  His voice was still the velvet baritone she loved to hear, but his words were fierce, self-assured.

  If only she could believe him.

  But Hawk had made her the same promise and she didn't even know where he was now and everyone else was dead.

  Everyone but Bells. And, like Hawk, he couldn't die.

  * * * *

  "I smell like a whore."

  "When we get to a town I'll make sure you have a nice hot bath,” he promised her.

  It was a mistake to love her. Another mistake to admit it to himself. And it was a serious mistake to promise her anything. But if he was consistently good at anything from reality to reality, it was making mistakes.

  Reality to reality?

  Oh, yeah, his mind said, the whole slipping through time thing. I'd forgotten that. He didn't stay in one reality, he slid through the cracks between them. Or maybe it was more like being a watermelon seed and getting spat from one existence to the next on an as needed basis.

  The problem with being one of his kind wasn't just never dying, you also got saddled with being the person who changed the course of history for a world. Failing wasn't allowed. If you failed the Powers That Be hit your reset button and you had to start all over again.

  He had the nagging suspicion he'd failed recently, but he couldn't remember how or where. But his memory was coming back. Bit by disturbing bit.

  He knew, for instance, he was a Dragon. Knew how to organize an army and that he had a reason for being there that went beyond Nikki.

  He was a Protector, an Immortal Hero.

  And there was a job here for him to do.

  But what the hell it was he hadn't a clue.

  "Jason?"

  He blinked, came back to the here and now.

  "You okay, you went away on me again."

  "Yeah, I'm okay,” he reassured. She was dressed and standing by the bed, her gaze filled with deep concern.

  When did she get out of my lap?

  He shook his head to clear away t
he fog and realized he was tired despite the few hours of sleep he'd gotten. The motorcycle wreck, the fight, being shot, and their wild lovemaking had drained even his reserves of endurance. He needed a couple days of rest, some good food, and a hot bath, not necessarily in that order.

  "Let's see if there's anything salvageable here that might work as trade goods. We're going to need something to barter for what we need."

  She nodded. “Maybe we can find clean clothes and food too."

  "Good thinking,” he agreed as he rose to his feet.

  * * * *

  The store had been looted, yet they found quite a haul of useful and usable things. Clothes, candles, matches, jars of gourmet olives, caviar, cans of smoked oysters and clams, canisters of fancy cookies that hadn't expired, and some bottled water. There'd also been expensive scented soaps, and Nikki was looking forward to a nice hot bath with the rose soap she'd found. They'd even dug some gold jewelry from the ruins of a glass case. There wasn't any guarantee anyone would consider that valuable, it was purely dependent on local commerce, or what passed for it these days. Food, cigarettes, and ammunition were far more valuable to most people than gold or cut gems, even diamonds. Pretty baubles had lost their charm in the harsh reality left after the Collapse.

  It came down to a decision between things they could and couldn't carry. Bells loaded up a backpack from the camping department of the store, and filled two others, using bungee cords and rope to tie them on the back of his bike. He'd topped off the load with a two man tent and compact sleeping bags.

  Nikki had worried about the weight, but he'd assured her that the bike could carry them and the stuff easily enough so long as they weren't being chased. If it came down to that he'd dump the stuff in a heartbeat, not because the weight would slow them, but because it would make the bike a significantly harder for him to control at high speeds.

  They made a quick breakfast out of olives, bottled water, a can of smoked oysters, and some fancy imported crackers that were in a tin. They weren't too stale, and between them they finished off the entire tin, needing the energy the carbohydrates would supply.

  As they'd left she'd pointed out a gas station, but he'd just smiled and told her the bike didn't run on gasoline, but he wouldn't tell her what did power the machine.

  They'd stayed on the road all day, finally stopping an hour after dark without coming to any towns, inhabited or otherwise. He'd set up their camp, such as it was, and she'd opened a tin of the cookies and one of the bottles of water so they'd have something to eat and drink.

  * * * *

  While she unpacked their meager food, Bells took a walk around their camp, making sure there were no dangers, as he searched for a stream. He wanted a bath as much as Nikki did, and was anticipating the use of the sandalwood soap he'd tucked into the pockets of his jacket.

  The thing he'd most wanted to find, bullets for his .357, had not existed at the store. While they'd had a sporting goods department, they hadn't carried any type of firearms.

  Going back to camp, he accepted the bottle of water Nikki handed him, savoring a few swallows before recapping it. He let her drink as much as she wanted; he could get by on less for a while. There was a shallow rill of water, but he didn't trust it for more than washing. It was just too likely to be contaminated with something harmful if ingested.

  He let her go wash quickly, then cleaned himself up; the smell of the sandalwood was pleasant, but not nearly as powerful as the rose soap she'd used. It clung to her like an olfactory mist and he found himself breathing it in, the perfume acting as an enhancement to her own sweet feminine smell which he already found too enticing.

  He sat down across from her, upwind, so he couldn't catch that maddening female scent.

  "Do you want one of the hazelnut creams or a chocolate cookie?"

  "Doesn't matter,” he replied, accepting the cookie from her, more interested in watching her fingers as she licked melted chocolate from them.

  "Are you okay?” she questioned.

  "Yeah."

  "You're tired,” she stated. “Why don't you get some sleep? I'll keep first watch."

  "No need. I'll know if something's going to happen."

  He watched the way she looked at him, aware of her lips in the dark, the breeze, perversely shifting so he was able to catch the scent of woman, and roses, the hint of female arousal. The first two scents slid through his awareness and made him ache uncomfortably just south of his gunbelt. The third fragrance nearly undid him, but he slammed his control down and stayed exactly where he was, making himself pay attention to her words, not her firm, luscious body.

  He shook himself, the bells in his hair chiming softly.

  "You warned us even before Hawk knew. I remember that now.” She took a bite of the cookie and he could tell she had trouble swallowing it.

  Hell with it, he thought to himself as he stuffed the cookie she'd given him back in the tin. He got up and sat beside her, putting his arms around her knowing she was going to cry and hating it. Her tears bit with a caustic agony that touched his heart with all the force of a psychological cataclysm. Inside he seethed, angry at himself for not being able to save Anya and Chet. For failing her and them.

  Hawk and Dal had already made the decision to sacrifice themselves to save the other three. Dal had likely known he wouldn't come back, or maybe he'd been a real optimist considering his agreement to marry Anya. Hawk had probably gambled against the risk of capture and had accepted the possibility as price of freedom for the other three.

  But the only one he'd saved had been Nikki.

  Some people lived. Some died, and there was no way of knowing who would be left until the lead stopped flying and the smoke cleared.

  This time it had been Nikki and him.

  Next time it might only be him.

  And that was an idea he didn't want to accept.

  He pulled her close and let her cry, but she didn't cry long. Not this time. With forced pragmatism she finished the cookie, drank more water and then settled into the circle of his embrace.

  "Go to sleep, Nikki. I'm here. I won't let anyone hurt you.” He grabbed one of the sleeping bags they'd salvaged from the store and pulled it around her.

  "Is that a promise?” she asked as she settled against him again.

  "Yes. It's a promise,” he agreed, resting his cheek against her hair.

  For a long time he sat there, holding her, listening to her breathe, letting his mind go blank until he was only aware of the cherished presence of the woman in his arms and the emptiness of the land around them.

  * * * *

  Danbridge isn't much to look at, at least not from this side of the concrete wall, Nikki thought as they came to a stop before the wooden gates. But at least the siren has stopped. And it was true. About a mile from town they'd heard the sound of a siren wailing a warning, probably to warn people that strangers were coming. Why a town would be worried about two people on a motorcycle was something that Nikki couldn't quite grasp. Unless they were concerned that the pair of them were scouts for someone like Roderik. A distinct possibility, since that was how Roderik did things. Sent a few scouts out to do reccon on a place he planned to acquire as part of his own realm. She'd shouted a warning to Bells, and he'd shouted his agreement. They'd ridden in silence since then, just as they'd ridden in relative silence the entire way to the small town, the rush of the wind and the hum of the bike, and her own thoughts and the only things to occupy her mind. There hadn't even been much to look at after they'd left the department store. Just scraggly bushes, a few trees, dying grass, and one lonely burned out gas station about twenty miles behind them.

  There were four men on the top of a twenty-foot-high wall, their guns trained on them. There were two men outside in front of the open gates, and who knew how many out of their line of sight inside. They were all heavily armed. Mostly with assault rifles or shotguns, and an assortment of handguns. The weapons were understandable considering the state of the world.
>
  Nikki was very much aware of how they were looking at her. She'd become much too familiar with the expression on their faces. Lust. Beasts ready to rut. It sickened her when she realized how far down the spiral toward true barbarism humanity had slipped in the course of a year.

  Still leering at the woman on the bike, one of the men stepped forward. “We don't let no folks in unless they can make the toll payment and state their reasons for coming to Danbridge."

  His eyes shifted briefly to Bells, but returned to Nikki in a disturbingly ravenous inspection. She stared back, her gaze showing not the least trace of fear or subservience. Let him think what he wanted, she wasn't any man's chattel.

  "What's the toll?” she heard Bells ask. His tone was flat, neutral, and she knew without looking the cold killer's stare had returned, the mask he normally wore hiding his emotions even from her.

  Nikki understood it now. It was like a game of poker, but in this game the odds were their lives.

  "The woman would do,” the city guard replied, licking his lips.

  Nikki couldn't help the shudder of disgust that passed through her.

  "Since that's not happening, let's try other alternatives,” the man on the bike behind her said, voice cool and not the least bit friendly.

  "The woman, the bike, guns, ammo. Those are what we're looking for."

  She heard him shaking his head, the bells in his hair ringing sweetly, the sound incongruous in the situation.

  "Look, jingle-boy,” the man said nastily, “we got no use for queers. Women we can use. Guns we want. But you we don't need. We got enough of your kind here already. Now get off the fucking bike, hand over the bitch, and take a hike."

  Nikki's heart jumped. They were going to try and take everything from him, including her. Fear made her mouth go dry. Neither of them were armed. Not even with a knife, and her skills at unarmed combat were almost nil.

  The blond put the kickstand down, and slipped off the bike.

  "That's a good boy. Now drop the backpack."

  Out of the corner of her eye Nikki saw Bells remove the backpack. He was going to leave her. He was going to do exactly as they asked! She couldn't believe it!