by Sue Lyndon
She hadn’t made it south as planned, but she had found a safe haven in Emerald, and in Rick. Though their marriage had been sudden and she hadn’t been the most willing bride, she didn’t regret marrying him. She felt thankful and lucky he’d found her, and she hoped eventually love would grow between them. Already, she harbored a warm affection for him.
But he hadn’t claimed her yet, and she was starting to grow restless in her desire to become his wife in truth. He’d promised not to force himself upon her, and though they shared a bed and he touched her and kissed her often, he hadn’t yet made strong advances on her. She sensed he was waiting for her to announce she was ready.
Her pulse quickened at the thought of finally being taken by her husband. Was she ready?
Nerves flitted in her stomach, even as desire pulsed hot in her core. She was nervous, but she still couldn’t stop imagining what it would feel like when he finally thrust his cock into her.
He would be thorough, that was for sure. He would take his time loving her, leaving no doubt in her mind that she belonged to him.
* * *
For the first time since moving to the large brick house, Rick routinely looked forward to coming home. Ally always greeted him with a smile and seemed genuinely happy to see him, even confessing from time to time that she’d missed him.
Sleeping next to her each night was a delicious kind of torture. He loved being close to her, holding her and feeling her bare legs entwining with his, but fuck he longed to finally claim her. He’d been shocked to learn she was a virgin, and he didn’t want to scare her by coming on too strong. He’d never been with a virgin before and didn’t want to fuck things up, especially when their relationship was growing stronger every day.
Patience, he kept telling himself. But he didn’t know how much more patient he could be. The sexiest and sweetest woman on Earth was living under his roof, and he’d yet to do more than kiss and hold and stroke her pussy overtop her underwear.
His thoughts on his beautiful wife, he arrived home after a long day spent training his men to find Ally in the kitchen, putting the finishing touches on dinner. She beamed at him, and when he opened his arms, she fell into his embrace and hugged him back. He kissed the top of her head and vowed to give her the patience she deserved.
In time, they would consummate their marriage, and he knew in his heart it would be well worth the wait.
“I missed you,” she said in a quiet, shy voice.
He strengthened his hold on her and reveled in her softness. “I missed you too, wife.”
Chapter Six
Ally awoke to a quiet morning. She reached beside her but found Rick’s side of the bed empty, so she sat up and stretched her arms. At least the sun was shining today. The warm rays spilled through the sheer curtains and over the top quilt, warming her feet.
She wondered if her new husband was downstairs, fixing breakfast, and she couldn’t restrain a smile at the thought of Rick. He was a good man. She’d been living with him—and married to him—for five weeks now. During that time, he’d treated her with nothing but kindness and had done his best to make her feel welcome in Emerald, introducing her to their neighbors as well as the Elders, who as it turned out weren’t as scary as the stories painted them.
A heated tension gathered in her center at the memory of how they’d spent last night, kissing and touching each other beneath the covers. She’d been ready to beg him to take her—finally, for the first time—when he’d ceased kissing her and simply held her in his arms, until she fell fast asleep. She appreciated that he wasn’t pressuring her to consummate their marriage, but in truth, she now felt ready for him to claim her.
Perhaps tonight. Perhaps tonight she would crawl into bed wearing nothing. The throbbing in her core intensified as she imagined him kissing her hard and prodding at her entrance with his long, thick cock. She’d glimpsed it and touched it briefly, during one of their make out sessions, but he’d moved her hand away, warning her that he would lose all control and take her long and hard if she didn’t keep her hands to herself.
Well, she was done keeping her hands to herself, she decided as she hurried to get dressed. She donned a pair of jeans and a sweater, then rushed downstairs. She burst into the kitchen to find Gracie and Alex, their next door neighbors, seated at the table. The uncertain look the elderly couple exchanged filled her with fear.
“Um, good morning.” She glanced between them. “Where’s Rick? Is something wrong?” Her stomach clenched tighter and tighter.
“Rick’s on a mission with a few of his men. They left before dawn. He wanted us to let you know,” Alex said.
“He’ll be fine, sweetie.” Gracie stood up and approached Ally, then put a hand on her shoulder. “The man’s a force of nature. I have faith he’ll return soon, and I’m sorry we don’t know the details about his mission, but he wouldn’t tell us more than we’ve already told you.”
Legs weak with fear, Ally pulled out a chair and sat down. She covered her face and cursed. She should have never shown him where the Raider camp was on that stupid map. She pounded a fist on the table, her frustration rising with each breath. What if he got hurt? Her blood ran cold. What if he never returned?
“Ally, we want you to know we’re here for you. Whatever you need. In fact, you’re welcome to come stay with us until Rick returns,” Gracie said.
“Thanks, but I’ll stay here. I appreciate the offer though.” It felt so weird, having Rick disappear without any warning. “I-I’d like to be alone right now, if that’s okay.”
Alex met her gaze and shifted uncomfortably in his seat. “Ally, Rick gave me explicit instructions not to leave you alone. If you don’t come stay in our house, we’re going to have to stay here for the time being. He wants to make sure you’re still here when he returns.”
Betrayal stabbed through Ally, making her throat burn and her eyes water. What the fuck? She’d been here for five weeks and hadn’t tried leaving. Not even during the long days he left her in the house while he trained his men. Of course, he was out in the open, in the middle of the settlement on those days, and likely would’ve caught her had she made another run for the wall.
She blinked fast and stared down at the table, not wanting Gracie and Alex to witness her tears. “I-I won’t try leaving. Trust me, leaving is the last thing on my mind.” She’d come to accept her place in Emerald, and though she was still getting to know Rick, she couldn’t say she regretted becoming his wife. All settlements had rules, and the rules in Emerald were much more reasonable than the rules in the Raider camp.
Oh, God. The Raider camp. That was where Rick was headed. What did he plan on doing once he reached it? He’d shared few details about his time as a SEAL with her, but she surmised enough to know he’d been on a lot of dangerous missions. He’d had to fight for his life, and he’d probably killed more men than Brent had.
That’s different, she reminded herself. That was during the war, and it wasn’t Americans that he killed. He destroyed the enemy. Brent killed because he was fucking crazy and caught up in the gang mentality of the Raider camp. Not that he’d been a nice person before they went to live in the Raider camp…
Ally left the kitchen and ran upstairs, needing solitude. The moment she closed the bedroom door behind her, she covered her face and started sobbing.
She thought of the kind teenage boy who’d cheered her up all those years ago at the pool. She thought of the orange snow cone and how he’d gone out of his way to make a little girl smile. He’d done silly voices as he read the fairytale princess book to her, cheering her up on one of the lowest days in her life, on a day Brent had been a bastard to her and she couldn’t face the boxes and the emptiness of her childhood home.
Please come back to me, Rick.
She sank to the floor and tried to get her sobbing under control. A knock sounded on the door.
“Ally? Ally, you okay in there?” Gracie called.
She sniffled and wiped at her face. “I’
m fine! Just tired.”
“Well, we’ll be downstairs if you need anything, sweetie.”
“Okay,” Ally forced out.
She hadn’t thought much of it when Rick had thrust a map in front of her, asking her to point out the location of the Raider camp. She’d assumed he only wanted to stay proactive by knowing the location of a potential enemy, and perhaps so his people could avoid that area when they went on hunting trips or supply missions. If she’d known he intended to seek out trouble and risk his life, she would have played dumb when presented with the map.
The hours passed in a torturous blur of time. Eventually, Ally rose to her feet and moved to the window. People walked through the snow-cleared streets below, like any typical morning, as they went about their day.
Rick’s departure without a goodbye cut just as deep as his inability to trust her to remain in Emerald during his absence. She prayed he returned to her safe and sound, but she also didn’t know what would happen between them if he did.
No, not if. When. She couldn’t bear the thought of him never coming back, even if there was discord between them. After drying her tears and willing herself to be strong in his absence, she moved to the window and stared at the treetops beyond the high walls surrounding Emerald.
Please, God, let him come back unharmed.
* * *
Rick and his team circled the perimeter of the Raider camp, stealthily moving from behind trees, bushes, and small outbuildings. He spotted no inhabitants of the camp walking around, which was odd for this time of day. Though it was below freezing, it was just after noontime and the sun beamed down across the makeshift houses and tents.
He counted seven vehicles, five trucks and two cars, the exact number of vehicles Ally had reported. Well, that meant the commanders, including her brother, were probably not out on a run, or searching for her as she’d worried.
Though the camp had been a full six-hour drive north, it was still too close for comfort as far as Rick was concerned. The Elders had charged him with their security, and he took the job seriously. He cared about the people who lived in his settlement, the men, women, and children, and he wasn’t about to let a Raider camp threaten their livelihood.
He entered the camp with ten of his men. Two other soldiers were stationed in the nearby hilltops with sniper rifles. If they spotted danger, they would contact Rick on his earpiece if they couldn’t get a clean kill shot.
Somewhere in the distance, in one of the makeshift houses or tents, a child started crying. One of Rick’s men veered off the path to investigate. Aside from the crying child, the place was deathly silent, and the absence of guards on the outskirts of the camp was telling that something awful had befallen this place.
They began a house to house search, finding most structures and tents empty. The people they did find inside were either dead or too dehydrated and malnourished to put up a fight. The illness Ally had mentioned must have turned into a full blown plague. The largest buildings rested in the center of the camp, and Rick suspected the commanders inhabited those particular homes.
Rick held his military issue Stinger 99 semi-automatic pistol level as he kicked open the front door of the first commander’s house. He found three bodies, two men and a woman, dead and frozen. He exited the building and checked on his men, who had already entered the rest of the large houses. He didn’t know what Brent looked like, but he wanted to make sure the fucker didn’t live to terrorize Ally anymore.
His second in command, Greg, assembled all the survivors in the center of the camp and loaded them onto one of the Raider trucks. Whatever sickness had passed through seemed to have run its course. The survivors didn’t display any symptoms of illness, only malnourishment and dehydration.
“Rick, you’re going to want to see this.” Thomas exited the last large house and handed Rick a faded photograph.
Holy fuck. It was Ally, a much younger version of her, with a young man. Her asshole brother. Rick stormed into the house and found a figure sprawled out in the bed. Staring at the gray face of the unbreathing man on the bed, Rick looked to the picture again for comparison.
There was no question about it. It was Brent, and he was long dead.
Good fucking riddance.
“Rick!” Michael, the youngest on his team, ran inside the house. “I’ve just tested the water supply. I found traces of poison called Becititan that was used by the Russians during the war. Somehow, it got into the water and made everyone sick. Talked to some of the survivors and they claimed they got better when they stopped drinking from the well and fetched their water from a nearby river instead. That’s the good news. We won’t have to put anyone in quarantine now, plus they’re all women and children. No men and no commanders to deal with.”
“What’s the bad news?”
“Only fifteen survivors.”
“Christ.” Rick scrubbed a hand down his face and shoved his gun back in his holster. “Let’s get the fuck out of here.” He tossed the photograph on the floor. Ally didn’t need any reminders of her brother. Besides, she’d brought photos of her parents and grandparents with her in her backpack. If she’d wanted this particular picture, she would have taken it.
He gave one last withering look at the body in the bed, then ordered his men to close up the well and put a warning sign on top of it. It was late afternoon by the time they hit the road for the six-hour return trip to Emerald. He felt like a jackass for not having said goodbye to Ally, or for even telling her of his plans to visit the Raider camp, but he hadn’t wanted to cause her any undue worry.
If she’d awoken at her usual time this morning, he’d already have been on the road for hours, and Gracie and Alex were there to keep her calm. Well, that and to make sure she didn’t attempt escape. Though she had seemingly warmed up to him, they hadn’t consummated their marriage yet either, and she sometimes made joking comments about being his captive bride. Those little comments held truth, because letting her go was the last thing he would ever do.
Consummated marriage or not, she fucking belonged to him.
He pressed the pedal to the floor as the Hummer crested a hill.
By nightfall, Ally would be in his arms again.
Chapter Seven
Headlights pierced through the darkness. Ally’s eyes widened and she stood on her tiptoes, trying to glimpse beyond the towering walls of Emerald. Luckily, Rick’s house was tall enough that from the third floor she could see over the protective barrier, though only in the distance. The headlights traveled closer and disappeared, momentarily blocked out by the walls, until the wide gates were opened and three vehicles entered, including Rick’s truck.
She rushed downstairs and outside into the cold night air. Gracie and Alex followed on her heels. The vehicles stopped in the center of Emerald, and that’s when Ally realized one of the trucks was from the Raider camp. The driver, one of Rick’s men, jumped out and opened the back door. Over a dozen women and children climbed out. She recognized a few of them but didn’t know any of them by name. During her stay in the Raider camp, she’d been so busy planning her escape that she hadn’t taken the time to get to know many of the other inhabitants.
Rick climbed out of his Hummer and his gaze immediately sought her out. He was dressed in a camouflage uniform she’d never seen him wear before, as were all the other men in his group. They looked like an actual troop of soldiers, a sight she hadn’t beheld since during the war, when she managed a peek at the news when her grandparents weren’t paying attention. She took a few steps in Rick’s direction, but paused when he started giving a report to the Elders.
“We found the Raider camp in ruins. These women and children are the only survivors we found.” He met her eyes briefly. “Everyone else is dead. We found traces of poison in the water supply that made everyone ill, including all their commanders. The survivors we questioned believe another Raider group to be responsible for the poison. This other Raider group visited their camp to discuss trade, and the meetings di
dn’t go well. People started falling ill soon after.”
Some of the Elders approached Rick to ask questions, and she tried her best to wait patiently as he answered them. Joy abounded within her that her husband had returned, and more quickly than she’d expected. In the weeks she’d been traveling, often zigzagging through the countryside to avoid the main roads, and sleeping in abandoned houses she came across, she hadn’t traveled as far as she’d planned to. The Raider camp had been closer than she’d realized and she could understand his need to ensure it didn’t pose a threat to Emerald.
She nodded and smiled at the survivors as some of the Elders escorted them past her.
Everyone else is dead. Everyone.
That meant Brent hadn’t survived.
She felt no sadness at his passing, which didn’t surprise her, given that he’d made the last few years of her life a living hell, even before he forced her to live in the Raider camp. But she felt no happiness either.
Nothing. She felt nothing at his passing. She was just grateful Rick hadn’t run into trouble at the Raider camp, but her heart broke for all those who’d fallen ill from drinking the poisoned water. Not all those in the Raider camp—particularly the women and children who, like her, hadn’t had a choice about living there—had been bad people.
Now that she knew for certain Brent wasn’t searching for her, and that the rest of the awful commanders had fallen, a deep sense of relief spread through her. There wasn’t another settlement or Raider camp for miles and miles. Emerald was a safe haven; the sort of place she’d never imagined she might be lucky enough to call home.
The trucks were driven away, toward a large garage on the other side of the settlement. Ally shivered in the cold, and her breath came out in white puffs. Rick finally finished speaking with the last lingering Elder and stalked away from his Hummer. He strode toward her and wrapped her in his embrace. She rested her forehead against his and let him hold her.