His lips brushed my ear, causing my eyes to flash wide open. “You seem rather tense.”
“I . . .” I cleared my throat. “To be honest, I am. I’ve never . . . Well, you’re the first to . . .”
He pushed up on an elbow to gaze down at me. A smile tugged at his lips. “Are you saying I’m the first guy to sleep over?”
“In my bed, yes.”
A perfect, midnight eyebrow raised. “In your bed? Do you care to explain?”
“Ian slept on the couch when he was here.”
He grunted again. “That’s good. Can’t say I’d be too fond of Ian if he’d slept anywhere else.”
I laughed.
“But that still doesn’t answer my question. Am I the first to . . . you know . . . be with you?”
“We haven’t been together yet.”
He sagged more into his hand. “Why do I get the feeling you’re avoiding the question?”
My cheeks had to be bright red by now. Thank God it’s dark in here! “I’m . . . you know . . . I’ve had dates before.”
“But have you been with anyone?”
I held my breath as the silence stretched between us. I finally squeaked, “No.”
It was silly, but I wanted to bury my head in my hands. I was a twenty-four-year-old virgin. Granted, my social anxiety and long hours in the lab were mostly to blame for my inexperience, but Makanza was partly to blame too. For so many years, the public had been isolated from one another which hardly allowed one to date. Anxiety or not. Still . . . It was embarrassing.
Davin brushed the covers away from my face. His head dipped lower until he whispered in my ear, “I’m glad. I hate the thought of another guy touching you.”
I turned more to face him. In the dark, his eyes were like a storm at sea. “You mean, you don’t think it’s weird that I haven’t been with anyone before?”
“No. Why would it be weird?”
Shrugging awkwardly, I replied, “Most people my age aren’t virgins.”
“Ten years ago, that would probably be true, but now, I imagine you’d be surprised. For so many years, everyone was cut off from one another. This country is probably crawling with virgins.”
I laughed again as some of my tension eased. “What about you? Are you a virgin?”
“No.”
“I didn’t think so.” I bit my lip. From what Sharon had told me, Davin had dated regularly before becoming infected. And given how attractive he was, women had probably flocked to him like moths to a flame. I bit my lip harder.
He tilted my chin up. “But there’s only you now. There will only ever be you now.”
Shivers ran down my spine at his words. His absolute conviction. I can’t believe I ever doubted him.
Leaning closer, his lips brushed mine.
I wrapped my left arm around his neck and deepened the kiss, but when he shifted closer it jarred my right arm. I hissed when pain coursed through me.
In a flash, two feet separated us as he hovered just on the edge of the bed.
“Dammit.” He swore quietly under his breath. “I keep forgetting that we need to go slow.”
I groaned as my wound throbbed. “But I don’t want to go slow.”
He chuckled and inched closer again. “Trust me, neither do I. I’ve been wanting you for a year. Waiting isn’t easy for me.”
My heart strummed steadily in my chest as his heat once again enveloped me. He’s so warm. I loved the feel of him, and his scent kept fluttering to my senses. His tantalizing smell made me want to bury my face in his neck.
“I’ll do my best to keep my hands to myself.” But just after he made that admission, his palm settled on my hip. He kneaded the muscles there and then inched lower to massage my thigh.
I closed my eyes. “I could get used to this.” Especially considering I’m weeks away from being fully healed.
The mattress sagged again when he shifted closer. “Please do, because I’m not going anywhere.”
As I snuggled into him, his hands did delicious things to my muscles. I idly ran a finger along his chest. His skin was so smooth, yet beneath it, hard muscles bunched. He was granite wrapped in silk.
“Davin? Can I ask you something?”
“You can ask me anything.”
My finger continued to trail along his chest, his muscles jumping at times from my light touch. “What happened last summer? When you were catatonic for those four hours? Will you tell me?”
He stiffened. “What made you think of that?”
“I saw Dr. Fisher today. He’s helping with Bethany and seeing him reminded me of it.”
I held my breath. Every other time I’d brought up this subject, Davin closed it down like the lid on a coffin—definite and absolute.
But this time, he merely sighed. “It was because of you.”
My head snapped back. “Because of me? What do you mean?”
“Remember how we hadn’t been speaking for a few weeks when that happened? How I’d been pushing you away?”
I curled my fingers through the hairs on his chest. “Yes. I remember.”
“At that time, I truly believed any chance of being with you would never happen, and I thought that something was going on between you and Mitch. Worst of all, there was nothing I could do about it. I was in love with a woman I could never be with. Every day I was trapped in those damned concrete walls. And my future wasn’t looking any better. I’d be moved to a reservation to live behind a fence, like a herded cow. And . . . I don’t know. Something snapped that afternoon. It was like I disconnected.” His hand continued to massage the muscles in my thigh, but his voice grew quieter. “Dr. Fisher thinks it was the trauma of all of that which caused the catatonia.”
“So when you say it was because of me, you’re saying it’s because we couldn’t be together?”
Davin nodded. “Yeah, but things got better after I started meeting with Dr. Fisher. He spent a lot of time discussing my situation with me. It was kind of like . . .” He shrugged. “I dunno, therapy in a way, I guess.”
“And that’s why you wouldn’t tell me about it? You were embarrassed that you were in therapy?”
“Partly, but it was more than that. I couldn’t tell you how I really felt. If I did, I knew you’d never move on, and I couldn’t let that happen. So that’s why I never told you. I was afraid of telling you how deeply I felt.”
Silence followed as I recalled all of the times Davin had turned cagey and jittery every time I’d brought up that fateful afternoon. It was because of me that he fell into that state. Because he wanted to be with me as badly as I wanted to be with him, but the Compound would never allow it.
“Are you glad I didn’t give up on you now?” I resumed trailing a finger along his chest.
“More than you could ever know.”
7 – DIVISION 5
I woke the next morning to a soft snore in my ear and the feel of a rock-hard body as hot as fire pressed against me. Everything about it felt so good and right. I snuggled closer to Davin, relishing the moment.
I debated going back to sleep when a buzz reached my ear. Another buzz quickly followed.
My eyes flashed open. My phone.
Davin’s arm refused to budge from around my waist when I tried to reach my phone on the bedside table. If anything, it tightened more.
Somehow, I managed to extract myself from his heavy limbs. Inching to the edge of the bed, I fell rather unceremoniously onto the floor. I stifled a groan and grabbed my phone just before it went to voicemail.
“Hello?” I whispered while eyeing the clock. 6:43 a.m. I slept late!
“You better still be at home.” Amy’s voice sounded loud and clear from the other end. She was up early.
Glancing at Davin’s still sleeping form, I smiled and made myself stop from smoothing the hair across his forehead. Relaxed like this, he looked so peaceful.
Forcing myself to move, I tiptoed out of the room. Once in the hall, I closed the door behind me.
/> “Meghan? Hello? Are you still there?”
I hurried to the bathroom. My shoulder throbbed from the fall. Better get the pain meds.
“I’m still here, Amy. I just had to . . .” I closed the bathroom door behind me and spoke louder. “Um, nothing. So what’s up? And what do you mean, that I better still be at home?”
“Because yesterday Dr. Fisher mentioned to Dr. Sadowsky that you didn’t look well. And he told our boss that it wasn’t a good idea for you to return to work so soon. Anyway, I just got here, and Dr. Sadowsky was waiting in the lab. He said if you try to work during the next two weeks, he’ll personally escort you home.”
“But what about Bethany?” I slid two pills from the bottle and downed them with a quick drink from the faucet. In the mirror, my dark hair looked wild, but since my good hand held my phone, I didn’t try to straighten it.
“Dr. Sadowsky encouraged her to return to Minnesota for the time being. And he said something else that I thought might interest you, but you have to promise me you won’t come into work.”
My brow furrowed as I cocked my head. “What?”
“It’s about a secret group. They’ve been working on a cure ever since you discovered how to map out the genome. Apparently, they’re called Division 5.”
I PACED MY apartment after Amy and I hung up. For once, my arm rested in the sling the doctor insisted I wear. It allowed my frantic walking without creating more pain.
The carpet squished beneath my feet. Its thick fibers threaded through my toes.
It was impossible to go back to bed. My thoughts zeroed in on one thing and one thing only.
Division 5.
The group, that Amy believed consisted of MRI scientists, had been working on a cure for the past year.
So far, they hadn’t found one.
A grin still spread across my face. While a part of me was annoyed that I was kept in the dark about this development, it didn’t stop my excitement. That’s a year’s worth of research that’s already been underway. A year of results we wouldn’t have otherwise.
I was so engrossed in my thoughts that I shrieked when two large hands settled on my shoulders.
Davin pulled back. “Sorry, didn’t mean to scare you.”
He was still shirtless. Tousled hair covered his head, and his electric blue eyes appeared foggy from sleep.
I smiled sheepishly and stepped closer. “Did I wake you?”
With a loud yawn, he stretched. “No, but when I woke up to find you missing, my first thought was that you left for work. I’m happy to see you didn’t.”
“Amy called and woke me. Apparently, Dr. Sadowsky heard I didn’t look well. He’s banned me from the Compound for the next two weeks.” I nibbled my lip. Despite knowing that, I was itching to learn more about Division 5.
Davin grinned. “Good. That means I have you to myself for the day.”
His infectious mood was impossible to ignore. Even though my gaze wandered to the door, I knew there would be hell to pay if I showed up at the Compound.
Davin eyed me curiously. “Everything okay?”
I twisted my hands. “Yeah. Kind of. Amy also told me something else.” I summed up what I knew of Division 5.
His eyes widened. “So some group of MRI scientists have already been working on a cure? How come you didn’t know about it?”
“She said it’s been kept pretty quiet, and I’m not surprised. We had our hands full when we developed the vaccine and then convincing the country that it works has been hard enough. There would be no point in getting everyone’s hopes up about a cure if we could never develop one.”
“But why didn’t they tell you? You’re the founder of the vaccine.”
I shrugged. “Why does the MRI do anything they do? Your guess is as good as mine.”
He cocked his head. “It’s killing you, isn’t it, that you can’t go in?”
I threaded a hand through my hair. “Is it that obvious?”
“Considering you went to work with a broken rib and bullet hole in your chest, and have been a workaholic for as long as I’ve known you . . . yeah, it’s kind of obvious.”
I laughed.
He kissed me softly on the mouth before dropping to the couch. The intimate, easy gesture made my stomach flutter as he reached for the remote.
“Want to join me?” he asked.
Standing over him, I gazed down at his long, lean form.
It suddenly occurred to me that he and I were enjoying our first normal morning together. A morning most couples took for granted.
I settled beside him. The muscles in his abdomen bunched and moved as he shifted to make room. Sounds from the TV filled the background.
Inching closer to him, I forced thoughts of Division 5 aside.
“So . . . are you hungry?” I asked.
He smiled just as the America News Network morning show started. Leaning closer to kiss my neck, he whispered, “Hungry for you?”
I held my injured arm closer to my side. Despite the sling, snuggling beside him still jarred my wound.
Batting my eyelashes playfully, I replied, “I thought you said we had to wait for my injury to heal?”
His gaze darkened. “There are other things we could do.”
My breath caught in my chest at what those other things could be, but all wayward thoughts stopped short when the newscaster’s words reached my ears.
“We turn to our local Illinois reporter outside Chicago Children’s where Zoe Mathison’s condition is now critical. Bob?”
The teasing smile on my lips vanished as Davin frowned.
A middle-aged reporter stood outside the hospital. He wore a thick jacket as snow flew around him. Behind him, Chicago Children’s loomed. Several windows in the large building were broken, and the sign over the main entrance hung unevenly.
It was such a common sight. Most buildings and businesses had fallen into disrepair since the First Wave. Hospitals were no exception.
The reporter held his hood in place as cold gusts tried to blow it off.
“Thank you, Lily. Behind me is the hospital where young, Zoe Mathison is currently fighting for her life as doctors and nurses work around the clock to try to save her. The latest reports indicate an unknown infection is spreading throughout her body.”
The scene cut back to the main desk. The Des Moines anchorwoman shuffled her papers. “And what do you know about Senator Douglas’ claims that Zoe was exposed to Makanza and that’s why she’s sick?”
Bob’s face turned grim. “Doctors have confirmed that Zoe was indeed exposed to Makanza.”
The blood drained from my face as Davin’s entire body tensed.
“Is it fair to say, Bob, that Zoe’s condition is directly related to Makanza?”
Bob sighed heavily. “Doctors have neither confirmed nor denied that. The exact cause of her illness remains unknown.”
The scene shifted again to the anchorwoman after Bob promised to continue monitoring the situation. Her words washed over me like a slight breeze—there and then gone.
I vigorously shook my head. “But that doesn’t make sense . . .”
Davin’s expression turned dark. “They won’t let us stay free if she dies from Makanza no matter what protection the Post Wave Rehabilitation Act grants us.”
I gripped his hand tightly, ignoring the painful jostle of my injury. “It’s not Makanza that’s doing this to her. I’m sure of it!”
A soft scratch filled the back of my mind. Sara. I hadn’t heard from her in two days.
“Hold on,” I told Davin. “Sara’s trying to get in touch.”
Closing my eyes, I opened the telepathic link with the twin. Hi, are you there?
Sara’s anxiety strummed along our bond before her words reached me. Did you see it? They’re saying a young girl is going to die from Makanza.
I nodded internally. Yeah, I saw it, but it’s not true. Even though she’s been exposed, it’s not Makanza that has made her this ill. I’m sure of it. S
he’s been vaccinated, so there’s no way the virus could be the cause.
But they’re saying on the news that she only became ill after encountering a Kazzie. If the twin had been sitting beside me, I felt certain she’d be wringing her hands.
That may be true, but the extent of her illness can’t be explained by just that.
How can you be so sure?
Pinching the bridge of my nose, I recounted the numerous trials and studies we’d done with the vaccination. Not one stone had been left unturned with our research. The vaccine’s 100% effective. She’ll be fine.
But a niggling doubt still gnawed at my conscience. I did my best to hide it from Sara. I should go. Davin’s here.
Oh, yeah, I almost forgot. Sara’s feelings shifted, as if she pushed her worry aside. How are things going? Since you didn’t get in touch to yell at me, I’m assuming things are better now?
I chuckled at her teasing words. Yeah, things are good. We’re . . . uh . . . together now.
Her smile felt like it was a mile wide. I figured as much. I kept telling him that you two just needed to talk. If it wasn’t for that storm, I’m certain he would have come to you sooner.
That’s what he said.
So, can we officially put the Jenna drama behind us?
I sighed. Yes, we can. I should have listened to you. You were right about her.
The Complete Makanza Series: Books 0-4 Page 93