by Jenna Byrnes
He took the gloves and shoved them into his coat pockets. “I’m not. The name’s Mac. I figured I’d stay here long enough to warm up before I ventured back outside.”
The woman cocked her head. “Why wouldn’t you just sleep here?”
“Not safe. Soldiers swarm this neighborhood at night. Besides, Mad Dog wouldn’t allow it. He does a lot of good for the rebellion. I’d never take the chance of jeopardizing his situation.” He raised an eyebrow at her. “How did you get in here, anyway?”
“Mad Dog.” Obviously uncomfortable, she walked behind the bar. “I was thinking a shot of something might warm me up. Care to join me?”
“Alcohol and I don’t mix, but go ahead. Grab a bottle and bring it into the kitchen. Are you hungry?” He locked the front door and felt his way along the bar stools until he reached the kitchen.
“Yeah.” She followed him and set a bottle of Captain Morgan’s Black Label rum on the counter. She peeled away the top layer of clothing from her face.
Mac lit one burner on the stove for heat and light. He tried not to stare, but couldn’t resist watching her. The woman had long, thick, auburn hair, which didn’t look natural. The color didn’t look bad, but her skin was slightly darker than his and he figured her to have black hair originally. “What did you say your name was?”
She eyed him levelly. “I didn’t. Michelle.”
He nodded thoughtfully and proceeded to get out some cheese and more of the bread he’d eaten earlier. “You look familiar.”
“People always tell me that. I guess I have one of those faces.” She removed her heavy overcoat and a curvaceous, hourglass figure came into view.
“I guess,” Mac mumbled and looked down at the bread. He’d remember those tits before he remembered her face, but some memory of manners past kept him from saying so. “You know, I—” He glanced up at her and froze.
Memories flooded back to him. Her face, plastered on newspapers and Internet stories daily. She did look familiar, and she did normally have black hair. Her name was not Michelle. “Oh, my God. It’s so dark in here, I didn’t recognize you before. Pleasure to meet you, Madame President.”
Katherine Garza’s dark brown eyes flashed with apprehension. “There’s a title that’ll surely get me killed. I guess you can call me Katy.”
Mac shrugged. “It feels a little odd, being so familiar with the president. But I understand where you’re coming from. You can’t tell by looking at me, but I used to be a cop with the Chicago P.D.”
Her mouth dropped open. “Seriously? I guess you don’t go around advertising that fact. The last cop I knew was killed by one of his fellow officers in an arena death match.”
“Yeah, the Progressives are so much fun, aren’t they? It’s not good enough just to kill cops and politicians. They make us fight like gladiators and do it to each other.”
Katy’s eyebrows rose. “Have you ever—? Never mind. It’s none of my business.”
He folded his arms across his chest. “I’ve fought in two death matches. I was lucky. I didn’t know my competitors. Not sure what I would have done if I had.”
“You would have killed them, of course.” She bellied up to the counter and tore off a piece of bread. “We do what we have to, in times of war. No one ever said it was going to be pretty.”
Mac watched her nibble the bread. Filthy, disheveled and exhausted, she still looked pretty. The best-looking woman he’d laid eyes on in months. He softened his tone. “What are you doing here?”
“Same as you, I’d guess. Trying to stay alive. Slowly making my way back to D.C. to see if there are enough Libertarians left to mount an overthrow of Lakeesha Laughlin.”
He shook his head. “She looks like one tough bitch. Not sure where the Progressives came up with her for their president, but I wouldn’t want to tangle with the broad.”
Katy’s eyes flashed. “I would.” She looked down at the counter. “You going to slice that cheese? If not, I can eat it like that.”
“Sorry.” He cut several more pieces of bread and sliced the hard cheese. “Have as much as you want. You need a glass for that rum?”
She glanced down as if she’d forgotten the bottle. “Oh! No, I don’t.” With one smooth motion, she removed the top and took a large swig from the bottle.
Mac grinned. Much of his life had felt surreal the past year, but this scene took the prize. Would he have pictured himself, in the middle of a dark kitchen, watching the former president of the once-United States, swill rum and eat with her fingers? Never in a million years.
Memories of his wife flashed through his mind. He and his beautiful Denise had enjoyed casual dining, and had many picnics by the lake. They drank wine, ate bread and cheese, and made love there on the beach. Remembering his dark-haired beauty gripped his heart like a clamp to the chest. She’d been naïve to think because she was a nurse she’d be safe from the atrocities of war. Chicago’s General Hospital had been one of the first places to go, Denise and their unborn child destroyed right along with the building.
“What are you thinking about?” Katy brought his attention back to the present.
He shrugged. “Nothing. It was a long time ago. I’ve told myself not to dwell on the past. Remembering never helps.”
“I don’t know. Sometimes, it helps to remember the good things. The way life used to be. The way it could be again.” Katy took another drink from the bottle and polished off the food.
“You’re kidding, right?” Mac cleaned up the mess and erased any evidence they had ever been there. “We won’t see peace in our lifetime. Our kid’s kids will be lucky if they can live in a world without violence. I just don’t think things will ever be the same.”
“Now that’s a fucking pessimistic attitude.” She leaned back her head and allowed rum to flow freely down her throat. When the bottle was empty, she slammed it to the counter with a thud, and swiped the back of her hand across her mouth. “You have kids, Mac?”
He picked up the empty and squeezed it between his hands. The pungent smell of alcohol wafted to his nose, tempting him to find another bottle and indulge along with Katy. “I was going to. My wife was pregnant when the war started. She didn’t survive the first wave.”
Katy’s brow furrowed. “I’m sorry.” She took a deep, shuddering breath. “I had two kids.”
“I remember.” Mac had seen their pictures in the news many times. A cute, fresh-faced boy and a pretty little girl, both sporting hair as black as their mother’s. “I remember the day their school was bombed, too.”
“I’ll never forget that day as long as I live.” Her eyes gleamed with anger and pain. “Laughlin will pay, I promise you that.”
He wasn’t convinced the new president was the person to blame for all the horrible deeds that had happened since the war started. But she was definitely evil, so as good a target for vengeance as anyone. “I never heard what happened to your husband.”
Katy wiped a tear from her cheek. “The same thing that happened to my security team. Picked off, one by one, until I was the only one left.”
“And you’re trying to make it back to D.C.? You’re either crazy, or one hell of a fighter.”
She thrust out her chest and looked him squarely in the eye. “Which do you think?”
Mac smiled. “Maybe a little of both.”
Katy took a step closer to him and placed her palms on his chest. “Maybe a lot of both.” She fisted the lapels of his coat and dragged him against her. The look in her eyes said ‘Try me’ before her lids closed and she pressed her lips to his.
Chapter Three
Mac savored the warm kiss for a few seconds before pulling away. “Madame President, you’re drunk. We need to find a safe place for you to sleep it off.” He set the empty bottle on the counter, wondering what he should do with it.
Before he could decide, she cupped his neck, and worked the other hand down the front of his pants. “I don’t want to sleep. I want to fuck. Don’t tell me you’re not int
erested, because I can feel your hard-on and I’m not even through all your layers of clothes yet.”
His cock twitched, growing firmer as her hand got closer. He tried not to thrust into her grasp, but it was tough holding back. “Of course I’m interested. I’m a man who hasn’t had sex in ages, for Christ’s sake. But you’re not just any woman.”
Drawing his face closer, she whispered as their lips touched. “I am tonight.”
Shit. His better instincts told him to back away and not take advantage of the woman. But her hand had reached its destination and squeezed his erection with a powerful grip. “I don’t want you to have regrets later.”
Katy rubbed her body against his. “I expect to have a hangover later. No regrets. Come on, officer. I know you’re a ‘play by the rules’ kind of guy. Do I have to order you to service me?”
“Service you?” Mac laughed and lowered his pants to his knees. “Since you put it that way…” He reached for the snap of her slacks and shoved them down, along with a tiny pair of panties. “Gee, who knew you were so romantic and mushy?”
“It’s not a side I show to everybody,” she teased back, kicking one foot free of clothes so she could spread her legs.
Mac grasped her by the hips and lifted her to the edge of the counter. He fingered her lightly-furred pussy and inserted a finger deep inside. So wet. So ready for me. He couldn’t stop now if he’d wanted to, and he did not want to. One hand firmly on his cock, he aimed at her center and rammed himself in with little advance preparation.
“Yes,” she hissed, clutching his shoulders and bucking her body against his. “Hard and fast, baby.”
“No other way.” He gritted his teeth and fucked her with all the pent-up energy he’d been harboring. With each lunge forward, her pussy clenched around him like a silky vise. He paused once, to savor the warmth, and then resumed his forceful thrusts.
The primal act was everything he could have hoped for. Hot. Tight. Wet. His one regret was not getting his hands on her full, round tits. He’d have given anything to undress her and press his face between the warm mounds. Unfortunately, they lacked the luxury of time. But for a quickie, this one was pretty damned hot. He buried his face in her hair and groaned.
An orgasm tingled around the edges of his gut, threatening to explode and overwhelm him like nothing before. The whole thing felt so perfect, Mac hoped he could hold out until she was satisfied. He drove into her again and relished her moans and gasps.
“Oh, yeah.” She finally grunted, voice raspy. “I’m there!”
“Come on,” Mac urged. He maintained his thrusting but inwardly sighed with relief. He’d have hated to lose control before she was sated.
Katy gasped and groaned as her body quivered. She loosened her grip and slipped away from him a few inches.
Mac grabbed her and tightened his grasp. He was so close to coming, he had no intention of letting go now. “Fuck yeah,” he muttered in her ear. “I’m right there with you.”
“Come on.” Her encouragement was more of a command.
Mac grinned and allowed the sensations he’d been holding back to take over. As the orgasm swirled through him, he thought of the bossy little minx he was in a clench-hold with, and briefly imagined all the good times they could share in the future. He quickly shoved the thought aside and let the orgasm take hold. Don’t think. Feel.
He shuddered and sighed, his neglected balls emptying into her.
She wrapped her arms around his neck and rocked him gently as the last waves of his climax subsided. “Umm.” Katy purred in his ear. “Feel good?”
He pulled back and gazed into her eyes. “You don’t really have to ask that, do you?”
“Nah.” She rubbed her palm over the back of his head. “It felt fucking fantastic. I was just thinking what you and I could do with a little more time.”
“Funny, I was thinking the same thing.” He eased his cock out and backed up.
Katy winced and lowered herself off the counter. “And a bed. I’d really love a bed next time.”
Mac grinned and fastened his pants. He leaned over to help her back into hers. “Now you’re talking crazy. I can’t remember the last time I slept in a bed.”
“I can’t remember the last time I slept.” She adjusted her clothes and looked him in the eye. “Yes I can. The last night I had a security guard with me.”
He pulled her close and placed a kiss on her forehead. “Maybe you can sleep tonight. Let’s find some place to spread out our coats. We’ll use them for a bed.”
She raised her eyebrows. “You think it’s safe to stay here?”
Mac shrugged. “It’s getting late, and very dark. At this point, it might be more dangerous to go wandering around outside. Come on.” He killed the burner, dousing their only source of light. He grabbed a handful of their things and took the empty rum bottle to hide it.
Katy picked up the rest of their clothing and walked with him to a pantry-type closet lined with shelves on either side. There was just enough floor space for a couple of bodies to stretch out.
“We’ll sleep in here,” he told her. He spread one layer of coats and scarves on the floor and closed the door. Lying on top of the coat stack, Mac wrapped his arms around Katy and covered them with his jacket. “How’s this?” he whispered, his lips against her forehead.
“Nice,” she replied, snuggling into him. “But what if someone comes in?”
He reached behind her for the knife he’d slipped out of her coat. “I’ve got this, if I need to use it. I really hope I don’t.”
Katy chuckled. “Were you joking about being a cop?”
He smiled. “Not all soldiers like war. I’m just trying to get by the best I can.”
“That surprises me, considering the way you’ve had to live for the past months or years—however long it’s been.”
Mac shrugged. “I used to have a calendar, but I threw it away. What difference does it make? It’s easier to take life day by day.”
“You call this life?” Her voice rose sharply. “I call it existence. I’m trying to get back to D.C. and make a difference in the world. I want my life back. Don’t you?”
“I don’t have a life, not anymore.” He sighed, and rested his cheek against hers.
“That’s sad,” Katy whispered in a softer tone.
He could tell the effects of the alcohol and sex had kicked in enough to wear her out. She was nearly asleep. He wished she’d close her eyes and let it happen. There was nothing more to talk about tonight. “Sleep,” he murmured, and listened as her breathing slowed and evened out.
* * * *
Mac opened his eyes and took a moment to figure out where he was. Warmer than he usually felt in the morning, he’d actually gotten some sleep. His whole right side was numb from the weight of the woman sleeping next to him. He blinked and recalled the previous evening. “Stupid, stupid, stupid!” He scooted Katy off him and clambered to his feet.
“What’s wrong?” She sat up and yawned.
He opened the closet door and peered out. “I can’t believe we spent the whole night in here. I have no idea what time it is, if there’s going to be anybody out there, or not.”
Katy pressed a button to illuminate the watch on her wrist. “It’s 5:30 a.m. What time does the pub open?”
He breathed a sigh of relief. “Not for a couple hours yet. Grab your stuff. We’ve got to get out of here.”
“Uh, excuse me? I just woke up and my head is pounding. I’ve got to pee before I go anywhere. I’m about ready to burst.”
“Demon rum.” He shook his head. “Okay, there’s a john at the back of the pub. Take your stuff with you and make it quick. I’ll meet you out front. It’ll still be dark, so we might be okay.”
She gathered her coat and layers of scarves and muttered to herself as she passed him by. “You could have said something about ‘demon rum’ last night. And you think women are the only ones who pee? Just because we can’t do it in a bottle…”
&nb
sp; “Quiet! Go!” He swatted her ass.
She jumped and tossed him a seductive look over her shoulder.
Mac considered following her to the john and fucking her on the counter like he’d done last night. But his morning hard-on would have to wait. They were tempting fate staying so long in one place, and needed to get the hell out.
Unsure where they were going, he decided to hit the bathroom himself, and then he met her by the front door of the pub. “Cover up. It’s freaking freezing out there again today.”
She smiled at him as she layered clothing. “Ozone layer. Who knew?”
“No shit.” He adjusted the scarf covering her face and decided they were ready to go. He opened the outside door slowly and stuck his head out, glancing both ways. “Let’s go.”
They’d taken one step out the door when two men appeared in front of them, wielding automatic machine guns. “What do we have here?” The taller of the duo peered closely at Mac and Katy.
“Can’t be anything good, this time of morning.” The other waved his gun in their faces. “Back inside, fellas.”
Mac clutched Katy’s arm and they backed up into the pub.
The first man poked his gun in Katy’s chest.
Mac cringed when it became obvious she was a woman, and not the ‘fellow’ they’d been expecting.
“Oh, I don’t know.” The soldier tugged off his knit face mask, and a leering grin split his face. “Looks like we might have found something good.”
Chapter Four
Mac positioned his body between the gun and Katy. “Leave her alone. She’s sick. I’m trying to get her to a clinic to get her HIV meds.”
The soldier’s face fell. “You have HIV? Fuck!”
“Not today, I guess,” Mac offered cheekily. “We’ll just be going. Really need to get to that clinic.”
“I don’t think so.” The man poked his gun at Mac. “We’ll be taking you to the director’s center for interrogation.” He yanked the scarves off Katy’s face and shook his head with disappointment. “Damn shame, too.” He groped her breast through her bulky coat.