The Trunk

by Linda Mooney

  “Eat me,” she begged breathily.

  “Gladly.”

  He nuzzled aside her pubes and burrowed his face against her opening, where he probed her inner chamber with his tongue before dragging it over her engorged clit. That was all it took for her come, and her body went rigid. He tongued her taut button several more times, keeping her riding that peak, then withdrew his face. Crawling on top of her, he pressed his erection into her, forcing it past heightened nerves and tissue, until he was buried to his root.

  Emlee raised her knees to give him easier access, and Mykail jacked into her, pumping hard and furious. She relished the feel of him inside her. And when he rammed himself those last few times, and their combined grunts filled the cool air, she guided him down to lie on top of her, his heat and weight comforting.

  She cuddled against him as the afterglow gradually pulled her back to sleep. She was almost unconscious when Mykail raised up onto his elbows and kissed her forehead.

  “Happy anniversary.”

  The reference was lost on her. “What?”

  “Three months ago today, you came back into my life,” he whispered, his breath warm against her skin.

  “Oh. Happy anniversary,” she mumbled with a little smile. He wished her the same thing on the same day every month since they’d reunited. She was prepared to drift off again when he removed his arms from around her and slid out of the bed. Emlee groaned in mock despair. “Come on. Another thirty minutes or so of snuggling isn’t going to matter.”

  “Everyone has to do their fair share if this place is going to make it,” he half-teased.

  She heard him go into the little bathroom and close the door. A minute later, he exited from there and began to dress. Hearing him pulling on his pants, she opened her eyes. “You’re going to guilt me into getting up, aren’t you?” she teased.

  “It’s a brand new day. We’re still alive and together. Let’s make the most of it. Are you still on firewood duty?”

  “Yep. Until the new duty roster comes out.”

  Rolling onto her back, she lifted her arms to stretch, when a pang caught her in the abdomen. She gasped and clutched her belly.

  “Em? What’s wrong?” He dropped to the edge of the bed and reached over, placing his palm over her hand.

  She blinked against the ray of sunlight that pierced the narrow slit in the curtain. “Don’t quote me on this, but I think I’m about to have a period.”

  Mykail beamed, the residual water droplets in his beard glittering. “That’s great! It means your body’s starting to get back to normal!”

  She observed his grin. “It also means I could get pregnant. And you and I both know six-year-old condoms aren’t as reliable as they used to be.”

  “Maybe we don’t need any condoms. Or any form of birth control, for that matter,” he suggested.

  Emlee gasped. “Are you seriously suggesting bringing a baby into this world?”

  He briefly bowed his head. When he lifted his face, his expression was serious. “Em, at some point we all have to make the decision whether to keep surviving as a species, or give up and completely die out. It’s probably what those aliens are eventually hoping for. But I’m not ready to throw in the towel. I can’t. I never gave up on finding you again, even though I knew the odds were against us, so I’m sure as hell not willing to face a future without experiencing fatherhood and a family. I know we’ve never talked about this before, but there was no need to. Now we need to.”

  She rolled onto her side, adjusting the pillow beneath her head. “I’d give anything to have a baby,” she admitted. “I’ve thought about it. Not much, but it’s crossed my mind, especially after we found each other. But the more I think about it, the more it scares me. I mean, what if something happens to us, and our baby’s left unprotected?”

  “That’s part of life, Em. If it happens, it happens. You of all people know we can’t control fate.” He gave her a lopsided grin. “But you have to admit, she’s been pretty good to us.”

  She couldn’t resist his smile, and returned it. He leaned over to kiss her, then got back to his feet.

  “Guess I’ll have to check around and see what the women here are using for pads,” she remarked.

  “Ask Dottie. I bet she can steer you in the right direction.”

  Emlee envisioned the petite older woman with the gray hair and biting attitude. If ever there was a grand dame of the compound, it was her. “I’ll do that.” She watched as he pulled his grizzly bear t-shirt over his head, then added a long-sleeved denim shirt. “You do know I want that t-shirt back, right?”

  Mykail laughed. “Hey. You got to wear it for six damn years. It’s my turn now.”

  “Are you going out with Dan today?”

  “Yeah. We’re taking Hogan to go see if we can’t track down some deer.” He paused in buttoning. “I have a better idea. Why don’t you go see Miranda? Talk to her. See how the others are coping with raising their kids. I bet she can give you some sound advice about those tampons, too.”

  Another cramp made itself known, and she winced. “That’s a better idea. I’ll do that.”

  “Want to grab breakfast with me?”

  “Yeah. Sure.”

  “I’ll wait outside for you.” He kissed her a third time, then grabbed his boots and left the small cabin.

  Emlee arose from the bed and went over to the tiny cubicle that served as a bathroom. As she relieved herself, she looked out past the door, into the room. There had initially been two sets of bunkbeds in the place, one of which had been removed when she moved in. The other set had been dismantled, and the two twin beds adapted to become a double bed. A bookcase built against one wall served to hold their clothes and personal items. There was also a small table and a single chair. Other than the little pot-bellied stove opposite the bed, there was no other furniture. There wasn’t enough room for anything else, as these cabins had originally been built to accommodate four campers for short durations. It wasn’t much, but it was home, and dearer to her than any other home she’d ever had.

  “If we decided to have kids, we’re going to need to build another room onto this cabin,” she noted to herself.

  After putting into place a temporary sanitary pad made from toilet paper, she threw some water on her face from the bowl in the basin and dried off, hanging the hand towel on the hook on the wall next to the tiny shower. While she dressed, she debated whether to pop an aspirin to waylay further cramps she knew were coming, but decided to wait. Giving her hair a quick brush, she grabbed an elastic band to tie it up into a ponytail and left the cabin.

  A cool wind assailed her as she stepped onto the gravel walk. Hoping the day would get warmer, she resisted the temptation to go back for a sweater. The sky was dotted with white clouds, and there wasn’t an alien ship to be seen. That alone made it a good day.

  She found Mykail standing several yards away. He was talking to Skyler Nim, who had a couple of fishing rods slung over his shoulder. Both men appeared to be staring out across the way, at the skyline visible above the top of the wall. She began to walk over to them, when a sound came to her. Stunned, she stopped in disbelief to listen.

  Bird song.

  A bird was singing. And chirping.

  Happiness washed through her as she ran to join Mykail. “Mykail! Listen! I hear birds!”

  “Shh!” He held up a hand, then pointed in the direction where she’d seen him indicate earlier. “Look!”

  A pair of what appeared to be egrets or cranes flew toward the lake. At the same time, a sparrow darted from a nearby tree.

  “The birds are back,” the former police officer announced in a hushed tone.

  “How? Why? Where have they been all this time?” Emlee wondered.

  “No telling,” Mykail replied. “Something’s had to have happened to make them feel it’s safe enough to return.”

  “And nest,” Nim added. “Spring’s coming. The cycle of life’s getting ready to start up again.”


  “That can’t be the reason,” she argued. “It’s been spring before. I think Mykail’s right. Something’s happened.”

  “And it has to be something major,” Mykail added. “Dan and I’ve noticed an upswing in the animal population these past few weeks, as well. More game seems to be moving in. Or back in. It’s like—”

  A familiar ringing came to them. They immediately began running toward it, to find Dottie Shyster banging away at the large triangle hung in front of the mess hall.

  “Get on in here, people! We got news to share! Come on! Haul your asses!”

  The doors to the mess hall were already propped open. Mykail grabbed her hand, and led her inside and over to one of the tables as more people entered. Emlee inhaled the smell of breakfast, and her stomach growled. Hopefully this wouldn’t take long.

  Dan Apsteen and Myers Rocha walked to the front of the room. At the sight of the two co-founders, the room grew quiet to hear what they had to say.

  “We just got word from Tapaloosa. They’re spreading the word, and letting everyone know to watch the skies. But it appears the aliens have left.”

  The room erupted in cries of disbelief. A few clapped. Apsteen waved his hands for silence in order to continue. “Runners have been spreading the word, and to confirm what’s being observed with other communities. A few weeks ago, a couple of motherships hovering above Mount Morris and Bayunne City took off into the sky, along with all their scout ships. Same thing happened above Pascatoon and Schnyder. They say they haven’t spotted any alien ships in weeks, either.”

  “Maybe it’s temporary,” Justin Rampart remarked. “They might come back.”

  “And maybe it’s permanent,” Dottie countered. “If the ships are gone from all those locations, they may all be gone from everywhere.”

  “So what do we do?” Mia Rocha asked. “Do we assume they’re gone for good? Or do we stay hunched down?”

  “We do both,” Mykail suggested. The room of people turned to him, and he stood to clarify. “We can’t assume anything because we know nothing. And there’s no way we can verify anything anymore when it comes to what’s in outer space. They may be gone from our sight, but we have no idea if they’re still hanging around in orbit above us. We can’t assume anything. All we can do is keep living. Keep surviving. Keep hanging on. It took us hundreds of years to advance to the type of civilization we once had before they arrived. It’s probably going to take us that long to get back to that point.

  “And here’s something else to think about. If and when we reach the level of civilization we once were at again, there’s the chance the Tlok left a survey ship to watch our progress, and notify the motherships if we get back to the point where we once were. They could descend upon us again, and knock us back down to the ground. But next time, instead of leaving a few survivors behind, they might decide to wipe this planet clean of all living organisms. Scour it until there’s nothing left but bedrock.”

  “So what are you trying to say?” Apsteen inquired.

  Mykail glanced at Emlee, then around the room. “I’m saying we continue on as we have. We go on with our lives. We don’t give up. We keep a low profile, and beat back the marauders who approach our walls. Our world isn’t going to be rebuilt during our lifetimes. We all know that. But what we can do is give our children, and our children’s children a chance at a future because they deserve it. We deserve it. We’ve survived, and that gives us the right to some happiness. Well, to me, happiness is having a family. Teaching my kids how to hunt

  and fish, and fend for themselves.” Grinning, he looked back down at her. “But, first things first. Whaddaya say, Em? How about the two of us make it legal?”

  Emlee stared at him, stunned. “Legal?”

  “Yeah. Wanna marry me, Em?”

  She was aware of the number of eyes watching her, the people waiting for her answer. “W-we don’t have a preacher.”

  “Don’t need one,” Dottie piped up. “Just say your ‘I dos’, and you’re good to go. We’ll vouch for ya.”

  “Here? Now?” It wasn’t that she didn’t want to get married. It was the suddenness of it all.

  A flash of consternation crossed Mykail’s face, and she realized he was misreading her hesitation. She bobbed her head. “Yes! Yes, I do!”

  “So do I. Come here, Mrs. Sinth. Let’s kiss on it.” He pulled her up into his arms and covered her mouth with his.

  Emlee was aware of the others cheering and clapping at this public display of affection, but she didn’t care. All that mattered was the feel of his arms around her, the sense of belonging, and most importantly, knowing she shared a love that was so strong, that it had defied time itself.

  About the Author

  Linda loves to write sweet and sensuous romance with a fantasy, paranormal, or science fiction flair. As the author of over 100 books, her technique is often described as being as visual as a motion picture or graphic novel.

  She’s a wife, mother, grandmother, and retired Kindergarten and music teacher who lives in a small south Texas town near the Gulf coast, where she delves into other worlds filled with daring exploits, adventure, and intense love.

  She’s had numerous best sellers, including 10 consecutive #1s. Also included in her achievements, she’s been named Author of the Year, and her book Lord of Thunder is an Epic Ebook "Eppie" Award Winner for Best Erotic Sci-Fi Romance.

  In addition, Linda also writes naughty humorous romances under the name of Carolyn Gregg, horror under the pseudonym of Gail Smith, and elementary teacher workbooks as L. G. Mooney.

  For more information about her books, up-coming and new releases, contests, and giveaways, and to sign up for her newsletter, please visit her website:

  http://www.LindaMooney.com

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