Bite Me

by Bella Street

  “He saw you with me, Sef. In bed.”

  She swallowed, acknowledging the obvious.

  “So, that was a week ago. You haven't seen him since?”

  Seffy shook her head. “I'm still trying to figure out what to do.”

  Trent sighed. “I should talk to him.”

  She grabbed his hand. “No way. I will...soon.”

  “We should've gone public before now. Sneaking around is...” He shook his head and looked away.

  Seffy inwardly admitted she hadn't wanted her idyll with Trent to be spoiled by the drama sure to follow any couple announcement. And going public during the insanity of the last month would've stressed already strained relationships to the breaking point, right?

  Then again maybe that would've been better than what Gareth had seen.

  “Or maybe your goal was achieved.”

  She cocked her head. “What?”

  A muscle jumped in his jaw belying the evenness of his tone. “Maybe you wanted Gareth to discover us that way instead of simply letting people know we're together.”

  She caught her breath. “That's not true.”

  “Why did you tell him about the directors who took advantage of you? You could apparently risk his wrath then.”

  “What?”

  “That's when the real trouble started between him and you. And I'm starting to wonder if there's a pattern here.”

  She clasped her hands in her lap, hoping her voice came out steady. “Trent, I told him about the directors because I wanted him to love me in spite of it.” She took a deep breath. “Like you do.”

  “I hope you believe that,” he said in a low voice. “That I love you.”

  She nodded and her heart rate calmed a bit. “But none of this is about him.”

  “Was it ever?”

  She licked her lips, knowing she was the cause of the unease in his eyes. “Yes. At first.”

  “What about now?”

  A humorless smile pulled at her lips. If Gareth had been her longing, Trent was her fulfillment. “It's all about you.”

  Trent's shoulders relaxed. “So why didn't you tell me about him walking in on us?”

  “I didn't know what to say.”

  His expression was unreadable, but his tone wasn't. “They're just words, Sef. You just say the words. Even when it's hard.”

  “I was afraid...and I guess I defaulted to my usual method of operation—denial.”

  Trent tugged on one of her hands. “There's now a huge shift between me and Gareth, and that changes things. That's something I need to know about.”

  Seffy nodded. “You're right. I'm sorry.”

  He leaned his forehead against hers. “We have to work together, okay? We need to look out for each other.”

  Gripping his fingers, she reveled in his nearness “Can you forgive me?”

  A concerned frown shifted his face. “Of course.”

  When he moved away, she suddenly wondered if he was leaving. The notion of spending a night apart from him was intolerable. “Are you going back to your room?”

  Trent sent her a quizzical look and brushed her hair away from her neck. “I'm going to go get the wet blankets out of the Light Room before more damage is done. Get some rest and I'll be back soon, all right?”

  Seffy nodded, not liking the way the night was turning out, wondering if she'd ruined what they had before they'd really begun.

  “You've still got the gun?”

  “Yeah.”

  He pressed a kiss against her temple.

  “And I'll talk to Gareth tomorrow,” she said in a low voice. “I promise.”

  Then she remembered the wolf's yellow eyes from her dream, and shivered.

  Chapter Two

  Seffy was awake when Trent returned.

  She heard him come through the main door instead of from the ceiling access above his desk. He headed straight to the bathroom without speaking.

  Seffy bit back a sigh. She'd climbed into his bed after lying awake in her own bed. But even holding onto his pillow hadn't helped. She needed him—that and the absence of a guilty conscience.

  Seffy glanced at the clock. Nearly five a.m. She regretted her promise to speak to Gareth. Her craven soul wanted to hide out or even lie to Trent. Anything but face the look in Gareth's eyes. She was still haunted by what she saw there the night he found them. What words could change that?

  Oops?

  I'm sorry?

  What are you looking at?

  She heard Trent turn off the shower. Seffy sat up as he emerged from the bathroom with a towel around his waist.

  “I got pretty dirty from hauling out all the blankets.” He approached the bed, his expression inscrutable in the low light.

  Seffy rose to her knees and edged to the side of the mattress. She reached out for him, tugging him closer by his towel. “I couldn't sleep without you,” she said softly.

  He glanced down at her hands on his towel. “You couldn't?”

  She trailed her fingers up his ribs to his chest and tilted her face to his, brushing his cheek with her nose. “Nope.”

  Trent bent his head to kiss her, but before his lips met hers, he said, “Is this because you think I'm mad at you?”

  Seffy blinked and pulled back. “Are you?”

  His mouth quirked. “If I was, it would hardly be the first time. I just want to make sure you're not after guilt nookie.”

  Seffy's eyes widened. There was such a thing? “Guilt nookie?”

  “I'm trying to have some standards here.” He skimmed his fingertips along the exposed skin between her top and panties. “And trust me, it's very temporary.”

  She rested her palms over the thumping of his heartbeat. “What if I said a little bit yes?”

  He tipped up her chin. “I'm glad you're honest, but I would prefer your only motivation for me be pure, unbridled passion.”

  “Well, there's always that,” she whispered.

  Trent brushed a kiss across her lips, then caught her lower lip with his teeth. Seffy closed her eyes and wrapped her arms around him, allowing his gentle exploration of her mouth.

  His slow assault caused her heart to hammer in anticipation. She pulled away only long enough to slip her top over her head. When her breasts touched his chest, his kisses became more demanding, his hands splayed on her back, urging her closer. Seffy tugged at his towel until it fell away. Trent tumbled onto the bed on top of her, raining hot kisses along her body until she began to whimper with need.

  He paused for a moment and looked into her eyes. Apparently satisfied with what he saw, his fingers tugged at the waistband of her panties.

  ***

  Cracking her eyes open, Seffy wondered what woke her. The sound of knocking far off made her focus for a moment. She saw that the other side of the bed was empty. Where had Trent gone?

  Slowly she remembered him telling her something about the Light Room and Fenn. Seffy glanced at the clock. After eight. Shoving her hair from her face, she sat up and tried to get her bearings.

  The knock sounded again.

  Someone's at my door!

  Seffy gathered the sheets around her and stumbled through the passageway to her room.

  “Who is it?” she squeaked against the wood panels of the door.

  “Lani.”

  Blowing out a breath, Seffy opened up a crack. “Are you alone?”

  “Yes.”

  She opened the door further and allowed her friend in.

  Lani smiled at her appearance. “Somebody had a long night.”

  Shutting and locking the door, Seffy rolled her eyes. “Trent's not here FYI. Give me a second to get decent.” Without waiting for a response, she grabbed some clothes from her dresser and went into the bathroom to change into jeans and a blouse. After scrubbing her teeth and face and putting her hair up in a sloppy ponytail, she emerged feeling slightly more respectable.

  Lani sat demurely in the desk chair, her brown hair shining, her blue eyes sparkling with curios
ity. “So, why were you in that strange room last night?”

  Seffy subsided onto the bed, unsure how to answer. Lani was the only one who understood about her and Trent and she didn't want to lie to her one supportive friend. But neither could she tell the whole truth.

  The Light Room was the only place she and Trent had that wasn't sullied by compound stratagems, not to mention the only source of light and fresh air available at the moment.

  Thankfully Trent had shut the ceiling tile before Lani had arrived with the clothes. “Would you mind if I pleaded the fifth?”

  Lani grinned. “Well, this time I'll give you a pass. But I'm gonna need some details soon, girlfriend. You have the best story going inside these walls and I'm starved for romance.”

  “What? What about you and Malone?”

  Lani sighed. “He's one of those hot and cold guys. When he's hot, he's all about Lani. When he's not, he's all 'I have to go and make sure the compound is secure.'”

  Seffy smiled. “Isn't that a good thing?”

  She shrugged. “I guess. I mean he told me Fenn put him back on staff as security.”

  When they'd all met Malone, he was a survivalist living in underground safe houses in the desert, fighting zombies and getting the survivors liquored up on hardcore moonshine. But that didn't compare to the time he turned them in to his old buddy Popov, who used them as leverage in some creepy zombie-making scheme at the compound.

  Good times.

  “Once Popov sold him out, that was it for him,” Lani said. “He's completely loyal to Fenn now.”

  “That's...great.”

  “I guess,” she said dolefully. “Now he's gone so much and I'm bored.” She leaned forward. “Which is why I need some vicarious spice in my life.”

  Seffy's smile was forced. She wasn't the gushing girlfriend type and her relationship with Trent still felt so new, so raw. “Well, I think things are going pretty good between us.”

  Lani laughed. “Obviously.”

  “And we still want to leave this place. I guess that's the main goal, right?”

  “Is he a good lover?”

  Seffy put up her hands. “Okay, wow...awkward moment here.”

  She waggled her eyebrows. “That good, huh?”

  “Um, is there a reason you came by this morning?”

  Lani's smile faded. “Actually, yes.”

  “Is it about Gareth?”

  She nodded. “You really need to talk to him, Sef. He's messed up.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I can tell he's obsessing over you and Trent being together. He looks all fierce and stressed. Not like his usual honey self.” She glanced down at her hands. “What exactly did he see, by the way?”

  Seffy licked her lips, her stomach knotting up. “It was...after the fact. Trent was asleep, but I was still awake.”

  “Did he say anything to you?”

  “Not unless cussing counts.”

  Lani wrinkled her nose. “Well, I get that you don't want to face him, but I think you should, just to break the tension.”

  “God, Lani, what do I say?”

  “Just tell him the truth. That you're in love with Trent.”

  “It sounds easy—”

  “But it won't be, I know. Still...”

  Seffy closed her eyes for a moment, knowing Lani was right. “I will. Today. I have to do this.”

  “Like right now?”

  “I guess there's no point in waiting.”

  “Want me to walk down with you?”

  She pulled in a cleansing breath and nodded. “Okay, let's go.”

  The phone rang.

  Inwardly thrilled at the interruption, Seffy hopped up to answer it, sending an apologetic smile to Lani. “Hello?”

  “Seffy, this is Olga. I need to get another blood sample from you. Can you meet me in the exam room we've used in your section?”

  'My section' being the abandoned psychiatric section of the compound. “Not the medical clinic?”

  A pause. “No, I need to come to you this time.”

  “Like now?”

  “Like now.”

  “Okay, I'll see you there.” She hung up the phone and turned to Lani. “Uh, Olga needs more of my voodoo blood. But as soon as I'm done, I'll go see Gareth.”

  Lani stood and walked over to pat her shoulder. “I know you will.”

  Seffy watched her go, relieved beyond belief. She flopped back onto the bed and closed her eyes, knowing that her reprieve wouldn't last forever.

  ***

  “Ow.” Seffy squeezed her eyes shut. “Ow! Geez, Olga, I swear you're trying to drain me dry. Are you part vampire or something?”

  “It will be over in a minute, dear.”

  “Why does the needle have to be so big?”

  “The better to drain you dry with.”

  Seffy's mouth twisted. She stared up at the conservative Finnish woman who was her trusted compound nurse. At the moment, the nurse was in full scrubs, had on a plastic face shield and wore long latex gloves. “So, uh, unless it's Halloween and you're dressed up as a microprocessor dude—”

  “What's a microprocessor dude?”

  Seffy shook her head, realizing the nurse hadn't seen the commercial—and wouldn't for twenty-some years. “Never mind. But my point is that based on your heavily protected appearance, I'm guessing my blood work results weren't all that great.”

  Olga kept her attention on Seffy's tired vein. “Your blood work results weren't all that great.”

  Seffy gulped. “So I am deadly?”

  The nurse's face tensed up behind the shield. “I'm supposed to wear this you know. At least on official duty.”

  “You didn't answer my question.”

  Olga finally raised her pale blue eyes. Her smile was stiff. “As I've said before, avoid sharp things.”

  “Holy crap, I'm actually poisonous.”

  “Nothing that a little bleach won't handle.”

  “Bleach is a volatile chemical.”

  “Then let's just say we fight fire with fire until I can figure out what's going on.”

  Seffy frowned. “I don't get it. You guys said I didn't have any zombie virus. Then the Tangent Land doc says I have no blood type. And now I'm more than just a pesticide?”

  “It's true that we can't find any known pathogen, but your blood chemistry keeps...mutating, so it's best to be on the safe side.”

  Her shoulders slumped. “Maybe it will mutate back to normal.”

  Olga slid the needle out, pressing a cotton ball in the crook of Seffy's arm. “Just remember my advice—aside from the times I need to draw blood.”

  Seffy winced and bent her arm tight. “Well, Lani thought I had a super power. Maybe this is it. But instead of Wonder Woman stars on my chest, I'll get a T-shirt that says 'runs with scissors' to let people know who they're messing with.”

  Olga's expression clouded as she capped the tubes and put them in a holder.

  Seffy peered down at the hole in her arm. “Well, on a slightly less disturbing note, let's talk about you.”

  The nurse put a clean cotton ball at the puncture site and secured it with a bandage. “What about me?”

  “How's...what was his name? That doctor you had that little fling with when the compound was juiced with happy meals. Get it? Drugs sprinkled on the food?”

  “There will be no talk of Bob or of anything else that happened that night, young lady.”

  She smiled, glad for a diversion. “Bob, huh? You sure got your naughty on with him—”

  “As I said, there will be no talk of that disgraceful episode. Am I clear?”

  “But I want to talk about it. Oh, I know why you're upset. Has Bob been avoiding your calls?”

  Olga released an angry sigh through her nostrils.

  “Fine. Be that way. A non-sharer.”

  The nurse put the vial holder inside a steel case, locked it, and set it in the fridge. When she turned back around, she sat at the little table and clasped her
hands together. The lines around her eyes seemed deeper than usual. “Seffy, I'm glad to see you in relatively high spirits. You've been cast down far too much during your stay at the compound.”

  “My 'stay?' You make it sound like a vacation. If I could, I'd ask for a refund.”

  “Be that as it may, I have some difficult news for you.”

  Seffy's smile evaporated. “Oh, God.”

  “Just about another quarantine,” Olga said quickly. “I know how much you hate those.”

  “Oh.” Heat spread to her cheeks. “That's okay. I thought you were going to tell me I was dying or something.”

  Her brows went up. “Last time I told you about a quarantine, you looked like I told you you were dying.”

  Seffy released a breath and shrugged. “I guess I'm getting used to this place, what with all its charming...”

  “Painted cement block, dingy linoleum, and lack of windows?”

  “And don't forget this place being hundreds of miles from civilization. It gives it that all-important remote quality that would otherwise be lacking.”

  “Mmm hmm.” Olga peered at her over her half moon glasses. “So, who's responsible for that silly look on your face? Gareth or Trent?”

  Seffy's apparently silly expression slipped. “Geez. Why would you assume it's a guy, and not that I've had a personal and spiritual breakthrough because I believed in myself and all my dreams came true?”

  “I'm going to guess Trent, since you've had an amorous run in with him before. What were the words you used last time—'horny monkey?'”

  Seffy put up her hands, her face flaming. “Okay, I'm gonna need some Bob details before I admit to anything.”

  Olga pursed her lips. “Trent is fine in his way—there can be no doubting his affection for you—but Gareth...now I thought he might be something special.”

  Seffy looked away, her heart suddenly heavy. “I guess some things are just too good to be true.”

  The nurse cleared her throat. “As a medical professional, I have to ask if you're being careful, dear. At the compound stores, we have free—”