by D. Laine
We moved at his pace, which was fast and feverish. His fingers flew over the snaps of our pants, one after the other, like he couldn’t decide where to start. I didn’t even realize the hook of my bra had been undone until the straps slid from my shoulders. He suddenly stopped, one hand fisting the elastic of my underwear so tightly it bit into my skin. The other lifted the silky bra in the air until it dangled from his fingertips.
“Is this new?”
“Yes, it is. Thanks for noticing.” So were the matching black panties, but I didn’t need to point that out now. He was already staring at them.
“Do I even want to know how you managed to dress for sex in matching lingerie in the middle of an apocalypse?”
“It’s not lingerie,” I pointed out. Technically, they were generic department store garments I had found in the cluttered supply room. But they matched and had a little bit of lace . . . and it was the apocalypse.
“Whatever it is, it’s sexy, and I don’t really care where they came from.” He tossed the bra over his shoulder, wrapping it around a clothesline stretched across the ceiling behind him.
His shirt quickly followed. Then my panties. His boxer briefs. The pace of each action accelerated as the intensity built between us. Touches grew rougher, kisses more frantic.
One arm snaked around my hips to yank me nearly off my perch while the other hooked a leg around his waist. He positioned himself, hard and thick, at my seam. Instead of taking me with the biting force I anticipated, he stopped. His breaths slowed. His touch softened. He waited until my eyes lifted to his. Then he brought us together with a languid stroke that sent little jolts of pleasure straight to my core, and sentiments of love to my heart.
My toes curled and I nearly shattered right then and there. Just from him. He filled me in all the ways that mattered.
Once buried, his head dropped to my shoulder with a guttural moan. “Consider this another first.”
“What?”
“Laundromat. Washing machine.” He rocked his hips once. Twice. Building pressure. “Too bad it didn’t work.”
My head rolled back, exposing my neck to him. With his lips on my throat, my words came in a breathless rush. “You’re not going to need it.”
While I considered those words a fact, Dylan must have considered them a dare. One he was intent on seeing through to the end. Everything about him shifted, except his eyes. Those met mine, and didn’t waver. Not as his movements quickened. Not as he pushed into me harder and deeper.
His hands moved to cup my face in such a tender way it contradicted every punishing shift of his hips that followed. His lips met mine and, even as my body cried for release, my heart swelled. And when I came apart, it was his love that cradled me in the aftermath.
WE DRESSED without anyone discovering us, and wandered outside the building and into the vast night. The moon was bigger, brighter than I had seen it in a long time. The small speckling of stars that had become our stars were still visible against the dark backdrop.
“Have you counted them lately?” I wondered.
“A few days ago. Still nine the last time I checked.”
I quickly counted that number of lights in the sky. Marcus and Maria still had their stars. They just represented something different to us now.
Stepping into the deserted street, Dylan took my hand. His warm fingers interlocked with mine, and it was nice. The moon. The stars. The closeness that permeated between us. If not for the gray ickiness that surrounded us, reminding us of the reality we lived with, it might have been romantic.
Who was I kidding?
It was romantic. In a twisted, this-is-who-we-are-now kind of way.
Dylan suddenly stopped walking. His head lowered to peer down at our conjoined hands. “I’ve never done this before.”
“What? Held hands with a girl?”
He shook his head, appearing both surprised and bewildered.
I couldn’t help but laugh. “Who would have thought I would be the one giving you all kinds of firsts?”
“Certainly not—” His head suddenly snapped up. “Wait a minute. Don’t tell me you’ve had laundry room sex before, because that—”
“No.” I quickly stopped him. “That was a first for both of us.”
“Oh, thank God. It was hard enough knowing you had shower sex before me.” He started walking again with a shake of his head.
I gave his fingers a squeeze. “If it helps, it was much better with you.”
Because he was looking straight ahead, I only saw part of his grin. Even with his face partially hidden in shadows, I could see that it was a big, ornery one.
“That does help.”
After that, we grew silent. It was a comfortable silence, not plagued by the nagging need to fill it with meaningless conversation. It was just us, alone in the dark, abandoned street. The air grew colder by the minute, and I regretted not bringing my coat. But I didn’t want this to end either. I wanted to stretch our time alone for as long as we could.
No talk of the apocalypse. The Watchers. Lucifer. Or Maria.
It was like an unspoken rule. But what else did we have to talk about?
For a moment, panic seized me. What if we had fallen silent because we had nothing to talk about, if not all the mayhem and tragedy that surrounded us? Had the foundation of our relationship been built on a bed of turmoil? Could a relationship that thrived in the midst of such conflict survive in the world we intended to restore? Would we be the same in that new world?
My unfounded concerns didn’t last long, thanks to Dylan. Apparently, he didn’t share my fears, and the ease with which he brought up a random and perfectly natural topic of gossip brought a relieved smile to my face.
“I’ve got something I’ve been wanting to ask you.” His eyes lit up with excitement when he looked at me. “What is going on between Jake and Robbie? Please tell me you know.”
“I can’t help you,” I admitted with a disappointed frown. “He locks up every time she comes around. I know there is something going on there, but I can’t read him.”
“Damn.” Dylan kicked up a small cloud of ash and dirt. “They’re like awkward preteens. It’s weird. I’ve never seen Jake so unsure around a girl before.”
“Really? He doesn’t strike me as . . . suave, either.”
“Not as suave as I am.” One side of Dylan’s mouth quirked up as his head tipped closer to mine. “Or was.”
“You still are. You don’t even have to try, and you have half the women in this town fanning themselves when you walk by.”
“What?” He laughed.
“You haven’t noticed? You have quite the gaggle of admirers.”
“They’re all . . .” He looked between the line of buildings that surrounded us. “Isn’t everyone here with someone. Like married?”
“Only a few, I think. Besides, that doesn’t mean they can’t look.”
“Good to know.” Dylan nodded thoughtfully.
“Only I can touch,” I reminded him with a playful jab to his ribs.
He stopped suddenly on the sidewalk in front of a building. Before I knew what was happening, I found myself sandwiched between the wall and Dylan’s solid frame. Both hands held mine above my head as his mouth teased me from a frustrating distance just out of reach.
“You can look and touch all you want,” he told me.
This his mouth came down on mine. We moved in harmony, angling our heads to the right, then to the left, as we sucked and nibbled like two lovers who knew exactly what the other wanted. And only we could give it to each other.
I didn’t notice the door behind me until Dylan released me to turn the knob. I stumbled backward, saved only from a fall by his quick hands on my hips. He lifted me up and my legs wrapped around his waist as he staggered into the dark building.
I didn’t know what it was, or if it was occupied. Dylan didn’t seem to care either way. He kicked the door shut behind him, and the sound echoed. The wood creaked beneath his feet as
we dove deeper inside. Sensing the emptiness that surrounded us, I deepened the kiss with a sweep of my tongue.
A deep, throaty noise vibrated from Dylan’s chest as he walked—
My back hit something hard, causing me to squeal. Dylan whipped us around, making my head spin and my thighs squeeze tighter, as whatever we had hit fell to the floor with a thud. His mouth slid from mine, and we both finally took a look at our surroundings.
It took a moment for my eyes to adjust to the darkness. I couldn’t see much with no light, but the first thing I did see was a big, fluffy couch a few steps away. That was where Dylan headed now. He lowered me onto the welcoming cushions with surprising tenderness considering what he did next.
Weapons and clothes were yanked off and tossed aside with barely a second thought. His hands moved fervently, searing me in places only he touched. He feasted on my lips, my skin, my body until I cried out for more.
When he took me this time, he took me hard and fast. Without restraint, we soared to heights we could only reach together. And when we came down, we found solace in each other.
Even if only for one night.
20
DYLAN
I lay awake long before the first sign of dawn chased away the darkness. Though I had always known Thea was a pretty girl, an hour of staring at her while she slept convinced me that she was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen. I realized it was creepy, and she would have probably hit me if she’d woken up in the middle of my stalker-like admiration, but I couldn’t help myself.
I wanted to memorize every detail of her delicate face, and hoped it would stay with me on the other side when I got there. Because that line was visible now. I knew where it was, and how I would get there.
The only thing holding me back was her. The soft pout of her lips when she slept. The gentle curve of her jaw. The fan of eyelashes resting on her cheekbones. I wanted to take these images with me, whether a Watcher or dead.
Then she made a little noise somewhere between a sigh and a whimper, and I mentally stored that away too.
“Let me know when you’re done staring at me so I can open my eyes,” she murmured groggily. A faint smile spread across her lips.
Of course, I kissed them. “How long have you been awake?”
“Long enough to know something is bothering you.” Her eyes peeled open as I pulled away. “What is it?”
“Nothing. I just wanted to admire my girl, that’s all.”
Her smile grew. “You know, you’re actually a terrible liar. I’m kicking myself for not realizing that sooner.”
I shook my head. “Sadie used to tell me the same thing. I never believed her. I thought I was so smooth.”
Thea’s smile evaporated. When her mouth opened, I tensed in anticipation of the words working their way up her throat. Because I didn’t know if I could lie to her again. Apparently, I couldn’t if I wanted to.
A soft boom sounded through the walls, saving me from having to attempt it. I immediately recognized the sound of a gunshot—so distant that if we both hadn’t been holding our breaths we might not have heard it.
But we did. And it sent us both into immediate action.
We had partially dressed before falling asleep last night—a habit gained from months of never knowing when something unexpected would happen. The rest of our clothes were easy to find. Our weapons were never far, and we held them securely in our hands within seconds of the first blast.
Outside, the number of soft pops multiplied as they grew closer. I doubted it was our guys shooting. Otherwise, someone would have sounded the alarm. When we opened the front door and stepped out onto the street, we were met by eerie silence.
“This way.” I directed Thea toward the northernmost corner of the town.
That was where the gunfire came from, and where the gate was located. The sky had fallen overnight, creating a thick blanket of fog mixed in with the usual sprinkle of ash. I couldn’t see more than a few steps in front of me. The thick air turned my breaths ragged by the time we reached the end of the street, and beads of sweat dotted my forehead from the humidity.
We jogged to the corner before I realized what I was doing. I skidded to a stop, and Thea plowed into my back.
“What are you doing?” She backed away when I reached for her. She read the look in my eyes and shook her head. “No way, Dylan. Don’t even think about it.”
“We don’t know what we’re running into.” Instead of arguing, I tried reasoning. She responded better to that. Sometimes. “It might be—”
“Dangerous,” she finished. “Ya think?”
“Thea . . .”
She brushed by me, completely ignoring my attempts to keep her out of whatever new danger brewed around the corner. I tried one more approach. “Go let Jake know something is—”
“Already did.” She tapped her temple without bothering to look back at me. “Cavalry is on the way.”
She rounded the corner, slipping into the fog and forcing me to hurry after her as she raced toward the gate. We both came up short when we saw that it had been swung wide open. We approached it slowly, cautiously. Because it . . . well, it looked like a big fucking trap.
I could now hear the low rumble of tags in the distance. Or not so distant. It was hard to tell how far away they were with the thick veil of fog that surrounded us.
“Can you make anything out?” I asked Thea since her hearing was better.
“No. Too many different voices. I don’t think it’s just us.” Her eyes narrowed as she peered in the direction of the gun shots.
“What do you mean? Who else—”
A tag materialized out of the fog and rushed us with a shrill scream. He came out of nowhere, but my reflexes were top-notch. A single shot from my gun dropped him at our feet with a thud, his dead weight sending up a puff of ash.
I placed my free hand on Thea’s shoulder and steered her backward, to the safe side of the fence. “We can’t let any in. These refugees aren’t fighters.”
She nodded, fortunately realizing this was not some lame attempt at keeping her out of danger. The danger was here, at the gate. One tag permitted inside could annihilate the town.
When a small wave rushed the opening, Thea and I were ready for them. The moment they popped up in front of us, they were greeted with a bullet between the eyes. But because of the fog, they were able to get closer than I liked. I only managed to take out four before the rest were on top of us.
Pulling out my trusted long blade, I stepped forward to greet two tags barreling down on us. I took aim on their necks, and swung. Behind me, Thea popped off round after round at the shadows moving just out of reach. Retreating from the stench of the blood pooling at my feet, I put a gentle hand on her arm.
“Stop. They’re fucking with us. Save your ammo.”
“What?” Wide, terrified eyes darted to mine.
“They’re not mindless,” I said, almost to myself. “They’re calculating. They’re trying to make us waste our ammo.”
Thea retreated, eyes scanning the wall of fog.
Nothing moved. They were still out there, hidden just out of sight. Waiting.
For what?
The thought crossed my mind that the skirmish in the distance was nothing but a diversion, and breaching the fence was the tags’ primary objective. I considered the possibility that, while we stood here waiting, their numbers swelled to an insuperable amount.
“Inside,” I whispered to Thea. “Now. Get inside the gate.”
Her pace increased as she backed toward safety ahead of me. The fog around us thickened to unnatural limits, blinding me to my own feet as I followed.
Fucking Lucifer. It had to be him.
The moment my fingers touched the gate to pull it shut, all hell broke loose. Literally, it seemed.
Hell’s deadly infantry stormed us. Tags raced out of the fog, in threes and fours, from every direction. We were armed and ready . . . but there were too many. We would fall. The town wou
ld be next.
Forced to let go of the gate, I spun with my blade, taking out two that attempted to race by me. Three more turned their beady eyes on me, flashing their sharp teeth. I reared the blade back like a baseball bat and waited.
They charged, but only one made it to me. While the other two fell from a few well-placed bullets, I took the head off the third. But there were more. So many more.
I spared a glance behind me, long enough to spot Jake, Sadie, and Ewing join the fray. With them taking out the tags that dared to show themselves, I turned my attention back to the gate. This time, I managed to pull it shut.
Dead tags covered the ground at my feet. The rest retreated into the fog, and that concerned me. I would rather be able to see the damn things.
The gunfire and shouts from the other side of the fence were louder now. Closer.
I could only guess how many tags they would bring back with them. And how many of the Duggies would make it back alive. And what in the hell they were doing out there in the first place. And . . .
“Where’s Robbie?” Jake turned to me when no one answered him quickly enough, and his voice rose with panic. “Dammit. Where is Robbie?”
“I don’t know.” I threw my hands up. “We haven’t seen anyone else.”
“She was on watch last night,” Sadie reminded us softly.
We all knew what that likely meant. Those on watch would have been the first to notice something was wrong. They would have been the first to face the danger.
Jake faced the fence, jaw rigid. “She’s out there.”
I nodded glumly. “Probably. But Jake . . .” I knew what he was considering. And I didn’t like it. I found it annoyingly ironic that this moment was payback for all the times I put him through shit like this. All the times I put my life on the line for the job . . . when it was nothing more than a job.
He had so much more at stake now. I knew he shouldn’t do what he was about to do. I also knew there would be no talking him out of it. Not if he cared about Robbie the way I suspected he did.
