Devlin slid the key into the door lock. It was corroded, and the key stuck. He rattled it around a little until it broke through. He turned it, and the door swung open. The hinges squeaked, signaling our arrival.
The house was small and smelled musty. It looked like it hadn’t been lived in for months, maybe years. The walls were painted a dull green. It probably had been pretty at one time, before the paint was covered in dust and grime. There were areas where the paint had chipped away, showing the plaster underneath. The ceiling had splotches of mold where the roof had leaked at some point. Cobwebs hung in the corners, and when I looked out the widows, it was like looking through a fog, they were so dirty.
A couch was the only piece of furniture in the room, and sat in front of a large picture window, overlooking the front yard. Stuffing hung out of holes in the ugly, brown upholstery.
The kitchen was to the left. A small table sat in a corner, the yellow paint chipped, showing the wood beneath.
Two bedrooms were in the back of the house, one on each side of the hall. A small laundry room with the backdoor separated them.
Devlin started a small fire in a fireplace located between the living room and kitchen. We sat on the floor with our hands stretched toward the flames to warm them.
“Feels good,” I said.
“Yeah.” Devlin stretched his leg out, and let the warmth wash over it. “Helps with my leg.”
“So, what’s your story? Who were you before the end of the world?” I pushed my hair over my shoulder and tilted my head, studying his face.
“Just a guy. Nothing special. What about you?” Looking at me, his eyes sparkled like emeralds in the firelight.
“I was a senior in high school. Only child.” I watched the dancing flames. “Nothing remarkable.”
“Must’ve had something to you. You got into the PODs. They only let the best of the best in.”
“I wouldn’t call myself that. I was a pretty good student. That’s about it.” I shrugged one shoulder.
Devlin studied me for a minute. I squirmed under his gaze. “I was in medical school,” he said finally. “I have…” he stopped, shaking his head. “Had a large family. They all died of the virus. I had all this medical training and there was nothing I could do but sit and watch them die.”
I looked down at my hands and nodded. “But you and Jessica got out,” I whispered.
“I’m not sure why we didn’t get sick. Just a stroke of luck, I guess. I had a fiancée. Did David tell you?”
My gaze touched his. “No”
He licked his lips and nodded. “She died the week before our wedding.”
“I’m so sorry, Devlin.” I wanted to reach out to him, to touch his face, and wipe away the sadness I saw in his eyes.
“Yeah, well, life’s a bitch sometimes. So, you and David met in the PODs, huh?” His attempt to change the subject wasn’t lost on me.
I gave him a small smile. “Yes.”
“Was it love at first sight?”
I laughed. “I don’t know about love. Lust definitely.”
It was Devlin’s turn to laugh. He rubbed a hand over the back of his neck and quirked an eyebrow. “Lust works, too.”
A short rap sounded on the backdoor and we both jumped. Devlin started to get up. “I got it,” I said. “You let your leg rest. The heat’s good for it.”
I opened the back door and Jake and Cat walked through, quickly closing the door behind them.
“We brought you some supplies.” Jake hefted a box full of canned goods and powdered milk and eggs onto the kitchen counter. “I’ll bring you some fresh meat after I hunt tomorrow.”
“Thank you.” I looked through the box. “Peanut butter! Oh, how I’ve missed you!” I hugged the jar to my chest.
Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, I can’t wait. Is there anything better? Yum. What’s the expiration date… wait, do I care? Nope. It’s still sealed and I want some PB&J.
Jake laughed. “Glad you like it.”
“I brought you some clothes, Eva. We looked about the same size.” Cat set a pile of clothes next to the box of supplies. “Devlin, I have some jeans and shirts for you.”
“Thank you, Cat.”
“Sit tight here until you hear from us. As soon as we have an appointment for you, I’ll let you know. It should be tomorrow, but until then you need to stay off the streets. If you need anything, we’re right next door. Cut through the backyards and use the back door.”
“Okay,” Devlin was saying, “how long do you think…”
I was too busy making a huge peanut butter and jelly sandwich to listen. When they left I sat next to Devlin and handed him a sandwich. I smiled and took a bite of mine. Jelly oozed between the bread and onto my fingers. I licked it off.
Devlin watched me, a crooked grin on his face. “Like PB&J, huh?”
“Mm-hmm.”
“I like watching you lick the jelly off your fingers.” He arched an eyebrow at me.
I laughed around the peanut butter sticking to the roof of my mouth.
Day Nineteen.
We’d been in the little house for most of the day with no word from Tim or Jake. Devlin was supposed to have his appointment, but we hadn’t received any details.
We’d found a deck of cards and some books when we’d explored the house, but neither of us felt much like playing or reading. I cleaned, washing down the walls, knocking down cobwebs, anything to keep busy.
“What do you think is going on?” I finally ask Devlin, after I finished mopping the kitchen floor for the second time.
“I don’t know.” Devlin shrugged a shoulder. “I guess it’s taking longer to get an appointment than they thought.”
“I’m getting nervous. Maybe this was a bad idea.” I bit my nails.
“I’m sure it’s fine, Eva. We just have to be patient. This is our best bet.” But the look on Devlin’s face was far from reassuring. His eyebrows were knitted over his eyes, and a small frown pulled on his lips.
That evening, Devlin and I were in the kitchen making a small dinner of fresh grouse and squash, when there was a rap against the backdoor, followed by the hinges creaking open. Devlin’s hand closed over the handle of a kitchen knife.
Jake walked inside, stomping off a layer of fresh snow from his boots. I had the stupid thought that if my mother saw him doing that she’d have a fit. Of course, my mother wasn’t there. She’d died in the first wave of the virus. She wouldn’t be around to yell at me about dirtying the floors again. A pang of sadness tore through my heart. Nearly three years had passed and the thought of my parents still brought a spear of pain. No wonder Devlin didn’t want to talk about his life before the virus, it was still too painful for us all.
“The clinic was closed the night we brought you to camp and the appointments were booked solid yesterday, but I got Devlin an appointment for tomorrow at two o’clock. Cat said the hospital is busy on Tuesdays. The crowd will give you some cover to grab a vial or two of the medication, Eva. If someone finds you in the wrong room you can tell them you got confused looking for the bathroom, or whatever.”
“How do we know where to go?” Devlin asked.
“I brought a map. It’ll be easy to find where you need to be. Just follow the signs. Everything is pretty well marked,” Jake looked at me, “You should be able to find where they keep the medication fairly easily. Hopefully it won’t be locked up, there’s nothing I can do to help you with that.”
“I got it covered,” Devlin said, waving off Jake’s worry.
I looked at him with a raised eyebrow.
“I wasn’t always a med student. I’ve picked a lock or two in my day.”
“Yeah, but I haven’t!” I squeezed my forehead.
“I’m a good teacher.” Devlin winked at me.
“Then take a hair pin or whatever. You might need it. Cat knows where they keep the medication, but that’s about it. Do you know how to get to the hospital?”
I shook my head. We'd been
in the house the entire time.
“Walk to the end of the street and take a left. You can’t miss it. It’s a tall brick building about four blocks from here. Good luck.”
That night Devlin and I lay in front of the fire. We’d pulled the two mattresses from the bedrooms the first night we’d got to the house. It was warmer by the fire and, to be completely honest, I didn’t want to sleep in the strange bedroom alone. So we each made our bed on the floor in the living room.
“Nervous?” I whispered, watching him in the glow of the fire. He was handsome in a rugged, worldly way. You could look at him and see he’d had a rough life since the virus hit, but it didn’t distract from his looks. Olive skin and ink black hair. But his best feature, the feature I’d noticed the first time I’d met him, were his eyes—bright green, they seemed to pierce right through me.
“A little,” he admitted. “You?”
I blew out a breath. “Scared to death.”
“It’s going to be fine. In a month we’ll be sitting around your kitchen table, eating one of your awesome dinners, and telling everyone about our great adventure.” I saw a flash of white teeth when he smiled.
“Maybe. So, tell me about all the lock picking you’ve done.”
He laughed. “I was a bit of a juvenile delinquent as a teen.”
“I can see that about you.”
He laughed harder. “Thanks.”
I shrugged a shoulder and grinned.
“Let’s see, my real dad died when I was eleven. I was pissed. Mad at the world, and I took it out on everyone around me. I used to pick the lock on my mom’s liquor cabinet. I got caught driving drunk when I was fifteen. It wouldn’t have been so bad if it weren’t for two things.”
“What?” I rolled over and lay on my side so I could see him better.
He smiled at me. “I didn’t have a license and the car I was driving was stolen, well, it was my cousin’s, but still. He didn’t know I was driving it.”
“Ouch.”
“Yeah. I thought I was a real badass. Luckily my mom married my stepdad. He was a cool guy.”
“Jessica’s dad,” I said.
“Yes, if it hadn’t been for him I don’t know what mess I would have found myself in. Probably jail.”
“I’m sorry.”
Devlin shrugged. “It worked out in the end. Well, except for the virus, of course.”
“Yeah, that kind of effed up everyone’s life.”
“Are you still cold?” Devlin turned and put another log on the fire.
“A little.” I clenched my teeth to keep them from chattering.
“You’re shivering.” Devlin crawled out of his sleeping bag, and I sucked in a breath.
Damn! Just… wow. He’s ripped. And those muscles, flexing and… damn. That is one extraordinary view. Thank you, God, for making him. You did a freakin’ awesome job.
He slid into my sleeping bag, pulled his over us, and wrapped his arms around me. I was instantly warmed. And it had absolutely nothing to do with the fire and everything to do with Devlin’s nearly naked body pressed tightly against my nearly naked body, and the way it felt when his skin brushed against mine.
“Better?” he murmured in my ear. I nodded. I didn’t trust my voice to answer. “Eva…” He pulled gently on my shoulders, rolling me to face him. There wasn’t much room in the bag to maneuver, and just about every inch of our bodies glided against each other when I turned. He cupped my cheek with his hand, and rubbed his thumb over my lower lip. “Tell me no, Eva.”
Oh, no. This is too much to deal with. Say no. Just two little letters. He’s giving me an out. Take it. Just say no.
I stared into his green eyes. “I don’t want to say no.”
He muttered a curse and pressed his lips to mine. He kissed me slowly. His face slanted so he could reach all of me. His full lips were firm and warm, and seemed to mold themselves to mine in exactly the right way.
His hands roamed over my body, making my stomach clench. Warmth grew inside me and lodged deep within my belly when his fingers scooted my t-shirt up, and over my head. He slid a hand down my naked side, resting it on my hip, his fingers curling against my skin, pulling me closer to him.
I stroked his back lightly with my nails, kissing him as thoroughly as he kissed me. His mouth trailed down my neck to my collarbone. Slipping his hand under me, he unfastened my bra in one, quick motion, pushing it gently away. Goose bumps covered me, and my fingers clenched against his back.
He pulled back, and his gaze locked on mine. Reaching up, he smoothed a lock of hair from my face, his eyes following the movement of his hand. My skin felt like it was on fire. Everywhere his eyes touched, burned with his intensity. He watched his fingers trail down the side of my neck, to my shoulder, and down my arm, grazing the side of my breast. I gasped, and his eyes snapped back to mine.
I moistened my parted lips with my tongue, and fisted my hand in Devlin’s hair. He lowered his lips to my stomach, placing open mouthed kisses across my belly, to my hip. “God, you’re so beautiful,” he murmured against my skin, and I couldn’t hold in my moan.
His mouth kissed and nipped as he moved up my body. He kissed the sensitive skin between my breasts, and I moaned his name, fisting my hand in his hair, and squeezing his shoulder with the other. I arched my back toward him. He groaned and crushed his lips against mine, kissing me hard, demanding, almost frenzied. I matched his kisses. My tongue lapped at his and I pulled his head closer, taking our kisses deeper. I couldn’t get close enough, kiss him deep enough, touch him, taste him enough. His touch was dizzying and I was sure the room was spinning around us.
His hand skimmed my hip, his fingers dipping below the band of my panties. I pulled in a breath and the haze of desire lifted just enough that my rational mind began working—damn it straight to Hades and back. My hand reached down and I threaded my fingers through his, pulling them up to my lips. “Devlin,” I shook my head, “I—”
“It’s okay.” He kissed me, nipping softly at my bottom lip. He picked up my t-shirt, pulling it gently over my head. He kissed my forehead, letting his lips linger against my skin, before he moved down and lightly pressed them to mine. “Can I just hold you?” he murmured, his lips moving against mine when he spoke.
“Yes,” I whispered, turning on my side and snuggling against him.
He groaned and gripped my hips. “You can’t move against me like that, Eva. I’m not a damn saint. I want you. In the worst way. If you want me to play nice, you have to be still.”
I ducked my head against his outstretched arm. “I’m sorry.” I could feel my face flaming, glad he couldn’t see it.
He kissed behind my ear. His warm breath fanned my hair against my neck. “Try to sleep. Tomorrow’s a big day.”
He lay behind me, his arm around my waist, tracing patterns on my stomach with the tips of his fingers. We stayed like that for countless minutes. I could feel Devlin’s heart racing against my back. I knew he could feel my breathing, which still hadn’t slowed, against his chest.
“Is it David? Is he the reason you’re holding back? Or is it me? Because I could feel your body react to me, Eva. I know you wanted me as much as I wanted—want—you.”
“It’s not you. Geez, you could be a swimsuit model, plus you’re funny, you get all my jokes, you’re caring when you want to be, and you’re smart. It’s not you.” I paused, letting out a breath. “This is going to sound so cliché, but it’s me. I’m so screwed up. Between David, you, the virus, the Infected, being here, wondering if we have a home to go back to… it’s too much. It’s just too much. I’m sorry.”
He dropped a soft kiss on my temple. “Nothing to be sorry about.”
We fell silent after that. It wasn’t long before I heard Devlin’s breathing steady, and I knew he’d drifted to sleep. I was still awake when the night turned into the gray of early morning.
Day Twenty.
“Are you ready for this?” Devlin helped me into my coat. He turned me a
round and buttoned the top button before kissing me slowly. His tongue felt cool when it touched mine and tasted minty.
“Nope.” I answered when he broke our kiss.
“You’re going to be perfect.” He pulled on his coat and opened the door. “Let’s go.”
We walked down the street toward the main road, where we turned left like Jake had instructed. The large brick building loomed in the distance, blotting out the afternoon sun.
“There it is,” Devlin mumbled.
“Mm-hmm.”
We forced ourselves to walk normally, when we really wanted to rush into the hospital, grab the vaccine and get the hell out of there. Instead we strolled along the sidewalk, smiling and saying 'hi' to people as we passed.
Walking up the cement stairs of the hospital, two rifles lowered in front of us, blocking our way. I slowly tore my gaze from the guns, and looked up at the guards.
“Papers,” one of the guards barked, holding out his hand.
I reached into my pocket and the rifles jerked up and pointed at my head.
“Whoa, whoa,” Devlin said, his hands up, palms facing forward. “She’s just getting her papers.”
“Keep your hands out of your pockets!”
“Honey,” Devlin said, looking at me with raised eyebrows. His voice held a small tremor. “You know better than to put your hands in your pockets without telling them first.”
“Sorry,” I mumbled. “Do you want me to get my papers?” I pointed at my pocket.
The guard pushed his hand forward and into my pocket so quickly I stumbled backward. Devlin caught me by the arm before I fell off the step. I opened my mouth to say something to the guard when Devlin gave my arm a squeeze in warning. It was probably a good thing. I would definitely have said something stupid.
“What district do you live in?”
“Gaming,” I answered.
Is this a quiz? Crap! I forgot to study.
The Infected, a PODs Novel Page 13
