Once past the mountain and the city, they would have nearly 100 miles of empty wilderness before the next major city. His grandfather had a cabin up there, somewhere in the woods. It wasn’t the best place to go in an emergency like this, but it looked like it was their only option. They would be alone, provided he could remember where the cabin was at.
They would mostly be safe up there, as long as more bombs didn’t drop.
Gina was following close behind him. Undoubtedly, she was wondering what their next move was. But she didn’t ask, and he didn’t tell her. There was no use worrying her just yet. A lot of things could change between Haysberry and the 50 miles to the mountain. They could find other people. Society and order could return, though that was unlikely. He could hunt a deer and feed them for weeks. There was just too much variance right now to worry her.
*
The sun was going down when Dean finally decided to stop. Gina had no idea how long they’d been walking, or how far they had traveled. Dean’s chosen spot was by a thicket of bushes above a small creek. There was just enough room that they could sit comfortably with the thicket on three sides of them, the only opening facing towards the creek. No one would be able to see them unless they were standing at the far side of the bank.
It was cozy, in a way. Dean cleaned the debris away and put a blanket down. Gina crawled onto it eagerly. The ground was cold underneath her, but the blanket helped. Plus, it was July. The temperature would drop, some, but she thought they would be alright throughout the night. Petey was down at the creek, lapping up the water.
Gina sat alone as Petey drank and Dean scouted the area. She wasn’t sure where they stood with each other: she could tell he was still harboring ill feelings for his bunker burning down, though she hoped that he was coming to realize it was an accident and it wasn’t worth blaming anyone, especially her. Still, his usefulness was undeniable. She would never have been able to get through the mountains without his help. There would be no way that she could have found this secluded spot to spend the night. She just hoped that she would be useful in the coming days. She hoped that she wouldn’t be dead weight.
Dean came back, carrying handfuls of berries. He set them in front of Gina without a word, then turned back, in constant vigilance of the area around them. She could tell that he was hurting. His wounds, and having pushed himself all day, were taking their toll on him.
She looked down at the berries. They looked delicious, but were they safe to eat? She wasn’t sure. Dean should know what was good to eat and what wasn’t; he was a survivalist, after all. Still, he had been in a bunker for the past two years. How was his memory of the outside world faring?
“What are these?” she asked.
Dean turned back towards her and answered, “Mulberries.” Mulberries, huh? She’d heard of them before, but she had never eaten them. She decided to dig in. They filled her mouth with a sweet, tart flavor. She smiled. This was a welcome change of pace from the canned foods and meal packs she’d been eating in the bunker.
Petey ran up to her and sat, begging. She knew what he wanted, so she dug through one of the duffel bags. She pulled out a can of food and Petey dug in immediately.
“So what’s our next move?” she asked Dean. Standing above her, he looked like some sentinel from ages past: stoic, heavily muscled, and insanely handsome. If only his attitude matched his physique, Gina found herself wishing.
“I’ve got it under control.”
“That’s great,” Gina said, throwing up her hands. She found herself doing that a lot because of Dean, lately. “But I’d like to know where we’re going. What our plan is. What I should plan for.”
“We’re going north, to one of my grandfather’s old cabins. We should be safe there.”
“Like we were safe in the bunker?” Gina snapped. She could tell that wounded Dean. Maybe he was coming around and realizing that maybe – just maybe – it wasn’t her fault.
“That’s different.”
“How? How’s it different, Dean?”
“It’s deep in the woods. Surrounded by wilderness. No one in any direction for a hundred miles.”
“And how are we getting there?”
He hesitated, like he so often did. But he continued, “We head north to Marshall Mountain. There’s an old hunter’s game trail that hasn’t been used for half a century. Once I find it, it should be easy going. Once we reach Marshall Mountain, we’ll have a choice. Either left and we keep following the trail north, or we go right and end up near North Williamstown.”
North Williamstown? Gina had been there, once, a few years ago. It was a big city. “Why would we go there?”
“It depends on how much food we have when we get to the mountain. If I can forage, or hunt, we may be able to take the trail around the mountain and stay out of the cities altogether. There’s a lake up there, but I would hate to rely on that if we’re already low on food.”
“How good are you at hunting?” she asked.
Dean shrugged. “It’s been a little while. I’m a little…”
“Rusty?”
He nodded.
“Dean, you should sit down and rest.”
“No. I need to keep a lookout.”
“Dean, you’re exhausted. You’ve hardly rested since this morning. If someone is coming close to us, don’t you think both you and Petey will be able to smell him?” Gina asked. That was something she’d heard – that Shifters were able to smell as well as a bear would – but she’d never confirmed it.
“Yeah, you’re right,” he admitted, though she could tell that he wasn’t happy about it. Carefully, he lowered himself to the blanket, wincing. He was a fast healer, but she could tell he was still in pain. Gina could see where some blood had soaked through his new set of clothes.
“You’re bleeding.”
“It’s nothing,” he answered, but she was lifting his shirt up, looking at his wounds. He fought back at first, pulling away, but then he let her lift the shirt over his head. The only one that concerned her was the one in his shoulder. The exit wound in the back was hot and inflamed.
“Dean, this could be infected,” she said. She was worried for him. What would happen if he got sick? Would he be able to fight off the infection? More importantly, what would happen to her?
“It’s nothing,” he said, though he winced when she poked around it. “Honestly, don’t worry about it. We Shifters are tough.”
“I have some extra pills in the med kit,” Gina said, searching for it in the bag.
“Don’t.”
“Too bad,” she said, pulling the kit out and unzipping it. The bottle was half full, but there were more than enough pills left to clear him right up.
“Save them for someone who will actually need them.”
“Dean, this isn’t up for debate. I need you at the top of your game, and you definitely won’t be if you’re sick. I know you think you’re fine, and you probably will be, but now isn’t the time to take any unnecessary risks. So take the damn pills.”
“Fine,” he growled, but there wasn’t much conviction behind his voice. She handed him two and he tossed them into his mouth, swallowing quickly.
“Now,” she continued. “You need to eat.”
“I’m not hungry.”
“Dean, this isn’t up for debate, either. Eat some food.”
“Fine!” he said, grabbing the other duffel bag and ripping it open. He pulled out one of the meal packs and tore the covering off. He dug in.
“I knew you were hungry,” she teased. The look he shot her only made her laugh. For once, since everything had started happening, she truly felt at ease. She didn’t know what it was – maybe a combination of sitting outdoors on a warm summer night, with a gorgeous man by her side and her dog at her feet. The stream below gurgled softly as the sun started to go down behind a distant mountain. It almost felt like everything was normal, in that moment.
“This isn’t so bad, right now.”
Dean grunt
ed in answer, swallowing a mouthful of food.
“It could be worse,” she offered. He grunted again; whether he agreed or disagreed, she couldn’t be sure.
After that, they didn’t talk much more. The exhaustion of hiking through the mountains all day was taking its toll on Gina. Petey was already fast asleep at her feet. She looked over at Dean, who was sitting up, back straight, watching for signs of anyone approaching.
Then, she looked a little bit closer – he was sitting up, but he wasn’t watching for intruders. His eyes were closed and she noticed he was rocking back and forth, as if he was trying to stay awake but failing.
“Dean,” she whispered. No response. She reached a hand out, carefully, and put it on his shoulder. He jerked his eyes open.
“What?”
“Lay down,” she told him.
“We need someone to keep watch throughout the night,” he said back. It made sense… but…
“There’s no one out here, Dean. One night. Get some rest. Plus, those pills aren’t helping.”
“Yeah, yeah, okay,” he mumbled. With that, he lay down on the blanket and curled up. He was back to sleep within seconds. She had to make sure he didn’t exert himself too much – he would be no good to her dead.
Gina lay down next to him, making sure to keep her distance. There was a cool breeze blowing in off of a distant mountain, carrying over the cold water in the stream below. She shivered. All around her, she could hear noises: bugs, animals, twigs breaking. But both Petey and Dean were already fast asleep, and she knew that they wouldn’t let anyone get close to her. She felt somewhat safe as she pulled a cover over herself.
She considered, then threw the blanket over Dean, too. Dean’s heavy breathing was putting her at ease, and her thoughts became groggy. Gina decided it was time for bed. There was nothing she could do, anyway. She was as safe as she could be.
***
After a few moments, Gina slid close to Dean. She justified it by telling herself it was so they could share each other’s body heat, something she was sure was important in survival situations like this. She felt as Dean’s arm wrapped around her body, pulling her even closer.
“Gina?” he whispered.
She wanted to tell him not to talk. She wanted to tell him not to ruin the moment — there was something there, between them, and ignoring it was impossible. Right? Or was she crazy?
“Gina, we shouldn’t,” he said, but his hands said differently. She felt one against her stomach and the other running a finger through her hair. She turned on her back, his hand moving against her bare skin, just below her navel.
Then she was leaning her head up, not sure why she was doing it, and she pressed her lips against his. For the slightest of seconds, Dean hesitated, then he kissed her deeply. His lips were extremely soft — not something she would have expected in a man as hardened as Dean. His social skills had suffered while he was in his bunker, but his kissing skills hadn’t.
Gina let his lips wash over her, let his hands explore her. One danced through her hair, tickling the back of her neck, just behind the ear, while the other started to move across her body. He moved it slowly — hesitantly — as if he was unsure of what he was doing. His large fingers moved across her skin, one dipping underneath the waistband of her pants and underwear ever so slightly. She gasped, wanting him to pleasure her, but he pulled it away.
Instead, his hand slid underneath her shirt, over her stomach and towards her breasts. He paused again when his hand reached one, his entire palm cupping it easily. He squeezed and Gina let out a slow moan. How long had it been? She couldn’t be sure, but this felt right. His fingers moved just above her bra, warm on her skin, and then dipped down underneath the fabric.
Another gasp, their lips still locked together, came out of her mouth. She moaned as his finger touched her areola, just slightly, then down to her nipple. She felt it harden underneath his touch; felt him harden against her leg. She wanted him to take her right now, here in this forest, on this warm summer night, the stream roiling quietly by them.
Gina rolled over, now facing him, and propped herself up on an elbow. Using her free hand, she started to pull his shirt off. In a split second, Dean had yanked it over his head and tossed it to the side. Gina’s heart was hammering in her chest, as it always did whenever she saw Dean like this, but now — now she could touch him.
She reached a hand out, running it along his toned stomach. It was firm and she could feel his muscles tighten underneath her touch. Then she was running her hand over his chest, sliding across one of his nipples, wrapping it around his muscled shoulder. Dean was a man that took care of himself, and it showed.
Then her shirt was coming off. In a move that even surprised her, his fingers found the clasp of her bra and undid it in one smooth motion. She caught her bra as it fell off of her body, covering herself for just a moment longer. Then she let it fall, revealing herself to Dean.
Even in the darkness, she knew he could see her, even better than she could see him. She heard his breath catch in his throat, saw the color rise in his cheeks, saw his eyes widen. He pressed his face against her neck, kissing and sucking. Goosebumps exploded across her body with a shudder.
Then he was kissing her collarbone, passionately, then her shoulder, and then her forearm before jumping back towards her chest, just above the tops of her breasts. His lips left little wet marks across her body as he went. Slowly, he started kissing down her chest, a trail of kisses down one breast until he reached the nipple. When he did, his lips locked around it softly, pulling it into his mouth. Gina felt his tongue making a wet circle around it.
And then he moved on to her other breast, one of his hands taking his mouth’s place. His fingers squeezed the nipple slightly. She moaned and kissed one of his ears, sucking it between her lips.
This is it, she thought, her fingers starting to unbutton her pants. As she did so, her finger pulling on the zipper, Dean’s hands found hers and stopped her.
“We shouldn’t,” he growled, looking down at the blanket and avoiding her eyes.
“What?” she asked, dumbfounded. What had happened?
“I… I… can’t,” he said, still looking down.
“You can’t?”
She rolled over, turning to face him and pulling herself away from him, if ever so slightly. In the darkness, she couldn’t see much, but she could see enough. She could see the emotion on Dean’s face. She hoped he could see the anger on hers.
“Why not, Dean?” she asked harshly. At her feet, Petey looked up in alarm and moved slightly away. He knew that tone and he was smart enough to get some distance. Dean wouldn’t be so lucky. “What is your problem?”
Dean stuttered, unable to form any words.
“That’s what I thought,” Gina told him. “You’re pushing me away. Why? And don’t even try to say it was because I started the fire in the bunker, because we both know that no matter who you blame, it wasn’t my fault.”
“I’m sorry.”
“That’s it, Dean? ‘I’m sorry’? That’s not good enough. Tell me what’s going on.”
“Gina, it’s not your fault. It’s mine.”
Gina didn’t say a word, instead, she was content to let him figure out what he was going to say next. He looked up, sheepishly, meeting her eyes for just a few seconds. Then he looked back down.
Kenny (Shifter Football League Book 2) Page 84
