“I said, Roan, what were you doing in our cave?”
“I came looking for you yesterday and discovered the cave. I waited a couple of hours. When you didn’t show I came back today. I got worried that something had happened to you.”
Roan studied Rob. Damn, his stance broadcasted his anger. The man was itching for a fight. Not today, Rob. Roan wasn’t in the mood for trouble today. All he wanted was a chance to visit with the woman.
“You guys okay?” he asked, pretending concern.
“Yeah,” Rob responded.
Okay, he’s not gonna offer any information or introduce me to his wife. I wouldn’t either. Roan reflected. She had stepped out from behind Rob, turned slightly towards him, giving him a very nice view. Sweeping his gaze over her again, his cock hardened. Those shorts displayed strong, shapely, muscular legs and draped tightly over a firm round ass. Not one word had she spoken, she looked content to let her husband handle him. Not for long video girl, he thought, not for long.
Lauren’s skin crawled as Roan’s gaze swept over her like icy fingers undressing her. An expression of pure lust on his face had it hitting home hard why Rob thought this guy was creepy. Damn it, she should have listened to Rob and hid. Why did she pick that moment to be stubborn? The thought of even talking with this guy skeeved her out, she stepped back behind Rob hoping to stop the guy’s ogling.
“Aren’t you going to introduce me to your wife, Rob?” he smiled.
“Lauren, Roan. Roan, Lauren,” Rob barked.
“Nice to meet you, Lauren,” Roan said, holding out his hand.
Lauren held up her gun with both her hands resting on it. Roan laughed, dropping his hands back down to his sides.
“Well now, I guess we won’t shake. That gun looks heavy,” he joked.
“It’s not,” Lauren said looking directly into Roan’s eyes.
“I took some of your food. I was about to head back to my cave, but it would be nice to visit with other people for awhile. I’m getting a little tired of hearing my own voice.”
He couldn’t tell if she was afraid of him or just didn’t like him. It didn’t matter one way or the other to him. Soon she’d be his.
Feeling a little guilty, Rob nodded. “I’m sorry for our manners. Please join us for a drink.” Rob felt Lauren’s knuckles dig into his back.
“Thanks, I’d like that.”
Rob poured and handed Roan a paper cup of wine. Lauren excused herself and left the cave. Rob hoped she was heading to the truck to put on more clothes. If Roan keeps looking at her like she’s his next meal, I’ll have to kill him.
“Are you alone, Roan?” Rob asked him the question again, and would keep asking until he got an answer.
“Yes.” Roan sipped his wine.
“Why?”
“Why…because my soon to be ex-wife thought I was nuts planning for whatever was going to happen on the twenty-first.”
“You really believed something was going to happen?” Rob asked.
“Yeah, I did. Obviously, you did also.”
“No, we weren’t prepared. When the explosions started we packed what we could and headed up here.”
“You look prepared.” Rob noticed the way Roan took inventory.
“I’m always prepared for an outing. We like to hunt and hike, that kind of thing.”
He emphasized the word hunt. In his own way Rob was warning Roan off. Looking for a reaction, he was disappointed when Roan showed none. Lauren had quietly slipped back in the cave and gave no reaction to his statement either. Good girl, Rob thought. Looking back at Roan, Rob saw he had turned his undivided attention to Lauren. With his blood boiling, Rob noticed the man’s disappointment in her change of clothes. An immense hatred filled his heart. Touch her and I’ll kill you.
You go, Rob, she thought. Let the bastard know we mean business. Even when he’s speaking with Rob, he doesn’t take his eyes off of me. The hair on the back of her neck stood up. If he doesn’t watch it, Rob will take him down and I’ll help.
Possessive bastard, Roan thought. He understood Rob’s words and was slightly amused by them. Rob wasn’t going to let someone take his wife easily. He noticed Lauren studying him also. A beautiful name wrapped in a beautiful package with all that curly blond hair. It probably was soft to the touch and smelled heavenly. Damn, he was going to have to watch it. He realized he had checked out of the conversation and dragged his eyes back to Rob’s. Not good, he thought, the guy didn’t just look pissed, he looked mean and dangerous. Definitely wasn’t going to be easy task to claim Lauren.
“I’m sorry, I missed what you said, Rob.”
“I said…Lauren and I have had a long day, and we would like to rest now.”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to hold you up.” Rob watched as Roan put his cup on the ground.
“Thanks for stopping by,” Rob said.
Shit, I blew it. They won’t be inviting me back anytime soon. I’m going to have to control myself around Lauren. Not going to be an easy task.
“Thanks for the hospitality,” Roan preened, shaking Rob’s hand as he squeezed a little too hard.
Rob squeezed right back, applying pressure to the sensitive spots on Roan’s hand. Roan tried not to squirm, but the guy had some strength, good to know, he reflected.
Turning toward Lauren he nodded. “Nice meeting you.”
“Bye,” Lauren murmured.
Annoyed, Roan noticed how she looked at her husband not him. As he walked toward the entrance he stopped, straining to hear; but they weren’t speaking. At the edge of the woods he turned, looked back to the entrance, and noticed Rob staring after him. Cautious bastard. Who could blame him? Saluting him, he started whistling as he walked back to his cave. Pretty soon something’s going to break, and you and me, Rob, will fight to the death.
CHAPTER TEN
Rob walked back into the cave. “Well, that was fun.”
“I didn’t think so,” Lauren responded.
“I told you he was creepy.” Rob frowned. He didn’t like the way Roan hadn’t taken his eyes off of Lauren. Rob recognized lust.
“Definitely creepy,” Lauren’s voice cracked. She made a face that had Rob smiling.
“Don’t worry, hon, he’s not coming anywhere near you. I won’t let him,” Rob said, protectively putting his arms around her.
“You certainly aren’t leaving me alone again with him around. I can tell you that,” she demanded.
“Easy, baby, we’ll relocate in the morning,” he said to assure her.
“Maybe we should do that now. What if he’s hanging out in the woods?” her voice cracked.
“I’ll check again in a little while, and then I’ll check again when it gets dark. I’ll use the goggles. You’ll be safe, Lauren, don’t worry.” He broke the hug and paced the cave.
Just like a man, she thought. “I’m not worried about me, stupid. He wants me. It’s you he’s gonna try to hurt.”
“Let him try,” Rob said.
Yep, just like a man. She watched as he took a defensive stance and put an arrogant look on his face. The ‘Make my day’ look. How could she say this without hurting his feelings?
“Rob, I know you’re stronger than him, but I don’t want you fighting and getting hurt. It’s not worth it.” She smiled, walked over to him, and put her arms around him.
“You saying, you’re not worth it, Lauren?” he questioned, brow quirked.
She sometimes found his quirked brow amusing, but not at that moment. Gathering her thoughts, she replied, “I know that you’re not going to let anything happen to me. I merely think it’s prudent to avoid a fight. We need our strength for other things.”
“I’m not going to start the fight, Lauren. However, I will finish it,” he said firmly, staring directly into her piercing green eyes that missed nothing.
Her stare probed his mind. Rob knew it was ridiculous, but he’d swear when she looked at him that way, it felt like fingers walking through his head, examining eve
ry thought.
“Let’s try to avoid him first. If we’re lucky there won’t be any trouble. If and when there is, we’ll both do whatever is necessary.”
Optimistic, he thought, she doesn’t get it or doesn’t want to. One thing he was sure of, Roan wanted her and would do anything to get her. Instead of saying it out loud and causing an argument, Rob started a fire for warmth, while she set about getting the food ready. He took inventory of what Roan ate and drank, tucked it away in his mind. The guy could eat. He had helped himself to some beers, cheese, lunch meat and some bread. If they ran out he would take some of his food. A tit for a tat, Rob thought.
Roan lay in his sleeping bag, thinking about Lauren most of the night. The actual woman was more beautiful in person than she was on the video though she showed no interest in him. He needed a plan. Turning over idea after idea in his mind, he rejected most of them. Around midnight he figured out what he would do. It would take two days to implement his plan. Anticipating action, his nerves danced with delight. For the next couple of days he would need to avoid them while he set about his tasks. Roan didn’t want to seem too anxious to be around Lauren. Content with his plan, he rolled onto his stomach and slept soundly.
The next morning, Rob and Lauren hunted up some kindling while scouting the area for berries and eatable food. Looking constantly over his shoulder, Rob found it hard to relax. He kept expecting Roan to show up.
With Lauren coaxing, he tried unsuccessfully to let his guard down a little. Around noon they had come upon a small natural spring and filled their water bottles.
“Rob, we’ll hear him if he approaches. Relax.”
“I’m trying, Lauren, I just feel edgy.”
He picked up his binoculars and scanned the area. Lauren’s hand landed on his shoulder, he dropped the binoculars to his chest, turned, and looked at her. She was standing there in her bra and panties.
“What the hell are you doing?”
“I’m going for a swim.”
“Put your clothes back on. What if that pervert comes along?” His face burned, his blood pulsating through his veins, his head on the verge of exploding. She had to be crazy.
“Rob, we’re far enough away from both caves it will be difficult for him to find us. I think we’re both entitled to a little distraction.”
“A little distraction could get us both killed. Plus, I don’t want to have to shoot the bastard because you can’t keep your clothes on.” Bending down he picked up her sweater, and handed it to her. “Please.”
“Killjoy.”
He watched her dress. Satisfied, he scanned the area before putting his feet into the water. Rob guessed it was about sixty degrees, he wished for a little sun, but it was a no show again today. The grey overcast hung ominously, deflecting the natural echoes of the mountain.
When he reached their cave, he watched them leave. Unsure where they were headed he followed them at a safe distance. An unexpected benefit was the rear view. Lauren’s hips swayed with each step. When they had reached the spring, he climbed a tree to spy their next move. Happy his tracking skills were improving. With an eagle eye, he sat up in the tree contently watching them as they interacted with each other. His eyes bulged when Lauren started undressing. Almost falling from the tree, his hard cock made it difficult to right himself. What a beautiful body—more beautiful than yesterday with her clothes on. And soon to be mine.
What a selfish bastard Rob was, keeping her to himself. Honestly, he would have done the same thing if Lauren was his wife. The bastard made her dress. It didn’t matter that she was covering them. Those breasts of hers would be imprinted on his brain forever. Closing his eyes, he could almost feel the contours of them in his hands and the curve of her hips as he ran them down the length of her. My God, that ass of hers was as firm as he had pictured. Rock hard, he needed relief. This wasn’t the time or place to jerk-off. If he showed himself now, Rob would definitely kill him, knowing he’d been spying on them. Settled on his fate he waited them out. It gave him more time to study them as a couple. Watching them together cemented his plan. Though it wouldn’t be easy, he definitely needed to divide and conquer.
Rob and Lauren packed up their belongings to head back to their cave. On the way Lauren broached the subject again of going home.
“Rob, I think it’s time to head off the mountain and see what’s going on down below.”
“Why?”
“Why? I don’t know about you, but since you said that part about being watched, I’m really scuzzed out. Yesterday, I felt like he was undressing me with his eyes.”
“He was. I wanted to rip his fucking eyes out. It was only a feeling though. I didn’t see anybody at the spring. I don’t want to rush down off the mountain because of the bastard ogling you.”
“It’s not only that…”
“What then?”
“Rob, we have families down there. I don’t know about you, but I have to know what happened to them. It can’t be anymore dangerous than it is here with Roan. No one and let me repeat that, no one knows we’re up here.”
The silence filled the air. Lauren knew Rob was considering her words, so she waited him out.
“You’re right. Let’s head back and pack up what we’ll need for the trip down.”
Roan listened as their voices floated up to him. Son of a bitch, they can’t head out now, he’s blowing my whole plan. He would have to move up his timetable and hope it worked. Lauren was not getting away from him. Scuzzed her out, do I? I’ll show her. She’ll be begging me for forgiveness when I’m through with her.
Fifteen minutes later he climbed down the tree. First he needed to find their vehicle. As a precaution he placed markers along the trail. When he saw his own markers, he realized he was going around in circles. Roan decided to wait outside their cave instead of disabling their vehicle as he had originally planned. Planning out his ambush, he headed over there and took up his position in the bushes. If he was going to take Rob down on his own turf, he had to be prepared to do the most damage. Once in the bushes, he palmed his knife and waited.
There wasn’t a lot to pack up. Lauren had put her stuff into the SUV before they took the hike to the path yesterday and never retrieved any of it. She made sure they had their sweaters because last night was so cold they’d shared a sleeping bag to keep warm. She made sandwiches, handing one to Rob, she bit into hers.
“This meat’s getting a little funky, Lauren. Throw it out for the animals.”
“I know, but it’s all we have unless you want to kill lunch for us.” She laughed.
Rob noticed her mood had lifted. “Lauren, don’t get your hopes up. We don’t know what we’ll find when we come off the mountain.” He put his gun in his belt.
“I know, Rob. I’ll just be glad to be around more people.”
He didn’t mention that he thought there wouldn’t be more people down there, but they would find out together.
“Okay, are you just about set?” he said, picking up his duffle bag and hoisting it over his shoulder.
“Almost, aren’t you taking the cooler?”
“No, leave it in case we need to come back.”
“Come back for what?” she screeched.
He looked at her and knew instantly she wouldn’t come back here. “Lauren we might not be able to stay down there.”
“That’s fine, Rob. You’ll have to find someplace else for us to go. I’m not going to stay within ten miles of that guy.”
He watched as she squared her shoulders, something she did habitually when they fought.
“Okay, babe, let’s head out.” He reached down balancing his duffel bag on his shoulder and grabbed the sleeping bags.
“Give me the sleeping bag and you take the cooler,” Lauren said, reaching for the bag.
“Lauren, push the strap to my duffel further up on my shoulder please.” After she fixed his strap, Rob lifted the cooler and they left the cave with him in the lead.
Roan waited for twenty m
inutes, just about to give up when Rob and Lauren exited the cave. Showtime. He grinned.
He watched Rob come out loaded down with the cooler and his bag. He spotted the gun in Rob’s belt. Lauren came out next, carrying a sleeping bag and a grocery bag. He wanted the element of surprise, so he sat and waited until they got closer to him. Disarming Rob would be his priority. Concentrating hard on Rob, he didn’t notice if Lauren had a gun, he’d have to take his chances.
Roan sucked in his breath. Thirty more yards and Rob would be close enough to jump. Twenty more yards. Sweating, Roan counted off ten yards then five yards in his mind. At less then one yard Roan jumped from the bush and tackled Rob. Lauren’s screams pierced his ear drums. Ignoring her, he concentrated on Rob. The bastard was even stronger than he looked. Roan took a full fist to the jaw and his head snapped back, pain exploding in his neck and traveling up to his head. As he recovered, Rob landed another punch to his face, square on his nose. Bones crushed as waves of nausea rolled through his body. Swinging wildly, Roan landed a couple of lucky punches to Rob’s gut. Blood dripped in eyes, blinding him as waves of pain continued to crash through his system. Unable to catch his breath…
Rolling around together on the ground, Rob pounded his fists into Roan’s face. Satisfied when he felt Roan’s nose break under his fist. Not giving Roan a chance to respond, he hit him harder. The guy had to be nuts to attack him like he did. Unable to get to his gun, Rob made sure Roan couldn’t reach it either. He brought his knee up connecting dead center with Roan’s groin. Roan moaned, recovered quickly, threw a punch that connected with Rob’s shoulder. Somewhere deep in his brain Rob heard Lauren scream and then start to cry. Ignoring her, he concentrated his mind and strength on Roan. His gut vibrated where Roan had landed a punch. Rob flexed his stomach muscles and held them taut before Roan landed his next one. Satisfied when Roan cursed, bruising his hand, he grabbed Roan’s ears and pounded his head into the ground, only stopping when Roan’s body stilled. Pushing off of Roan he cocked his gun, pointing it at Roan’s head. Rob cursed. Damn, he should have never let his guard down. Roan never should’ve been able to get this close to them. Especially after he had promised Lauren he’d protect her.
As the World Ends Page 5
