Now, he was using that thought to keep his mind off of the grueling climb in front of him. But getting their supplies was only the first step. He’d have to make his way back down, carrying the heavy bags of food, and then start working on the litter to drag Gina through the woods.
The litter was the only idea he could think of, and it made sense. But they had no traditional tools, so Dean was going to have to shift. He’d have to really exert himself cutting down all of the trees and branches they would need, and that wasn’t even the hard part. The hard part would be shifting in the first place. It was never easy, and now, in his weakened state, he wasn’t even sure if he could do it at all.
“Damn,” he muttered to himself. His grandfather would be more disappointed in him than he could express. He’d yell at him, berate him, and ask him what kind of a Shifter he was. Ask him what kind of a survivalist he was. He wouldn’t have an answer.
Dean growled, pulling himself up a rock. He pushed the thought away. His grandfather was dead; he had been for years. He was good at surviving and embracing his Shifter tendencies. But that didn’t make him a good man, as Dean was finding out. They had never butted heads in life, but now that Dean was with Gina, he was finding out that he was clashing with his grandfather. He was learning some things about himself every day.
He was realizing that he would do nearly anything for Gina. She’d stuck by his side, even when he had blamed her for starting the fire. She hadn’t abandoned him, even when his temper got the best of him or he drove them hard through the woods.
She had taken care of him and brought him back to the world. So he would take care of her, no matter what the cost.
He found the bags easily and picked them up. They were heavier than he was expecting, but he reasoned that was a good thing. They still had food. Without even waiting for a break, Dean started back down the mountain. He made good time going down. Instead of carrying the bags down each rock, he just tossed them in front of him over and over.
Still, the moon was already going down when he finally reached the campground. Gina was fast asleep when he returned. Petey looked up and gave him a look, then came over and stood with him. Dean set the bags down as quietly as he could, then he unzipped one bag, pulled out a meal pack, and took it a few steps away before digging in.
It wasn’t much, but he felt a little bit better. Just a little bit. Then he carefully peeled off his clothes and sat them next to the bags. It was time to get to work.
*
Gina’s ankle woke her up. It was a dull throb, now. She hadn’t been having much luck in this apocalypse. Well, besides meeting Dean. She sat up and looked around. One of the duffel bags was on the ground, a few feet from the blanket. Petey was lying next to her on the blanket.
Where was Dean?
In answer, she heard a grunt behind her. She turned and looked. The first thing she noticed was that Dean was absolutely, completely, nude. Her eyes flew open, watching his body as he crouched down, working with some felled trees.
He was covered in dirt and skinnier than the last time she had seen him naked in the bunker, but he was still a sight to take in. His legs were like tree trunks in themselves, his chest was heaving up in down in exertion, and he was covered in a slick sheen of sweat.
“What are you doing?” she asked.
Dean jumped ever so slightly before he looked at her. “Working on your litter. What do you think of it?”
He took a few steps back, having the modesty to cover himself for once. Maybe he was remembering what it’s like to be around people again, she thought. He picked up a pair of his underwear and slid them on. When he was clothed, Gina finally turned her attention to the litter.
It was simple, but it looked like it would work. Two decent sized logs made the frame, which Dean would grab on to. Other smaller branches were at the top and bottom to give it some stability. She saw that the trees were held together at the joints by strips of one of the bags. A blanket had been laid across the middle of the litter. She could see other branches and tree limbs underneath it.
It certainly wouldn’t be comfortable, but it looked like it would get her from this mountain to the city in one piece.
“It looks good, Dean,” Gina told him, and she meant it. “Thank you.”
“It won’t be the most comfortable ride in the world, but I promise it’ll hold up,” he told her, with a smile. She could tell that he took pride in his work. She looked at his face and saw dark bags under his eyes. He was exhausted.
“Dean, you need to rest,” she told him. “You look beat.”
“I’m fine,” he said, shaking his head. “We should probably get going.”
“If you don’t rest and get some more food in you, neither one of us will ever make it. Please. It’s for your own good.”
He nodded wearily. “Just for a few hours, then. Then we go.”
“That’s fine.”
Dean walked over to the blanket, lay down, and was out almost immediately. Gina sat around, unsure of what to do. She could hear the stream, just a couple of yards away, but couldn’t see it. She saw that there was an extra branch that Dean had chopped down lying next to the litter. It looked sturdy enough to support her weight. She carefully pulled herself up and limped over to the stick on one foot. Using it as a crutch, she made her way to the stream.
It was only about ten feet across, but looked a couple of feet deep. She made her way to it and put her swollen foot into the cool water. She let out a sigh of relief, lay back, and enjoyed the feeling.
*
Dean awoke with a start. He looked up into the sky: the sun was halfway down the horizon. It was probably close to 3 o’clock. When he had gone to sleep, it was early morning. Why hadn’t Gina woken him? Was she okay?
He jumped up, clad in only his boxers, and looked around. Even Petey was missing. Dean turned his nose to the air and sniffed. He could smell Gina; she was close, down by the stream. He made his way to the stream at a run, crashing through the bushes and coming out the other side.
He came through, ready to fight or attack, and stopped immediately. Gina was below him in the water, swimming. He looked at her, her form rippling underneath the water. Then he noticed that her clothes were lying on the bank. He felt his face heat up.
She turned towards him and smiled. He had been meaning to ask her why she had let him sleep so long, but her smile erased all thoughts of that. “You look better,” she told him.
“I feel better,” Dean replied. He made his way down the bank, sitting down on the edge and dipping his feet into the water. It felt amazing on his tight muscles.
“Sorry that I didn’t wake you,” Gina said, swimming towards him. “But you looked so peaceful and I know you needed the sleep.”
“It’s okay,” he told her. She eyed him and he continued, “Honestly. I needed it. It was probably better for me to get some rest than to keep pushing myself.”
“Get in,” Gina told him. Dean hesitated. Then he shrugged and stood up.
“Look away,” he told her. Gina covered her eyes halfheartedly and he stripped down and jumped in.
*
Gina felt the splash as Dean hopped into the water. She turned towards him and watched as he swam on his back, an actual smile on his face. Gina hadn’t seen much of that since she’d met him. For once, she actually felt at ease — even though she knew their situation was dire. But now wasn’t the time to worry about it. Now was the time to enjoy a few minutes of relaxation before things got bad.
Petey barked from the bank and jumped in. She laughed, and next to her, even Dean was laughing. They swam in lazy circles for a few minutes. Gina kept catching Dean stealing glances at her, but she didn’t mind.
When he was looking at her again, she splashed him in the face. He came close to her then, swimming up until their bodies were nearly touching. Gina wrapped her arms around Dean’s neck, pulling her body to his. She wrapped her legs around his body, feeling the warmth of it even in the cool stream.
/> He buried his face in her neck, kissing her, and she felt goosebumps exploding across her body. She moaned low, letting his mouth cover every inch of her body above the water. It felt good. It felt great.
“Gina, I’m sorry,” he whispered between kisses. “About how I treated you before.”
“Dean, not now,” she told him. He gave her a slight nod, then pressed his lips against hers. She kissed him back, floating in lazy circles in the stream; all of their worries: their low food supply, their trip to the city, Gina’s ankle, the apocalypse, all fading away.
Then Dean lifted Gina easily out of the water, one of his hands sliding under her knees and the other under her shoulders, just like the night before. With ease, he walked out of the water, climbing the bank without any problems. Gina felt safe in his thick arms.
He carried her back to their campsite, his mouth against hers as he did so. Carefully, Dean lowered her down onto the blanket, then lay down next to her. His eyes took in every curve of her body, and Gina found herself doing the same for him: her eyes couldn’t stop looking down at what he had between his legs.
His lips were on her neck again, then her earlobe, then her cheek, always sucking and kissing somewhere. Gina let out a moan and ran her fingers through his thick hair as his lips moved down to her chest, first kissing between her breasts and then moving towards her left one. His tongue traced her areola entirely, then he moved to the other and repeated the process before placing his lips on one and sucking.
Gina moaned, remembering how good it had felt the other night — and this was feeling even better. He started moving past her breasts, moving downwards, kissing the side of her stomach, then kissing her navel, and then the other side. His lips never stopped moving across her.
Finally, he moved down between her hips, below her belly button, but above her wetness. He kissed around, long enough for Gina to utter a, “Please, Dean,” and then he moved between her legs.
One of his kisses found the inside of a thigh, kissing all of the way down to almost her knee. Then he kissed back up the other thigh, a feeling that was both wonderful and maddening. Gina wanted him now, but he was taking his sweet time. He moved up her thigh and then placed his lips against her wetness.
She felt his lips work, slowly and tenderly, tasting her and drinking her in. His tongue slid out from between his lips, pressing against her own. Gina closed her eyes, her hands still running through Dean’s hair, and arched her back.
Gina felt as his tongue slid against her lips, spreading her wide. His tongue was like heaven inside of her, exploring deep and working parts of her she didn’t even know existed. Then she felt his tongue sliding out of her before it moved against her clit.
She squirmed in pleasure as he pressed his tongue against her. Her breathing was becoming hurried and hot. One of Dean’s hands came up and grabbed her breast, squeezing a nipple, the other squeezing her thigh.
His lips and tongue never stopped moving across her wetness, working her in the perfect way. She heard moans and realized they were coming from her – if she were anywhere else but in the woods, she would try to be quiet, but it didn’t matter, now.
“Keep…going…” she managed through breaths. Dean was hitting all of the right places and she could tell that he was going to bring her to orgasm quicker than she thought was possible. She lifted her legs, ignoring her ankle, and wrapped them tightly around Dean’s head. She couldn’t have him going anywhere. He had to keep doing exactly what he was doing. And he did.
Between her legs, Gina felt a warmth blossoming inside of her. It started off slow at first, then quickly built into a crescendo. Gina pushed it away as long as she could, trying to hold it at bay, but it was pointless. With a scream of pleasure, her orgasm hit her harder than ever before. She bucked forward in ecstasy, letting it engulf her entirely.
Gina didn’t know how long her orgasm lasted for, but finally, after what seemed like minutes, it was done. She unwrapped her legs from around Dean’s head, her breath still heaving. Her face was hot. The pleasure that she had experienced was unlike anything any other man had ever brought her. She had no words to describe it.
Dean came up next to her, his body hot against hers. One of his hands grabbed a breast, squeezing ever so gently, his lips kissing the side of her neck. Against her leg, she felt his hardness, leaving little trails of precum on her.
Without even a warning, she leaned down, grabbing it in one of her hands. She could barely get a hand around his girth, but that didn’t matter to her. She leaned down, tugging his thickness gently, and placed the head of his cock in between her lips. Dean’s moan was one of utmost pleasure.
She opened her lips wide, barely able to fit him inside of her, and then traced her tongue against the tip. She tasted him, realized how much she loved it, and then pressed her head downwards, feeling his thickness sliding into her wet mouth.
Dean moaned again, his hands running through her hair but letting her work him however she saw fit. She pushed down, her tongue running on the underside of his member, until the tip was hitting the back of her throat. Just when she thought she couldn’t fit anymore of him into her mouth, she pushed just a little deeper.
She continued sliding him in and out of her mouth, harder and faster until h is moans filled the forest. And she loved every second.
It wasn’t long before his breathing was labored, his body hot, and she knew he was going to cum soon. She happily kept going, bobbing her head, sliding her tongue along his length, and then his breathing went quiet and he arched his back.
She felt his cock jerk in her mouth, then felt the hot spray of his cum deep in the back of her throat. She pushed even deeper, swallowing his seed, the warmth filling her. She kept moving slowly, waiting for his orgasm to pass, then she ran her tongue along him and drained the last of his seed. Delighted, she swallowed, loving that she had brought him so much happiness.
Then she pulled herself up into his arms, and the two of them lay there naked together. Gina turned towards him and deeply kissed him. For the first time, the kiss wasn’t leading up to anything; it was just a kiss. They were content to lay there and just enjoy each other’s company. Gina felt herself dozing off, and soon, she was asleep.
*
“Do you see anyone?”
Dean didn’t answer right away. Gina looked over at him. She could tell that he was looking it over. Even with his advanced vision, she wasn’t sure if he would be able to see anyone below them.
They stood on a ridge overlooking North Williamstown, Gina supported by her stick. They were high above the city and Gina couldn’t make anything out except for the buildings, and even they were specks. They still had a few miles to go before they would descend into the town.
Dean shook his head. “We’ll have to get closer before I can see anyone below. But once we’re close, we won’t have the height advantage. We’ll be going in blind.”
North Williamstown, unlike Haysberry, was almost entirely whole. There were a few burned buildings on the outskirts of town, but other than that, everything looked normal up here. Gina knew that down below, it wouldn’t be the case.
“We need to find some food,” Gina stated. She knew it could go unsaid, but she couldn’t help herself. “Where do we go first?”
“We can check some of those houses down there,” he said, pointing. “Most of the looting was probably focused on the center of town, in the commercial district.” Gina followed his finger to where he was pointing. “With any luck, some of those houses on the edge of the city will have been ignored.”
“Then what if we can’t find any?”
“Then we go deeper into the city until we find enough food to get us through,” Dean said. “It won’t be easy, but we can do it.”
Together, they made their way to the highway. She could tell that Dean wished there was a different way into the town, maybe through the woods, but North Williamstown lay in a valley and going off the highway was a quick way to burn up valuable time and energ
y, neither of which they had. Plus, it would be a good way to get lost.
MARS (BBW Bear Shifter MC Romance) (MC Bear Mates Book 1) Page 48
