by Unknown
She stood around talking with as many people for as long as she could, and delayed finding her seat, for she sensed Matt wanted to sit near her. He was a widower who lived with his sister and her children, and lately he’d begun to show definite interest in Marisa. Normally, she would have been comforted and flattered by it, and maybe even interested herself—he was a good-looking man who worked hard and was always respectful. But with worry for Luke hanging in the back of her mind, she couldn’t afford to be too relaxed. If she sat near Matt, he’d want to come with her when she sneaked off. Or he’d ask questions. Or draw attention.
At last everyone had settled into their seats, and she spread out her blanket at the very back of the crowd. The viewing area was a large clearing on the north side of the settlement, and the grass was thick and soft. The movie would be projected onto an old billboard that had been whitewashed several years ago for this purpose (though it needed to be done again, for an advertisement for Stark Hickey Ford was beginning to show through the paint). The billboard had fallen from its moorings during the Change and was brought to River Vale, then integrated into the protective wall that surrounded the settlement.
Even as the last bit of chatter ebbed, and the soft whirr of the projector started up, Marisa could hear the other sounds of night beyond the walls. The calls of dangerous animals—feral dogs and wild cats, lions, and wolves. And then, faintly in the distance, the eerie, soul-scraping sound of the zombies.
“Rrrrruthhhh…ruuuuuthhhhhhh…” Their cries were horrible and unintelligible, but Marisa had the sense they were searching for something…always searching for something.
“Ruuuuuuthhhhh…ruuuuuuthhhhh…”
Even here, safe from the awkward, flesh-rotting creatures, she couldn’t control a low shudder. She’d never seen one. Never been unlucky—or dumb—enough to be caught outside the walls once the sun went down. But Marisa knew others who had. She shivered.
The movie began and the last bit of conversation ended. The night air was crisp, filled with the scent of popcorn and sausages toasted over a small bonfire off to the side. The only light was from the film, reflecting over the faces of the audience while leaving the rest of their bodies in darkness.
Marisa adjusted her glasses, then bent her knees upright and wrapped her arms around her calves, resting her chin on top. A wavy lock of hair from her ponytail fell free, tickling her jaw. She fidgeted. How long would she have to wait until it was safe to sneak off?
Other than the couple in front of her—teens who couldn’t keep their hands off each other—the rest of the audience seemed engrossed by the movie, despite the title. No surprise there, for the DVD was a new find that had just been brought into town by one of the traveling scavengers. Probably no one had seen it before.
Marisa was just about to ease to her feet and slip away when three shadows rippled over the rows of people near the front of the audience, off to the right. She turned her head slightly and recognized Ian, Juniper, and their companion.
Apparently they had come to watch the movie after all.
Damn.
Now she wasn’t going to be able to get up and sneak away for fear one of them would see and recognize her. It was dark, but not that dark, and she couldn’t take that chance…could she?
Should she?
Just move over to the side some more, she told them silently. Then you won’t see me…
But they stood in a forbidding cluster, their long shadows from a single light casting over the people of River Vale like a warning. A stark reminder of their presence and power.
Marisa chafed and tried not to worry. They weren’t going to stand there all night. Surely they weren’t.
Then all at once, she felt the air shift behind her. Movement. Someone was there—someone who sat down behind her.
Marisa stiffened, because that someone sat really close. Close enough she could feel the warmth of new presence. And that someone shifted forward, and the next thing she knew, two strong, jean-covered legs slid onto either side of her, and a hand touched her arm.
She drew in a startled, shaky breath, ready to speak or push him away when a low voice said, “Shhh. It’s me.”
Me?
Again?
But her surprise and shock had waned, making way for her senses to take over. The warmth, scent, and most of all the feel of the man who’d settled behind her was definitely Luke. Oh boy.
“Just play it cool.”
“Are you crazy?” she hissed, realizing the fact that he was nearly hugging her from behind was the least of her problems. Well, at least he wasn’t lying dead in a pool of blood on the floor…
“It’s dark. They didn’t see my face. They can’t see your face either. I’m sure they think we’re just another anonymous couple, cuddling up to watch the movie. ”
Marisa closed her eyes, battling anger, desire, and a wave of sadness. As if. “If you say so.”
“I say so.” He shifted closer, and she stiffened even more as he curved his arms around her from behind. Please don’t let him feel my heart pounding like this.
Luke’s face was just behind her ear, and the warmth of his body burned into her. His thighs bracketed her on either side, and she refused to let herself think about how he was cradling her rear end right there at the juncture of those thighs. She felt the brush of a soft curl of hair against her cheek, and noticed his wide, bare feet settling on the grass on either side of hers. His breath was warm on her bare neck, sending gentle tickling sensations over her skin. She was ashamed to admit she could hardly breathe, and she was getting hot, and damp, and—
“Are you cold?”
“N-not any more,” she managed to say. What the hell is he doing? Then she realized she had a lot more pertinent questions for him, and the last thing she needed was to be distracted from them. “How did you get out?”
“I found the other door. Are you okay?” His words shuttled softly against her, his breath warm against her hair. Little prickles of awareness and hot sparks of desire exploded over her as his lips brushed her earlobe. Accidentally. Of course it was accidental. “I could hear everything. I’m sorry about all this.”
Sorry. Yeah, right. “I wasn’t certain if the sound system was turned on. I’m fine.” Sort of. “But you have a lot of questions to answer.”
“That’s why I’m here. Right now, I mean,” he said.
She closed her eyes. This was torture. Did he have to sit so close to her? Did he have to smell so good?
Did he have to have loved her sister—and broken her heart?
“Why did you leave?”
His sudden stillness told her he wasn’t expecting that question any more than she had been expecting to speak it…but there it was.
“I’m assuming you’re talking about leaving River Vale, and not the—er—safe-room.”
“Well, I—uh—” This was her chance to backpedal, to get the answers that were really important. But before she could redirect, he spoke.
“I left because I realized I couldn’t marry Lainey.”
His voice, so low and rough and sexy, sent another shiver of desire through her. She gritted her teeth, struggling to keep her voice low and her mind focused on anger and not the lust galloping through her. “You couldn’t have told her that before the wedding day? You had to tell her on it? You broke her heart, Luke. You broke her heart, and you broke—”
You broke mine.
I thought you were the good guy. A great guy. A guy worth wanting.
Instead, she said, “Yeah, I got that. So did the whole town. You got cold feet.” She straightened, pulling herself slightly out of his grip. Immediately, she felt chilly at her shoulders and back and wished he would cuddle her close again—and mean it. “Ian and his pals are looking for you. I don’t suppose you’re going to tell me why, even though I’ve put my butt on the line for you.”
He leaned closer, but didn’t tighten his arms around her again. “Yes, they’re looking for me. It’s a little complicated—”<
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“It’s going to get a lot more complicated if they find your ass because I stand up and point to you.”
He sighed, a gust of warmth over the top of her head. “Right. I owe you some answers, I know. But first…I didn’t get a chance to tell you I’m sorry about your dad. I heard he’d passed—I happened to run into Benny Targent during my travels a year ago, and he told me. He was a great guy, and I’m really sorry he’s gone.”
“Thanks,” she said, mollified by his honesty.
“Now for some answers. I was hanging around Ian Marck for about a month, pretending to work with him while I was trying to find out what he’s up to. Marck didn’t really trust me, but he didn’t have reason not to. So when I got the information I needed—okay, so I’ll tell you: they’re looking for some people who escaped from the Strangers. I stole Marck’s picture of them right under Juniper’s nose—he’s a douche and a dumbass—so I had to get the hell out of there.”
“How did you get hurt if you got away?”
“Well, I wanted to know more after I found the picture and realized what it was, so I circled around back to their camp after they realized I escaped, and climbed on the back of their truck while they were driving. I was trying to figure out where they were going. A rock flew up and hit my head while I was hanging on to the back. And that’s what caused—well, that’s when I showed up here. I was already on my way here anyway, because I had something to do.”
Marisa shook her head. “All of a sudden, I have a lot more questions now than I did five minutes ago.”
He laughed softly. “I told you it was complicated. Not something that could be explained in thirty seconds while we’re trying to hide from the snoot.”
“The snoot?”
“Yeah—you know, Ian and his goons. That’s what they call them over in Yellow Mountain and Envy. You know, New Vegas. The snoot.”
“You’ve been to Envy?” The only thing she knew about Envy was that was where the Waxnicki brothers were from. And it was where the legendary city of Las Vegas used to sit before everything was destroyed. Its official name was New Vegas, but everyone called it N.V., or Envy.
“A few times. I know a couple of guys from there, and…listen, Marisa, I’m really sorry you got involved in this.”
“You showed up here asking for my help,” she hissed over her shoulder. “You came to the library, to my house…what did you think was going to happen if the MITs were after you?”
“I didn’t know they were going to move in with you! I figured they’d look around, not find me, and be on their way. I really am sorry.”
A shadow fell over them and she looked over. Ian was edging around the back of the crowd, moving slowly along the perimeter. He didn’t seem to be interested in watching the movie…he was looking at the audience.
Was he looking for her? Or for Luke?
“Easy,” Luke whispered in her ear, gathering her close again. Really close, so that she leaned back into his chest and his arms came tightly around her shoulders and crossed in front of her. Oh man, he was so warm and solid, and she swore she could actually feel the outline of his biceps against her.
“Don’t do anything to attract his attention,” Luke said quietly. “It’s dark. There are a lot of people here. Ian Marck has no reason to suspect I’d be just sitting out in the open like this. He’s not even sure I’m here.”
Marisa tried to relax, but it was damned difficult. Whether it was Luke and his proximity—something she’d only imagined and dreamed about for years—or the very real threat from Ian, she wasn’t certain…but she greatly feared it was the former.
Plus…he’d hung on to the back of a truck while it was driving along? Bouncing around? Jolting and speeding and rumbling over the uneven ground? Um…wow. Her arms hurt just thinking about it, but at the same time, she felt a little breathless thinking about how strong and coordinated he must be.
“We just have to blend into the crowd,” he murmured, his mouth brushing her cheek. Warm. Soft. Tender. A prickle of desire rushed through her, settling in her belly and flushing heat through her limbs. Then she realized he was sliding the band from her hair. “And let’s get rid of this. That ponytail gives you away. I don’t think I’ve ever seen you without it.”
She bit her lip and focused very hard on the movie—although she had no idea what was going on; a really perky blond actress was babbling on about something—as he gently combed his fingers through her loosened hair. It was ridiculously difficult to keep her breathing steady, and she was certain he could feel the hard thud of her heart reverberating through her body. There was no hiding her reaction to him, and that realization made her cheeks heat with embarrassment, along with acute awareness.
He sat there for a moment, his legs still bracketing her on either side, his hands having slid down along her arms after stroking her hair into place. Now his arms curved around her midriff in a loose embrace, his strong wrists crossing over her middle. To anyone else, they most definitely looked like a couple enjoying each other’s company while watching a movie about not being kissed. How damned ironic.
And then, as if reading her mind, he buried his face in the delicate, sensitive side of her neck and began to move his lips over her skin…licking, nuzzling, nipping in a way that definitely was not an accident.
Marisa could hardly breathe, because Luke Desmond was kissing her neck.
CHAPTER 5
O h…God.
Maybe this was not such a good idea…
Luke closed his eyes. Marisa Bengotti tasted, smelled, felt as amazing as he’d always imagined. No…better.
Her warm skin, soft and sweet, was the slightest bit salty. The unique scent of her hair, bright and citrusy and sexy as all hell, tangled in his nostrils and mingled with the heat and essence of her. She had no idea part of her appeal, part of what had brought him to this, was her complete cluelessness of how sexy and fascinating she was.
Marisa caught her breath and tensed against him, as if ready to pull away…but Luke wasn’t about to give up this opportunity.
This single, innocent opportunity. The one time she couldn’t push him away, couldn’t give him that look, couldn’t remind him of Lainey.
He wanted to turn her around, to cover her mouth and really kiss her, pull her up against him, face to face instead of this backwards, backdoor, opportunistic way he’d slipped into…but he didn’t.
Instead, he nibbled. He nuzzled and nipped, slid his lips along the sleek tendon of her neck. Licked her with the tip of his tongue, then gently sucked and teased. She shivered beneath him and he smiled a little, then found an earlobe and sampled her there too.
“Luke,” she whispered. “What…are…you…”
Her voice trailed off into a sexy little gasp of surprise as he slid his tongue, as strong and hard as another part of his anatomy, along the soft, tender, sweet spot of her throat, following it with a trail of delicate kisses. Her pulse pounded crazily beneath his mouth, and he hoped, he hoped it was because of him, and not because of their dangerous predicament.
“Blending in,” he murmured into the warmth of her ear. “Just like them.” He nudged her to look at the teenagers in front of them, who were showing a tad more skin than either he or Marisa were. The girl’s shirt was up past her ribs.
Marisa eased away, and half turned in his lap—big mistake on her part, because now he could see her parted lips and the full effect of her loose, dark hair and wide eyes, and the rise and fall of her t-shirt-covered breasts. Her hands didn’t seem to know where to go, and they ended up one on his right thigh, and the other on his left pec. “I…don’t think—”
“Exactly. Don’t…think,” he muttered against her mouth as he pulled her glasses away and found her lips.
Another of those little puffed gasps of surprise was smothered as he kissed her, slipping a hand around the back of her neck and cupping her head in his palm. She tasted sweet and soft and warm, and her fingers curled into his shirt, holding tight as he deepened t
he kiss into something hot and slick and thorough. Oh, man.
He wanted more…he wanted to slide his hands along her hips and torso, to cover her breasts, to pull her onto his lap facing him and feel her pressed against him…to slide his hands under her shirt and smooth them over her skin. But…
Luke pulled away reluctantly, aware that he was out of breath, his head was spinning, and his jeans were really uncomfortable.
I’ve been waiting more than six years to do this, he wanted to tell her.
But now was not the time to explain why he hadn’t been able to marry Lainey.
Because, in the back of his mind, in the distance, he heard the telltale “Rrrrrruuuuthhhhh…” of the zombies, and saw the long, dark shadow of Ian Marck, and reality came crashing down like a dousing in the ice-cold creek.
“Marisa,” he whispered, doing his best to keep from touching her—but his fingers insisted on pushing away a thick lock of silky hair from her face, and then trailing over her damp, well-kissed lips. “I have to go.”
“You have to—” Her voice tightened, rose a little, but she caught herself in time. She gave her head a little shake as if to clear it, then looked at him with tighter lips and the reserved expression he was used to seeing. “Right. Now’s a good time to escape. You’re obviously not in danger of bleeding to death anymore.”
Oh boy. There was definitely a tone in her voice, even though it was low and close. And what he could see of her eyes had gone from bedroomy to frosty.
“I’m not leaving River Vale.” He didn’t have time to explain anything fully. “But I have to get something I left outside…outside the walls.”
Now her eyes popped wide. “Outside? At night? Are you crazy?” she hissed.
“Maybe a little.” He quirked as much of a smile as he could muster. “But it’s important.”
“Important? Nothing’s that important.”
He just shook his head, really wishing the only thing he had to do was sit here and make out with her. Work that shirt loose from her jeans, bare her skin to the night air…maybe even pop open the clasp of her bra.
