Counting Down (31 page)

“Well no. Probably not. Especially now with the whole end of the world chocolate shortage going on. Unless Evie can get her hands on some cocoa plants, or wherever chocolate comes from, those cookies are worth more than a bag of diamonds.”

“Yes they are. Which is why I plan to win every cookie in the bunker.” Abby was just about to get dealt in on a hand when Kyle sent her a message only she could hear.

“Come to the back with me.” Even in her mind she could hear the urgency in his voice though he was definitely trying to hide it with a forced casual tone.

“Is something wrong,” Abby replied with her mind.

“No, everything’s fine.
Just come here. I want to see you.”

“Abby,” Alex said. “Earth calling Abby. Come in Abby.” He waved a hand in front of her face.

She snapped out of her head, looked up. “
Huh
?”

Alex held the deck of cards between his fingers, getting ready to deal the next hand. “Ante up if you’re in.”

“Oh. Sorry Alex. Changed my mind.” She threw him a sheepish grin then stood to make her way to the doorframe of the sleeping area. “

Damn telepathy,” Alex muttered under his breath before tossing cards. “Okay, make your bets kids. And no more fighting over ramen. There are six more cases in storage. Everyone will get a share.”

Abby stepped through the curtain, saw Kyle sitting on the edge of his bunk. He didn’t look up. “What is it? Did you miss me or something?” Her voice held an edge of worry but she smiled.

He made a humorous, yet almost broken sound in his throat. “Always.” His eyes continued to stay down as he ran a hand through his hair.

Abby knew by now that mussing his hair was his one nervous habit.

“What is it Kyle?” She came up close, let her leg brush against his. The air seemed to change, became hotter and heavier around her. She lifted a hand to brush through his hair, fixed the strands that had fallen out of place. His arms reached out, took in her waist, pulled her to him. He rested his head against her middle and she stroked through his thick waves, trailing her fingertips down the back of his neck, over the top of his ears, along his jaw.

Minutes passed as she held him there, drowning in him. She knew at that moment that they were two pieces of a whole. She didn’t know if they were one soul, one heart. Flowery words weren’t enough. She only knew she was born wanting him. And she knew what she had somehow felt from the first moment she’d seen his face, what she had always known.
They belonged to each other
.

He stood, keeping his head close to her body, trailing his cheek over the fabric of her shirt until he reached her face. His mouth nipped at her chin, settled into the hollow spot behind her ear lobe.

“My whole life I’ve missed you. My Abigail. My Aislynn.”

She felt the words enter her, fill her every pore. She knew the name was hers, recognized the sound of it on his tongue. She exhaled a shuttering breath as his lips pressed against the tender skin of her throat.

He swayed with her to a silent melody, his hands resting at the small of her back. Abby felt the heat burning from her center as the passion that hadn’t dulled in centuries floated to the surface.

He
gripped her hips, pulled her body into his with an almost desperate sound on his lips. His hands drew into fists around the hem of her shirt as he finally found her mouth. Their lips mingled together, his tongue dipping into her mouth, tasting her. The tenderness ebbed away and his lips suddenly crashed into hers, possessing her.

She felt the world drop away. The voices in the other room instantly became lost in the sound of her own breathing, in the sensation of Kyle’s hand moving under her shirt and over her breasts. She arched just an inch, leaning into his palm, moaning as his thumb manipulated the tender flesh.

He pulled her arms up slowly, trailing the tips of his fingers along the skin and leaving goose bumps in their wake, then lifted her shirt over her head. She responded, pulled up his shirt
in turn
, running her hands up his back and grabbing at the last remnants of his restraint.

He slipped away just long enough to rip the tee shirt over his head, returned to press his skin against hers. His heat enveloped her and she melted against him, clutching his face and taking his mouth hungrily.

Her hands
flew
down, pulled at the buttons of his jeans. She felt his fingers tangle with hers, helping her. She stepped back to strip her lower body as he did the same, expectation rippling through her with a vibrating hum.

She felt his eyes on her as she straightened, heard the groan in his throat followed by an unsatisfied sigh. She had only a second to take in the sight of him before his hands were on her. They seized each other frantically, trying to sink in, to cease being two separate entities.

He pulled her leg up by the knee, locked it over his hip and pushed them back against a bunk frame. Her other leg came up around him, gripping his waist as he bent to nip along her throat before returning to her mouth. She could feel that he was ready, knew that he was fighting to savor the moment for as long as he could.

“Please Kyle.” Abby let out a moan under his lips. “Please.”

His body changed then, tightened as he maneuvered her into his bunk. The control was gone, lost in the heat of their bodies twining together in desperate need. She felt a fresh tingle of
pleasure
, eager
to give herself to him
.

Abby moaned a little too loudly, spread herself beneath him. She wrapped her knees around his waist instinctually, felt him enter in one steady movement.

She threw her head back, pulled her to him with her legs. “Oh god.”

He watched her eyes as they moved together, and memories flooded her mind. She saw the man he used to be, remembered now that this was not the first time they had joined together.
Both her body and soul remembered him with blinding clarity.
And suddenly the part of her that had always felt lost was found again in the depths of his eyes and the flaming light of his touch.

Their pace
took on a trance-like rhythm
, their eyes never parting. She felt the fire building, heard the heaviness of his breathing, and dropped into a sea of some
thing beyond physical pleasure.

She watched his eyes tighten, felt her satisfaction just around the next swell of sensation. Around them the light grew, popped and crackled through the dim light of the bunker. Finally it burst out, exploding around them until the brightness consumed every ounce of darkness beyond.

She heard his thoughts, felt his emotions and his pleasure mingling with her own, and rode wave after wave of pulsing light. She heard the sounds escaping her lips, greedily took his mouth as he brought it down to quiet them.

She continued to match
his rhythm, arched her back and gave herself up to him with every shred of her soul.

“Kyle.” She whimpered against his lips, felt him tighten and increase the tempo
just slightly
in response. “Callum.”

When Abby thought she might die there happily in his arms, all at once the light flickered, shattered into millions of tiny pieces. It seemed the stars had come down to bless them as they collapsed together
, sated and warm
.

For a long while they lay together, wrapped in
each other’s limbs
. Abby listened to his heart, absently tickled the skin of his belly and his hips.

She had never experienced anything like that before in her life. She had searched for it in the touch of other men, wished for it always. Now she had finally found it. One time could never be enough, she thought as a smile crossed her lips.

“A billion times could never be enough,” he said with a smirk in his voice.

“You heard that?”

“I was thinking the same thing anyway.”

“I guess I don’t have the strength to keep my thoughts to myself at the moment. You’ve had uh… quite the effect on me.”

“I think I know the feeling. I hope I didn’t think anything too… you know…”

She rolled half onto him to turn and look into his eyes. “I already knew it all anyway. You’ll never have to tell me how you feel.”

“Love’s too small a word.”

He echoed her thoughts, which was a normal occurrence between them.

She continued to toy with his skin, rolling her thumb along his collarbone. “There’s no word for this. No way to give it a name.”

He took her hand, squeezed lightly. “Let me work on that one. I’m sure I could come up with something close eventually, even if I have to invent a completely new word.”

“Well it is a new world now. We could probably get away with inventing anything we want.”

He tilted his head, stopped in thought. “That’s actually a good point.
We have a very unique opportunity in front of us.
We could create any society we design, instill new ideas,
value
s.”

Abby was quiet, thinking about his words. “That’s a huge undertaking.”

“We’ve got plenty of time to think about it now.” He squeezed her hand again. “Together we’ll make something beautiful out of all the ugliness up there.”

“I’m content to be right here for now. By the way, what happened to waiting until we could get out of the bunker?”

“Uh… yeah, I couldn’t take it anymore. A man can only withstand so much. Being near yo
u every day, every night…”

“Well I’m extremely glad you
ran out of will power
, emphasis on the extremely part. But what about the others and all your talk of distractions?” She was teasing him, a smile in her eyes.

“I wanted the first time to be perfect. Actually, I’d like every time to be perfect.” He stroked her hair, held her to his chest. “You’ve never had anyone show you how special you are, how important you are. I wanted you to know that this was way more than just a romp in the sack, that
this is real
.” He sighed.

“It
was beyond perfect Kyle. It always will be. There’s no way for it not to be. I don’t care if I’m trapped in a sewer as long as you’re there with me, rats and all.”

He nodded, continued. “You deserve a proper wooing. But I decided I had to
give in
or go completely mad.
And Alex kept trying to make me crack.
Though he did come through in a clutch tonight.”

“Wait, you and Alex arranged this? Are you serious?”

“Who do you think convinced him to make an exception to the Friday-is-poker-night rule?”

“Oh my god.” She bit her bottom lip to suppress the laugh waiting on her tongue. “Alex was your accomplice? How did he take it? I’m not sure he’s over me and him yet.”

Kyle’s eyebrows popped up. “He’d better be. I wouldn’t want to embarrass him in a fist fight since I learned how to punch a few thousand years before Caesar ruled Rome.”

Abby laughed,
played with his chest hair
. “You can’t possibly be jealous of Alex?”

“No, not at all. He’s not your type anyway. Real men don’t get mani-pedis.” He grinned. “I’m not worried about your end one bit. His end, on the other hand, well let’s just say he had better know his place or he’ll find those
two-hundred dollar
jeans he wears up around his head.”

Abby couldn’t hold back the silly smile that spread over her face. She liked that he was just a little possessive. There was no insecurity in his words, in fact he was maybe even a little cocky. But she liked knowing he was ready to fight for her.

“Alex knows all about us. I told him everything about the past and the present.
I don’t think we have to worry about him coming on to me again anytime soon.
Plus he seems to have taken a liking to Evie.”