Fighting to Survive (24 page)

Smiling,
she kissed him back, and then slid away from him.

In
silence, he slipped off his boots and his jacket and lay back on the
pile of pillows on the bed. She came into his arms and lay her head
on his chest. With infinite gentleness, he stroked her bruised flesh
and kissed the top of her head.

It
was deliciously good.

***

Eric emerged from
the sparkling tub that was tucked into the bathroom of the new
comfortable hotel room that he now shared with Stacey and Pepe. It
was a relief, not to have to stand in line to use the restroom or
sign in to take a shower. The shower had been a wonderful
experience. He grinned as he wrapped a fresh towel around his hips.

The hotel room was
high above the streets outside the walls of the fort where the dead
roamed and moaned. There was a delightful silence to the night.

He vigorously
scrubbed his wet hair with the towel, trying to dry it as he entered
the bedroom. Pepe was lying in his new doggie bed nearby, wagging
his tail despite his sleepy expression.

“
Hey,
is Pepe going to sleep with us?
”
Eric asked. He was used to the little guy snuggling down with them.

“
Absolutely,
not,
”
Stacey answered.

Eric finally looked
toward the bed. Stacey was laying across it naked and beautiful.
She had insisted in showering first and now he understood why. She
was smiling with the sweetest, yet most sultry smile he had ever
seen on her lovely face.

“
Sorry,
Pepe. You're out of luck,
”
Eric stammered. He dropped his towels and walked transfixed to the
bed.

Stacey
laughed with delight and held out her arms to him.
“
At
last, we can make this official!
”

“
And
no one will hear us!
”
Eric answered as he slid naked over her form.

She
plucked his glasses off and tossed them onto a chair nearby.
“
Tell
me you love me.
”

“
I
love you,
”
Eric whispered.

***

Lenore opened up her
hotel room door and stared out at Ken with her most grumpy
expression. He was dressed in his new pajamas and held Cher's cat
carrier in one hand and a bottle of champagne in the other.

“
Slumber
party!
”
He exclaimed with a grin.

“
No,
”
Lenore answered, and shut the door.

She knew it wouldn't
deter him and waited for the knock she knew was coming.

“
Lenore,
let me in. I'm your best girlfriend.
”

Lenore harrumphed at
this.

“
You
love me. Please, Lenore. Let me in. I'm afraid of zombies and I
can't sleep alone. Please! I know you have two queens in there.
”

Lenore looked over
her shoulder at the two beds.

“
Another
one won't hurt,
”
his voice pleaded through the door.

Finally,
she opened it and stared out at him.
“
One
word about Daniel Craig, Clive Owen or Hugh Jackman, and I'm throwing
you out!
”

Ken
grinned and hurried past her.
“
Yay!
”

Lenore shut the
door, grumbling, but a small smile managed to creep onto her lips.
At least she had her best friend in this stupid world even if he was
annoying sometimes.

***

Peggy tucked Cody
into his bed along with his stuffed bear. Her son looked up at her
anxiously, his hands gripping her sleeve.

“
I
don't want to sleep alone in here, Mommy,
”
he whispered.

“
Cody,
the zombies can't get in here. We're safe. The zombies are far
away, I promise,
”
Peggy kissed his forehead.

She was looking
forward to her first night of real sleep without him clinging or
waking her up with his nightmares.

“
Promise?
”

“
Yes,
Cody, I promise,
”
Peggy answered, and felt for the first time in a long time, she
wasn't lying.

Sighing,
her little boy settled down in his new bed and held tightly to his
bear.
“
Okay,
cause Teddy doesn't like zombies.
”

“
I
know, honey. I know.
”
She kissed his cheek and tucked in his covers.

As she left his
room, she looked back at him one more time and felt a wonderful sense
of relief that at last they were truly safe.

***

“
Shit,
”
Juan exclaimed as Jenni almost slipped and fell head first into the
tub.

She had been trying
to maneuver on her sprained leg while grabbing the bottle of
champagne off the counter that Ken had stolen before she nearly fell.

Juan grabbed hold of
her naked hips with his sudsy hands and held her steady as she
finally managed to get into the tub without killing both of them.
Lowering herself into the mountains of white bubbles, so she was
straddling his lap, she grinned.

“
See,
nothing to it?
”
She took a long swallow of champagne and handed him the bottle.

Juan
laughed and gulped down some of the warm champagne.
“
Shit,
that's nasty.
”

Jenni
giggled and pressed her bare breasts against his chest.
“
Almost
as nasty as me?
”

“
Shit,
girl.
”
Juan grinned.
“
No
one is as nasty as you.
”

Laughing, she kissed
him and they both nearly went under the bubbles before Juan managed
to grab the edge of the tub.

“
You're
trying to drown us!
”

“
Oh,
shut up and kiss me.
”

Juan obliged. The
champagne bottle fell off the edge of the tub and onto the floor.

Neither one of them
noticed.

***

Katie awoke a few
hours later to gentle snoring. She felt a little disoriented by the
sound and the body she felt in her arms. Lydia had always snored, but
the body pressed against hers was not one bit female.

It was Travis.

He
was sound asleep. His arms were around her body with his body spooned
up against hers. The lamp next to the bed was still lit. When she
turned her head she suppressed a giggle. He was so deeply asleep his
mouth was hanging open.

Stretching
a little, she managed to turn in his arms and readjust herself. Her
body was really aching and her bruises felt even more painful.
Looking at Travis
’
arm draped over her waist, she could see where the zombies had
grabbed onto it. Their distinct hand prints were pressed into his
flesh.

They
had both been immensely lucky today.

Stirring,
Travis turned onto his back, his arm slung over his forehead, looking
quite serene.

She
had really grown to love his face. It was so strong and yet kind.
Propping herself up, she stared at him and slid her hand under his
T-shirt along the length of his chest. He was so very manly and
muscular it was almost intimidating. But she enjoyed the feel of his
skin under her hand and felt the surprising pulse of desire inside of
her.

“
Travis,
”
she whispered.

One
eye slowly opened.
“
Um.
”

Rising up, she slid
herself up his chest and kissed him deeply.

Now
she knew he was fully awake and very aware of her body against his.
Through her pajamas and his jeans, she could feel him stirring in all
ways.

“
I
promise I won
’
t
run screaming,
”
she said very softly.

“
I
thought we were just going to sleep,
”
he muttered cautiously.

“
Well,
if you want to,
”
she answered, feeling a slight pang of disappointment.

Travis
instantly flipped her onto her back and grinned.
“
Sleep
can wait.
”

Responding hungrily
to his kisses, Katie felt her reservations fading. He was gentle and
tender. His kisses passionate, but loving. Any awkwardness they had
both felt began to fade away as their desire for each other grew.

When
she finally felt his skin against hers, she luxuriated in the feel of
it. Simple things like the width of his shoulders and the narrowness
of his waist and hips enthralled her. His cheek was scraggly against
her skin, but she enjoyed the sensation.

Travis
did not have to worry about performance anxiety. He soon had her
gasping and moaning and their bruises were forgotten. She buried her
face in his neck and wrapped her legs tightly around him as her body
shuddered beneath him. He kissed and nuzzled her neck, stroking her
hair as she trembled with pleasure.

“
Love
you,
”
he whispered.

“
Love
you,
”
she answered, and to her joy, she meant it.

They held each other
in the drowsy aftermath of their lovemaking. He stroked her skin with
infinite gentleness. She ran her hand down his side to rest on his
hip. They shared little kisses and whispers of endearment. It felt
good and wonderful. When they finally fell asleep, they were both
smiling.

When
Lydia
’
s
zombified ghost came into her dreams, Katie was waiting for her. In
her dream, the specter rose over her and Travis, angry and fierce.

“
How
could you do this to me?
”
the zombie version of Lydia demanded.

“
If
you were really Lydia, you would be happy for me,
”
Katie answered bluntly. In her dream, she sat up and faced the
creature boldly.

The
zombified Lydia hesitated.
“
You
left me.
”

“
You
were already gone. All that is left now is the shell of who you
were,
”
Katie said in a firm, yet quavering voice.
“
You're
not Lydia. You're my guilt that I didn't save her. I
’
ll
always love her essence. She is the love of my life. But I need to
move on. I need to be happy. And if you were truly Lydia, you would
understand that. You would understand that because you would love me
from beyond the grave. You're not her, I'm not giving you power over
me anymore.
”