Catching Red (8 page)

Yet she was lying next to a man—had been at his mercy for the past five days—and not once had she felt afraid. She licked her lips and avoided his question. “Why does it matter?”

“It explains why you have no clue what’s happening.” He swung his legs onto the bed.

She diverted her attention to his bare feet. “Your toes are turning blue.”

He pulled the blanket out from under them and covered their lower bodies. “On an instinctive level, you recognize the way I look at you—the way I touch you—as indications of interest.”

She rested her head on the pillow and looked into his eyes. “Interest in what?”

He caught her chin and ran his thumb over her lower lip. Her heart pounded as she absorbed the warmth emanating from his much larger body. “In something you’re not quite ready for. You don’t need to play dumb. I’m a patient man. I can wait for you to think things through.”

She raised her hands to his chest to maintain what was left of the distance between them. “And until then?”

He spanned her lower back and plastered her body against his. “I’ll keep you safe. I’ll keep you warm.” His head tilted forward. Their foreheads touched. “I’ll chase the monsters from your dreams.”

She clenched her fingers over his shirt as she fought the talons of fear. He had just given voice to everything she didn’t dare admit she needed. “And if what I decide isn’t what you want?”

His smile was slow, lazy, and filled with confidence. “It will be.”

“You know how to ride.” Marcus’ familiar voice held a hint of approval. The horse whinnied in response to its owner’s remark and curved its neck in his direction. Adjusting to the movement, Scarlet nudged it with her leg to make it do a complete turn. Keeping her hands on the mane, she looked down to meet her savior’s sky-blue gaze. Her heart skipped a beat.

His cheeks and nose were red from the cold. He must have been watching her for quite a while. He was leaning against a tree with his arms folded. Clumps of white gathered in the creases of his worn leather jacket. His boots’ thick dark soles sank a good distance into the powdered ground. Flakes of snow continued to drift onto his pale blond head. The storm had ebbed, but dark gray clouds portended its return. This was a brief respite, not the blizzard’s end.

His gaze raked her from head to toe, lingering at her slumped shoulders and shaking hands. She was stronger but far from full strength. His brows drew almost imperceptibly together, a microexpression she knew from extended observation reflected disapproval. “Now I know why you were asking all those questions. Here I thought you were concerned about Gold’s safety.”

She had found the animal under a temporary shelter less than a five-minute walk from the bunker. With a sheepish smile affixed on her face, she presented her defense. “I won’t hurt Gold, I promise. I’ve done this before.”

After reading about the process in several books, she had fashioned a head collar and spent months tracking a herd. Though she’d never managed to train a mount to follow her around, she did succeed in taming a small mare once. She rode it for a while. But in the end, she set it free. She was in no position to form attachments. It was safer among other horses than it was with her.

It took him three steps to reach her. He smoothed his hand over the horse’s golden coat and replied in a cool voice, “It’s not her I’m worried about. Just because you managed to pull on a pair of jeans and sneakers doesn’t mean you’re in any shape to trudge into the woods.”

She had learned that arguing with this man had about the same effect as reasoning with the undead. So she swung her leg over and allowed him to help her down. With his hands circling her waist, she braced herself against his shoulders. Instead of lowering her to the ground, he held her in place. Their gazes locked.

She had glimpsed the hungry expression on his face too many times not to recognize its meaning. Until now, he had allowed her to ignore the intensifying attraction that pulsed between them. But something was different. Feminine instinct responded to what her mind didn’t want to accept. Her body softened against his hold. Warmth flooded her cheeks. Inside her shoes, her toes curled. “Why are you looking at me like that?”

“If you’re strong enough to get on a horse,” he murmured, “you’re strong enough to be kissed.” His tone was casual, but his intent couldn’t be more clear.

She had known this moment was coming. For the past two days, a shiver of awareness rolled down her spine whenever his hands lingered over her skin. Each night, she had allowed him to pull her so close their bodies were as one. She had melted into the warmth of his embrace—had yearned for his touch and craved the sound of his voice. Whenever he broke contact, her gaze followed him like a moth to a flame. More than once, their heads gravitated so close his lips hovered a breath away from hers.

For a week now she had been dependent on him for survival. He had been her savior, was still her protector, yet he had not yet made any demands. She had a feeling things were about to change.

“You could have kissed me before now.” Her mind searched for a way to delay the inevitable. Abandoned villages and towns were littered with books, so she had read about the sexual attraction that brought male and female together. But while she understood human reproduction in a theoretical sense, she had never experienced it firsthand.

When he spoke, his voice was low, husky, and mesmerizing. “I want you to kiss me because you want to, not because you need my help. Now that you’re strong enough to run away, it’s time you made a decision.”

All semblance of thought escaped her. With his hands around her waist and her feet far off the ground, she was his willing captive.

“You thought I was leaving?” She cradled his face with her palms. With her fingertips, she traced the stress lines on the corners of his eyes and between his brows. The thought of departing before her time was up had never occurred to her. “When I need to go, I’ll tell you first.” It was a commitment she didn’t know she was ready to make until the words were spoken.

“Good.” He tilted his head back. She bent her head forward. Their foreheads met.

She fought to maintain what little distance they had left. As much as she wanted to risk all in exchange for a moment’s bliss, her life wasn’t the only one at stake. “I have to leave soon. I need to know you’ll let me go. I want to kiss you. I want to do more than kiss you. But the future isn’t something I can change.”

“And you can’t tell me where you’re going. You won’t promise to come back.” He sounded more curious than angry. “When the storm is over, you want me to just stand by and watch you walk away.”

She nodded. The motion made the tips of their noses brush over each other.

He lowered her to the ground. “No deal.”

His statement took her by surprise. There was no reason for him to refuse her terms. In many ways, they were still strangers. Their pasts and futures were topics neither spoke of. They revealed nothing and promised nothing.

Yet she knew he couldn’t stay still for more than a few moments at a time—some part of his body, most often his foot, always started moving. His eyes reminded her of violets when he sat by a fire, and its orange glow would make his hair turn the color of sunrise. He rubbed his palms together when she asked questions he wanted to avoid. He couldn’t sleep without complete darkness.

It suddenly occurred to her she knew more about him than she cared to admit.

“I don’t want to start this with a lie.” He sounded surprised by his own words. “You’re delusional if you think I’ll stand by and let you get yourself killed.”

Because she wasn’t sure if she was speaking the truth, she lowered her gaze to the ground. “I’m capable of handling my own problems. I expect you not to interfere—”

“Then you’re in for a disappointment.” His lips firmed into a straight line. “I was the one who stitched you back together. Whatever it is you think you’re doing, you’re in way over your head. There’s no way in hell you can convince me otherwise.”

She reached for his hand. “If you come with me, all you’ll do is put your life in danger. This isn’t a place where you can hide or blend in. These aren’t people who’ll look kindly on m-outsiders. I need to go back alone.”

He scowled. “For someone who almost died a week ago, you sure talk a good game. If what you say is true, then you might as well give up now.”

His words stung in large part because they veered too close to the truth. She wasn’t confident the rebellion would manage to keep everyone alive. She didn’t even know if she’d be able to save her own mother. What awaited her at the end of this path could be her grandmother’s victory and countless deaths.

But she didn’t have a choice. She was fighting for her home—for her family. The chances of success were irrelevant. There were people counting on her return. She needed to go back and finish what she started.

“I’ve made my decision. My problem isn’t one you can solve. I have a plan, but it’s going to take time.” She had already told him too much. Even now, she risked him figuring out where she was heading. “When I leave, you can’t follow me. You can’t look for me. Once I accomplish what I need to do, I’ll go to the city and find you.”

“Stop being so pigheaded,” he ground out. “I remember the shape you were in when we first met. You had bruises and cuts all over your body. People cause those kinds of injuries, not undead. Whomever you’re going back to, they’ve hurt you before, and they’ll hurt you again.”

She fought for resolve. It was near impossible to refuse his help when all she wanted was more time by his side. “I’m tough. I can handle my own problems.”

“I won’t let you.” His resolute expression chilled her to the bone. If he tracked her, there was a good chance he would find her.

She let go of his hand and took a step back. The severed connection was almost a physical pain. “Then this can’t happen. I can’t let you get any more attached to me than you have.”

He stared at her for a long moment before shaking his head. “It’s too late.”

Her teeth clattered from fear rather than the cold. “That can’t be true. We haven’t even…”

“Whether or not we have sex doesn’t change how I feel about you.” He let out a heavy breath and looked up at the gray sky. “It sucks, but that’s the God’s honest truth.”

She stood on tiptoe and grabbed the collar of his jacket. With a hard yank, she forced him to look at her. “Then change your mind.”

He raised his eyebrows. “Why don’t you change yours? If you let me come with you, I won’t stop you. I won’t stand in your way. As an added bonus, I’ll do everything in my power to get you out of this mess in one piece.”

She clenched her jaw. “I’m not a child you need to protect. I don’t plan on dying.”

“That’s not entirely true, is it? You’re taking a gamble. Based on what little I’ve seen so far, the odds aren’t in your favor.”

She narrowed her eyes. “And there’s nothing you can do about it.” Part of her needed him to understand. Part of her needed him to forgive her when the time came for her to flee. “I can’t live with myself if people I care about die because I couldn’t deliver. I’ve made promises.”

He closed his hands over her wrists. “Consider this your one and only warning.” The vehemence in his tone rooted her to the spot. “Bring me with you, and I’ll help you every step of the way. But if you run”—his grip tightened—“I’ll catch you. Then I’ll tie you up and haul your ass back to the city. I won’t give a shit about what it is you’re trying to do. If your tidy little plans are wrecked because of my interference, then so be it.”

She tried to infuse her voice with a confidence she didn’t feel. “If you haven’t noticed, I don’t react well to threats.”

The determination etched on his face made her falter. His voice was barely above a whisper, but it made her knees shake. “This isn’t a threat, Red. It’s a promise.” As she struggled to contain her fear, he released her arms and cupped her face. His expression grew tender. His gaze bore into hers. “If you were in my shoes, what would you do?”

His words doused her anger. He was right. If he were in danger, she would risk her life to keep him safe. What was between them couldn’t be undone. Over the past week, the bond that started with mutual respect had morphed into something more. And even though it complicated her life, she had no desire to turn back time.

She took half a step forward so they stood toe to toe. With a sigh, she turned her face and kissed his palm. “I hate how you manage to win all our arguments.”

He lowered his free arm to circle her waist. “It helps that I’m always the voice of reason.” He tilted her face up. “I’ve put all my cards on the table. Now you get to decide what happens between us.”

Though she wasn’t entirely certain what her decision was, her heart pounded. Her lips parted, but a rustling sound sent her body on high alert. His fingers clenched before he let her go. In unison, they turned to face the lone undead. The blizzard had only just relented. This particular brain-eater must have been buried under snow and ice for the past seven days. Its movements were slow and uncoordinated. It posed no real threat.

Marcus shielded her and pulled his ax free from the strap on his back. “Damn. I just finished washing off all the blood.”

With a snort, she grabbed one of the two knives strapped to her lower back and hurled it straight into the undead’s right eye. Though she was weaker than usual, her aim was true. The lumbering creature stopped in its tracks before turning stiff and falling backward. She walked around her protector’s large body to recover the blade from the monster’s face.

Crouching, she washed away the viscous black blood with a handful of snow. As she tucked the knife back into its sheath, she turned her head and grinned. Being protected was nice, but certain problems she would rather handle herself. “Admit it. I’m much better at killing them than you are.”

*

He was falling for Red. The sinking suspicion had been nagging Marcus for the past seven days, but in this moment, all his doubts were shredded. She was the one.

She unfolded from her position and bounced up. An instant later, her eyelids fluttered. She swayed on her feet and stumbled. With a curse, he rushed to her side and scooped her into his arms.