Love in the Time of Zombies (29 page)

Caleb
checked his Rolex.  “Four days ago.”

“That’s
what I thought.”  Zeke sighed tiredly.  “Look, we’ll figure out how to steal a
tank tomorrow.  Let’s get some sleep.”

“You
go ahead.  Someone’s gotta keep watch.”

“Brew’s
doing it.”

“You
trust Brewer, now?”

“To
kill a hoard of advancing zombies?  Hell yes.”

Caleb
made a face, having to concede that point.  “I swear to Christ, he’s been
waiting for this opportunity his whole life.  He’s getting more and more
excited.  I’ve never seen someone so thrilled about living inside
Zombie
Massacre.
”

“That
was a good game.”  Zeke allowed.

Cale
hesitated.  “Does Brew know the rest of the pack is headed for Arizona?”

“Probably.”

“Why
is he sticking with us?”

“We’re
his favorites.”  Zeke shrugged.  “Who’d have figured?  Plus, he’s stoked to be
part of a team.”  He herded Caleb out of his chair and towards the rear of the
pawnshop.  “Either way, he’s not going to let anything near this place, so we
rest until evening.”

Cale
stopped arguing.

The
backroom must have been the spot where employees took their breaks.  It was
filled with mismatched furniture, a decade old TV, a mini-fridge filled with
beer, and three vending machines.

Caleb
flopped down a tattered recliner and closed his eyes.  “Is it a good idea for
me to sleep in the same room as your mate?”  He nodded towards Scotlyn, who was
cuddled on the sofa across from him.  “It’s like teasing her.  I
am
the
good looking one in the family.”

“Yeah,
but I got the brains.”  Zeke grabbed a 49ers blanket from the back of the chair
and tossed it him.  “Nice girls have got a thing for doctors.”

“
Real
doctors, maybe.  Pediatricians or math professors.”  Caleb stifled a yawn.  “Not
guys who got their diplomas from Comic-Con.”

“Philistine. 
Comic-Con is a place of reverence.”  Exhausted, Zeke stretched out on the
couch.  Pucci opened one eye to glare at him as he nudged her aside and wrapped
his arms around Scotlyn.  He wasn’t sleeping apart from his mate for even one
more night.  Day.

Whatever
the hell time it was.

Scottie
made a soft sound as he lay down beside her.  “Zeke.”  She gave a drowsy smile
and turned into his embrace, already drifting back to sleep.  “Hi.”

That
was all it took to have Zeke’s world make sense, again.  He kissed the top of
her head.  “Hi, baby.”  He held her against him, listening to the steady sound
of her breathing as she dreamed.

“I
do like that girl.”  Caleb said after a long moment.  “I was hard on her, at
first.  But, she keeps you on track and protects you.  Plus, now she’s not a
human anymore, so that’s a real bonus.  Scotlyn’s a good mate.  Seriously, you
need to make sure she stays with you.”

Zeke
stared into the darkness.  “She wants someone special.”

“What?”

“The
kinda guy she marries?  She wants him to be special.  I have no idea how I’m going
to explain that I took that from her.”

“Ezekiel,”
Caleb sounded surprised, “Scotlyn’s in love with you.  Do you not see that?”

Zeke
shook his head in irritation.  “I’m serious.”

“So
am I.  I’m telling you, that woman is crazily, hopelessly,
inexplicably
in love with you, dumbass.”

Zeke
turned to look at his brother.  “Why do you say that?”  He asked, his heartbeat
speeding up.

“Because
I have eyes.”  Caleb scoffed.  “Because she found out you were a shape shifter
and didn’t even blink.  Because she puts up with your hideous clothes and that
seedy golf course and the fact that you still subscribe to
Mad Magazi
ne. 
Because she looks at you like you’re a hero.  Because of fifty thousand other
things I’ve seen.”  He adjusted the blanket and rolled onto his side, closing
his eyes.  “Trust me, she’s nuts about you.”

Zeke
silently digested that.  “I’ve been in love with this woman from the first
minute I saw her.”  He finally murmured.

“Great. 
I’d probably lead with that when you propose.”

Zeke
winced.  That idea seemed like a good way to get his heart crushed.  “I’m
telling you, she’d never agree to…”

Caleb
cut him off.  “So talk her into it, then.  It’s not going to be that hard.  Hell,
there’s a whole case of diamonds right out in that store.  Pick one out and
persuade her you’re groom material.  Seems obvious.”  He snorted, his voice
getting slurred as he nodded off.  “You want to hang onto a nice,
almost
-human
girl you have to marry her, Z.  Until she has a ring, she’s never going to be
completely yours.”

Zeke
swore under his breath, because Caleb was right and they both knew it.  Scotlyn
was a shifter now, but in her heart she was still human.  She didn’t care about
having a mate.  She cared about having a
husband
.  It wasn’t that
simple, though.  And not just because the Justice of the Peace was probably a
zombie, by now.  Someone like Scotlyn wouldn’t say ‘I do’ to a man she didn’t
love.  Not even at the end of the world.

But,
if Caleb was right and Scottie loved Zeke… If Zeke somehow convinced her that
he was the kinda guy she could marry… Then, he could have
everything
.

He
could have
Scotlyn
.

Zeke’s
eyebrows compressed in thought.  “What if you’re wrong and she doesn’t want
me?”

“Well,
good part about being a shifter is you have
centuries
to change her
mind.”  Caleb paused to give another yawn.  “Unless she kills you first.”

Bright side
to the zombie apocalypse:

Blind dates
are a thing of the past.

Scotlyn
opened her eyes and saw the ring resting in her open palm.  It was a massive
diamond solitaire in a blue velvet box, sparkling like it had been waiting for
her.  She blinked, slowing sitting up and staring at it.

It
was… beautiful.

“Tell
me about the kind of guy you’d marry.”  Zeke said seriously.

Scotlyn
slowly raised her eyes to look to him.  It felt like she’d been sleeping for a
long time, so maybe she was dreaming.  “What?”  She blurted out in confusion.

Zeke
was sitting across from her in a battered recliner, watching her with an intent
expression.  “What’s the very first thing on your husband wish list?”

Scotlyn
swallowed, her mind catching up with what was happening.  Happiness filled
her.  “Well, he has to make me smile.”  She told him in a grave voice.

“I
can do that.”  He must have gotten some rest because he looked a lot better
than he had when he showed up at the Coney Island to rescue her.  “What else?”

“He
has to be smart and loyal and have a good heart.”

Zeke
shrugged.  “Two out of three is close enough.”  He decided.  “What else?”

Scotlyn
studied his perfect face.  “Well, it wouldn’t hurt if he was handsome.”

“That’s
incredibly shallow, Trix.”  Purple eyes glinted.  “Luckily, I’m
incredibly
handsome.”

“Modesty’s
also an important virtue in a man.”

“Not
as important as handsome thing, though.  Admit it.”

Scotlyn
kept going.  “It’d be nice if he was employed.”

“I’m
employed… or I
was
.  Don’t think many folks are gonna be in the mood for
mini-golf anytime soon.  But, technically, I
do
have a job.”

“Employed
somewhere
without
a ‘bras optional’ sign over the door.”

“I’m
pretty sure that was shattered by the swarming zombies.”

Scotlyn
took a deep breath.  “And then there’s the most important part…”

Zeke
seemed to brace himself.  “Which is?”

“Love. 
He has to love me.”

“Is
that all?”  Zeke gave a ‘ta-da!’ smile.  “Because, baby, I
am
this guy.” 
He nodded persuasively.  “I just ran the whole category!  I don’t even have to
lie, because it’s all true.  Especially the last part.”  His gaze traced over
her face.  “I love you beyond all limits, Scottie.  I’m
supposed
to be
your husband.  I know it.”

“...And
I
have to love
him.
”  She added in a rush, her heart pounding.  “I
wouldn’t marry someone I didn’t love.”

Zeke’s
grin faded, looking worried.  “I know.  But, Scotlyn, if you would just…”

She
cut him off.  “Which I guess means you
are
the guy I’ve been waiting for.”
 She met his eyes.  “Because, I have been in love with you ever since you won that
stupid hand of poker.”

He
didn’t completely believe that.  “Really?”

Scotlyn
never seem him look so unsure.  “Really.”  She got to her feet to close the
distance between them.  “Although, I still think you’re the only man on Earth
who’d take a chance on getting his kneecaps shattered in a crooked card game,
rather than just ask a girl to dinner.”  She sat down on his lap, dropped the
diamond into his palm, and held out her hand.  “Engage me.”

He
obediently slipped the ring on her finger and stared down at it as if he couldn’t
believe it was there.  “I thought you wanted someone special.”  He sounded
dazed.

“I
did
want someone special.”  She titled her head to catch his eye.  “And I
found him.”

Zeke’s
mouth curved upward at one corner.  “I found
you
.”  His palm caressed
the side of her face.  “You are my person, Scotlyn Summerline.  I would do
anything for you.  Absolutely anything.”

She
gave him an inviting smile.  “Would you make love to me?”

“Now?”
balked the man who’d been coming onto her from the first moment they met “Because,
maybe we should wait.  You’ve never… and I’ve never with anyone who’s never…” 
He trailed off, looking a little apprehensive.  “I
really
don’t want to
screw things up when it’s all going unbelievably well for me.”

“Don’t
worry.  I think the whole process works the same, even with a virgin.”  She
arched a brow.  “Or, if you’d rather, we could talk about that ritual thing and
how I’m pretty sure it means we’re
already
married under your laws.”

“Yeah,
about that…”  Zeke cleared his throat.  “We’re already kinda married under
shifter law.”  He tried a smile.  “Happy one day anniversary.”

“It’s
probably better that you don’t talk anymore.”  She deadpanned.

So
far he’d been right.  Being a shifter was pretty much like being a human. 
Only… more.  The color of Zeke’s eyes was even more remarkable.  His scent was
even more enticing.  She wanted him more than she ever had.

And
she
always
wanted him.

Scotlyn
still wasn’t totally sold on the idea of having werewolf-itis, but it obviously
had
some
perks.  Her body was humming with energy as she leaned closer
to Zeke.  She could hear his heart thudding and sensed how he tried to stay
still as she rubbed against his erection.

“It
makes me crazy when you do that.”  He ground out.

“I
know.”  She drawled, her hand slipping between them.

He
let out a hissing breath as she found the zipper of his jeans and worked it
down.  “Aw, fuck it.  I tried to be a nice guy.”  He yanked her forward, his
mouth finding hers.

Scotlyn
beamed, kissing him back.  “You’re a rock, honey.”

“Part
of me is hard as one.”  He deepened the kiss, one hand tangling in her hair
while the other tugged at her clothes.  Her dress was a wrap style, held
together with one bow on the left side.  His hand found the end of the decorative
tie, yanking it from the lush curves of her body.  “I’ve always loves this
dress.  It’s like someone wrapped you up for me like a birthday present.”

“That
would be Mr. Valentino.”  She told him seriously.  “This dress is from his…”

“Holy
shit.
”  Zeke exclaimed, cutting her off.  He gaped at her lingerie like,
even in his wildest imaginings, he’d never pictured her wearing anything even
close
to that under her modest, professional exterior.

It
wasn’t just underwear: It was a 1950s pinup spread.

Scotlyn
nearly chuckled.  When she’d gone back to her apartment to get Pucci, she’d only
packed the essentials and lingerie was a
definite
essential.  “You know,
when I picked this out, I imagined that exact look on your face.  It’s very
gratifying.”

Zeke
slowly slid the dress down Scotlyn’s arms, his eyes fixed on the confection of
lace and dainty garters.  He didn’t even breathe.  “Tell me that I bought this
for you.”

“You
have a very twisted view of economics.”  She shifted so she could pull the
dress all the way off and toss it aside.  All she wore was black silk.  “But,
technically
I suppose you gave me the paycheck that paid for it.”