Quarantine (5 page)

I tilted my hips up, struggling to shift into a position that would allow his tip to find that sweet spot inside of me. My breath caught as he figured out what I was doing and turned his hip, his cock finding my button and applying quicker pressure against it.

My fingers clawed into his back as he sped up, pleasure becoming more important than timing. I felt the orgasm build inside my abdomen, the tightness spreading outward from my core until finally it burst, bringing my back off the floor as I shuddered and screamed my release, my teeth sinking into Dean’s shoulder.

That bit of pain seemed to resonate for him as he came too, crying out as his cock twitched and spilled his seed deep inside of me. We lay together on the floor, our muscles jerking occasionally as we fought to catch our breath.

I hadn’t realized my eyes had closed until I opened them to see Dean grinning down at me. I smiled back lazily, my body spent, my muscles aching from exertion.

After a minute, Dean eased himself out of me and lay down on the blanket at my side, his hand playing across my stomach, which chose that moment to growl angrily.

He laughed as I blushed. I realized that I hadn’t finished my food earlier and my body was craving sustenance again.

“I’m sorry,” I said, mortified.

“Don’t be. Come on, we’ll find you something to eat. I should have asked when you got out of the shower. I noticed that you didn’t eat your burger, and I knew you’d showed up here starving.”

Dean helped me to my feet and I pulled down the shirt I had managed to keep on as he dragged his jeans back on. I watched them slide over his ass and felt an overwhelming urge to grab that flesh in my hands and sink my teeth into it.

Fuck, I was hungry.

I excused myself to the bathroom to clean up while he headed to the kitchen to find me food.

* * * *

The smell of deep-fried goodness permeated the air as I walked back out of the office into the main room. Through the little window behind the bar, I saw Dean standing at the fryer. I slid my feet into my shoes and walked into the little kitchen to see him.

He had baskets of fries, cheese sticks and mushrooms bubbling and another burger sizzling on the burner. I thought it was very brave of him to be around all that grease without a shirt on.

“I wasn’t sure what you’d want so I made a little of everything,” he said, grinning broadly at me. His chocolate brown eyes twinkled, and all I could think of was dessert.

What the hell was wrong with me? I’d gone from practically a virgin to borderline slut in the span of a few hours. It felt as if my body were trying to make up for lost time or something.

“Should we wake Nate and Jasen?” I asked, hopping up to sit on the counter across from where Dean stood.

“Are you afraid to be alone with me?” he asked.

“No,” I said quickly, but it sounded like a lie even to me. I sighed and stared at my hands that were clasped in my lap. “I like you.”

“I like you too.”

“No, I mean…I really like you, Dean. I think I’m afraid I might get attached or something. But I can’t stay here. I have to get out of here—the sooner the better.”

“Why?” He walked over to me, forcing himself between my legs and putting his hands on either side of my hips. “Why can’t you stay for a while? I mean, I’m not asking for anything from you. If you just want to have a good time with me, with us, then take off, I understand. But you don’t have to run off right now.”

“Yes, I do.” I exhaled shakily. “Look, there are things you couldn’t possibly understand about me. You’re all in danger as long as I’m here.”

“What are you running from?” He lifted my chin to make me look into his eyes. “Whatever it is, maybe we can help.”

“There’s no help for me.” My voice echoed the defeat I felt in my body. How could they possibly expect to protect me from myself? For a moment, I considered telling him everything. The bells on the fryers went off though, saving me from making a huge mistake.

Dean swore under his breath as he pushed away from the counter and stalked over to the food. He pulled up the baskets and let the grease drip back into the vats as he plated a cheeseburger for me.

Jumping down, I grabbed some plastic trays that were sitting nearby and helped him dump all the food into their respective containers. We carried everything out to a table, and I don’t think either of us were surprised when Nate and Jasen stumbled out of the office to join us.

“It smells like heaven on a cracker out here,” Jasen said as he dropped into the chair next to me. “I hope you made enough for us.”

“You could go make your own,” Dean offered helpfully and laughed when Jasen flipped him the finger.

“Can I have a bite of your burger?” Nate asked, leaning over my shoulder and sniffing the sandwich in my hand.

I rolled my eyes but lifted the bun so he could take a large bite out of it. He kissed my cheek, leaving a greasy lip print on my face before walking over to sit by Dean.

We devoured the food in minutes and when the baskets were empty Dean, Jasen and I looked expectantly at Nate who groaned theatrically but stood and walked into the kitchen to make more.

While he was frying more appetizers, Jasen found the remote for the television and flipped it on. Dean cried out in surprise when a picture of the bar came on screen.

“Hey Nate, get your bony ass out here,” Dean called. “We’re on TV.”

Jasen turned up the volume, and we listened as the chipper newsgirl talked about the quarantined bar in Jericho Falls. They went live to the scene, and I think we were all shocked to see a bubble had been erected around the place while we’d been…otherwise occupied.

“I’m speaking with the senior CDC advisor on scene, Rebeccah,” a short man with too perfect hair and teeth said into his microphone before turning to a short, dark haired man in a suit. “Sir, can you tell us the situation here?”

“We were alerted earlier this evening that someone has deposited large quantities of Anthrax inside the building. We cannot yet confirm or deny that this is true, but we at the CDC feel it would be unwise to take any chances. We’ve quarantined three men and one woman inside until we can figure out if the threat is real.”

“When do you think you’ll have answers?” the reporter asked.

“We’re not sure. We’ll start testing the potential victims tomorrow. But we’re working with a mobile unit, and samples will have to be sent to Atlanta for examination before we’ll be comfortable lifting the quarantine.”

“Thank you for your time, sir.” The reporter turned back to the camera. “A shocking scene here in the small town of Jericho Falls. Our thoughts are with the poor souls trapped inside and their families. We’ll be here live on scene throughout this developing story. Keep it tuned in to WKLB News for more updates as they become available.”

Jasen muted the television and we all looked around at each other with a mixture of horror and amusement on our faces.

I shrieked and jumped when noise exploded around us. Cell phones, the bar phone, and the alarms on the fryer all went off creating an unexpected cacophony of sound that had scared the hell out of me.

The men fumbled with their cells while Nate ran to pick up the business phone. Choruses of “We’re all fine,” and “Stop crying” rang through the room. Since I didn’t have anyone who was worried about me, I went back into the kitchen to take care of the food.

Not wanting to go back out and listen to the men talk to their loved ones, reassuring them that everything was fine, I dumped the food in the baskets and climbed back up on the counter, a full tray of cheese sticks on my lap and started eating so I had something to do.

“Jo?” Dean called from the other room. “Where did you go?”

“I’m in here!” I yelled back around a mouthful of scalding hot mozzarella.

“Aw man, she’s hogging all the food,” Jasen complained as I heard him rush toward the door. “You’d better not have eaten all the poppers.”

I laughed as he darted through the swinging door and glared at me. Pointing at the basket of deep-fried, stuffed jalapenos, I giggled again at the look of relief on his face.

“I’d hate to have to fight a girl over my peppers,” he said. He picked up a few of the baskets and jerked his head to indicate I should follow him. With a sigh, I slid to my feet and protectively carried my cheese sticks toward the table we’d all just vacated.

Nate was still on the bar phone, his back to the room. Dean had sat when the food hit the table, and he reached around Jasen’s hand to snag a popper. Jasen glared at him but laughed when Dean winked.

“Is Nate still talking to Tabitha?” Jasen asked.

“Yeah. Apparently, she rushed down here and almost got in a fight with the CDC people when they wouldn’t let her in.”

“Who’s Tabitha?” I asked, trying to sound nonchalant.

“Nate’s sister. They inherited the bar, and she was actually supposed to be working tonight. She begged off to go on a date with some loser. She probably feels pretty guilty.”

“No!” Nate yelled, making me jump. “They haven’t paid a dime for food or beer. Don’t worry, they’ve paid me trade. I’m sure Jasen would eat your pussy if you really want to demand some payment from them.”

I looked around to see if anyone else seemed as shocked as I was at the tone Nate used with his sister, but Jasen and Dean didn’t look the least bit put out by it. They continued grazing through the baskets as if they were used to hearing Nate speak that way to his family.

Nate slammed the phone down with a loud “Fuck!” before stalking around the bar to join us at the table again.

“What a bitch,” he said with a huff as he threw himself into a chair. “Where are the cheese sticks?”

I lowered my gaze to the table, not wanting to admit that I’d eaten all of them. A finger lifted my chin, and I saw Nate making me look up. He was grinning at me.

“You’d better get your skinny ass in that kitchen and fry me some more sticks, woman.”

“Yes, sir,” I said, giving him a mock salute before heading back to the kitchen yet again.

Dean followed me and helped me set the timer on the fryer. “You sure can put away food,” he said, nuzzling my neck as he wrapped his arms around my waist. “How do you stay so damn skinny?”

“I’m not that skinny,” I said with a laugh. “But I do have a very high metabolism.” I left off the part about how it spikes the week before a full moon. I’d come too close to telling him too much already. I wasn’t going to put myself in a situation where I might spill to him again.

“Besides,” I continued. “I think all that sex made me hungrier than usual.”

“Well eat up, love,” he said, nibbling on my earlobe. “If we really are stuck here for a while, you’re going to need your strength.”

Oh my.

Chapter Five

After we had all eaten enough that most of us felt sick, Jasen and Nate went back to their cot and Dean pulled me back to our makeshift bed of blankets on the floor.

I think he knew I was too tired and full for him to even attempt to arouse me again. He just spooned up against my back, threw his arm over my waist and nuzzled my neck.

I lay awake for awhile, listening to the steady sound of him breathing. Having seen the large plastic tent the CDC had erected over the building made my plans to escape seem pretty unlikely.

The sun was coming up outside. I could feel it in my head the same way I sensed the moon cycle without having to think about it. It was Thursday. The full moon was tomorrow night, and if I was still here, I would turn into a cougar and possibly hurt these men.

Panic stirred in my stomach. The food that weighed heavily there churned, and I feared I might be sick. I closed my eyes and tried to breathe the feeling away. Freaking out wasn’t going to help any of us. It could make everything ten times worse if it brought my beast out. I had to stay calm. I had to think of a way to get out of here.

Dean jerked, his arm tightening around me for a minute before he snored softly and rolled away. I envied his ability to sleep. There was nothing I wanted more than to close my eyes and let unconsciousness take away my worry for a few hours. I had managed to swallow the panic down, but I was still scared. Scared of hurting Dean, Jasen and Nate. Scared of hurting myself. Terrified that Kevin would be able to find me. I’d tried to never stay in one town for more than a few days. What if I couldn’t get out and he managed to get in. He’d kill the men and take me—

“No,” I said, the word escaping my lips.

“What’s the matter?” Dean asked sleepily, not really awake at all.

“Nothing,” I whispered, laying a hand on his shoulder. “Go back to sleep.”

He mumbled something incoherent then his breathing went back to that steady pace of deep sleep. I lay awake listening to him for a while, rolling over to watch the rise and fall of his chest in the faint glow from the sun rising outside.

* * * *

It felt as if I had just fallen asleep when I was jarred awake by a ringing phone. I opened my eyes to see Dean was no longer sprawled next to me. I blinked sleep from my eyes and sat up, looking around to see where everyone was.