Sole Survivors: Crux Survivors, Book 2 (15 page)

Freezing air snaked through the slats. Chase shivered and started to get his coat, stopping when Keera came toward him with it.

“Thanks,” he said, taking it and slipping it on. He walked back to the windows, looked outside and chuckled. “Don’t know why I keep staring out there. Not sure what I’m going to see with this rain.”

“It’s still good to have some of us alert.” She nodded toward the door to the kitchen. “That was a nice thing you did.”

He shrugged. “It was either that or deal with all the heat Dorian and Jenna were seeping into the room. It was pretty obvious they wanted to all be together tonight.”

She stepped next to him, peeked through a slat. She was tense, like she had something to say that made her nervous.

He waited, wondering if she’d share why she’d been sort of distant today. Relationships like this were foreign to him—if this was a relationship. It felt like one. They had a strong connection despite barely knowing each other. As the silence drew out, he looked around and noticed a sort of nook on the far wall. It had boarded windows in front of it and would give them a little bit of privacy. He glanced over to make sure Tripp and Cadmar were still asleep. Tripp snored. Yeah, his brother was out.

“Hey,” he whispered. “Come over here with me.” He nodded toward the shadowed corner.

She bit her lip, firelight playing over her features softly as she turned those big, dark eyes on him. Then she nodded.

“There’s actually a better view of the RV and truck from this window.” He squinted through the opening. “Still too much rain. Everything will be flooded. We’ll be lucky to get the vehicles out in the morning.”

He pulled her into the nook, put his back against the wall and tugged her between his legs. She slid her arms under his open jacket and around his waist. Laid her cheek on his chest.

“You seem sad tonight,” he murmured against her hair.

“It’s more like scared. We don’t know what we’re going to come up against at this farm.” She pulled away, looked around the corner to check on the others, then came right back against him. “I fought raiders before. There were just two of them, but they surprised us.”

Chase rubbed her side where she had the scar. “Did you kill them?” He knew they’d taken her husband’s life.

“I did.” She squeezed her arms. “Dax was lying there, bleeding out and I could tell he knew he was dying and that he was too weak to save me. He was this huge, teddy bear of a man and so gentle and in the end, he died with guilt being the last emotion he felt.” She stepped back again.

“I’m sorry.”

“He was a good man, a good friend to me.” She hugged her arms to herself, stared up at him. “It’s possible we’re walking into some sort of trap, possible that boy’s family isn’t even alive anymore.”

“It is.”

She took a deep breath. “I don’t know what I’m trying to say exactly. I’m not sure what you’re after here—”

“After?” he broke in.

She pursed her lips. “Probably not the right word either. Remember, rusty social skills here. The thing is, I loved my husband, but we were more friends than lovers and you and me yesterday…well, it was good.”

“It was a hell of a lot more than good,” he murmured.

“Yeah, it was.” She placed her palm on his chest. “I’m really hoping we get a chance to do that again.”

“Of course we will.” He slid his hands onto either side of her face, stared down at her, his heart racing suddenly like he’d just stopped running. He ran his thumb over her bottom lip. “We’ll have the chance to do a lot more. I’ve got years of fantasies to try out.”

“Me too,” she breathed. She stood on her toes, pressed her mouth to his, and opened her lips.

He pushed his tongue deep into her mouth, wanting to taste her, everything of her. He felt a primitive need to input his own taste and scent on her to mark her. He pulled back slightly.

“What?” she asked.

He shook his head, feeling his mouth curl in a rueful smile. “The things you make me feel. It’s this crazy kind of Cro-Magnon ‘me man, you woman’ litany playing through my head.” He took a deep breath, raked his hands through his hair. “It’s just that this feels—”

“Powerful?” She smiled, her dark eyes glittering in the moonlight. “Hot?”

He nodded. “Hot yes. And kind of…I don’t know…primitive.”

Her eyes widened and he wasn’t sure if it was from his adjective or from the low, gravelly tone his voice had taken on.

“Primitive,” she whispered. “The basic need for human touch, the desire to…mate.”

His heart started racing, his palms sweating as that desire rose quick and powerful. “To possess,” he murmured, unable to take his gaze off hers.

She pressed against him. “Do you want to possess me, Chase?”

“So much.” It was all he could force past his lips. He wanted to ravage, to thrust inside her until it felt like they were one person. He wanted to breathe the air she released from her lungs, wanted to lie curled around her deep into the night. These things, these gut-wrenching feelings and needs ripped through him like wildfire and he knew that if he let them out, let them break the air, he’d scare her away.

“Chase, what if we just go with what we’re feeling here?”

For a second, he worried that she’d read his wild thoughts. “What are you feeling?”

Big, dark eyes stared up into his and her full, soft lips trembled briefly before she took a deep breath. “I want you. I want you naked and on top of me or under me or behind me.”

The visual nearly sent him to his knees.

“I want all of those things,” she continued. “I want to feel you inside me, feel your big hands touching my skin.” She cupped his aching dick, her palm warm through his still-damp jeans. “I want to put this in my mouth and feel skin I can only imagine would be silky and hot on my tongue…to see how far I can get you into my throat.”

At that moment, her hand and the wall behind him were the only things keeping him on his feet. Stark images of her kneeling to take him in her mouth filled his head and made his gut clench with a need he’d never felt. “Have you done that before?”

She shook her head, her smile suddenly more hesitant, shy. “Have you?”

“No. Got close once when I was fifteen. Had a girlfriend then. She tried.”

“Tried?”

“It was awkward and awful and we both stopped it.” Old pain reared its ugly head. “She was my first and only girlfriend. Months later we tried sex. We were better at that.”

Keera reached up to stroke his cheek. “How much time did you have with her after that?”

“Three weeks. We got a lot of sex into those three weeks…before she got sick.”

“Everything about our world is based on loss. Loss and survival.” She stroked her hand over his cock. “I’m ready to experience something more.”

He held his breath, then jumped when he heard a voice out in the room. Closing his eyes, he rested his head back against the wall, held back a curse.

Keera chuckled, stood on her toes to whisper in his ear. “Maybe we shouldn’t try experiencing more right now, though.”

Chapter Eleven

“There should be cows in this pasture.”

Cadmar’s quiet words held such a mix of shock and grief, Chase saw Keera flinch and close her eyes. She sat in the passenger seat next to him and had spent so much time staring at him as he drove, he’d nearly run the RV off what bits of road they’d been able to find. Every time he glanced at her, he remembered the things she’d said last night and knew she replayed them too.

“Surely the raiders didn’t go through all our cows that fast.” He walked to the front of the RV and stood between Chase and Keera. “There has to be more of them.” He pointed to the right. “Let’s take this road. There used to be a chicken farm with four huge buildings. The chickens ran wild after the Crux and the place smells horrible. I doubt the raiders go anywhere near it, so it’ll be a good place to park the vehicles.”

“Good idea,” Chase agreed as he slowed to eye the road. Luckily the land around it was mostly flat. He turned the steering wheel. “Call Ross on the CB and tell him the plan.”

Cadmar reached for the CB, knowing exactly what to do because he’d spent half the trip checking in with them. The boy had grown deeply attached to the triad during their weeks of travel before they’d arrived here—that was obvious. He filled Ross in quickly and signed off.

Tripp groaned from where he was sprawled on the couch in the back. “I smell it already.”

Cadmar grimaced. “My parents said it was kept really clean before and it only smelled at certain times, but when the chickens were allowed to go wild, it got pretty bad for a time. So many wandered off later, it got better.”

“Too bad,” Tripp murmured. “It’s been a long time since I had chicken.”

In the mirror, Chase caught Cadmar beaming at his brother. “Oh, there are still plenty. As you can guess by the smell. I even know how to cut one up just right for frying.”

“Me too,” Keera said as she turned in her seat to watch for the buildings. “Too bad we don’t have oil. But between all the food we loaded in here and in their truck, we could throw something good together.”

“Aw, food, food, food. Keera, you have my love. Totally and completely. Hey Chase,” Tripp yelled. “Have I thanked you for bringing me out here yet?”

Chase grinned. “Feel free to repeat as much as you like.” Damn, his heart swelled. Seeing real life returning to his brother made all this worthwhile. Leaving their home and their family’s graves—spending months on the road in some of the worst conditions imaginable. The enthusiasm in Tripp’s voice made even the growing ammonia-like smell tolerable.

Maybe.

Didn’t take long for Chase to slap a hand over his nose. Keera turned watery eyes his way and shook her head.

“Oh damn,” she breathed, covering her mouth and nose with both hands, mumbling from behind them. “Hope we get used to this fast.”

He spotted four long blue-roofed buildings that sat in rows and turned the RV. The entire area had been asphalt at one time and though quite a few weeds and even a few trees had broken through, most of the space seemed surprisingly free of heavy grass. Chase parked the RV. “Hold off on getting out. It looks like someone is doing upkeep around here. The dead grass should be taller.”

Cadmar put his hands on the back of Chase’s seat and stared out the windshield too. “It does look like someone’s been keeping it back, but I think I know the culprit. Or culprits.” He pointed at a family of goats peeking back at them between two of the buildings. Someone banged on the door and before he could worry, Jenna’s laughter spilled into the RV as she swept the door open.

“Holy shit, this place is rank, but look! Chickens! And goats! We have to stop back by here and take some with us before we go home.” She lifted one long, jean-clad leg and propped her foot on the step. “Dorian is already working out how we can catch a bunch and transport them back. You have no idea how much we’ve wanted to find chickens. Now if we could only find a few cows.”

“There used to be a whole pasture of them.” Cadmar pointed back the way they’d come. “This place is too stinky to be a raider hangout, but now that I’m thinking about it, they’d probably come here anyway for the chickens and goats. Especially if all our cows are gone.”

She frowned. “I remember you saying you had two cows.”

Cadmar tilted his head. “I said two milk cows. We had a pretty decent herd of beef cattle. Too many for my family and the few raiders left there to go through in a year.”

Dorian stepped up behind Jenna, put his hand on her shoulder, then stroked it down her back. He had his other hand over his nose. “The cows could have gotten sick, picked up parasites…anything could have happened. Let’s not think the worst.”

“Yeah, Caddie, let’s not.” She smiled and the nineteen-year-old turned slightly red.

Tripp stretched out one leg and lightly kicked Cadmar in the butt. “How about you help me catch some chickens?”

Chase waived Jenna and Dorian inside. “I think it’s too late to chase the stink back out, but why don’t you all come inside and we’ll figure out our next move.”

Jenna nodded and stepped inside.

Dorian followed, then turned once to look outside. He shook his head and closed the door. “I thought he was going to wait for us, but I guess not. Ross wanted to scout the area to make sure we’re completely alone. He seems to think the goats wouldn’t have been enough to keep the grass down like this.” He squeezed into the booth next to Jenna, put his arm around her shoulders. She leaned her head on his shoulder.

“Oh trust me, they are.” Cadmar pushed Tripp’s legs up on the couch and plopped down by his feet. “I spotted three, so there’s bound to be more out there and goats can clear sections fast. My dad used to borrow four or five from a neighbor and pen them into a spot on our land when he wanted it cleared. They even trimmed all the lower limbs off trees, making it easier for us to mow later. But they’re usually smarter than these seem to be. Why they’re hanging in such a dangerous spot is a little surprising. I’m sure the chickens attract every predator in the area.”

“Maybe we don’t need to take goats back with us.” Jenna looked out the small window over the booth table. “Wouldn’t want them to get into our gardens. And knowing Georgia, she’d turn them into pets and we couldn’t eat them.”