Now that I had received this affirmation, I could put my insecurities behind me and move on to saving the world. It was time to buckle down and focus on the important questions, like...
"So, when did you start loving me?"
Oops.
"I thought you were cute from the start, but when those Cutthroat bastards delivered a lock of your hair, that's when I knew I couldn't let you go. The thought of what they could do to you... what they might already be doing..." His jaw clamped, and he shook his head. "What about you? When did you realize that..." His head and shoulders both jerked, a you-know-what-I-mean gesture. As if by saying the words, he might break them.
"That I'm in love with you?"
The tension eased from his shoulders. "Yeah. That."
"Well, I guess it was shortly after. When you came for me. When you told me that my mother was crazy for..." The words stuck in my throat. If I said it aloud and Rekkan didn't remember, that well of happiness could evaporate into thin air.
Rekkan peeled himself off the wall and stepped toward me, eyes soft. "Crazy for leaving you."
"Right." I flashed a nervous smile. "That."
It was a perfectly sweet moment to wrap up the conversation. Now we could move on to world-saving logistics, like...
"So, I'm cute, huh?"
Double oops.
"Yes..." His eyes pleaded for mercy from the trap of my question.
I had no mercy. "Not handsome? Not sexy?"
"Those are not mutually exclusive."
"Which one am I the most?"
Rekkan heaved a disparaging breath halfway between a laugh and a sigh. But to my surprise, he answered. "Depends on your expression."
"Yeah? Like what about right now?"
"Mm..." His eyes flicked from my scowl to the hands on my hips. "Cute. Definitely cute."
Gaze locked on his, I closed the distance between us and unbuttoned his flannel shirt. I trailed a finger through his chest hair and traced his defined pectorals and chiseled abs. By the time I reached his waistline, his arousal strained his jeans. I pulled back an inch to mock-touch the place I knew he wanted my hand most. He clamped a hand over his opposite wrist behind his back, but his hips rolled forward an inch.
"And now?" I whispered.
Rekkan nabbed my arm and spun me back against the wall. My shoulder blades hit just hard enough to excite me, but he cradled the back of my head so his hand absorbed the impact. Then his lips captured mine, crushing and desperate.
In a blur of clumsy motion, our clothing disappeared. The moment my skin was exposed, his hands were all over me. Cupping my neck, slipping over my shoulders, raking down my back. Exploring every part of my body, worshiping it. His fingers blazed a trail of fire.
Ether, I missed that fire.
We stumbled toward the bed. When I knocked my shin against the frame, Rekkan swept me off my feet and lowered me onto the covers. Lifting my bare leg, he pressed a kiss to the stinging spot on my shin. Then his thumb brushed over a healed scar on my calf, and he stilled.
A bulletwound.
"It's ok," I murmured. "That was before."
He released my leg, but his eyes remained clouded. "Even back then, it felt wrong. I knew it was wrong."
YOU ARE READING
Human Bait
Horror"It's true what they say about you, isn't it? You really did sip tea and smile as you watched humanity fall apart." "Nope," he said. "I sipped whiskey." Eight years into the Infection, a spunky idealist convinces a hardened recluse to help him save...
