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CHAPTER EIGHT

GYRIK

“No,” I said quickly.

Watching the thin material of her underwear slowly disappear between the rounded globes of her backside had been torture. The lingering sensation of her softness in my palms was killing me. I didn’t want her more covered. I wanted her less covered.

Palming my erection in the darkness, I cleared my throat to remove my desperation.

“You said they aren’t comfortable,” I said. “If I lie next to you, it should help warm you faster.”

Pete watched me, his stare slightly condemning as I waited for her response.

“Sure. I’m willing. Get over here.”

My pulse skipped and sped up in anticipation. I carefully moved her closer to the wall and eased my weight onto the bed.

“You’re not going to unzip the sleeping bag?” she asked.

“If I do, the heat will escape.”

“What heat? I need yours because I don’t have any of my own.”

She wanted to feel me next to her? Panic and need kept me frozen in place.

I listened to the rasp of the zipper and fought not to groan as she lifted my arm and positioned herself against my side. The way she wrapped her arm around my waist and the feel of her soft body against mine unmade me. I barely breathed, afraid of startling her away.

“How are you so warm?” she asked, her voice muffled by my side and the sleeping bag she’d tugged over her head.

She wiggled closer, and I felt the weight of her leg settle over mine. I itched to touch her but kept my hands where they were on the mattress, letting her choose how to warm herself.

“Are you okay with this?” she asked.

“Yes.” I hoped the word only sounded pained to my ears and not hers.

“If I make you uncomfortable, just push me away.”

I would have rather let one of the infected slowly chew off my arm than push her soft body away from mine. If she wanted to use me as a bed, I would happily hold her all night long.

The image of her underwear slowly creeping along her dimpled skin as she restlessly moved on top of me played through my mind, and I bit my lip to stop myself from groaning.

Her breathing slowed as her hand warmed on my stomach.

I closed my eyes and focused on the feel of her against me. Her sweet scent filled my nose with each breath. Her fingers twitched against my chest.

Nothing could tear me from this bed.

“Do you think they’re awake yet?” Zach asked.

My gaze shifted to the door, and I silently willed the pair outside of it to go away.

Bram had been the first one to leave their room and was checking the house for infected. Will and Zach had stayed behind to wait for the all-clear and to ensure nothing approached Ava’s room. They knew how important she was to me. To my brothers.

Farther away, I could hear Bram searching, but I knew he wouldn’t find anything. The house had remained quiet the whole night.

“I’m guessing Gyrik’s awake,” Will said. “And he probably doesn’t want us knocking on that door until they come out on their own.”

I could hear the humor in his words but hoped he would still keep Zach from interrupting.

Ava had used me as a pillow the entire night. I had a wet spot on my chest. Pete was wedged between my legs, hot boxing my testicles, which was probably the only thing stopping them from throbbing painfully from a night of Ava’s restless movements against me. Repeat had already eaten and defecated in the litter a few seconds ago. The scent of Ava’s hair, which was currently covering the entirety of my face, was mostly filtering out the smell.

Between the cats and Ava, I hadn’t moved for hours. I didn’t want to disturb her.

“A word to the wise, Gyrik,” Will said from the hallway. “If Ava’s drooling on you or her hair is messy, you’ll want to slip out of there before she wakes up, or she’ll be embarrassed and try to avoid you for at least half the day.”

I frowned through her hair and wondered if wearing it like a mask counted as messy.

Deciding not to risk it, I carefully removed Pete from his place. He made unhappy sounds. I understood how he felt as I eased out from Ava’s arms.

Standing beside the bed, I watched her move restlessly for a moment before settling again. The ache I’d been fighting the entire night intensified as her underwear shifted over her backside, showing me the full expanse of her rounded flesh. I wanted to touch her. Feel her softness.

My fingers twitched as I reached for her. At the last second, I grabbed the sleeping bag to cover her before reluctantly turning away.

When I opened the door, Zach grinned at me and pointed at the wet spot on my shirt.

“Good call to leave,” he said softly. “They get embarrassed by that.”

“Why?” I asked, already moving toward the living room.

“Not everyone likes to be drooled on, I guess,” Will said with a shrug.

What male wouldn’t want a female’s mouth juices on him? All of the ways my brothers had described experiencing their female’s mouth on their bodies vividly played through my mind as we joined Bram.

Ava appeared dressed—unfortunately—a few minutes after the morning stew started simmering.

“Good morning.” She smiled at everyone as she picked up Pete. Then, her gaze settled on me. “Did I hog the bed?”

“No,” I said, understanding that term. She’d taken up just the right amount of space in the bed and on me.

She approached where I stood by the stove and looked into the pot.

“Are you hungry?” I asked.

“I am. Stew’s an unusual choice for breakfast.”

“You’ll find that we don’t stick to food norms in the communities,” Bram said. “We’re just grateful for whatever food we have.”

Ava faced Bram. “I’m sorry. My comment wasn’t meant to sound judgmental. I was just curious.”

“I know,” Bram said. “You were well stocked and still have plenty of the breakfast-type foods you’re used to. We can make them if you want. The stew is just something that will feed us all.”

She glanced at Zach and then at me. “Sorry. I forgot you lean toward meats.”

“You have nothing to apologize for,” I said. “I know what it’s like to learn the rules of a new world. It’s confusing at first.”

Her soft smile warmed me from the inside, and I turned back to the stove so she wouldn’t see how much I liked her attention.

After we ate, we packed up and headed out. With so much snow on the roads, I had to run ahead again. But by lunch, we’d moved far enough to the south that I didn't need to run out front anymore, and I sat comfortably in Ava’s truck with Pete and Repeat on my lap.

“It’s weird to drive so long and not see another car. It’s been a day already without seeing another person on the road. Not even a track.” She sighed. “It’s not that I didn’t believe what you were saying…I just think the reality of it is still settling in, you know?”

I did know. It’d been like that for me when I’d first come to the surface. The sun, which was still bright to me now, even behind the clouds, had felt like a hundred bone needles piercing my eyes. The people had been strange and angry. Everything I’d done and said had been wrong. I’d mumbled thousands of apologies for misunderstandings the first few weeks we’d lived with the humans. Yet, I loved this world and the brightness and the people. It was better than the endless loneliness of the caves.

The radio clicked, and Zach started to speak. “We’re stopping. Ava, cut the engine as soon as you’re parked. Gyrik, we need you up front.”

“What’s happening?” Ava asked, slowing.

“I’ll find out,” Gyrik said. “Stay here, and lock the doors.”

I waited until I heard the door lock behind me to jog to the lead truck.

“Are you low on fuel?” I asked as Bram rolled down the window.

“Yeah, that’s part of the reason we stopped. The other is that.” He pointed down the road to one of the big buildings that often had supplies. “Elk River is bigger than I thought to have one of those stores. With the extra room in Ava’s truck, I’m tempted to check it for supplies.”

I jumped on top of the truck and squatted low to study the building for a few minutes. Nothing moved in the parking lot. I scanned the road and didn’t see any tracks either. Yet, something told me the store wasn’t worth our time.

Landing softly beside the door, I said as much to Bram.

“Then we won’t. But I have a feeling you’re going to be needed ahead. I think it’ll be safer for us if you ride on top until we’re clear of the city. Zach should drive the truck for Ava. She’s never seen an infected yet, and we can’t afford for her to panic and drive off the road.”

I agreed and jogged around to the passenger side for Zach to join me. We refueled the vehicles with the spare containers in the back with the generator. When we finished, he clapped me on the back.

“Don’t worry,” he said. “I’ll keep her safe for you.”.

“Keep yourself safe, too,” I said. “Uan will make me wish for rebirth if anything happens to you.”

Zach grinned, and as we approached, he motioned for Ava to get out of the truck. She did so with a look of question on her pretty face.

“What’s up?”

“We’re switching,” Zach said. “You get shotgun for a while.”

“Why?”

“I have my zombie driving license, and you don’t.”

Her gaze shifted to the area around us. “Really?”

“I get it,” Zach said. “You’re more curious than afraid right now, but that’ll probably change the first time you see one. And I think we’ll see a few.”

He glanced at me, and I nodded. She saw that, and I watched how her hands moved in her coat pockets. She was afraid, and I hated that. But fear would make her more cautious, and caution would keep her alive.

“Come,” I said, holding out my hand.

Her bare fingers clasped mine as I led her to the passenger side.

“There are rules when driving through infected,” I said. “Don’t slow down. Keep a steady speed. Use your wipers if you can’t see. Don’t stop. If anything happens and you do stop, call my name. I’ll hear you. Don’t leave the vehicle. Don’t roll down your window. Do you understand?”

She nodded jerkily.

“If you need to go to the bathroom, I recommend going now,” Zach said when I opened the door for her. “The questionability of bladder control is no joke the first time you see one.”

She looked from him to me and back again before quietly admitting she needed to go.

I stood guard as she squatted behind the truck. Zach was in the cab talking to Bram over the radio. They were worried about Ava’s reaction. So was I. I didn’t want her to fear this world. I’d seen how fear could slowly erode a human’s will to live, and I didn’t want that for Ava. She smiled and laughed and cuddled. She was perfect the way she was, and I didn’t want that to change.

But I also wanted her to live.

When she finished, I walked her to the door and watched her buckle in.

“Bram said to remind you that you can change your mind at any time,” Zach said. “About checking your home.”

Ava nodded and looked at me. “Where are you going to be?”

“On top of the truck, watching. I’ll jump down and run ahead to clear the way if I see anything. Follow the rules, and you’ll be safe. I promise.”

She nodded, and I closed the door.

Once Zach started the truck and gave me a thumbs up, I jumped to the roof of Bram’s truck and thumped on it twice. It eased forward, and I nervously glanced back at Ava.

Something told me passing through Elk River wouldn’t be easy on her.