Page 46 of Hunt Me (The Skulls #1)

He warned me against leaving him that I am his and he will never let me go, but it has never fully sunk in until now.

Ruaridh tightens his grip on me as if reading my thoughts, confirming that I ’ m not getting away. And now I ’ m starting to accept that I don ’ t want to.

‘ Hold onto me, ’ guiding my arms around his neck, hugging my hands together in a secure grip as he adjusts my body so I ’ m wrapped around his front.

The rising sun greets us as we begin our climb up a rusted metal ladder.

It's impressive how Ruaridh manages to manoeuvre us both upwards through the narrow space, but the scraping sound coming from his back causes me to pause. I try to sneak a peek over his shoulder, but Ruaridh grunts as I wiggle for a look.

‘ Try not to move, baby. ’ His breath is hot as he pants into my neck.

I tuck myself back into the crook of his chest, but not before I catch a quick look at what ’ s happening.

Ruaridh ’ s broad shoulders are wedged against the rounded brick wall, scraping against it with each move upwards.

I try to make myself smaller to make it easier for him to move, but it doesn ’ t make much of a difference.

He must notice my attempts, stopping for a second to nuzzle the top of my head and placing a small kiss there in reassurance.

It ’ s lighter now that we ’ re almost at the top, the sun's yellow glow a bright welcome out of the darkness.

‘ I was down there all night? ’

‘ Umhm, ’ Ruaridh ’ s climbing speeds up, and we lift out onto the road.

His hands cradle the back of me, pulling me into him as if he wants to shelter me with as much of him as possible.

Seeing no immediate threat I feel him look down at me, eyes as deep as a forest boring into my own.

‘ You should never have been down there with any of them. I ’ m so sorry, little deer. ’

Tears blur my vision as I finally let my warring emotions take over. It ’ s all been so much these past couple of days, but despite it all, all I want is to be here in his arms.

‘ I ’ ll never let anyone hurt you ever again, ’ he promises, kissing away a tear that has burst free. ‘ I promise always to protect you, Fauna. ’

I let in a shaky breath, unable to get any words out. I settle for a watery smile. And because it feels so right I lean into him searching for a kiss.

Our lips crash against each other, hungry for the contact and intimacy of one another. The urgency between my movements is like I can ’ t get enough of him, like I will crumble without him. I pull his head closer, and he matches my demands by tightening his grip on me.

I moan as his tongue tangles with my own, the taste of him electrifying.

‘ Fuck me, this hole is one tight fucker. ’

We break apart, panting as Ruaridh turns our bodies to look at a red-faced Liam struggling to pull his massive body from the tunnel.

Not able to help myself, I burst out into laughter.

Liam is far too big for such a tight space, which, when I think about it, it is an absolute mystery how Ruaridh managed to get him and me up here without so much as one complaint.

Sweat beads on his brow, his blonde shaggy hair clumping together with dampness as he plants his palms flat against the ground and pushes.

Ruaridh ’ s eyes volley between my own and Liam ’ s struggling body for a second before I feel his torso shake with laughter. A small snort comes from him, and it only causes me to laugh harder.

‘ Maybe you should lay off the roasties, seems like you ’ ve gained a wee bit—’

‘ Don ’ t, ’ Liam pants, ‘ you dare finish that sentence. I could never break Pam ’ s heart like that.

You know how much she loves feeding me her roasties.

Plus, it ’ s my winter weight. No need to be mean about it.

’ He pouts as he dumps himself on the floor, putting as much space between him and the small hole he just climbed from.

‘ Winter weight, ’ Ruaridh scoffs. ‘ So what are you going to do now that it's spring? ’

Liam gazes up at the sky, now a light blue with the early morning sun. ‘ Fuck if a na, be a spring chicken. That ’ s a thing, right? ’

‘ Spring chicken means you ’ re young, dafty. ’

He gasps, ‘ I am young. ’

I look over his appearance. His ragged blonde hair gives him a cheeky look about him like he ’ s a troublemaker of sorts.

His face is weather-worn, and the short beard he ’ s growing doesn ’ t make him look like the spring chicken he ’ s on about, but his smile and kind eyes all hold the youth and hope he exudes.

‘ I ’ m twenty-one, you cheeky fucker. ’

Ruaridh folds forward in laughter and, in doing so, makes me squeal as my head feels like it is inches from hitting the ground. ‘ You were twenty-one when the virus hit — seven years ago. ’

Liam clucks his tongue at Ruaridh, ‘ Everyone knows these apocalypse years don ’ t count. We ’ re in limbo, sweet pea. We don ’ t age. ’

He gets up and brushes his hands on his camouflage-coloured trousers. I ’ m inclined to agree with him on that one. It doesn ’ t feel fair that I missed out on so many milestones in my life — getting a driver ’ s license and buying my first legal drink.

‘ I told you not to fucking call me that, ’ Ruaridh seethes, his jaw clenched tight.

I giggle.

‘ You find that funny, baby? ’ He asks, his face softening at my amusement.

Liam snorts, ‘ Never thought I ’ d see the day that you, of all people, would turn into a soft shite. ’

Ruaridh ignores Liam ’ s taunts. His attention is wholly focused on me, and I feel my cheeks redden at the heat of his gaze. I could get lost in his eyes, their promises of sanctuary and home.

‘ You came for me, ’ I whisper.

‘ I will always come for you, little deer. I told you, you ’ re mine. ’

Butterflies dance around my stomach, and a genuine smile, one I haven ’ t given anyone but this man — not even the girls — invades my face, and I can ’ t find a single reason for it to leave.

A weird croaking noise comes from behind me — like someone ’ s half gagging, half choking. Ruaridh ’ s eyes darken as they flick behind me, and I follow their direction instantly. Looking over my shoulder, Liam is dramatically fake heaving as he mimes throwing up.

‘ Ru, you need to stop before you kill me with your soppiness. I swear I can ’ t handle any more of it. ’ Liam begs, wiping away fake tears.

‘ Fuck off before I shove you back down that hole. ’

‘ Threatening me with a good time, I see, ’ Liam hoots, giving me a wink.

‘ Don ’ t wink at her, ’ Ruaridh scolds, tightening his grip on me.

I pat his shoulder, reaching for a kiss, ‘ it ’ s okay. ’

‘ No, it ’ s not. ’

‘ He ’ s funny, ’ I motion for Ruaridh to let me down finally, and he reluctantly does, not without a squeeze of my ass though.

If he had it his way he would probably carry me the entire time.

‘ Do you know where we are? I want to get back to the girls — is Isla alright? Did you see her? When I was taken, she had been hurt. ’

Ruaridh tucks a hair behind my ear, ‘ I left her with Vish. She was breathing fine but still knocked out. If she ’ s anywhere near as much of a hard case as she was when we were kids, she ’ ll be fine.

’ Seeing that I ’ m about to protest he continues, ‘ we ’ re not far from the school though.

That ’ s what took us longer to get out of the tunnels, was making sure we got back here. ’

‘ Why not just get up top straight away? ’

‘ It ’ s safer down there right now. We knew no one was left, but up here, there might be. Might be anyone around. ’

‘ So you both killed all of those psychos? ’

Liam snorts, ‘ more like this psycho killed them all. ’

I gape at Liam ’ s words.

‘ You what? ’ I ask, not sure I ’ ve heard him right.

There were dozens and dozens of dead bodies, sometimes piled up in a room.

Ruaridh doesn ’ t respond, so Liam must take it as his cue to finish. ‘ Ru killed them all, Fauna. The most I did was hold one or two down so that he could do what he does best. ’

Ruaridh killed them all.

Every single one.

‘ Why? ’ I ask.

‘ They took you, and I promised you that no one would ever hurt you and live. ’

There ’ s no apology in his words, and he doesn ’ t shy away from the reality of what he has done.

He almost wears it like a piece of armour, just not one against me but one for me to have.

Like a nonverbal warning to every single survivor in this city that if someone so much as touches me, he will personally obliterate them.

I lunge, and he catches me as I press a fierce kiss to his lips. ‘ Thank you. ’

Ruaridh shakes his head, ‘ you looked like you had a pretty good handle on it anyway. My mischievous little deer has a violent side, and I love witnessing it. I just wish you weren ’ t forced into a situation where you had to show it. ’

‘ Told you I ’ m not some defenceless thing. ’

‘ I never doubted it for a second, ’ Ruaridh kisses me again, and Liam clears his throat.

‘ Still here. ’

I huff a chuckle as Ruaridh practically growls in response. ‘ Let ’ s go before he starts crying or something equally annoying. ’ Then he turns to Liam, ‘ You ’ re a dead man walking, you know that. ’

‘ Hey, I have a free pass for helping you get your girl, ’ he holds his hands up in mock surrender. ‘ I don ’ t make the rules, just live by them. ’

I laugh while Ruaridh grinds his molars at Liam, who walks away with a sassy sway of his hips.

‘ He ’ s a bit of a diva, ’ I observe.

‘ You ’ re right about that. A lot of them are like that. Something about having nothing to entertain themselves with has made them… a little strange. ’

‘ In what way? ’

‘ They are very… dramatic. ’

We begin following after Liam as he leads the way, continuing with a dance with his step. At some point, he ’ d decided to add the movement of his arms to match in time, creating a whole catwalk image.

‘ See, ’ Ruaridh arches a brow to Liam as he takes my hand in his. ‘ Do I need to elaborate on that? ’

The action is unexpectedly intimate, and I find myself struggling to remember the last time someone held my hand.

Sure, I ’ ve done it with the girls, but that was mostly in a supportive way—either urging them on, giving them some strength to walk just a little longer, or protecting them.

Isla isn ’ t much of a hand-holder, and I was often left being the one people would look to for comfort and stability.

Now I ’ m on the receiving end of it, and despite my fleeting emotions urging me to run, I force them into a mental box, one I no longer want to open now that I feel how comforting it is to have someone looking out wholly for me.

Guilt nags at me for thinking this way.

The girls have protected me for as long as I ’ ve been with each of them.

We work as a group to look after one another in our own ways, but this just feels different.

I feel like I don ’ t need to take on any of Ruaridh ’ s worries because, from what I ’ ve seen, the only thing that plagues him is losing me.

‘ How many of you are there? ’ I ask, wondering what the home he speaks about is like since he and the two other Skulls I have met each seem to have that ease about them. Like their stress is a fraction of my own.

‘ Thirty-two adults and three children. ’

‘ Children, ’ I gasp.

‘ Yes, ’ he smirks at my surprise. ‘ That hard to believe? ’

‘ Well, it ’ s not the first thing I would have thought if someone had asked what your group would be like. A bunch of sassy men that wear masks and babysit. Next thing you ’ ll be telling me you play Barbie ’ s and bite your tongue when you step on sharp toys scattered around the floor. ’

Ruaridh hums as if he ’ s remembering a time that exact situation happened. ‘ Not far off. Little Elsa has quite a few of the guys wrapped around her finger. ’

‘ Elsa? ’ My heart warms at the thought of seeing little kids again. How full of hope I remember them to be and the light they bring in such a dark world.

‘ Six years old, been at the stadium for a little over a year. Her grandmother turned up one day when it was snowing, ’ something dark passes across his face with the memory and my heart pinches.

‘ Pam ’ s lucky she made it to us when she did; we were surprised she survived the night with how bad of a way she was in. ’

‘ Is she still…’

‘ Alive, ’ he finishes for me. ‘ She ’ s more than alive. At this rate, we ’ re all convinced she will outlive us all. The woman ’ s got one heck of a backbone, keeps us all in line. ’

I smile at the thought of a little old lady giving these guys a piece of her mind whenever they do something wrong.

‘ She sounds great. ’ It ’ s a lot like how I remember my Nana to be.

‘ I can ’ t wait for her to fuss over you, ’ Ruaridh confesses with a loving tone.

‘ Hum? ’

‘ I ’ ll probably have to compete for your attention once Pam gets a hold of you. She ’ s been on and on about playing match maker for us but … well it ’ s not like there ’ s many dating opportunities these days. ’

‘ Ha. No I ’ ve not really found many. Although I hear a city really opens up your chances of meeting someone, ’ I joke.

‘ Oh really, ’ he glances down at me and those forest-green eyes take a hold of my heart. ‘ You might be right on that one, little deer. ’