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One week later.

Grav carried a box of books from the house and settled it into the small trailer hitched to the vehicle. “Last container,” he said.

“Good, because we’re out of room,” she said.

The admiral hadn’t been a light traveler either.

In the past week, they’d prepared to leave the area. She’d taught him how to drive, and they’d gone to town for medical supplies, drugs, clothing for him, additional ammunition for the weapons, some how-to books, and gasoline, which they’d siphoned out of parked cars. She’d already had a tent, sleeping bags, a camping stove, portable lights, a paper atlas, and other equipment, some from the cave, some from the house.

“A lot of towns may have supplies, but we can’t count on it,” she had explained. “Looting started to occur during the invasion, and survivors will have rifled through stores—just like we did. Once we get into an area with people, supplies will be scarcer. I don’t want to have to scrounge for necessities.”

“Understood,” he said.

He slipped his arm around her waist, and his heart skipped a beat as she leaned into him. Progg weren’t physically demonstrative, but he didn’t think he’d ever get tired of touching her or being touched by her. It had become his greatest source of joy. Until meeting Laurel, he hadn’t realized how it felt to be happy. He’d never been happy before.

And last night? The single most euphoric experience of his entire life. They’d had sex. He’d had to wear a condom over his member because Laurel said her birth control wasn’t effective yet, but the experience had rocked him to the core. His people had been missing out to limit intercourse for reproduction!

Or maybe they did it on the sly and didn’t admit to it. There was no official ban on seeking sexual gratification, just strong social sanctions against it.

He couldn’t imagine anyone experiencing the kind of pleasure he had with Laurel and not wanting to do it again and again. He started to get hard.

“Are you thinking about sex again?” she asked. “I created a sex monster.”

“You did. I have a lot of lost time to make up for.” He eyed the sinking sun. “We missed our early start.” They’d had to pack, unpack, and rearrange the vehicle and trailer to fit in all the stuff she insisted they needed. Then they’d had to run back to the cave for items she’d forgotten.

“How about we get an early start tomorrow morning? We’re all packed up. We can just jump in the car and go,” he suggested.

“You want to have sex again is what you’re saying.”

“One for the road.” He’d been learning Earth idioms.

She laughed.

Zok, he loved her laugh. He loved her.

“Make it twice for the road, and you’ve got a deal.” She wrapped her arms around his neck.

* * * *

Thank you for reading Survival Instinct .