“I could be hideous under this thing.”
“You have gorgeous eyes.”
“Flatterer,” I grumbled. Then, before I could change my mind, I peeled the mask off my face. Licked my lips.
“Nice to see you have an actual mouth.” He stared at my lips.
Would it be wrong to say, all the better to eat you with? I almost missed the bottle he tossed my way. I barely caught it. Unscrewing the lid, I guzzled the water. Stale. Warm. I didn’t care. What came out of the pipes these days lacked the clarity of the days when city workers ran the filters and pumps.
Only when I was done did I realize he’d moved into the kitchen proper, opening cupboards, laying out a feast, not just of packaged expired food.
“Are those vegetables?” I honed in on the sight and ran my finger over the long thick cucumber.
His voice emerged gruff as he said, “Yes. There’s a place outside the city that trades once a month or so. Even in winter.”
“You’ve left the city?” Color me even more surprised. “What’s it like?”
“Not as many mutants compared to here. The big wide-open spaces mean less spots for them to hide in the daytime.”
Less, not none, meaning it still had its dangers.
“Isn’t it a long walk?” I asked. The gas for cars stopped working a long time ago.
“Why would I walk when I can cycle?”
The moment he said it I could have slapped myself. It never even occurred to me. I was one of those people who didn’t care for bicycles back in the day, an opinion only got worse given the number of times I almost got run over on the sidewalk.
I freely admit to mocking those with their bullet helmets and intense expressions. Don’t even get me started on men in those spandex shorts.
“Is it a long trip by bike?”
“To get past suburbia? A few hours, especially since you can’t go direct.”
He didn’t want people following him.
I could respect that. “Are things better for us outside the city?”
He hesitated before replying. “Not so much better as different.”
“Different how?” I pulled out my knife and sliced the cucumber.
“In the city, you can scavenge for supplies. Clothing. Food. Weapons. You just need to find a place that hasn’t been stripped.” Given how fast people had croaked, there was a lot of good stuff left lying around.
But even I knew— “It’s not an endless supply.”
He shook his head. “It isn’t.”
Was it wrong to drool when he brought out some vinegar and dill to shake on it?
The first tangy bite almost made me cry.
We were both quiet as I ate most of the plate. He had a few slices and mostly watched me.
“If it’s less dangerous and you can get fresh food outside the city, why live here?” I asked.
“Shit’s not free. So I scavenge for stuff and hunt monsters.”
I shuddered. “You’re braver than me. I avoid them.”
“You survived this long. I’d say you’re just as courageous.”
That made me snort, and then I couldn’t stop. If he only knew how scared I was most of the time.
“How did you find me?” I asked when I finally calmed down.
“By accident. I was scouting out a spot for tonight’s raid when I saw you coming out of the window.”
“You’re lucky I didn’t crush you.”
“Ha, you’d have to be a lot heavier, Lia.”
He’d shortened my name, and I didn’t mind it.
I eyed him. The food. “Why are you being so nice to me?”
His grin held a hint of mischief as he said, “Earlier you called us Adam and Eve. We both know where they ended up.” And then, in case I was dense, he spelled it out. “Naked in bed.”
Chapter 10
He said it. Out loud. The thing I’d thought since meeting Xavion but not vocalized. He just tossed it out there, the fact he wanted us to have sex.
I blushed and stammered. “I barely know you.”
“Hence why we’re talking.”
Good point. Also, since when did I care about how long I knew a guy? Wouldn’t be the first time I’d met a stranger and screwed them. This was the apocalypse. No such thing as a one-night stand, only missed opportunities.
“How do I know you’re not a cannibal?”
His nose wrinkled. “Not big on land meat. But I do like fish. Since you’re not a mermaid, I think you’re safe.”
“Do you run a gang? Are you going to tie me up and sell me? Is your last girlfriend locked up somewhere?”
Once I started asking, I couldn’t stop. He laughed as he replied, “I’m a loner who doesn’t believe in bondage.”
“What about the girlfriend?” I asked, my tone light and teasing.
“I don’t have one. Yet.”
Oh yes, he stared at me as he said the last bit.
It was sexy, which might be why my clumsy ass just about tackled him.
The guy knew how to brace. Xavion handled me hitting him, and while my hands curled around his neck—in an almost death grip born of desperate need—his arms came around me and held me just as tight.
Thank fuck because I might have cried if he’d rejected me.
I didn’t realize how much I missed—needed—human contact until that very moment. Holding another person, being held, could mean so much.
We kissed, which sounded so trite.
It was more than that. It was two people coming together in a clash of lips and teeth, our panting breaths comingling, our hands clutching, bodies grinding.
He groaned into my mouth.
Sexy as hell.
He moaned again when I tongued the seam of his lips, urging him to part them.
It surprised me that he let me take the lead. Thus far he’d been brash. Very macho alpha male.
But in this…he seemed more than content to let me explore at my pace. I devoured him. Tested and tasted his tongue and mouth. Inhaled his hums of pleasure and purred my own.
It made my knees literally weak, and I sagged in his arms. His hands slid to my ass and held me upright. As I began to lose myself to the pleasure, his turn came to dominate.
He kept our mouths locked as he lifted me and carried me to the bedroom. It had a thick pile of blankets that smelled of the outdoors still, where he’d obviously washed them. On to that plush bed he laid me and stood staring.
I gazed right back, my lids heavy and shuttering half of my eyes.
His mouth opened, and I expected something dirty.
Hot.
“Are you sure you want to do this?”
Sensitivity? If I’d had something in my hand I’d have whacked him with it for ruining the moment.
“After that Frenching, do you really have to ask?” Yeah, I snapped, frustration coiling in my panties.
His lips quirked. “Would you rather I just took?”
I arched a brow. “I’d prefer if you used that mouth for something other than yapping.”
My hand slid to my pants, my thumb hooking the waistband and tugging in case I’d not hinted hard enough.
He grabbed my ankle, and I gasped. His fingers curled around the hem of my pant, both legs, and he smiled. I lifted my ass to shimmy them down, and he yanked them free.