Nineteen

Extreme guilt weighed on me as I lay on our bed, snugly warm in Drav’s arms.  He hadn’t loosened his hold on me all night, which I completely understood.  I’d scared him.  But, did he honestly think it justifiable to keep me inside the fence when everyone else had to go out?

I tried moving a little.

“No, Mya,” he said gruffly.

His words tickled the hair on the back of my neck and sent a shiver through me.  The reaction prompted him to groan and kiss the tender spot just below my ear.  His palm brushed over my still sensitive nipple.

This wasn’t the first time he started something since we’d returned yesterday.

“We can’t stay in here all day, Drav.”

“Yes, we can.”  His hand slid down my stomach, and I knew I wouldn’t win.  I wanted him to touch me as much as he did.

As if sensing my surrender, he nudged me to my back and covered me with his very naked warmth.  He stared down at me for a moment while settling his hips over mine.

“You’re selfish when you risk yourself,” he said softly.

“What do you mean?”

“I’ve told you, you’re the best thing here.  Without you, I have no reason to help these people.  Without you, we would return to the safety of the home we know.  If you care for these people so much, do not risk yourself.”

His words were proof that he’d listened to what I’d been trying to say last night.  He’d heard me, but he hadn’t agreed.  While I might not agree with him, either, I knew better than to push just now.  Besides, I could be useful in other ways inside the fence.

“I won’t.  I promise.”  I leaned up and traced the curve of his lower lip with my tongue.

His hips pressed against mine and, with a groan, he took over the kiss with the consuming energy of a drowning man.  The stroke of his sure fingers started a fire beneath the surface of my skin that blazed just for him.  He rocked against me in a slow rhythm that showed his love and passion for me.

For the next thirty minutes, the world outside the tent faded away as Drav proved his need for me.

In a sweaty heap, we lay together afterward.  Underneath the blankets, his fingers stroked over the bare skin of my stomach.  I lay my head against his chest and traced little circles on his skin with my fingertip.

“I don’t want you to stay mad at Ryan,” I said softly after my pulse slowed.

“Then he shouldn’t have told you to go outside the fence.”

“How do you know he did?”

“Because that’s what you told your mother, and that’s what she told Kerr.”

“You do know that I could have said no.  But I didn’t because I understood what Ryan was saying.  We’re all taking risks just by being alive, and we all need to help out.”

“No.  Not for things outside the fence.  That’s why you wanted my people to come here.  We aren’t as fragile as you.  As you pointed out to Molev, the hounds exist because of us.  We will take care of them.  Your job is to stay inside the fence, so we have a reason to return.”

I shook my head and exhaled.  “You are stubborn, and I love you.”

He kissed my temple.  “I love you, too.”

“Drav,” Molev called from outside the tent.  “It is time.”

“I am staying today,” Drav said, his hold on me tightening.

“No, you aren’t,” I said firmly.  “You’ve made yourself very clear, and I’ve given you my word that I will not leave the protection of this fence.  Now, it’s a matter of trust.  Do you trust me to keep my word?”

He sighed and studied my face.

“Yes.”

“Then go.  We all need you to keep us safe.”

“I will leave a few more men today,” Molev added through the tent, obviously listening.  “To watch over the humans who stay behind and to help with any supply groups that leave.”

“Thank you, Molev,” I said, holding the blanket to my chest as Drav slid from bed.

“I will meet you at the gate, Molev,” Drav said.

“Do not take long.  We go further this time.”

A moment later, Molev’s voice called out a greeting from further away, and I knew Drav and I were once again alone.  In silence, I watched him pull on his pants.

His gaze shifted from lacing his leather boots up to me.  The hunger in his eyes made me smile.

“Will you come with me to the fence?” he asked.

He held out his hand, and I slid from the blankets, grinning even wider at the way he looked at me.

“Of course I’ll come see you off.  And I’ll be here waiting for you, just like this, when you come back.”  I held out my arms and did a quick turn so he understood.

When I faced him, he wrapped his arms around me and pulled me to his chest for a thorough kiss.

“I do not want to leave,” he murmured as he trailed kisses along my jaw to the side of my neck.  “I want to stay here and listen to you pant yes again and again.”

An embarrassed flush consumed my face.

“I say stuff during sex?”

“Oh, yes.  Many things for different places.”  His fingers traced my collarbone before he nipped my skin, right below the almost healed infected bite.  A tingle of need spread through me, and I almost groaned his name.

“Molev said not to take too long,” I managed to say, instead.

He grunted and stepped back from me after one more kiss.

“I’ll wait outside.”

After I dressed, I walked with him to the gate and waved as the men left.  The fey who remained watched me like I was going to climb the fence and go running around screaming for infected to come get me.

“Relax guys.  I have no plans to leave.  In fact, I’m going to go to the dining hall and see if I can help there.  I heard they’re going to use the potatoes you guys pulled from the school yesterday.  With all that butter from the coolers, my mouth is watering big time.”

The fey disbursed when I walked away, likely to find their own ways to occupy the time.

A few people were already working in the kitchen when I arrived.  Some scrubbed pans.  Some stirred pots.  Everyone seemed to be avoiding the pile of potatoes.  I walked right up to the mound, picked up a peeler, and got to work.

While the others finished their various tasks and walked out without an offer to help, my pile of peels slowly grew.  A few times, a fey would poke his head in and say hi but never stay long. I knew they were just checking to make sure I was still where I was supposed to be.

I didn’t mind the quiet time.  I thought about yesterday and the fear I’d felt for Ryan and everyone else in the group.  And how I’d felt hearing Drav’s roar.  I loved that man completely.  A world filled with infected and hellhounds didn’t seem so scary with him at my side.  In fact, it seemed darn right survivable because of him.

Each hellhound death meant a better chance of a future for the remaining survivors.  I thought about what that future might look like.  Moving to houses where families could live…a family with Drav.  It would be hard.  This world would never be what it once was, at least not in my lifetime.  Yet, the world not returning to the way it was might not be a bad thing.

Out of potatoes, I filled a pot with water and started quartering the spuds.  Once I had three pots going, I scooped the peels into another pot and went outside.  Mom had mentioned they planned a garden in the back field next year, and I figured the peels would make a good start for compost.

Mom stepped out of the laundry building when I passed and waved at me.  Carrying a basket of clean sheets, Shax stepped out behind her.

“Where are you going, Mya?” he asked.

“I’m going to start a compost pile with these peels.”

“That’s a good idea,” Mom called.  “Set it up just on the other side of the walking path by the field we started turning.”

“Ok.”

Shax hesitated to follow my mom.

“I left potatoes boiling on the stove.  I’ll be right back.”

Those words must have reassured him because Shax continued on with Mom.  I shook my head and kept going, saying hello to the people I saw on the way.  I’d forgotten how far away the back of the base was from the kitchen and wondered if Mom would keep an eye on the potatoes.  My arms started to get tired as I walked.  The peels weren’t bad on their own.  The pot weighed a ton, though.

When I saw a lone fey walking toward me from the back of the base, I smiled widely.

“I’m so glad to see you,” I called.

He looked surprised that I’d spoken to him.  Maybe because he looked like a mess.  He had to have just gotten back from one of the group missions.  His shirt was torn and filthy.  He probably wanted to go to the showers, and I felt guilty for stopping him.  But, my arms were screaming for relief.

As we drew closer to one another, I noticed the deep scarring on his face and his throat.  Scars made from a hellhound attack by the look of them.  Although his long hair covered much of the scarring, I felt bad for him.  The fey already had the odds stacked against them because of their grey skin and eyes.  Adding scars would make it even harder for the poor guy to meet girls.

“What’s your name?” I asked.

“Merdon,” he said, his voice a rasp.

The name sounded vaguely familiar.

“Would you be willing to help me carry this pot to the back field?  It’s okay to say no if you’d rather go clean up first.”

He blinked at me for a moment then took the pot from my hands.

“Thank you,” I said, smiling.  “I’ll show you where it can be dumped.”

He waited for me to lead the way and fell in step beside me.  I could feel his gaze on me and glanced at him with a kind smile, wondering how long it would take before the fey stopped being so curious about women.

“Did everything go well on the mission today?” I asked.  “It looks like you ran into a little trouble.”

He grunted in the non-committal way they liked to communicate, so I tried a different topic.

“Have you seen any girls you’d like to meet?  I’d be happy to introduce you.”

I stepped off the path and pointed to an area between us and the field.

“I think we can dump the peels right there.”

He continued walking right past where I’d pointed.  I frowned and hurried after him.  The fey had farmed a long time in those caverns and had probably picked up a few tricks.  If he wanted to place the peels somewhere else, it was fine with me.

Just a few yards from the fence, he set the pot on the ground and turned toward me.

“Don’t you think putting the peels this close to the fence is a little dangerous?  I mean, I know there aren’t many animals out there now. But once the hellhounds are gone, I think having a compost pile here might attract them.”

He tilted his head and studied me for a moment.

“What’s your name?” he rasped.

“Mya,” I said automatically.  How could he possibly not know that by now?

Between one heartbeat and the next, I realized my mistake.  The scars.  The dirty clothes.

This wasn’t a friendly fey from Ernisi.  One of the exiled criminals stood before me.

I opened my mouth, ready to scream for help, when he crouched forward, knocking the wind out of me with his shoulder to my middle as he picked me up.  In a familiar move, he took a running start at the fence before I could catch my breath.  The ground fell away underneath me.  A second later, we landed with a thud on the other side of the fence, and he took off running.

Every time I opened my mouth to scream, Merdon bounced me on his shoulder, cutting off my air supply.  My stomach wanted to heave as the world sped past beneath his feet.

Drav.

What would he think?  I’d promised them all that I wouldn’t leave.

The scenery changed.  The once dense forest thinned, and Merdon ran next to a road.  The pavement blurred under his feet, changing to lush grass.  Then, the ground got very far away again.  My stomach felt weightless, and bile crawled up my throat.

The fey dropped to the ground and slowed his pace.  I lifted my head as Merdon stopped and wood creaked under our combined weight.

My heart pounded in my chest at the sight of an untamed yard.  Why would he take me to a house?

He stepped inside and flipped me off his shoulder onto the hardwood floor.  I teetered, dizzy.  His hands gripped my shoulders tightly.

“You will stay, Mya.”