Safe In Your Arms (6 page)

“Stay still. I’m not ready to wake up yet.” His sleepy rumble sent a shiver of awareness down her spine. Her breath caught in her throat as his hand slid down her back to settle on the curve of her naked buttock. He pulled her even closer, rubbing his erection against her belly through the cotton of her shirt. His shirt, rather.

She should wake him up. Stop him from massaging her tush with his hand, but the sensations the circular motion created were too yummy to complain about. Mina remained still, but her fingers flexed on the warm bare skin of his chest where his shirt was unbuttoned. Hard muscles flexed beneath her hands and a growl rumbled beneath her ear.

“Don’t stop, baby.” His words shocked her. Who did he think he was cuddling with? Wait, wasn’t he gay? The boner pressed against her told her he was aroused, but it could be a morning affliction with him, not due to the woman in his arms. “Damn, you’re soft.” There was a pleased smile in his sleepy comment as his hand moved slowly up her hip, over her side and rib cage, to fasten on her breast.

All right, question answered. She swallowed convulsively as her nipple tightened beneath his palm as he cupped her. That put more questions in her head. Did Gabe have a girl somewhere he hadn’t felt the need to mention? Should she be disappointed or spitting mad at him for not telling her that he was taken? She closed her eyes tightly as she felt his head turn. His lips brushed against her cheek, subtly nuzzling her in search of her lips. Indecision plagued her as she froze in confusion and pleasure. She was so tempted to let him kiss her.

Damn, she could die tomorrow. Here she was acting out her adolescent fantasies, so why was she contemplating the rights and wrongs of it? He might be taken, but for now they were the only two uninfected people in the world. Why would she worry about crossing this line, when she’d never let social pressures, or even her father’s desires, make her decisions for her?

Decision made, she turned her head to brush her lips against his. A grunt of male appreciation echoed in her head as he rubbed his lips over her mouth. A shiver wracked her body with intense desire as his wet tongue traced the line of her lips. Opening up to him, she sighed in pleasure as his tongue swept inside her mouth. His taste was intoxicating and sweet, his teeth sharp and teasing, as he nibbled on her lower lip before deeply kissing her again.

Mina lost track of how long they lay there entwined and kissing like a couple of randy teens out on their first date. She didn’t care. It felt wonderful to give herself up to her body’s needs. Her hands moved beneath his shirt, a sharp cry escaping her as his fingers squeezed her nipple through the shirt. An echoing surge of need in her core had her hips thrusting against him. He released her mouth to take a shaky breath before he rolled her over. His big body came over her in a purely male act of possession that sent a feminine shiver of lust straight through her.

“You feel so good.” He thrust a hand through her hair to cup the back of her head as his mouth came down on hers. She met his questing tongue with her own, reveling in the way his other hand squeezed her bare hip. Her hand dove beneath the hem of his shirt to play over the rippling muscles of his back. He felt even better than he looked, she thought in delight. Her nails lightly scored his back as his hand slid under her to cup her bottom.

Mina felt him thrust his hips against her, his erection rubbing against her with only his shorts stopping him from taking her. She opened her mouth to stop him, but his deep kiss caught her protest and turned it into a moan of pleasure. This was crazy, but the world had gone crazy. Why not grab on to every last ounce of happiness she could take? The thought urged her on as she broke the kiss to push against his chest.

***

Gabe’s eyes flew open during the best damn dream he’d ever had. Early morning sex was his favorite, but he knew he’d crossed the line as the woman beneath him shoved him off her. He easily rolled to his back, knowing it was Mina that he’d been sexually assaulting in his sleep. Self-disgust turned to astonishment as she rolled right with him, her leg flinging over to straddle him as she leaned down to place hurried kisses to his throat and neck.

Her hands grasped both sides of his shirt and he heard soft words of apology against his earlobe right before she yanked his shirt open. Buttons flew, but he didn’t give a damn as her head dropped and she licked a path from one nipple to the other. He was instantly released from his frozen state. He sank one hand in her silky hair to lift her head up. He couldn’t see in the darkness of the room, but she had to be awake.

“Say my name.”

“Gabe.” Her nails lightly scored his chest as her hips undulated against his erection. “Don’t stop this, please.” She trembled against him. He ground his teeth, trying to keep control over the hormones raging through his body. She was naked from the waist down. Naked and willing, but did she know what she was doing?

Gabe got his answer as her hand slipped down his stomach to the edge of his shorts. A growl escaped him as he lifted up and took her mouth in a kiss never meant to be gentle. She met his ardor head on, her sweet tongue playing with his, her teeth teasing his lower lip as he retreated. Below, he felt her easily release the button on his shorts to slide her fingers beneath the material.

He hadn’t thought he could get any harder for her; he found out he was wrong as her clever fingers wrapped around his cock. Nails lightly scored the head as she began to caress him softly. He wouldn’t last long with her touching him like that. Quickly, he grabbed the hem of the shirt she was wearing and yanked it up. Mina immediately sat up, releasing him to raise her hands in the air. Oh, she was more than willing. Tossing the shirt, he grabbed her wrists to stop her from returning to her ministrations.

“My turn, baby. Hands here.” He placed her hands on his biceps and reached up to find her shoulders. Her skin was so soft, the muscles beneath tight and tense. “Relax, Mina.” She dropped her head a little as he rubbed at her neck. When he felt her tension ease he slowly slid both hands down over her shoulders to the slight swell of her breasts. A whimper, soft and feminine, urged him on as his palms slid down to fully cup her breasts. They were firm and perfectly fit his palms. He had to taste her or die trying. Leaning up, he slid one hand to her back to hold her as he latched onto a nipple. Her hands moved, her arms circling his shoulders, and she clasped his head to hold him to her.

“Gabe!” His name, torn from her lips on a gasp of pure sexual need, spurred him on as he moved his mouth across the valley of her cleavage straight to the other nipple. He felt her nails lightly dig into his scalp, her hips moving against his pelvis in a slow rhythm that threatened to make him come in his shorts.

Swiftly he licked her nipple, his hands grasping her hips to lift her off him. Her cry of protest made him smile in the dark as he shucked his shorts and came over her. Mina opened her legs and he lowered himself to her gently. Her arms wrapped around his neck as he placed a kiss to her damp breast. Looking down at her, he could barely make out her face in the darkened cave.

“Are you sure? There’s no going back, Mina.” It nearly killed him, the wait to see if she would stop him. Her hand came up to push a lock of hair off his forehead, the gesture tender in a way he hadn’t expected from her.

“I want you, Gabe. Take me.” Gabe wanted to go slow, wanted to touch her, taste her, but her words created a desperate need in him that he couldn’t deny. He heard both their hearts pound hard as he dropped his head to take her lips as he thrust into her. Mina instantly wrapped her smooth legs around his waist, her hips thrusting up to help seat him fully within her. It was heaven, or as close as he was bound to get in this lifetime. Her body fit his like a tight glove, wet and hot.

They came together in a desperate rhythm of thrust and retreat, lips and tongues meeting to end in gasps of necessary air. Gabe slammed into her harder and faster when he felt her getting closer. Mina’s head arched back, her breasts with their tight little nipples grazing his chest as her legs and pussy squeezed him tightly. She would have screamed, but he quickly took the sound with a hard kiss. Her nails dug into his back, her body tightening on his, and thrusting him into his own orgasm. His last thought before he collapsed on her was, “Holy shit!”

Chapter Seven

Mina sat on one of the rocks, feeling alone and lost. She didn’t know what to think about her early morning sex romp with the moody Gabriel Landing. The man gave her the best orgasm she’d ever experienced during sex. Okay, if she was perfectly honest with herself, it was the only orgasm she’d had during intercourse. She’d come by being fingered and on her own, but never while a sweaty guy was slamming into her like a bull mounting a docile cow. What made this time different? What made him different? She bit her lip as she looked out over the foggy waters of the river.

Maybe it was the situation they found themselves in. Lives in jeopardy every second of the day and night, worry and fear of being found by the undead; who wouldn’t grab onto a life-affirming experience when they got the chance thrown at them? Her stomach clenched as she wondered if that was what he’d done when she literally threw herself at him. Never in her life had she initiated sex with any man. Shame heated her face as she shook her head. He’d enjoyed it, she reminded herself. At least, he had until he finished and rolled off her.

It hadn’t taken him long to pull on his shorts. He’d lit the oil lantern and looked at her. Why hadn’t she covered herself? A sound of disgust left her as she berated herself. The look in his eyes had been hard to read. His words and actions hadn’t.

“I have to go. I’ll be back in the afternoon with food. Don’t go anywhere, Mina.” He’d turned and left without so much as a, “Thanks for the ride.”

She shouldn’t be surprised or hurt by his actions. After all, weren’t men and women different when it came to sex? Women took it as a highly personal act to let a man inside her body. Men just fucked and forgot. Hadn’t she learned that lesson well enough by now? A zombie apocalypse surely wouldn’t change that.

Mina was still pissed off about it, though. The least he could have done was stay with her for breakfast. He’d left her alone, again. And where the hell did he disappear to? It was an island; he couldn’t go far. She bit her lip as she looked toward the cave and the trees going up the hill. Something had to be on the other side of that hill. He’d told her to stay put, but he could have meant don’t go into the water and swim for the opposite shore.

Who would blame her for wanting to venture around the island? Plus, if she thought about it, wouldn’t he expect her to scout out the terrain in case they attacked? She’d want to know where to run to for cover or a good hiding spot. Looking at her bare feet, she made a face. The man still hadn’t had the foresight to bring her back her shoes, clothes, or weapons. Maybe that was because he wanted to keep her a prisoner of means. If she didn’t have shoes, then she wouldn’t be going too far, now would she?

“The hell I won’t.” Chin raised stubbornly, she stood up to march into the cave. Tossing up the cover of his chest, she rummaged through some of his clothes to find a pair of blue boxer shorts and a button-up gray shirt just like the black one that she’d ripped off him the night before. Heat at the memory galvanized her into action as she quickly dressed. A piece of string from his small emergency kit worked to tie her hair back in a low pony tail.

Hiking bare-footed through the rough trees and shrubs didn’t seem like such a good idea a few minutes later as she experienced yet another gash on her shin. Drops of water, falling from the trees above her, only added to her misery. Mina thought about turning back when she topped the edge of the hill and looked out over the rest of the island. Wonder and surprise turned to ecstatic delight when her eyes landed on the prominent house before her.

It was at least three stories, white with red trim on all the windows and shutters. There was a greenish looking pool and gazebo that told her she was looking at the back of the house. A path of cement steps led right to the white vinyl fencing that seemed to surround the home. Steps skirted the grouping of dense trees she’d just left and wound down to a boat house. She narrowed her eyes, a feeling of disgust with Gabriel Landing making her fists clench at her sides. He’d made her stay in a dark cave when there was a perfectly good, comfortable, and obviously well-maintained house on the island.

“The bastard!” She set out at a fast pace, not giving a damn about the damage she was inflicting on the soles of her feet. The man was enjoying the lap of luxury all day while she was sitting on rocks, gazing out at the water like an idiot! No more. He was going to pay for what he’d done to her. Damn, was he laughing at her behind her back? The stupid little woman who obeyed his every command, even though he’d basically kept her little more than a prisoner in some disgusting cave! Why the hell did the man have a cave when he had such a lovely house he could stay in? Unless the cave was meant to keep her dependent on him. She wanted to scream her fury, she was so incensed.

Okay, so the cave was dry, cozy, and remarkably clean. It didn’t change the fact that the moron had kept this beautiful house a secret from her. When she got her hands on him... Her steps slowed as she neared the fence. The smell of the pretty flowers lining the path and the fence did nothing to disguise the horrible smell of rancid water. She placed a hand up to cover her nose as she pulled the latch on the gate. The gate swung open and the smell strengthened.

Mina lifted the collar of her shirt to cover her nose, trying to hold her breath as she entered the once-elegant pool area. Lounge chairs and glass tables lined one side of the pool. To one side was an elegant chimney for having a small fire. Her gaze landed on a ball floating along the surface of the water. Three weeks plus of hot temperatures and sporadic rain had turned the sparkling water a light shade of green. Sadness fell over her as she envisioned children laughing and playing in the crystal blue water as their parents lounged lazily beside them. It wasn’t fair.