nearly as keen. I was taking full advantage, and I knew it, but their new rules had left me no choice. I had to do this.
Hinges erupted into a chorus of noise as I eased the door open, and I cringed. I waited several seconds, heard nothing and locked up, then shoved the key into my pants pocket. The night was far colder than the day had been, and I was suddenly very grateful I’d worn a long-sleeved shirt, thick socks and boots.
“Hey, you—”
Our eyes met, and the rest of the world disappeared—
—he had me backed against a bedroom wall, his body supporting mine. My legs were wrapped around his waist. His hands were flattened beside my temples; mine were in his hair. He’d imprisoned me with his strength to kiss the breath right out of me.
“You okay, princess?”
Princess. He’d once again called me princess, as if I’d sprung straight from a fairy tale. I melted into him. “I’m good.”
“More?”
“Please.”
The kissing started up again, even hotter, wilder.
For the first time, no one interrupted us. The vision was allowed to play out until the very end, a whole lot of kissing and heavy breathing fading into darkness and quiet. In that darkness, I experienced a surge of different emotions. Excitement, longing, nervousness. We hadn’t had a vision in so long, I’d thought they’d stopped for good.
To me, this meant we had a future.
“Why now?” he asked, here in the present. The stockade fence loomed behind him, trees at his sides. There was no moonlight, no flashlight, but I could see his face clearly. Dark hair was brushed back and damp, violet eyes were luminous. “What’s changed?”
“Me, I think.” As I’d already realized, some part of me had been pushing him away, resisting him. And then today, after talking to Kat…well, I was unsure how much longer I had with her, and I was envious of the connection she had with Frosty. I wanted that kind of connection with Cole, and I realized I’d decided I could have it, if only I would open myself to the possibilities.
“Well, I approve. I want that.” His voice was a husky rasp, as rich and decadent as chocolate. “What we saw.”
“Me, too,” I admitted.
“Do you know me well enough now?”
I knew he was strong, determined, protective, and that he cared about his friends more than he cared about himself. He obeyed no rules but his own. In the Wild West days, he would have been an outlaw. I knew his sense of humor fit me, just as mine seemed to fit him.
“Yes,” I whispered. “I do. Not sex,” I added. “Not yet. But…”
“But more than what we have.”
“Yes,” I repeated.
“Good.” He took my hand, ushering me through the darkness and mud. I knew there were traps out here, but I couldn’t see them. Nor did I see any sign of the zombies. “One of the guys will stop by your house every hour to check things out.”
“Thank you.” Cole’s Jeep was once again parked at the curb. Only difference was, Bronx wasn’t poised at the wheel. Cole claimed the driver’s seat.
I buckled in and shifted to face him. “Everyone’s well?” I asked as we rambled down the road.
“Yeah. Recovering nicely.”
“Where was the nest?”
“A mausoleum in a cemetery.”
“And they were…what? Just sleeping in there?”
He nodded. “We opened the door, and they just stood there, staring at us. They didn’t even put up a fight when we attacked.”
“Maybe something was wrong with them.” Like…the essence of a poisoned spirit working through their systems?
“Maybe. We’ve never encountered anything like it.”
“So you guys were able to ash them without any problems?”
“Yep.”
And I bet they’d celebrated afterward. Throw me a pity party, because I wished I’d been there. I shifted to my other side and traced a fingertip over the dusty window, leaving a smear. “How did the boys find them?”
Cole accelerated, passing one car, then another. “They were doing patrols and followed the smell, which was more rank than usual.”
We lapsed into silence, leaving me alone with my thoughts—which quickly switched from zombies to Cole himself. I knew where he was taking me. His home. We’d go to his bedroom, and what? Just start making out? And, crap! Even though we weren’t having sex, I hadn’t initiated “the chat” with him. Things could spiral out of control, or I could change my mind.
“So…what do you slayers believe about heaven and hell?” I asked, keeping myself busy. “Do you go to church?”
“I can’t speak for the other guys, but yeah, I go to church. Me and my dad, every Sunday. You?”
“I do, too.”
We reached our destination, and he parked in his driveway. He got out, came to my side and helped me to my feet.
“Don’t be nervous,” he said. “We won’t do anything you don’t want to do.”
That was the problem! I didn’t know what I wanted to do. Now or never, I mused. “Are we official? I mean, are we together and only seeing each other?”
He paused on the porch to look at me, a strange expression on his face. “Maybe I did a terrible job communicating with you, but we have been together and only seeing each other for a while now. We just had a few things to iron out.”
Elation poured through me, potent enough to make me tremble. “Oh.”
There was a flash of fury in his eyes. “Have you been seeing someone else?”
“No!”
The fury drained, and yet, his new expression failed to comfort me. I’d thought Pops was determined about the boxing thing, but this…
“Okay, then,” I said. “I just had to make sure.”
“Next time make sure sooner.”
Inside, I managed to steal a glance at the living room before he tugged me down the hall. I’d been here countless times, but never inside the house. Only the barn. The sparseness astonished me. A brown couch, a love seat and a coffee table, but no other furniture and no photos on the walls. No vases or flowers or decorations of any kind. Wait. Scratch that no other furniture thing. There was a safe, big and black and probably loaded with enough firepower to raze the entire town.
“Your dad—” I began.
“Isn’t here.”
“And Bronx and Mackenzie?”
“Bronx is asleep in his room, and Kenz is out.”
Kenz, again. A nickname meant affection. I could have let doubts about his feelings for me—and his feelings for her—invade my mind, take root and grow branches, but I refused.
My thoughts splintered as we entered Cole’s bedroom. He shut the door with a soft
Without a word, Cole backed me into the wall. The plaster was cool, making me gasp, then he was pressing into me, so hot my brain short-circuited.
