But Caleb’s gaze was ravenous, and she couldn’t wait. She wanted to live for the crazy, wonderful moments that could be. And this moment could soon be one of the most memorable ones.
He drew her back into his arms and reclaimed her lips. She didn’t stop him, enjoying the longing and intensity building. His hands caressed her curves.
“I love you so much. I need you now.” He stroked her in the darkness. “Let’s go back to the inn.”
A grin spread across her lips. “Where’s your sense of adventure? Where’s the daredevil I know and love?”
“I’ve had enough adventure to last a lifetime.”
“You have to admit, you’re having fun. Just say it. Say—I like kissing you in the field. Say it, and we’ll go back inside.”
“I don’t have to admit anything to you.”
“I’ll admit I like this moment. I appreciate the thrill of being outdoors on a cold night, warming each other up in the best of ways. Why can’t you say it? Chicken?” Her smile spread at the same time her nails raked against his thigh.
Caleb grabbed her arm and attempted to usher them back toward the inn, but she planted her feet, drawing him back.
“You’ll be the death of me.” His hands traveled along her curves. When they reached her shoulders, he began to gently knead them.
Tension dropped from Jenna’s body. She closed her eyes, inhaling the scent of grass and pine. “You’d be my masseuse in our alternative reality, and I’d get massages every day.”
He didn’t release her. “What’s in it for me?”
“What do you want? Keep doing what you’re doing.”
“How about I do more?” His hands dropped to her midriff and slipped under her sweater. They were cold against her skin, but fire ignited elsewhere.
“I’ve got an idea.” She murmured against his chest.
“What’s this brilliant idea?” His fingers traced the line of her hipbone before exploring upward.
Her heart pounded. “Catch me, and you’ll have your way with me.” Jenna ran into the forest, ducking behind a tree, but making it easy for Caleb to find her.
He made it fun, letting her get away a few times, pretending to stumble around in the dark searching. Jenna staggered over roots and branches, not paying attention to the direction she headed. Light from the moon winked out.
She ran back the way she thought led to the meadow but staggered into a mossy thicket instead.
The smell of death assaulted her.
Jenna screamed. Caleb was by her side. The clouds moved away, and they noticed the thing perched against a tree. The clouds released rain and hail with a force of gun blasts. The thing in the trees showed no reaction. Jenna mopped the bangs from her forehead.
Caleb crept close. “It’s not moving. It’s a corpse.”
“They’re all corpses,” Jenna followed. The undead were a blur in the night, but she covered her nose with her sweater sleeve to limit the odor of decomposing flesh. The slumped, putrid dead sent a shiver through her.
A reminder that mere existence was never going to be normal. She’d never regain the life she lived prior to the pandemic. Her hope for starting a new one was stupid.
Caleb stepped forward and kicked the exposed flesh, boot making a soft thump. The two Streakers lacked any signs of animation. Returning to Jenna’s side, he grabbed her hand, and she followed him back to the inn. Once inside, she led the way, informing the group. After setting up a meeting, Jenna returned to her room to change. She pulled on dry clothes and plopped in a chair, depressed by the evil that would never let her be.
The urge to cry overwhelmed her, but she forced the tears back.
This was not the time.
She didn’t want to join the conversation, jaded as she was but would. Every voice counted.
A few minutes later, Caleb knocked on the door and stepped inside her room without waiting for an answer from her.
“Don’t you wait for an invitation? I could have been naked.”
“That would have been a pleasant surprise.”
“What?”
“We’re going to meet downstairs soon to discuss what we found.”
“I’m not even sure what it was.”
“Two dead Streakers close to the inn.”
“Can you be certain? I couldn’t see well in the dark.”
“I’m sure.”
“How’d they’d get so close.”
He shrugged. “Don’t know but something stopped it, and then left them for us to find. We need to figure out what’s going on. The weather’s stormy, and there’s obviously no immediate danger, but we’ll investigate. You’ll have to show people the way in the morning.”
“Okay.” Jenna stared at the floor.
“What’s wrong?”
“I believed my life would change. It’d be better now.”
“Things are different. We’re happy together.”
“We’re never going to live in peace.” Her hand thumped the chair.
He lifted her from the chair and carried her to the bed, ignoring her squeals.
She landed on her back, and the springs groaned.
“Never doubt I’ll make you happy.” Caleb moved over her and claimed her lips.
She jerked her head to the side. “We should talk.”
“About what?”
Planting her palms against his chest, Jenna pushed. “Our future.”
He refused to budge. “What about it?”
She pushed again.
Caleb settled on his back in the bed, staring at the ceiling.
“I thought we were safe,” she said.
“We can’t go back. We’ll never live in a world without Streakers.” His brow furrowed. “You have to accept it and acknowledge this new world. I love you, and I want to be with you in the here and now and for forever.”
“I love you, but what if I lose you? I wouldn’t be able to go on.”
“You’re much stronger than you imagine. You survived the last few years, and you’ll keep surviving. It will just be more fun now that you have me along for the ride.”
How could she explain the ominous premonition something bad was going to happen?
There was nothing she could do to change her
