Edens promise, p.14
Eden's Promise, page 14
“You’re safe,” she whispered. “And you saw my signs.”
“Saw and erased,” he muttered, loosening his arm from around her waist so she could slide to her feet. He produced the wrappers. “Not my favorite use of condoms, by the way.”
“I couldn’t risk anything else.”
He nodded. “Are you in the sporting goods store?”
“Fabric store.”
He nodded his approval and picked up his gear, passing the bag to her.
“Are you hurt?” she asked, too late, since she had practically knocked him on his ass.
“Kind of got my ass kicked.”
She drew him into the fabric store, past Christine who greeted him with a nod. Eden guided him to the back where the foam padding was. She grabbed the biggest piece she could find and pulled it away from where Annie slept with the baby.
“Let’s get you out of those clothes,” she said, reaching for his damp shirt, helping him pull it over his head. She sat back and gasped to see the bloom of bruises along his ribs and arms. “Aaron.”
“I’ll be all right.”
She moved to unlace his boots, pulled them off and set them aside. He gripped her wrist and she snapped her gaze to his. She barely had time to register the heat in his eyes before he tugged, pulling her against his chest and covering her mouth with his.
Conscious of his injuries, she curved her hands around the back of his neck and angled her head to welcome him. He closed his hands around her waist and shifted her so she straddled him, brought her against him. She gasped to find him aroused, and the next thing she knew, she was on her back and he was over her, muscles flexing as he lowered himself to kiss her.
“I didn’t think I’d see you again,” he said, his lips coursing over her cheek to a spot below her ear that made her squirm.
He rose up a little, stroking his thumb over her cheek, then kissed her again, his mouth hot, demanding. She cupped her hand around the back of his head, holding him to her, wrapping her legs around his hips, raising her own hips so he could have no doubt about her answer.
Yes and now.
He pushed her shirt up, looking at her for a long moment before bending to kiss her breast, taking her nipple between his lips. She couldn’t stop the gasp of pleasure as his stubble scraped the tender skin. Then she remembered Annie and Christine were just on the next aisle, could hear everything. That should have stopped her, but she couldn’t, not when she’d been so scared that Aaron was dead, that he was lost to her. Not when she had him back.
She helped him unfasten her pants and wriggled out of them, bit back another gasp when his rough fingertips slid between her legs. He made a low sound of approval, and grabbed her pack to pull it close.
“Hope you have some condoms left.”
She laughed softly as he rummaged, then pressed a packet into her hand. He unfastened his own pants and shoved them down—not all the way, just enough to bare himself to her.
She closed her hand around his length, stroking gently. He gritted his teeth and closed his hand around her wrist to stop her. Right. The condom. She opened it with shaking hands and he took it from her, sheathing himself in a quick move, then positioning himself against her. He looked into her eyes as if seeking permission, and she raised her hips, bringing him into her.
Both of them stilled when he was seated fully inside her. Tears blurred her vision as her body stretched to accommodate him.
He shifted, unable to hold still, but she tightened her legs and lifted into him. Even in the dim light she saw his eyes glaze over, felt him tense before he began to move, slowly at first, as if he was trying to spare her, but when she glided her fingertips over his skin, he lost all semblance of control. She moved with him, into the pleasure his body promised, driving, stroking, rolling, the orgasm gathering, tightening her whole body, before she flew apart beneath him, and felt him follow.
Chapter Fifteen
Aaron woke at the alien sound of an infant crying, followed by hushing sounds—Eden’s voice, he thought. She wasn’t beside him. Hell, he’d fallen asleep so fast after their—what? Not lovemaking. Not just sex. And way beyond need. So...what?
And why was he wasting time trying to put a name to it?
He blinked at the darkness and rolled off the foam mat, which had been so comfortable when he laid down, but hurt like hell now. Everything hurt now. He got up slowly and padded with the fleece wrapped around him around to the next aisle.
There he saw Eden holding the baby, rocking back and forth as the baby’s mother unbuttoned her blouse. He forgot in that moment how mad he’d been at her for wanting to rescue the women. She’d managed to get them this far, though it couldn’t have been easy in that storm with a new mother and an infant.
She looked up and smiled.
“My clothes?” he asked, tightening the fleece fabric around his hips, which drew her gaze and caused the obvious reaction.
“I got some from the sporting goods store. Not sure how they’ll fit but they’re clean.”
He nodded and waited until she passed the baby to its mother and rose gracefully to give him what she’d found. The shirt fit fine, but not the pants, which were too narrow. He picked up his still-damp pants and stepped into them, but was grateful for the new thick socks.
“We need to get going,” he said once he was dressed. “You shouldn’t have let me sleep so long. The commander and his men will be on our tail, and they won’t be happy.”
Eden began to move, packing things, grabbing more off shelves, safety pins, towels, fabric. She shoved the items into her knapsack until it was bulging, then prodded Annie to her feet, taking the baby with the ease of an old pro.
In another place, another time, what kind of mother would she be?
Now wasn’t the time to think of that. No, there was no time to think of that. This world was no place for a child. He didn’t know how this young mother was going to survive it. She needed a good diet so she could nurse her baby and keep him alive. Her only chance of that was to get to the island, where they could do their best to give her a balanced diet. And that was a mission that seemed complicated beyond comprehension, as tired as he was.
“Where are we going?” Eden asked as they left the fabric store through the storeroom door.
“Back to the island.”
Her steps faltered. “What about Kelly?”
He blew out a breath. He’d known she’d be upset, but they had no other choice. She was a smart woman, she’d understand this was the right decision. He hoped. “The longer we’re on the mainland, the more danger we’re in. I started a revolt and you stole his harem. We can’t hang around here and wait for him to find us. We’re going home. Kelly is safe at the refugee camp. Your mother can be content to know that.”
“No! She’s waiting for us.” Desperation laced her voice. “He doesn’t know where we’re going. We can get to Kelly and get her home.”
He blinked and turned away, unable to look at the pain in her eyes. “We can’t do both.”
She stopped short and he turned with a sigh. “She’ll still be in Sacramento. We get Annie and the baby home, then come back for Kelly.” But God, how hard would it be, coming here a second time? They had no idea of the dangers between the coast and Sacramento, and who was to say Commander Wayne would have given up on them by then?
“And if it’s too late for my mom?”
For all they knew, it was too late for her mom right now, but he didn’t say it. “Then it is. She’ll know Kelly’s safe, and that’s all she needs anyway, to know her daughter is safe and alive. But Annie’s baby won’t be if we don’t get her home.”
“I’ll go. I’ll go get Kelly on my own.”
He faced her fully then, temper rising. Didn’t she see the dangers here? “Don’t be ridiculous. You can’t get to Sacramento on your own, and then get her from Sacramento to the coast. It’s too dangerous, we don’t have the weapons. It’s better if we stick together.”
“I don’t want to go home without my sister.”
“Eden, for God’s sake. She’s safe at the camp. We’ll come back.” He didn’t want to remind her that bringing a new mother and infant out of the compound and into the world had been her idea, not his. None of this had been his idea. Five days. He’d agreed to five days. They’d had supplies for two people for five days.
Okay, he hadn’t thought they’d find Kelly, but he hadn’t thought they’d be taken prisoner, either. Hadn’t thought they’d be fleeing from a madman.
And going to that base had been his call, his fault.
“And what about Commander Wayne?” he demanded. “What if he finds you? What do you think he’ll do to you after you hijacked his harem?”
She blanched at that. Good. He wanted to scare her, to keep her moving forward, toward the coast. Even that was going to be a nightmare with three women and a baby.
He started forward again, confident she’d follow.
And she did, silently, sullenly, until she saw the battered road sign for Sacramento.
“Seventy three miles.”
He shook his head. “At the pace we’re going, that’s four days, at least. It’s two to the coast.” Then two more on a boat, with good weather.
“And we’ve already come hundreds. We’d have to come all that way again, and there’s no telling if we’ll get a truck or horses this time.”
“We’ll sail farther down the coast and come straight across. We’ll be well-supplied and well-armed.”
“I’ll go with her,” Christine said quietly, with a look at Annie. “You get Annie to the coast, get her back to the island, because if I take her, they won’t know us and they’ll turn us away. You take Annie and I’ll get Eden and her sister there.”
Panic pumped through him, and not just because he’d be separated from Eden. Thus far he’d managed to keep his distance from Annie and the baby. He didn’t want the responsibility of being alone with her. The role would fall heavier on him if they separated. And even though Christine was a soldier and Eden was well-trained, he didn’t trust anyone other than himself to see her to safety.
“We don’t have the supplies to divide.”
“We’d have the same amount of supplies divided as shared,” Christine said patiently. “I can get her there, and maybe we can get a ride to the coast. You all got rides from one camp to the next. Maybe they’ll do it again.”
He tightened his jaw. “We don’t want anyone to know about the island. They’ll ask why we want to get to the coast.”
“I know how to be discreet,” Eden said tightly. “Aaron, please.”
He wanted to say yes, wanted not to have to come back. But this was Eden. He’d promised to protect her.
“You wouldn’t say no if I was a man.”
“If you were a man, Commander Wayne wouldn’t have the same plans for you,” he snarled, tired of her unreasonableness. Tired, hungry, weary of all the responsibility he bore. That she’d dropped on his shoulders, when he’d finally been free of it. “Are you willing to risk that?”
“For my sister, yes.”
He stepped back, anger pouring through him. “I thought you dragged me here to help you. If you don’t want that help anymore, then fine. I’ll go home. You rescue your sister.”
She squared her shoulders and he read the hurt on her face. Did she really think he’d fight to go with her? Of course she did. Hadn’t he been by her side so far? But Annie was in bad shape. The baby still cried after she fed him, because he was hungry. They should have left the two of them at the base. At least she would have had food. No way in hell would she be able to walk to Sacramento, and then the coast. The baby would die for sure, and he didn’t hold out much hope for the mother.
He didn’t back down, and neither did Eden, though her shoulders slumped a little.
“We should divide the supplies then,” she murmured, sliding her pack from her shoulders.
Anger still burned in him as they laid out the supplies, side by side. She insisted on dividing what remained of the food down the middle, even though her journey would be twice as long. The thought of her being hungry made his gut tighten, and pissed him off more. They would have been fine, just the two of them, getting to Sacramento, getting back. And now?
He set an extra box half-filled with 9mm rounds in front of her. “You have farther to travel. You’ll need these.”
She nodded and tucked them away. He resisted the urge to tell her not to waste them, but not to hesitate, but she was well-trained. She stood and hefted the pack onto her shoulders. He straightened, too, and ground his teeth at the tears in her eyes.
“Make it to San Francisco. Pier 29. I’ll come back for you.”
She lifted her chin. “We’ll find our own way. It might be harder to get there than someplace else. Don’t worry.”
She was right of course, but that didn’t stop his stomach from twisting. She started to turn away, but he caught her hip and turned her back to him, bringing her body against his, covering her mouth with his. She made a sound of surprise before she twined her arms around his neck and kissed him back, hard, her body plastered to his. He cupped her head in his hand, not wanting to let go, not wanting to send her off.
She was the one who broke the kiss, her eyes shining with tears she didn’t bother to hide.
“We have a long way to go,” she murmured, looking up at him. “I’ll see you in a week.”
He could only hope.
***
Eden and Christine made good time despite the uneven terrain. They agreed it was safest to stay off the main roads, especially since Commander Wayne had vehicles at his disposal. Eden couldn’t be sure he was still looking for them, wasting his resources, but Christine couldn’t go ten steps without looking over her shoulder to make sure he wasn’t behind them.
Now that it was only two of them—again—sleeping would have to be done in shifts. Eden had hoped they’d find another small town, an abandoned store or some kind of shelter, but this part of California was not as populated. Once it was too dark to see, they made camp in the forest, under a big tree. They split an MRE even though Eden could have eaten two or three on her own, and Eden took first watch.
As she sat alone in the dark, listening to Christine’s breathing, she admitted to herself that she’d looked over her shoulder a few times, too, waiting for Aaron to change his mind and come after her. Of course he wouldn’t, now that he felt responsible for Annie, but oh, how she’d wanted to see his sure-footed stride, the set of his shoulders on the horizon.
She had to believe she’d seen him in just a week. She had to believe they’d both make it home safely.
The following morning Christine was a little more talkative, which kept Eden’s mind off of Aaron and how far he’d gotten and how he was dealing with taking care of a baby. What she wouldn’t give to see that.
Christine talked about her family—three brothers and her, all raised by a single mother, who hadn’t wanted her only daughter to go into the service. But Christine had never been a girly-girl, growing up in the footsteps of those three brothers, who taught her how to do things her mother could never know about, including climbing to the top of a water tower.
“They’d kick Wayne’s ass for doing what he did to me,” she muttered.
“Where are they now?” Eden asked, alert now for people and buildings as the road widened to four lanes. There had to be a town around here.
“Back east, all of them. If not for the Rockies, I’d be headed there now. But it doesn’t look like I can get there any time soon.”
“When we were at the refugee camp, they talked about alternative fuel. Maybe once that becomes available...” She gestured to an abandoned car on the side of the road.
“And how will I get it? No money, nothing to trade for it.”
“There’s got to be some kind of regulation before long. This country can’t dissolve into the hands of a bunch of men like Wayne.”
“Why not? He was willing to take charge, willing to take people in, where most people, like your own island, keeps good people out to protect itself.”
Eden opened her mouth to protest, but it was true.
Her instincts started to prickle and she motioned to Christine to get off the road with her. Together they climbed down the embankment and moved into the woods alongside. They continued south as the road curved west, and found themselves on a hill overlooking an industrial park that was, well, industrious. People moved between buildings, some of which had their bays open, displaying rows upon rows of supplies. Everything—crackers, coffee, alcohol—and were those Oreos? Her stomach rumbled just looking at all the excess.
Beyond the park, she saw several semi truck trailers, though she couldn’t tell if those were full as well. At least she had a good idea where the park had gotten their supplies. And as she took that in, she took in the razor wire fencing around the perimeter. These guys meant business.
“Do you think they’re pirates?” Christine asked, low, just when a hand closed around the back of Eden’s neck.
Chapter Sixteen
Aaron bounced the baby against his shoulder, one hand under his little butt in a makeshift diaper, the other around the back of his neck. He’d always heard not to let them flop their heads back and he’d be damned if that happened on his watch. The baby’s cries were dying down, but Aaron feared it was more because he was growing weak than because he was going to sleep. Annie was sleeping restlessly under a nearby tree.
