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“I’m not a toy, you dipshit.”
Laying Debbie on the ground beside us, I chuckle lightly into Emily’s ear, enjoying seeing her shiver beneath my breath. “If that’s true, then why do I have so much fun playing with you?”
She raises the knife, but I wrap my arms around her like a steel band so she can’t move. “Let me go.”
“No can do, pet. I’ll let you hold on to that knife, but you should get some sleep because we’ve got a big day tomorrow.”
“I’m not tired.”
“‘Course you are. After all you’ve been through, you’ll be out in no time. And I’ll still be here until you wake up in my arms, keeping you warm and the monsters at bay. And by monsters, I’m also referring to my friends.”
William sits on the ground on the other side of the fire across from us with his back against the log. He settles in, arms crossed, watching us. “And I’ll be right here in case you try something stupid like that again.”
“She won’t escape this time,” I assure him.
“Wasn’t talking about her.” His gaze bores into mine and I clench my jaw, knowing damn well what he’s talking about. We’ve all made mistakes here. I’m tempted to remind him of his, but Emily lays her head back against my shoulder in defeat.
She’s so soft when her body relaxes against mine. I stare down at her, surprised. I expected another fight from her. In fact, I hoped to get one. To see how far she can push herself, and then I’d push her past that. But this simple display of giving in, of feeling her body relax in my arms, is a feeling I can’t comprehend. No one’s ever relaxed near me this quickly before. Everyone else I’ve tried to befriend has run away screaming. I’ve never understood why.
Griffin holds out the handcuffs, but when I scowl at him and shake my head, he tosses them down on top of a nearby bag, nods to William, and then disappears inside of his tent. I wish William would sleep inside of his own tent for once, too, but I guess that’s not going to happen.
I tilt my head down to whisper in Emily’s ear. “Sleep, pet. You’ve got the craziest motherfuckers alive watching over you. I won’t let the dead in until you wake.”
“That’s supposed to relax me?” Her eyes are open, watching William through the flames. I don’t like it. I want her attention on me.
“Of course it is. Breakfast can be a serving of rotter with a side of waffles.”
“I like waffles.”
“Well, in that case, I’ll have Willie Boy over there figure out how to get the ingredients to make them for you one day.”
“I won’t be here long enough for that.” Her eyes flutter closed and I rest my chin on top of her head. She must be exhausted. I wonder if she would be this trusting in my arms if she was wide awake.
“You underestimate Griffin’s willingness to keep others safe. He thinks you’re worth protecting, and that’ll keep you here longer than stealing a car and destroying food ever will. But I hope you never stop trying to escape, because I do quite enjoy the chase.”
I can’t make out her mumbled reply before her body goes lax in my arms and her breathing evens out, but I’d like to think she promised to never give up the chase. Maybe it’s only me, but I find it so thrilling. I can’t wait to see what she comes up with next.
My back aches from sitting in the same position for so long, but I don’t dare move in case I wake her. She’s going to need her strength for the day ahead, because Griffin won’t be the only one not letting her out of his sight. Unlike him, I don’t need handcuffs to keep her in my grasp.
With the moon shining down on us in between the breaks in the clouds, I can see more of Emily. I’m shamelessly watching her while she sleeps. I have now memorized her outline in the dark, and every single curve of her body down to the length of the smallest eyelash, and the shadow it makes on her cheek when the moon shines down. It provides a different light than the fire in front of us, and I’m pretty sure that by the time the sun rises, I’ll know her better than she knows herself.
Her fingers dangle loosely around the knife handle, and I suspect I might not get it back. I could easily take it from her if I wanted to, but I find it thrilling that it’s now in her possession. It starts to slip from her fingers and I touch the tip to push it back until it’s snug in her grip. A single bead of blood drips from the tip of my finger and I wipe it gently against her arm so that my blood is now smeared into her skin. Yup, I did a magnificent job sharpening that yesterday.
She groans in her sleep and her head rubs against my shoulder. Is my pet having a bad dream? I hope I’m the star of the show.
I reposition my arms so they’re securely around her again. Her body shifts and I let out a groan of my own when I go rock hard. Oh, this isn’t good. This isn’t convenient at all.
She shifts again, and it worsens. My lips brush against her hair. “Careful, pet. Keep moving like that and we’re going to have another problem here.”
Her head tilts up so my lips brush against her forehead. Willie did a decent job bandaging her up before we were overrun with rotters. That’s something I’ll never admit it to him, of course. I press a gentle kiss, knowing there’s a wound beneath and wondering if it’s the kind of head injury where I shouldn’t be letting her sleep. I’m tempted to rustle her awake just in case, but I’m struggling to even move, which is so unlike me.
She scrunches up her face and shifts her body in my lap once again. If she keeps this up, she’s going to have a more dangerous monster on her hands than all the dead in the world, and that’s not a path she’s going to want to travel down. That’s not a path anyone would ever want to travel down. She’s probably not aware, since I tend to come off as a big ‘ole puppy dog and all, but I’m actually a little messed up. I blame my brother for that, but that’s not a story she’s going to want to hear. Although if she’s lucky, she’ll take me out long before she can get close enough to me to hear that story.
Tilting my head down so my mouth is close to her ear, I whisper again. “Don’t worry, pet, fight those monsters in your dreams. I’ll be right there beside you.”
She lets out one more whimper and then settles down into my arms again. Good, she’s finally going to stay in place. I don’t know what would’ve happened if she’d kept wiggling around like that.
I hold her still while I reposition myself, clenching my teeth together when pain shoots through my lower back at having been in this position for so long, but I don’t want to move any more than I have to. There are still a few more hours until sunrise. A few more hours to watch her sleep, chase away her nightmares, and study every single visible inch of her. Because when she wakes up, I’m going to light another fire within her and watch it burn.
