Page 67 of Princess

I rub my face against his chest. “Okay. Same here.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.” I’m almost asleep now and not guarding my words. “I always want to give you what you need too.”

I think he kisses my hair again, but I’m too out of it to know for sure.

“So we’re off pause? Things are good between us now?” he asks very softly.

“Yeah. We’re off pause. Things are good.”

“I’m the man you want?”

There’s no way, in my current state, I can tell him anything but the truth. “You’re the only man I want.”

* * *

Thingsaregood. For the whole next week. Grant is still not supposed to get up and use his leg, but it feels like we’re really together. A couple.

I’m happy. Happier than I can remember being since lockdown. Things have settled down in the region now that we’ve taken care of so many of the Wolf Packs all at once. Somehow the news about the bunker has gotten out, and we’ve had a number of new families already come to settle with us. There’re more people around, and the air is filled with excitement. Good spirits. I’d actually forgotten that life could feel this way.

I don’t have any worries or complaints or concerns until the two weeks of Grant’s enforced bed rest are up. At first it’s all good. We can have sex in other ways again. And we do. A lot.

But then he starts disappearing during the days, and I have no idea where he goes. He drives off first thing in the morning in one of the ATVs, and he doesn’t come back until dusk. I ask him about it, and all he says is that he’s working on a project, but he doesn’t give me any more information. And it keeps happening. Day after day. He’s clearly preoccupied by whatever he’s working on, and I only ever see him at night when he comes to my bed and fucks me. The sex is good. Needy on both sides. He’s not quite as athletic as he used to be, but that’s because his leg still isn’t back to full form.

I have no complaints about the sex, and I always love the way he talks to me when we’re in the bedroom, but it still worries me that it’s the only time I ever see him.

Over and over, I give myself good advice. I chide myself to just talk to him about my concerns like a mature, sensible person should do. But the problem is he’s never around during the day, and at night he gets right into the fucking.

Once he starts to touch me, that’s all I want to do too.

Early one morning, Grant has just taken off like usual when Travis arrives back at the bunker with his wife, whose name is Layne. It’s been so long since I’ve seen anyone pregnant that I’m surprised by how big her belly is, especially on such a small woman. I like her immediately. She’s pretty and sweet and appears delighted to be here even though the trip must have been incredibly uncomfortable for her.

Since I don’t have anything else to do, I show them down to an available apartment and explain the layout and procedures in the bunker. They have a dog with them, which is a nice surprise. Once Travis gets Layne settled on a small couch, he goes back outside to walk their dog and get the rest of their stuff from their Jeep.

Layne asks me to stay and chat with her, which I’m very happy to do.

“You have no idea how much we appreciate y’all letting us come here and use your medical facilities,” she says. She’s got a pretty, heart-shaped face and two long brown braids of hair. “We knew what we were getting into with this.” She strokes her rounded stomach. “But it’s still kind of terrifying.”

“I can only imagine. I’d be the same way.”

“Obviously, people had babies for millennia without hospitals, but what’s also true is that a lot of women and babies died from childbirth. The closer we came to time, the more scared we got.” She laughs. “I finally had to send Travis with Mack to help take back the bunker mostly to give him something to do and stop him from driving me crazy with his hovering.”

“Well, he’s scared. I get that.”

“I know. I’m scared too. So when he got back and explained you’ve got a doctor and nurses and a clinic and medicine and equipment, it was like a miracle to us. I think Travis might actually be able to breathe now.” She stretches out against the extra pillows we fit in behind her. “And maybe so can I.”

“I hope so. You’re welcome to stay as long as you want. Until you’re ready to travel again or even longer if you’d like to live here long term.”

“Probably not. We love our little house. And Duke, our dog, would never forgive us if we didn’t take him back home. He’s lived there even longer than we have. But for now, being here is like a gift from heaven for us.”

There’s a slight lull in conversation, but she doesn’t look like she’s ready for me to leave, so I say, “Tell me a little about yourself. How did you and Travis get together?”

Layne laughs. “That’s a long story.”

“I’ve got time.”

So she tells me all about how they were from the same town but never really knew each other. Then they met up when they were both traveling to Fort Knox after their town migrated. He kept her safe on the road, and they fell in love.

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