Page 22 of A Wilderness Within

“Just let go. Feel my heartbeat and measure it against your own.” His soft voice was hypnotic as she pressed her cheek against his chest. Beneath the warm wool of his sweater, she felt the slow, steadythump-thump, as dependable as a grandfather clock.

They danced to “Smoke Gets in Your Eyes” and “Bitter Fruit,” sharing nothing but breaths and matching heartbeats as darkness claimed the world outside. The single camping lantern cast slow-moving shadows upon the walls. She watched as their two distinct shapes blurred together into one being.

I am not alone. Not anymore. It’s me and Lincoln against the world.

She almost smiled. There was some comfort in that thought. Caroline lifted her gaze when the last song ended, and silence fell around them. He looked down at her, his hand still on her waist, and she saw tenderness and animal hunger warring upon his features. Driven by a sudden urgency to be closer, she stood on her tiptoes and kissed him. Slow, lingering, hot. Their tongues sweetly dueled, and she pressed her body flush to his. He cradled the back of her head with one hand.

A slow, delicious tingling built deep in her belly as he deepened the kiss, turning the experience raw and carnal. God, she liked that. He kissed her like he wanted to brand her and never let her forget how well he could kiss. She liked the bold, aggressive way he captured her mouth. He wasn’t afraid or timid. A bold warrior. A soldier. Nothing frightened him. She knew it was silly to feel like this with him, because it was just her hormones talking, but she liked this and him all too much, and she did feel safe.

Maybe love wasn’t possible in a world like this anymore, but she didn’t want to give up the possibility of it.

Lincoln explored the hollow of her back with one hand, sliding his palm up beneath her sweater and brushing against her bare skin. The simple contact almost burned, it felt so good. She teased the strong hardness of his lips and moaned in delight as he kissed her in gentle demand, her blood humming in her veins with a song as old as time itself. He held her close, his entire being focused on kissing her, and she melted against him.

Her knees buckled a little as a delightful dizziness washed over her. When they eventually broke apart, their harsh breathing mixed in the silence. There were a thousand things she wanted to say, but none of them seemed right. She was clinging to a stranger in the dark because she had no one else. That was the reality of the moment. Nothing she could say could fully explain the sexual and emotional hunger and confusion she felt, of wanting more and fearing more, which melded together inside her.

She blushed and ducked her head.

“I think that,” he said at a slow pace, “I earned my mac and cheese kiss.”

He trailed a fingertip down her nose, and then with one more sexy bedroom look that made her almost forget her name, he let go of her.

She let out a husky laugh. “Yeah, you did.”

“We should get to bed. We have a lot to do tomorrow.”

He headed for the stairs, carrying the lantern with him. She watched his tall, lean figure and couldn’t help but wonder if the real danger was here…with him. If there one was one thing she’d learned, it was that anything you depended on or cared about could be destroyed or taken away. And not everyone was what they appeared to be.

7

Here, where the world is quiet;

Here, where all trouble seems

Dead winds’ in the spent waves’ riot

In doubtful dreams of dreams.

—“The Garden of Proserpine”

by Charles Algernon Swinburne

Caroline watched out the window of the SUV as Lincoln drove them into an outdoor shopping mall complex. There were dozens of abandoned cars and storefronts with broken windows, but this one didn’t look as savaged as other parts of Omaha.

“Strip malls are usually better for supplies. People forget them because they’re farther out,” Lincoln said as he parked the car amid the abandoned vehicles.

“Why park here?” she asked.

“I don’t want anyone passing by to notice us. We want people to think this is just one of the abandoned cars out here,” he explained and held out her backpack. She slung it around her shoulders and zipped her coat. He put his own bag on. They’d both agreed not to leave their packs in the car unless they were in the car with them. If they had to leave the vehicle, they needed their gear.

“I’m going to test a few car batteries nearby and scavenge what I can. I’ll also collect any extra fuel these cars might have. You go into that sporting goods store and collect what you can on this list.” He handed her a list of items on a piece of notebook paper.

She nodded and headed across the parking lot for the sporting goods store. Caroline kept a careful eye out for movement. When she reached the entrance, she carefully climbed through the broken glass doorway, her boots sliding and crunching on the shards, but she kept her balance. The interior of the store was dimly lit from the skylights three stories up. Her skin crawled as she worked her way through the overturned display stands. Exercise clothes and pale, naked mannequins littered the aisles. Caroline squinted at the list.

“Hand warmers, space blanket, batteries…” She navigated her way back to the camping section of the store and used the small flashlight Lincoln had given her to locate what she needed. She shoved them into the big gear bag Lincoln had given her and looked at the next part of her list.

“Rope, carabineers, and wool socks.” She meandered down more aisles and grabbed a spare pair of wool gloves for her and Lincoln and a pair of wool caps. Hers was a cable knit hat with the poufy faux fur ball on top, and his was a dark gray one lined with fleece. She finished packing the items into her bag and turned to search the aisles for anything else that might be useful, but then someone moved behind her. She froze.

“Hands up, turn around. Slowly,” the hard voice demanded. Heart pounding, she fought off a wave of terror and set her pack down and raised her hands in the air as she turned around.

---