Page 57 of A Wilderness Within

“We think so,” Erica said. “I’m trying to replicate the rVSV–ZEBW vaccine, which was in trial testing for Ebola. It is a recombinant, replication–competent vaccine. There’s some promise the same process will be compatible with Hydra-1.”

“What does that mean?” Caroline asked.

“Think of it like this—it’s how we use a dead flu virus vaccine to inoculate people against live versions. The vaccine, if done correctly, can be engineered to express a glycoprotein, which is something that helps your cells interact. The vaccine would make that glycoprotein come from Hydra-1, so the person’s cells would then be provoked into neutralizing an immune response to the virus. It’s like injecting a tiny portion of the strand of a single virus rather than a complete strand. A full strand can replicate—a full strand can kill you. And it only takes one strand to do it.”

Caroline felt dizzy at the thought of something so tiny having such devastating power.

“But the more blood samples I have, the better I can focus on the way the virus interacts with immune people versus someone who is susceptible to infection.”

Erica finished collecting a sample from Lincoln and then looked them both over in concern. “You two look exhausted. How much sleep have you had?”

“Not much,” Caroline said. Lincoln merely grunted.

“Why don’t you sleep in one of our guest rooms tonight? We have places where our staff can stay overnight. You will be safe here,” she said, and by the look she sent them Caroline knew that Erica had some understanding of what they had both been through in the last few months.

“This way.” Erica led them to the elevators and down to the second floor. There were two halls on either side of the elevator bay that had real bedrooms, no hospital rooms, and a bathroom complete with a shower.

“We usually have dinner around seven if you want to come down to the café. Pete finds food, and we usually make a decent meal.”

“We have chickens!” Caroline offered. “They lay great eggs. We would be happy to start filling the kitchens with them.”

Erica grinned. “Real eggs would be a treat. We’ve been going off of powdered eggs for a long time. I know that Pete and the others have been working to find any livestock nearby to get a farm up and running, but we aren’t located near much farm land.”

Erica left them alone in the room while Caroline checked on Ellie. Holt and the others volunteered to take care of Kirby for a while. The baby was still fast asleep in her portable crib. Caroline collapsed onto the bed, covering her face with her hands as she tried to come to terms with the fact that she was here in Atlanta, at the CDC. And there was hope, real hope, all around them. It felt impossible, yet here they were. She looked up at Lincoln with tears in her eyes.

“Honey, you’re killing me.” He knelt in front of her, cupping her face in his hands, and then he leaned in and kissed her.

And just like that, her love for him burned away all fear and doubt. She wrapped her arms around him, pulling him closer. They moved without words, shedding clothes until they were skin to skin. Lincoln pushed her flat on the bed and settled into the cradle of her thighs. He thrust into her, and she threw her head back, closing her eyes as exquisite pleasure began to build with every thrust.

I’m alive… There’s hope… There’s us. She dug her fingers into his back, moaning as he moved within her, over and over, his steady rhythm fast and glorious as he reminded her how good it felt to surrender to instinct and emotion.

Lincoln knew just the way to master her body, to control it and gently demand her surrender to his dominance. He nipped her neck and then captured her hands, pinning them to the mattress on either side of her face as his body rocked into hers, their hips colliding.

Gazes locked, they didn’t look away, didn’t kiss for a long minutes as he circled his pelvis, finding a new spot to hit deep within her over and over. Her breasts rubbed against his chest, sweat dewing upon their bodies as they moved in time.

She couldn’t forget how much she’d claimed to hate him and how she wouldn’t sleep with him even if were the last man on earth. How wrong she’d been about him…but she knew it was because he was the man for her, not because he’d been the only man there. Destiny…fate, whatever you wanted to call it, had brought them together that night at the grocery when he’d captured her. And now she was completely his and he was hers.

“I love your eyes when you start to come,” he growled low, the rumbling sound making her even wetter. She wriggled her hips, urging him to fuck her even harder.

“I love everything you do,” she panted back, grinning at the look of primal delight on his face.

“Then you’re going to fucking love this, honey.” A second later, he unleashed that raw, almost violent passion that drove her into new heights of ecstasy. He fucked her like there was no tomorrow, like it was the last few precious seconds they had on earth together. She was going to scream his name in a second and she didn’t care. It was worth it to feel him inside her, driving in and out endlessly.

The climax hit her, and she could only gasp his name aloud. He slammed a hand against the headboard and growled, his eyes fixed on hers as he followed her into bliss. They collapsed together in a tangle of limbs and sleepy shared smiles. Neither of them moved for the longest time. There was something undeniably intimate to lay together like that, their bodies still coming down from the sexual high and feeling the invisible bonds of love only strengthening between them. He cupped one of her breasts, gently stroking the pad of his thumb over a nipple and she shivered in delight.

“I love when you touch me,” she whispered. Whenever his hands were on her, she felt cherished, even when he was making love to her like a wild animal.

“One of these days, I’ll make love to you slow,” he whispered. “Soft, sweet, like a proper gentleman.”

Caroline giggled, her face flushing as she looked up at him from beneath her dark lashes.

“I don’t know…I like how you do it now. It’s really…hot.” She felt embarrassed admitting that she liked him fucking her like that. Her old boyfriends had all been so polite, so very missionary and gentle. But when a man lost control, when he wanted her so much he lost his mind, that…that was hotter than anything in her wildest dreams. And that’s how it was when Lincoln made love to her.

The bed creaked slightly as they shifted a little. Caroline threaded her fingers in his hair, playing with the silken strands and lightly scraping her nails against his skin on the back of his neck. His eyes almost rolled back in his head and his cock jerked inside her.

“That feels good,” he whispered. “So fucking good.”

Caroline continued to touch the nape of his neck and he lowered his head to kiss her. Their mouths moved slowly, languidly. He tasted her like he was sampling a fine bottle of whiskey and the following groan that escaped him echoed on her own lips. That single, long kiss erased the world around them, leaving her in a private cocoon of warmth with just Lincoln, their bodies connected as tightly as their hearts.

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