Page 43 of Worth the Ruin
“Fuck it,” he says, low and rough, and a second later, he’s turned back, making it to the bed in three long strides. His hands slide across my cheeks, cradling my face as his lips meet mine. I gasp against his mouth, but fist my hands in the front of his shirt. Despite the fire just beneath the surface, the kiss is soft and gentle. Tender even. God, I’ve dreamed about this, imagined it too many times to count, and now I can’t quite believe it’s really happening. Maybe it isn’t. Maybe it’s a dream. Maybe I died in that river and this is some weird last ditch hallucination my brain is coming up with just before the last neuron fires…
But no. No, this has to be real. I couldn’t hallucinate the feel of him, the softness of his lips, the heat of his body seeping into mine.
He presses his lips to mine, once, twice, before lightly sucking my bottom lip between his, making me moan softly and tighten my grasp on his shirt. He pulls back too soon, stroking his thumbs across my cheekbones as he holds my gaze for an endless moment, before dropping his hands and stepping away. I blink, feeling a little dazed, and wanting to yank him back to me for more, so much fucking more.
But he only nods and walks back to the door of the camper without a word, leaving me confused…and grinning like an idiot.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
TRAEGER
Why the fuckhad I kissed Melody?
I know damn well why. Because she’d almost died multiple times in the past seventy-two hours, and I couldn’t stand it anymore. I couldn’t stopnottouching her, not assuring myself that she was here and safe and whole. I couldn’t stand the thought of wasting another second not kissing her, of not taking the chance and of risking never having it again. We live in a dangerous, fucked up world. Any of us could die any second.
So, yeah. I fucking kissed her because I couldn’t not kiss her.
And kissing Melody had been like tasting heaven. It had barely even been a kiss, really, just a few brief touches of lips, but it had rocked me to my core. I have my girls and we have our fun, but this was something else entirely. This was deeper. This was connection. This was something real when so little else in this world is anymore. I saw into the depths of her tonight, into that darkness inside her that mirrors my own. She isn’t afraid of mine and I’m not afraid of hers. We fit. We match. We understand each other in a way that’s on a deep, cellular level. We do what has to be done. We protect. We terminate those whothreaten what we care about. We feel no remorse for it. We even fucking delight in it when it’s warranted.
I’m a fucking goner.
I don’t know what the kiss means—or rather, whatshe’llallow it to mean. I know sure as shit what it means to me—but I’m not sorry that I did it.
I exhale roughly and settle into a chair outside the camper. I don’t think anyone else would dare try anything, especially not after witnessing Melody’s punishment, but I’m taking no chances. I hated the plan, but it was the best option, the only one I knew without a doubt would pull the snake out of hiding. Jett had been eyeing Melody since that day at The Cove and I knew he wouldn’t pass up the opportunity that he’d been waiting to find for months. I’d been planning to take care of him here soon anyway after I’d gathered up all of my intel, but everything needs to be done strategically in this world.
Melody proved to be the perfect bait, and while I had no doubts that she could protect herself and that we would be there before anything could happen, walking away from her to set the trap was one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do. When I think of watching them poise to attack, the things they said, the things I knew Jett planned todo, fury boils inside me so hot and volatile that I want to burn the entire fucking world down. I force myself to uncurl my fists, realizing now that I’ve got them clenched so tightly that my knuckles are turning white.
I force my breathing to slow, reminding myself that she’s alright, that she’s safe inside the camper a few feet from me. I should go back in. I should finish what I started with that kiss. I should make us both forget everything else for a while. I should…
No. No, I should definitelynotdo any of that right now. A time and a place and all that.
Landry comes over and hands me a few strips of jerky and a canteen.
“How she doing?” he asks, nodding towards the camper.
“She’s alright. She’s strong.”
“No doubt about that,” he agrees with a smile, but it fades quickly. “Wish she didn’t have to be strong quite so often though. She’s been through a lot. I mean, I know we all have but Mel…” He trails off and shakes his head. I wonder what he knows about her, what she’s confided in him. I want her to trust me that way, to share all of herself.
“The bodies?”
“Burned. Jett finally stopped breathing, though it went too quick for the fucker if I do say so myself.”
“Has he turned yet?”
“Not yet, but we’re watching. He’s chained up nice and tight.”
I won’t put that asshole out of his misery. He can live forever as a mindless, starving zombie. He’ll be secured in a pin like the animal he is, and live in agony for the rest of his undead life. Even that’s too good for him, honestly, but it’s the best I can do.
“Sounds good. Make sure word spreads through the settlements.”
“Of course, sir.”
He updates me on the watch schedules for the rest of the night before heading back to get some sleep. I settle in, knowing I won’t be sleeping at all, and replay the kiss over and over, hoping like hell it won’t be our last.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
MELODY
