Page 33 of Chaos Destiny
I empathized with her, though for a different reason. Personally, I needed to find a way to keepmyhands occupied and away fromher.Comfort was so rare now that I regretted taking it for granted when it was more readily available. A simple touch, a hug, a gentle stroke along my jaw from a fingertip—comfort was so rare that I regretted taking it for granted when it was more readily available.
I’d always seen relationships—virtually any companionship outside of family and close friends—as something I could worry about “later.” But later had arrived, and it didn’t look at all like trips overseas and torrid nights, our naked bodies soaked in sweat while making love in front of a roaring fire. It didn’t look like stops at flower shops and dinners at restaurants on the top floor of a historic building. Also, I’d used what I could buy to seduce a woman in the past. At the moment, I was reaching into a bag of tricks with a giant hole at the bottom.
“Ari’s ready,” I announced.
Tayler set down a vial and faced me. I tensed the muscles in my legs to keep myself planted. Even a couple of steps closer was hazardous territory. She’d mentioned other women in the camp being more “available.” Initially, I’d chalked it up to her making small talk. Now, I wondered whether I needed to see if someone else would be open to helping me quell whatever was surging my body toward boiling point.
“Does she seem like herself?” she asked. “Seem okay?”
“More than okay. She’s already teasing me, getting on my nerves.”
“Teasing you about what?”
“Being worried about her,” I lied.
I didn’t know what it was about this woman that made me want to be near her as badly as I did, but it was starting to drive me a little crazy. I’d encountered pretty faces in the last several months, but a few more days with Dr. Tayler would send me out of my mind.
I didn’t even want to make love to her. At least, not immediately. I wanted to touch her, have her touch me. I wanted her to run her fingers through my hair again like she did on the way back from the camper.
“I do have bad news,” I continued. “Not about Ari, though.”
Her shoulders stiffened. “Is it Thandie?”
“No. It’s me.”
“A fever?” She scanned me from the top down, assessing me the way she constantly claimed to be doing. When our eyes met again, I sensed a different emotion. “Please don’t tell me you were bitten.”
“I wasn’t.”
The stiffness in her shoulders disappeared. “Thank God. That’s not something I’d wish on anyone.”
“Was that your only reason for being worried?”
“Maybe. Why?”
I shook my head. “No reason.”
“Well, what’s your bad news?”
My thoughts answered first:
I’m not married.
I’m not a father.
I’m available.
And I want you.
“We’re planning to stay for a while,” I said.
“Why is that bad news? This camp is for survivors. The more we get, the stronger we can be.”
She walked up to me, stopped, and then passed me through the narrow doorway, her body brushing mine. For her, the contact was incidental; however, she wasn’t privy to all that had been plaguing me when it came to her. She had no idea that, to me, she was kindling.
I started after her, unsure of what I intended to do. But I stopped short when I noticed her leave Ari’s room, her head snapping around as if searching for something.
“She’s not in there,” she said.
