Love and Decay, Kane's Law (2 page)

That’s where my footsteps tripped up.

Not a child. A woman. The husky, honeyed,
purely feminine voice drifted to my ears with warmth and perfect
tones of light, easy amusement. The voice bypassed my brain and hit
me directly in the chest, in the joints of my bones, in the male
parts of me that absorbed that tone word for delicate word.

I threw up a hand and let out a short, low
whistle. Austen and Creed immediately stopped and disappeared into
hiding. We would wait for them to come to us. They would walk
directly into our trap. We would have the advantage and the
experience, while they stumbled through the still-dark forest
giving everything away about themselves.

My lips curved and I realized with some shock
that I was smiling- something I rarely did. I crouched behind a
thick tree and peered around it. I was utterly still and silent
while I waited- waited for her.

“Then don’t,” she was saying. “It’s weird
talking about my virginity with you, even if it’s in the context of
saving your immortal soul.”

Virginity?

Something so virile, something so purely,
primal male burned in my blood, I was embarrassed for myself.

It was just… virgins didn’t exist anymore.
The ratio of men to women was fatally unfair, but take into account
how many of those remaining females were still able to hold onto
their innocence? In this godforsaken world? It didn’t seem
possible.

And if I thought I had been drawn to this
girl by just the sound of her voice, the fact that she had somehow
managed to hold onto her virtue… had something to protect and gift
away… I was not just pulled in, I was lost.

Of course, she could be a hag. Then what?
Would it matter what she looked like? Would it matter if she had
three teeth and no hair?
Probably.

But then she stepped into view and all those
shallow thoughts disappeared, replaced by a force so strong and
consuming, I stumbled forward, catching myself in the damp earth
with one hand.

Her companion was saying something about his
brother and a man code, but all I could see was the raven haired
beauty walking my way. She was breath-taking- even in the dim
morning light. The sun made the air around her glow and the edges
of her body burn into a hazy obscurity. Her body- lithe, graceful,
sensual- moved over the rough forest floor with ease and I felt
hypnotized by the sway of her curvy hips.

I hadn’t seen beauty in a long time; but
looking at her, at this girl that appeared from nowhere and was
headed directly to me… it was like seeing something truly beautiful
for the first time. She was everything lovely left in this world.
She was pure, she was innocent and she was light. She was light to
me. It wasn’t just the stark difference between the raw attraction
I felt for her, it was that she lit up even the sunlight. She
somehow burned through the darkness, and not just the dark forest,
but the ominous gloom of this world. She transcended the bleak
un-living we’d yielded to and reminded me of what life used to be
like, what it could be again.

And she was alone.

Well, for the most part.

She was wandering a Zombie-filled forest with
one other person and a handgun at her side. Clearly, she wasn’t
prepared for this world. Clearly, she needed someone to protect
her.

I took in the details of her and her partner
quickly. Each held a gun, but if they had other weapons, they
weren’t at hand. The guy was probably related to our prisoners from
last night. He was older than anyone else in his group, but
mimicked the same dirty blonde hair and rough-barely-maintained
facial hair style that the other two had. His features alone gave
him away. He also held the same make and model handgun that the two
other guys carried. That couldn’t be a coincidence. His gate was
similar, his tuned-in attentiveness and Yankee accent all showed
evidence that he was in some way related to the other
prisoners.

That meant the girl was traveling with them
but not necessarily related to them. She was about as opposite in
looks as could be, the dark to their light. But, now… she was the
light to my darkness.

It was a good decision for me to patrol this
morning. If Creed or Austen had been out here alone, no doubt they
would have wanted to claim her for themselves- potentially even
fought over her. And while I couldn’t blame them for trying, I
would get first pick no matter what. Seniority ruled these lands
and I was the superior officer. The only other man that could claim
her before me was my father, but he would never do that to my
mother.

This girl belonged to me now.

The corners of my mouth turned up again and I
couldn’t believe my luck.

Once the pair had stepped into our triangle
of entrapment I raised my hand and sent Creed the signal with two
fingers and a “round-em-up” motion.

I silently stood to my feet, readied my
weapon, and waited for the perfect opportunity to step out of
hiding.

“Stop moving!” Creed called out sternly.
“Drop your weapons and put your hands in the air!”

“Shit,” the guy growled. His guns dropped
from his hands to the forest floor and I couldn’t stop the rush of
adrenaline from knowing she was one moment closer to being mine. I
took a step forward and signaled Austen to move in behind them.
Creed continued to close in on the other side. Once the guns were
out of the stranger’s hands he lifted them above his head and
stared down at the female with an authoritative scowl.

“No way,” she growled at him. Her dark haired
pony-tail flipped around her neck. She tightened her grip on that
small handgun and I felt my chest rumble a growl of approval. I
hadn’t seen a girl with so much tenacity since before the
infection; and thinking about it in the context of where we were
now, maybe I’d never seen a girl with so much courage.

Women today either used their feminine gifts
as a barter system or they were easily compliant to orders in an
attempt to hold onto their virtue- which rarely worked in this
world, but I understood their flawed thinking. This kind of girl,
one that fought back, one that believed she had a
chance
…
she was truly rare.

“Reagan,” her friend warned her.

Reagan.
Her name was Reagan. The word
settled over me like an oath and I took it, swore to it, let it
fill me with purpose, conviction and promise.

“Drop your weapons!” Creed shouted when it
was clear she wouldn’t.

Her lips tilted in amusement and she goaded
us, saying, “That sounds like a terrible idea. Why don’t you come
get them?”

Gladly.

I moved into position and held my breath. My
blood burned with anticipation, my body thrumming to life with
anxious excitement.

I listened to the guy try to talk reason into
her and I felt pride bubble up inside me when she obviously didn’t
listen. The world had dissolved into dangerous predators and
victims, into monsters and innocent fatalities, and I didn’t mean
simply Feeder vs. Human. Mankind was as guilty as taking a side as
the evil creatures that shared our planet. Yet, this girl.
This
girl
stood apart, a different being entirely. Something good
yet strong, something virtuous yet spirited. She had captivated me
with every part of her and I didn’t even know her yet. There was so
much to explore, so much more to her to discover.

“Reagan, do you trust me?” I read the lips of
her friend as he whispered. He practically begged her to listen to
reason and I held still, frozen in place while I waited to see if
she would listen.

“Vaughan, your brothers,” she beseeched him
with wide eyes. I had been right then- he was related to the other
guys. The first victory of many more to come with these people.

Vaughan visibly winced and his face shuttered
with helplessness. Just when I thought he would bend down to
retrieve his gun, he whispered something to Reagan that I couldn’t
make out from this distance.

Neither moved for a long moment. Reagan’s
firearm still clenched in her fingers. She looked uncertain for
just a moment before one of my men drew their attention when he
stepped on a branch. The cracking twig snapped loudly in the tense
stillness, accomplishing exactly what we’d planned to. They both
whirled around to the direction of the aggressive sound. I took the
opportunity given to me. I had a goal and three steps forward took
me to her. One arm snaked around her slim waist and the barrel of
my gun pressed gently into her temple.

I wouldn’t shoot her unless my own life was
in danger, but I needed to establish my authority immediately. She
didn’t fight me, she didn’t flail or scream or even prickle with
fear. She stood strong in my arms, a separate entity from me, even
while I desperately wanted to pull her body against my chest and
let her melt into my skin.

Her body was warm and vibrating with life.
Her taut muscles- tight from her hard life but not interrupting the
subtle curves of her hips, thighs and breasts- flexed beneath my
touch. She was feminine perfection: grace, the smallest hints of
delicateness and an easy self-presence that hinted she knew exactly
who she was and didn’t apologize for anything. This world had maybe
stripped away her trust and replaced it with paranoia, probably
sucked out her refinement and civility only to replace them with
the hard will to survive and a ruthless cunning developed over
years of living on the road. But she felt elegant in my large,
brutish arms, she felt tiny and vulnerable pressed against the
sweat of my towering body.

I looked down at her, at the bend of her jaw,
the arch of her lovely throat, the sweet fullness of her lips and
felt my body harden behind hers, come fully to attention- awaken as
if for the first time. She smelled like cool morning, smoky wood
and hard work; but on her it was delicious and intoxicating.

She wore a thin, canvas backpack filled with
hard metal and gun-barrel shaped items. I knew she carried a small
arsenal, but in that moment I was thankful for the separation
between us. I would work up to touching her full body with the
length of mine. But it had been too long since I’d held a woman
flush against me to take that step now- in the presence of others.
When we finally connected, we would be alone and she would be
willing- not held at gunpoint.

I had lost my soul out of necessity, not
because I relished being a monster.

There were certain lines that I would not
cross- not even with a gift like this.

Reagan stiffened under my hold and flipped
her head so that I got a face full of that luscious dark hair.
Without fear or reservation, she tilted her chin in defiance and
said to her friend, “I told you the woods were a terrible
idea!”

I felt my lips turn into another
uncharacteristic smile and almost chuckled at her obstinacy. Even
while I found her quick wit and stubborn fearlessness entertaining,
I had to disagree with her. The woods had been an excellent
idea.

At least in my opinion.

Chapter Two

“Son of a bitch,” she hissed her curse. I
could only assume she realized just how unescapable her predicament
was now with my gun resting on her smooth skin.

Still, the coarse language sat ill with me.
This girl, with her virginity and loveliness, shouldn’t be cursing.
It was an archaic thought, completely outdated, especially in this
ugly world that lacked anything moral or civilized. I couldn’t help
it though, I expected more from her.

“Instead of talking about my mother, why
don’t you obey the command?” I spoke firmly but softly against her
temple. I allowed myself the pleasure of touching my lips to her
skin. I let myself have a moment to drink her in, taste her,
breathe her. She tensed further beneath me, so with all of my
strength I forced my mouth away from her and waited patiently for
her to obey.

When she didn’t immediately comply, my arm
tightened around her waist, flexing and imprisoning her further so
she could feel the strength of my body matched against the
fragility of hers. Her friend turned around, pulling a gun from his
back. He lunged forward with the intent to protect her, but he
hadn’t yet learned the most important lesson of the day. She wasn’t
his anymore.

She was mine.

Vaughan
had his weapon ready to fire
with impressive quickness; the unforgiving barrel faced me in less
than three seconds. I wondered for a moment if I had underestimated
this stranger’s proficiency. Not that it would do him any good now,
but he could be an asset in our future.

If he learned to take orders.

If he learned to submit to my authority.

On cue, Creed and Austen stepped from their
hiding places and aimed their equally dangerous firearms at the
back of Vaughan’s head. He felt the threat to his life before a
word was spoken; his shoulders tightened with unease. My boys would
not miss, and they would not hesitate. I felt confident Vaughan
instinctively knew those important pieces of information.

Reagan shook her head and I felt her resolve
shift. She wouldn’t let her friend be hurt at her expense. Either
she was extremely loyal or able to see the uselessness of fighting
us- both were valuable assets to add to this girl’s plus column.
She took a deep breath and I felt her lungs expand under the cage
of my forearm. The small movement pressed our bodies closer
together and so I breathed in with her, letting her pull me under
some kind of spell, fill my chest, wrap around me until there was
only us and nothing more.

I should be terrified of my instant response
to her, the way she seemed to take hold of my thoughts and control
so immediately. But I was an opportunist, I had to be in the wake
of the global destruction we survived in, and she was my
opportunity- my windfall. To let something like this pass me by
would be foolish.