Erin M. Leaf (7 page)

Chapter Six

Ben pulled into the campground, carefully driving up past the bathrooms and along the woods until he got to the last site, nestled along the edge of the trees. When he turned off the engine, the three of them sat there for a minute, listening. The only sounds were the engine
cooling down and the birds chattering in the woods. The brook that stretched the length of the campground ran clear—no debris other than the tumbled rocks at the bottom broke the water’s flow. No one else was here. Sunlight spangled over the ragged grass growing up between worn tire-tracks—it had been a long time since anyone had been here. It looked just like he remembered it.

“
I think we’re good,” he said, opening the door and getting out. He rolled his shoulders, trying to ease the crick in his neck from driving, then grabbed the shotgun Dillon held out.

“
Wait up, Ben,” Dillon said, getting out of his side of the car. He shut the door, then leaned down and spoke through the open window. “Would you mind staying with the car?” he asked Lark.

She had her hand on her door, but nodded and settled back against the seat.
“Sure.”

Ben lifted an eyebrow at Dillon who shrugged slightly.

“We need someone to bail us out if we have to run for it.”

“
Let’s hope that we don’t have to run for it,” Ben said, not liking the thought of more driving without any rest. “We need to eat and I don’t know about you, but I’d like to sleep sometime.”

“
Food sounds good,” Dillon said lightly. “We have canned carrots and canned beans. Yum.”

Ben rolled his eyes.
“We also have hot dogs. They should still be good.” They’d cautiously raided an abandoned gas station earlier in the afternoon. The freezer had enough ice in it to keep some of the food from spoiling. “Someone must have planned ahead with that place.”

“
Yeah, well, they won’t be needing the food now,” Dillon said, walking ahead. “It was definitely abandoned, and quickly, too, from the looks of it.”

Ben grimaced, thinking about how on edge he
’d been as they’d looked through the place. They’d had to stop. They needed the gas and supplies, but he hadn’t enjoyed walking through it, worrying about Lark and Dillon and the possibility of zombies around every corner.
Kind of like how I’m feeling right now,
he thought, slowly walking down the campground until he reached the bathrooms.

“
We should go in and check,” Dillon said quietly.

Ben sighed.
“Yeah.” He started forward, alert to anything out of the ordinary, but all was quiet. When he opened the door, Dillon kept his shotgun raised, but the place was empty. They checked every stall and the showers. “It’s clear.” He looked up at the windows at the top of the cement blocks that formed the walls. There was metal fencing outside every one, heavy gauge. Enough to keep out anything short of a tank. “I bet they put the metal there to keep bears out.”

Dillon nodded.
“It’ll work to keep zombies out, too.”

Ben felt some of the tension that had lodged in his spine slowly unspool.
“We hit the jackpot. Finally.”

“
We sure did.” Dillon tucked his shotgun under his arm and idly turned on a faucet. A stream of clean water came out. “Whoa. Water’s still working. I was afraid to hope.”

Ben tried the hot water. The pipes coughed a little, but then the water warmed up and poured out, steaming.
“I’ll be damned. That’s still working, too.”

“
The place must be on its own power grid or something,” Dillon said, sounding tired.

“
I don’t care why it works. This means we can all have hot showers,” Ben said, smiling. “Let’s go tell Lark.”

****

A few hours later, Ben stretched his legs out in front of the campfire. He was clean, full, and sleepy. They’d pitched their tent near the car for safety. Dillon had strung up a line of cans along the tree line to alert them to zombies. They might be deadly and strong, but they were dumb, thank God. They’d probably walk right through the makeshift alarm.

“
I’m ready to hit the sack,” Dillon said, yawning. He tossed the stick he’d been using to poke at the fire into the coals.

Ben watched him get up, eyes lingering on
Dillon’s strong legs and wide shoulders. Honestly, he’d been looking at Dillon for years, but this time, for the first time, he let Dillon catch him looking. He didn’t glance away when Dillon stretched, when he ran his hands through his still damp hair, or when he finally looked down, meeting Ben’s gaze. It felt like he was zipping open his skin and letting Dillon see into his soul. It was strange and uncomfortable and also oddly freeing, all at the same time.

Unexpectedly, Dillon
’s face relaxed into a slow smile. “Are you coming?” he asked quietly. When Ben didn’t reply right away, Dillon’s gaze shifted unhurriedly to Lark.

Jesus, why does he affect me so much?
Ben wondered. He licked his lips as Dillon tucked a finger into the waistband of his jeans, exposing a thin sliver of skin. Lark stared up, too, seemingly just as awestruck as Ben. He put a hand on her arm, stroking up her delicate skin with his fingertips, trying to make sense of his feelings. Dillon watched him touch her. Lark was so small and delicate, yet also so strong. She amazed him as much as Dillon.
How can I feel this way about her when we only just met?
He thought of Olivia, but then shoved his grief down, not wanting to think about his daughter right now. He needed respite from all the horror in his life, and Dillon and Lark were right here. Alive and beautiful and so very precious to him. He resolved not to question anything tonight. He’d save the guilt and worry for tomorrow.

“
I’m coming,” she said to Dillon, standing up.

Ben
’s hands fell away and his eyes dropped to her hips, enjoying the way they flared out below her waist.
God, I have it bad,
he thought, flicking his eyes back to his best friend. Dillon had pulled Lark into a hug, resting his head on hers for a moment, and then they were kissing, hot as fuck. Ben cock grew hard so fast he felt dizzy. “Damn,” he breathed, watching them.

Dillon bent Lark over, hands on her waist, and Ben could see the rigid outline of his cock through his jeans. He palmed himself, trying to keep
himself under control, but then Dillon slipped her t-shirt up and over her head. She wasn’t wearing a bra.

“
Fuck,” Ben said, standing up. He had to touch.

“
Dillon,” Lark gasped, hands in his hair. “I need more.”

“
Yeah,” Dillon said, licking down her collarbone.

When Ben moved closer, Dillon looked up, eyes dark in the flickering firelight. Ben stared at his friend, not sure what to do.

“Kiss me,” Dillon whispered.

Ben shuddered violently. He wanted to. Oh God, he wanted to, but he was scared. When Lark tugged at him, he let her pull him in, and then Dillon was kissing him, slow and
weirdly familiar and so fucking hot he gasped. When Dillon pulled back for air, he looked as wrecked as Ben felt.

“
Yeah, he’s good at that,” Lark murmured, then she tugged him down, kissing him too. Her mouth was smaller, but just as warm and intoxicating.

“
We need to get horizontal,” Dillon said, stepping away.

Ben barely heard him. He
kissed Lark, beautiful, sweet Lark, but his mind spun with thoughts of kissing Dillon, too. Lark turned her head to the side and he mouthed down her jaw, then Dillon was back, urging them into the tent.

Do I really want to do this?
Ben asked himself as he watched her duck into the opening, knowing that the three of them were making it all up as they went along.
Who falls in love with two people at the same time?
he wondered, confused and abruptly worried, but then Dillon tugged at his shirt and he gave in. He followed Dillon into the tent. Inside, the space was big enough for six people, and Lark had taken full advantage of it. She stretched out on their sleeping bags: shirt off, pants undone, so sexy Ben had to stop breathing for a moment. The locket he’d given her fell across her small breasts, glinting in the dim light. She smiled at him as the small lantern hanging from the center of the tent painted shadows across her curves.

“
Don’t get cold feet now, Ben,” she said huskily.

Dillon zipped the tent shut behind him, then
leaned up against Ben, making him tremble.

“
He’s not,” Dillon said, kissing under Ben’s ear. “No cold feet, Ben.”

Ben groaned, suddenly overwhelmed.
“What are we doing?” he asked.

Dillon held Ben even tighter.
“We’re celebrating.” His voice was tight with all the things they couldn’t say. Things like
Olivia is gone
and
maybe we’ll die tomorrow
and
I don’t want to stop.

Lark sat up.
“We’re celebrating being alive.”

Fuck. They’re right. I can’t spend the rest of my life in mourning.
Ben took a deep breath and nodded. “Okay.”

****

Lark watched Ben as he absorbed what she and Dillon had said. When his shoulders relaxed and he leaned into Dillon, she knew he’d worked past the terrible memories that haunted the three of them, at least for now. She held out her arms.

Ben went to his knees and ducked his head down, kissing from her waist to her breasts, and then Dillon was there, too. He pulled at Ben
’s t-shirt until he took it off. Lark let her hands roam all over the incredible perfection of Ben’s chest. She could hardly believe that he was Olivia’s father. He didn’t seem old enough to have had a daughter in college. She could hardly believe that she was making love with her best friend’s dad.

Enough. She
’s gone. At least you have this,
she told herself, sitting up and sliding her hands down his warm skin. She flicked his nipples and he smiled at her.

“
That doesn’t really work for me,” he said, kissing her again.

“
This does, though,” Dillon said, palming Ben’s straining erection through his jeans.

Ben broke the kiss, panting as his hips snapped forward into Dillon
’s fingers. “Jesus. Warn a guy when you’re going to do that.”

“That would take all the fun out of it.”
Dillon chuckled and worked at the zipper. Lark lay back down and watched Dillon undress Ben. When Dillon opened Ben’s jeans, his cock sprang out, thick and beautiful. Dillon cupped Ben’s balls and slid an arm around his waist, holding him still. “You want to taste?” he asked her.

Lark swallowed and nodded. She did
, badly. Ben’s eyes flared darkly when Dillon slid his hand up and grasped his dick, pointing it at her. “Here. Take your time.”

Ben
trembled as she scrambled to her knees. She put shaky hands onto Ben’s hips and he groaned.

“
I don’t know what I’m doing,” she whispered, looking up.

“
Do whatever the hell you want,” Ben growled. “You can’t really do this wrong.”

Dillon tightened his arm around Ben
’s waist until Lark could see the muscles pop. “Anything you do will feel good,” Dillon said, then smiled crookedly. “Well, almost anything. Try not to nick him with your teeth.”

Lark
smiled sympathetically. That would probably hurt. “Uh, yeah. I’ll be careful.”

Ben shivered and Lark dipped her head down. She licked the crown, surprised when she tasted salt.
“He’s wet,” she said, surprised.

“
Fuck,” Ben muttered, hands gripping Dillon’s arm.

“
Yeah.” Dillon’s voice was really low. “That’s because he’s really aroused right now.”

Lark nodded. So was she. Her pussy throbbed and she was tempted to touch herself, but… She blushed as her hand twitched.

“Go ahead,” Dillon said.

She frowned.
“What?”

“
You want to touch yourself. I can tell. Do it,” Dillon replied.

Ben made a sound in his throat
that had her breathing faster.

“
Seriously?” she asked, her face hot. Did they really want to see that?

“
God, yes,” Dillon replied. Ben looked like he was going to lose it.

Lark licked her lips, then slid a hand down to touch her pussy. She was slick and it felt so good. She watched the men as she played with her clit. Dillon sunk his teeth into Ben
’s shoulder. Ben shook and his cock grew thicker, amazingly. She wanted to taste him again, so she leaned down and licked the tip. More pre-cum beaded up as she swirled her tongue around and around.

“
Oh God,” Ben whimpered.

She leaned back.
“I didn’t hurt you, did I?” She had no idea what the hell she was doing.