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As the movie unfolded, I spent more time watching Ashleigh than the screen. And I couldn’t stop touching her. I grazed my fingers over her arm then stroked her leg, sliding my fingers all the way up between her thighs. Then I teased her there until she groaned and her eyes closed. By the time Westley and Buttercup were fighting the Rodents of Unusual Size, I was between Ashleigh’s thighs, bringing her off with my hands and mouth.

After she came, no question about that this time, I rolled onto my back and she straddled me. Spilled popcorn crunched beneath my back as I thrust into her until lights exploded behind my closed eyelids.

I felt like a starving man offered a banquet and gorging. I couldn’t get enough of her. Later, as the hero in the movie was resurrected from the dead, we came together again, less desperately this time. I filled her slow and easy, pushing into her from behind as I admired the curve of her neck, the line of her back, the profile of her face against the pillow. As our bodies slapped together, once more I felt the rising urgency grow until my body couldn’t contain it. I groaned and shuddered and drove deeply into the shelter of her body as if it were a refuge from which I’d never emerge.

Afterward, Ashleigh stroked the hair from my sweating forehead and gave me a kiss. “Who knew popcorn and The Princess Bride could be such an aphrodisiac?” She smiled at me. “You should really think about going with us. If you don’t know how to ride a motorcycle, you can ride behind me.”

I studied the dark outer ring of her irises surrounding that amazing pale blue. “You should think about staying here. Durbinville’s not so bad.”

Ashleigh didn’t answer but scooted down in the bed and rearranged the pillows. She curled up beside me as Westley rescued Buttercup. I wrapped my arm around her and closed my eyes.

When I opened them again, the TV screen was blue and someone was pounding on the door. I jumped out of bed and threw on Mr. Bailey’s bathrobe. The gray light coming through the bedroom window told me it was nearly morning. Ashleigh put on the other robe and we hurried to the front door.

Once more Fes waited there. He looked back and forth between us in our matching Bailey robes and his expression said
Good job, Pasman
as clearly as if he’d spoken aloud. “Daylon said you’d be here. Why are you here instead of at your house?”

I ignored the question. “What’s going on?”

He looked at Ashleigh. “One of your group showed up at the gate about an hour ago. A girl named Tanesha. She’s alive.”

* * * * *

Chapter Ten

“
I raised my hands and said ‘Don’t shoot. I’m not a damn zombie!’” Tanesha concluded her tale. “I wasn’t about to get killed after I made it through all that.”

“
You’re safe now. You’ll be okay.” I put my arm around her shoulders and hugged her.

“
I don’t think so, Ashleigh,” she muttered. “I highly fucking doubt any of us will be okay.”

Tanesha resumed eating the plate of eggs and toast someone had brought her and glared at the people grouped around the conference table, both townies and the remains of our group. “I can’t believe you left me out there. Why didn’t anybody come back for me?”

“
We did,” Fes answered. “Yesterday morning we stopped at the Wilkins farm to check for survivors before going to warn the other farmers.”

“
Yesterday?” Tanesha’s full lips were drawn into a tight line. She stared at Daylon. “You should have searched that same night. I was waiting for you. I counted on you to come for me.”

“
We didn’t think anyone had survived. We only found dead bodies and a few zombies,” Fes said.

“
That’s because I’d already taken off in that damn pickup, numbnuts. But first I hid out all night, freezing my ass off in the cornfield because I didn’t dare go into the house. When I finally got a chance to make a run for one of the trucks, the damned thing was a stick shift. Why don’t they teach you that in driver’s training? By the time I got it moving, I was surrounded by zombies, then a mile down the road the thing runs out of gas. I’ve been running, hiding, circling around and getting lost in the corn since then. And
no one came looking for me
!”

“
You’re right. I should have come. I’m sorry,” Daylon said.

“
We were sure everybody but us was dead,” I added.

“
Oh, there’s plenty of dead out there but I’m not one of them. They’re headed this way and we’ve got to get out of town before we’re surrounded.”

“
Yes, I think it
would
be best if you left town,” Janice Myers spoke from her seat at the head of the table. “A few people came to me last night to ask about some sort of incident in their neighborhood. They said some of you warned them to keep their doors locked and later told them it was a safety preparedness drill. What exactly happened yesterday? Is this some new program you’ve instituted on your own, Brian?”

“
What the hell?” Santa didn’t sound so jolly. “What’s going on?”

Everyone remained silent for a beat before Daylon answered. “I wasn’t honest with you when we arrived, Ms. Myers. I hid the fact that a boy in our group was sick. We wanted to give him a chance to recover in comfort. If it turned out he was infected, I planned to take care of the situation. But the boy improved. Yesterday morning he was completely normal and we thought the crisis was past.”

I interrupted Daylon. “Yesterday, I returned to Brian’s house to find Lainie dead and Jeff missing. We found him and killed him.” I glanced at Jake, whose face paled as he listened. He knew what this indicated about Maureen’s bite. Just because she’d shown no signs of fever, didn’t mean she was well.

“
You brought an infected person into this town,” Nancy practically shrieked then glared at Brian. “And
you
knew about it?”

“
Brian found us searching for the boy so we had to tell him,” I lied easily. “He was the one who killed Jeff.”

“
We didn’t think you’d give us sanctuary if you knew so we kept quiet,” Daylon said. “My call. My mistake. But it’s over now with no harm done.”

“
This is outrageous. You put the entire town in danger!” Nancy’s shrill tone was really grating on my last nerve. Even Janice Myers’ voice didn’t sound so annoying when she spoke.

“
You should’ve told me about the boy. He would’ve been quarantined and no one would have been put at risk. And Brian, you should’ve told me as soon as you found out.”

“
We asked him to give us one more night before he ‘turned us in’,” Daylon added a sarcastic edge to the words. “The damage was already done and it was already late in the day. Too late to find other shelter. But we’re leaving now just as soon as we pack.”

“
You damn well better believe you will. We should throw your asses out of town,” Angry Santa said.

“
Richard can’t ride with his broken arm,” I interrupted desperate to slow things down. I wasn’t ready to go, but it no longer looked like staying was an option. “And Maureen…”

“
She’s fine.” Jake rose abruptly from his chair. “But she needs that vaccination. We’ve got to go somewhere they have it. Topeka’s the closest city, right? So we should go there.“ He braced his hands on the table and leaned threateningly toward Myers. “Tell your people to let her out now. We’re leaving.”

“
All of us,” Daylon added. “Richard can ride with Carl or drive a car. You must have some abandoned ones around town.”

Myers stared at him as if unable to believe his presumptuousness. “There’s no extra gas or supplies for you. I have an entire town to take care of. You’ll have to find what you need on the road.”

I waited for Daylon to lose his temper but he was chock full of cool, accepting her right to put her people first. “I guess there’s nothing else to be said then. I apologize for the lie and thank you for your town’s hospitality.” He rose and left the room. Jake and the other guys followed.

Tanesha pushed back from the table. “Thank you for breakfast. And thanks a bundle for letting us work as your field hands and getting half of us killed. Smart idea, letting visitors do your grunt labor.”

Things were moving too fast with no time to discuss or make a plan. The countryside was crawling with zombies and we were about to head out into them. So far our motorcycles had proven a good way to travel, easy on gas and able to skirt traffic jams. We’d dodged zombies all along our way, but hadn’t come across a really large group yet. I was full of doubt about this journey. Or maybe I just didn’t want to leave Brian. Last night had been— corny as it sounded—special. I wasn’t ready to say goodbye.

I’d been with my fair share of men for entertainment’s sake, no depth to it, and knew what that felt like. And there’d been a couple I’d imagined I was in love with, like my first high school boyfriend who’d stolen my virginity and my heart and done a great job of smashing both. That hadn’t been real love at all, but with Brian I felt something different because he was a completely different sort of person. For the first time I felt like a partner instead of an appendage. He’d listen to me and talk
with
me not at me. We could have the kind of relationship I’d always wanted and never known how to have. But only if I stayed, which it was pretty clear the council wouldn’t allow. Or if Brian came with me.

I followed the others from the meeting room. Myers asked Brian to remain behind and I found myself alone in the hallway with Fes.

“
We need to talk,” he said.

“
About what?”

“
About Brian. He’s not the kind of guy you usually go for is he?”

“
So?” I didn’t like the way he was looking at me as if I was a cockroach on his kitchen floor.

“
I don’t mean to be a dick, but you guys came into our town lying which doesn’t give me a good feeling. And you strike me as the kind of girl who blows where the wind takes you, hook up with whoever suits your needs at the moment. I don’t want you to mess with Brian’s head, get him to follow you down the road then burn him. He’s a good guy. He doesn’t deserve that.”

“
I wouldn’t.”

He shrugged his hulking, former linebacker shoulders. “I may not have lived anywhere besides Durbinville but I know your type. Needy. Suck what you can from a guy and then move on.”

“
You sound like you’re speaking from experience.” I scorched him with my eyes. “Maybe some bimbo cheerleader who cheated with your best friend?”

His brief silence confirmed my wild guess. “I’m not talking about me. Like I said, I hate being a dick, but this is too important for me to keep my mouth shut. Don’t use Brian. He’s already half in love with you I can tell. Go on your way. It’ll hurt him, but not as much as it would later.”

There was really no response for that besides, “Fuck you, Fes!” which is what I said.

I stalked away, shaking with fury at his two-bit assessment of me and hurting as if I’d been slapped. Because I
had
done some of the things he’d said, used my sex appeal to get men to do things for me, come close to sleeping with them for favors, which might not make me a whore but close to it. I’d sometimes lost myself to become what some guy needed me to be. Despite the vow I’d sworn to myself when I was a kid, I’d turned out a hell of a lot like my mom.

Had been
. Wasn’t anymore. That was the key. I was changing, and with Brian I could be even better. This wasn’t just another fuck ‘n’ flee situation. This was my chance at a better life. But Fes, that fucker, had polluted it, stirring up muddy waters of self-doubt.

I caught up with the rest of the group at the jail where they waited for Maureen to be released. She looked as healthy as ever. And happy. Evidently Jake hadn’t told her about Jeff and Lainie yet. Myers must have called down to the jail because someone was already unlocking her cell. She rushed into Jake’s arms as if they hadn’t seen each other for weeks.

“
All right. Let’s be ready to go within the hour,” Daylon said. “Check your gear and your machine. Carl, you want to pick up Richard?” He turned to Fes. “Will you give us all a ride back to the house?”

“
Of course. I’ll stay with you and escort you out of town.” Fes tried to make it sound like he was doing us a service, but it was obvious he was our guard.

I felt panicked like a bird trapped in a house and flying into walls. I was being swept along by currents into a decision that seemed inevitable. Of course I would leave with my group, and of course Brian would stay here. There’d never been any real doubt.