V-Day: (M-Day #4) (26 page)

Aside from the food and water, all the cars were a bust. I didn
’
t know how to hot wire a car, unlike my brothers, so without someone carelessly leaving the keys behind, it didn
’
t matter if the tanks were full or not.

I kicked the ground in frustration.
“
Well, it looks like we
’
re going to have to keep hoofing it.
”
I stared down at Riley, wishing he would just wake up. I didn
’
t know how much farther I
’
d be able to carry him.

“
Need some help?
”

I laughed with delight when I saw Ty and Nyx standing at the side of the road, her small form shadowed by his larger one. Without another thought, I ran and jumped into my twin
’
s arms.
“
Thank fucking God you
’
re okay!
”
I dropped back down to my feet and stepped away, checking him and then Nyx over visually for injuries.
“
You guys are good? Yeah? What about everyone else?
”

“
Everyone
’
s fine. We just got a little sidetracked.
”

Relief washed over me.
“
You need to take a look at Riley. Something
’
s not right with him. He collapsed twice now, and then had what seemed like a seizure. He hasn
’
t woken up from the last one yet.
”

“
It could be
—”

“
Wait. There
’
s more. The last time he was awake
—
his eyes weren
’
t as ice blue as before, and he was more like himself. The real Riley
—
the non-infected Riley.
”

“
I
’
m not sure what I can do here on the side of the road without any equipment or
—”

“
Just check him, please!
”
Now that Ty and Nyx were there, the full force of my exhaustion slammed into me, and I dropped to the ground, the energy left to stand failing me. Nyx kneeled down next to me.

“
How about you? How are you doing?
”
Her small features were pinched with concern.

“
I
’
ve been better.
”
I smiled, at least I think I did. I
’
m not so sure my face actually moved or my brain just wanted it to.
“
Things are looking up now that you guys are here.
”
I squinted up at the sun and yawned.
“
I just need a little nap.
”
I curled into a ball on the pavement, using my arm as a pillow. I was out as soon as my eyes slid shut.

I was assaulted by nightmares, one bleeding into the next.

Riley stood with his back to me, the sound of a baby crying reached my ears. Before I could say anything or approach him, several I-Monsters materialized out of thin air, rushing me. I lifted the gun in my hand and fired. Both I-Monsters kept coming, and I turned to run, but I was stuck in quicksand. The faster I ran, the more I sank.

“
Riley, help!
”
I called in panic.

“
Why did you kill him, Viv? He
’
s absolutely perfect.
”
Riley was suddenly in front of me, holding a newborn baby that I knew was ours.

“
No, it
’
s not like that. You know I would never
—“

“
You
’
re a murderer. You killed our baby and thousands of other children. It
’
s all your fault.
”

I was sucked under, and the quicksand spit me out the other side. I landed in a hard chair in Doctor Greensley
’
s lab.

“
Vi, it
’
s up to you. And don
’
t forget about your blood.
”
I looked down to see that I was completely covered in red gore.

“
What is this?
”
I tried wiping it off but it was everywhere. Ice blue eyes flashed above me.

“
The answer.
”

Grunts echoed in my head as pain lanced my middle.
“
Look at me when I fuck you, bitch.
”

I screamed, startling myself awake.

Strong arms were wrapped around my middle, a large warm body pressed up behind me, spooning. I inhaled sharply, recognizing the feel of the man behind me instantly from instinct.
“
Riley?
”
I rasped.

“
Yeah, it
’
s me.
”

I rolled around to face him, meeting dark blue eyes instead of the ice blue ones I
’
d expected. I danced my fingertips along his brows before skimming them along the scruff on his face.
“
How is this possible? Does it mean what I think it means?
”

“
Yeah, it
’
s me again. At least for the moment.
”

I didn
’
t ask what he meant, or bother to take stock of our surroundings. I pressed my lips fiercely against his, wanting to crawl inside of him. I threw my leg over his hip trying to get closer as I swept my tongue into his mouth. He kissed me back with equal fervor, his hands sliding down to cup my ass before yanking me against him.

God, I missed you so much.
But I didn
’
t speak the words out loud. I couldn
’
t bring myself to break away from our kiss. I wanted to drown in Riley, to taste him until I no longer knew where he ended and I began. He rocked against me, seeking friction, causing me to moan when his boxer clad erection pressed into my core. I undulated my hips, begging for more.

“
I need you,
”
I gasped into his mouth.

Somehow not managing to break our kiss, he yanked my pants off and then his boxers. With one quick thrust he filled me up completely. I wrapped my legs around his waist, locking my feet behind his back. He pulled out slowly, torturously, before slamming back into me.

How he touched me, and moved against me, even his kiss was different than it was before.
This is my Riley, one hundred percent him.
He was making love to me, as stupid as it sounded, not merely fucking me. We
’
d been missing part of our connection before when he
’
d been becoming or was an I-Man. Whatever it was
…
our connection was back for the first time since M-Day. I felt like I was finally home again.

I dug my nails into his ass, trying to make him go faster, but he refused to relinquish control. I bit his lower lip in frustration, and he growled low in his throat, smiling against my lips. When he dipped his head to suck on one of my nipples through my shirt, I threw my head back and screamed,
“
Riley, please! Faster! Harder! Maaguhh
…”
My words turned incoherent when he finally obeyed.

He plunged into me, over and over, faster and faster, his flesh slamming against mine. All I could do was cling to him for dear life until my body erupted in a volcanic orgasm, burning me alive. A few moments later, just as I was coming down from my bliss, Riley groaned, pressing his face into my neck as he pulsed within me. An idle thought about not using protection wafted through the post-coital fog in my brain, since Riley was no longer an I-Man and sterile, but I quickly dismissed it.

I sifted my hands through Riley
’
s sweaty hair and then ran them down his damp back. Neither one of us said anything, both of us wanting to just exist in that moment of peace for just a little while longer. Now I truly understood what Nyx had talked about before
—
about taking the little moments with the one you loved because you didn
’
t know when they would be the last. I
’
d come so close to losing Riley so many times. If something happened to one of us in the future, I wanted to know that we made the most of the moments we did get to enjoy together. I thought that
’
s what I
’
d been doing before when we
’
d been together in the woods, but that hadn
’
t been one hundred percent him, and therefore I hadn
’
t fully grasped the concept.

“
No! No! No! I
’
m scarred for life!
”
Ty
’
s voice met my ears. It was only then I realized that Riley and I were in the backseat of a large sedan. I snickered.
Just like high school, getting it on in the back seat of a car.
“
Riley, man! You
’
re my best friend but I don
’
t need to see your naked ass
—
and that
’
s my sister!
”

“
I love you,
”
Riley whispered. He gave me a quick kiss, a wink and then pulled out of me, before quickly yanking up his boxers and helping me with my pants. He jumped out of the car first, where I got out kind of sheepishly, feeling my cheeks heat.

“
I know you and Vi have been together, but I don
’
t need to actually
know
…
you know?
”
Ty blathered on.
“
It
’
s pretty close to walking in on your parents. I mean you know they had to have done it or you wouldn
’
t exist but
—”

“
We weren
’
t really thinking,
”
Riley rumbled, his voice still rough. He reached behind him and tugged me forward and into his side.
“
I
’
m not going to explain myself to you, besides you know I love her, man.
”

“
You broke her heart,
”
Ty snapped, surprising me.
“
Just because
—”

“
He didn
’
t break my heart.
”
I glanced up at Ty, trying to decide how much to tell him. I
’
d kept the abortion secret from even him. I
’
d refused to divulge any real details about what happened between Riley and me, so obviously he
’
d come to his own conclusions.
“
We were just young and stupid.
”

“
But I
—”

“
You handle your business, I
’
ll handle mine. Got it?
”
Ty scrunched up his face and looked away, which I knew to take as a yes. Riley
’
s grip on me tightened slightly as he chuckled.

“
Now,
”
I swept my gaze over our new cityscape surroundings.
“
Where are we and what the hell happened while I was sleeping?
”

Nyx grinned and rolled her eyes at Ty who was still grumbling under his breath about being traumatized.
“
Turns out we weren
’
t that far away from New York City after all. We found some fully loaded vehicles and were here in no time. We let you sleep, since you seemed to need it. Max, Zee, Evo and X are out scouting.
”

“
How long was I out for?
”

“
Just a few hours,
”
Riley said, his fingers caressing my shoulder, eliciting a shiver from me. I leaned into him, resting my head against his chest.

“
So what? You just woke up normal? Does anyone have a clue what happened?
”

Ty finally seemed to get himself under control.
“
Yeah, he
’
s still infected, of that I have no doubt. But like me, Zee, and X, I think the virus mutated within his system, creating symptoms specific to him.
”

“
Which are what? And why didn
’
t the lot of you turn into I-Men?
”
I tapped my chin, musing out loud.
“
What made your systems different? If we can figure that out then we
’
ll be one step closer to the cure.
”

“
It may take some time for us to see the full scope of exactly how the virus effected Riley. It did for all of us when we first
…
changed. We were unstable at first, or didn
’
t know what we were dealing with, and then things just kind of sorted themselves out. Kind of what I think was going on with Riley
’
s seizures.
”
Ty grinned, his eyes glowing with scientific fervor.
“
And I
’
ve got some ideas why. With what we already knew and these developments, plus with the resources we
’
ll have once we make it out
—”