While I may want to know what the fuck he means, Rex can be even more stubborn than me. And I’m too damn cold to pull away from his furnace-like warmth to argue.
I close my eyes and focus on his heat, which chases away the icy chill inside me like a thousand suns. Nevertheless, I keep jerking awake every few minutes as the cold seeps into my bones.
Rex unzips the sleeping bag, then goes to his pack and pulls out a knitted hat, which he places on my head before getting back in.
He sighs, pulling me against his chest again. “You’re too damn skinny.”
No matter how much I try to deny it, I like the way he makes me feel cared for. Wanted. Safe.
I curl up into him, but this time . . . this time it’s for more than just warmth.
Chapter 6
We don’t hike far today. The biting wind persists, making it tough to stay warm, and we weren’t able to find any scarves in the town we just left.
But worse is Rex’s constant throat-clearing, which sounds wetter by the hour. And when he finally coughs, my stomach drops, twisting into knots.
What if he’s sick? What if he has the same thing that wiped out most of the population?
And I’m not going anywhere.
Only, if he gets sick, he will.
Thinking about losing the bastard twists me up inside worse than anything I’ve ever felt.
He looks over at me, one brow arched. “You good?”
I nod.
“Sure? You look kinda pale.”
With a grunt, I pick up my pace. “Let’s go, old man.”
The next abandoned town we come across is as bleak as my current mood. Rotting leaves and animal claw marks are the only signs of life.
We take shelter in a dingy little blue house with intact windows. Rex shakes out the musty bedding, then piles on every tattered blanket he can scrounge up.
“Eat first, then take a quick nap,” he instructs, voice raspy and weak. “I’ll search around, see if I can find better winter gear.”
“I can help.”
“You get the fuck under the covers. Don’t argue with me.”
While I want to ignore him, my body sinks farther into the mattress as exhaustion sets in. Hard.
He hands me some dried-out meat and nuts. “Eat up.”
I swat at his hand, my eyes nearly shut. “Fuck off.”
“Don’t start.”
With a groan I sit up and take the food.
Of course, the asshole stares at me, arms crossed over his chest until I finish every last bite.
When I’m done, I burrow under the mountain of moth-eaten blankets on the creaky bed. Rex tucks them snugly around me before heading out. Only he releases another cough, and my eyes go wide. “Old man, maybe you should lay the fuck down too.”
He snorts and walks out the bedroom door. I should follow him, only my eyes drift shut instead.
