“Privacy,” I grunt. Striding into her bathroom, I yank the knob to turn on the shower.
It doesn’t take long for steam to fill the small space.
Clothes and all, I step under the downpour, fighting the shiver that always hits from the stimulation.
And holding her in my arms makes it twice the struggle to not come in my pants.
Her honey scented shampoo helps to dampen the wet dog smell that sticks to her skin.
My fingers bury into her golden locks, slowly massaging the soap against her scalp.
She tilts her head and looses a low moan. “God, that feels good.”
I want to erase every trace of that monster, inside and out.
“Did you mean it?” I whisper against her ear. “That you wished it was me?”
Her eyes had been so serious, free of any teasing or fire.
They were raw, begging, pleading for me to be the one to rescue her.
I need to know it wasn’t just because I was the lesser evil.
Her slippery body twists in my grasp, pressing her naked breasts against my belly.
“Hudson, every day I have to remind myself that you’re the enemy. It’s the only thing keeping this from happening.” She blinks quickly, her tears mixing with the rivulets of hot water.
“Jen—” I falter. Is this the moment where I quit everything I’ve worked for?
Her lips purse watching my indecision. When they thin and she begins to turn away, I know what I have to do.
“—I’m like you,” I say in a rush, pausing her with my thumb on her jaw. “I’m here trying to find my daughter.” It feels as if a weight lifts from my shoulders.
One I’ve carried in silence, alone, for too many years.
Her chin trembles, then she slowly reaches up through the cascade to wipe the gray from my temples. “I knew you were different. Tell me the truth, Hud. I’ll know if you’re lying.”
I take a deep breath knowing it’s no use trying to still my racing heart.
“When the virus hit, I was twenty-four.” Even that admission is terrifying.
Her eyes flicker between mine as I’m sure she’s calculating.
“Yea, I’m almost fifty.” Looking in the mirror won’t show that. It’s only been the use of shitty cover-ups that I’ve tried to look my true age.
A smile lifts the corner of her lip. “How did you make it in? They have such strict rules…”
I don’t feel the scratch until she’s staring at my neck.
Of course she’d test me.
Arching my throat, I let her watch the wound heal over and disappear. I’ve seen it happen so many times in a hurry to shave in the mornings.
“Hud,” she breathes out. “You really are.” Her wary gaze fills with wonder.
Then her brows drop. “And all this time you let them treat me like a piece of fucking livestock.”
Grabbing her wrists, I pin them against my chest before she follows through with the flash of hatred I see in her glare. “I was trying to find my daughter. They took her, Jen. She’s been here, in the system. She’s like us, maybe even faster healing.”
