Ned Chalmers stood on the porch. “Sorry to interrupt your dinner, folks, but we’ve voted and we’ll be going with you in the morning.”
“I think it’s the right decision,” jeff said with no touch of gloating in his voice. “We’re leaving at dawn so be advised you’ll need everyone packed up and in the vehicles by then.”
“We—we’ll meet the deadline.” Ned lowered his eyes and retreated. “Thanks for making it possible,” he said as he descended the steps.
Tamsyn felt an easing of the stress in her shoulders. “I’m glad they decided to go. I was so worried about them, all the children especially.”
* * *
Tamsyn sat with the others for another hour or two, playing cards and talking. Eventually Melly and Jeff retired to their bedroom, after the captain made another tour of the perimeter and checked in with his men. Mike bedded down on the couch with Buddy warming his feet and Tamsyn retreated to the room she and Cody were to share. She sat on the bed for a while, trying to shake off her memories of the incident in the hot springs earlier but nothing helped. Stripping to her underwear, she crawled under the covers and attempted to go to sleep. Each time she drifted off the face of the infected in the pond appeared in her dreams and she woke with a stifled scream and trembling hands.
The door opened softly and Cody walked in, trying not to make any noise. “Still awake?” he whispered.
“Can’t sleep. Today was….too much. Brought up other bad memories too,” she admitted.
He stripped off his uniform and stood in the moonlight naked. Tamsyn’s core heated at the sight of his chiseled body limned in the silver light and his cock jutting out hard and proud. She moved over so he could lie down and the moment when Cody took her into his arms and they were pressed tight against each other was pure bliss. She closed her eyes in gratitude for having met this man. The tip of his cock nudged her folds and she ached to open her legs and take him. ”Mike’s on the couch,” she reminded Cody.
“How quiet can you be?” Cody ran his hands over her butt and her back and toyed with her breast, lowering his head to take a taste of one pebbled tip. “I think you need this,” he whispered in her ear before kissing her fiercely.
She relaxed as they kissed and he slipped inside her the first inch or two. Without thinking she inclined her hips to draw him further inside and Cody obliged with a long, slow thrust until he was fully seated.
“We’ll take this slow and easy,” he told her. “There’s no rush tonight.”
“I need you,” she said on a whimper as he moved inside her and her nerve endings lit up with the stimulation. “Please.”
“Your wish is my command,” he said with a grin she saw in the pale light.
Tamsyn didn’t know how long they made love but it was leisurely and Cody totally took charge, caressing and stroking and kissing, his hands and mouth busy while his cock stretched and stimulated her. He kept her on the edge for a long time but she couldn’t complain because it made the orgasm even more powerful when he finally increased the rhythm of his thrusts and told her, “Come for me now, sweetheart.”
She did, biting her lip so hard she was afraid it would bleed, in order not to scream her pleasure and wake everyone else in the cabin. Cody lowered his lips to hers and took the exhalation, quieting it with his mouth and tongue.
They lay together afterward, limp and sated. Tamsyn pillowed her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes, falling into a dreamless sleep almost immediately. Cody was a lifesaver in more ways than one.
* * *
All too soon he was waking her up, shaking her shoulder gently. “Time to rise and shine. Even if the sun isn’t up yet. I brought you a basin of warm water and a washcloth. Better get dressed and join us in the main room for what’s going to serve as breakfast today.”
“Not more rations,” she grumbled, rising from the bed and going to the bureau where he’d placed the basin.
“You guessed the menu in one,” he joked. “The captain is serious about leaving at dawn. I let you sleep in as long as I could.” He came up behind her to give her a hug and then left the room.
Tamsyn wasn’t going to be sorry to see the last of the hot springs park although she had a fondness for the tiny cabin, having been thoroughly made love to in the bedroom last night. When she got to the main room, she found the soldiers had already gone. Melly and Mike were packing up the few belongings they’d unpacked upon arrival.
“Your ration is there on the table,” Melly said. “You may have to eat it in the APC though because Mike is champing at the bit to roll out.”
After dropping her backpack on the floor next to the table, Tamsyn opened her survival ration and forced herself to eat as much of it as she could, giving the rest to Buddy. The three of them filed out of the cabin, dog at Mike’s side and onto the porch. The engines were running in the two APC’s and Cody waited for them beside APC1.
“Captain says go ahead and take your seats,” he relayed as he took their packs and hastily stowed them in the cargo compartment before slamming it shut.
“Where is he?” Melly asked.
“He and Ryan are checking over the civilian convoy, making sure everything is ready for departure. The kids are all excited. At least someone is having fun today.”
The novelty of riding in the APC had worn off for Tamsyn a long time ago but she walked inside and took her seat as ordered. Zach, at the controls, gave her a wave.
“You doing okay after yesterday?” he asked.
“I’m fine, thanks. Had a good night’s sleep, which will fix most issues.” Her expression was probably a little mischievous because all the credit for her recovery during the night was due to Cody but that was her secret to know and not to share.
