I temporarily turned the alarm off, set it to re-engage once the door closed again, and stepped outside. Few settlers actually saw this side of the building, though I knew it was on the guards’ patrols. The guards who had protected our settlement from daily scourge attacks now mostly dealt with domestic issues, like the one I’d gotten myself stuck in earlier. Normally, I’d stay around and give a record of what happened, but today I’d taken the only opportunity I’d gotten and hightailed it out of there while I could.
I wondered whether Marco and his friends would get a second chance to stay in the settlement. Technically, they did do their share of the work and were actually quite pleasant to be around when they weren’t drunk and causing trouble. They’d even earned a working cell phone, which meant a lot.
And Evan was a decent sort too. I didn’t think he would actually steal anything, but Marco really believed that someone had taken his bag. And theft was a big no-no in a settlement like New Franklin.
I peered around the side of the building and, seeing not a single shade of purple or mauve, I quickly ran across the thin strip of parking lot. Part of it had been turned into a narrow garden bed—we grew food wherever we could—and made my way toward the garage. I found Kevin just as he was locking up.
His face fell the moment he saw who was visiting. “We really need the book for a few more days,” he said preemptively. “I know it looks like a humorous book on the outside, but it’s full of great hacks and tidbits.”
“We know that. That’s why we need it back so that Kiera can digitize it. Then you can have your own digital copy. Doesn’t the garage have its own laptops and tablets?”
We weren’t able to convert enough Earth devices to work on the Xarc’n networks for everyone to have their own, but most of the larger departments had access to at least one or two.
“Yeah, we have three actually.”
“Perfect. Once we digitize it, you can have a copy on hand all the time. How’s that sound?”
Kev’s face lit up. “Yes, that would be amazing.”
“Great! So let’s get that copy into Kiera’s hands, and I’ll have her move it to the front of the list.”
That seemed to appease him, and soon I was walking back to the community center, my target acquired.
I went back the way I came, behind the buildings. I’d just gotten back inside the community center through an often-unused back door when I turned the corner, book still in hand, and found myself face-to-face with a certain surly-looking hunter who was clearly done with the merry chase I sent him on.
“Got you.” Big, burly arms wrapped around me. “You have eluded me long enough, female. My research into your culture tells me you are playing hard to get. I do not understand this game, but I have chased you and caught you, proving that I am the superior hunter. “
He thought I was playing hard to get?
Oops.
That hadn’t been the original intention, but I wasn’t going to tell him that I was actually trying to avoid an awkward situation. At first, anyway. But by now, I wasn’t even surewhyI was tryingto avoid him; it was just thrilling being pursued when I knew it was one hundred percent safe. Now that I was in his arms, it didn’t feel that awkward at all.
“I don’t usually drunk-kiss random strangers,” I blurted out.
“Just me?”
“Pretty much.”
“Good. Now that I have caught you, what is my prize? Playing hard to get means it is a game, and games have prizes.”
Games didn’t always have prizes, but instead of saying that, I asked, “What do you want?” My voice was so low and sultry, I didn’t even recognize it.
“Another kiss.” As if on cue, he started to purr.
A Xarc’n warrior was purring! For me! Hunters purred for young, biologically and intimately compatible females. I was far from young; I was post-menopausal. Trust me, going through menopause during an active bugpocalypse was something else.
Before it happened, I worried that I’d lose my libido completely. But then I was so focused on staying alive and turning my menopausal rage on the bugs—hacking the buggers to bits with an ax was strangely therapeutic—that I’d forgotten all about my original worries. Now I saw that I didn’t need to worry at all; my libido was alive and well. More than well… it was kicking and hungry.
Voices came from around the corner, and I froze. Just because the hallway was rarely used didn’t mean we had privacy. I scanned the doors, looking for a better place to talk or whatever, and spied the storage room for our extra equipment. I quickly pulled Ror’k inside.
We were greeted by a wall of chairs. They were the heavy-duty industrial kind made of metal and cheap pleather, and we’d stacked them as high as we could reach just so they’d all fit in the room. The neatly stored chairs were a huge contrast to the pile of gym and crash mats dumped next to them.
The door behind us closed, plunging the room into darkness. I felt around for the light switch, but Ror’k was already pulling me farther into the room. He had no problem navigating in the dark.
Outside the door voices drew closer, and my heart raced in my chest as Ror’k led me through the puzzle of haphazardly stacked mats. I felt like a teenager all over again, excited, literally fumbling around in the dark. The need for connection was drowning out all the reasons why this was a horrible idea.
Ror’k was still purring, and I followed the sound, my hand so warm in his. Then he was pulling me into his arms and urging me to sit. I found myself sideways on his lap. His breath brushed my cheek, making heat curl in my belly. Suddenly, it didn’t matter where we were; his presence filled every inch of the cramped space.
