Promise Me Darkness (26 page)

His hardness got my attention as it nudged me through his boxer shorts. I reached down between us and wrapped my fingers around him. His fingers tightened on my hips as my hand teased him.

“Maddie, you don’t know what you’re doing to me.”

“Show me,” I said, breathlessly.

“Shit!” he said under his breath, kicking the boxers off quickly.

When he was free, I wrapped my hand around his hard length. Grabbing me behind the neck roughly, his lips slashed across mine.

“I don’t have a damn condom,” he said before his tongue dipped into my mouth again.

My hand continued to torment him, causing an animalistic groan to move up his throat. Without breaking our kiss, he pushed my hand away swiftly before grabbing my hips and lifting me up. Slowly, he entered me, his hands guiding my hips. As his tongue lashed out against mine, he slammed into me, filling me completely.

I came instantly, every inch of my skin pulsating.

He held me still as waves of ecstasy rushed over me. His mouth silenced my moans as his tongue met mine.

I broke the kiss off as the need to move overtook me. I sat up, placing my hands on his chest. The sensation of being on top was overwhelming. I felt in control. Powerful. I started moving, feeling him deep inside of me.

"Damn, Maddie,” he moaned, his grip tightening on my hips each time he thrust deeper.

I threw my head back and arched my body, the sensations racing through me.

“You look so good riding me,” he said, watching me move. His hands disappeared under my shirt, seeking my breasts.

I grabbed his shoulders, holding on for dear life as the rough texture of his fingertips caressed my nipples. My hips moved up and down, having a mind of their own. I felt an orgasm coming again.

Without withdrawing, he flipped me onto my back. His lips found my earlobe as he pulled my legs up to wrap around his waist. Holding his weight off of me on his elbows, he started moving faster.

I couldn’t stop the sounds that came from my throat as the ripples of another orgasm hit me. His hands tangled in my hair as he kissed me deeply, taking my loud moans into his mouth.

“Christ, Maddie!” he said against my mouth as his hips jerked into me hard. “I’ve never…oh, God…fuck, you feel too good to stop.”

He groaned, driving into me powerfully. His body tightened, thrusting into me once more. Filling me, completing me.

~~~~

Our bodies were still connected, his hands entangled in my hair, when his kiss turned tender.

Breaking away, his blue eyes raked over my face with worry.

“Shit, I came inside of you,” he said, hoarsely. “I was going to pull out but…you felt so damn good, I couldn’t stop.”

Until that moment, safe sex hadn’t been on my mind. I was fearless with him, consumed by him. I wasn’t sure either of us could have stopped.

“I wanted to feel you. Just you wrapped around me, nothing else.” He kissed my lips lightly as one of his hands reached down to caress my bottom. My body started to respond again at his touch.

Pulling away, he looked down into my eyes. “I want you to know that I’ve never had sex without a condom.”

“Never?”

“Not even once. You were my first.”

On hearing those words, I pulled his head down to meet my lips again. Moving slowly, his palm glided lightly over my side, to the edge of my breast, and then to cup my jaw gently.

He ended the kiss, his lips pulling away from mine reluctantly as he pulled out of me. Rolling onto his side, he tucked me next to him. I rested my head on his firm shoulder as his arms gathered me close.

He threw a blanket over us, cocooning me next to his warmth. My body still tingled all over, each nerve ending feeling alive and awake. I knew I would never be the same again.

We left before the sun rose the next morning. Our backpacks were loaded down with food and water and both Brody and Ryder had guns and ammo.

We covered countless miles during the morning but by afternoon it was blistering hot and we had to stop. The heat was relentless, reflecting off of the pavement and baking us.

So we stopped and rested, alone in the middle of nowhere. Around dusk, we continued on, determined to get home that night. Ryder stayed beside me, matching his stride to mine, asking often if I was okay. I didn’t tell him that the pain in my ribs was excruciating or that my finger throbbed. Even the gash on my head ached as my sunburn started to pull the scab apart. I wanted to see my father so I dealt with the pain.

Ryder and I only exchanged a few words as we walked. Despite last night, I still didn’t know where I stood with him and now I worried about what would happen when we got home.
Would we act as if nothing happened or would we continue this non–relationship, physical thing we had going on?
I had questions but no answers.

The sun went down in a blaze of pinks and purples. It was beautiful and awe–inspiring but I couldn’t enjoy it. It seemed unfair to enjoy something so beautiful when millions would start dying soon from dehydration or hunger. I just wanted to go back in time to when the only thing I had to worry about was studying and completing my hospital rotations. Now I had to worry about surviving.

Night fell quickly, leaving only moonlight to light our way. I had no idea where we were until Brody stopped to check the map.

“Eagle Pass is up ahead,” he said. “If we go around, it’ll add hours to our time. If we go straight through town, we’ll cut our time in half.” He looked over at us in the dark. “What do you want to do?”

Ryder took off his hat and ran fingers through his sweat–drenched hair. He glanced over at me with concern, looking exhausted with the weight of both our backpacks wearing him down.

“I think we better go through town. Maddie looks terrible,” he said.

Yeah, I was exhausted and pain raked my body but really — terrible?

“I’m willing to fight any crazies to get home,” Eva said, readjusting her backpack on her shoulders. "I’m just that desperate."

“Then let’s do this,” Brody said, the decision made.

An hour later, we arrived on the outskirts of Eagle Pass. The town was completely in the dark. No streetlights shined down at us and no bright lights glared from storefront windows. The silence was oppressive, a physical being that enclosed us in its clutches.

“This is something out of a horror movie,” Eva whispered as we passed a grocery store that was completely destroyed. All the windows were shattered and the doors were hanging from their hinges. Empty boxes and trash littered the parking lot along with a couple of abandoned cars. Somewhere in the distance, a woman screamed. The sound sent a cold shiver up my spine.

As we drew closer to the center of town we saw hundreds of men, women, and children lingering around the large stone courthouse. Voices reached out to us. Talking, shouting, and crying. Some held candles and others were lucky enough to have flashlights. There were so many people that they blocked our path. We would have to walk through the cluster of bodies.

Ryder grabbed my hand and laced his fingers through mine.

“Stay right beside me, Maddie.”

My fingers tightened around his. There was no way I was letting go of him.

We pushed through the edge of the crowd. I glanced around at the mass of men and women. Everyone looked dirty and exhausted. Some had such a faraway, lost look in their eyes that they reminded me of the lifeless zombies portrayed in movies.

We passed a vendor trying to bargain with a woman for a bottle of vodka. A man yelled for help. I jumped when someone started screaming a few feet from me.

My heart beat faster with fright when the crowd closed in around us, bringing us into its fold. Someone pushed into me and terror flooded my mind. The memories of being trampled in the club came back to me. My blood ran cold, afraid history would repeat itself.

The crowd thickened. Ryder’s hand accidentally let go of mine when a man fell into him. A gut–wrenching panic filled me when people rushed between us, separating Ryder and I.

He glanced back at me as the crowd surged around us. “Maddie! Grab onto my backpack!”

I shoved my way through, trying to wrap my fingers around the nylon strap of his backpack but someone grasped my arm, yanking me away.

“Please, you have to help me! Please!” the man begged, tugging my arm.

I looked frantically back at Ryder. He was shoving people out of the way, charging forward to get to me. All it took was one look from him and the man let me go.

Shielding me with his body, he took my hand and wrapped it tightly around the strap of the backpack.

“You’ve got to hold onto me tight. I’m not losing you, Maddie. Not again.”

I nodded, hell bent on not letting go.

We started pushing our way through the crowd again. He reached back, grabbing my waist and pulling me closer to him. I was now wedged into the backpack, holding on for dear life. Glancing around him, I saw that one of his fists was wrapped around Eva’s backpack, keeping us all together.

Next to us, a man preached about the end of the world. A small child stood a few feet away, crying softly as she clung to her mother’s leg. Someone begged desperately for water.

This was what the end of the world looked like, I thought. Days after the electromagnetic pulse hit, people were suffering and dying. Within a matter of minutes, the United States had turned into a third world country. This was our reality now.

We were almost to the edge of the crowd when suddenly a man tried to yank Brody’s backpack off his shoulder. Brody turned to fight the guy off but the man refused to let go. Eva screamed as she was pushed to the ground in the scuffle. My hold was torn away from Ryder’s backpack as he charged forward.

I helped Eva to her feet just as Ryder pulled his pistol on the man.

"Let go, mister," Ryder’s deep voice boomed out.

The stranger instantly took off running through the crowd, empty–handed.

Ryder stuffed the gun in his waistband and grabbed my hand again. We hurried through the crowd, the skirmish spooking us to move faster.

A few minutes later, we finally broke free of the mob. I could now breathe easier without the press of so many bodies around me.

“Holy SHIT!” Brody exclaimed angrily as we hurried away. “What the HELL was that?”

I glanced back at the suffering, pleading horde. “That’s desperation,” I said, simply.

Ryder’s free hand snapped to his gun again when a man appeared in front of us.

“You kids need a ride?”

The man looked like someone’s grandfather. He had grey hair and a thick white beard covered his wrinkled face. His eyes shined brightly as he glanced down at Ryder’s gun. “I got an old truck that still runs. I’ll trade you a ride for supplies.”

“How far will you go?” Ryder asked, his eyes assessing the guy.

“Depends on what you have to trade,” the man said, glancing over at me.

Ryder took a protective step in front of me. “We have nothing to trade,” he said, menacingly.

“Listen, kid, I’ve got a girl off at college. Ain’t heard from her since the lights went out. I ain’t going to hurt nobody, no how.”

A minute passed as we all stood in silence, debating his trustworthiness.

“We’ve got over two hours drive time to get there,” Brody warned.

The guy looked away as he scratched his beard. “Gonna take something awful nice to git there.”

“Cut the bullshit,” Ryder said, impatient. “What do you want?”

The guy looked down at the pistol sticking out of Ryder’s waistband. “That there gun and any ammo you got.”

“Hell, no!” Brody blurted out in outrage. He looked over at Ryder with disbelief. “You can’t be serious, Ryder! We’re not given up our goddamn gun for a ride!”

“Shut up, Brody,” Ryder said, his eyes still on the man.

“Hell, no, I’m not going to shut up! We’re not doing this!”

Ryder’s cold blue eyes swung around to pierce Brody. “We are going to do this! You want to walk another ten days, go right ahead dumbass.”

“This is about Maddie, isn’t it?” Brody asked, glaring at me.

Ryder ignored the question. “You can have the gun and ammo when we get there unharmed.”

“Deal,” the man said, sticking his hand out. Ryder shook his hand, possibly sealing our death.

We followed the old man over to a dark blue 1960s Ford truck, complete with white–walled tires.

“Two in front, two in back,” the man said, climbing into the driver’s seat.

Brody and Eva climbed in the truck bed while Ryder and I got into the cab. The man obviously had spent many hours rebuilding the truck. The white leather interior was brand new and the dash looked fresh from the factory. The motor turned over smoothly with a roar of the engine.

Within seconds, we were leaving the town behind. Ryder and the man started talking about the EMP attack and how the townspeople were frantic to find supplies. He said there was no law left. Anywhere.

As the wind whipped through the windows, I tried to listen to their conversation but the exhaustion that I had been fighting all day finally won out. My eyes closed and sleep pushed at the edge of my consciousness.

“Lean against me, Maddie.”

Ryder’s deep voice had me opening my eyes again, suddenly awake and aware of him pressed against my side. As his arm reached around me, I laid my head against his shoulder. Within seconds, I was asleep.

I jerked awake as the truck slammed to a stop, throwing me forward slightly. Ryder’s arm was the only thing keeping me from falling into the floorboard. I sat back up and looked at Ryder beside me. The dashboard lights cast a bluish glow over his unshaven jaw and cool blue eyes.

“We’re at Eva’s,” he said, quietly.

With disbelief, I glanced out into the night. Despite the darkness, I recognized the street that led straight to Eva’s house. I felt the truck bounce as Eva and Brody jumped out of the truck bed. Panic squeezed my heart.
I couldn’t leave her! We had to stay together!

Holding back a sob, I followed Ryder out of the truck and watched as Eva and Brody swung the backpacks onto their shoulders. Eva’s blonde hair shined brightly under the moonlight as she walked toward me. I could see sorrow in her eyes but it was also mixed with excitement. She was home.