With His Protection (For His Pleasure, Book 15) (9 page)

Scarlett covered her privates with her hands. “Could you, like, turn around or something?”

“It’s not as though I haven’t seen you naked before,” he replied, turning and averting his gaze.

She grabbed one of Bryson’s oversized sweaters that was hanging over a chair and quickly slid it on.

“That’s better,” she said.

He turned around and looked her up and down. “It’s still pretty damn good if you ask me,” he said.

She felt herself blushing. It was true that the sweater still showed a lot of everything. But at least she wasn’t completely nude. She attempted to change the subject. “Have you been up for a while?”

He shrugged. “Long enough to know the power’s out and the storm is bad.”

“It is?” She peered out the window again. It was impossible to see much out there.

“The water’s off, too.”

“Really, no water?”

“Yeah, and the storm’s supposed to last through today and into the evening again.

The power could be out for awhile if it’s as bad as they said it might get. Unfortunately, I didn’t do a very good job of stocking up on essentials, so I’m going to need to get out in this mess and pick up some stuff.”

“I’ll go with you,” she told him.

He glanced at her. “I don’t think you’re quite ready for prime time, darling.”

She crossed her arms and gave him a glare. “I’ve got clothes in the other room, I just need to shower—“

“No water, remember?”

Scarlett scowled. “I just need to change and I’ll be ready.”

“It’s bad outside. Why not wait here and let your Prince Charming hazard the elements?”

“I don’t need a Prince Charming. And it’s more fun if we’re together.”

Bryson smiled. “I like that you’re adventurous.” He stepped forward and his gaze became more heated. “And that’s not all I like about you.” Suddenly, he was kissing her again. She didn’t feel at her best after a night of sex and drinking wine and sleeping, not having had a chance to freshen up. But still, his enthusiasm was exciting and as his hands moved beneath the sweater and handled her bare skin, Scarlett was forgetting her shyness.

She moaned. “That feels good,” she said, as his hands grabbed her bare ass.

They kissed again.

Eventually, he broke off the kiss, smiling at her. “We should head out before the storm gets too bad. There’ll be plenty of time for the good stuff later.”

Scarlett sighed, and went into the living room where her bag was waiting. She took out new bra and panties, jeans and a fleece pullover. Then she ran to the bathroom and changed as quickly as she could in the dark, keeping the door open just a crack.

When she came out, Bryson was waiting for her. “Come on,” he said, taking her by the hand.

“You really are in a hurry.”

“Just stay with me no matter what, okay? It’s probably going to be nasty out there.”

“What do you mean?”

“I just know the storm’s bad and there’s no power. In New York, that could mean just about anything, so stay close to me.”

“All right,” she said, getting nervous for the first time about this storm situation.

They left the apartment, Bryson carrying a flashlight. The hallways were completely dark, and it was eerie. She was starting to second-guess her decision to go with Bryson. After all, wouldn’t it have been better to stay back and wait for him to come home, bearing water and food and goodies? Instead, she was going to be braving the weather with him, subject to all of the New York City madness and getting chilled to the bone in the process.

But she wasn’t about to turn tail and run now.

Clinging to Bryson’s strong arm as they walked, she stayed beside him, the flashlight beam bouncing ahead of them, illuminating only a few feet at a time.

“We’re going to have to take the stairs, too,” he said. “Which will be lots of fun when we’re lugging all the crap we buy at the store.”

“Do you think any stores are even open?”

He was quiet as they entered the stairwell. “I guess we’ll find out.”

For a long while, it was just their footsteps in the dark, cavernous stairway. Their footfalls sounded spooky in the pitch-black echo chamber. The flashlight beam no longer comforted her at all, and it was easy to imagine all sorts of things hiding in wait.

It was like a horror movie. Scarlett’s stomach knotted, as they slowly climbed down flight after flight.

When they finally reached the first floor and opened the door into the main lobby, there was enough light to see again. Scarlett breathed a deep sigh of relief as her eyes adjusted.

Bryson clicked the flashlight off and put it in his coat pocket.

He turned his hood up on his coat, and Scarlett followed suit. They looked at each other, grinning.

“Ready to do this?” he asked.

“As ready as I’ll ever be.”

“Okay, then. Come on.” He took her hand once more and they walked past the empty front desk, through the front doors, and into the pouring rain.

Right away, Scarlett could feel the difference in the air. It wasn’t just rainy and windy. The wind had wreaked havoc outside. The street was littered with old newspapers, trash that had been knocked over, and there were rivers of water pouring into gutters.

Almost no people or cars were on the road, and there were no lights or power on anywhere. Even though it was morning, the sky was nearly black with storm clouds, and the sun completely obscured.

It could just as easily have been early evening, if she hadn’t been aware of the time.

“This is kind of creepy,” Scarlett said.

“What?” Bryson yelled, as the wind kicked up.

“It’s creepy out here!” she yelled back.

“Oh!” he nodded.

“Which way is the store?” she screamed.

He pointed to the corner of the block, and they began walking toward it. Even before they’d arrived, it was obvious that there was no power and therefore the store was closed and locked.

Bryson wiped some water off his face as the rain started to come down even harder. It sounded like a million little tap dancers tapping on the concrete and bricks and steel around them. “We might need to walk a little bit before we find anyplace that’s open,” he told her.

“Do you think anything’s going to be open at all? I mean, the power’s out.”

“I think there’s a section where the power’s on not far from here,” he said. “We don’t really have any water or food or anything. I think it’s worth the walk but I can take you home first if you don’t want to go.”

“Of course I want to go,” she said, not at all sure if it was true. “Where to next?”

He looked around and then seemed to choose a direction, almost at random.

“This way,” he said, confidently.

Scarlett rolled her eyes and followed right along with him. After about five minutes, they passed another batch of closed stores. There was an older man standing on the corner of the street, wearing glasses and old tennis shoes. He looked like he’d been standing there for hours.

“Excuse me,” Bryson said.

The old man squinted at them behind his foggy glasses. “Yes?”

“Is the power off up the street as well?”

The old man took his glasses off, wiped them on his coat, and put them on again.

It didn’t appear to help much. “If you go about five blocks that a way, the power is back on.”

“Are there any open stores?”

“A few. But they’ve been practically ransacked.”

“So there’s not much food or water left anywhere.”

“Have you been living under a rock or something?”

Bryson laughed. “Does making a feature film count as living under a rock?”

“Of course it does. Besides, in New York, everyone and their mother is making a feature film.” The old man smirked at him.

Bryson laughed. “Fair enough. Well, we’re going to head on up the road and see what we can get. Are you all right out here?”

“As all right as I can be, waiting for the end of the world.” His eyes searched the sky. “You know all of these super storms are out of the book of revelations.”

Bryson and Scarlett exchanged looks. Was the old man crazy, or serious? She couldn’t tell, but he was strange enough that she was more than happy to get moving when Bryson started to walk again.

“Thanks for the info,” Bryson said, waving. “Take care of yourself.”

The old man shrugged and continued perusing the heavens. “Good luck. I think you’re going to need it.”

Scarlett quickened her pace to keep up with Bryson as they distanced themselves from the strange old man. She had the hood of her coat up, but the wind was so forceful that it kept blowing her hood back. She was absolutely drenched and freezing cold.

“Do you think it’s safe to be outside right now?” she yelled.

Bryson looked at her, squinting as the rain lashed his face. “Definitely not.”

“How long are we going to walk for?”

He pointed down the street, and now she could see there were some lights on in the distance. “Let’s at least give it a shot,” he said, leaning towards her. “If we don’t find anything there, we’ll head back to my apartment and make due until the storm blows over.”

“I’m sure we’ll be fine.”

“Yeah,” he agreed. “As long as you don’t mind eating Ritz crackers and sweet pickles for the next couple of meals.”

It felt like forever before they actually reached the convenience store that was officially open. The moment they entered it, however, Scarlett’s heart sank. The place had clearly been rummaged through for almost everything edible. The shelves were practically barren, the refrigerators totally empty.

The clerk, a young man of indistinct ethnicity, wearing a heavy flannel shirt, simply looked at them as they came inside.

Bryson pulled his hood back and got the clerk’s attention. “Hey,” he said, breathing a bit heavily from the walk. “Any water here, any decent food?”

The clerk restrained a smile. “No way. I sold out of almost everything. The last good stuff went this morning and I’m about to close for the rest of the day.”

“Shit. Does anyplace nearby have anything left?”

“I have no idea, Sir. My guess would be no.”

Scarlett walked up the isle and found some Slim Jims and Hot Fries that apparently hadn’t been worth taking for anyone else. She grabbed them and walked to the register. “At least we have some food to eat,” she said, showing Bryson.

“You call that food?”

“It’s better than nothing.”

He nodded, resigned. They paid the clerk for the food and he started bagging it up. The clerk looked at them. “I didn’t even know we had any food left in here. You got lucky with those Slim Jims.”

“Thanks for the encouragement,” Bryson said, with obvious sarcasm. They started towards the exit, and Scarlett braced herself for the cold and wet and wind. She really didn’t want to go out there again.

But just as they were about to leave, Bryson seemed to get an idea. He turned around and stared at the clerk for a long moment.

“Can I help you with something else?” the young man said, his eyes narrowing with suspicion.

“Yeah, possibly.” Bryson pulled out his wallet again. “I was thinking—you must have a couple of things back in your stock room. Maybe before the crowds cleaned you out of everything, you stashed a few goodies back there for yourself?”

The clerk grew visibly uncomfortable. “Sir, I don’t steal, if that’s what you’re getting at.”

“I’m not accusing you of anything. I don’t care what you do. But if it was me, I would certainly put a few things out of the way for myself.”

The clerk shrugged, but he seemed a little rattled. “I don’t know.”

“Listen,” Bryson continued, opening his wallet. “I’ve got a hundred bucks if you can wrangle me up some water and food from the back.”

Scarlett was embarrassed by this display. She grabbed Bryson’s arm. “I don’t think he’s allowed to take bribes,” she whispered.

Bryson glanced at her. “It’s fine. This happens all the time in New York.”

“You’re from L.A.”

“Shhhh.”

The clerk was thinking about it. Finally, he sighed, as if defeated. “Okay, follow me,” he said.

They followed the clerk to the back of the nearly empty store. Scarlett felt as though she was being taken on a top-secret tour—after all, it was surely against company policy to bring two people off the street and into the stockroom.

But the clerk didn’t seem to care much about that right now. He led them into a large storeroom that had large metal racks from floor to ceiling. Most of the racks were empty, much like the shelves in the front of the store.

“Wow, you weren’t joking about getting cleaned out,” Bryson said, looking around at the empty boxes, loose plastic wrapping and tape strewn across the floor and shelving.

“I wasn’t lying to you,” the clerk said. He walked around the corner and then reappeared a moment later, dragging a case of bottled water and a large backpack that looked as if it had been filled to capacity. “I saved some water and food for myself. The food is all in the backpack.”

Scarlett stared at him. “We can’t take his food,” she whispered.

The clerk must have heard her. “It’s okay. I got more supplies back at my apartment anyway.”

Bryson handed the bills over to the clerk, who looked at each one as if expecting the money to suddenly burst into flames.

“Thanks. I was going to be short on rent this month but now it looks like I’m good.” He smiled, folding the money and putting it into his back pocket.

“Always glad to help,” Bryson replied, as he knelt down and opened the backpack and looked through it. He smiled, nodding. “This is perfect. We shouldn’t have any problem riding out the rest of the storm now.”

Scarlett moved forward and stared down, seeing cans of tuna, Snickers bars, Ramen noodles, and other odds and ends stuffed willy-nilly inside the bag. “What should I carry?” she asked.

Bryson glanced up at her. “Don’t be silly. I’ll take it all,” he said. Then he zipped the backpack and hefted it onto his shoulder. “Mind handing me that case of water?”

“No way,” she said. “I can’t let you take it all. Let me carry the backpack, Bryson.”

“Scarlett, I’m not arguing about this.”

“Neither am I,” she replied. Her eyes locked on his. “I’m going to help you.”