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“Nothin’ to it,” Justin said cheerfully. “Here, let’s get you into a towel.” He untied the tarps and opened one of the plastic bins.
She dried herself quickly and pulled on some dry clothes while Justin dressed on the other side of the wagon. They both laughed as Sam strolled between them and shook vigorously, announcing his displeasure at having to swim with an indignant huff.
They mounted their bikes and set off down the road again. Shadowfax loped beside Carly, flicking her tail as though to help it dry quicker.
“Do you think Shadowfax is getting fat?” Carly asked.
Justin gave a small snort of laughter. “No. She looks the same to me. Why?”
“I don’t know. She just looks bigger to me.”
“I haven’t noticed any changes, but I’ll watch her more closely if you’re concerned.”
Carly shook her head. “No, I’m probably just imagining things.”
That night, Justin showed her their progress again. They were inching their way down Justin’s map. Every evening, he marked off their advancement with a highlighter. It was sort of humbling to see how little they moved each day, but Justin seemed pleased with their progress. He no longer spoke of reaching Florida before winter. He hoped to get into the Midwest somewhere. He mentioned a farm, someplace they could hole up for the winter.
Carly still felt a little guilty about it. Without Carly and her menagerie, she had no doubt Justin would have traveled much faster. He might have used one of the vehicles they found along the road. Surely not all of the vehicles were dead, though many of them had open doors, which could indicate a drained battery. Justin never tried to start any of them, though a beautiful, shiny Rolls parked by the road once made him moan as he stroked the hood. That car had contained a bounty of supplies in the trunk, and Justin had been cheerful all day as a result.
Justin was a pleasant companion, and her attraction to him seemed to increase every day. She caught herself staring a bit when he wasn’t paying attention. In their other lives, they probably never would have met. Carly would have been afraid of him, as she had been when he was Biker Guy, and he would have dismissed Carly as a silly little ditz. It went to show one could not judge a book by its cover.
When Justin laughed or gave that wicked, teasing grin, the skin around his dark eyes crinkled. Carly’s mother had once said those lines appeared on people who laughed often and knew how to find joy in life. Carly wasn’t sure if Justin was a joyful person, but he had a good sense of humor. And good grief, a man who knew every single line in Airplane! and could sing all of the songs from The Rocky Horror Picture Show, albeit badly, was someone who was bound to be fun.
That was not to say Justin didn’t have a brooding side. On occasion, Carly would find him staring into space, a dark and distant expression taking him into memories he wouldn’t discuss with her. There were moments when he was terse and cold, but she found she could often draw him out of those moods with humor and compassion. There was no doubt he’d gone through some very rough times, but he seemed determined not to let them hold him prisoner. It was yet another reason to admire him, as if she needed more.
I might be in trouble, here.
Chapter Five
Justin was a light sleeper, so when Carly began to flail and moan in her sleep from her nightmare, he woke and rolled over to gently shake her. “Carly, honey... Carly...”
Carly’s eyes flew open, and Justin hated the pain and fear he saw within them. He pulled her against his chest and stroked her soft hair. It had worked its way out of its braid after he stealthily slipped her hair tie off and shot it out of the tent into the woods. “Shh...”
Carly looked up at him, and their eyes locked for a long, breathless moment. His eyes lowered, seemingly of their own accord, until he was staring at her slightly parted lips, and he found he’d never wanted anything more in his life. Later, he would blame it on being half asleep and curse himself for his weakness, but he was helpless to fight off the urge. Slowly, Justin bent his head and he brushed his lips against hers. He began to pull back, but Carly clenched her arms around the back of his neck and she refused to let go. She kissed him with sweet hunger. He felt her tongue brush the seam of his lips, and he was lost. He kissed her like he’d wanted to for weeks, and oh God, it was every bit as good as he thought it would be.
Carly made a soft sound in the back of her throat, and they slowly fell back, her caramel hair spilling over the pillow beneath her. He thrust his hands into the hair that had so ensnared him, marveling at its softness. Oh, God, he wanted—
Holy shit! What the hell am I doing? Justin released Carly and jumped back to his side of the tent. “Oh, fuck, Carly, I’m so sorry!”
“What? Justin, why—?”
Justin surged to his feet and dove through the opening of the tent, past the low-burning embers of their camp fire, and into the darkened woods. Justin leaned on a tree, pressing his forehead to the bark. He felt like bashing his head against it and howling. He was a rat bastard for taking advantage of her vulnerability at that moment. She’d awoken from a nightmare and sought comfort, and Justin had practically pounced on her.
Carly was calling his name, and he called back, “Back in a moment.” He heard crunching leaves and looked down to see Sam staring up at him. He could swear he saw an almost accusatory look in those eerily sentient yellow eyes.
He took deep breaths and tried to slow his rapid heartbeat. A few minutes later, he felt subdued enough to return and experienced the same flame as soon as he saw her again. Carly’s hair was tumbled and tousled, and she had her arms hugged around her midriff. That worried wrinkle creased her forehead, and her lower lip trembled the way it did when she was struggling not to cry.
Doomed.
“I’m sorry, Carly,” Justin said. He rubbed the back of his neck. “Shit... I didn’t mean to...”
“I’m sorry, too.” Carly hugged herself tighter. “I shouldn’t have... It won’t happen again. Please don’t be mad at me.”
“Mad at you? Why would I be mad at you?”
“Because I made you kiss me.” Carly released her grip on her ribs and wrung her hands, twisting her fingers in anxiety. “I’m sorry. I—” Her words died away as she hung her head.
“Sweetheart, you didn’t make me do anything.” Fuck, he was going about this badly. Carly looked even more upset at this point than she had when he first walked back into camp.
