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He pulled a blanket over them, and within minutes, that pleasure-filled contentment settled into her. Rebecca didn’t let the devastation of their world control her; she couldn’t allow it. It was now one hell of a world, but as long as she had Collin beside her, being there for her in every way imaginable, she could get through anything.
A smile curved her mouth, and she closed her eyes.
It was definitely a fucked-up world, but she knew they were doing a damn good job of making it work.
Epilogue Two
Two years later
Collin stoked the fire and stared at the flames, the warmth seeping into his cold body. This might be a physical warmth, but the one that really penetrated him deep, consumed him, warmed his heart, was the woman currently curled up against him.
Rebecca.
My woman.
Mine.
The scent of the meal they’d been cooking, the deer he hunted and caught, was sizzling on the metal grate over the flames. The aroma lingered in the air, surrounding them.
“Smells good,” she said softly, and he tightened his hold on her. “It’s been awhile since we had something good like this.”
It was true. It was hard hunting close to their place, and that meant he had to venture farther out. He didn’t like leaving Rebecca, even if she could take care of herself. It wasn’t the dead he worried about, but the fuckers who were still alive.
The fuckers like he’d been.
But things were different. Collin had changed. Rebecca made him a better man.
“This should last us awhile,” he said softly and stroked her hair.
When they didn’t have meat readily available, they managed to catch fish from the lake, but their gardens provided the main part of their sustenance.
Scavenging did still happen, but this many years after the fall of the world meant everything was all but picked and cleaned over. So they had to become self-sufficient pretty damn quick.
“I’ll smoke the rest and preserve it. This should last us a good while, baby.” He reached down and placed a hand on her rounded belly. Rebecca was about halfway along in her pregnancy, and she needed all the nutrients and vitamins she could get.
She tipped her head back and looked at him, smiling. “I love you,” she said softly. “You take such good care of us.” She placed her hand over his, which still rested on her belly. “You’re going to make such a good dad, Collin.”
God, I love this woman.
He leaned down and kissed her softly. “I love you too, Rebecca.”
The years had gone by in a wonderful, happy blur of making sure Rebecca was safe and fed, that the home they created for themselves would last and sustain them, and that nothing bad ever touched her. That was his main goal, the only thing Collin wanted in life.
Although the pregnancy hadn’t been planned, they both wanted children. The world might be shit, ravaged, but that didn’t mean they couldn’t be happy, safe, and have a future. And God had he been excited when they’d found out about the baby.
He just wanted his woman protected, and now, the baby she carried. Their baby.
He protected what was his and would until they day he died.
Collin looked down at his woman, pushed her long hair away from her face, and felt his chest tighten at the emotions that filled him every time he looked at her. His better half. His everything.
Rebecca ran her hand over his bicep, and for long seconds, they just sat there in silence, watching the flames. “You ready for this?” she asked softly, and although they talked about this many times, and she knew how much he wanted this, how ready he was for this, he loved that she wanted that affirmation, wanted him to ease the worry he knew this world gave her.
“Baby, I’ve never been readier for something in my entire life.” He kissed the crown of her head again. “I love you, and I love this baby.”
She rose up and kissed him on the lips, and he savored the feeling of her. Every day, he loved Rebecca more. She was his life, his wife in every single aspect that counted, the very reason he breathed. He’d die for her. He’d kill for her.
And he’d do the same for their child.
He cupped the back of her head and pulled her an inch closer. For long seconds, he just kissed her, pleased when she melted against him. And when she sighed against his lips, it was that small sound, that little act, that had pleasure filling him and completing him all over again.
Rebecca made him who he was. She made him a better man.
And he was never letting go.
