She wasn’t touching herself—not quite.Butit was close enough that she snatched her hand away as if burned, her skin tingling.
“This isnotnormal,” she muttered to the streaming water.“Ishouldnotbe feeling this way.”Especiallyafter coming so hard just a few minutes ago onRavik’sthick cock.
But she was.Herbody was aching—her pussy begging to be filled just as though she hadn’t just had the thickest cock she’d ever encountered buried halfway inside her.
And her nipples were so tight they hurt.Thewater running over them felt like fingers—too much and not enough.Betweenher thighs, she could feel wetness that had nothing to do with the shower.Herpussy was slick and pulsing, and there was a strange ache inside her that wasn’t exactly pain but wasn’t ordinary arousal either.
It felt like need—no more that need.Itwas like her body was demanding something—demanding to be filled.Andit didn’t care how embarrassing or inconvenient or completely insane that was.
Cassie turned the water a little cooler and forced herself to take slow breaths.Inthrough the nose, out through the mouth.
She had done that during hot flashes before, especially the awful ones that woke her up in the middle of the night drenched in sweat and wanting to tear the sheets off the bed.Butthis wasn’t like a normal hot flash.Herskin was hot, yes, but the heat was concentrated low in her belly and between her legs.Itmade her feel restless and empty and raw.
Like she wanted to crawl out of her own skin…but what did she need?
She thought ofRavik’sheat—his sheer sized and impossible girth.ThoughtofSeverin’scool, sharp scent—his elegant, talented hands and sharp fangs.Thoughtof all the things she had absolutely no business craving while she had a zombie virus in her bloodstream.
The thought made her go still.
TheHungerVirus…it was inside her.Severinhad said her blood was fighting it, but what did that really mean?
A chill slid down her spine despite the hot water.
What if this wasn’t just desire?Whatif it wasn’t just perimenopause or finally being wanted by two males after years of bad sex and two terrible marriages?Whatif the virus wasdoingsomething to her?
It didn’t make her want to eat anyone, thankGod.Shedidn’t look atSeverinorRavikand think,Mmm, tasty forearmorWishIcould get a bite of that thigh!
She wasn’t craving flesh or blood or whatever horrible thing theInfectedcraved when they went howling through theDeadZonewith white eyes and snapping teeth.
But she was cravingsomething.
Sex…seed…touch.
The words made her cheeks burn hotter than the shower because yes, they were all exactly what she was craving and her body refused to stop.
“Perfect—justperfect,”she muttered.“OfcourseIdon’t get the normal zombie symptoms.Igethornyzombie symptoms.Becausewhy wouldn’tI?”
The sarcasm helped for about three seconds…then the fear came back.
Because funny or not, something waswrong.Sheknew it now.Shecould feel it in the way her body pulsed and ached, in the way her mind kept circling back toRavik’smouth andSeverin’shands…in the way she wanted to go to them instead of away from them, even after what had just happened with the bigBeastKindred.
Cassie had always liked spicy books and private fantasies, but she had never felt likethis—as though her body was a live wire and every thought of the twoKindredsent sparks racing through her blood.
MaybeSeverinwas right.Maybetherewassomething unique about the way the virus was moving through her system.MaybeswallowingRavik’sseed had triggered some kind of reaction.Maybeher body was trying to fight the infection by demanding more of whatever had helped it in the first place.
Which sounded like exactly the kind of scientific excuseSeverinwould come up with…except it might actually be true.
Cassie shut off the water.She’dbeen in the shower long enough—she couldn’t hide from her problems anymore.
The sudden silence felt loud.Fora moment she just stood there, dripping and breathing, trying to decide if she was being ridiculous.
Maybe she should keep this to herself.Maybeshe should get dressed, pretend everything was fine, and not tell the gorgeousBloodKindredscientist that her body was acting like it wanted to climb both him and his best friend like a pair of very large, very muscular trees.
But no, that would be stupid, she decided—maybe even dangerous.
If this was theHungerViruschanging inside her,Severinneeded to know.Heneeded samples, test results, observations—all the annoying science things that made her want to roll her eyes.Andif there was a cure, or even a way to slow the reaction down, he was the one who could find it.
Even though explaining her symptoms was going to be mortifying, she needed to tell him.
