Page 122 of Doomsdate

“No,” Everett says vehemently. “What if I still turn? What if I hurt you?”

Heart racing, I reach for the key hung high on the wall. “It’s been over ten hours, Everett.”

“Maisie, don’t do it! I could be dangerous!” Everett swallows, his Adam’s apple bobbing. “Eventually.”

I slide the key into the lock. It clicks, my ears rushing with adrenaline.

I’m really doing this.

Everett pushes to the back of the cage as I swing the door open. A frightened stray, terrified of a kind hand.

“Come out,” I say softly. “I trust you, Everett.”

“But—but—what if I—”

“You won’t.” My voice is firm. “I trust you,” I repeat, louder this time, then laugh. “Oh my god, I really do. I trust you, Everett. And more than that, I believe everything’s going to be all right. Please come out?”

“If I come out,” he finally says. “Can I—kiss you? Would that feel safe?”

“Yes,” I breathe. “I want that very much.”

“Will you also hold the Taser, just in case?” Everett looks at me sternly. “Don’t use it unless you’re sure I’m changing, though.”

A small laugh tumbles out. “Yes. I’ll hold it.”

Everett crawls out of the cage. He approaches me on his knees, looking at me with big, hope-starved eyes. I cradle his cheek in one hand, and he leans into it, his eyes fluttering closed.

“Maisie, I thought—” His voice breaks off, choked. “I thought we were out of time.” He slides his soft hand over mine, then pulls me gently to him. We face each other on my bed of blankets. He eyes the Taser and twitches involuntarily, which makes me laugh. Smiling cautiously, he flicks his gaze back to mine. It’s tender and brimming with all the love I’ve craved my whole life but never dared believe I’d find.

“No.” I bring his hand to my chest and press the warm flat of his palm against my skin. The weight of it there eases something inside of me. “We have all the time in the world.”

He gathers my face in his hands and leans in, the kiss pouring between us. Soft and yearning, the silken slide of his mouth on mine foments something more, something electric all its own. The Taser drops to the floor, forgotten. The kiss travels everywhere, along my jaw, the apples of my cheeks, the bridge of my nose, while his hands cradle me like I’m the most precious thing in his world.

I think, perhaps, I am.

It makes me laugh, then cry, weak with the happiness I thought I lost. I’m not alone in this world. Maybe I never was. But now I have Everett, and he has me, and whatever groaning monstrosity tries to hunt us down next, it doesn’t change this fundamental truth.

I dig my fingers into his wavy hair, tilt my hips into his, and pull him even closer, setting the desperation I felt on fire and watching it burn between us. His hands slide down my ribs, thumbs trailing across the sides of my breasts, until he takes me by the hips, firm, grinding me into him. I moan as he swiftly, decisively lowers me onto my back, pulling me by the backs of my thighs until I lie open for him. The movements are rough, barely controlled, and the fervor of our combined energy makes me clench with want.

I rip off my thermal shirt and the tight tank I wear beneath it while Everett unbuttons my pants and banishes them to the corner of the room. The look he gives my dark gray panties, darkest where I flood for him, is almost animal.

What we feel for each other is not gentle.

He falls to his stomach before me, his shoulders pressing into the tender spot where ass meets leg. His hands wrap around my thighs, yanking me into his waiting mouth. He groans into my wet flesh, the stubble of too many days on the road electrifying the sensitive skin there, and feasts. Biting the insides of my thighs hard enough that I gasp and grab the Taser.

It zings to life, and he looks up, devilish and lusting, between my legs.

“That’s my good girl. I’m going to eat you alive.”

He grins wickedly and returns to devouring me whole.

Chapter Twenty-six

Two Weeks Later

Everett

“I’m scared,” Maisie whispers, clutching my hand tightly in hers. The mass of bodies inches forward.