Page 169 of My Undead Love Life

“Every damn second.”

Her brow furrowed, like she couldn’t quite believe that.

I brushed my thumb over the edge of her sleeve. “I was scared before Keith came back. Scared you’d never really let yourself want us because losing him hurt too much. Then he came back, and I was scared you’d realize you didn’t need us. Now I’m scared because you do, and that means I have four people to keep alive instead of three.”

Her lips parted slightly.

I let out a quiet breath. “And I’m scared because I know I can’t control all of it.”

“Maddox,” she whispered. Her using my full name hit harder than it should have. “I love you,” she said.

Happiness surged through me so suddenly it almost hurt. My hand came up, settling against her cheek. Her skin was cold from the draft, but so fucking soft. “I love you, flare,” I said, voice rough. “So much.”

Her eyes shone in the darkness. Then she tilted her head up slightly. “Mad…”

Her lips touched mine.

I should have kept the kiss careful. We were on watch. The house was compromised. A predator was tracking us. We were one bad decision away from turning a ruined farmhouse into a tomb. I knew all of that, but I kissed her anyway.

Her mouth warmed beneath mine, and my hand slid from her cheek to her jaw, steadying her as she shifted closer. She tasted like cold air, Sofia’s stew, and something that was only Spencer. Her fingers curled into my jacket, pulling me in like the world wasn’t allowed to take this too.

My other hand found her waist. She made a soft sound against my mouth, and the heat that rolled through me punched right through exhaustion, fear, and every ounce of common sense I had left.

“Spencer,” I murmured against her lips.

“I need you,” she whispered.

The words went straight through me. My hand tightened on her waist. This was a terrible idea. This was the worst possible place.

We were fully dressed, armed, freezing, sitting beside a broken window in the ruins of her old home while everyone else slept within arm’s reach.

I still gripped her by the waist and hoisted her over me. She settled across my lap with a quiet gasp, her knees bracketing my hips beneath the blanket. My cock hardened immediately, pressing against layers of clothing.

She ground down once, and my jaw locked so hard it hurt.

“Flare,” I warned. “What about the shot Sofia gave you?”

“I used it before we left the bunker.”

I remembered her using the bathroom before we left. She must’ve used it then.

“Really?” I asked breathlessly.

“Yes. Sofia said it’s pretty much instant.” She kissed me again. Her hands slid up my chest, bunching in my jacket, and I kissed her back harder, swallowing the little sounds she tried to keep quiet. My palms moved over her hips, keeping her close, feeling every desperate shift of her body through the layers between us.

For one reckless minute, I let myself have it. Her weight on me. Her mouth on mine. Her need crashing into mine.

Then, a low growl rolled through the night. We both froze.

Every bit of heat vanished. Spencer pulled back, breath shaking against my mouth. “What was that?”

I was already moving. I lifted her off my lap and set her beside me as gently as I could, then grabbed my axe and crouched by the window. The boards creaked softly beneath my hand as I peered through the narrow gap.

There was nothing.

My pulse slowed, not from calm but focus.

There. A pale shape slipped between the treeline.