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“I love you. Those words don’t come easily for me. I tried not to love you, because you’ll never love me back. I’m cold and controlling. You’re warm and vibrant. Every time I see you with another woman in camp, I die a little more inside.” – letter written by Virginia Marsden to Pax Thatcher, burned to ashes as soon as it was finished

Briar

The dense veil of fog in East Texas this morning is both a blessing and a curse. It’s easier to stay hidden, but that goes for both us and our enemies.

Marcus puts his wrapped bar of soap and towel back in his pack and meets my gaze.

“Ready?”

His hair is wet from bathing in a lake, a loose curl hanging over his forehead. This is one of the rare times I’ve gotten to see him shirtless since we left the ILF base. Bug bites have been a major issue, so we keep covered up as often as we can, even when we’re sleeping.

I don’t think I’ll ever stop marveling over the perfection of his body. His tall, wide frame is cut with muscles, his abs very defined due to our limited diet of nutrient-dense bars the ILF gave us.

“I guess.” I drag my eyes away from his body, securing the ties on my bag.

“Don’t give me the sex eyes, B. You had your chance.”

I smile and shake my head. He’s butthurt that I won’t have sex with him because the ILF didn’t have any contraceptives. I’ve always loved oral sex with him—giving and receiving—but he’s been proving he’s no slouch with his fingers, either. As soon as we got out of the lake, he banded an arm around me beneath my breasts, holding my back tightly to his chest and rumbling his dirtiest thoughts about me in my ear while he used his other hand to tease and stroke my clit.

“At least one of us has some sense,” I say. “I’m not getting pregnant.”

He arches a brow. “Not yet. I know. I just miss being inside you.”

“If you want—” I freeze, listening to see if I just heard something or I’m imagining things.

Marcus pulls on a gray T-shirt and grabs his gun, double-checking the chamber. I don’t even breathe. Our only advantage out here is aromium, and it’s already saved us more than once.

The trip across Texas has been rough so far. The ILF was escorting us in armored vehicles, but we were taking so much fire from cartels that we had to change our route. That didn’t deter them, though.

We had to reroute again, and eventually, the armored vehicles had to go back to the base because their drones were picking them up no matter what direction we went.

We’re on foot now, and we’ve been able to hear other people when they’re close and evade them, but the drones are relentless.

I lock eyes with Marcus and he gives me a slight nod, confirming he hears it, too. It’s the soft buzz of an approaching drone. Some of the drones are surveillance only, but others are armed. Both kinds are dangerous to us.

Marcus quietly moves closer and puts an arm around my waist, sweeping me off my feet. He puts my back on the ground and gets on top of me, balancing his weight on his knees and elbows.

He’s shielding me, so that if it’s an armed drone, it will only detect one person. We’ve argued endlessly about this. I’ve told him we’re in this together, and if he’s about to die, I want to either save him or die trying. He’s impossibly stubborn, though.

I take advantage of our close proximity and cup his scruffy cheek, his forehead so close to mine I can feel its warmth.

He adjusts his hips, a groan rumbling in his chest. Somehow, even while waiting to possibly get shot in the back, he’s hard. His steely length is pressing against my thigh.

“How are you turned on right now?” I murmur.

“Have you seen you? How could I not be?”

I don’t know how I was ever not completely in love with him. He’s never made me feel like anything but the most desirable woman in the world.

“I love you,” I say softly.

“I love you more.” His warm breath caresses my lips.

The buzzing sound is moving closer, and I have a fleeting idea to tell him to fuck me right now. If I lose him, the only way I could go on is if I had a piece of him in our child.

I wiggle until I can peek out from around his face. There’s just a never-ending gray cloud of misty fog, the sweet smell of earth making the moment feel peaceful for a few seconds.