I must have dozed off after I coaxed Page into taking her second dose of Tylenol, because the next thing I knew strong arms were pulling me on my side and my head was resting in a lap. I blinked against the sleepiness and then looked up into Nelson’s shadowed face.
“Hey,” he whispered, cupping my jaw with his huge hand. “I didn’t mean to wake you.”
“I didn’t mean to fall asleep,” I admitted with a yawn.
“It’s alright,” Nelson leaned forward and kissed my temple before continuing, “You can sleep if you want to. I’ll keep you safe.”
Ignoring the way his words took root in my heart and bloomed into something bigger and more exciting in my chest, I reached up and ran my fingers along the rough line of his jaw. He hadn’t trimmed his beard in a while- not that there had been any opportunity- and he was totally working the haggard man look. He was so undeniably handsome I could hardly stand it.
I had never been the kind of girl that suffered from low self-esteem. Honestly, I didn’t have time for it. Mostly I was just trying to occupy my brain to keep from sliding into insanity. But Nelson was the kind of guy that made me think, “Why me?” Why would he pick me?
And I did feel picked- chosen. He seemed to want me in a way and with feelings I never in a million years thought I would witness or experience.
With his focused pursuit of me, I never stood a chance. Of course I would fall for him; of course I would give in. He was Nelson; he was everything I wanted in a man, even before things went bad. And while I was sure we’d have problems ahead, and he wouldn’t always seem so perfect, I knew he would never let those times dominate our relationship. Even when everything else looked bleak and miserable, he would never let that get in the way of our happiness.
Was I in this forever? Like was this my happily ever after?
It was obviously impossible to say at this point. But it was a nice happily-right-now.
Nelson leaned down and brushed his lips over mine. And then again. My fingers found
themselves tangled in his hair, pulling on his neck to get closer to his delicious mouth. He resisted just enough to drive me crazy with a blinding hunger I’d never experienced.
“Tell me you like me,” he demanded, letting me tug him down just so he could kiss the tip of my nose.
“I like you,” I whispered with half effort.
“Tell me you want me to kiss you for the rest of the night,” he murmured and then allowed me one gentle kiss against his perfect lips.
“I want you to kiss me for the rest of the night.” This time there was no playing games, no teasing, I really did want him to kiss me until morning, maybe until the end of time.
“I really wish we were back in that barn,” he groaned.
“Me too,” I agreed.
We kissed for long moments, and eventually he pulled me into his lap so that I straddled his waist and cupped his neck with both of my hands. I tried to slow down his kisses as they grew more demanding and hungry. His sick sister was directly behind us and his brother and my best friend were probably watching us- perverts.
But he wasn’t having it. And I was having a hard time finding the will to stop him when he was devouring every rational thought with his mouth and talented tongue.
Finally he took a deep breath and pressed his mouth to my neck, letting his lips feel my pounding pulse against them.
“Haley, you’re a virgin,” he whispered like this was some kind of revelation.
“Yep,” I agreed- feeling irrationally embarrassed.
“We need to keep it that way for a while,” he was panting and undone by our hot and heavy make out session.
“Yeah, you really seem like you’re all into practicing abstinence,” I drawled and then giggled before I could stop myself.
“Don’t try to sweet talk me,” he whined in a gruff voice. “I can’t take that away from you. At least not yet.”
“So…. what? Even if I’m in a relationship during a Zombie infestation, I still have to die a virgin?” I looked down at him upset over the whole idea. “That does not seem fair, Nelson. This better not be your attempt to save my life. This isn’t a horror movie, this is our reality, the same rules don’t apply.”
He looked up at me and squeezed my hips in his hands, “This is my attempt to save us- not just you. I’m probably going to make sure you’re in love with me before I take that from you.”
I snorted at his audacity and lowered myself on his lap just a little bit more- just enough to drive him crazy. “You think you’ll be able to manage that? I’m too smart to fall in love with just anybody.”
“I know that,” he agreed, looking up at me with so much tenderness and affection suddenly I was convinced I was already in love with him. “So no, I’m not sure if I can manage that, but I am going to try.”