Total pages in book: 165
Estimated words: 159487 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 797(@200wpm)___ 638(@250wpm)___ 532(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 159487 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 797(@200wpm)___ 638(@250wpm)___ 532(@300wpm)
There were several of them, probably—dozens. Maybe even a whole herd.
The clicking sounds were coming from somewhere ahead and above, drifting down through the mist like insects scraping their legs together.
Cassie’s skin crawled and her fingers tightened around the charge baton until her knuckles hurt.
Severin motioned toward a shadowed overhang in the ravine wall. Ravik moved instantly, one arm curling around Cassie’s waist as he guided her backward beneath the jutting stone. Severin came in close on her other side, pressing her between their bodies and the cold rock.
Then the three of them froze and Cassie tried very hard not to breathe too loudly.
Above them, shapes moved through the mist.
The Infected passed along the ridge in a loose, shuffling pack. Cassie could see their long Visskous limbs through gaps in the stone—too thin and too jerky—and their gray-green scales, now dull and crusted with dark stains. Their mouths hung open, lipless and wrong, showing thin, needle-like teeth and black-red gums. Some crawled on all fours. Others lurched upright, shambling along with their heads twitching periodically as though they were scenting the air.
Then one stopped directly above them and started sniffing. It was huge, with flesh hanging off it in clunks and one eye socket that was horribly empty. In fact, it looked a lot like the one that had bitten her in the first place.
Cassie felt like someone had dumped a whole gallon of ice straight into the pit of her belly. Her whole body started to tremble and Ravik’s arm tightened around her waist.
Severin’s hand came gently over her mouth—not hard or frightening—just firm enough to remind her not to make a sound.
Of course, Cassie knew she had to be quiet—she absolutely did. But when the huge Infected lowered its head and sniffed in their direction, white eyes rolling blindly in its skull, a tiny panicked sound tried to escape her anyway. Luckily, Severin’s hand held it in.
His body was pressed against her side and Ravik was against her back. The two of them were so close that their scents filled her head. Ravik smelled like leather and smoke and warm male skin and Severin smelled like cold ocean wind with something new beneath it—something faintly golden and sharp that made the bite wound on her arm pulse.
And when the bite wound pulsed, other parts of her pulsed too.
Cassie squeezed her eyes shut.
Oh no—not now! she begged her body. Now is not the time to start getting horny and demanding male seed again! Please, calm down—we can’t do this right now!
Heat flickered under her skin, low and dangerous, and Cassie tried desperately to ignore it. Her body, which apparently had no sense of timing whatsoever, continued to react to being trapped between the two big Kindred. Her nipples tightened and her pussy gave a soft, treacherous throb. The bite wound brightened beneath the sleeve of Severin’s uniform shirt, which she was still wearing as a kind of jacket over her red nighty. It showed a faint reddish-gold glow that she tried desperately to hide against her side.
Cassie was equal parts horny, irritated, and despairing.
Great—just great. She was having another horny zombie flare while actual zombies were standing above them. Because of course she was. That was just the way her life was going lately.
The Infected above them clicked again and made snuffling sounds, as though it was sniffing for prey.
Ravik went utterly still and Severin’s hand stayed over Cassie’s mouth, but his other hand found her glowing arm and covered the wound with his palm. The moment he touched her there, heat rolled through her so sharply she almost whimpered. But the glow dimmed under his hand, as though his altered essence-scent was calming the reaction even through skin.
As he touched her, she felt the aching need that had been building slowly begin to ease—like a fire dimming to embers. Cassie felt immediate relief…followed by another surge of fear as the Infected shifted overhead, scraping claws against stone.
But she knew with absolute certainty that the two Kindred with her wouldn’t let her come to harm if they could help it. She felt completely surrounded by their big, warm bodies which was incredibly comforting.
After what felt like an eternity, the pack of lizard zombies moved on, the huge Infected that had been sniffing so near them bringing up the rear.
No one moved until the clicking faded into the mist. But at last, when it was clear they weren’t coming back, Severin lowered his hand from her mouth.
Cassie drew in a shaky breath.
“I hate this planet,” she whispered.
“Agreed,” Severin said quietly.
Ravik looked down at her arm, his expression dark.
“Your arm was glowing.”
“Yes, thank you, I noticed.”
“Did it hurt?” he wanted to know.
“No.” She swallowed. “It was…I was having the opposite problem.”
Ravik’s eyes flared.
“I thought you smelled hot, baby. Couldn’t figure out why when there was a herd of fuckin’ zombies coming our way.”