Page 87 of After the Fall

Joe smiled. He was missing some teeth and would need to see a dentist. “I’m going to go get my girl.”

“She’s sleeping,” I said, my mind running to Harper still wrapped up in my sheets.

The yellow-toothed smile was back. “The other one.” He winked, and then human Joe was gone.

I turned and shook my finger at our community’s top scientist.

Tim gulped. “He made me do it.”

“I can’t be mad at you if you saved Harper’s parents,” I sighed. “Hell, you might end up saving a whole lot of people with your foolishness. But Tim…” I paused. “Don’t you dare be testing any of this stuff on yourself.”

Tim’s eyes grew wider than his round glasses. “Never.”

I stayedat the greenhouse for another hour, discussing the results of Tim’s experiments. When I’d left that morning, it had been quiet, save for the snores rumbling from all corners of the mansion. When I returned, pans were being dropped in the kitchen, Yeti were walking around eating frozen fish like popsicles, and the South Americans were slowly emerging from the carriage house, bee-lining for the espresso machine.

One of Valentina’s guys, Luiz, rubbed his eyes and yawned.

“What are you doing up so early? I swear I heard samba music still blasting at five a.m.,” I said.

Luiz drank his espresso. “The pilot called. He wants to take off before some bad weather rolls in. Valentina’s already left for the airport. She said to tell you that she’ll be back next month to discuss the future of the Northern and Southern alliance.”

Having the Yeti in Seattle was a monumental occasion, and Valentina was surely threatened by our immediate collaboration with our distant white-haired relatives. Together, there was no way she could overthrow our leadership. And she knew it. She would have to play nice for the next little while. “Have a safe flight.” I patted the guy on the back.

The South Americans had helped us beat the Carders, but Valentina would always be a threat. It was a goodbye and a good riddance wrapped into one.

“Wyatt.” Gloria padded out of the kitchen with a tray of pancakes. “For Harper.”

I took the tray and headed upstairs to my bedroom. Harper was sitting on the edge of the bed, her elbows resting on her knees.

“Harper.” I set the tray on the dresser and skidded to my knees in front of her. “Are you okay?”

She looked up at me, her face pale and her eyes bloodshot. “What did we eat last night? I think I’ve got food poisoning.”

She pushed me out of the way and retching sounds echoed from the bathroom. I knew from movies that women liked to have their hair held while they threw up, but when I opened the door to help her she threw a box of tissues at me. “Stay out.” She sounded possessed.

The corner of the box hit the side of my head where the chip had been attached. Tears of pain sprigged in my eyes and I rubbed the spot on my head. My hair had already grown back, but my skin was still tender where the Carders had attached the mind-controlling device.

I sat on the bed and picked up a pancake with my fingers, rolling it into a tube and dipping it in the syrup, before eating it in two bites. While I waited, I tried to remember what we’d eaten the night before that could’ve given Harper food poisoning.

“Maybe it was the shrimp,” I shouted.

Harper emerged from the bathroom, wiping her mouth with a hand towel. “Even the toothpaste smells gross.” She tossed the towel on the bed. “Mmm. But those pancakes smell incredible.” She took the tray from my lap and cut a piece with the side of her fork, folding it into her mouth. A moan escaped from her lips.

“Do I need to be jealous of a pancake?” I laughed. “I don’t think I’ve ever made you moan like that.”

She smiled while she chewed and pushed me aside.

“I had plans to come up here and wake you up.” I winked. “But it looks like I need to take care of you in other ways instead. Do you want some tea? Maybe some of Gloria’s homemade chicken soup?”

Harper swallowed her giant bite of pancake. “I feel better already.”

She did look better. The grayish-green tint was gone from her face, and her eyes sparkled. “I’m happy, hungry, and…” she took a bite of her pancake and then sipped the orange juice. “Horny.” She shoved the tray aside and pushed me down on the bed, straddling me like a crocodile wrestler.

“You are freakishly strong.” I didn’t resist.

Harper pulled down my pants and my cock slapped my abdomen. I was harder than I’d been this morning. She pulled off her striped pajama pants and tossed them on the floor.

“Commando?” I raised my eyebrows.

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