Page 53 of Dyana
Jack held me close, whispering soothing words to me as he rubbed my back, which I couldn’t quite concentrate on. Instead, I focused on his tone and noticed when it began to sound a little more strained than before. Strained in a way I was intimately familiar with.
“Shit, shit, shit,” he started muttering. “Zombies. Dogs. Bryce. Evan. Peanut Butter. Fuck, nothings working. The crying, the tightening of your muscles. It’s too much. I’m sorry, shit!” With a ragged groan, Jack came deep inside of me. He pressed his face into the crook of my neck, breathing through his orgasm.
A thought came to me, and a hiccupping giggle bubbled out of me.
“What the hell is so funny, Doll?” Jack demanded, lifting his head to scowl at me.
“I won,” I squeaked.
Jack rolled his eyes and tickled my sides lightly, coaxing more giggles from me. “Yeah, well, now it’s my turn to make you come,” he growled playfully.
I wrapped myself around him tightly. “Actually, can we just stay like this a little longer instead?” I asked quietly.
“Are you sure?” Jack asked with concern.
I nodded. “More than sure. I— I need this connection with you more than I need an orgasm right now.” That was harder for me to say than I expected, but I needed to get better about voicing my needs instead of trying to handle everything on my own. I wasn’t alone anymore. I had a support system to lean on—people who loved me and selflessly wanted what was best for me.
“We can stay like this for as long as you need,” Jack replied.
I lay my head on his shoulder and closed my eyes, soaking up his presence as he began drawing patterns on my back with his fingers. Sitting here with Jack in our gazebo, I could almost pretend the horrors of the world hadn’t happened.
Almost.
Chapter sixteen
Dyana
Ihadn’t meant to fall asleep, but the sun was much lower in the sky when I reopened my eyes.
“Feeling better?” Jack asked when I leaned back to look at him. I expected to see him half asleep, too, but his eyes were sharp and clear of any drowsiness.
“Loads,” I replied. “Sorry—“
Jack’s finger landed on my lips, silencing me. “Nope.”
I opened my mouth to protest his gag order, and he pinched my lips closed gently.
“I said no. You are not going to apologize for needing something. You have no idea how good I feel knowing that I was able to provide you with the comfort you needed. That you trusted me enough to be completely vulnerable and trust that I would take care of you. Don’t ruin it by apologizing for needing that moment.”
The corners of my mouth lifted into a small smile as I nodded my agreement. I couldn’t deny him that request.
“Good. Now, it’s getting late, so we need to get dressed and head home. I can come back to clean all of this another day.”
We dressed, grabbed the food bag, record player, and records we’d picked out, and left town. The hike home was uneventful, and when we got back, everyone was excited to go through the records and reminisce. Since it was such a nice evening, we decided to have dinner together outside again. These family dinners were becoming much more frequent and the highlight of our days. It was nice to come together, not because there was a task that needed to be completed, but to simply enjoy each other’s company.
I was the first one to hear the sound of an engine, but Trent must have heard it too because he jumped up and stopped the record player.
“Hey!” Cora protested when the music was suddenly cut off. The roar of an engine was easily heard by everyone now, and the air became thick with tension as the sound grew closer.
“Cora, take Johnny inside and stay there,” I ordered, drawing my gun. It was never my go-to weapon because it was noisy, and the bullets were precious. So under normal circumstances, it stayed on my hip, mostly forgotten, but this wasn’t normal circumstances, and we weren’t dealing with zombies.
“I’ll do no such thing!” she argued.
I turned to look at her. As part of my whole learning to forgive myself and open up so that I can heal thing, I had told Cora and her men my whole sordid past. I was grateful I had now. “Cora, it’shim.You need to take Johnny to the bunker.”
“It might not be him,” Evan suggested. “Maybe it’s someone else.”
“It’s him,” I replied, turning back to the drive. I could feel it in my soul. The devil had come to claim me once and for all. I knew when I first saw the car drive through town that it was Harris, I just didn’t want to believe it.
