Only Love Survives (Love and Zombies) (22 page)

She turned and looked over to where Megan sat with a sleeping toddler in her arms.

“Fix this, big brother. Before you lose her.” Summer kissed his cheek and got up to go with Linda.

“Any suggestions?” He smiled up at her.

“Ask
her
how to fix it. This is not an acquisition or hostile takeover. You can’t just absorb her into your bottom line. I always knew it would take a strong woman to capture your heart. Well, you found one. Don’t expect her to just roll over and take orders from you like your office staff does—did.” Summer patted his back. “I love you big brother, but sometimes the business tycoon in you gets in the way of everything else. Don’t let it get in the way of this or you will lose her.”

“Yeah? Since when did you become such a romantic?”

“You forget this all the time, but I am a grown woman.” She kissed the top of his head like their mother used to do and turned to go.

Sam caught her hand, and she turned back.

“Thank you, Baby-Girl.”

Summer shook her head at the hated nickname, but smiled nonetheless.

Sam let her fingers slide out of his and turned to find Megan over the top of the flames again.

Sam watched her hand the sleeping child off to Allan’s wife. She stood up, straightened her shirt and slipped away from the fire.

It was now or never. Sam got up and limped after her.

“Megan.” He stopped her just outside the firelight. “Where are you going?”

She turned to face him. “I’m staying with Allan’s family.”

“I hoped you’d stay in the Suburban with me. Summer made other arrangements.”

Megan turned away and crossed her arms over her body. “Oh. I just assumed she’d want to stay with you.”

“Megan what’s the matter? Are you angry I took you away from Vegas?”

“What?” The moonlight lit her face as she peered up at him in confusion. “No. That place was horrible. Thank you for saving me.”

Sam stepped closer to her. She was all that he needed. If she wanted to stay here, he would gladly do so. He dipped down and whispered in her ear. “You’re welcome.”

Her arms fell and he felt the starch leave her body.

“Stay with me tonight.” He intentionally let his words brush her cheek.

She closed her eyes and swayed. Sam smiled.

Angry as she was, she was not immune to his charm. He would discover the reason for that anger later. Right now, all he wanted to do was make her sigh. Sam slid his fingers down the length of her arm until he found her hand.

“Come on.” He gave her hand a little tug until he felt her resistance melt away.

Megan fell into step with his unsteady gait and let him lead her to his rig. When he opened the back, she climbed in and he followed, shutting the door behind him.

Mesmerized, Megan watched the steel bands of his arms work while he undid the laces of his boots. Having watched him wobble to the Suburban made her heart ache, so she tried not to think about the wound in his leg. She’d come so close to losing him in every way, all she wanted to do right now was be close to him. Be a part of him and give him everything she had to give.

His arm snapped out and grabbed her foot. Sam loosened the laces of her sneaker and pulled it off. Then he pulled off the other one. Megan’s breath came in little bursts as his hands roamed up her legs to find the button of her pants. He shucked them from her in one swoop then turned a devilish smile on her. While his hands worked the buttons of his shirt, his eyes never left her.

Megan shivered, not from the cool evening air, but from her body’s response to his proximity. When he pulled the shirt off his broad shoulders, Megan joined him on her knees and his musky scent enveloped her. His fingers grazed her hips as he collected the edge of her T-shirt in his hands and lifted it over her head.

No longer embarrassed by his attention, Megan felt glorious under his scrutiny, like a Siren calling him to her. She tugged the ponytail holder from her head and set her hair free to flow around her shoulders. Sam flinched when he reached around her to unhook her bra, so she pulled away and did it herself. Then he pushed it from her in a deliciously slow movement.

All that stood between them were his pants and her underwear. He wrapped his arm around her waist and crushed her to him. Her breasts stood at attention when they met the warm flesh of his hard chest. Sam took her mouth in a possessive kiss, and Megan allowed herself to be conquered. His tongue caressed and toyed with hers, and Megan sighed into his mouth. She felt him smile against her lips as he laid her back onto a makeshift pillow made from a bundle of clean clothes.

“One last thing.” He slid his hand down the length of her arm and gathered her wrist in his hand.

He tugged the strap and Megan’s heart raced. She pulled her hand to escape his scrutiny but he held fast.

“I want to see it.”

“No. It’s ugly.” Megan shook her head.

“It’s the only part of you I haven’t seen.” His fingers worked the latch and the wristwatch fell off. He lifted her hand to the moonlight, and even she could see the white scar glowing in the light.

Sam raised his gaze to capture hers while he lifted her wrist to his lips. He brushed the marred skin so softly, his kiss was but a whisper.

Megan shivered again. “I’m so sorry, Sam.”

“You’re sorry?” His brows knit together in confusion.

“I should have told you. I wanted to, but I was afraid you would respond like everyone else. I should have known better. You’re better than that.”

He curled his wrist and tucked her hand into his chest, his gaze tortured with uncertainty. “I don’t know if that’s true. Maybe I would have responded just like everyone else.”

“No. I’ve seen your heart. I’ve seen you ache for what had to be done and your strength to do it anyhow. You are a good man.”

“You are so beautiful.” He leaned in and kissed her once on the lips. “Inside…” He kissed her again. “…and out.”

Her heart screamed in protest. She would have told him to stop saying such things when he didn’t love her, but Sam captured her mouth in earnest and his passion made her objections melt away. Sam brought every wanton desire in her to the surface. She relished in them like a rich chocolate dessert, unashamed of her need for him. Megan would allow him to fulfill that need, if only for one more night.

When he captured her breast with his teeth, she was lost to all reason. Sam sated her passion in wave after wave of pleasure until the sky turned purple, heavy with morning. Then, and only then, did he allow her to fall asleep tucked in his arms. Safe.

Megan woke to the sensation that someone was watching her. Her hand went to the watch but it was back in place. Her eyes took a second to focus.

Sam snored lightly next to her with his arm tossed above his head. Movement outside grabbed her attention. Megan gasped and grabbed her clothes to make sure she was covered. Argyle peered in the tinted window, using his hands as goggles to see inside.

Sam sat bolt upright at her distress.

“It’s okay. It’s just Argyle. I think he’s looking for you. I also think he got an eye full.” Megan placed a hand on his chest, thankful he’d had the foresight to cover their nakedness with the sheet at some point in the night.

Sam leaned back down on one elbow and wiped the sleep from his eyes with his other hand.

“Can you blame him? You are a sight to behold.” He finished his sentence with a yawn.

Megan slapped at his shoulder. “Yeah, especially in the morning.”

Sam leaned over and kissed her neck.

“Stop that. He’s right there.”

Sam lifted his head and hollered loud enough to be heard outside the vehicle. “Hey Argyle, can you give us a half hour or so?”

Mortified Megan pulled the sheet over her head.

“Sure thing. See you at breakfast?”

“Yep.” Sam lifted the sheet and pulled it over his own head then attacked Megan. She couldn’t stop the childish giggle that bubbled out of her.

An hour later when they were pulling their clothes back on, Sam turned to her and asked what she’d been worried about since they left Vegas.

“Do you want to stay here or go to my cabin up North?”

“Wow. You’re giving me a choice?”

Coward.

She snorted. Both of them were giant cowards. A match made in heaven. Too bad he was too blind to see it.

“I guess I’ll stay long enough to have the baby, then move on.” The thought of living on her own with a child was overwhelming, but she would make it work. She’d been able to trek across four states for Pete’s sakes, she could do this on her own too. She tugged her shoelace a little harder than she meant to and cut off the circulation to her toes.

“
You’ll
stay? What do you mean
you’ll
stay?” The storm brewing in Sam’s eyes should have warned her off, but she was in the mood to live dangerously.

Chapter Sixteen

“I don’t expect anything from you Sam. It wasn’t either of our plans to have a baby in this messed up world.”

She pushed open the car door and crawled out to escape his scrutiny, but he caught her by the waist and pulled her back.

“Oh no you don’t.”

“Let me go.” She didn’t want to hash this out. The people that built this camp had built a life worth living. A hard life, but she could attempt to raise a baby here.

“Why? So you can storm off angry again. No way. We’re going to settle this here and now. What is your problem?”

“My problem?” He had some nerve.

“Yeah. Your problem. I am letting you choose where we spend the rest of our lives, and you’re still pissed? Women.” Sam threw his arms up in the air and unintentionally smacked the roof of the car.

“Our lives?” Megan shook her head. He made absolutely no sense.

“Yes our lives. What did you think? I was just going to dump you here?”

Megan turned away from the indignant look on his face.

“You did, didn’t you? Is that what you think of me?” His voice thundered in the small vehicle.

“I…” The words died in her throat. Megan knew darn well he wouldn’t dump her off by choice, but nor did she want to spend the rest of her life with a man who didn’t love her.

“Be very careful of what you say next, Megan. You owe me the truth.”

Megan winced at his cheap shot and anger seared her heart. “Fine you want the truth. I am not spending five more minutes with a man that can’t see any further than his own nose.”

She scooted out the back of the rig.

He came right out behind her, and caught her by the wrist.

“Stop running away from me.” He spun her around and captured her with both his hands planted on the car behind her.

“Tell me,” he bellowed in her face.

“Fine, you want the truth?” She planted her hands on the side of the car behind her, grasping for something solid, and yelled right back at him. “The truth is I love you, and you are too stupid to see it. And I am not stupid enough to spend the rest of my life with a man who doesn’t love me back.”

She gasped at her own admission.
Darn her tongue
. This was exactly why she didn’t swear. Once the words were out there you couldn’t take them back. Her arms slumped to her sides in defeat.

Sam’s jaw twitched, and Megan waited for the storm to hit, but his words were calm when they finally came. “What makes you think I don’t love you?”

“You never said so, and don’t say so now just to make me feel better. I…
we
will be just fine without you…eventually.” She really needed to stop talking before she made any more of a fool of herself in front of him.

His hands slid down to her shoulders.

“You know, I’ve been calling you my wife for days now and nothing ever felt so natural.”

Megan swallowed the lump in her throat. “It didn’t mean anything.”

“If you need someone to say the words over us, I’ll ask Allan to do it.” He rubbed her collarbone with the pad of his thumb while he spoke and the sensation made her head swim.

“Why would I want to do that?” He just didn’t get it.

“Because I do love you.”

Megan shook her head in denial, but he stopped her protests on her lips with the gentle touch of his finger and continued.

“I love the way you won’t swear, even when the situation most definitely calls for it. And I love the way you don’t look at me any different after I get pissed off and use every swear word I know. I love the way you blushed after our first encounter at the river. Hell, I even love the way you go toe to toe with me and won’t back down until I prove I’m right.”

A sob escaped Megan. Her very soul ached for his touch.

“I love you.” He dipped low and brushed her lips with his own. “You are my wife, not because some minister says so, or even because we say so. You are my wife because deep down in our hearts it’s true.”

Megan looked up into his face and knew it was true, all of it, and her heart soared on joyous wings. “I love you, too.”

He kissed her, and Megan answered the call of his heart with all the love she held. When he pulled away from the kiss, it left Megan breathless.

“I have something for you.” Sam leaned in the Suburban. He grunted and caught himself on the doorjamb of the car when he stumbled on his hurt leg a bit. He regained his balance and rummaged around in the back.

“Here it is.” He pulled out a small box.

“That looks like a jewelry box.” Megan stated the obvious as he handed it to her.

“Open it.” He looked like a mischievous cat. All that was missing were bright yellow feathers sticking out of his mouth.

Megan flipped the box open. Two diamond stud earrings sparkled in the sunlight. “Oh Sam. How?”

“My voucher at the hotel.” He took the box from her and held it up so she could pull the earrings off their perch and put them on.

“I haven’t had earrings on since…well, a long time.” Her hands shook while she slid the studs in.

His fingers grazed her ear when he pushed her hair back to examine the gift. “It’s not exactly an engagement ring, but you said your thing was earrings.”