Trapped (Part One) - BWWM Dark Romance - Zombie Apocalypse

Trapped (Chapter 5)

CHAPTER FIVE

Serena was losing her patience.

They had stopped for diesel, they had stopped for Steven to raid abandoned stores, and they had stopped for him to take out some 'Morphs' as he called them.

Now, they were stopping again.

Steven had driven through most of the night, but somehow, Serena had a feeling they were still in California.

"I feel kind of gross," Steven explained from up front. "I'm going to bathe in this upcoming body of water. The next one won't be for a while since we'll be going through...well, you know—the desert. The Morphs don't like water, so the water itself is probably clear, but I'm going to clear the area anyway. Feel free to jump in too."

"I'll wait till you're done," she said quickly, trying to keep irritation out of her voice.

Why was she getting mad at him? He had come to get her—he was trying to save her!—and he had probably inconvenienced himself in...who knew how many ways? All because of her. She should be grateful instead of resenting him for not getting them to their supposed sanctuary faster.

She sat there with folded arms and, left with only her thoughts, admitted to herself what the real problem was: she felt like a sitting duck.

She had needed two bathroom breaks after drinking half a case of water and had to endure the humiliation of Steven's close eye, plus he had come to the back to pick out something else to eat besides the bars he kept up front.

With each pause in their travels, with every movement she made, she felt stalked.

She didn't have to look at him to know that Steven's blue eyes were on her, watching her every move—from tucking her hair behind her ear to just looking everywhere but at him.

He had explained why he had to keep an eye on her, and, given their situation, it was obviously true. That should've been all there was to it and appeased her discomfort, but the truth was, she felt naked under his gaze and more feminine than ever.

She felt the rawness of his masculine appraisal, his appreciation of the curves of her face and body.

He looked at her like he hadn't seen a woman in months!

Then she thought about it—perhaps he hadn't. She had no idea what his life was like after the outbreak. Heck, she barely knew what his life was like before it.

Plus, she had always been wary of people who left regular life to do real battle and then came back into civilian life after having seen and done horrible things she probably couldn't even imagine.

How could they ever be normal again? Couldn't they snap at any time?

Still, she managed to pretend that she didn't secretly fear Steven, and the way he had been able to at least act like a regular human whenever he came back, helped.

Besides, the mystery of his occupation, the physical prowess he obviously possessed, his secretive, yet revealing eyes—she found all of it alluring.

Even now, she had to resist peeking at him as he bathed, and she battled the bare images of his muscular form that her mind tried to create.

By the time she heard him come back, she had decided she would also bathe since they would be coming up on the base somewhat soon and she felt a bit self-conscious about her state.

Steven had her wait until he put clothes back on and was able to escort her to the water, despite them being parked almost in it, just at the edge.