Both of them stared up at the hole in the ceiling as their heartbeats slowed.

CHAPTER THREE

“You weigh a ton,” she said.

Daniel lifted his head off his little ray of sunshine’s chest, ridiculously gratified by the calm, even thumping of her heart, and the steady, measured lift and fall of her ribs. She was alright. Never mind the griping.

His girl was okay, and on some subconscious, unchartable level, that equated to trust. It had to be trust. Or maybe she was just worn out. Oh well. He’d settle for what he could get, for now.

“Hey.” He held both of her wrists in one hand, and used the other to wipe at the dirty tear tracks on her face, to tuck a strand of oily hair behind an ear more adorable than any ear had a right to be. He was grinning again, and he didn’t bother to fight it. She was every Christmas all at once, tinsel and trees and the whole shebang. Sure, last Christmas had been spent fighting for survival, but this more than made up for it. What a wonderful present. He’d even gotten used to her smell. “How are you feeling?”

“Squished.”

“Right. Sorry.” In deference to her future goodwill, he shifted more of his weight off her and onto his side, leaving a leg thrown over her and her hands trapped, for safety’s sake. Thankfully he had gotten his c**k under control a while back. “Better?” he asked.

By way of a response, she snorted and stretched her fingers as if she was working out the kinks.

“Did you know it’s Valentine’s Day? And you still haven’t told me your name,” he said.

“It’s Valentine’s?”

“Mm hmm. February fifteen. I’ve been keeping track.”

“Valentine’s is the fourteenth.”

“What’s a day between friends? Anyway, we were talking about your name. Which you were going to tel me,” he prompted.

She didn’t even blink.

“Whenever you’re ready. No rush at all.”

Her focus remained fixed on a point above his head. He didn’t need to look. He knew what she was staring at so wistfully – the gruesome hole in the ceiling. Her own perceived gateway to freedom. That bubble needed bursting. Obviously she’d been holed up in the attic since the shit hit the fan, given the state of her.

He waited while she deliberated.

Daniel sucked in some much-needed oxygen. Why had he held his breath? That was dumb.

Eventually, she blew a strand of hair out of her face, her throat moved, and she gave a bare inch. “Ali.”

“Hi, Ali. I’m Daniel.” He smiled, and like the turning of the tide, about an ocean’s worth of tension eased out of him. “Well, I have a feeling this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.”

She gave a brief bark of laughter, or perhaps a cough. The house was dusty. It made it hard to tell. “Friends don’t hold friends hostage. General y speaking.”

“Hmm,” he nodded. “Friends also don’t let friends live out their days in a stinking, dark, dusty hole. Or so I’ve heard.”

She pinned her lips tight and turned her head away, making him feel ten types of ass**le. Too bad.

There was a message to be delivered here, and he could not afford to fail. He couldn’t face going back to being alone. Could not do it. Boy didn’t that mess with his whole “man as an island ” theory of a lifetime’s making. “Ali, I know things are scary, but barricading yourself in here alone isn’t the answer.”

“Real y?” She glared at him. It was a queenly glare. His girl pulled it off with aplomb, no matter the grime. “Living in a dark, stinking hole got me this far.”

“Granted, but the worst is over. I’m not saying things are a party out there, but they have calmed down.”

“Are you serious?” she asked, her voice highly skeptical.

“Hear me out.” Her brow flinched for a moment, but at least he had her attention. Until she craned her neck and frowned at what his finger was up to mid-torso – the torso in question being hers. His digit was drawing circles around the dip of her bellybutton. Endless circles. They both watched his finger go round and round, dawdling over soft skin in a lingering caress.

He could have sworn the thing had a mind of its own.

“Get. Your. Hand. Off. Me.”

Which, he had to admit, was fair enough. Maybe enough boundaries had been messed with on their first day together.

“Sure, sorry. Didn’t even realize I was … Yeah, never mind.” He moved the hand back to his leg and let his fingers fidget on safer ground. They wouldn’t stop moving, a sure sign of nerves.

“So. Life outside,” he began. A sore subject, to be sure, but he had to sell it. “You realize situated on the edge of the city is a bad place to be? Inner city is thick with infected, but further out here in the ‘burbs you’re going to cross paths with other survivors.”

“Oh, you think?”

“Be nice,” he said. “Now, I’m guessing the people left over are going to be a mix of the lucky, like you and me, and the odd bastard handy with a weapon and happy to do what they need to get by. I’m guessing by now food and water are getting scarce for you. You can’t stay hidden, can you? Not if you don’t want to starve. You also know it’s too dangerous to go out on your own.”

“I’ve done okay.”

“You need someone to watch your back. Can’t do that on your own.”

She tucked in her chin and said nothing.