gone.” Her eyes lit up. “I’ve always wanted to garden. I can grow our vegetables. And I’ll cook.”
“We can share those chores. Cooking, dishes, that sort of thing.”
“Good you said that. Cooking I’m okay with, the rest of it, we do together.”
They were once again at the small clearing where the ranger’s house sat. He didn’t want to stop with their fantasy, but he needed to examine her and record his findings. He’d get that out of the way and then go alone to the remote lab and let Trap tell him whatever needed to be said. The absolute truth because he liked the idea of marrying her. Dying as her husband, as part of a couple who belonged together made sense. He wanted that, and he wanted to give her that. It had started out as a joke to take her mind from their reality, but once spoken, the idea appealed to him. More than appealed.
“You’re on,” he agreed and opened the door for her.
Shylah went ahead of him. He loved to watch her walk. She was tired. He could clearly see her fatigue in the way she carried her body, but she still had that erotic, feminine sway. She peeled off the wet shirt the moment she was inside. He turned her around and instantly saw the rash that spread across her stomach and breasts. It was red, raised bumps and angry looking. He used his phone to take pictures.
He kept all expression off his face as he examined the lymph nodes in her neck, under her mandible, on her arms and chest. Her lymph nodes were swollen, and it was all he could do not to cry. She held very still as he examined her, as if she were holding herself together by a thread. He took her temperature, wanting to get the examination over with as soon as possible. It was high, but just barely, as his was.
“Why don’t you take another shower and lie down for a few minutes. I’ll go have a mini-consultation with Trap, and when I come back, I’ll try my hand at cooking. After we eat, we’ll get some sleep.”
Shylah nodded. When he turned away from her, she caught his hand. “Thank you, Draden. You pulled me back from the edge.”
“You would have gotten there. I just got you there a little sooner.” He bent his head to hers, cupping her chin in his palm, looking into her dark eyes. “I think getting married to you is a really good idea. Let’s plan it and do it tomorrow, even if we can’t make it legal.”
Her tongue touched her upper lip, tracing the intriguing bow. The corners of her mouth turned up. She had a small indentation when she smiled, a little dimple that came and went but fascinated him.
He brushed kisses over the dusting of gold across her nose and cheeks. She had amazing bone structure and he kissed along the line of her high cheekbones. Shifting his hands to frame her face, he brought his mouth down on hers. The world dropped away. The fact that they were infected with a terrible virus disappeared.
There was heat. Fire. Perfection. The moment his lips rubbed against hers, soft and sensuous, the flames leapt and burned. Electricity arced from his skin to hers. He kissed her over and over until neither of them could breathe. When he finally lifted his head, it took effort not to just pick her up and carry her to the bed. Instead, he found medicine for the rash and aspirin for her headache. Kissing her was paradise but taking care of her was more important to him.
Leaving her to shower and nap, Draden made his way to the remote lab, trying not to think about living without her. He should have thought about dying, about having to kill her and then himself to avoid the effects of the hemorrhagic virus. Instead, with every step away from her, he tried to picture what it would be like for both of them to survive and split up. He couldn’t face that bleak future any more than he could face the idea of dying in such a vile way.
He wanted that future the two of them talked about. He wanted the fun of planning a ceremony and looked forward to being with her and working out the details.
Wyatt Fontenot appeared on the screen when Draden called. In the background, he could see Trap bent over a worktable. Trap reminded Draden of