Kylie Scott - Love an Apocalypse

An excerpt tackling the sharing aspect of the story in my surviving-the-zombie-apocaylpse-world-gone-mad. To set the scene, I just gave my Heroine a concussion. I'm harsh like that...

Daniel did not want to share her. Not with the kid, not with anyone, not even a little. He knew it would work, this insane idea of going halves, he just didn’t want it to. He had only just found her and she was his. But he couldn’t keep her safe, not on his own.

A fact that bit deep and hard and hung on like a pit bull.

The kid hung his head, shoulders rising on a deep breath. “I’ll go do another lap.”

“No.” Daniel sealed his eyelid’s tight. Then opened them. Belief that he was actually about to take this step was a long, long way away. “You’ve been at it for hours... My turn at guard duty, your go at being the pillow.”

There was a moment of relief followed by a flash of WTF on the kids face. “What? Whoa, aah… I don’t think she would be keen. Let’s not upset her.”

Funnily enough, the thought of his girl upset at Finn didn’t bother Dan. But it wasn’t a step in the required direction. “I think she would be less keen about having the hard ground beneath her when she’s feeling tender.”

“I can get my towel out of my pack, roll it up for her. You know, like a pillow.”

Puh-lease.

Even in the low light he could see the emotion playing out over the kids face, wary and want going to war. There was a certain satisfaction in making Mister Cool and Calm squirm. He didn’t hesitate to lie to the git. “She has nightmares sometimes, loud ones. You need to be close, we can’t afford the noise. Lie down on her other side.”

Finn’s eyes flared in panic.

Sweet baby Jesus, the man could go all urban guerrilla warfare but was too shy to snuggle up to Ali. And he knew the kid wanted to.

“Dan, it’s been a while, and… Man, I…”

“Like her?”

The kid nodded. Emphatically. “Yes I like her. Uninfected female, how could I not? And we’ve got enough on our plate.”

“Yeah, she’s very likeable. Especially when she’s asleep, all soft and cuddly like this.”

“Sort of my point. I don’t want to cause any trouble here.”

“I appreciate that, really, I do. But take in the big picture here, buddy. World gone mad, chaos, carnage, we all nearly died today. That we’ve survived this long is pretty wild when you stop and think.”

The kid groaned. “So you’re saying you won’t shoot me in the back if I’m jonesing for your girlfriend?”

Tempting… but no. Dan shook his head. “Nuh. You’re more use to her alive than dead.”