Chapter Eleven

Rochelle dropped next to Nick and helped him sit up. "Are you okay?"

Nick winced as he held his hands, palms out to her. They were scraped and bleeding from where he dove on the concrete. "They hurt like a bitch but I don't think I'll die from it."

Rochelle opened her med kit and fished out some alcohol pads. "What is it with you and witches?"

Nick shrugged his shoulders. "I can't help it. All kinds of women fall for me. You should know that," he replied, winking at her.

Rochelle rolled her eyes and sighed heavily but didn't deny it.

"Besides, I like it when you play nurse. I'm looking forward to when I can play doctor!"

Coach laughed at that and Ellis coughed.

"Ow!" Nick exclaimed as Rochelle wiped his wounds with alcohol. "That burns!"

"Oh stop, you big baby!" Rochelle quipped.

"You did that on purpose!" Nick returned.

"Maybe," she said, smiling wickedly.

"Hey, y'all. I'm gonna climb up that ladder. I think I hear someone talking. I'll check it out," Ellis said.

"Hey-before we go out there-ya think we should talk about this? I mean, before we just walk right into the hands of the people who've been trying to kill us?" Nick asked.

"You're welcome to make yourself a home right in this here room, Nick, but I'm with Ellis on this," Coach said, climbing after Ellis.

Nick sighed and laid his head back against the wall while Rochelle finished cleaning his scrapes.

"Do you really think there's going to be a problem?" Rochelle asked quietly.

"I don't know. I just never like doing something that leaves me no alternative. Once we get to them, there's no backing out. And they don't seem too eager to check on who might still be around and not infected when they do their bombing runs."

Rochelle sat back against the same wall next to Nick. "True. But then again, on our whole way from Savannah to New Orleans, we only ran into four other non-infected people except the pilot...who turned. I'm beginning to get the feeling that we're some of the last people left. How many have been evacuated? How do they know the people they picked up weren't infected and then maybe infected more? How fast does it take from being infected to turning and why haven't we been infected?"

"I've asked myself the same question. This thing spreads so quickly yet we've been spat on, puked on, scratched, hurt, covered in infected blood...nothing. Not so much as a runny nose. I'm beginning to think we're immune," Nick countered quietly.

"Where do you think they're evacuating to?"

Nick shrugged. "My guess is the Keys or carriers somewhere out in the ocean. Infected can't cross deep water it seems."

Rochelle was quiet a moment. "Maybe we should consider a boat of our own."

"The time for that is probably over now. Unless we back up. We're here now. I know Coach and Ellis want to try this and I don't know if just two of us could make it to a boat on our own," Nick answered, shaking his head.

Rochelle nodded. "Right."

They were silent for a few moments and then Ellis came scrambling down the ladder.

"Hey, y'all! Coach found where the talking was coming from. It was a walkie-talkie on a dead soldier. He used it to contact the military. They said we need to head across the bridge at dawn tomorrow. They'll send a chopper for us."

"Why not go now?" Rochelle asked.

"They've already pulled out. They're gonna bomb the bridge tomorrow at first light. They'll wait for us but only 'till seven am. It's getting dark now anyhow," Ellis replied.

"Well, I guess it's settled then. At least we can get some sleep first," Nick replied.

"You guys staying down here? It's smaller up top but there's a breeze coming through the window up there," Ellis said.

"I'm okay down here," Nick replied, taking his jacket off.

"Yeah, me too," Rochelle said.

"Well, shoot. I could stay too, then," Ellis offered.

From up above, Coach's voice came to them. "Ellis, come up here for a minute, would you?"

"Okay, Coach," he replied.

A few minutes passed in which Rochelle got up and walked to the door to look out. Ellis called down to them. "Hey, guys? I'm gonna stay up here with Coach."

"Okay," Nick called up in reply. More quietly, just for Rochelle's ears, he added, "Thank God."

Rochelle smiled and turned back to the door. She was watching the last of the sun disappear behind the buildings. It didn't take long for the twilight to fall and soon the infected seemed to multiply. None appeared to sense them there in the safe house. They wandered aimlessly, occasionally getting into a fight or simply sitting down and just staring at nothing. Rochelle felt a slight sympathy for them when she saw them like this. They had been human once, with families and lives. How had she and the others been so lucky to not wind up like that?

Rochelle felt a hand on her shoulder as Nick came to stand behind her. They said nothing for a time, just stood there watching as night fell upon the scene outside.

"What are you thinking about?" Nick asked quietly.

Rochelle sighed. "I'm just thinking about how all those used to be people. Their lives are gone. Do they even remember their lives?"

"I don't know," Nick admitted.

"Then I worry about what's next," Rochelle added.

"What do you mean?"

"What happens once we get to wherever we're going? How long will we be there? How are we going to exist afterwards? Where do we go?"

"No sense in worrying about any of that now. There's nothing we can do about it," Nick replied quietly.

"True. But I'm worried about that, too. I don't have anyone to look for like Coach does. I'm feeling so alone and scared. And I hate being scared," Rochelle admitted.

"Hey," Nick said softly, putting his arms around her and pulling her gently against him. "You're not alone. The way I see it, we're a team now, even if Coach and Ellis find their families."

"But what about afterwards? What happens when this is all over?"

Nick was silent a moment. He leaned in and kissed her lightly near the ear and then whispered, "Well, you've got me if you want."

Rochelle turned around in Nick's embrace so she could look at him. She searched his eyes, looking for his usual sarcastic attitude and was surprised to see no hint of it. The shield that seemed always in place was dropped completely and, for the first time, Rochelle saw Nick's vulnerability. He was putting himself out there and that's when she realized she'd been hoping he would say something like that. She leaned in and lightly touched her lips to his in a brief kiss.

They looked at each other for a few moments and then Nick pulled her closer to him in an embrace that was meant to say things he couldn't verbalize. Rochelle's head rested on his chest and the beating of his heart soothed her. This felt right. She felt his hand gently grasp her chin and tip her head up so he could kiss her again.

The kiss was feather light and he pulled back to look in her eyes. His blue eyes caught and held hers. Still, there was no trace of the sarcastic Don Juan. This was simply Nick. The hesitation and uncertainty Rochelle saw in those eyes were real and she knew that he was letting her see the real Nick. She reached up and pulled him back down to her, closing her eyes as their lips touched again.

Her senses sharpened and she felt everything...the roughness of his stubble as the kiss deepened, the feel of his muscles under her hands as they traveled of their own accord up his arms and to his chest, his hands on her...one at her waist and one at the nape of her neck...and she could feel both their heartbeats getting faster. Her tongue slipped into his mouth and he met it with his and a small whimper escaped from her as she felt her stomach and chest flutter as if she were back in high school experiencing her first kiss.

The whimper that Rochelle made as their kiss deepened sent a jolt of desire through Nick's body. He wanted her more than he had any other woman, more than likely because she was smarter than any other woman he had known. Nick had never experienced that combination before-brains, beauty, sex appeal-and he knew he was in trouble. When her hands slowly dropped from his shoulders and began unbuttoning his shirt, he pulled back,

"Ro-," he started, whispering hoarsely.

She cut him off with another kiss and then she trailed down his throat to his collarbone. She placed light kisses on each before continuing her way down to the scars on his chest, her hands were at his waist and she opened the last button, pulling his shirt free of his pants in the process. She let her hands slip around to the small of his back and she pulled him against her, kissing his throat again.

"Rochelle," he tried again. "Sweetheart, if you don't stop, I'm not going to be able to stop."

Rochelle pulled back to look at him. "Who says I want you to?"

She watched as the smoldering flame in Nick's eyes erupted and then he was pulling her to him, kissing her hard, letting his hands travel down to pause at her small hips before going lower, pulling her even closer into him.

Rochelle gasped in surprise as this new side of Nick appeared. His kisses were hard, his arms and chest were hard-and she felt him hard against her. His hands had traveled under her shirt to her breasts where they made short work of her bra. When his hands touched her bare breasts, she sucked in her breath in pleasure. The roughness of his hands contrasted with the almost tender way he cupped each breast. Nick pulled his mouth from hers to trail kisses up her jaw to her ear where he whispered, "Take your shirt off."

She stepped back for a moment and in one swift move, removed both her shirt and bra. Rochelle watched as his eyes darkened with desire at the sight of her. She reached up and pushed his shirt off his shoulders and then he pulled her to him again. The feel of his bare chest against hers was glorious and she reveled in the feel of his skin on hers. Rochelle had never felt as excited...as alive...as she did now. She was worked up into almost a frenzy of desire that she had never before experienced. These new feelings were pushing her, making her want to take control when in the past she had always been content with following a lead. She didn't know if it was Nick, the life threatening situation for the past several weeks, or a combination of the two, but for the first time in her life, Rochelle knew exactly what she wanted and honestly didn't care about anything else.

She grabbed Nick's hands and pulled him down to the floor as she knelt down as well. Her hands went to his belt and undid it. There was a sense of urgency building in her that she knew could only be satisfied in one way and it blocked out all her usual inhibitions. Nick looked semi-shocked as she took the lead, unbuttoning his pants and tugging at his belt. He aided her and then turned his attention to her waist.

Finally free of the restricting clothing, Rochelle straddled his lap and, before either could so much as blink, impaled herself on him. Their simultaneous gasp was quiet out of necessity and Rochelle strangled the moan that was building in her throat before it could escape. She sat still for a moment, reveling in the feel of him and she only just realized she'd closed her eyes when he spoke her name. She opened them to find him staring at her, his hands traveling from her breasts to her hips. He held her there in place, his breaths coming in short gasps. Though he held her hips tightly, preventing her from raising herself up, she was able to rock back and forth, which she found herself doing almost subconsciously.

"Rochelle," Nick whispered again, his voice deep and hoarse. "Sweetheart, if you keep this up, I'm not gonna last."

A smile spread on her face and she leaned down to kiss him. "Neither am I."

A low, quiet moan escaped Nick's lips as she pulled away to sit up straight. She immediately fell into a hard, fast rhythm, searching for a release that she knew was closer than any other time she'd made love to a man. Never had she felt like this-and Nick's whispered, "Jesus, Ro," made the incessant throbbing she felt increase in intensity. Nick's hands were tight on her hips but now he was urging her higher and faster, thrusting himself up to meet her on her way down. His breath came in even shorter gasps and as his eyes closed, she could feel him as he released. She ground down hard on him two more times and then she, too, felt an explosion of sorts inside of her that caused her to close her eyes and whimper his name when all she wanted to do was scream it.

The feel of his hands running up her sweat-slicked sides made her open her eyes. She thought she would feel embarrassed by her behavior, self-conscious in looking into his eyes, but all she felt was a drowsy satisfaction and a confidence she had never had before. Nick's eyes had roamed her body and finally came up to meet hers again. He smiled at her and urged her down to him. Without moving off of him, she folded herself down to kiss him. She liked the feeling of him still inside of her, still a part of her, and she hadn't really expected that. Malik always moved away as fast as he could, as if he was afraid of the intimacy it implied. Not Nick. His hands were still roaming her body, exploring her.

Rochelle sighed and finally moved off of him, acknowledging the need for clothing in case Ellis decided to pop back down. As she stood and gathered her clothes, Nick sat up and put his back against the wall. "Do you have any idea how beautiful you are?"

She arched an eyebrow and turned to look back at him. "You realize I'm a sure thing, right? I will sleep with you again."

Nick laughed. "Honey, I sure hope so!"

She finished dressing and then threw his shirt at him. "As much as I'd like to keep admiring your body, it might look better for you to be dressed if Ellis decides to come back down."

"Fact. But I think Coach has that under control," Nick replied, pulling his pants on.

That made her pause a moment. "You think Coach knows what we did?"

Nick smiled and walked over to her, buckling his belt. "He's no dummy. I'm pretty sure he wanted to give us some privacy." He leaned in and brushed her lips lightly with his. "I'm glad he did."

Rochelle looked up at Nick, searching his eyes for any sign of regret or disinterest, but there was none. She smiled back. "Me, too."

Nick slipped his shirt back on and looked out at the darkness that had fallen. "Well, hopefully by this time tomorrow night, we'll be in a real bed...or at least a cot."

Rochelle nodded quietly. "The best we can do now is pile some of those burlap bags together for ground cover. Doesn't matter much, though. I'm so tired I could sleep standing up."

"Here," Nick offered, laying down after moving the bags over. "Lay against me. I'm pretty comfortable."

Rochelle knelt down next to him and pillowed her head on his chest, sighing contentedly. "This is nice."

"Yeah, it is," he replied, wrapping his arms around her. And it was. Soon her breathing evened out and Nick knew she was asleep. The last thing he thought of before he, too, drifted off was that he could definitely get used to this.