Blood Moon by Gwendolyn Harper (books for students to read .TXT) 📕

they’d been followed, they’d know it by now.

“We could circle around the back,” she said. “Does this road connect with a way to the other side of the town?”

Nicole frowned at the map. “Uh… Yeah, but it’s all back roads. Not a lot of turn offs. If we come across more Geeks…”

“We’ll handle it,” Booker assured, nodding to her.

They’d found themselves on a one way with a group of Geeks a few times. Everyone was getting in their hand to hand practice these days.

“We ain’t got much daylight left,” he added. “Better head out and find a place to squat for the night.”

“Shotgun,” Nicole exclaimed, leaping up and rushing to the passenger side door.

Caitlin balked. “Ah—Hey!”

Feigning offense, she looked to Booker for support.

“Sorry, darlin’,” he said, smirking. “Them’s the rules.”

Sighing dramatically, she trudged towards the back. “Fine. But I’m not sharing any of my peanut butter with you.”

* * * * * * *

In a thicket a few yards off the road, they parked and began the routine set up.

Nicole and Caitlin hung the string of aluminum pie pans and tin cans they’d made as a perimeter alarm about twenty feet from the back of the Jeep. If a Geek found them, they’d hear it before it got too close.

Booker maneuvered the Jeep so they could pull onto the road quickly if need be, and then started patrolling further into the brush, just to make sure they weren’t going to be surprised by anything.

Nicole took first watch, as she was still getting her bearings with a gun and her night vision wasn’t the best. Afternoon to just past dusk, Caitlin was supposed to nap to rest up for her shift, but she rarely could.

Instead she’d been reading the weathered homesteading book she’d found in a rundown library.

Wherever they landed, she’d know how to build a life for them, how to thrive once again.

A soft tap on the door jerked her out of the half-doze she’d fallen into.

With the sun down, the world was an indigo grey, the trees shadowy sentinels.

“Your turn,” Nicole said, opening up the back and climbing in. “Booker has some food for you too.”

“Thanks,” Caitlin told her, marking her page as she sat up.

Stretching as she stood next to the Jeep, she glanced around.

“Booker?” She whispered into the dark.

A whistle from behind caught her attention. Smiling, she tracked the sound and found him leaning against a skinny tree trunk.

She could feel him watching her in the dark as she approached.

A wolf in the woods once again.

“Nicole said you had food for me?” Caitlin said, less than a foot from him.

“Mhm hm.” He shifted his weight, pushing off the tree. “It ain’t much, but it’s supper.”

Something in the timbre of his voice sent a shiver through Caitlin. He was talking about food, but it only made her think of something else.

“Found a wild strawberry bush,” he explained, squatting to open his bag. “There weren’t many, but they’re ripe. And this is your share of the jerky, and—”

“Jack,” she interrupted, standing over him.

When he looked at her, she smiled.

“Come here,” she whispered, reaching for his hand.

Pulling him up, she cupped his jaw, his growing beard scratching along her palm. Closing the distance, she found his lips with hers, desperate to taste him.

“Cae,” he murmured, nose brushing along her cheekbone. “I dunno if we should…”

“I’ve missed you,” she admitted, fisting the collar of his flannel overshirt. “We rarely have a moment of privacy anymore.”

His hands slipped under the hem of her tee, leaving wakes of fire wherever his fingertips grazed. Trailing up her sides, he brushed the edge of her bra, but didn’t go further.

“Not like I can lay y’out in the back of the Jeep again,” he said, kissing her neck. “Take my time with you.”

The words pooled low in her belly, stoking an already unbearable flame.

“I love you, Booker,” she said, grinning as she nipped his bottom lip. “But we don’t always need sweet and slow.”

Her hands dropped from his face to the fly of her jeans, already undoing the top button.

“Nicole?”

“Probably asleep already,” she said, leading him towards the tree he’d been leaning against.

As soon as her shoulders scraped the bark, she hauled him close.

“Cae…”

Raking her fingers over his scalp, she rolled her hips, making him groan.

“C’mon, Jack,” she whispered in his ear. “Fuck me.”

He stilled under her hands for a second—just long enough for her to worry she’d upset him—before he shot forward, clasping her face between his hands and kissing her until she was dizzy. Her lips burned from his stubble, and her whole body screamed to be touched.

Strong, calloused fingers yanked her fly down before sliding under fabric, seeking out where she needed him most.

“Shit,” she hissed as he grazed her clit. Bucking her hips against his hand, she silently begged for more friction.

“Christ, darlin’,” he drawled as he pressed a kiss to her temple. “Barely even touched you and you’re this slick?” He caught the tip of her ear between his teeth, making her whimper. “Gonna give me a big ego.”

“Like you don’t already have one,” she said, smirking.

Just to tease him more, she reached down to stroke him over his jeans, and Booker’s knees weakened.

Pride and lust mingled, making her giddy. She might’ve been worked up, but he wasn’t exactly calm and collected either.

Pushing him back just a fraction, Caitlin shimmied her pants down to the tops of her knees. Leaning forward, she kissed him roughly before turning around.

“Like this,” she said, pressing against him.

Booker’s hands fell to her bare hips, holding her tight.

“Y’sure?” He asked, already kneading the meat of her ass.

Grabbing his right hand, she forced it between her thighs, and