The sun climbed the sky, bringing with it a blanket of heat so stifling my back stuck to the bedroll in a puddle of sweat. And to think, it was probably only eight or nine in the morning.

Didn’t help that Jesse was smothering my body with nearly two-hundred pounds of hard muscle. He hadn’t moved since he passed out. I might’ve thought he was dead, but his heart beat solidly against my stomach, and his breaths whispered across my breast.

A couple feet away, the door to the animal clinic stood tall and disheartening in its silence. Neither Shea nor Roark had emerged since we shut it. No sounds from within. Not a voice or a footstep.

The mental pep talk I’d given myself through the sleepless night waned in the daylight. Dread coiled inside me, eating a hole through my stomach and nagging me to open that door.

Which meant waking Jesse. Checking on Darwin wasn’t the only reason we needed to move. In another hour or so, the ground would be completely dried up, and the aphids would come out of hiding.

My bones ached beneath his weight, my back cramping, my legs tingling with loss of circulation. And my bladder…holy hell, the pressure was unbearable.

Just one more moment. A moment to absorb the tranquility breathing from the man in my arms.

His hair stuck up in haphazard strands, reflecting the sunlight in reddish-brown hues. His facial features, while slack with sleep, were sharp and pronounced in the most masculine way. From this angle, I could see a slight bend in the bridge of his nose. His eyelashes, thick and coppery like his hair, lay against his cheeks, hiding the intense glare I’d fallen in love with.

Asleep, he almost looked gentle. I chuckled, soundlessly, but the heave of my chest bounced his head.

His breath stuttered, and his fingers curled against my ribs. Slowly, he lifted his cheek from my chest, blinked against the sunlight, and turned his neck to find my eyes.

Oh my. His eyelids hooded, heavy with grogginess, his full lips parted and pouty. Sleepy Jesse looked positively mouth-watering.

“Hey,” he rasped.

“Hi.” I reached up and traced the lines between his furrowed brows. “Feel rested?”

He inched up my body and buried his face against my neck, drawing a deep breath. “Never felt better.”

Perfect answer. Except the adjustment in his weight caused two problems. One, the thick press of his morning wood against my clit produced a sudden and tingling surge of arousal through my body. And two… “Ugh, my bladder.”

He dropped a kiss to my lips so quickly I almost missed it and rolled to his feet with way too much grace for a man his size.

Scratching at his stubble, his bicep flexed with the movement. All that sweaty skin on his torso stretched tight over chiseled packs of muscle, each dip and ridge guiding my gaze downward, over his flat stomach and narrowing on the dusting of hair that trailed into the waistband of his jeans.

He stared at the door, his bottom lip rolling between his teeth, causing the whiskers beneath his mouth to stand on end. “Any news?”

I shook my head, unable to stop my gaze from lowering again and latching onto the stark outline of his erection.

Rising to my knees on the mat, I nodded at his pants. “You…uh…need help with that?”

He glanced down at the distracting bulge and disregarded it to look out over the tall grass in the field.

His eyes lingered on the dead lion ten yards away and returned to the door. “We need to get going.”

Pivoting, he grabbed his bow and quiver, strapped it over his back, and stepped to the corner of the porch. His zipper sounded, and damn if that didn’t fill my head with all kinds of dirty thoughts.

With his back to me, his shoulder leaned against the building, and one hand in the vicinity of that zipper, he stood motionless.

I chewed on my lip. Was he really doing what I thought he was doing?

The discernible sound of urine splattering dirt knocked my brain into gear. I scrambled off the bedroll and ran toward him. Jesse had his cock out.

I skidded around him and stepped into the grass just as he tucked himself away. I twisted my lips into a pout. “What are you hiding? A little dick? Warts? Scales?”

With the exception of last night, Jesse used glares in lieu of words. This morning was business as usual, his opinion about my questions hardening his eyes and tightening his face.

The bastard thought he could return to the way things had been?

I fisted my hands on my hips. “Don’t point that glare at me.”

His expression blanked a millisecond before he launched. Grabbing me around the waist, he lifted me off the ground, twisting my body in his arms and pressing a hand against my belly. Hard. “Thought you had to pee?”

Bent over his arm, I folded at the waist, the pressure testing the strength of my bladder. Fuck, I might’ve peed a little in the struggle. “Put me down.”

He dropped me to my feet, and I staggered, yanking my pants down and squatting right there in the open. I spread my bare feet as much as the stretchy pants allowed and angled my ass away as my bladder released. Ahhh, relief.

His footsteps circled around me, the golden skin of his muscled torso shimmering with sweat. It was daunting the way he watched me so intensely—while I was peeing no less—but something had definitely shifted between us.

Walls had fallen last night, and a comfortable, intimate kind of closeness had nuzzled its way in. No more awkwardness. No more hiding.

He crouched before me, his eyes glimmering like crystals of copper. “I loved watching you come.”

“No sexy talk while I’m peeing, Jesse.” But I couldn’t stop a happy smile from spreading across my face.

The corner of his mouth twitched.

Bladder empty, I stood, yanking my sweat-soaked pants into place. “I will be returning the favor.”

He rose with me, his gaze on the horizon, furrowed brows firmly in place.

I looked at the door of the animal clinic, sobering instantly. Seducing Jesse would have to wait.

His hand slid into mine and squeezed tight. “No news is good news, right?”

“Unless they didn’t want to wake us.”

We stood there, hand in hand, staring at the door, the air growing heavier by the second. I willed it to open, to see Darwin bounding out with his tongue flapping and tail wagging.

Jesse didn’t seem inclined to move from the spot. So I took the first step, then the next, gaining speed and ironing out my nerves as I dragged him behind me.

At the door, I grabbed the carbine, pulled in a deep breath, and turned the knob.

Sunlight streaked past us, and my eyes adjusted beyond the glowing stripe, searching the dark corners of the room for movement.

Shea lay face down on the mattress, her head lifting, her eyes weighted with sleep.

I let go of Jesse’s hand and scanned the shadowed cages lining the wall. The door stood open on the last one, a cage large enough to hold a lion.

Roark was stretched out on the floor inside it, his arm hooked around a curled-up ball of fur and gauze.

“Darwin?” I breathed, my heartbeat ricocheting through my chest.

A shaggy head rose from beneath Roark’s arm, one ear flicking, and large dark eyes twinkling in the dim light.

I sucked in a series of ragged breaths, my fingers shaking as I set the carbine on the nearest counter. Jesse rested a hand on my lower back, his smile pressing against my shoulder.

Darwin pulled his legs beneath his body and clumsily pushed against Roark’s arm, trying to stand.

Roark jerked to his knees, grabbing Darwin’s neck. “Whoa whoa whoa, boy.”

There was something to be said about loyalty, adaptability, and sheer determination. I’d named him Darwin, after all, because he was the purest example of survival against nature.

I’d witnessed his survival when I met him in Missouri’s Ozark Mountains, when he pulled me from my solitude and made me his. And I witnessed it now as his nails scratched across the concrete floor, driven by one thing. Devotion.

Covered in bandages and stitches, he wrestled away from Roark and scrambled through the doorway of the cage. His legs gave out around the corner, sliding his rear across the floor.

My heart lurched, and I ran toward him. “Darwin. Nein. Nein.”

Ignoring my command, he wobbled, regaining his footing, and scrabbled toward me in a frantic slide of claws and shaky legs.

I skidded across the floor to reach him and slammed to my knees. My arms flew around his neck, fingers stroking through his patchy coat, careful not to disturb the dressings. “Oh Darwin, what happened to you, huh? Why did you follow us?”

His eyes found mine, communicating in a language I wished I understood. Then he pushed himself against me, flattening my back against cool concrete as he licked my face and rubbed his wet muzzle around my ears.

“Did you need a hug? Is that it?” I gripped his head, my attention falling on the maimed hole where his ear used to be, the cartilage red and ugly and covered in black stitches.

How had he lost the ear? A bear in the mountains? An aphid along his trek to find me? The thought made me want to hurt something. I slammed my molars together against the sudden rage, surprised my teeth didn't break in half.

Jesse knelt beside me, his hands following mine. My chest clenched as our fingers encountered more stitches, bumps, and protruding ribs.

Shea yanked the quilt from the window, and the light flooding the room illuminated Darwin’s sunken cheeks, mangy skin, and emaciated hip bones.

Crouched beside us, she cocked her head and smiled at Darwin, her voice a whisper. “You made it.”

So it had been touch and go then? My stomach sank. Good thing I hadn’t stayed the night in here. I would’ve been a fucking mess.

Overwhelmed and so fucking grateful, I pulled away from Darwin and tackled Shea in a hug. “Thank you. You have no idea what this dog means to me.”

She leaned back and flashed me a smile. “Oh, I think I do. Roark filled me in, and he might’ve threatened my life a few times during the night.” She narrowed her eyes at Roark. “Or more specifically, he threatened my…what was it? Oh yeah. My big filthy bum.”

“Roark,” I said in a scolding tone, matching Shea’s narrowed glare.

He really needed to do something about that mouth.

He sat with his back against the wall, one leg bent at the knee, his hands laced behind his head, and eyes fixed on me. “Ah sure. All judgey and faultfindy, like. But while ye were on the porch snogging this guy”—he thrust his chin at Jesse—“who do ye think spooned your pup all night? That's right. Muggins here.”

My face softened, and I climbed to my feet, leaving Darwin in Jesse’s embrace. I stepped into the cage and straddled the thigh of Roark’s outstretched leg.

With my hands on his whiskery cheeks, I looked into his emerald peepers. “Does Muggins need a snog?”

“Always, ye bleedin’ harpy.” He wrapped a hand in my hair, his other dragging my hips closer, as his mouth covered mine.

His tongue was absent of its usual whiskey flavor, his taste raw and male and all Roark. He kissed me slowly, exploring my mouth with lazy caresses, his breaths dragging across my lips.

It wasn’t a kiss fueled with urgency or arousal. With his tongue trailing along the inner side of my bottom lip and his thumb stroking gentle circles against my scalp, he was simply saying, Good Morning. I missed you. I love you.

Did he wonder what happened between Jesse and me last night? Was he concerned we’d had sex and tempted the prophecy? Or was he afraid a change in my relationship with Jesse would leave him out in the cold?

He was the most laid-back of my guardians and probably wasn’t thinking about any of those things. But I reassured him anyway, with my hands tangled in his braids, my tongue rubbing lovingly against his, and my smile curving against his mouth.

Behind me, Shea updated Jesse on Darwin’s injuries. At the edges of my concentration, beyond the sweeping bliss of Roark’s tongue, I listened to her concerns about blood loss and malnutrition. She didn’t have fresh blood to administer a transfusion, but her supply of antibiotics would fight the infection.

I nuzzled Roark’s lips, relieved, almost happy. I’d feel better once we arrived in the mountains with Shea and Darwin safely in tow.

“No broken bones?” Jesse’s timbre rose over the sound of Darwin’s heavy panting. “Damaged organs?”

Shea hummed a sigh. “No. A fight with a lion, and he damned near walked away. Pretty amazing, if you ask me.”

I sucked on Roark’s tongue, kissed each corner of his mouth, and leaned back, taking in the sight of his swollen lips. “Better?”

“Me plums could use some love.” He pointed a look at the crotch of his workout shorts. “Your sinful mouth can have a go a’ the whole lot.”

Insatiable as ever. I adored how unapologetic he was about his sexuality, such a paradox with his vow, even when he was teasing. Which he was doing now. He wasn’t even hard.

The conversation behind me quieted, so I sat back and spoke loud enough for Shea to hear. “Without Tallis and Georges…” I breathed deeply and continued. “What do you think about taking Shea to the mountains before we continue west?”

Roark’s brows pulled down, and his eyes flicked to Jesse. Calloused fingers absently caressed the skin above my waistband, and a moment of silence passed between the two men.

Then Roark slid those jade eyes back to me. “I’m up for that. It’s the safest place for her.”

I looked over my shoulder and met Shea’s eyes.

She glanced at Roark, then Jesse, and stared down at her hands. “You need a doctor with you. I can feed and take care of myself now. And treat your injuries if needed. I won’t be a burden…”

“Hey,” Jesse said softly, his fingers scratching behind Darwin’s good ear as he waited for her to look at him. “We need you alive more than we need a doctor.”

She was a smart woman. I didn’t need to read her expression to know she was mulling over her lack of weapons training and inexperience with aphids, and more than that, her role in the future of mankind.

She stood, hands on her hips. Her curves looked remarkably fuller this morning, her ribs less pronounced beneath her thin shirt.

Black hair framed her round face in frizzy curls. Her lips pursed, dark and sensual, as she looked at us with intelligent brown eyes. “Okay. I’ll go wherever you send me. When do we leave?”

Beautiful. Fierce. Amazing woman. If I were a guy, I’d hit that hard and often. Which was a huge fucking reason why we needed to hide her away. Naalnish and Badger would help her find men who deserved her. Hell, she wouldn’t have to look further than my handsome Lakota friends.

Jesse gently scooped up Darwin and turned toward the door. “We leave within the hour, and until we reach the mountains, we stay within eyeshot of each other. No exceptions.”

As instructed, the four of us ate canned chicken, fed Darwin, shit in the woods, and packed the truck side by side. We worked efficiently, and thankfully, there wasn’t a flicker of aphids.

Without Georges to work his magic on the motor, I waited beside the bumper with sweaty palms as Roark put the key in the ignition.

After a few rattling groans of gears, the engine purred blissfully to life.

One less problem to worry about.

Shea climbed in the rear of the truck with Darwin, her eyes hidden behind a pair of sunglasses. If she was remorseful about leaving her home, she didn’t show it. The three of us had hovered over her as she packed practical clothes, enough for her and me, and abandoned her makeup, hair products, and other girly things without a backward look.

But there was one thing I couldn’t leave without doing.

With a heavy heart and a can of spray paint I’d found in the shed, I scrawled a message across the door of the animal clinic.

Michio

We stayed 7 days

Returned to Lakota

Evie

I even drew a heart beneath my name.

Because love made people soft and squishy, crazy and weak.

Which scared the ever-loving shit out of me.

I tossed the can of paint and pushed my boots forward, toward the two men waiting in the truck, their eyes on the landscape, watching, always protecting.

Because love made people vigilant and selfless, crazy and strong.

Like my guardians, I fought and killed viciously and without hesitancy to defend those I loved. But when Darwin lay on that counter, bleeding and whining with pain, I went from tough to weak in a blink of an eye. I did the only thing I could. I put his life in more capable hands and hid on the porch with my grief.

Love softened the heart when it needed to be weak and hardened it when it needed to be strong.

Which was why mankind would endure. The human race was capable of so much love, and that love would not end with us.

I felt that conviction in every step to the truck, in every mile toward West Virginia, and in every aching muscle cramp as we climbed the mountains in search of the Lakota camp.