Page 14 of Desperate Bargain

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I pat my chest, “Trent,” then I point to Suki, “Suki,” then I point to the little boy on her lap.

“Hyun,” she says, then looks over at her oldest, touching his shoulder, “Duri.”

“Suki, Hyun, and Duri,” I repeat back.

She nods.

I’m starving, but with my leg injury, I can’t risk leaving to get food. I don’t want to diminish their stores, but I have to keep up my strength.

I’ll replace whatever I take and then some once I’m healed.

“Um, ah,” I massage my stomach, then bring an imaginary spoon to my mouth.

She points to a pack.

I grab it and dig inside, finding a bunch of cans.

Dinty Moore Beef Stew is what I decide on, and although I could spoon it into a dish and heat it in the microwave, I decide to eat it cold.

Duri snaps angry shouts at his mother, either because he thinks I hurt him or he just doesn’t want me around. Not that I blame him.

“Don’t worry, kid. I’m not trying to be your dad,” I say without thinking. Not that he can understand me.

Maybe I should go. Find somewhere close by, where I can keep an eye on them until the kid’s healed. I don’t need the complications children bring and I’d rather not sleep with one eye open.

But walking outside on my injured leg would be a mistake. If I were to be swarmed, I’d have to stand my ground, and I can only take on so many at once. I could go to another room in the building, but that would be…awkward.

I don’t have to stay long. A day, maybe two. That’ll give me time to analyze the situation and figure out what to do. Heck, who knows, maybe I’ll get another blow job out of it.

I fully acknowledge that men are dumb as fuck when it comes to their cocks. My case in point: Susan. Before the apocalypse, there was no way in hell I’d touch a junky, but desperation needled me. I needed an escape, and she offered one, however brief.

Could Suki be my next reprieve? As much as I want the answer to be ‘yes’, she deserves better than that. She’s a mother of two kids doing the best she can during a goddamn apocalypse. She deserves the safety and security that only the Keep can offer, which means she’ll be expected to take a mate.

And I’m just not mate material.

Those kids deserve a fair shake, and the Keep will offer them full bellies, an education, and playmates. And something tells me Blake’s little girl, Jayne, would be real happy with their arrival.

And Suki, well, she’ll be a prize to someone. Just not me.

ChapterSix

INVISIBLE

SUKI

Iwas half expecting to wake up with the man named Trent gone.

Instead, I woke up to his snores.

I don’t know what to make of this development, but at least now I can rest soundly at night, because if he had wanted to kill us in our sleep, he would have.

With his leg injured, he may plan on sticking around for a while. Or perhaps he’s just hoping for another blowjob. Either way, with his size, we’ll soon be depleted of food.

I wonder if he has someone waiting for him, worried about him. Perhaps he has children of his own that he needs to get back to.

Again, guilt needles me, worse than before because now I know that he’s not the savage I was so worried he would be. He treated Duri’s wound and kept to himself throughout the night. Though I did catch his eyes lingering on me when he thought I wasn’t paying attention.

I blushed profusely, not just from the attention, but from my reaction to his gaze. My heart started to triple-beat, and my mind raced with possibilities. At first, I didn’t know what was wrong with me. Because I shut down my sexual desires so long ago.


Tags: L.J. Anderson Paranormal