Apocalypse: Every Woman I Invest In Makes Me Stronger

Her protest dissolved into a small, wounded sound ~ half sigh, half surrender ~ as her lashes fluttered and her eyes slid shut.

Ethan kissed her slowly. His mouth moved from her lips to her jaw, then lower, trailing heat down the elegant line of her throat, feeling her pulse quicken under his tongue. Debbie’s breath hitched, sharp and sudden, when he pushed her shirt up. Both soft breasts spilled free, pale and heavy in the dim light, and he couldn’t hold back a low groan of his own before he took one into his mouth and sucked ~ a slow, deliberate pull, tongue circling the nipple until it tightened hard and slick against his tongue. His hand closed around the other, pressing and squeezing the full weight of it, thumb dragging slow and rough over the peak.

”Ahh... Ethan...” Her voice came out thin and trembling, already breaking apart.

She arched into him, offering herself. His fingers sank deeper into the soft flesh, kneading in slow, deep pulls while his mouth worked the other nipple ~ sucking, pulling, tongue flicking in quick wet strokes. He switched sides, leaving the first nipple swollen and dark and glistening, and gave the second the same devotion. His free hand never left her breast, pressing, rolling, squeezing, until soft broken sounds kept spilling from her throat ~ little wounded cries, each one higher than the last.

He pushed her pants down just enough. His hand slid between her thighs and found her already soaked. Two fingers stroked slowly over her slick folds, spreading the wet heat, and she whined ~ a thin, high, needy sound ~ before he pressed inside her slowly, inch by inch.

”Ahh~” The sound broke in the middle, catching in her chest.

Debbie’s hips twitched and rolled toward his hand, chasing him. He curled his fingers and rubbed, slow and deep, finding that spot while his mouth stayed sealed on her breast, sucking harder now, cheeks hollowing. His other hand kept pressing and kneading the soft fullness of her other breast. Every time his fingers pushed deeper, she made another broken sound ~ half-moan, half-plea, ragged at the edges, like she was mourning how good it felt and couldn’t bear to say so out loud.

He rubbed her clit with his thumb in tight, merciless circles while he fucked her with his fingers, still sucking her nipple, still kneading her breast in his warm palm. She was soaked ~ wet, obscene sounds filled the quiet, the slick rhythm of his fingers echoing in the room with every stroke. Her thighs shook around his wrist. Soft, needy moans kept spilling out of her, growing louder, less controlled, until she stopped trying to muffle them at all ~ mouth open, head tipped back, each moan coming out long and low and mournful, like something being pulled up from deep inside her.

He kept going ~ mouth on her breast, hand squeezing the other, fingers working inside her ~ until her breathing turned ragged and her hands gripped his shoulders hard, nails biting into skin, holding on like she was afraid to fall.

Pain still pulsed in his wrist and along his side. He didn’t push for more. He just stayed there with her, mouth and hands devoted to her body, until the tension finally snapped and she came around his fingers with a long, shaky, sobbing sound ~ her whole body trembling, her cry dissolving into small helpless whimpers as the waves kept rolling through her.

Afterward, the quiet settled in around them like a blanket. Ethan remained on the bed, Debbie’s warmth still pressed against his side, feeling the last of the healing energy settle through his body. Her Ability had grown stronger. The light she poured into him had repaired most of the damage and left his own energy almost full again. He flexed his fingers, testing. The numbness in his wrist was nearly gone ~ only a dull ache still lingered when he moved too quickly.

She’d given him more than pleasure. She’d stitched him back together.

He closed his eyes and let the silence of the Survival Space settle around him. The lights dimmed to a soft glow, mimicking nightfall. Somewhere in the calm, exhaustion finally caught up with him, dragging him under like a tide. He drifted into a deep, dreamless sleep.

Four in the morning.

A burst of shouting cut through the walkie-talkie beside the bed.

Ethan’s eyes snapped open ~ instantly awake, instantly alert, the soldier’s reflexes cutting through the fog of sleep.

”Ethan!”

Daisy’s voice. Sharp. Afraid.

He teleported out of the Survival Space at once. Daisy grabbed his arm and pulled him toward the cave entrance, her hand ice-cold. Her face was pale in the thin moonlight.

”Ethan, look!”

He followed her gaze.

Above the underground casino, a dark figure circled beneath the moon, wings silhouetted black against the pale light. The faint sound of wings cutting through the air drifted down across the mountain ~ a low, rhythmic whoosh, like a blade being drawn again and again.

Ethan’s expression changed.

The Winged Zombie.

It was flying low over the forest, searching. Hunting.

”Damn it.” His eyes narrowed. ”It must’ve been drawn by the Snake King’s aura on me.” His voice turned grim. ”I can’t stay. If it keeps hunting this area, it’ll find the casino eventually.”

He gave the women quick instructions ~ stay inside, stay silent, seal the entrance behind him ~ then activated his teleportation. White light flashed. He reappeared halfway up the mountain and looked back.

The Winged Zombie was still circling above the underground entrance. Its dark-green eyes scanned the trees below, glowing faintly in the dark. Then its head turned toward him. A moment later it banked and flew straight in his direction, fast, wings tucking into a dive.

Ethan’s jaw tightened. He teleported again, this time to the foot of the mountain, and immediately dropped into the Survival Space, pulling the world’s door shut behind him.

The Winged Zombie arrived seconds later. It circled the empty spot where he had vanished, confused, searching, its shriek echoing off the rocks. It stayed nearly ten minutes before finally giving up and vanishing into the night sky.

Only when Ethan was certain it was gone ~ the air quiet again, nothing but wind through the trees ~ did he step back out. Then he started running.

He needed another suitable gift target. Another SSS-Rank Ability. Only then could the Survival Space keep expanding until it was stable enough for everyone to live inside for long stretches. Until that happened, the Snake King and the Winged Zombie remained threats that could end them all.

Ethan moved through the darkness without looking back.

Far behind him, deep in the mountain forest, a viper thicker than a man’s forearm lifted its head. Its forked tongue tasted the air, tasting the trace of him. Scarlet eyes locked onto the direction Ethan had fled.

Behind it, countless dark-green bodies slid through the undergrowth. The viper swarm moved slowly through the trees like a living river, silent and patient, following the same invisible trail