Free Find Me (Life After the Outbreak, Book 2) by LJ Baker Page B

Janet said, irritated. "If something sketchy is going on, that could be very dangerous."
    I slid closer to Will and took his hand. I just wanted to blink my eyes and be back in my basement with him. No military base. No creepy lab experiments. No worrying about disappearing for asking the wrong questions.
    "Not if you ask the right way, silly." Hadley stood up and brushed the grass off her dress. She turned and skipped down the hill.
    "Hadley!" Janet called after her, but she just waved and continued down the hill. "Stupid girl." Janet got up and ran after her, leaving Will and me alone.  
    He pulled me up into his lap and wrapped his arms around me. "We'll get this all worked out. I promise. We just gotta stay cool in the meantime. And whatever you do, stay away from the north end of the compound."
    "Don't worry about that. I have no intention of going back down there, for sure."
    “Promise me, Andi.”
    “I promise.”
    Will looked over me as if he was trying to make sure I meant the words. After a moment, his face softened and his body relaxed. He nuzzled his face into the back of my neck and tickled me with his nose.  
    "So, did you miss me the last few days? Or were you too busy kicking ass, uncovering secret military plots, and hanging with your new bestie Hadley? Oh, wait, I forgot about your new boyfriend, Jack."
    I elbowed him in the chest and pushed him off my neck. "I do love those older men."
    "That's true. You like me, and I'm practically old enough to be your father."
    "Yeah, I don't know what I was thinking. I usually go for grandfather age, minimum."
    Will flipped me over onto my back in the grass and positioned himself over me, resting his weight on one arm.
    "So, any more fights? Rumors are getting around. They say you beat that chick bloody."
    "Seriously? It was one punch, but she did end up in the infirmary, so I guess I did an okay job." I smiled, just a little bit proud of myself.
    He leaned in and kissed my nose. " You're turning into a real badass, I see. It's kinda hot."
    “Oh, is it now?" I reached up and nipped his lip with my teeth.
    "Mmm. Oh, it most certainly is."
    Feeling Will this close made all the worry and fear of the day melt away. Being with him was all I ever wanted in the first place, and it didn't matter if we were here or back at the basement. Being together was the only thing that mattered. At least, that's what I told myself at that moment.  
    Will dipped down and kissed my lips, slow and soft, as if we had all the time in the world. As if everything around us wasn't crumbling, falling apart. He made me almost believe my mother's words, that someday, I could have a normal life again. It was so hard to believe that the rest of the time, but there, lying under him, kissing him, it felt so close.
    "You wanna take a walk?" Will tumbled over onto the grass next to me.
    I snorted. "Yeah, because that worked out so well for me earlier."
    "Hm, true. I think there's a movie showing over in rec. You wanna go see what it is?"
    "I don't know. I'm kinda tired and after today, I think I just want a little quiet time." I rolled over to Will and snuggled into his chest.  
    The grass was cool, and I could smell the earth beneath us. We laid there and watched the last bits of orange fade from the sky as night took over. I could have stayed there all night under the stars, cuddled against Will, letting the horrors of the day fade away.  
    "Okay, then what do you want to do?" He ran his hand over my shoulder, down my arm, and twined his fingers with mine.  
    I knew what he wanted to do, but I also knew he was waiting for me to say I was ready. Sometimes I thought I was. When he kissed me, everything inside screamed for more. My body wanted to shout yes from the rooftops, but my mind kept getting in the way.  
    Will lifted my chin to look up at him. "You know I love you, right?"
    My stomach did a back flip hearing the words. I wondered if that would ever stop, and I hoped it wouldn't.
    "Oh, I