Free Apocalypse Cowboy: Futuristic Romance with Zombies by Eve Langlais Page A

the clean freshness of soap. No shower didn’t mean they didn’t bathe. They just tended to be more of the damp cloth kind.
    “Where did you get all this stuff?” she asked as she glanced over the mound of equipment.
    “Your daddy didn’t fish, but mine did. I took your bike last night and went to grab a few.”
    “You went back there on your own, by yourself!” She planted hands on hips, utterly indignant at his actions.
    “I did.” And killed another three zombies. Not a good sign. He’d spent the night on the main level of the house, after he checked that all the doors and windows were secured. It wouldn’t do for one of the shambling creatures to get in.
    “You are an idiot,” she declared.
    “Says the girl who’s been on many a raiding expedition according to your sister and uncle.”
    “In the daytime. Even I know better than to go out at night. Did you see any more zombies?”
    Oh how he wished he could lie. “A few, but they’re gone now.”
    Her expression didn’t seem reassured. She glanced back at the house, her brow knitted. “Maybe I should stay behind.”
    “Bethie knows how to shoot a gun and so does Uncle Fred.”
    “But they’ve never had to kill one of them before.”
    Maybe it was time they learned. But Brody doubted it would happen today. Out here, it was easy to forget about the zombies, given the abundance of life all around them. He pointed it out. “If there were zombies around, I guarantee we wouldn’t see cows grazing in the field over there. They’d be moo-peding.”
    “Moopeding?” she queried.
    “Moo-peding. You know cows moo, and if they do it while stampeding, it’s—”
    She slapped his arm as he laughed. “That is the dumbest joke ever. You are an idiot.”
    “So you keep reminding me. And you’re a worrywart. Come on, kitten. We’ll only be gone for a few hours. Imagine how excited they’ll be if we come back with some fresh fish.”
    She still hesitated.
    “I even promise to scale and gut them if you come.”
    Brody swung his leg over the bike and started it, the rumbling purr loud in the early hour.
    With one last glance at the house, she decided.
    Brody couldn’t help but tense a little when she clambered on behind him, her arms wrapping tight around his torso. He swallowed hard when her full breasts pushed into his back. For a moment, with his eyes closed, Brody allowed himself to savor the feel of her body pressed against him so intimately. Such a simple embrace and yet his instant erection strained inside his jeans. The only way to improve the moment would have involved her sitting astride facing him, wearing a lot less clothing.
    Talk about torture.
    With a fierce twist of the throttle, he took off. Hannah’s arms tightened, crushing him like the coils of an anaconda—and he loved it.
    Brody took familiar roads and an overgrown dirt path to the river, wishing it farther away so he could enjoy the feel of her molded against him a little longer. Hannah would notice if he detoured though. As he turned onto the rutted track leading to his favorite fishing spot as a kid, he slowed down and kept an eye on the tree line for movement.
    It occurred to him that perhaps this excursion was foolhardy, given the screening of the foliage. Did hungry zombies even now sniff the air and “unh” in excitement at the buffet headed their way?
    His neck didn’t prickle. His gut didn’t clench. Since both had kept him alive so far, he trusted them. He cut the motor when they hit the grassy embankment just past the last straggly line of trees.
    He’d no sooner rolled to a stop than Hannah hopped off. “I think I ate a bug,” she gagged, her face wrenched in distaste.
    The hazards of riding a bike. Safety rules said they should wear a helmet, but Brody enjoyed the wind in his hair. Speaking of hair, his probably stood nicely. He pulled his cowboy hat from his saddlebags and jammed it atop his head. Hannah, on the other hand, remained bare-headed, her strands