Free The Survivors Book III: Winter by V. L. Dreyer

we'd never have found each other."   I grinned at him, turning within the circle of his arms so that I could drape my own across his shoulders again.  "Think we should thank them?"
    " Hm, let me think about that."  He tilted his head, pretending to think about it, then grinned at me.  "Nah, I think we should just keep shooting them."
    " Good plan," I agreed, leaning up to plant a kiss on his lips.  When we parted, I glanced over his shoulder at the room beyond.  "We should probably assign people to the night watch.  I was saying to Skye that I think we should have two groups of two, one downstairs watching the door, one upstairs keeping an eye on the sleepers, just in case."
    " Sounds good," he agreed amiably.  "First shift from bedtime until just after midnight, then second shift from then until sunrise?"
    " Yeah."  I nodded my agreement.  "I think we should try and divide it up between the newcomers and the old – both so they can get to know one another, and so we can keep an eye on them."
    " I'll take care of it."  Michael smiled down at me, then leaned down and planted a kiss against my forehead.   "You worry about organising the journey."
    " I don't mind taking a watch," I started to protest, but he just shook his head.
    " You're one of the walking wounded today, sweetheart," he rumbled in that soft, deep voice of his.  "I want you to rest.  I'll be watching over you, so you know you'll be safe."
    " Sometimes I think you're way too nice to me."  I sighed, lifting a hand to trace the contours of his cheek.
    " Do you want me to stop being nice to you?" he asked, raising one eyebrow inquisitively.
    " Nah."  I laughed, then leaned up and planted another quick kiss against his lips.  "To be honest, I've almost forgotten what my life was like before I had you in it.  Which is a good thing, because my life was pretty awful before I met you."
    " I understand."  He drew me back into a hug, and wrapped his arms around me.  "Everything happened so quickly, but it feels so right.  I've never felt as sure about anything as I feel certain that you and I are meant to be together.  I only wish that you'd had a chance to meet Sophie."
    " Me too," I murmured, snuggling in against his warmth.  "You're just the kind of guy to take home to meet the parents, if you remember that old saying.  I think my folks would have loved having you for a son-in-law."
    " My dad would have liked you, but I have this sneaking suspicion that you and my mother would have fought like cats."  He pulled back and looked down at me, a playful twinkle in his eyes.  "I suppose that would have been funny to watch, though.  From very, very far away."
    " Hey!"  I laughed and gave him a playful shove.  "You never know, we might have gotten on so well that we'd spend all our time plotting ways to make your life miserable."
    Michael groaned.  "Don't even joke about that.  That's so not funny."
    " Yes, it is."  I gave him an impish grin, and wriggled my way free of his grip.  "Anyway, we should get back to work.  You take care of the defences for the night, and I'll sort out our travel plans."
    " Yes, ma'am!"  He gave me a mock salute, then moved past me and headed back into the living room where the others were waiting.
    I followed a few paces behind him, but while he started talking to the group, I headed into the kitchen.  There, I found Skye and Elly hard at work, preparing something that remotely resembled food.  Most of our fresh food had been destroyed by the fire, but the years had taught all of us how to be resourceful.
    " Heyas," Skye greeted when she noticed me.  "Dinner's still a wee while away yet.  We'll let you know when it's ready."
    " Oh, I'm not here about that."  I moved the rest of the way inside, and closed the sliding door that separated the kitchen and living room, to cut off the noise the men were making.  "I needed to talk to you, actually.  Both of you."
    " Oh?"  Skye shot me a look, her brows raised