Free Hunter Of The Dead by Katee Robert Page A

do when she finally had him in her sights? Break down and cry like a baby. Impressive. Very impressive.
    Alejandro sighed and his weight disappeared from the other side of the bed. “I will sleep on the cot tonight.”
    The thought of him on the cot where the girl had been not an hour ago allowed her to speak where she couldn’t before. “No.” The word came out raspy and nearly incomprehensible.
    “No?” His accent gave the question an exotic flavor.
    Eden took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, trying to get herself under control. It didn’t work. “You can sleep on the bed.” She hiccupped. “No funny business.”
    “Ah, querida , I would not presume. Not after everything I put you through.”
    There was something wrong with his words, but she couldn’t focus, couldn’t think. Instead, the little girl’s face floated just behind Eden’s eyes. The way those beautiful brown eyes went milky, the way her body jerked into movement after she died. Eden grabbed the flat pillow off the bed and screamed into it, pouring out her frustration and sorrow.

Chapter Nine
     
     
    Eden didn’t sleep. She knew she should, but she couldn’t turn off the thoughts rushing around in her head, couldn’t ignore how close Alejandro was, despite the fact he never moved from his side of the bed. The single window was shuttered, so she shouldn’t have known the exact moment of dawn, but she felt it. Eden had spent enough nights fighting for her life that she’d become attuned to the approach of the sun. It wasn’t a skill normal people had, but normal people didn’t even know zombies existed, let alone know how to efficiently dispatch them.
    She sat up, sliding off the bed, trying not to wake him. It was a lost cause. His eyes flicked open as soon as she straightened. “Going somewhere, querida ?”
    Eden turned away. “Maybe I’m taking a page from your book and running away.” Maybe if she acted like last night’s breakdown didn’t happen, Alejandro wouldn’t bring it up. And the best way to make sure he didn’t bring it up was to keep him on the defensive.
    “Ah, but you do not run from the things you fear.” She could almost hear the smile in his voice.
    She froze, her back to him. Surely he hadn’t just said he was afraid of her? Eden closed her eyes and counted to ten. It didn’t help. She opened them and walked around the bed to where she’d left her boots the night before.
    “Perhaps I spoke too soon.”
    “Stop trying to manipulate me.” She sat on the edge of the bed and reached for her boots. “You got your fun last night, the ‘Let’s fuck with Eden’ game. I’m over it.”
    She barely finished tying her laces when his arm snagged around her waist and yanked her back onto the bed. Before she had a chance to struggle, he was on top of her, holding her down. Eden fought, throwing her weight first in one direction and then the other, but it was no use. He wedged himself between her legs and pinned her wrists to the bed. Damn it, he’d always been able to get the best of her. It served her right for turning her back on him.
    Their position was achingly familiar even after a year. The only difference between now and the last time was the amount of clothes between them. She could still taste the sweat on his skin and feel his hands on her body, driving her insane as he...
    “Shall we get this...how do you say—ah, elephant.” He knew the exact word he wanted. He spoke better English than she did. Ass. “Shall we get this elephant out of the room?”
    Eden tilted her head to the side—as much as she could—and smirked at him. They were too close, giving the situation a false intimacy despite him holding her down. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
    He grinned at her, but it was more a challenge than an expression of joy. Alejandro shifted, moving both of her wrists to his left hand. “I think you do.”
    His fingers traced down her jaw, sending sparks in their wake. Eden’s eyes