LustAfterDeath Read Online Free Page A

roll around in the cloth like a cat in
the sun.
    Bane snatched her around the waist and tossed her over his
shoulder. Then he ran full-steam through the woods.
    It was beyond uncomfortable. Josie tensed her abdomen at his
every stride, but his movements battered her stomach. Though the shirt fell to
her thighs while she stood, in this position it failed to cover the cleft of
her rear end. Misty air cooled her exposed flesh. “I can run,” she squeaked.
“Let me down.”
    “No time, babe, sorry.” He patted her bottom and she yelped,
reaching behind her to slap at his hand. The movement straightened her spine
and Bane struggled to keep his grip. A sharp slap landed on her left buttock.
“Lie down. We’re almost there.”
    Wincing at her pummeled belly, Josie tried to relax. She
rested her cheek, then her chin on the curve of Bane’s back and considered at
what point she should raise her hand to smack the taut behind flexing in her
line of view.
    The trees cleared and Josie smelled salt. “Let! Me! Down!”
    To her surprise, Bane did as she said and dropped her to her
feet. He turned to stride away, so she swung hard and landed a stinging slap on
the seat of his trousers. He only spared her a glance and a snort before
walking away. “That there is a ‘dock’ and that’s a ‘boat’, you walk down one to
get the other.”
    “I knew that!” she shouted after him, though she filed the
information away in her memory. The boat was small, maybe a little over twenty
feet long, and had an enclosed cabin and a rear section covered with plastic
and awnings.
    Bane didn’t look back as he walked the pathway toward the
dock. Josie followed behind, careful with her bare feet on the twig-strewn
ground. The bay was beautiful. Gray-green water met gray-blue sky. In the
distance, black islands hovered in welcome.
    The single boat swayed in the water alongside the dock.
“Hurry up, babe. They may have brought backup.”
    Josie turned to study the forest. “Who were they?” A hand
closed around hers and Bane led her again, onto the rotting-plank dock.
    “They work for Synaviv. A company that manufactures steins
like you.” He stepped down into the back of the boat and grabbed her other hand
to help her in. Their eyes met. “Like me.” He looked away and Josie wondered
whether the moment happened.
    Josie followed Bane into the boat’s cabin. The interior
space stretched only about six feet by eight and was filled with cabinets, a
kitchenette and a small table. Bane’s nearness beat a warm, living pulse
against her consciousness. “But you’re not like me, you’re like Adam.” She bit
at her bottom lip.
    He stood by the steering wheel and started the engine, not
looking her direction. “I had a maker, just like you. But Frank saved me and
he’ll fix you up as well.” Bane turned and strode past her out the door of the
cabin. She watched him jump onto the dock and untie the ropes attaching the
boat. He came back a moment later, picked up a fleece sweater and tossed it to
her. “Put it on before you freeze.”
    The boat rumbled below her feet and pulled away from the
dock. Josie stumbled and grabbed the back of the dinette for support. Pulling
herself forward, she angled her hip around to sit on the bench and pulled the
fuzzy material over her head. It smelled like salt and musk and felt warm and
cuddly on her flesh. Her eyes traveled to the back of the man motoring out of
the bay into open water. His pale-gold skin, marked at odd intervals with
scars, was naked from the point where his olive-colored pants hung low on his
hips. Josie wondered if he was cold, but lingering anger clouded her concern.
”You shouldn’t have done that to me.”
    Shots rang toward them from the shore. Josie ducked her head
below the table, and Bane pressed a lever forward and the boat sped faster.
    “I am not talking to you until I get some miles between us
and that island.” He didn’t look at her as he spoke, but she noted the