Chapter 2

7/21/2019: Updated to the published version.

July 4, 2038 – Southeast Texas

James was waiting for her, had been for the last month, and he was prepared as well. He had sent his men back to the Colony long ago and had been watching the shelter house with binoculars from the third story of a house one street over. He had spotted her reconnecting the solar panels on the roof but couldn't get to her fast enough. Seeing her at least told him she was okay. He didn't mind the wait. He was obsessed, even admitted it, maybe even in love.

He had never been anywhere near as attracted to a woman as he was to Leah. When he first found her on that roof, he thought she was physically beautiful. The way she spoke to him, defiant, without fear, and sure of herself, made him decide to court her once back in the Colony. But when she tricked him, his attraction skyrocketed, and he decided he wasn't giving anyone else a chance at her.

He had been in the military before the plague, and he was a large, intimidating man. Leah was the only woman who had ever stood up to him. She had actually fought him, foolish but very brave. When she had succeeded in tricking him and gotten herself into that bomb shelter, he'd been a goner. He wanted this one for himself, and he would catch her alone.

He had brought enough women to the Colony that they had no right to deny him either the time off or the woman. He would catch her without weapons too. He saw the guns and the knife she had, but he didn't believe she would kill him, especially if he went unarmed. He had suspected she would go on a bike because it was quiet, so he did the same.

He caught up to her on an open stretch of road leading to the interstate. She had been checking behind her and saw him coming, even recognized him, which made him smile.

She yelled out, "You come any closer, James, and I'll shoot you!"

He grinned and kept going, closing the distance. She shot one round off into the woods, missing him by a mile, and almost fell off the bike in the process. He said, "Careful now!" She put the gun back in the front basket and started pedaling harder. She was fast, going too fast, and he didn't like it. "Slow down, Leah. You're going to hurt yourself."

She yelled back, "You want me to slow down? Stop following me!"

He laughed and used all his strength to pull even with her. "There, I'm not following you anymore. I'm beside you."

She picked up the gun from the basket, but he grabbed it, quick as lightening, and tossed it to the side of the road. It gave Leah a shock, and she almost toppled the bike, but James grabbed her handlebar and steadied her.

She recovered quickly and pulled the second gun from the holster on her belt. She put it right to his side. "Let me go, James."

She could shoot him, and it would be a hell of a wound, right through the kidney, intestines, and possibly the other kidney as well. He kept hold of her handlebar and slowed them both down, letting traction do all the work. "I'm unarmed, Leah. I don't want to hurt you. Are you really going to shoot an unarmed man? Do you really want to kill someone, anyone, after all the death we've witnessed? I sure don't."

She frowned at him. "I don't want to, but I will."

He smiled. "I don't think you have it in you."

She stared him down as the bikes continued to slow. Finally, she said, "I just want you to leave me the hell alone, James! Why is that so hard?"

He grinned. "Because I'm in love with you."

"Ha!" she said, but it wasn't a real laugh. "You barely know me."

"So? I fell in love with you when you locked yourself in that bomb shelter. Love at first trick!" He was still grinning.

She rolled her eyes. "You just like a challenge."

"Stop running and fighting, and see if that's true." He brought them to a halt.

She poked him with the gun. "Let go of my bike, James. I'm not kidding around."

He was still grinning and simply said, "No."

She put her feet down, balancing her bike, and looked down. A defeated sigh came out of her before she was quiet for a moment. She pulled the gun back a bit and looked at him again. "You love me, do you?"

He nodded, smiling.

Wickedness came to her eyes, and she turned her body to him. "Let me try something. Hold very still."

His eyes narrowed, and he wondered what she was up to. She brought the cool barrel of the gun up his arm, pushing up his short sleeve, looking at his muscles. He couldn't help but tighten them. She was checking him out, and that was a good sign. Slowly, she looked down and back up. Her gaze settled on his mouth.

She leaned over to him, moving cautiously. She was going to kiss him! He liked that idea, a lot. If she wanted to test him out, he was all for it. He wanted to put his arms around her and pull her to him, but he'd wait, let her think she had the control for a while, be still like she'd asked.

She got within an inch of him, and he could feel her breath. Her eyes closed and so did his. He was pushed forcefully to the side and actually fell. He couldn't stop himself, he was too distracted, expecting something else completely, too relaxed. However, he woke up on the way down and managed to grab her second gun.

She took off like a shot.

He laughed and grinned as he picked himself and his bike up, throwing the second gun into the woods. He thought, Yep, I'm in love with you, and took off after her once more. She was riding hell bent again, but he caught up, hanging back a few lengths this time. "You're only making me fall deeper in love with you, Leah." Every time he got behind her, she swerved to the other side of the road. He didn't want to knock her off the bike at this speed. She'd get hurt.

She let out an exasperated sigh. "What's with you, James? I'm obviously not interested in you. Can't take rejection?"

He grinned again. "I'm obsessed. It's not healthy, but I admit it. You brought this on yourself, Leah. If you had come peacefully a month ago, I may not have realized how absolutely perfect for me you are."

She frowned. "What do you want exactly?"

Still grinning, he said simply, "You."

"Yeah, but what exactly do you want from me? I don't understand."

"Oh. Let's see... I want you to come to the Colony with me, be my girlfriend, and later my wife. I'm patient. I won't rush you if you want to take a few months before we get married."

She stared at him in shock, glanced at where she was going, and stared at him some more.

He gave her his most charming smile and let his eyes roam over her body. She was a very finely made woman, about five foot six inches, he judged. She was currently too thin but had toned muscles with curves in the right spots. He especially liked her perky breasts and really wanted to touch them, for hours. Her long dark brown hair fell in gentle waves halfway down her back. He longed to run his fingers through it. She had a beautiful face too, one he definitely wouldn't mind looking at for the rest of his life. He wanted her, bad, and let her know it. "And sex. Lots of sex." He grinned at her. "Oh, and babies. I want you to have my children, Leah."

Her expression turned even more shocked. He liked that her face was so expressive. Her mouth had fallen open, but she closed it and looked ahead for a few moments. He watched her lovely legs as they worked the pedals of her bike. Finally, she said, "I can't have children, James. You're wasting your time."

He frowned. "What makes you think that, Leah?"

Still looking ahead, she said, "I've never had my period. There's something wrong with me. So you can't use me to perpetuate the species."

"How old are you?"

"Twenty-four."

It wouldn't matter to him. He wanted her either way. He did want to father children but not if it meant he had to give her up. Still, she was just guessing, wasn't she? "Did you see a doctor before the plague?"

She nodded. "She said it was rare, but not unheard of, for girls to reach nineteen or twenty without starting to bleed. She couldn't find anything wrong with me, told me not to worry, it would come. It hasn't."

"We'll figure it out. We have some great doctors in the Colony."

She frowned at him. "I don't want to go to your Colony. I don't want to be your girlfriend or wife. I don't want you."

He smiled, undeterred. "But I want you, Leah, very badly."

"Are you going to rape me?" she accused more than asked.

That made him frown. "Never. We won't have sex until you say yes, Leah." He smiled again. "But I can be very persistent."

"As I see!" She gave him a censorious look and let out another frustrated sigh. They rode for several more minutes, and then she asked, "What is it going to take, James?"

"What do you mean?"

"For you to leave me alone, to let me go? What's it going to take? You want me to have sex with you, so what if I do it? Will that get this obsession you have with me out of your system?"

He frowned. He did want her, bad, but not just for a day, a night, a week, or a month. "Nope. I'm afraid my condition is permanent. The only option is for you to come home with me."

"Ha! That is so not going to happen!"

He smiled. "I'll marry you first if you like."

She frowned over her shoulder at him. "You're insane."

He grinned. "May be. Isn't that what love is?"

She looked ahead and kept going, but he thought she was tiring. She looked at him again. "No. Loving someone means you put their happiness and wellbeing ahead of your own. That you care more for them than yourself. Haven't you heard that old saying, 'If you really love something, you set it free'?"

He thought about it and nodded. "I get that, yeah, but I believe I can make you happy, and your wellbeing will be far safer in the Colony. I'll take really good care of you, Leah." It didn't make sense to him that this woman didn't want a strong man to take care of her. The world was a very dangerous place. Survival was difficult. It was even more difficult alone. He could make things much easier for her even if he didn't have the Colony to bring her to.

They were coming up to the onramp to the interstate. It was a steep climb. She didn't respond, just kept going, pedaling as hard as she could to get up her speed for the ascent. He did the same. She made it about two-thirds of the way up before she really had to work at it, but so did he. His stamina was higher, and he came even with her again before they reached the upper roadway.

She was winded and pulled a water bottle out of her basket. She drank thirstily from it. Damn, he wanted to be that water bottle! He took his own container from the bike bar and drank a little. Unlike her, he only had the one. He didn't know how long she would last and was surprised she had gotten this far this fast. She was getting her breath back even now.

He was impressed and grinned again. Strong, healthy, intelligent, wily, spirited, beautiful, and sexy, she was everything he had ever wanted in a woman. He hadn't been kidding when he'd said he would marry her. Hell, he'd marry her even if she didn't like, for he damn well did. It used to be there were a lot of fish in the sea but not anymore. "Come on, Leah. Won't you even try it? You might like the Colony. You might like me. Am I that repulsive?"

She kept looking straight ahead. "You're not my type."

"What's that then?"

"Scrawny geeks."

He laughed. "Liar." She didn't respond, which made him grin. "You need a strong man these days, Leah, someone who can protect you."

"I can take care of myself."

He raised an eyebrow. "Clearly."

She shot over her shoulder, "You haven't caught me yet!"

He grinned. "Only because I'm not going to risk hurting you by knocking you off that bike." She frowned at him and started to pedal faster. He easily kept up. They passed an exit, but she kept going, so he wondered what her destination was.

"Thirsty?" He took a sip from his bottle. She held her hand out without a word, but he recapped his bottle and put it back. "I think you have enough bottles over there. I just don't want you to get dehydrated."

She smiled at him sweetly. "You mean you want me to have to stop and pee."

He laughed because she was correct, clever girl. "Yes, just like you wanted to throw my water bottle off the interstate." He got a sort of smile out of her for that – bingo!

"We'd fight like cats and dogs."

He grinned. "Not if you surrendered."

She didn't respond to that one. She was reading a sign at the side of the road. The next exit was sixteen miles down. She kept up her pace, and they rode in silence for quite a while. He knew she was up to something, so he was prepared when she suddenly veered towards the exit and followed.

She got up to a frightening speed on the sharp down ramp. It made his gut clench in fear. He never feared for himself, but she was a different story. He yelled, "Slow down, damn it! You want to kill yourself?"

She didn't respond as they zipped down, cruised a ways on a flat stretch, and came to a big hill. The climb made her slow. He knew the town began at the bottom of this hill, had covered the territory enough. He worried she'd find another bomb shelter, was probably heading straight to one she already knew about if he knew her, and he was beginning to. So, he made a decision.

She veered close to the edge of the road, near the grass border. He checked it for ant hills and other dangers, pulled right next to her, and tackled her off the bike. He threw them both clear of the bikes and rolled with her to soften the fall. He ended with his body on top of her, pinning her to the ground, and looked down at her.

Damn, it felt good to press his body to hers, but there was something between them. Oh yes, the knife. He pulled it out of her belt and threw it far back into the woods. "You okay?" He had given her a shock; she was breathing heavily. It pushed her breasts against his chest in a very nice way, which he appreciated. He didn't want to hurt her, so he backed off just a tad.

She glared daggers at him. "It would serve you right if I wasn't! You said you weren't going to knock me off my bike."

He grinned down at her, reached up, and brushed her dark hair off her face. "You slowed down enough near grass, so I thought it was safe."

She said, "Get off me," and he said, "No." He pressed himself closer to her again now that she had caught her breath. Her eyes squinted like she was in pain, and he demanded, "What is it? Did you hurt yourself?" as he backed off again.

"No, you just pressed on my bladder."

He grinned. "Ah ha, you do need to pee." He got up to his feet, careful to keep hold of her, and walked her over to the tree line. "Okay, take your jeans down and squat."

"Here? With you looking? No, thanks."

He grinned again. "Do you need to pee or not, Leah? I'm not getting sucked in by another of your tricks. If you gotta go, go. I'll hold you steady."

She let out an exasperated sigh and thought about it, tapping her foot. He brought his hand down and pressed against her bladder again. She yelped. "Okay! Okay!" She unbuttoned and unzipped her jeans. "Don't look."

He just grinned as she took down her jeans. When she squatted, he walked around to her back, keeping a hand on her shoulder. He did look, of course, she had a fine ass. They both waited but nothing happened. "Need me to press on your bladder again?"

"I just can't go with you so close. Could you back away a bit at least?" In answer, he crouched behind her, wrapped his arms around her, and pressed on her bladder. She finally let go and let out a sigh of relief. She really did have to go, had to for a while now by the sound. He wasn't the least bit put off by it.

When she was done, she asked, "Got any toilet paper? I feel disgusting."

He didn't, but he did have a bandanna around his neck. He took it off and handed it to her.

She asked skeptically, "You gonna want this back?"

He laughed. "Nah, throw it in the woods when you're done. More where that came from."

She folded it up and used it to dry herself. The fact that anything of his, especially with his scent on it, was touching her there had his cock stiffening. If felt almost like he was marking her as his, something he really wanted to do in a much more significant way, but that would have to wait.

When she had her jeans refastened, he let go of her and took the radio out of his pocket. "Dale, come in, over."

Dale's voice came over the line. "Dale here. You finally run that filly to ground, James? Over."

Leah frowned.

James grinned and pressed the button again. "That I did. Where are you now? Over."

"The highway by the shelter house. Over."

"Come on down the highway until you reach the interstate. Turn south, go two exits, about twenty miles, and turn west. We're near the top of the hill. Over."

"Righto. Be there in under thirty. Over and out."

As James put the radio back in his pocket, Leah tried to bolt on foot. James' hand snatched her arm quickly, and he pulled her to him. He put both of his arms around her and held her to his chest. She let out an "oof" sound. He smiled down at her. "No more running, Leah."

"I'll decide when I stop running and fighting, James."

He was amused. "I already owe you one spanking. You run again, it will be two."

"I'm not a naughty child, and I'm not into that kinky stuff."

He laughed and swatted her bottom. "Then don't test me. I'll do it. Try it and see."

She pushed at his chest, trying to get free. He didn't like that, so he held her closer, pinning her hand between them. When she stilled, he smiled and leaned down. He kissed her, and to his delight, she responded. She even opened her mouth to him, but he knew better than to stick his tongue between her teeth. She'd bite it for sure. If that was her plan, he'd take advantage. He sucked on her lower lip and kept kissing her without tongue. She pulled away after a while and frowned at him. She was so cute that he had to laugh.

"I don't understand why you want me, James. I told you I can't have children. Don't you want a woman that can give them to you?"

He smiled. "I want you, whether or not you can have children. I don't believe you can't anyway. I'm sure it'll be something that the doctors can figure out. We have some great doctors in the Colony. Doc Thames is the very best, chief of the hospital. He'll be taking a thorough look at you as soon as we get there."

Leah looked scared. James wondered why she would be scared of a doctor when she hadn't been scared of anything before. "Please don't make me see a doctor, James."

He didn't like the fearful tone of her voice, but it made him feel protective and want to soothe her. He raised his hand to her cheek and caressed her softly. "Doc Thames is really nice and gentle. He isn't going to hurt you. I'm not going to let anyone or anything hurt you."

She frowned. "It really hurt the last time."

"What hurt?"

"The gynecology exam."

He frowned. "I don't think it is supposed to hurt. Maybe you had a bad doctor."

She shook her head.

He had another idea. "Were you a virgin?"

She looked at his chest and shook her head again.

He picked her chin up, trying to get her to look at him, but she wouldn't. "Look at me, Leah." She didn't, so he pulled her closer to his body with his other hand. She tried to push at him, but he was too strong. He said with more command in his voice, "Look at me, Leah." Finally, she did, narrowing her eyes at him with hatred.

He caressed her cheek again, his little spitfire. "It doesn't matter to me if you are a virgin or not, or how old you were if not. Neither answer will make me want you any more or any less. I only ask because I don't want you to be hurt. Doc should know. You can tell me now or you can tell Doc later, but you won't lie to him. Understood?"

"I don't want to talk to him at all."

James shook his head. "Sorry, sweet. Every newcomer has to be cleared medically when they first arrive. Besides, we need to figure out what's going on with you, if you're telling the truth." He smiled. It looked like she was going to say something but stopped when the sound of the truck began.

Dale had been faster than expected. James turned her and walked her back to the road. They arrived there just as Dale came to a stop. He was driving a regular truck this time, not their expedition truck with its extra gas tanks and gun mounted on top.

Dale put the truck in park, turned it off, and hopped out. He came around the back and grinned at the couple. "Congratulations, my friend."

James grinned back at him. "Can you put the bikes into the back, Dale?" Dale nodded and did so as James took Leah around to the driver's door. He took the keys out of the ignition before he put her in the truck, then slid in himself. He kept hold of her until Dale got in the passenger seat, effectively walling her in.

Dale laughed. "Don't want me to drive, eh?"

James grinned. "I let you drive me but not my woman."

Dale grinned and nodded. "I don't blame you."

Leah asked Dale, "Have you crashed before or something?" as James started the truck and got them underway.

Dale smiled and nodded to her. "I've totaled a few vehicles, but I'm still alive."

Leah smiled. "Are you an adrenaline junkie?"

"I guess maybe so, yeah."

She leaned towards him. "That's very attractive. Actually, you're very attractive, Dale." She put her hand on his thigh. "I think I like you better than James."

James knew she was stirring up trouble on purpose, but he couldn't help the possessive jealously that surged through his system. He said, "Leah," in a stern warning tone and looked over at Dale above her head. He knew his friend wouldn't mess with his woman.

Dale laughed and picked up her hand, putting it back in her lap. "Sorry, sugar. I ain't taking my best friend's woman. That would be breaking the code."

Leah frowned. "The code?"

"The man's code of honor."

"What else is in the code?"

"Never betray a friend. Never leave a friend to fight alone. Take care of and protect your friend's woman and family as if they were your own."

"What about protecting defenseless women from kidnappings?"

Dale grinned. "If you were being kidnapped by some evil man, I'd stop it, but James is far from evil. He's a good man, a good friend, and he'll do right by you. You could do a lot worse, that's for sure."

James grinned at Dale. He was a good friend and had shown his loyalty over the last five years. He trusted Dale with his life, and he'd trust him with Leah too.

Leah frowned. "I don't want any man at all. I just want to be left alone. I don't understand why that is so difficult. There's nothing special about me."

James smiled. "That's where you're wrong, Leah."

She turned her head to James. "What?"

"Thinking you're not special."

"But I'm not. I'm just a girl like any other girl."

"I disagree. I've never met a woman like you, even before the plague."

Dale had moved closer to the door after Leah's attempt to flirt with him. Now, she took the extra room, moving closer to Dale. James wasn't having that. He reached over her lap, tucked his hand under her right thigh, and pulled her flush against his leg. He kept his hand there too, driving with his left. "If you want to put your hand on a thigh, Leah, mine is right here." He grinned.

She looked down at his lap, and he could see the cogs working. He laughed. "You aren't going to make me crash this truck, even if you grab my cock. I'm prepared."

She smiled. "What if I squeeze it really hard?"

He laughed again. "Try it and see." He doubted she could hurt him, and even if it was a little painful, he'd still love to have her touch it. His wish was not granted. Instead, she tried to shove her foot at the pedals. He quickly blocked her with his right foot and used his left to keep the gas pedal down. He calmly said, "Dale, you still got that rope under the seat?"

"Sure do."

"Tie her feet together for me, will ya?"

Dale pulled a coil of rope out from under his seat.

Leah's eyes widened. "Don't!" She put her hand on James' thigh. "I'll behave. I'm sorry, James."

Dale asked, "James?"

James narrowed his eyes, thinking that was an interesting reaction. It wasn't like tying up her feet would hurt. He wondered if she had some weird phobias but doubted it since she seemed fearless generally, but then there was the thing about the doctor. He wondered if she was just pretending to be afraid, acting like the opposite of herself in an attempt to appear unattractive to him. That made more sense. He told Dale, "Keep it handy."

Dale began making knots with the rope. Leah frowned at him and started to pull her hand away from James' thigh. James pulled his hand out from under her and grabbed her hand. He put it back on his thigh and held it there. She didn't fight him, so after a minute, he smiled again and kept his eyes on the road.

They rode in silence for about a half hour. Then Leah said, "I'm thirsty and hungry."

James figured she probably was. They had been on the bikes for a couple of hours. He knew the timing was no coincidence as they were coming up to a small town. She was starting to panic and wanted to run again. That was not going to happen. James said, "Dale?"

Dale turned in his seat and said, "Excuse me, little lady," before he reached behind Leah and slid the small window open. She had to lean forward as Dale put his arm through the window. He opened a small ice chest back there and pulled out bottles of Gatorade and sandwiches. He asked her, "Fruit Punch or Grape?" as he closed the window.

She said, "Fruit Punch, please." James thought it was cute how she tried not to act disappointed that they weren't stopping. Dale handed her a red bottle and a sandwich. James chose the red as well, so Dale kept the purple. He passed James a sandwich. Leah unwrapped her sandwich and sniffed it. "The Colony makes bread?"

James said, "Yep, and that's fresh ham and cheese too. You'll find just about everything you used to be able to get before the plague in the Colony."

She took a bite of the sandwich, chewed, and swallowed. "It's good." She opened the bottle and gulped down the Gatorade.

James grinned. "If you have to pee, we'll do it just like before. I'm not stopping in a town so you can run and hide, Leah."

She sighed but didn't say anything. She put the top back on the bottle. When they finished the sandwiches, James took her hand and put it back on his thigh. He really liked it there. He put his arm around her shoulders and pulled her against his chest. "Try to get some sleep, Leah. It's going to be about two more hours." He gently pressed her head to his chest.

Leah didn't fight him, but she certainly didn't fall asleep. They rode in silence for another hour. Dale said, "Think we can pick up the radio stations now."

James glanced down at Leah, though he knew she wasn't asleep.

She asked, "Radio stations?"

Dale said, "Yeah, the Colony has a few stations on FM and AM with different types of music. Do you like music?"

"Yeah."

"What kind?"

"Country is my favorite, but I like some Pop."

James grinned. "Try the country station, Dale." He preferred it and was glad she did too. Dale turned the radio on and changed the station. A song came on, loud and clear.

They listened in silence for a while, but a song came on that Leah apparently knew and liked. She started singing along quietly. James smiled and leaned his head closer to hers. She had a nice voice, and he wished she'd sing louder. It was especially nice since the words coming out of her mouth were things he wanted to hear like: "I just need you now."

She did sing louder when a Carrie Underwood song came on. It was an oldie but goodie. She picked her head up and looked right at James as she sang along to Cowboy Casanova, telling him he was a disease and a snake that should be run from. She didn't sing the lines in his favor, so he took them up, saying she would get addicted to him. They continued back and forth through the song, making Dale laugh.

Leah moved away from James as she squirmed in her seat, moving to the music. He kept his hand on her thigh but didn't force her back. He was glad she was having a good time. It proved that she wasn't really afraid of him, which he loved. Most women that hadn't come willingly would have been crying, begging, or frozen and quiet with fear.

Leah was a special girl. She wasn't unafraid because there was no possibility of danger. She was smart and knew what could happen. James believed she didn't fear him because she instinctively recognized him as hers and smiled. They continued to enjoy the music until the Colony came into site.