Fighters

Chapter Nine

Kasey POV

Gasping and sweating, my chest on fire, I shot up in bed. Clay was quick to wake as well, as living in this world without walls for almost 8 years really makes you a light sleeper. I felt like I couldn't catch my breath, and I tore at the blankets feeling suddenly claustrophobic.

I was having a panic attack.

Clay pulled me into his lap and pushed the hair out of my face. "Breathe with me now darlin" he whispered as he took deep, exaggerating breaths in and out. Eventually I was able to match them with my own but my heart still felt as though it was beating out of my chest.

Sobs wracked my body as Clay held me and rocked me, whispering in my ear. I knew we were okay, that the kids were okay, that it was all just a nightmare.

But I couldn't shake it, the feeling that something was coming.. even if it wasn't my nightmare. The same nightmare I've had over and over since moving into the compound... the same nightmare where everyone I love has turned and I'm all alone.

"Baby..." Clay started but I didn't want to talk. I didn't want to think, I just wanted to feel him, all of him. I needed to be one with him so badly, just to know he was okay and completely mine. I pressed my lips to his hard, my hands sliding into his hair. I pulled the pony tail out and ran my hands through it. He didn't respond at first but soon he was kissing me heatedly. Turning, he moved us so that I was on my back and he was hovering over me on his elbows. His lips left my mouth to trail them over my jaw and down my neck. He took the skin at my pulse point and sucked it into this mouth and I was suddenly craving him to leave a mark there. His lips continued their assault down my chest and then he grabbed the hem of my shirt and quickly pulled it over my head.

His eyes landed on the bandage on my chest and he stopped. "Are you sure you're feeling up to it, darlin? I don't want to hurt you." Looking down at him I couldn't form words, just nodded my head vigorously. He brought a hand up to brush the edge of the bandage, then leaned forward to kiss it and I closed my eyes. When I opened them again he was staring up at me, tears in his eyes.

I shook my head and then pulled his head back up to me, kissing him hard. I didn't want to talk, I couldn't find words. I just wanted to pour all of my heart and soul into this kiss, for him to feel what I felt. I tugged on his shirt and he stopped kissing me to pull it over his head. I flipped us so I was on top and I kissed his chest and then down, lingering on each ab individually and ran my tongue along the V that disappeared into his boxers. Before I could pull them down he pulled me back up and turned so he was on top again, somehow removing his boxers in the process.

He cupped my face for a moment, studying me, before he spoke. "I just want to do everything for you tonight" he whispered huskily. "I almost lost you and I just...." he trailed off but I understood. I kissed him again, relishing in the feeling of his tongue on mine.
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Afterward, we laid in bed in silence, our legs tangled and my head on his chest. His heartbeat soothed me and I sighed, tilting my chin to look up at him and met his eyes. He smiled, bringing a finger down to trace my face, lingering on the lines of my forehead that had become a permanent fixture over the years. "You're just so beautiful" he whispered, leaning down to kiss my temple and I swatted his chest and chuckled but remained silent.

He reached down to intertwine our hands and pulled them up to rest on his chest, kissing the back of my hand. He was hurting, I knew that. My ex is here, the biological parents of his kids are here, and then I had to go and get shot on top of it. He still had his head bent over our hands, his lips on my knuckles. But it was when he took a shuttering breath that I couldn't take it anymore and pulled him to me, holding him. He tried to protest because of my injury but I ignored him.