5. Juliet

"Are you awake?"

I open my eyes, and turn on to my side to look at Matt. "Yeah. Just a little on edge."

"Freaked you out a bit, huh?"

I shrug against my pillow. "It's been a while since we had an attack, I don't know, guess it did."

He shifts a little, his eyes darting away before bouncing back to my face. "Did you… I mean, did you wanna come sleep over here?"

"With you?" I smile, trying not to giggle and hoping to god he doesn't see the flush in my cheeks. "You think I'm that easy, huh?"

He clenches his eyes shut and runs a hand over his face. "Ugh sorry, I didn't mean it like that."

The giggle breaks free from me, and suddenly everything feels giddy and even a bit dangerous. I shouldn't go and climb into his bed. I don't even know this guy. But my skin is screaming for someone's hands to touch it, to feel the warmth of another body against mine, and the urge is so strong that I find myself climbing out of the bed and under Matt's waiting arm before I know it.

"Is this weird?" He asks as he presses himself to my back, his arms wrapping around me.

"Everything is weird." I close my eyes, because goddamn this feels nice. I sigh, settling into his warmth. "In case you hadn't noticed."

He chuckles, his warm breath brushing across my ear. "Yeah, guess you're right." He strokes my arms, his fingers moving up over my shoulder and back down again. Goosebumps rise over my skin. "This isn't a bad way to end a crazy first day though."

"Glad I made it all worthwhile." I smile to myself as he chuckles again.

"You're funny."

I shake my head against his bicep. "Nope, just cynical."

"How old are you?"

"Twenty-four. And you?"

"Thirty-two." He makes a sound in his throat as I shift against him, almost like a groan, and when his hips press against me, I can feel that he's getting hard.

I should go back to my bed. But a little secret thrill wells up in my stomach, sending out a rush of butterflies. I try not to react, just lie in his arms and enjoy his warmth. The night may be hot, but having the heat of another person so close like this, it's different. It's welcoming.

"What were you? Before?"

He strokes my hair, brushing along the nape of my neck, and I can't help but shiver.

"I was a mechanic," he replies in a voice that's way too low and sexy for what we're discussing. "Mainly motorbikes and stuff. I worked for a team, they did all the big races. It was fun. How about you?"

"Just started college." I bite my lip to suppress a moan as his fingers start to trace small circles along my collarbone. He's so close to my breasts, my nipples are brushing painfully against the cotton of my t-shirt. "This all started my first week."

"Well, that fucking sucks." His mouth moves closer to my neck. He's really hard now, his erection pressing into my back. "What was your major?"

I'm hot all over, and I should go back to my bed. I barely know this guy. His lips brush against my neck, and I bite my lip. Getting involved is a bad idea. This isn't going to lead any place good, and I don't need to catch feelings for this guy.

"I-I hadn't decided yet." I finally answer, my voice barely audible.

"No?" He kisses my neck. Actually kisses it. I'm going to melt. Oh god I'm going to be a grease spot in the damn mattress. I'm just touch-starved, that's all. Nothing needs to actually happen. But I really, really want it to.

"I thought I had time," I gasp as his hand moves down my side, across my hip to splay across my stomach. "I was just going to take some art classes and decide, because I was there on a scholarship and…" I trail off as he kisses my neck again, a flood of heat erupting between my thighs. "I, um, god, I thought I still had time."

"Didn't we all?" He presses himself harder against my back, the hand that was caressing my collarbone moving down to the hem of my shirt. His fingertips move closer to my breast, and I tense against him as his thumb brushes my nipple. "Is this OK?"

Is it OK? I don't know. I haven't been touched like this in years, and even before that, it hadn't been more than teenage fumblings in the back of a car that my date had borrowed from his parents.

"Yeah, it's OK." I whimper as he gently rolls my nipple between his fingers.

"You're so fucking pretty, you know that?" He growls in my ear. His hand moves up my stomach until it's cupping my breast. "Can you feel how hard I am?"

I nod, wriggling my ass against him. "Yeah."

"Will you touch it for me, baby?"

I reach down tentatively between us, pushing my hand into his shorts. Matt groans against my shoulder as I wrap my hand around his dick. I don't move for a second, and he shifts so his mouth is against my ear.

"That feels so fucking good." His chest vibrates as I feather my hand gently up and down his length. He inhales sharply as I begin to pump him awkwardly, the tip of his cock meeting my back as he pushes my tank top up. This angle sucks, but he seems to be enjoying it anyway. One of his hands works my nipple, and the other moves down into my panties. His finger rubs up and down my clit, and I bury my face in his arm.

"I need to be inside you." His voice is ragged with desire.

This is a mistake. I should go back to my bed. But then one of his fingers slips inside me, and my need takes over. I just need him to fuck me. My eyes dart over to Gina, just a bed away, but she's sleeping peacefully. No one else seems to be moving. Maybe it'll be OK. No one will notice.We just have to stay quiet.

"OK." God, Juliet, what a fucking answer. I release his dick, frantically pulling my panties aside as his knee parts my thighs. He fists himself and guides himself inside me, slipping all the way in easily because I'm so wet. I bite my lip trying not to moan.

He groans again. "Fuck, you feel good."

I don't respond, just close my eyes and try to let go and sink into the feeling of him being inside me. He thrusts as hard as he can without alerting the others, the bed creaking softly beneath us. He breathes heavily against my ear, muttering out smothered curses, nibbling on my ear lobe.

This is crazy. I met this guy this afternoon, we've barely spoken at all, and now I'm letting him fuck me. Would I have thought it was weird if I'd just picked him up in a bar? Met him at a concert? Is it weird to fuck a random stranger in a crowded dorm right after flesh-eating zombies nearly tore you apart? I don't know anything anymore.

Before I can get too worked up, he shudders, and it's over. My breath catches in my throat as the air floods out of my lungs, hanging somewhere between arousal and disappointment.

He sighs, and leans his forehead against the back of my head. "Sorry."

I shake my head. "It's fine. It's OK."

"They fed me so many drugs, my body's fucked up."

"It's OK, really." I shift as he pulls out of me, clenching my thighs together to try and stop his cum running everywhere. I didn't even have time to feel good. I wanted that rush and now the feeling of deflation is so great that I just feel dirty. I don't even know what to do. Do I just get up? Do I encourage him to keep going? He catches his breath against my back as I just lie in his bed, wondering what the fuck to do next.

I don't have to think for long. The dorm door flies open, hitting the wall with a resounding crack that sends a shockwave of movement through the sleeping figures around us.

Shit.

It's the fucking feeder who just stares at me. He's stalking across the dorm, moving fast. Heads raise from their beds as he moves, and my face flushes violently as all eyes follow him, coming to rest on Matt and I in his bed.

The feeder comes to a stop at the end of Matt's bed, his jaw ticking violently as his crimson eyes move from Matt to me.

"What's this?" He growls through gritted teeth

"Nothing," I mutter, hoping to god that if I keep my head down and just don't look at anyone that this will all just turn out to have been a bad dream.

"What's this?" He asks again. His hands aren't in his pockets, they're balled into fists at his side.

"Nothing!" I adjust my clothes, flinching as my panties become wet and cold as cum continues to run out of me.

The feeder's nostrils flare, and his eyes are positively flaming now.

"Get up." He orders.

Matt sits up beside me. "Hey, man, we were just -"

"Get the fuck up." His accent just makes him sound even scarier.

"And go where?" I hiss at him, very aware of the eyes of everyone else in the dorm boring into my flushed face. I sit up, my cheeks burning with shame.

"Shower, now." The feeder jerks his head over his shoulder in the direction of the door. Matt rises from the bed and the feeder points a finger at him. "Not you. Just her."

"Fuck you." I clutch the sheet to my chest like it'll somehow ward him off. "I'm not going anywhere."

With a roar that sends me stock-still with shock, the feeder lunges at me. Before I can scream or shriek or even draw breath, he's thrown me over his shoulder, stalking the length of the dorm.

"Put me down!" I hammer at his back. "What the fuck are you doing? Put me down!"

Everyone's up now, watching this whole situation unfold in front of them. The feeder keeps carrying me out into the night, across the yard to the shower block, ignoring my blows to his back and my shouted protests. Even the other feeders regard us with curiosity and confusion.

Who the fuck is this guy?

He slams open the door to the shower block, and in the shower room he unceremoniously puts me on my feet. I stumble a little, backing away from him against the cool tiled wall.

"What the fuck is your problem?"

Goddamn he's terrifying. His eyes are bright red, his shoulders heaving as he breathes through gritted teeth.

"Wash. Now." His voice is an angry snarl, echoing off the bare walls.

"I'm not showering in front of you."

"Suddenly got standards on who's allowed to see you naked, ey?"

My hand shoots out, nothing but instinct driving me, and I slap him hard across the face. "How dare you."

The slap barely moved his head at all, and his mouth curls into a cruel grin. "Get your fucking clothes off right now and wash that filth off you."

"Or what?" I counter, hands on my hips.

His hands slam against the wall either side of me, and I suppress a shriek. There's no way I'm letting this guy know I'm scared of him. I stick my chin out defiantly as he leers down at me.

"You wash right now, or I go back and divest your little boyfriend of his head."

I gasp, shrinking away from him as much as I can. "You fucking psycho. You're not allowed to do that."

"Try me." He yanks on the tap beside us, and a stream of water cascades down onto the floor. He takes a few steps back from me, crossing his arms over his chest. "Now. Clothes off. Wash."

I glare at him for a moment, before stripping off my sticky clothes and throwing them at his feet. I want to turn my back to him to shield my body from him, but the idea of turning my back to this unhinged asshole makes me shiver. No way am I taking my eyes off him.

I wash myself under his gaze, lathering myself up with soap twice over just to make sure I'm clean enough for him. I shut the water off, and brattily raise my eyebrows at him as I squeeze the water from my hair.

"And? Am I clean enough?"

He tilts his head, looking me up and down. He inhales through his nose, huffing out a heavy breath through his mouth, and his eyes meet mine. My mouth runs a little dry as I wonder if he was the creepy asshole that sniffed me out the other night, and the thought makes heat rise in my cheeks.

"Well?"

He runs his tongue over his teeth, pausing to probe the tip of one of his fangs. "Much better."

"Great." I run my fingers through my hair. "As long as you're happy."

"What's your name?"

The question takes me by surprise. "Wh-what?"They never ask us our names. We're numbers, nothing but numbers. I don't even know if they know our names at all.

"Your name." He says it slowly, still staring at my face.

I scoff, tearing a towel from the wall. "Like you care."

"I asked you your name."

I shrug, not meeting his eyes as I dry my hair with the towel. "Bloodbag 4211487."

Suddenly there's a hand on my arm, and he's towering over me, those red eyes blazing.

"I asked you… Your fucking name." His voice is low, every word dripping out of him with vicious intent.

"Juliet," I reply, trying to jerk my arm out of his grasp, but it's like iron.

"Juliet." He repeats it slowly, and tilts his head ever so slightly.

"Happy now?" I wrench my arm again, but he still won't let me go. "You want me to ask yours? Is this your idea of a meet cute?"

The corner of his mouth twitches, almost like he's going to grin. It's just a split second, but it's enough to reveal something almost human about him. It makes me uncomfortable in the weirdest way.

"My name is Silas. Silas King."

"Great to meet you, Silas." My voiced is edged with irritation. "Now, am I allowed to get dressed or is there anything else you desperately need to know while I'm naked?"

This time he does grin, almost as though he's going to chuckle, and he releases me. Leaning back against the shower wall, he watches me with narrowed eyes as I rub myself down with the towel.

"That… interaction."

I tilt my head with a sigh, meeting his eyes. "What about it?"

"It was consensual, yeah?"

"What do you care?"

His face darkens. "I don't approve of rape."

"You don't approve of rape?" I scoff, unable to suppress my laugh. "That's rich coming from the guy who just forced me to strip and shower for him."

"That's different." The predatorial tone in his voice makes the hair on the back of my neck stand up.

I shake my head, pushing away the shivers and uneasiness that his goddamn voice sends through me. "Sure it is. Twisted feeder logic, huh? Pin us down and take our blood but draw the line at rape. How fucking noble of you." I stalk across the wet room and grab my clothes from the floor, and when I spin back to face him he's right behind me.

"Was it consensual?" His intense gaze threatens to swallow me up. "Because if it wasn't-"

"Oh my god, yes, yes," I say quickly, not wanting him to race back into that dorm and actually tear Matt's head off. "I wanted it, OK?"

His expression becomes unreadable, and my stomach does that weird drop thing, like I've just gone over the top of a rollercoaster. His eyes move over my face slowly.

"If anyone hurts you," he says slowly, "let me know. I'll deal with them." His gaze drops to my lips. "Will you do that, Juliet?"

"No." I pull the tank top and my panties back on, recoiling for just a second as the cold, soaked fabric touches my skin. "I don't need your help. I don't need you calling me by my name. I need you to stop staring at me all the damn time."

I throw the wet towel at his feet and storm out of the shower room. He doesn't follow me, thank god. The moon hangs heavy in the sky as I cross the yard back to the dorm, the crickets singing loudly in the warm night. It's a stupidly idyllic scene for how pissed off I feel.

The feeder at the door lets me in, and I rush back to my bed. Matt sits up as I approach, asking if I'm OK, did they hurt me? But I ignore him, I can't even look at his face. I just climb into my bed and pull the sheets up over my head.

My whole body is shaking with anger and embarrassment.

Silas King.

What a fucking asshole.

I clench my eyes shut, hoping and praying I can fall asleep and pretend this whole fucked up world doesn't exist for a few hours. I just want it all to go away.