Synopsis:
Romance and zombies collide in the riveting sequel to Love in the Time of the Dead.
Four years into the Dead outbreak that ended the world, Vanessa Summers has been so burned by love, she swears she will never trust a man again. But Sean Daniels, guard leader of Dead Run River, isn’t just any man. When past lovers return to the colony, things get complicated. Desperate to rid herself of the heartache, Vanessa signs up for a supply run that will test her mettle as a guard in training. Sean volunteers to lead her team, and his hungry looks say it’s more personal than professional.
Danger comes from all sides as they scavenge Dead-infested cities, and as her attraction for Sean deepens, Vanessa finds her head and heart at war with each other. He clouds her judgment, and the slightest misstep could spell disaster outside of the safety of colony gates.
A race back to Dead Run River could save a teammate’s life, but trouble has been brewing back home. Laney Landry, the woman who broke Sean’s heart, is in trouble, and Vanessa must decide whether to take back the Denver colony beside the man she’s falling in love with, or bow out of an attraction that terrifies her.
Excerpt:
How did the man fill up the entire room? Sure he was six foot and muscled, but not overly so. He wasn’t thick like Finn. He was lithe like a panther, and his eyes slanted slightly in a very jungle cat like fashion. The man wasn’t born to be anyone’s prey. His presence felt bigger than her eyes perceived, as if his force of personality stretched far beyond the confines of his flesh. Those unnervingly blue eyes followed every movement she made and did so with no apology. Just frank curiosity like he was trying to figure out the end of a mystery movie.
The thick, delicious scent of him filled the small space and penetrated her mind until she imagined she couldn’t breathe without wanting him. Without a word, she stepped out the front door and took a long drag of cold, cedar-scented mountain air to clear her drunken head of Sean’s effect on her.
Her stomach clenched, like the loss of his scent left some unattainable craving she couldn’t comfort.
“What’s wrong,” Sean said in a low rumble from just behind. She would’ve jumped if she didn’t want him that close so blasted much.
“The walls were coming for me.”
He stood there, just behind, and so close, she could feel his warmth. Electricity floated just above her flesh like blue lightning had struck somewhere nearby and the current had settled into the space between them. She’d give anything to feel his lips against her neck right there, in that moment.
His fault. She’d asked him not to torture her, and he hadn’t even listened for an entire day.
“Vanessa,” he whispered against her neck.
“Don’t.” She spun and lowered her voice. “I told you before—I’m no man’s second choice. I asked you not to pull me any closer, and then you bring your daughter for me to fall in love with. Backhanded tactics, even for you, Daniels. Let’s go.”
She would’ve maintained her anger too if Adrianna’s little hand hadn’t slipped into hers on the trail. The child was like this magical anger tamer, and Vanessa threw one more mental curse into the sky for Sean. If he kept it up, she’d be playing mistress to the man in love with another in under a week. At the thought of Sean’s voice against the back of her neck, warmth pooled inside of her. She couldn’t trust herself around him. And the worst part? He probably had this effect on all women. Oh, she’d seen the way the ladies of the colony basically launched their pheromones his way when he passed. And the man didn’t even seem to notice! A sure sign that he could have, and probably did have, any woman he wanted. She’d liked a man like that once, and he chose another. Heck no was she playing second fiddle to other options again.