Botanicaust

white. Still, they would make a good camouflage over the rusty splotches on the robe and blanket.
    Self conscious of his nude body but desperate, he opened the first aid kit and retrieved the scissors. Poking holes in the fiber of the blanket and robe, he forced branches and leaves into the fabric.
    By the time he was satisfied with the results, the duster was close enough for him to see silhouettes through the open side.
    Tula sat on the desert floor clutching her knees against her chest, face slack and eyes glazed. She babbled the whole time he worked. He assumed she was offering directions, but since he couldn ’ t understand, he didn ’ t pay attention. He draped the blanket over himself like a cape and held out the robe toward her, leaves and branches rattling in the stiff breeze. Her eyes widened and she skittered backward. “ No, no. ”
    “ Tula, we have to hide. ”
    She shook her head vehemently. The duster sped closer. Had he and Tula been spotted?
    “ Tula. Hide! ” He tried to put the robe over her. She cried out and scurried away, moaning.
    What was wrong with her? The flyer was nearly upon them. He pounced on her and dragged her to a beat-up stand of amarantox. Pushing her backward to the ground, he settled on top of her to hold her still. Her struggles didn ’ t make covering them with the blanket and robe easy. “ Tula, stay still, ” he said against her cheek.
    She sobbed and relaxed her limbs, but her whole body trembled violently. Panting against his shoulder, she moaned his name.
    “ Shhhh. Tula. ”
    They waited. How long until the search party came their way? Beneath the blanket the air grew stuffy. The smell of evergreen filled the space, and he became embarrassingly aware of how close they were. Pressed against her skin so intimately, they might as well be making love, he couldn ’ t help his arousal.
    Save me from temptation …
    The drone of the duster drew nearer.
    “ I ’ m sorry, ” he murmured. His hips ached to press tighter against her. Her hands crept up his sides, gripping the small of his back. Lips against his shoulder.
    Stiffening, he said, “ God, Tula, no. ”
    The fabric over them rustled in a breeze, halting his protest. The humming flyer passed directly over their position.
    Seemingly unconcerned, her tongue caressed the skin at the edge of his collarbone in lazy circles. What was wrong with her?
    “ Tula, we mustn ’ t. ” The same words he ’ d spoken to Sarah so many times.
    The whirr of the craft faded, but he resisted the urge to move. They could still be nearby.
    She pulled his head toward her, lips against lips. The hint of wintergreen filled his mouth.
    A shiver raced to his toes as the world spun out from under him, like after drinking too much apple wine. The soft warmth of a woman seemed like a dream, smooth skin beneath his fingertips, a subtle sigh of sweet air against his cheek. His body took over, and suddenly the duster didn ’ t matter. The hard, dry earth beneath them didn ’ t matter. The only thing in his world right now was the willing woman beneath him.
    Her legs parted, encouraging his hips between them. He could hardly breathe beneath the blanket. Tasting her lips again, his head spun with drunken desire.
    Her fingers bit into the flesh of his buttocks, pulling him deeper, closer, as her heels locked his thighs in place above her.
    No turning back. Waves of mind-numbing pleasure crashed around him and he let go, primal need claiming him. The release was exquisite, lasting forever and over too soon. Palms planted against the baked earth, he lifted, allowing a cool rush of air to flutter beneath the blanket. She was so beautiful, the light turning her skin green. Green?
    His head swam as he raised his face to the horizon. What had just happened, here? She was Blattvolk. A temptress of the devil. And they were supposed to be hiding from the search party. “ What have you done to me? ”
    She didn ’ t speak, just traced his lips with her index finger. His vision wavered again. Drugs. She ’ d drugged him. This must be a trap.

    Levi woke as the sky shifted from lavender to purple. The blankets lay in a heap at their feet, the robe bunched as a pillow beneath Tula ’ s head. She lay with her back against him, breathing deeply. His shoulder hurt from gravel digging into his flesh. His naked legs throbbed with sunburn.
    He sat up and searched the sky. No dusters. Just the looming mountains he ’ d seen to the north, now in stark