Liz and Red packed up their tent after a quick breakfast the next morning and got straight on the road. The journey, for once, was uneventful and they arrived back at the shack before lunchtime. Pulling up next to it in the trees and hiding the car, they then carried their bags inside. They had decided they may as well stay here for the night seeing as there was now no rush to get to Charleston. Assuming, of course, Dembe had not been here yet.

Red checked the note as soon as he stepped in the door. It hadn't moved an inch and nothing had been added to it. Heaving a sigh of relief, he tore it up and started to compose a new letter to his friend. Although he was glad that Dembe hadn't been here and moved on, he was concerned that he hadn't yet made it here at all. But he had no idea what Dembe was dealing with, maybe he had just decided it was too dangerous to attempt to cross so much of the now lawless countryside with his daughter and young granddaughter. Despite that possibility, Red would keep trying to contact him, just in case he needed his help.

As Red was writing his new letter, Liz busied herself preparing them some lunch. As soon as he'd finished, he pulled up his plate and started eating with gusto, looking like a man who'd not eaten for weeks. Liz shook her head and smiled at the top of his head as he leant over his plate, devouring its contents.

'You really do like your food, don't you?'

Red stopped chewing, mid-mouthful and looked up at her. As his mouth was too full to reply, he merely shrugged and nodded at her, making her laugh. She loved this man. Every single thing about him made her glow with happiness. She really did think now that she was ready to take their relationship to the next level. She trusted him completely and she was determined not to let what had happened to her before ruin her chance of happiness with Red.

'So, Lizzy', Red said as he eventually finished eating, 'We need to go and check the farmhouse hasn't been reoccupied since we were last here. Then we can relax'.

Liz blanched. Her attacker was still lying in an upstairs bedroom in that house. Just the thought of seeing him again, even though he'd now be a decaying corpse, made her feel anxious.

'However, although we can go there together, I'll go in alone. You keep guard outside. That sound okay?'

Liz knew exactly why Red had suggested that and she felt tears prick at her eyes. She reached over and squeezed his hand, nodding silently at him.

'Okay. Well, give it an hour so our food can go down a little and then let's set out. In the meantime, fancy a game of poker?'

Red pulled out a pack of cards from a drawer at the table and started shuffling them dramatically, his eyebrow raised in a challenge to her. She laughed at him and nodded, 'Sure, why not? What are the chips gonna be?'

'Hmmmmm…. Let's see….. We'll each have the equivalent of $100, the blinds can be $2 and $4. Whoever wins doesn't have to do any washing up for a week'

'Oh, you're on!'

And so the game commenced. From the start Liz was doing really well. So well, in fact, she was taking every opportunity to gloat over Red, celebrating each won hand with a jig around the room. Red watched her, a glint in his eye, over the moon to see her so happy but also feeling the need to just grab her and kiss her silly. Alas, unbeknownst to her, he was hustling her. Bless her, Liz was absolutely terrible at bluffing. And he knew full well by now he could've bluffed her easily. But her happiness meant he let her win. At the end of the game, he threw down his cards in 'anger' and stood up abruptly from the table.

'Goddammit! Those were the worst cards I've ever had in my life!'

Liz danced up to him from where she was celebrating by twirling around the table and took his hands, placing them on her hips,

'Only a bad poker player blames his cards, Red'

Red huffed at her and scowled. But he then let himself be pulled into her dancing rhythm, their hips swaying together to imaginary music. He couldn't help but smile back at the enormous grin on her face. Oh, he would be a dead man if he told her he'd deliberately lost, he thought. And seeing her this happy made him just as happy himself. He didn't want the moment to end but it had already been nearly two hours since they'd finished eating and they needed to ensure the farmhouse was empty before they could settle down for the rest of the day. Reluctantly he pulled away and turned to pick up his rifle and handgun, ready for a quick assessment of their nearest neighbouring property

'Aw, already?'

'We can be there and back in ninety minutes, Lizzy. And then I demand a rematch!'

'Okay, party pooper. But what about next time, we'll play strip poker?'

'Did I say ninety minutes, I meant sixty', Red managed to get out before he lost the power of speech.

She grinned at him and tugged at his arm, eager to get him out of the door and back again. She was ready for this, she knew that now. Just dancing with him had aroused her incredibly, the way their bodies had fitted together and responded to each other and she longed to feel him move inside her.

The journey to the farmhouse was as quick as it could be, as they darted through the trees and then made their way across the final field. After a quick inspection of the outside of the property, they both decided it seemed as though nothing had changed. Red left Liz on the front porch and ventured inside.

As soon as he entered the hall the smell hit him. Dead bodies were not a smell he would ever get used to but he knew for certain that no one would be here now. Anyone who had decided to make this their home would most definitely have moved the body first. Even so he dutifully checked around the whole building just in case. Entering the room the dead man lay in, Red's eyes started to water. Dear lord, the smell was almost overwhelming. He took one glance at the man on the bed, curled his upper lip in a snarl and then made his way back outside.

'All clear'

'Yeah?'

'Definitely. No one has been here since we were. Now, I do believe there was some talk of a rematch?'

Liz grabbed Red's arm and hooked her own through it, 'I believe there may have been. I do have a question for you though'

'Hmmm?'

'I don't suppose you brought any wine with you on this trip?'

Red stopped suddenly, a grimace on his face, allowing Liz a moment to doubt him.

'Oh, never mind, I'm sure we'll….'

'Of course I did, Elizabeth. Honestly, what do you take me for?'

Liz poked him in the ribs and started dragging him back to the shack, 'I think for that tease alone you should remove one item of clothing before we even start'

'Well, if you insist'

'Red, you're not supposed to be happy to lose! That ruins the fun'.

'Oh, I have no intention of losing'

'And you need to start off with the same number of items of clothing as I have. Don't be digging out a three piece suit with tie, overcoat, scarf….'

Red laughed at her and held her hand, 'I promise we shall each start with the same number of things to remove. Let's see, ten should be enough'.

'Ten?', Liz started imagining in her mind what the ten could be.

'So, two socks, underwear, pants, top, sweater… I only get six. And I have a bra too'.

'I have some gloves in the shack somewhere. We can have one each'

'Okay, that's still only seven. And you don't have a bra'.

'I never felt the need…'

Liz poked him in the ribs again and laughed, 'You can wear a tie instead. And we'll start with our shoes on. That's nine then'

'Lizzy, you've forgotten the most important item'

'Erm….'

Red stopped and took his hat off, bowing to her like to a queen.

'Of course! You have a spare, right?'

'Another silly question…'

'Did the end of the world make any difference to your outlook on your wardrobe?'

'I iron less'

Before they knew it, they were back at the shack and starting to gather the clothing they'd be wearing. When they were done, Liz picked up the deck and dealt the first hand. She raised an eyebrow at Red provocatively and he merely smiled back at her, his face almost unreadable. Suddenly she had an awful feeling she was being played. He looked entirely too confident. However, she also realised that she found that idea very sexy. Whilst Red being cocky and smug sometimes drove her mad, she liked the idea of him feeling that way now. He was clearly confident and happy about the notion of seeing her naked. Trying to gather her thoughts, she paid attention to the cards in her hand and they started the game.

The first four hands were won equally and so upon starting the fifth hand they were both shoeless. Liz then won the next two hands and Red removed his socks. She suddenly felt nervous. She just knew she wasn't going to win and that in no time she'd be naked in front of him. Steeling herself, she dealt again and they played on.

With just a maximum of seven hands to play Liz was wearing her panties, pants, bra and a shirt. Red was in his boxers, pants and his shirt. She couldn't believe she was winning. Whoever lost the next hand was going to have to remove something truly revealing. Red dealt the cards and Liz couldn't believe her eyes when she had a pocket rocket, two Aces. As they played the hand out, Liz found herself in possession of another ace. There were also two Jacks on the table but Red would need to have the other two in his hand to beat her. They raced to the finish line.

'Ha, beat that! Three of a kind, Aces!'

'Oh, what a wonderful hand, Elizabeth'

'You betcha'

'It's a shame it wasn't quite enough…..', Red said as he laid two Jacks down on the table.

Liz stared at them and gulped. Damn him! Looking down at her clothing, she decided to remove her pants rather than her shirt. At least her legs were hidden under the table. Red smirked at her as she shuffled out of them without getting off her chair and they carried on.

Two more hands and Liz was down to just her bra and panties and Red had removed his pants and was clad only in his boxers and shirt. He too had chosen to remove his pants rather than his shirt. But for very different reasons to Liz. Although he was also grateful that the table hid his lower half.

Liz dealt the next hand. It wasn't even close, she had absolutely nothing and she was too nervous to bluff. Reaching behind her, she unclasped her bra and took it off, too shy even to look up at Red anymore. His eyes grew dark at the sight of her breasts so tantalisingly close and free, he longed so much to cup them in his hands. He dragged his eyes away and forced himself to think about the next hand. He needed her to be naked in front of him as soon as humanly possible. He didn't actually care whether he lost and got naked first, he had no body shame whatsoever, but he just couldn't wait to know she was completely free from all constraints and sitting just a few feet from him.

They played the next hand. Liz lost. As she reached down to remove her panties, her courage failed her. Despite the wine they'd been drinking over the course of the game, she suddenly found herself at an impasse. She so wanted to be with Red tonight but somehow the formality of this game had killed her spontaneity. She looked up at him coyly. He read her expression at once and placed the deck of cards to the side. Standing up, carefully allowing his shirt to cover his painfully hard erection, he walked around the table to Liz and helped her to her feet, pulling her in close to him for a hug.

As they held each other, he reached down and lifted Liz's shirt from the back of her chair. He pulled it around her shoulders and did up a couple of the buttons. Then he took her chin with his fingertips and lifted her eyes to his.

'Elizabeth, you are astonishingly beautiful. But you don't need to do anything more'

Saying that, he turned his head and kissed her oh so gently. At first she was still a little tense but within seconds she felt her inhibitions fall away. Starting to kiss him back she found all her longing and confidence and primitive need for this man returning. She lifted her hands and unbuttoned her shirt again.

'I want to, Red. I'm ready'

He looked at her, his eyes full of wonder. Then he smiled and kissed her again, a little more hungrily this time. She took his hand and backed them both towards the bed. Sitting down, she pulled him towards her so he stood over her as she looked up adoringly at him.

'Make love to me, Raymond'