The Last Two People on Earth…

That phrase—“I wouldn’t (insert verb here) with you if you were the last (insert gender/sexual orientation here) on Earth!”—we’ve all shouted or thought that in frustration to someone at some point in our lives, haven’t we?

But…what if it were true?

What if that wasn’t just a line? What if you and another person actually were isolated, alone, the only two people left on the planet after a cataclysmic event? And what if you were standing there, on a lonely freeway with (randomly choosing here…) a battle-hardened Marine Sniper, and this man thinks you and he might possibly be the last two people alive on earth?

What then?

I read Stephen King’s book, The Stand, ages ago and I loved that story. I mean I loved it. I took it out and petted it. I read the book twice and watched the miniseries a few times too. What really got to me about that post apoc plague story was my fear over the scope of the disaster, the trauma over the death of most of humanity—and the echoing, hollow emptiness surrounding the meeting of two people trying to start the world over again. This somehow made their joining, their romance, more poignant and more intense. That idea has stuck in my mind ever since.

Stephen King, not being a romance writer, had very little romance in The Stand. *sniff* It was small and yes, unsatisfying in its tininess. To me, this was the book’s only flaw. The romance lover in me yearned for more. MORE ROMANCE, PLEASE! Then I thought, wait, why can’t I have more? And hence the Catastrophe series was born…

Die For You is a post-apocalyptic romance where two people have survived a world-wide viral outbreak with a 99% mortality rate. This is the story of two people who are very different, yet fall in love due to forced proximity and shared goals.

That’s the key here, two people meeting who would normally have never met.

I love these types of stories. Add road romance to the forced proximity, and I’m in romance heaven.

 What about you? Which type of forced proximity is your favorite?

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Love, in a hopeless place.

Catastrophe Series, Book 1

Two months after a virus took out civilization, Rachel Donnelly is the last living soul in California, as far as she can tell. Until she runs into a Marine sniper, battle-hardened but alive and healthy.

Adam Sanchez would love nothing more than a slamming session of I-can’t-believe-we’re-alive post-apocalyptic sex in the back of his Hummer. But Rachel’s fragility, inexperience—and much younger age—hold him back from exposing her to his raw, aggressive sexuality. If anything, Rachel needs protection. Especially from himself.

As they band together with other survivors to battle feral animals, violent ex-cons, and motorcycle clubs jockeying for power, Rachel grows stronger in mind, body, and spirit—strong enough to give the dangerously sexy Marine what they both crave.

The power of their passion rocks Adam’s world, bringing him to his knees—which, he discovers too late, is the worst possible place to be when danger springs from the shadows.

Warning: Contains a sexy Marine, a tattooed ex-con, a girl who blossoms into a sexually assured young woman, laughter despite the pain, m/f/m ménage, hope, love, and more bad language and violence than are strictly necessary.

Excerpt

Rachel had a clear view of the Hummer from her driver’s side window. She watched with eyes wide as the door swung open. First one buff-colored boot hit the pavement, then a second, and a dark head rose above. The door shut and her jaw dropped.

“Shit, he’s huge,” she said.

A soldier. He wore army camouflage pants. A black T-shirt crossed his wide shoulders and covered the tops of his massive arms. He looked Hispanic with dark tanned skin and buzzed brown hair. She couldn’t see his eyes through black sunglasses. But one thing she could clearly see–he had enough firepower strapped to him and in his hands to take out a small army.

Rachel had been raised to trust and respect soldiers. Instinct told her to fling her door open and run into this man’s arms. She watched him plug a clip of ammo into his handgun and hold it up with both hands, finger on the trigger. She bit her lip, shook her head and clicked the automatic lock for all four doors. Nope. Safer to hide in the car.

He looked right at her. Uh, oh. She slumped in her seat.

A moment later, he tapped his knuckles on her window. “Ma’am? Can you hear me? Come out, it’s safe.”

Terror kept her glued to her seat. “Safe. Yeah, right,” she snorted, gripping her gun.

He brought his face level with hers and yanked off his glasses. She blinked. Her breath caught in her throat. Wow, he was handsome. No, gorgeous–gorgeous like Benjamin Bratt. And he had a wicked scar that carved down the right side of his face, which in reality, only made him more handsome, an edgy I’m-about-to-ravage-you kind of way. Coffee-brown eyes and full lips curved into a tight smile. “Ma’am? Are you okay? Are you sick? Roll down your window, please. We need to talk.”

Polite too.

“I’m not talking to you,” she muttered. “I don’t care how cute you are.”

“What?” he said. “I can’t hear you.”

His deep voice sounded soothing and trustworthy. A siren song.

She examined his face again, searching for the answer to her most burning question. Was this man a gentle giant, or trouble on two legs? Either way, ignoring him wouldn’t prevent him from shooting her in the head through the car window. Rachel decided to negotiate.

She lowered the glass an inch. “I’m not sick.”

“Good,” he sighed.

“I have a gun.”

“So do I.” He smiled. “Several.”

Her nostrils flared. She straightened her shoulders. “I’m not getting out. I’m leaving. Okay, pretty boy? You go on back to your car, and I’ll stay in mine and I’ll drive out and we’ll go our separate ways. No harm done.”

The big, scary guy frowned. “That’s not a good idea. You could get hurt on your own.”

“And I could get hurt with you. Thanks, but no thanks.”

Author Bio:

Michele Mills teaches High School English to unruly teenagers and enjoys cooking for her husband and two sons. Die For You, her new post-apocalyptic romance with Samhain releases May 2016. You can find her pretending to be professional on Twitter and Facebook.