For a while, she wondered if it was because he’d saved her life, but enough time had passed now for mere gratitude to have worn off. The lodge was filled with handsome, brave hunks, but she could only muster passing lust for any of them, not the slow-burning and constant desire she felt for Varius whether she was around him or not.
Now she sat in the car with the quiet hybrid, nerves frazzled and lacking any real sleep.
She twisted her hands in her lap as the gates opened.
Lena took in a deep breath. Varius glanced over to her as they pulled through. In the mirror, she could see the giant doors close behind them.
“You’re safe with me,” he said. “I won’t let anyone hurt you as long as you’re with me.”
His deep rumble startled her, but she did feel safe with him. She took him at his word. More than that, she felt it in her heart. Lena knew this without a doubt. He’d already saved her once.
The longer she was in the car, the more she relaxed. The quiet lull of the road soothed her nerves. She opened her mouth several times to say something, but nothing seemed to come out.
It wasn’t exactly easy coming up with the words to tell someone thanks for saving your life, especially at risk to themselves.
He didn’t know her then. For all he knew, she could have been a hybrid hater. Plenty of people in town disliked the hybrids even if they weren’t maniacs about it like Reverend John.
Lena watched Varius out of the corner of her eyes. His hands remained firmly on the steering wheel and eyes forward. Not that she could see them behind the dark shades he wore to hide his beautiful amber eyes.
What was the point? Just to make people more comfortable if they ran into someone? The idea the hybrids had been forced into such things irritated her. They’d done so many heroic things. She didn’t understand why other people refused to believe that.
Varius hadn’t said anything since they had passed through the gate, and it didn’t seem to bother him that they were sitting in silence. But then, she’d noticed that about him.
“You don’t talk much, do you?”
The words were out of her mouth before she’d even had time to think about them.
His arm muscles flexed at her question. He spared a glance at her.
“No.”
Lena cleared her throat. Seeing that he wasn’t planning on breaking the habit, someone had to move things along.
“I like to talk when I’m nervous,” she said, “but I’m sure that annoys you. I tend to go on when I should just shut my trap. Like now. I know I should stop, but I just am having trouble.”
The side of his mouth twitched a little. “I don’t mind you talking.”
His voice was deep, and with just those few words, he had somehow pulled them closer together.
She sighed a little, glad to know that she wasn’t annoying him. Or at least, he wasn’t saying if she was. She could deal with that.
“I know it’s silly to be nervous about going back to my apartment,” she said. “I know they won’t be there.” She nodded at her own statement to try and affirm the truth.
“It’s unlikely,” he said quietly. “Especially during the day.”
He was trying to comfort her, and at that moment, she’d take it.
“Thank you,” she said. A blush worked its way up her neck. “For coming with me.”
She still wasn’t quite able to get out all of what she wanted to say, but it was a start.
Varius grunted his acknowledgment.
She opened her mouth to say more but stopped as they had just reached the outskirts of town.
Familiar fear surged back into her heart. She clung to the door and gripped the seat so hard her knuckles popped from the strain.
A large warm hand covered her hand on the seat, and she looked over to find Varius had placed his hand on hers.
She was surprised to find his eyes still fixed on the road ahead. They flicked over to her and flashed the golden light she’d seen several times before.
“Nothing will happen to you,” he said. “I swear it. I’d die before I let anything happen to you.”
The conviction in his voice reverberated down to her very bones. Lena nodded, warmed by his hand and words.
He brushed his thumb lightly across her knuckles, and her body’s response to such a simple touch surprised her.
Varius took in a deep breath and pulled his hand away.
A part of her wanted to reach out and pull it back to where it belonged, but she knew it was crazy. He had offered her comfort. That was all. No reason to make him uncomfortable. He was just doing his job.
The car slowed to a halt. Lena looked around at a familiar building. Her apartment stood right in front of them, one floor up.
“We’re here,” Varius said.
* * *
After nearly three hours inside, they hadn’t talked much. They’d been busy. Varius had to admit Lena had a lot more stuff to pack than he’d anticipated.
How did one woman have so much crap? And how many shoes could she possibly use? Still, he didn’t say anything as he loaded them into a container, maybe because there were a couple he wouldn’t mind seeing her in such as the strappy black heels he knew she would look amazing in, especially when wearing nothing else.
Varius grunted as he placed the heels quickly in the container. The last thing he needed to do was work himself up at a time like this. He needed to keep focused.
They’d come to the apartment to pack, nothing more. This wasn’t a date.
He placed the lid on the container and shoved it back into the mostly packed closet. When he looked over to Lena, she was sorting through some paperwork. Her face scrunched up as she tossed the last of it into the wide box.
Their eyes met from across the room. He could smell the tropical scent of her shampoo. Calling to him. Enticing him to do something more. Spending the last hour in the bedroom didn’t help keep his mind away from sex.
“What’s left?” he asked, trying to refocus.
Lena looked around the room. “I just need to get a suitcase for the rest of my clothes.” She sighed. “There’s still a ton to do. We’re not going to get it all done today.” She rubbed the back of her neck. “I’m sorry.” A nervous laugh followed. “Never planned to abruptly leave my place in advance.”
Varius stood and grabbed a large suitcase from the top of the shelf in the closet.
“Don’t worry about it. Just get to what you can,” he said but stopped when something dropped to the floor from the shelf.
“Shit!” Lena yelled.
Something rubber bounced off his foot and hit the ground next to it.
His eyes widened as he realized what the object was just before Lena threw herself on top of it.
Her body didn’t absorb the buzzing sound of the rubber-bristled vibrator.
“Fucking shit,” Lena said as she struggled to turn it off.
Varius cleared his throat loudly, looking away.
“I’ll just start in the kitchen,” he said and practically ran from the room, his blood now screaming. He was unable to stay in the room a moment longer thinking about what she used that toy for. His pulse thumped hard in his neck and even more down lower, as he put some distance between himself and the woman slowly driving him crazy.
Lena struggled to turn off the damn sex toy. Of all the things, that had been the last thing on her mind when he pulled her suitcase from the shelf.
She flicked the switch on the end and tossed it in the suitcase. No way she was chancing that it might come on during the move and some other hybrid would learn what she liked to do at night. It was bad enough Varius now knew.
Well, maybe not bad. More embarrassing. She had seen it in his eyes. He knew what it was.
Did she dare hope that she had seen excitement there as well?
She sighed and sat on the end of the bed. She’d suffered through a nighttime fun time dry spell. So what? It wasn’t like there were people lining up to help her out.
Her gaze drifted out the door and to the kitchen. Varius stood against the counter, his back to her as he packed the glasses from her shelves. She could see the strong muscles there as they worked to put things away.
Her insides twitched as she watched him.
She sure wouldn’t mind if one man in particular lined up to help her end her dry spell.
Varius glanced back at her, likely feeling her eyes on him. She shook herself and got back to packing. There were still so many things to do and not near enough time to be dreaming about what she wished would happen.
Chapter Four
“I’m finished,” Lena said.
Varius turned and found her standing at the door. He’d nearly finished packing the items in the kitchen while she loaded up her suitcase. He noticed her bag sitting beside her, and he briefly wondered if she packed the toy, but then pushed the thought from his head.
It definitely wasn’t the time or the place. He was supposed to be helping her and keeping her safe, not thinking about fucking her.
He dusted his hands on his pants and sighed.
The sound of a vehicle pulling up reached his ears, but that wasn’t unusual. They were in an apartment building after all.
It wouldn’t be the first group of people who had come and gone in the last few hours. Even though a few people had eyed him as they walked to her place, nobody had really seemed to care all that much, and it’d be too difficult to try and concentrate on listening all around the building.
“I guess we should head back then,” he said. “We can come back tomorrow and finish up.”
Not really looking at her, he picked up the suitcase and stepped out the front door. He waited in the hall as she locked up the apartment. They’d be back at the lodge soon enough, and they could both relax.
They made their way down the first flight of stairs to the landing, which turned in the opposite direction. She moved in front of him so he could have room to manipulate the large suitcase.
Nearby hurried footfalls set Varius on edge. He took a deep breath and prepared to leap in front of Lena. Had he and Titus been wrong about the Reverend?
A blond woman with a microphone appeared from around the corner, a man with a video camera right behind.
“Jill Hope with Lena Parker,” the woman said. “Ms. Parker, can you tell us about your time in captivity with the hybrids?”
Varius could have groaned. Of all the people to run into, they had to run into a damned reporter.
Lena jumped back against his chest as the reporter shoved a microphone in her face.
This was the exact reason he hated heavily populated areas like this. It was hard to tell who was coming or going.
He bit back a growl. Maybe it was his fault. He’d been so obsessed with Lena’s sex toy, he hadn’t been paying enough attention to the environment and had just brushed off the vehicle as someone else coming and going. He should have listened more closely. At least it wasn’t one of the Reverend’s men.
“What?” Lena asked and turned to look at him.
“I see you have one here with you,” Jill said. “Are you being made to clean out your apartment against your will?”
The pushy reporter pressed in. Her cameraman stood right behind her, both ready to get the scoop.
He clenched his fists. He recognized this woman. The short-haired blond woman seemed obsessed with sensationalizing everything about the hybrids. She was one of the biggest reasons they had trouble with the media and people didn’t trust them.
Jill Hope didn’t even live in the area, but you wouldn’t know that given how often she showed up to report on some bogus anti-hybrid story.
Varius unclenched his fists and pressed his palm on the small of Lena’s back to urge her down the stairs. They didn’t have time to deal with an idiot. And Hope might be a fool, but she wouldn’t try to attack them at least.
“I’m just here to get my things,” Lena said and stepped forward, pressing herself against the rail as they made their way down.
That didn’t stop the reporter. She just walked backwards, microphone still out front.
“And will you be staying with the hybrids from now on?”
Lena glanced back to him for help and then to the reporter. “Yes.”
“What about this man?” The camera panned over to him, but he kept the same neutral expression. No reason to let them see just how irritating he found her. “Is he your boyfriend?”
Lena cleared her throat. “Um. Yes, he is.”
The blood rushed to his head, even though he knew she was just saying it so the reporter would move on. It would make sense in the media if she were moving into the lodge if she had a boyfriend there.
Still, he couldn’t stop his hand from moving to her side to show them all that she was his, the very woman who had been calling to his blood for months now.
The reporter glanced to him and sighed, totally disinterested in his boring demeanor. She brought the microphone back to Lena.
“Can you tell us what happened with your friend Paige and the deaths at her house? How did her fields really get set on fire? And why did she suddenly decide to live at the lodge? Did it have to do with the recent suspension at work? There’s been some talk of stolen drugs.”
He could feel Lena tense under his hand the more the reporter pushed. She shook slightly and froze on the last step.
“What can you tell us about the recent hallucinations the people in this area were having?” Jill said. “Were you a part of all that? Is that why you’ve been at Luna Lodge? Is this some sort of revenge attack by Luna Lodge against the town?”
Varius stepped in between them, his body shielding her from the incessant questions of the reporter.
“She’s not answering questions at the moment,” he said firmly.
The reporter narrowed her eyes at him.
“The American people have a right to know what’s really going on around here,” she said, her voice far more dramatic than the look she was currently giving him. “Don’t you want to answer questions and clear things up? Or do you not? Are you admitting you have something to hide?” She shook her head. “Reporters will find the truth. It’d be best for you to come clean.”
Varius stared down the women, unafraid of the threat she thought she carried. They had been attacked by everyone from Reverend John’s fanatics to the horrible mutated Glycons of their former Horatius Group masters. Some pushy reporter scored pretty low on the immediate threat index in comparison.
“If you have questions about crimes, you should talk to the local police,” he said and turned from the vile woman.
He arched his body over Lena to stop them from seeing just how panicked she actually was. With his face close to hers, he could see the small beads of sweat that had formed on her face.
“Keep breathing,” he said softly. Lena nodded. “Keep your eyes focused on me. We’re just going to get into the car and get out of here.”
She stared up at him, and for a moment, it was like it was only the two of them.
He hurried with her to the car. He opened the passenger side, and while she slid in, he tossed the suitcase into the back. After snatching a jacket he’d tossed back there some time ago, he placed it over her.
“Cover your face, and we’ll be out of here in a minute,” he said.
She stared up at him with her big doe eyes and nodded.
Not wanting to give the reporter and her cameraman a chance, he shut the door and climbed into the driver’s side.
The reporter shouted questions at him as he did so, but Varius just ignored her. She was annoying and incessant, like a mosquito.
Varius started the car and revved the engine. The woman and her cameraman jumped back. He shifted into reverse and pulled out of the parking lot.
“We’re leaving now. Ignore her,” he said. “She’s not worth worrying over.”
Chapter Five
Lena pulled the jacket off when they had been driving for a bit but kept it around her fa
ce. The smell of his aftershave clung to the collar and offered her some comfort, more than she expected.
With a quick jerk, Varius turned onto a dirt road. The car rumbled along for a few moments before he pulled beneath a tree.
He turned off the car. She looked over at him with surprise, her heart kicking up.
He slid his sunglasses up his head and stared at her with his beautiful amber eyes.
“We’ll wait here for a bit in case they tried to tail us,” he said.
“Oh.” She let out a breath and nodded, relaxing. She’d have never thought of something like that.
A loud humming grew from the backseat. She frowned. Lena glanced over at Varius, whose face grew redder by the second.
She shook her head, trying to figure out what was going on. He didn’t seem tense or agitated, so that meant there had to be no danger around. She waited for him to say something, but he remained silent.
After a few more seconds of humming, the truth dawned on her.
Lena burst out laughing, unable to hold it back any longer. The lack of sleep mingled with a heavy dose of anxiety and sexual tension, overloading her senses. Varius looked over at her as if she’d lost her mind. And maybe she had.
She shook her head and leaned over the middle of the seat toward her suitcase. Her hand easily slipped into the luggage and found the vibrating sex toy. This time she unscrewed it until the batteries fell into her hand. Satisfied that it was over, she pulled her hand out and zipped up the suitcase.
When she turned back around to slip into her seat, Lena was surprised to catch Varius staring at her extended ass.
Her breath caught in her throat as she slid her knees back down into the seat but stayed next to him, unable to take her eyes off him.
No. She wasn’t going to run. There was no way she could even if she wanted to. Lena needed him. His nearby presence soaked her, like a hunger she could never sate.
His nostrils flared as he took in a deep breath. Like so many times before, his eyes flashed a bright yellow.
Varius: #9 (Luna Lodge) Page 2
