“Just clean this shit up,” the other man said and stomped into the hall. “I’ll check upstairs.”
His hybrid instincts flared for a second. He wanted to go downstairs and teach the men a lesson. This time he wasn’t starving, tired and desperate. He could take them out with ease.
He flexed his fingers in and out of a fist for a few seconds. No. If they didn’t return to John, everyone would know Justus was there, and they’d come in force with guns. The house wasn’t a very defensible location.
Justus stepped swiftly over to the window and hoped it slid up without a noise. He looked around and slipped through the gap he had made.
Moving like the silent assassin he was trained to be, he grabbed ahold of the ledge above the window and pulled himself up just as the footsteps reached her door.
From his position he could just make out the lower half of the man as he moved around the room. The curtains blocked the top, but it worked to his advantage.
He bit back a growl and watched in rage as the filthy intruder touched her things, putting his dirty hands all over her clothes and personal items. He hated hiding like this. Justus wasn’t used to not taking action when it was needed.
Thoughts of Paige slipped into his head. If he wasn’t careful, he could easily put her at risk, and that was the last thing he wanted to do. Still, if he ever got the chance to take out these bastards, he would do so with pleasure. They’d pay for threatening her and for shooting him.
The man’s phone rang in the middle of the search.
“Yeah.”
“You there?” he heard Reverend John say on the other end. “Any sign of the abomination?”
“Nothing. She’s good.”
Justus heaved a quiet sigh. The less they suspected, the better.
“Good. I knew she was a good righteous woman.” His warm tone set Justus on edge. He talked about Paige as if he knew her at all. “After all, she worked with those animals and left. She knew how God would judge them.”
“Yeah,” the man said, his disinterest obvious. “We’ll be out of here soon. How much time we got?”
The man paced the floor, and as he got closer to the window, Justus moved back out of sight.
“Benny sent a message that she’s finishing up now. Best wrap things up.”
“Got it,” the man said and poked his head out the window.
Justus flattened himself against the roof, just in case the man decided to take a closer look. He positioned himself, ready to do what he needed if found. He wouldn’t start the fight, but he wasn’t about to get shot again.
The man stepped away slowly. Justus listened as he made his way through the upstairs, checking the bathroom as he did so. It wasn’t until Justus heard the man’s footsteps downstairs that he moved back into the room and padded softly to the door.
From the top of the stairs, he could hear the two step into the kitchen.
“Looks like the boss isn’t getting much of a housekeeper with this one,” the man who had broken the frame said. “A whole sink of dishes.”
The other man snorted.
“I’m sure he’d be willing to train her to do better,” the man said.
Justus could feel his eyes start to glow and the hot rage pulse through him. If he took them out now, he wondered how long it would take before the rest of those men knew what happened. He could snap their necks. He wouldn’t even have to mess up her floors.
He took deep breaths. It didn’t matter what the Reverend wanted, he wasn’t getting Paige.
“Come on,” the one in charge said. “Let’s get going before she comes back.”
* * *
Paige stood in line listening to the Christmas music blasting from the speakers overhead. She hadn’t even thought about the holiday until that moment. So many things had happened in the past few months, there just hadn’t been time to think about much else. Of course, it wasn’t like the holidays ever really meant much to her. Ava was rarely home during them, and it’d been years since she had a special someone.
She looked down at the items in her cart. Her heart pounded at the thought of cooking for Justus again. It wasn’t a present exactly, but the way he ate, it was like he’d never seen a good meal in his life. And likely he hadn’t.
Paige didn’t really think things were bad at Luna Lodge, but being a prisoner would put a bad taste in anyone’s mouth. There was no way his time with the Horatius Group was better.
She hadn’t heard the men talk about their time in captivity, but from what she gathered, she wasn’t really sure she wanted to know all the details. Just the looks on their faces when they mentioned their former masters was enough. It was amazing to her what a person could go through and still come out sane.
“Cooking a big meal?”
She turned around, surprised to find the old librarian from her high school standing behind her with a few items in her basket.
Paige smiled warmly at the older woman.
“Hello, Ms. Martin.”
She’d always liked the older woman and was sad to hear when the school let her go. Ms. Martin had never married, and the school seemed to be her whole world.
“Just making a nice roast for one,” Paige said. She grinned and leaned in a little. “I kinda like the idea of cooking a meal and being able to eat it.”
The older woman smiled at her. “I always knew I liked you.”
The speakers squeaked loudly. Harsh static pulsed through the air. She frowned as a woman walking along stopped mid-step. Paige looked around. People had frozen all around her. Not all, but there were a good number of them standing as if they were waiting, listening for something.
She looked at the pretty frozen teen who was checking out the woman ahead of her. The middle-aged woman sighed loudly and pulled out her phone as if this was just another day at the store.
“Haven’t seen you out recently,” Ms. Martin whispered. “Wondered if it got to you as well.”
Paige looked back to the older woman and frowned.
“What got to me? What’s going on?”
She clucked her tongue. “I saw it on a special. It’s the heroin. All these people get hooked and it fries their brain.”
A loud snort came from just behind.
“This ain’t heroin.”
She leaned out a little to see Mr. Cobb standing behind them. The old man had never been a favorite of hers. He kept to himself and mostly spent his days being mean and angry. Both of which he was good at.
“Enlighten us, Lee,” Ms. Martin snapped. “What is it then?”
“It’s the waves,” he said and pointed to the speakers overhead. “Somehow they are causing this.”
“Who?” Paige asked, half-believing he might be right.
Mr. Cobb scoffed again. “The government. Not the first time they did this. They experiment with their contrails with the mind control chemicals they got from the Nazi scientists. Or that big mind-control thing they were running in Alaska, claiming to study the weather.”
Paige resisted the urge not to roll her eyes. It wasn’t the first government conspiracy she’d heard, and the idea that the government would even care about their little town seemed about at far-fetched as it got.
The music came back on, and she watched as the teen continued checking as if nothing had happened.
It might not be the government, but something was happening. She furrowed her brow. The little, sleepy town might not be of interest, but they had something very unusual in the world: a nearby group of hybrids.
Rachel’s warning flashed back in her mind. Maybe Mr. Cobb was on to something. For now, there was nothing she could do about it, and obviously, the hybrids of Luna Lodge had some clue that it was going on if Rachel thought to warn her.
The woman ahead of her paid and pushed out of the line.
The girl looked over to her.
“You ready to checkout?” she asked. Her perky pony tail bounced as she spoke.
Paige nodded and absently stacked the rest
of her things on the belt.
Behind her she could hear the bickering between the two older people but tuned it out as she watched the cashier.
She seemed totally normal.
Paige ran her card and took her receipt. Before rushing out the door, she looked back and waved to Ms. Martin and Mr. Cobb.
“Let me know if you hear anything,” she said and gave a smile, hoping the two of them could read between the lines. Between Reverend John and the weird spectacle she’d just witnessed, her town had gone from quiet place to frightening weirdness.
They both nodded slowly.
She turned and made her way out to her car. The truck from earlier was parked off a ways. It seemed they didn’t plan on kidnapping her today. Well, that was good at least.
Paige loaded the car and hopped in. She needed to get back to Justus.
Chapter Twelve
On the drive home, Paige thought over everything that had happened: John, Justus and the strange music. Maybe this had been what Rachel and Lena had been trying to warn her about. It was hard to say without talking to them, and with the way things were going, she didn’t really trust that someone wasn’t recording her phone conversations. Whatever the truth was, things were even weirder than the already bizarre reality of her shacking up with a hybrid.
She’d have to talk to Justus about the lodge. It was really the only option that made sense. He only felt an attraction to her because of her Vestal status, and she had saved him. His time with her proved he wasn’t working for the Horatius Group, so there was no reason for the Luna Lodge hybrids to imprison him again. She was sure if Titus apologized and guaranteed his protection, Justus would feel safe at the lodge.
Slowly she eased into her drive and pulled in slightly. Behind her in the mirror, she watched as the truck slowed.
Paige gasped as two men hopped into the back of the truck and sped off down the road.
Her heart pounded as she stepped on the gas. It never occurred to her they might send men to snoop. It made perfect sense in retrospect.
She slammed on the brakes as she arrived in the front of the house and jumped out, not caring how or where the car was parked.
The front lock had been popped, and her face flamed with anger over the nerve of those men. They’d violated her privacy and her property. The thought of calling the sheriff disappeared as quickly as it had arisen. He was on their side, after all.
“Justus,” she shouted.
Before she could even take three steps in, his arms were around her pulling her body tightly against his own.
“Paige,” he whispered. His mouth came hot and hard against her lips, crushing them in a brutal kiss.
“I worried that they…”
“I’m safe,” he said and swept the hair around her face back. “I will always protect you.”
She shook her head.
“That’s just because I’m a Vestal,” she said.
He held her head between his hands, and she looked up to his blazing amber eyes, the light both eerie and beautiful at the same time.
“You are mine,” he said, his voice rough and raw with emotion. “Vestal is nothing. You are the other half of me, the one that sees to the very soul of who I am. We are more than titles. You know that. You can feel it, just like I can.”
His lips met hers in a soft kiss, lingering in ways that made her ache for more.
“My soul is linked with yours,” he whispered. “And without you, I am just the animal they say I am. The things I’ve seen. The things I’ve done. I deserve nothing and still I can’t walk away.”
She shook her head, unable to stand those words. Paige turned and kissed the palm holding her cheek.
“You are more than you can ever know,” she whispered. “My love is in your hands.”
She closed her eyes as her words slipped out. The truth seemed so hard to say, but once the words were out, she could feel the weight being lifted off her heart.
“My love,” he growled and found her mouth again. Her knees weakened and she surrendered to the moment.
His hand made quick work of her clothing, stripping her down until she stood before him naked. His hands went to her breasts.
Before she’d been so shy, worried that her own body might not meet the perfection that was his. But under his stare, she found it hard not to revel in his desire.
Paige pulled away from his nimble fingers that had been pleasing her nipples.
She stared at him as she slid his shirt over his head, letting her knuckles brush against the hard muscles there. She leaned and glided her mouth across his chest.
Justus groaned as his eyes fixed on her own. She moved lower and lower. Her chin bumped his length through his pants.
She smiled when his hands wove through her hair, guiding her to where he wanted her to be.
Paige slipped her fingers inside the band and slowly pulled down. His long, hard cock jutted out towards her face.
She leaned forward and gave the head a little lick.
“Fuck,” he groaned and closed his eyes.
She could feel his fingers tighten in her hair.
Paige wrapped a hand around the base of the shaft and gave a few long strokes. She could hear the rumble that came from him as she did so.
She could feel her wet folds and knew she was ready. Her fingers made their way down her stomach until she reached her slick center. She stroked herself as her hand moved over him.
Wrapped in her own desire, she leaned forward and drew him deeply into her mouth and dipped her fingers inside of her.
Her hand shifted now. She could feel him trying to pull away.
“Paige,” he groaned. “I need to taste you.”
She ignored him and sucked him into the back of her throat. He growled, and she felt the rumble through their connection. When she pulled back and looked up at him, his eyes blazed a deep amber. The sight made her shiver.
He lifted her as if she were nothing and placed her hands on the couch. Paige turned to ask what he was doing when she felt his tongue snake deep inside her. She moaned and spread her legs wider to allow him deeper access.
He darted in and out, his steady thumb rubbing gentle circles as he moved inside her.
She grunted in frustration when his tongue pulled back. Her climax was so near she could taste it.
He returned though. His hard cock pressed against her center.
In one swift push, he slipped inside her aching pussy.
“Yes,” she called out.
His thrusts, unlike earlier, were short and hard, pushing as deep inside as he could manage. She gripped the couch with the force of the movement and hoped he sped up.
Her release approached. As if sensing it, Justus sped up, his hands on her hips, pulling her back with each push forward. Paige bucked against him, needing to feel his release as well as her own.
“More,” she groaned.
His hips slapped hard against her as he leaned forward to wrap his hands around her tits, pinching the nipples as he did so.
“Fuck,” he whispered in her ear. She could feel her insides tighten.
“Don’t stop,” she groaned.
His hands slipped to her shoulders, bowing her back slightly as he continued to thrust deeply inside her.
She gasped when his arm wrapped around her waist, and he brought her back flush with his front, his cock still slamming into her.
The angle was different. Deeper somehow. More intimate.
Her insides fluttered.
“Justus,” she hissed. “I need…”
Her words broke off as his pace changed. Harder and faster. His hand slipped between their legs.
“I know what you need,” he said in her ear. “Come, Paige. I want to feel you squeeze me as I empty myself deep inside.”
She shuddered hard, his words just enough to push her over the edge.
Paige cried out. Her hands gripped his arms as the ripples of her orgasm passed over her. Justus slammed hard into her and growled l
oudly as he pumped his release deep inside.
She leaned forward and rested her head on the couch. Her breath came out in small pants.
Justus slipped out of her, and she sighed when his arms wrapped around her, lifting her into the air.
Paige wrapped an arm around his neck and smiled.
She could feel his chuckle and opened one eye as he climbed the stairs.
“What?” she asked.
“Seems like if you’ve got enough energy to be grinning, we still have business to attend to.”
Paige grinned coyly. “But I was going to cook you dinner.”
Justus looked down at her. She could feel his hard cock growing against her and gasped. When she looked up, his eyes were glowing as he spoke.
“Fuck dinner.”
Chapter Thirteen
The next several days were nothing but quiet and bliss. They were almost too quiet as Justus was concerned. He doubted the fanatics would give up so easily. Even if they were convinced he wasn’t in Paige’s house, they still probably thought he was lurking around the area.
He checked the perimeter he’d set up. It wasn’t much with its improvised mix of cords, wind chimes, cans, and metal, but they needed more warning if those bastards came down that drive again. With his hybrid hearing, he didn’t need anything fancy. He just needed noise.
The most satisfying part of this was how he’d set this up all underneath the noses of the two fools John had watching them down the drive in their truck. He’d crept along, using all his stealth training, to move what he needed into place and set it up. They were arrogant and cocky, mistaking getting a lucky shot in on a confused and starving hybrid with dealing with one at top form.
He knew how to take someone out before they ever even saw it coming. However, he was never taught how to protect someone while doing that. Protection wasn’t really something the Horatius Group focused on in their training. It was eat or be eaten.
He shook his head as he remembered the endless training sessions, and the many Glycons they’d tossed his way. The poor souls were more crazed animals than men. That was the Horatius Group’s grand future: bestial men all but stripped of their souls, and their masters, men with intelligence but no conscience.
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