Apollo (5 page)

“Hi, Val,” a familiar voice said.

Her neighbor stood close, and she jumped back a little.

“Uh, hi, Nigel,” she said and moved even further away. She didn’t need more of him, not today.

Sweat blotted his brow, and a piece of his greasy hair clung to it. She could smell his thick body odor, a smell of sour coffee and sex, despite her knowledge that no woman had even come close to stepping into that place. His lust hung heavy in the air. Not her first time dealing with it, but it was tainted this time, likely from the stunt she had pulled. It was a shifting smell and feeling that made him even more dangerous. Like he didn’t have anything to lose.

“So, did your boyfriend leave?” His eyes narrowed a little as he spoke, and he pressed in to her space.

Val placed her suitcase in front of her to block any further moves. She was surprised that her plan didn’t work earlier. One look at Apollo would have sent most men running away in shame.

“He’s just waiting outside.” She smiled brightly.

Her pulse raced in her throat. This was the most he’d tried since she moved in. She likely shouldn’t have pushed him like that earlier, but she was sick of him always spying on her and waiting for some chance to get into her panties. It was never going to happen. She didn’t quite get why he thought it would.

“He doesn’t really seem like a good match for you,” he said quietly, his nasally voice coming out far more sincere than his true emotions.

For a second she felt sorry for him. He didn’t seem to have any friends that came by and had no clue how to talk to women. Maybe he was just lonely.

She smiled warmly at him, hoping to end the situation without too much drama.

“Thanks for caring,” she said and moved a little, so she could head to the elevator. “I really should be go—”

She froze when his sweaty palm gripped her arm with more force than she thought him capable.

“You need to come see my new figurine,” he said and tugged her toward his door.

Val held firm and glared at the creep. Now, he’d gone too far.

“Let go of my arm, Nigel,” she said through gritted teeth.

She formed her fist into a tight little ball. Kicking his ass might be a little fun, but she really had to think about the big picture. How would it look to the hybrid below if she wailed on this piece of shit? She didn’t need him suspicious when she’d finally found her opening to get into Luna Lodge.

“No,” Nigel whined. “She looks just like you. You’re going to love her. I’ll give her to you. Then you can have something from me. A symbol of my feelings. Come with me.”

“I’m not going with you,” she said firmly.

She could feel her temper rising with each yank.

His fingers tightened to a painful grip, and she winced at the pain.

“I waited for you,” he hissed at her. Bits of spit flew from his mouth, and her stomach turned. “What the fuck is wrong with you? You’re supposed to be with me. Stop with this hard-to-get shit. It’s not cute.”

He was nearly shouting now. A chill ran down her spine as she watched his face close off from the normal neighbor she knew from before.

Whatever he had been feeling before was now clouded by a veil of anger. This was a tricky one. Anger could lead to so many things. Many dangerous things.

“Now let’s go,” he said with a final yank.

That was it. She was going to have to do something.

“Val,” Apollo called from down the hall.

Apollo breathed in through his nose. This was the last fucking thing he needed to have happen. With everyone breathing down his neck that he was too much of a hot head, it wouldn’t really look too good if they had to come deal with the police. But that was exactly what was going to happen if that piece of shit didn’t step the fuck back. Because Apollo was three steps away from ripping his arms clean off his body.

The cowardly man curled away and backed up to his door.

Val stared at him in a mixture of awe and near horror.

He gave a wide smile to her.

“You ready for this weekend?” he said and stopped just in front of her.

She nodded up at him.

The little prick still stood by his door, watching sourly.

This wasn’t going to work.

Apollo hefted the suitcase up with ease and placed a hand at her back. For the first time, he noticed that she’d changed while he was outside. The soft t-shirt material was warm under his hand.

They moved closer to the elevator, and his hand slipped over her ass. She gasped but kept moving.

“He’s still watching,” Apollo said quietly.

His hand twitched as it rested comfortably on her soft ass. She was so tiny he wouldn’t have even thought she would have one, but it fit nicely in his palm.

The door dinged open, and he held the door open as she stepped inside with the suitcase.

His eyes found the piece of shit glaring at them. Apollo felt his temper rise as he looked at the worthless man.

He turned to Val and then smirked at the piece of shit. If he wanted to watch, Apollo would give him something special.

She gasped when he pulled her hard against him. Apollo looked down at her pretty pale features, and for a moment, nothing else mattered. He could smell the rich honey scent that set all his senses on fire and made him burn when near her.

Vestal.

His mouth sought hers in desperation. Their lips met, and he could feel his body hum with need.

Because she was so much shorter, he leaned over her. The position was frustrating, and he grunted in irritation. All else forgotten, Apollo turned and lifted her up. Without a word, she wrapped her legs tightly around his middle. He groaned at the new position and wove his hands from her tight ass to her back.

The elevator dinged, and his eyes snapped open.

The neighbor stared in horror. Apollo could see the reflection of the light from his clearly glowing eyes on his glasses. Even with them on, the little shit could probably see the light, too.

The door slammed shut, and reality slammed into him. Not only was he sincerely making out with the new employee, but her douche neighbor now knew what he was.

With all the strength he could muster, Apollo pulled back and placed her easily on the floor.

“That should do it,” he mumbled and looked the other direction.

“What?” Val asked. Her voice was husky and slightly dazed. The sound nearly drove him back into her embrace.

He cleared his throat and stepped further to the side. The door opened, and he pressed the button to keep it open.

“The neighbor,” he said and glanced at her when she didn’t move. “He should leave you alone now.”

The warm honey smell vanished, as if it had never even been there.

Val pushed hard against him as she made her way out.

“Well, ain’t that just perfect?” she hissed and kept going.

Apollo sighed. He was starting to think it may have been better to just have taken his chances with beating up the piece of shit.

Chapter Six

Val was quiet the whole ride to Luna Lodge. She hadn’t even wanted to take his stupid car, but Apollo had insisted that the only way she was coming was if she rode with him.

She stared out the window as he drove.

Why had she been so stupid back there? Getting all worked up in his arms like some stupid schoolgirl. That wasn’t how it usually worked for her. Typically, she was the person to initiate and even then, that was pretty rare. Most men were either turned off by her cute features or her aggressive attitude. Either way she was fucked.

“Did he do that to your arm?” Apollo rumbled and cut into her thoughts.

She glanced down at her arm, just above her wrist. Deep purple marks were already starting to form on her pale skin.

Val looked over at the sullen hybrid. His body was rigid, and he radiated anger.

“It’s worse than it looks,” she said lightly. No point in him thinking she couldn’t handle herself.

He turned to look at her, and she could feel the weight of his stare, even if his beautiful eyes were hidden.

“He’s lucky he’s still alive,” he said firmly.

The strength of his words shocked her. It wasn’t as if he seemed to like her. In fact, he’d pretty much acted like it was his duty to keep an eye on her.

Her mouth went dry as she realized how close Nigel had been to some serious trouble.

“Is that how you handle things?” she asked, not really sure where she was going with this, but she needed to know. She needed to know how this mysterious group of men operated.

“No,” he said and gripped the wheel tighter. “But it’s what he deserved.”

She couldn’t really say she disagreed. It was pretty clear that Nigel wasn’t going to just stop at forcing her into his apartment. Not that it would have gone his way, but if she’d been a different woman, it might have had a different outcome. The sudden aggression was strange, but the guy was a creep, and maybe she should have expected it.

“You shouldn’t put yourself in that position,” he ground out.

Her mouth fell open.

“I shouldn’t be in the hall?”

“You shouldn’t even talk to someone like that.”

She shook her head. “Sometimes there’s no avoiding the bad things in life.” She sighed. “We just deal with them as they come and move on.”

His mood shifted. Darkness seemed to exude from him.

“If only it were that easy,” he mumbled.

Their past was no secret, although his seemed to be more complex than she would have guessed.

Not for the first time, she stared at him. Whatever had happened to him didn’t seem to hinder some things. He was easily one of the most attractive men she’d laid eyes on. His shoulders were broad, and strength radiated from him.

Without meaning to, her eyes wandered to his mouth. The kiss they had shared was beyond amazing. Everything in her responded to him, and, at the time, she’d wanted nothing more than to let him have his way with her.

A blush spread across her face as she thought about it.

His head whipped toward her, and he breathed in deeply. The act only made her more excited. Maybe he knew what she was thinking. Val had to think that wasn’t the case, but she knew they all had special talents. It’s not like she was totally unfamiliar with the possibility of knowing what people were feeling.

Something stirred in her as she imagined his special talents as his lust hung in the air around them.

“Let’s just get something straight,” Apollo said, cutting through the silence in the car. “At the elevator, that was just me doing you a favor. Don’t get any ideas. I don’t trust you, and I’m not about to get involved with someone I don’t trust.”

Her heart leapt in her throat, and she turned in her seat to look at him. If that smug prick thought he was getting in the last word, he had another thing coming. She’d never been known to take things lying down.

“Great,” she said and crossed her arms over her chest. “While we’re on it, let’s just get this straight as well. I don’t need your help,” she said and punctuated every word. “And as for getting involved, that’s not a problem. You aren’t my type, Captain Sunshine.”

She turned and glared out the window.

In the glass she could see his shocked face and relished that her words got to him as much as his did her. Val closed her eyes and ignored the cold shard that poked at her chest. The regret of others was never something a person should have to feel.

* * *

Apollo sat in the car and watched as the guard on duty made his rounds. Twenty minutes. That was too long. Anything could happen in that amount of time. This was exactly why he’d decided to stand watch there. Especially when you didn’t trust the person.

He’d already argued with Titus about this the day before, but no one seemed to want to accept reason. Instead of putting a permanent guard on her, they placed Val in Jenna’s house. The very idea still made him snort. He didn’t care that Jenna could shoot. The only one qualified to deal with Val was himself.

He ground his teeth. Again they tossed his attitude at him. The bastards didn’t seem to understand that he was just looking out for the rest of them. He didn’t want anyone to get hurt, unless it was Horatius Group assholes.

The passenger door suddenly swung open, and he jumped for his gun. Rem slipped into the seat, and he relaxed a little. Just a little.

“You stalking my woman?” Rem said, his green eyes amused.

Apollo glared at him. “What do you mean your woman?”

His anger only seemed to amuse Rem more. “You’re right. A woman like Jenna can hardly be tamed like that.”

Apollo huffed and turned his head. He was sick of this guy. Always so sure of himself and constantly hitting on all the women. He had no boundaries and didn’t care who he bothered.

“What the fuck are you doing here?” Apollo asked.

Rem raised a brow. “Maybe I should be asking you that.”

He sighed. Despite how much he didn’t want to answer, Rem’s presence commanded his respect.

“I’m watching Val,” he said. His tone was clipped.

“Ah,” Rem said and smiled. “The surprise tech.”

Apollo frowned. Somehow, nothing seemed to be a surprise to Rem. It was like the guy always knew something the rest of them didn’t.

“Well, she must be very dangerous to need you personally watching her,” Rem said. His voice only conveyed seriousness, but when Apollo looked, his eyes twinkled with mischief. “What sort of schemes has she been up to this evening?”

Apollo sighed. This was getting old.

“She’s just unpacking,” he said and stared hard at the door. “Now she’s getting ready for bed.”

“Oh, good.” Rem grinned and rubbed his hands together. “Maybe she’ll help herself out this evening.”

Apollo’s temper spiked at both the thought that she might but even more that Rem might hear.

“Get the fuck out,” he ground out.

Rem grinned at him. “What’s the matter?”

Apollo turned on the car. “Watch is over. Now get out.”

He glared as Rem laughed and climbed out of the car.

“I see you’ve got that temper under control,” Rem said and leaned back toward the door.