Apollo and Val: #5.5 (Luna Lodge Book 0) (4 page)

“I’ll be fine out here you know,” she said. Her strength must have come back some since she was sounding more like herself.

Apollo frowned. He didn’t much like the idea of her out there by herself or trying to get away from him.

“I can’t leave you out here alone,” he said firmly.

Val stopped. Her arms were crossed across her chest, and it was clear she was pissed.

“Well, I’d like to be alone.”

Apollo snorted. “Yeah, and that’s not gonna happen, princess.”

Her eyes widened at the poke he’d made.

She whirled around and stomped through the brush.

Princess?

Val huffed as she made her way through the forest area. All she wanted to do was pee in peace and maybe find some water that was a little cleaner than the rapids. Her body was flushed, and, not that she’d admit it, she still felt sick from before. Maybe if she could splash a little on her neck, she’d feel better.

The sound of water stopped her in her tracks. She listened closely, shutting out the man behind her. Something moved in the trees overhead, and from the sound it was making, she had to guess it was a decent size. She could only hope it would keep moving.

The water caught her ear again. It should have been just up ahead if she was right.

Val slipped through a slick grove of trees. She could hear Apollo struggle to make his way through, but she didn’t stop. Right now she just needed to cool off.

The water was clear and just a little more than a small trickle down some stones. She sat down next to the water and cupped a little to pour down her neck.

It was cold and felt good as it slipped down her neck and soaked her shirt. She splashed a little on her face and into her hair. Apollo made his way closer behind her.

They sat quietly for a moment before she stood. Apollo stood with her.

“Wait here,” she said and glanced into the woods.

He gave a hollow laugh. “Not a fucking chance.”

Val rolled her eyes at the unease she felt from him. “I just need to go in a bit to…” She paused, not quite sure how to say it. “Relieve myself.”

Apollo frowned. “So?”

Val glared at him and snapped. “So just wait here while I do.”

She turned away from him and headed into the trees. If he followed, she was going to have to gut punch him.

After finding a perfect spot, she slowly made her way back. The air was already starting to cool a little, and she was feeling much better. And it seemed whatever had been in the trees before has moved on. A bird nearby called out loudly, and Val wondered how anyone found any peace in these parts.

She came through the clearing and stopped. Apollo had taken his green tank off and had the wet shirt draped around his neck. It didn’t matter how many times she saw him. She would never get over his well-chiseled body.

Water slid down his muscles, tracing the lines she had so many times before and then vanishing at his pant line.

Her eyes made their way back up his body slowly, taking in every inch of him. She stopped when she met his glowing amber eyes.

“Val,” he growled and took a step toward her.

She quickly turned to the creek and stepped across it to the other side. She had to get away from him.

She hadn’t made it far before he was on her, gripping her gently by the arm.

“You have to talk to me at some point,” he said. His mouth was dangerously close to her ear, sending chills down her spine.

Her breath caught in her throat. “We don’t have anything to talk about.”

“Bullshit,” he said and turned her to face him. Lust and anger rolled off him.

Her hand landed on his still bare chest, and the touch of it burned at contact.

“Apollo.” She tried to get out more, but her tongue felt like it was too large for her mouth.

“I love you,” he said and moved forward until there was no space between them. “I want you for my wife,” he whispered.

She shook her head. Letting him stay with her only meant that she’d never be able to give him the family he deserved.

“I can’t,” she said and struggled to get away from him.

“Do you love me?” he growled. His face was close to hers. So close she could feel the heat of his breath.

She looked away from him. His need for her was almost too much to take.

Apollo maneuvered her in his arms until her face was back in front of him.

“Val, do you love me?”

His words were so wrought with emotion it made her very soul ache. Normally, she could tamper down the vibes he gave off around her, but his feelings were overwhelming her, consuming her.

“Yes,” she said quietly.

She hadn’t meant to say it. In fact, she’d wanted to do nothing, but that just didn’t seem to be an option. Telling him had been her only choice.

“Thank God,” he said and crushed his mouth to hers.

His tongue snaked into her mouth, and whatever intentions she previously had were gone. Now it was just him.

Caught up in the moment, she raked her nails down his chest lightly, bumping his nipples as she went and stopping just above the hem of his pants.

Apollo nipped her lip as he slipped his hand down her back, cupping her ass.

Val moaned into his mouth, her hand sliding down along the front of his pants, following the path of his now hard length.

She roamed over him.

Apollo moaned and squeezed her ass, pulling her closer to him.

Droplets of water splashed off him onto her chest. The air cooled against her, and she could feel her nipples tighten.

Val pulled her mouth away from his and sucked in deep gulps of air.

She blinked as several big droplets of water splashed from the sky and landed on her face.

Her eyes opened at the rumble of thunder.

They stilled, still wrapped in each other’s arms.

“Is rain coming?” she asked.

A loud rumble, this time much closer, broke them apart.

“I think it’s nearly here,” Apollo said and looked at what little clouds they could see overhead through the dense canopy.

As soon as the words had left his mouth, the sky dumped a giant bucket of water on them, soaking them in a giant wave of rainwater.

Apollo grabbed her hand and pulled her behind him.

The ground was getting slick, and if they weren’t careful, they’d lose their way.

He pointed to a rock jutting out of the ground.

“There,” he shouted.

Val nodded as they slipped and slid their way under the giant rock.

“Are we safe?” she shouted over the roar of the storm.

Apollo nodded but pulled her close to him despite his reassurance.

“We’ll just wait here until it clears,” he said and pulled her to the ground with him.

She watched as he hit a button on his earpiece. Maybe she should have noticed sooner that her earpiece hadn’t been buzzing with chatter, but she’d been too busy thinking they were going to die in that brutal river. Maybe something was wrong with it. Val would have to take a look at it later.

“We’re taking shelter until the rain clears,” he said. Apollo glanced over to her, and she realized that it wasn’t that her piece wasn’t working but that they had all gone to a different channel.

She frowned. They could really be such dicks at times.

Apollo sighed loudly. “It’s fine. We just need some space.” He looked over to her.

She opened her mouth to say something but wasn’t sure what to say. If they went back, she’d have to be around all the men and what she really needed was time to regroup. Of course he knew this. It always seemed like he knew what she needed before she did.

“Roger,” he said and nodded before touching the earpiece again.

Val sighed and settled in against him. She didn’t want to talk. All she wanted to do was be near him and soak up all the comfort she could. It might be unfair, but she needed him.

Her body gave a great shiver before he wrapped both arms around her and leaned back against the rock wall with her cradled between his legs. Before she had been so very hot, and now she was cold. It seemed like her body was just playing with her.

She snuggled in deeper and tried not to think about the implications of what all this meant. There was no question in her mind as to her love. In the end, it would never be about that.

Val thought about her own attempts at love. She’d not had many chances to even connect with men, and when she did, things just never seemed to work out like she had hoped. They always wanted more than what she could give.

Living a life where you moved at the drop of a hat and were always trying to stay one step ahead of the invisible threat of the Horatius Group fed her fear. That sort of fear had likely kept her alive, but it didn’t really help in the love department.

She turned her head on Apollo’s chest to look up at him. Still bare and now wet, it felt like they could have been back at home in bed together. Val blushed a little at the thought.

Still, they had been together for nearly a month now, and she knew almost nothing about him from before. Maybe she wasn’t the only one to have relationship issues. If he could just understand, everything would go so much more smoothly.

“You never talk about your past,” she said quietly.

He tensed, and she could feel the anxiety welling up in him. Of course, there were reasons they didn’t talk about his past, the biggest being his time with the Horatius Group.

“What do you want to know?” he asked tightly.

Val watched him as he stared out into the pouring rain. Knowing that he was willing to share that part of his life meant something.

“Were you ever in love?”

It seemed like a silly question. He was willing to delve into his horrid past, and she wanted to know how many women he’d loved.

It felt petty. But then on the other hand, she didn’t need to know all the horrors he’d seen while with the group. She’d heard the stories and that was enough. Making him relive it just wasn’t something she needed from him.

Apollo looked down at her, obviously surprised by her question.

His cheeks turned red as he looked back out into the jungle.

She was sure he’d ignored her question until he finally spoke. His words were low, and she struggled to hear him.

“At the facility, there weren’t women there,” he said. “Sometimes they would bring them in.”

Apollo stopped, and his cheeks grew redder.

“I wasn’t deemed important enough for that purpose,” he said quietly and then gave a hollow laugh. “I spent all that time feeling rejected, when, in truth, I was lucky that I wasn’t important.”

Val nodded and placed a hand on his chest, but remained silent, hoping he’d finish.

“When we got out, I thought we would all find women,” he said. He looked down at her. “I thought I might have found the person for me. Knowing what bonding is really like, I now know that wasn’t love.”

“Hannah?” she asked quietly. She’d heard the rumors. People couldn’t help but talk about how he acted about her.

Apollo’s arm tightened around her.

“That wasn’t real,” he said and pressed his mouth to her head.

She could feel the worry from him as he struggled to find the right thing to say.

“When I met you, I knew in an instant,” he said and smiled at her. “Even if I didn’t want to know. You were the one for me. The one that called to my spirit.”

This time it was her turn to blush. Having him say something like that to her just seemed so strange.

Apollo moved some hair from her face and ran his fingers through her hair.

“You are the one and only woman I have ever been with,” he whispered. “And you are the only one I ever want to be with.”

Her heart thumped loudly in her chest at his words. Why hadn’t she known? He certainly seemed like he knew what he was doing. If anything, she always felt like she was the one who didn’t know what she was doing.

Val turned her face up to his and was surprised to see him smiling down at her.

He leaned down and kissed her gently on the lips. When he pulled back, she smiled up at him.

Apollo pulled her head back to his chest.

“Rest up,” he whispered. “We’ll move when the rain stops.”

She nodded sleepily against him and drifted off to a cozy sleep.

Chapter Six

Apollo woke up with a start. It was rare that he fell asleep when he didn’t intend to, but being there with his woman and feeling her body against his was just too perfect.

He frowned at a sound. It didn’t match anything he’d ever heard before. It was like running water but rougher, deeper.

The ground shifted a little, and he sat up quickly.

“What’s going—” Val said, yawning.

“Get up,” he shouted and shoved them both to their feet. He grabbed their packs quickly and moved outside to assess the situation.

Val shot up.

Without a word they scrambled out from under the rock. Apollo pulled her back as it shifted slightly and sunk in.

“What the fuck?” Val whispered.

Her words gave his own thoughts life.

“Run,” he said, looking up the hill they had been resting on.

The land at the top shifted slightly just as the rock they had slept under had done. Slowly, the side of the large hill was making its way down to them. Gravity would speed it up sooner than later.

Apollo grabbed her hand and pulled her along behind him.

“Back to camp,” he said quickly and slung the two packs over his shoulder.

They rushed down the hill diagonally, keeping just ahead of the landslide.

The damp air hung around them as they ran, and he was already regretting the trip. The humidity alone would make it hard for them to walk, let alone run. It didn’t help that the rain had brought out all the bugs hiding the day before. Swarms of them hung over puddles.

Apollo came to an abrupt stop.

“I don’t remember this being here,” Val said from behind him.

“It wasn’t.”

The once small trickle had turned into a raging river. A tree swept down the channel and bounced around the rough waters. Apollo had heard of flash flooding, but this was more than he could have ever imagined.

He watched as parts of the land encasing the water broke off and rushed away in the muddy water. They couldn’t stay there, or the very ground they stood on might disappear into the rapid current. He was confident that he could make it out fine if they slipped in, but it wasn’t likely that Val could.