Lucius (Luna Lodge #3) (6 page)

The one hand returned to her shirt and worked the buttons there as the other snaked down the front of her body. The lower one pulled her skirt up high and brushed the thin fabric covering her.

His mouth covered hers again, cutting off any protests she might have. She jumped when his hand moved her shirt to the side and found her lace-covered breast. His fingers brushed the hard nipple. She moaned loudly into his mouth.

Not caring anymore what was right or wrong, Hannah ran her hands along his muscled arms and onto his rippled chest. Her nipples tightened even further at the feel of him under her fingertips.

His mouth left hers and ran along her neck.

“There’s just something about the way you taste,” he rumbled near her ear.

His thumb strummed her tender clit, and she groaned.

“Lucius,” she whispered.

She jumped when the driver door swung open.

“What the fuck?” Titus glared down at them. “I get a call that you’ve been hit in the nose and drugged. I come here and find this?”

Her breath caught in her throat when she felt his chest rumble.

“Mine,” Lucius snarled and reached for the door. Titus moved it just out of reach and raised a brow.

“Hannah,” he said calmly. “I think you might want to move away.”

Lucius’s body tightened around hers, and she looked back to Titus.

“It’s fine,” she said quietly and felt Lucius relax a little.

Titus frowned and looked at her. “He’s not in his right mind,” he said. “I don’t want you getting hurt.”

Hannah looked up at Lucius, the man that she’d been watching from the day she stepped foot into the place.

“He won’t hurt me,” she said firmly.

Titus stepped forward, and Lucius snarled again. Hannah held up her hand to Titus.

“Just let me do this my way,” she said and looked up to the great hybrid leader. It wasn’t often that he was told no, and she knew he wasn’t a fan.

“Fine,” he said and crossed his arms. “But this can’t continue in his state.”

Hannah sighed. She knew Titus was right, but it was still irritating to have someone point it out.

“You’re right,” she said and looked at him. “Things got carried away. I think we can all understand that.”

Titus cleared his throat and looked away. He and Kate were known for getting carried away often and had something similar happen between them.

“Just get on with it,” he mumbled.

Hannah turned back to Lucius, who was still glaring up at Titus. She placed a hand on his chest and smiled when he looked down at her.

“Lucius,” she started.

“No,” he said firmly.

Hannah frowned. “You don’t even know what I’m going to say.”

He looked down at her, his eyes rimmed with sadness. “Don’t leave.”

Her heart ached. What was she going to say to that? She clearly couldn’t stay. He wasn’t in the right mind to make decisions, and she couldn’t handle the rejection when he came back to his senses.

“You need to rest,” she said and ran a soothing hand over his cheek. He closed his eyes and leaned into her. “If you feel the same way tomorrow, I’ll stay,” she said.

His eyes popped open and once again she was struck by the glowing. She didn’t know if she would ever get used to it.

Lucius stared at her for a long moment before saying anything. “After work,” he said.

“No work for you,” Titus said from the other side of the door.

Lucius glared out the door at him. “Come here after work,” he growled.

Hannah nodded.

Without a word, he swooped down for another dizzying kiss. Her hands moved to the back of his head to deepen their kiss.

Titus cleared his throat.

Hannah broke free.

Lucius groaned.

“Tomorrow,” she whispered.

Not waiting for a reply, Hannah slipped her body out from under his and moved to the door. If she stared at him any longer, she would be talked into something they wouldn’t be able to take back.

When she climbed out of the car, she felt the cool air of the night on her legs and chest. She shivered. She buttoned up her blouse. Looking down, she could see the large rips in her skirt that Lucius had caused. It wasn’t going to be quite so simple to fix. A noise from the car drew her attention. She looked over to find Lucius leaning heavily against the car and smirking at his handy work. Lord what she wouldn’t give to finish what they had started.

Titus cleared his throat.

“I’ll just help him in the house and then drive you home,” he said and waved in the direction of the car. “If you could wait in the car.”

Lucius frowned and stomped over to the passenger side of the car. She watched as he only weaved slightly on his way. Without a word, he pulled open the door and waited.

She swallowed and walked to the car. She’d never had a man be so sweet to her. Heck, most of the time he wasn’t so sweet. He was tense and slightly dangerous. Where that might have been the initial draw, this was more than nice.

She climbed into the car and sat. He watched her with such interest she was certain she was blushing all the way to the roots of her hair.

Lucius leaned in, and she turned to look at him.

“Tomorrow,” he said and moved away from the door. When it was closed behind him, she let out a breath. Intense didn’t even begin to describe Lucius.

She watched as Titus and Lucius walked slowly to the door. They stopped when they came to the front. It wasn’t really hard to wonder what they were talking about. The angry gestures her way made it pretty clear that Titus wasn’t thrilled with finding them in that position. Although it might not be the wisest of ideas on her part, she couldn’t really see what he would have a problem with. Lucius looked to her and then looked away. She didn’t know what was being said, but whatever it was, she didn’t like the look on his face from it.

Hannah frowned when he hung his head and stepped into the house without another word. Titus stormed back to the car, clearly not finished being angry. He climbed in and slammed the door behind him.

“I don’t know what happened back there, but I’m sorry for the way Lucius acted,” he said and breathed heavily as he pulled away from the house.

“What?” she nearly shouted. “Lucius didn’t do anything.”

His frown deepened as he glanced at her skirt. “I’ll not have my men manhandling women.”

Her mouth dropped. Did he seriously think that she had been attacked by Lucius?

“Lucius didn’t manhandle me,” she said and then frowned a little. “Well, he did a little, but it was consensual.”

She glanced at him shyly, hoping he would understand her meaning.

“He ripped your skirt,” he ground out. The car thumped hard when they pulled back onto the paved road.

“If I had his strength, I would have ripped his shirt,” she said and then gasped at her own words.

The car grew quiet as they turned the corner to the women’s quarters, and she wondered what Titus must think of her.

“Lucius isn’t like the rest of us,” he said quietly. Hannah leaned in to hear him. “He’s always kept things in, but he was always the one singled out at the facility.”

She shivered, thinking about the horrors they had been through before.

“Sometimes we just don’t know what he’s thinking,” he sighed.

Hannah looked out the window and thought of the man she’d nearly been with tonight. There was one thing she knew above all else with him.

“I trust him,” she said softly and looked over to Titus. “And you should too. Because no matter what he went through, he’s a man that would always protect those he cares about. You are his family. The least you can do is offer him everything he offers you.”

The car came to a stop and she climbed out. She stopped when a hand touched her arm and looked back to Titus.

“What happened to him in the facility,” he said, “it’s my fault.”

Hannah shook her head. “You didn’t choose this life, and you certainly didn’t choose for him to hurt like this.” Hannah look off into the distance. “No, this is the work of evil men.” When her eyes returned to his, she couldn’t stop the force that filled her. “Never stop blaming the right person in all this.”

Titus stared at her and then nodded. She gave a quick wave and shut the door before they could get into any other discussions.

Avoiding any further talks, Hannah raced through the hall and made her way upstairs to her room. It had been long and exhaustion was setting in. All she wanted to do was curl up under her covers and hope that not everything from today was a dream.

Chapter Six

It had been a long day for Hannah. Not because much happened but because nearly nothing happened, and the minutes on the clock just seemed to tick by without it feeling like time was actually advancing. When Apollo finally showed up to take her home, she was both relieved and bothered he would be the one to stop by. It wasn’t until the day at the cafeteria she noticed how much attention he gave her. The last thing she wanted to do was hurt someone or lead them on, but when she asked him to bring her over to Lucius’s house, she could see the anger in his eyes.

She sighed. It always seemed like someone had to get hurt in these things. There was never really a true win.

They pulled up to the cute little house, and she climbed out without a word. She made her way to the door, her stomach fluttering with equal amounts of excitement and worry. Despite her exhaustion last night, she hadn’t been able to really sleep, so instead, she rose early and made brownies.

She reached the door and held up her hand to knock when the door opened.

Lucius answered the door slightly rumpled. His pants, obviously from the day before, were paired with a sleeveless undershirt and bare feet. Something about the look drew her breath away. She bit back a gasp, as she focused on his face. There was some slight swelling, but it was mainly the bruising that bothered her. Both eyes were badly bruised.

“Hey,” he said and frowned, his eyes landing anywhere but her face.

Her heart sank. She wondered if he’d even remember, but this was worse. He did remember but wished he didn’t. Hannah swallowed the lump in her throat and smiled just a little harder. It wasn’t the first time she smiled through pain.

“I made some brownies to say sorry for breaking your nose,” she said, amazed that she made it through without choking on the words.

“Thanks,” he said stiffly.

Their fingers touched for a brief moment, and in that one second, she felt the jolt she always did around him. Lucius looked at her.

“About yesterday…” he said softly.

She winced, before forcing a smile and tried to ignore the burning in her eyes and sudden blinking she was having to do.

“You were on drugs, and my emotions were on high from the scare earlier,” she said as easily as she could manage and backed up. “Well, I had better go.”

“Hannah,” he said and stepped forward.

Her foot missed the top step in her hasty retreat. The air rushed around her as she began to stumble back. His hand shot out and caught her arm, stopping her mid-fall.

Hannah blinked a few times before staring up at Lucius, who was now very close to her.

“At least I didn’t break your nose this time,” she whispered.

He breathed in heavily, and she wondered if he might be feeling the same rush of excitement they had felt last night. His mouth was slightly open, and she could still remember the feel of it on her. She shivered in his arms. Lucius stiffened around her.

Dejected, Hannah pulled away from him. It had never been hard for her to fake her emotions, but for once, she was finding it hard to keep the mask in place. She looked off to the side, so she wouldn’t have to see the rejection in his face.

“Sorry about your nose,” she said. “Just send over your expectations on security for the party.”

She turned and raced down the steps.

“Wait,” Lucius called.

She paused at the bottom of the steps, not bothering to turn around. If she had to look at him, the pain of it all would just be too much.

“We’re supposed to work together,” he said, suddenly serious. “I have concerns with how this is going to work.”

“You aren’t the only one,” she mumbled.

“What?”

Hannah turned and sighed. It wasn’t his fault. She had been sober last night and known it wasn’t a good idea, yet let it happen anyways. In the end, she was at fault for her own pain.

“Listen, it’s been a long day.” She rubbed the bridge of her nose and thought of the beer in the fridge calling her name. “Let’s just talk about this tomorrow maybe.”

She jumped when a hand landed on her shoulder and looked up to see Apollo. He was staring daggers at Lucius.

“I’ve got rounds to make,” Apollo said.

Lucius puffed out his chest a bit. “So go,” he said. “I’ll take her home.”

Apollo shook his head. “You’re off rounds and escort duty for the next few days.”

Hannah watched the exchange and held her breath as the two men glared at one another.

“Says who?” Lucius stepped forward, and Hannah wondered if being in the middle of these two men was the wisest of ideas. She could feel the menace oozing off of Lucius.

Apollo shrugged. “Talk to Titus,” he said. “I don’t have anything to do with this shit.”

He turned and walked back to the car. Torn, she looked between the two men. It was clear Lucius wanted her to choose him, but she wasn’t about to pick him just so he could win a pissing contest.

“Come see me when you’re feeling better,” she said firmly and turned to the car.

If Lucius wanted to play games, he picked the wrong girl. Hannah wasn’t about to let someone play yo-yo with her emotions.

She climbed into the car and was surprised to find Lucius standing on the porch staring at them. Hannah watched him as they backed up, and she wondered about him. None of the hybrids really spent much time talking about their time at the Horatius Group facility. Even with that said, no one seemed to know much about him. There was just something about Lucius that had made him different from the rest of them.

Hannah sighed and looked away. It wasn’t going to help wanting someone that she just couldn’t have.