Apollo and Val: #5.5 (Luna Lodge Book 0) (2 page)

It was her. He’d know her light footfalls anywhere. Small and nymph-like, Val was nearly silent in the woods. Nearly.

Her pale blond hair came into view first. Its striking color was very out of place in the lush greenscape. A few pieces of hair had fallen into her face, and he smiled. She’d been growing it out. Not that it mattered to him. Short, long, in between, he didn’t really care. As long as he could run his fingers through the soft strands, he was happy.

“Sorry I’m late,” she said and stepped over a log.

His heart kicked up the closer she walked. Before he’d only thought he was sweating a lot. Now he really was. He rubbed the black velvet a few more times to help calm his nerves.

She looked up at him and stopped in her tracks.

Apollo watched as she looked at the picnic he’d arranged and then again at him. Val stared open-mouthed for a moment.

“You look nice,” she said quietly.

Her cheeks turned a pretty pink, and he could only hope that she liked what she saw.

Apollo stepped forward until he was standing just in front of her.

“I thought we might have a special dinner,” he said.

Her breathing hitched a little. She always did like it when he spoke like that.

“I’m not really dressed for a nice dinner like this,” she said and looked up to him.

Apollo kept his eyes on hers. When she nibbled her bottom lip, he groaned a little. Everything about her made him want her. It didn’t matter what he had planned. She always drew him in.

“I hadn’t noticed,” he said and stepped a little closer.

Val gave a nervous laugh. “Well, that’s good since I’m still wearing my work clothes.”

Apollo reached out and ran a finger along the side of her cheek. He swept away the rogue lock of hair that kept dipping into her eyes.

“I hadn’t noticed,” he said quietly. His finger slid a little further down her cheek.

Val licked her lips, and he could feel the world melt around them as her tongue darted out.

“To me,” he said and swept his thumb across the damp path her tongue had made. He looked back to her eyes and knew she was seeing the amber light burning there. “To me, you are beautiful no matter what you wear,” he whispered. “Or don’t.”

Not able to resist him any longer, Val leaned in and pressed her wanting lips to his. Whatever was going on, she didn’t really want to know. Right now, all she wanted was to feel his body, to live in the moment and let it consume her.

She’d kissed him so many times. She knew every little spot on him, and yet every time with Apollo was like starting over again. She’d think she knew what he was going to do, and he would surprise her.

There was nothing like going to bed with a man that constantly kept her on her toes and left her begging for more. Whenever she was with him, it was just him. No hidden thoughts. He was what he seemed, and right at that moment, he wanted her as much as she wanted him.

Val wrapped her arms around his neck and played with the hairs just above the stiff, starched collar. She started to frown, but all thoughts slipped away as his hand crept down the front of her shirt and stopped at the hem.

He let his fingers linger there, just grazing her bare stomach every so often as their mouths continued to mingle.

She moaned when his fingers slipped into the front of her pants. Not far, but enough so that she wanted him, wanted his fingers on her in the way that only he knew how.

Val pulled her mouth off his and slipped down his neck. She nipped the damp skin there, sucking and licking as she went along.

“Fuck,” he groaned.

Val smiled against his neck.

His hand moved further down her pants, and she moaned when he found her soaked panties.

“Yes,” she whispered.

His thick fingers slid past the sheer fabric and along her wet seam. He bumped her aching clit, and she pushed hard against him. One long finger slipped between her lips and brushed against her wet opening.

Val moved her hips, hoping to push him in deep but knowing he would have to be the one to do it.

She gripped his jacket hard as he slipped inside her with two fingers, shallow for the first two times but increasing in depth every time he went in. Each time, he rubbed his wet fingers across her clit, only creating more friction.

Shaking, she pulled back from him a little and looked at his face. His bright amber eyes stared back at her.

Val moaned as he pressed his fingers deep inside, his intense eyes still locked with hers. It was then that she felt it: the first tremors of her orgasm.

She’d never come so fast. Something about the look in his eyes only spurred her on, and knowing that he was watching her as his fingers worked inside made the feeling even more powerful.

Feeling his love for her only pushed her harder over the edge and shook her to the core.

She shook hard as her insides wrapped tightly around his fingers, squeezing them for everything she was worth.

“Beautiful,” he whispered as she came down from the high of great sex. His hand slipped from her pants.

She flushed a little at his words. Apollo might have started off reserved with her when they first met, but these days, when it came to expressing himself, he was miles from that.

Tears prickled her eyes as she continued to stare at him. She had to tell him the truth.

Val placed a hand on his cheek.

“We need to talk,” she said quietly.

His heart hammered in his chest.

This hadn’t gone at all like he hoped. The last thing he was supposed to do was try and fuck her before he’d even popped the question. Now she wanted to talk.

He knew it. He’d fucked this up so badly she wanted to get out. It wouldn’t be the first time she tried to leave. She’d left him just before the wall blew. Ran into town. He’d been lucky that she decided to come back, despite the danger.

“Damn it,” he said and ran a hand through his hair. “I fucked it all up.”

He looked over to Val, who stared at him in surprise.

“What?”

He shook his head and waved a hand at the food. “I did it all out of order.”

“Everything felt in order to me,” Val said and gave him a small smile.

He loved that she could find a moment to make him feel like he hadn’t screwed up the whole thing.

Apollo stepped toward her. Maybe if he just told her how he felt, she wouldn’t try to leave.

“This…” he said and nodded over his shoulder. “I wanted all this to be so perfect for you.”

Val gave him a sad smile, and it tore him up inside. “It was,” she said quietly.

He shook his head. “It wasn’t. I was supposed to tell you how I felt. That you are the most important person in the world to me. That my life is better with you.”

Apollo stopped and stared hard at her. He had to get this out. One way or another, she had to know.

“I love you,” he said quietly.

A small smile appeared on her face, and he felt encouraged by it to go on.

“I know we said we’d wait,” he said and felt around in his pocket for the soft velvet box. His fingers made contact, and he pulled it out.

Val’s breathing increased as he flipped open the box.

“I can’t wait. I want you forever. I want to spend my days with you and know you are mine.” He pulled the ring out of the box. It was simple with a single diamond in the center, but somehow it was her.

He watched as she stared at the ring. Apollo pulled up her left hand and rubbed her shaking fingers between his own. “Together we can start our family.”

She stilled at his words, and he felt the shift.

“No,” she said softly and pulled her hand away.

“Val?” he said.

She shook her head. Tears slipped down her face as she stepped away from him, the distance forming a barrier between them.

“I can’t give you that,” she said, her words nearly a sob.

Apollo stood, stunned by her change.

“I can’t ever give you that,” she said and stared at him. “I can’t have children.”

Without waiting, she sprinted away. He watched, stunned by her news and rejection, as she raced through the trees, once again leaving him alone.

Chapter Three

Oh God. She’d told him.

Val took in deep breaths to try and pull herself together. Freaking out wasn’t going to help anyone, least of all her.

She stopped at the end of the drive leading to their home.

He had a goddamn ring! At least before she’d been able to push things off and play out the long engagement. But this was the real deal. A ring meant something. Something she wouldn’t be able to avoid.

She ran a hand over her face and tried to scrub the memories of when she’d told him and the pain that sliced through him. Val knew he would try and give a brave face, but in that moment, she had seen and felt what her words meant to him, and it killed her inside.

“Val,” Apollo called out to her.

Despite what she’d just said, everything in her wanted to turn around and run into his arms. She fought the urge and turned toward the house.

Not paying attention, she raced up the drive. Apollo came into sight.

“We’re not done talking,” he shouted.

She shook her head as she made it to the stairs and looked over her shoulder.

“There’s nothing to talk about,” she shouted back.

She turned around and smacked into a solid wall of flesh. Her arms waved as she bounced off the person in front of her and tipped back toward the stairs.

Sol reached out to catch her, but she fell just past his reach.

Val braced for the hard fall.

She gasped as firm arms wrapped around her.

“I got you,” Apollo whispered into her ear.

Despite herself, she shivered at his words. The warmth of his emotions wrapped around her.

Sol frowned from the top of the stairs at the two of them. His confusion was clear by the look on his face, and she also felt waves of embarrassment from him being there to witness their fight.

“Do either of you know how phones work?” he said. “You push the little on button and people can get a hold of you.”

Val nearly snorted at his words, seeing as Sol was about the least tech savvy of them all, but she decided not to say anything when she saw the look on his face.

“What’s going on?” Apollo asked.

He’d helped Val stand but still had his arm planted firmly around her waist. Love and irritation poured from him.

“Titus sent me for you,” Sol said.

Val’s eyes widened. There was only one reason Titus would send for her.

“It worked,” she said excitedly and more than happy to dodge the truth of what had just gone down between her and Apollo in the woods. Work was an excellent way to do that.

Sol nodded, stoic as ever.

“What worked?” Apollo asked from behind her.

Val turned in his arms.

“We put in code to listen for specific key words. The Horatius Group is consistent if they are anything.” She gave a dry smile. “We knew from the documents we found that they like to use specific terms when referring to hybrids. And we also found information on their encryption methods. All we did was key into that.”

“So you got something?” Apollo asked, confusion sweeping over his face.

She bobbed her head several times.

“Last week we got a ping,” she said. “The transmission was only for a few seconds, but it was enough. After that, all we needed to do was amplify the signal and wait for them to get on the line again.”

“And that’s exactly what happened,” Sol said from behind her.

Val turned to look at her brother. It was strange to see him and know they shared the same parents. He was so different from her.

“Do we have a location?” Apollo asked.

His hand slipped from her waist, and she was sad over the loss until she felt his hand grip hers. The dark emotions from before threatened to rise up, but she pushed them out of her mind. She needed to concentrate on the Horatius Group, or at least that’s what she told herself. Having his comfort was something she needed.

“Colombia,” Sol said.

Val frowned. “Colombia?” She hadn’t known she’d be able to reach that far away. Maybe with enough tweaking, she’d be able to reach even further.

Sol nodded to the car. “Let’s go,” he said. “Titus wants to brief us all.”

She nodded and started to head to the car. Apollo kept his hold on her hand as they made their way. When they reached the car, his hand slid from hers to open the door. As she turned to climb in, he pressed his hot mouth against her ear.

“This isn’t over,” he whispered.

She stared at him for a moment before climbing in. His eyes were so intense she had to turn away. Val jumped when the door banged shut beside her. She felt the car rock as Sol and Apollo climbed in the front.

She turned to look at her brother from the front seat and was glad to have a little room between herself and Apollo. The longer she could focus on a task, the longer she could avoid having to actually talk to Apollo about his proposal.

Sol glanced over to her and gave a little nod. His concern filled the car, but he kept quiet. Maybe he did get her at least a little. If she could just stick by him, maybe she’d come out okay in the end.

A small amount of jealousy hit the back seat, and she knew who that came from.

Apollo cleared his throat.

“Let’s get going,” he said.

Her stomach flipped, and she knew he was going to make this difficult for them both.

* * *

Apollo sat as close to her as he possibly could. There was no way in hell he was letting her back away from him. She’d done it once, and he wasn’t going to let it happen again. He didn’t give a shit how much of a fool it made him seem.

He’d sit on her damn lap if it meant keeping her from running.

Titus was already well underway with the meeting and explaining everything they had done to intercept the transmission. It wasn’t that Apollo didn’t care, but more that this side of things wasn’t something he knew much about, so it didn’t really matter if he understood the details.

Apollo glanced over to Val, who sat to the left of him. Sol was planted just on the other side of her. He stamped down the jealousy that kept popping up.