Apollo and Val: #5.5 (Luna Lodge Book 0) (5 page)

She was small, and a current that fast would push her under like she was nothing. That is, if she wasn’t slammed against something else. At that speed, broken bones would be the least of her problems.

His stomach tightened at the thought. Apollo turned and looked back up the giant hill. The land was still slowly slipping down. The best thing they could do was follow the water and get as far away from the hill as they could. Once they were, he’d be able to assess the situation.

Her feet sank into the ground as she walked and made loud sucking noises with each step. Val hadn’t been too excited about the tough boots they had given her, but she was glad for them now. They came up to just past her ankle and protected against the soft, slippery mud.

“We’ll take a break in a minute and radio Sol our position,” Apollo said.

They had been walking at a brisk pace for some time. The focus of getting out of the landslide had taken over all her thoughts, but now that the threat seemed to have passed, she felt the burn of dehydration and hunger setting in. Getting sick yesterday had been rough on her, and she’d still not had time to replenish.

She looked up to the sky, but the dense canopy made it hard to see the clouds above. By the rumble in her stomach, she knew it must be close to midday. It was almost amazing they had been able to nearly sleep through the night.

A clearing came into view, and sun streamed into the wet grassy area. Apollo stopped near a rock sticking out of the ground and gestured for her to have a seat.

“Take a break,” he said and touched the button on his earpiece.

Val sat on the rock and pulled a few things from her pack. She watched as he called the others and swatted at the bugs that had followed them. With all the loud birds around them, she would have thought it would have been a bug buffet.

“We had to move,” he said and stared out at the jungle around them.

She pulled out a meal bar and took a long drink off her water. Val wondered if Sol was angry with them for staying out all night.

Apollo nodded. “Much better. Not sick today.”

She rolled her eyes. Talking about her as if she wasn’t there annoyed the crap out of her.

“The water must be feeding into the same location,” he said and looked back in the direction of the water. “Should go down over the next day. We’ll just meet outside the target. We’re making good time, so it shouldn’t be a problem.”

Panic rose in her. Three days of walking with him? Just the two of them? This was such a bad idea.

“I’ll radio our final location tonight,” he said and clicked off the earpiece.

“Was he mad?” she asked.

Apollo shook his head and sat next to her on the rock. She passed over her water and watched as he took a long drink. A trickle of water escaped from the corner of his mouth and down the side of his neck. She licked her lips at the thought of running her tongue over the spot.

He pulled the water bottle away from his mouth and handed it back.

“No,” he said. “I called in last night when you were sleeping. He thought it might be good if you slept.”

Val gave a small smile. Sol might not be the loving brother sort, but that was pretty darn close in her book.

“I didn’t expect,” he said and ran a hand through his short sandy brown hair, “that I might fall asleep as well.”

Val frowned. “Wasn’t it dangerous not having someone stand watch?”

Apollo sighed and looked over to her. “Maybe. The Horatius Group shouldn’t know we’re even here, but they have spies everywhere. Still, I think if they did know, we would have heard something by now.”

Her eyes widened. She hadn’t even thought about that.

He laughed at the face she must have been making.

“Were you thinking animals?” he said and grinned at her.

Val nodded. “Aren’t jungles full of things out to kill you?”

Apollo nodded. “They are.” He took the water back from her hand. “But there’s something even more dangerous out here.”

“What?” she nearly whispered.

“Me.”

Chapter Seven

They walked in silence, Val deep in thought and Apollo on high alert. Their midday stop had been shorter than she would have liked. Her legs burned from walking non-stop, and her back was starting to hurt from carrying the heavy pack.

Part of her wanted to ask for help, while the other just knew it wouldn’t be right. She was going to have to learn to do things without him.

She snorted at herself. How often did she plan on trekking through a jungle with a pack that she’d need to carry herself? Still, independence was independence, and that’s just what she needed. The more she relied on him, the more she needed him and, as it was, she already felt the tug toward him.

Val was sure Rachel would tell her it was all just part of being bonded. Despite everything she had heard, it still all seemed a little too strange that certain men would bond with certain women. Vestals.

Still, she had seen the results over and over again. Women, all from different walks of life, drawn to Luna Lodge. The force of it was undeniable.

Val looked upward to clear her thoughts, hoping a breeze might help with the heat. Only a little light filtered in. Even that was blocked by a group of colorful birds bursting from the branches and flying away. Still, she knew the sun wouldn’t be out for long.

The sun was slipping away, and soon the forest would be far more active. Despite Apollo’s certainty that he was the biggest predator, that didn’t stop the fears that crept in. There were a lot of things in the jungle to be scared of, things that she was fairly certain didn’t give a crap what Apollo was.

He stopped abruptly.

“Let’s make camp here,” he said.

Val looked around, not really certain what made this place more special than the other dozen spots they had passed. If anything, this one was rockier and didn’t look like a good spot to pitch a tent.

She watched as he got out a rock and tied it to an end of a rope. With a mighty swing, he tossed the rope high into the tree above them, scaring off several bright red and blue birds with sharp beaks. The rope came sailing down on the other side of the large branch.

“What are you doing?” she asked.

Apollo picked up the rock and untied it. It clattered to the ground against another rock.

“Getting things set up,” he said absently as he opened his bag and searched the contents.

She frowned when he pulled out some sort of belt with hooks.

As he began to fasten them around his body, it all came together.

“You are crazy if you think I can climb that tree,” she said.

Apollo looked up after latching the last harness.

“You aren’t climbing the tree,” he said and adjusted the belt.

As much as her eyes didn’t want to look, it was hard not to see the well-defined length at the front of his pants.

Her eyes came back up to his, and he grinned.

“I’m climbing the tree.” He winked at her. “Maybe you can climb it later.”

Her cheeks flamed at his innuendo despite their many times together. They had gone nearly all day in silence. She assumed he had given up.

“What are you going to do up there?” she asked, ignoring the way he was looking at her.

Apollo sighed and stepped close to her. She gasped when his hand grabbed her pack roughly. He pulled a thick strap between her legs and fastened them on to the front part of her backpack.

“We are going to sleep up there,” Apollo said and pulled her over to the side of the tree.

Val tilted her head back to look up at the tree. He was insane. There was no way they’d even make it up there, and if they did, how were they supposed to sleep that high up?

She started to shake her head but stopped when he looped the rope through a few holes on her belt and then into his own. He snapped a few metal hooks into her pack.

Without any warning, Apollo pulled on the rope. Their bodies came together. She wrapped her arms around him, so she didn’t lose her balance.

“You ready?” he rumbled. The feel of his voice excited her more than she remembered. Or maybe it was the way the ropes pulled her.

He growled loudly and put his mouth next to her ear.

“Later,” he said.

And just like that, they were rising through the air. Val closed her eyes and held on to the insanely strong man. She knew hybrids were stronger than normal men but to carry their weight on his own plus their packs was impressive.

After he’d been pulling for a bit, Val got used to the steady rhythm. She peeked out one eye and then the other. The ground wasn’t that far below them, but if they fell, it wouldn’t go well for either of them. Still, she wasn’t really worried. She was safe in his arms.

Sweat started to form on his shirt between them. She looked over at his arms, taut and hard from the strain.

Something was wrong with her. Everything about this experience was totally turning her on, and now was not the time to be getting turned on.

She felt the rumble in his chest again and knew he could smell her arousal. Waves of frustration hit her, and she mirrored his feelings.

His movements got faster, and with each pull, she was reminded of the rope between her legs.

Val leaned forward and placed her head on his chest again. Her nipples rubbed gently between them, and she couldn’t help the sigh that escaped from the feeling.

“Grab a hold of that branch,” Apollo said gruffly.

Val opened her eyes and found they were already near the top. She reached out and took a hold of the branch.

Apollo placed a foot on the lower branch and tested the strength. He nodded to indicate she should follow.

With his back to the trunk of the tree, Apollo guided her onto the branch. They held on to the branch above them.

She started to look down.

“Hey,” he said and her eyes found him. “Just keep looking at me. I’ll keep you safe.”

She nodded and kept her eyes trained on his face. Beads of sweat trickled down and landed on the shirt between them.

Still close together, he reached down to loosen the rope. Val watched as he pulled the rest of the rope up and looped it around the branch.

“This way,” he said and guided her to the other side of the tree. The branches above them were lower, and the ones beneath their feet grew wider and closer together.

Apollo let out a deep breath and unhooked the remaining hooks that bound them together. He pulled off his pack and hung it from a branch. Then he turned to help her. With nimble fingers he found the thick straps between her legs.

She hissed when his hand pressed hard against her heated center, the click of the hook the only indication that he was actually unhooking her. His hands went to the other side, and she placed her hands on his shoulders to steady herself.

She shook when his rough knuckles pressed against her clit and had to bite back a moan.

And then, like he’d never been there, Apollo stood and pulled the pack from her.

Val sighed and gently rubbed the spots where it had rested. There were aches in too many spots to count.

She yelped when rough hands lifted her and planted her back against the tree.

The hunger he felt hit her hard and made her own craving spike.

“The smell of you is driving me crazy,” Apollo growled. “I need you. Now.”

His mouth pressed hard against her own, pushing to invade her in any way he could. All day he’d been thinking about her, about all the things he had wanted to do last night but couldn’t.

He pulled her shirt up and let his fingers roam the soft skin on her stomach.

Val ran her fingers into his hair and pulled his head back away from her.

“Are you crazy?” She glared at him. “We are literally up a fucking tree.”

Apollo gave a smile and closed the distance between them once again. Her fingers, still gripping his hair, let go and ran her nails against his scalp. She was so good at using anger as a defense, but he wasn’t having it. He’d smelled her. The scent of her arousal filled every sense he had.

One hand slipped down to her ass, and he lifted her leg to wrap around his waist.

“You want me,” he said near her ear.

She gasped when he pressed his hard, aching cock against her hot center.

“Are you wet for me, baby?” he whispered.

Apollo leaned in even more and rubbed himself against her center. The friction both wonderful and torture.

“I wanna lick you,” he said and rubbed his stubbled face against her smooth neck, then licked the tender skin. “I wanna suck on you until you come so hard your juices drip down my chin.”

Val moaned at his words, and her scent intensified.

He rubbed harder against her, biting back the urge to just rip her clothes off.

Carefully, he pulled back. Val stared back up at him, somewhat confused.

He slowly turned her around until she faced the tree.

“Hold on, baby,” he said quietly.

Apollo unsnapped her pants and slipped them down her thighs.

Val took one hand off the tree and turned to look at him.

He raised a brow.

“You’re gonna wanna hold on to that tree,” he said.

She huffed but complied.

“Bossy,” she grumbled.

He couldn’t help the laugh that followed.

“It’s always well worth it,” he said. His eyes centered in on her damp pink panties. They were soaked and just the sight made his mouth water.

He placed one hand firmly against the side of her thigh to help keep her steady. The other hand slipped between her legs. His thumb found her clit through the thin fabric.

“Is it worth it, baby?” he mumbled, his mouth getting closer and closer to where he wanted to be.

“Yes,” she whispered.

His thumb circled her sensitive clit. She could feel her juices flowing out of her, filling her panties.

“Apollo,” she moaned.

She knew what she was doing. He liked it when she called his name. It was what set him off when they were in bed at home.

Val shuddered when her panties were ripped down her legs. He hand came back to stroke her bud, but it was his tongue that pushed her over the edge. He pressed deep inside. His thick tongue wiggled inside her, and she could feel her legs shake.