Marius (15 page)

She moaned against his lips and wound her arms around his back. Marius pulled out a little and then pushed in a little further, stretching her around his large cock.

The more he moved, the more she wanted. Her hand slipped down between them and he stopped. Her feet looped around to his back and pushed him back in again.

“Marius,” she whispered in his ear and nibbled the lobe. His hips jerked forward. Her insides quivered at the movement.

He sat up on his knees and watched his dick slip inside her. Rachel sat up on her elbows and enjoyed her own view. Marius reached down and slipped a thumb into her top folds and circled the hard nub there. She bucked wildly against him.

Never had she felt an orgasm come on so quickly. Her insides started to clench hard.

“All of it,” she struggled to get out.

She cried out when he pressed in hard and ground against her. Rachel could feel her insides clench him hard as he pressed deep inside. When it had passed, she looked up and found two glowing eyes. He took in deep breaths to keep himself in check.

“Can I move?” he asked. His voice was strained as he struggled to get it out.

Rachel pulled him down and moaned when he shifted inside her. With her lips close to his ear, she made sure to brush the sensitive shell as she spoke.

“Fuck me, Marius,” she cried out.

She felt the rumble from deep in the middle of her stomach. It vibrated her clit and caused her insides to tighten again.

Marius sat up and with one arm, flipped her onto her hand and knee. Before she could even murmur a protest, he was pounding inside her. She bounced with each thrust, and despite the aches that it might cause later, the building orgasm was worth it. She wanted this. She wanted it rough, and she wanted him.

“More,” she moaned.

He grunted as he thrust faster into her. She could hear the sound of their wet skin, and it was making her even more excited. Rachel reached between her legs and rubbed her clit hard. Her fingers brushed his balls as she rubbed. Rachel reached through and cupped them.

“Fuck,” he said and pushed in hard. Her walls clenched hard as the second orgasm started in.

“Marius, I’m so close,” she whispered.

She could feel him twitch inside her and knew he was as well.

“Just a little more,” he said and leaned forward.

His hands found her breasts and pinched her hardened peaks. It was just enough to send her over the edge.

Marius pulled her off the bed onto her knees as she shook wildly from the orgasm. The change in position only seemed to intensify the feeling as he held her tight against him.

With one final thrust into her, Marius came. She shook around him as he throbbed deep inside her.

They fell onto the bed in a tired heap and drifted off to sleep.

Chapter Twelve

She tried not to look at Marius and concentrate on her notes but failed. For about the millionth time, Rachel stared at the amazing demigod-like man sitting across from her. Of course, he wasn’t near as affected as she had been, but that hadn’t stopped him from wanting another romp that morning.

Rachel shifted uncomfortably on the floor. Despite using muscles that she didn’t remember from anatomy class, the ache was good, and if he asked her to sneak away right at that moment, she would have.

“Oh, would you two stop steaming up the room for two seconds?” Rem said and fanned himself. “All these hormones in one place are going to drive me up the wall.”

Justus, sitting on a cot in the corner of the room, snorted but said nothing.

Rachel’s eyes widened with surprise. She hadn’t realized that they had been giving off anything actually biochemical in nature. She knew about the general pheromone connection between Vestal and hybrid, but this seemed to be something different and more general. What’s more, she didn’t realize that it would bother those around them.

“Does it work that way?” she asked excitedly.

Both men turned to her in shock. She had to guess that it wasn’t something that most even talked about. It just happened, and they moved on. That might explain why it hadn't been mentioned before. A laugh bubbled up at the look on their faces.

“Hormones can sometimes bother us,” Marius said and looked away.

She nodded. Rachel wanted to get out her pen and paper but thought it best if she didn’t. Things were going so well, she’d take the information while she could.

“In what ways do they bother you?” she pressed.

Rem grinned. This seemed to be amusing him, but she could tell that none of this conversation was something that Marius wanted to talk about, given his slight frown. He shifted slightly and tried to avoid her eyes.

“Well,” Rem said with a smile. “If two people have been having sex, it’s particularly clear to other hybrids in the room.”

Her face grew hot.

“And what about other times?” she asked, trying to ignore her embarrassment. The scientific knowledge was more important.

Rem paused and looked to Marius. “Danger, adrenaline, and sometimes two leaders will put out more testosterone.”

She thought back to the way Rem and Titus handled one another.

“Are you a leader?” she asked.

She’d always just assumed that he would fall in like the rest but maybe not.

Rem stared at her hard and then nodded. “We are what we are.”

She gave a little nod. Even after spending several days with him, Rem remained a mystery to her. He wasn’t keen on letting her get close to examine him, and even when he did, it was always quick.

Rachel stared hard at him across from her. There was so much more, and all she wanted to do was learn why he was so different. Rem looked up from his paper and winked. His eyes flashed a brilliant green for a second, and her eyes widened.

Before she even knew what was happening, she was being lifted through the air and set on something soft. She shifted to looked behind her and let out a surprised yelp to Marius. It never occurred to her that he might have her sit on his lap. It was odd behavior for someone so composed as him.

“Calm down, lover boy,” Rem laughed. “She’s out of my reach.”

She followed his line of sight and watched as the two stared each other down. It seemed strange to her that she’d be with a man who would be so possessive over her. As much as she never thought she’d like it, there was a piece of her that wanted to feel like she was worth fighting for.

Rachel snuggled down a bit but stopped when she felt something poke her.

“Sit still, or we’re cutting this short,” he said in her ear.

Quickly, she glanced over at Rem, who either didn’t hear or was very good at ignoring.

“I vote for cutting it short,” Justus said from his cot on the other side of the room, his back to them. It was the first time he’d talked in days. She’d nearly forgotten he was there.

Her face flamed at the realization that if he could hear over there, they could likely hear in the hall, let alone Rem.

“I’m afraid you’re going to have a hard time keeping anything secret here,” Rem said with the same sad smile as before, and she thought she understood. It wasn’t easy to not have privacy.

“My house is on the outskirts,” Marius chimed in. It was the first time he’d even mentioned where he lived outside of the women's dorms, with the temporary change in housing for security reasons.

She turned to look at him.

“It’s not much,” he said and looked back to the papers he was holding. “It’s just a one bedroom, and I don’t have much in it.”

He stopped, and she could tell talking about his place was hard. Like most everything else, she assumed that he’d cut corners, so the group would have more.

Rachel gave his hand a squeeze. “I’m sure it’s perfect.”

He gave a small nod and went back to his work, but she noticed he didn’t let go of her hand. Somehow they were a comfort for one another.

In a comfortable silence, they passed the time reading over the material. They were getting to the end of things. Doctor Fisher had left some boxes, and as long a shot as it might be, it was the last chance.

“Son of a bitch,” Rem said and tossed the papers to the floor. “There’s got to be something we’re missing.”

She nodded. They had been feeling that way the whole time. Like it was just out of their grasp but shouldn’t be. The influencing source appeared to be in the water and not the food, so the initial contamination had to be something near the water. She doubted it was in the air. That would be too sensitive to wind and such.

Try as she might, she couldn't pinpoint the source. Without a better idea of what the poison might be, she wouldn't be able to identify it, especially since she was lacking some advanced qualitative analysis equipment, and they didn’t have time to wait on results from external labs. If she had even an inkling of the exact contaminant, she could easily test directly for that for confirmation.

The door shot open, and she jumped as it banged against the wall. Varius stood, pale and visibly shaken.

“It’s Rufus,” he said.

She didn’t need any more than that. Rachel raced to the door. She could hear heavy feet behind her and knew the other men were close.

Not pausing, she burst through the doors and into the room.

The other men watched from their beds. The pale Rufus appeared to be hanging on by just a thread, sweat soaking his gown. A nurse, who had come highly recommended by the hospital, had been with them for just a day. Her pinched, hard demeanor didn’t seem out of place for some of the nurses she’d met from the hospital, but the air about her had changed from this morning.

The nurse frowned at the intrusion, sending a chill down Rachel’s spine. There were spies everywhere, and she may have just let one right into her house. The hybrids had been betrayed before, and though she needed the help, they still needed to be careful. They'd done a quick background check, but it might have not been enough.

The tall, thin raven-haired woman stared Rachel down as if she might do something at any moment but stopped when the other hybrids stepped in.

“Doctor Miller,” she said and glanced around nervously. “I was just coming to get you.”

Rachel shoved past her to Rufus, who lay shivering on the bed.

“How long has he been like this?” she ground out.

The nurse waved a hand as if it were unimportant. “Ten minutes tops.”

“An hour,” one of the other patients in the room said and glared at the nurse. “And she said it was the meds doing it. She changed some of the bags the other nurse had set up earlier.”

“What meds?” Rachel said and paled.

The women launched herself toward the door but stopped when Marius blocked the way. His eyes briefly glowed yellow. Slowly, the nurse backed up and withdrew a syringe of fluid.

“Back up!” she screeched at all the men.

Slowly, they surrounded her. Those who could make it out of beds, pushed themselves up to help.

The woman jerked her head about, watching the hybrids, leaving Rachel open. She had to do something. What she really needed was to find out what was in that syringe.

Rachel quietly moved behind the nurse. From the side, she could see Marius motioning her to move away. She shook her head and stepped forward again. In one quick move, she grabbed the woman's hand with her own.

The woman struggled and tried to lunge forward, but Rachel held firm.

“Give it up,” Rachel shouted. “What do you think is going to happen? You’re outnumbered, and these aren't exactly normal men.”

The woman glanced around the room and frowned. Nowhere to run, her arms went lax, and she looked down.

Rachel let out a sigh. She hadn’t really known what the hell she was getting into but certainly nothing like this. She pictured stepping in and doing some sort of fancy move that would knock the nurse out. Unfortunately, Rachel had no idea how that fancy move would actually happen given she knew absolutely nothing about fighting.

Faster than Rachel thought possible, the nurse lunged to her left and shook her arm free of the hold. The woman grabbed onto Rachel's neck and used the momentum to push her headfirst into the wall. Rachel crashed forward into the hard wall, the sound echoing in her head.

“No,” Marius roared as she slipped into unconsciousness.

His heart slammed in his chest as he watched her hit the floor and remain motionless. Marius stepped forward but stopped when the nurse held up the syringe.

“Just back up,” she said. Her eyes were wild, and she kept glancing around the room. Between the men in the bed and themselves, there were eight hybrids, far too many for her to take on, even if she were to take Rachel hostage.

His gut twisted at the thought, and he knew that they had to get Rachel away. He should have never let her make that move, but there was no stopping her sometimes. It was a feature he both loved and hated.

“You’ll never get out of here,” Rem said. “You might as well give up.”

She stared at him for a moment before looking back around the room.