Marius (21 page)

“Take her to a bed and have Paige get her prepped as best she can,” he said.

All he could do was pray that Rem was correct in his guess, that Rachel had the enhancement in her office somewhere. It was the best guess. Without regard, he started to rip through her things. It didn't help that the office was already a mess from a previous search.

He pulled hard on the drawers and was surprised when one popped open a secret compartment. He pulled out the last vial and raced into the other room.

Rachel lay pale on the bed. Her breathing was shallow, and he could barely hear her heart.

“This.” He handed the vial to Paige.

She eyed the blue liquid suspiciously. “And what is this?”

“It’s something Rachel made, and we don’t have time for this, now just inject her, or she's dead,” he said. With each second, he could hear her slipping away.

Paige pulled the liquid into the syringe and then looked back to him. “Where?”

Rachel took a ragged breath, and he knew this was it. She was at the end. He snatched the vial syringe from Paige’s hand and slammed the needle into Rachel’s chest, pumping the full amount in.

He watched her, waiting, but she didn't move, didn't breathe. He grimaced. Each second was a jab to his heart.

She sucked in air, and he breathed a sigh of relief.

“Now the others,” he said. “Whatever she would have you do to treat the others.”

“But you just slammed a syringe full of stuff I’ve never seen before in someone,” Paige said.

Marius nodded. “It happens.”

Zeno moved to go back to guarding Rem. Marius sank into the bed next to Rachel. He never thought she would come so close to death. Her hand enclosed over his, and he looked up.

“How did you know it would work?” she asked.

He shook his head and placed his lips on her hand. “I didn’t,” he whispered. “Don’t ever put yourself at risk like that again.”

She hated to see that her actions had caused him so much pain.

Rachel placed her hand on his head and smiled when he looked up.

“You know I’d do it again. I’d do it every time if it meant I could help save the people around me. That’s what good doctors do,” she said. “It’s what I do.”

He sighed and came to sit next to her on the bed. “Well, next time, how about you bring a gun with you at least?”

She grinned. Everything in her hoped there wouldn’t be a next time, but if there was, she was bringing a whole arsenal of things. Being a doctor didn’t mean she had to be stupid, and it also didn’t mean she had to be passive. Some people were evil.

Rachel shuddered just thinking of Reverend John and his crazy ideals. Knowing he could still be out there made her stomach turn, but maybe if there were enough people like her, that wouldn’t be a problem, and they could just put that issue to rest.

“Shouldn't you guys contact the authorities over Reverend John?” she asked. “He was involved in poisoning this place.”

“Then we'd have to explain why we engaged in a gun battle off our land,” Marius said. He shook his head. “Woods would have us all in Gitmo in days. We'll have to protect ourselves. We can't depend on outside justice.”

She leaned her head back and sighed. It had been a long day. It was hard to believe that just a bit ago she had been struggling for her life.

Marius laced his fingers with hers, and she smiled.

“Rachel?”

She opened her eyes just as Titus and Apollo entered the room. She stiffened on instinct.

“I got you, baby,” Marius said in her ear, and she leaned on him.

“I’m glad to see you looking much better,” Titus said and moved to edge of the bed.

Apollo came to stand beside him and seemed to have trouble meeting her gaze.

“We’d like to apologize,” Titus said. “If not for our rash behavior, things might have turned out very differently. I know that the poisoning may have affected our mental state, but that doesn't excuse how we've treated you.”

She blinked, stunned and not sure what to say. She nodded.

“We’d like you to consider staying on,” Titus said. “When you said we were lucky to have you before, you were right, but not for the reasons you listed.”

Rachel blinked back tears, but they fell despite her best efforts.

“Are you staying?” Marius asked.

She turned to look at him and was surprised to see an anxious look on his face. Maybe she had been trying too hard to hide her emotions, and they had been hidden from the wrong people.

“I’m staying,” she said softly.

Marius pulled her in for a soft kiss, and she knew that this was the home she had always wanted.

Chapter Eighteen

Rachel could hear them out in the hall before they even reached her door, which was a good thing. It at least gave her a few moments to mentally prepare before all hell broke loose.

“That is it!” Paige said, stomping into Rachel’s office. “I have told Lucius four different times we can’t do the scan for another week, but that man just won’t listen. He is such a pain in the ass.”

Lucius was the next to stomp into her office, all the while glaring at Paige. “Yeah, well, this pain in the ass can hear just fine,” he said to the nurse. “I’m just fine,” he said again to Rachel. “I’ve been out for a week now, and I feel great.”

Rachel frowned.

“You know the rules, one more week,” she said and looked back down at the papers in front of her.

Lucius moved to stand right in front of her. She’d come to learn that this was an intimidation technique, but it mostly annoyed her.

“I need to know if that crazy bitch put anything else in me,” he said quietly.

Rachel nodded. She understood, but it still didn’t change anything.

“I get it, but it doesn’t change things,” she said. “You’ll know in one more week, and if there is something, one more week isn’t going to hurt.”

Lucius opened his mouth to say something but stopped.

Hannah stood in the door.

“Fine,” he said and stomped away.

Paige sat down in the seat across from Rachel.

“If they all weren’t so damn sensitive, this would be easier.” She rolled her eyes.

“How many with chips?” Rachel asked.

“Had to double-check some of the x-rays.” Paige sighed. “Not my specialty, but a few dozen so far, and we haven’t made it through the whole list. Most of the younger boys have them.”

“And the position?”

“Never in the same spot,” she said.

Rachel frowned. She was liking this less and less.

She stood when Marius came through the door. She slipped off her work jacket. “Just keep me posted.”

Paige nodded and stood as well.

When Rachel reached the door, she stopped. “Have you thought about what we talked about?”

Paige laughed. “What, full time here? I think I'd be safer in the middle of a war zone. I’d have to be out of my mind.”

Rachel smiled broadly. “Something like that. Just keep it in mind.”

“Okay, but don’t hold your breath,” Paige said.

Marius glanced at Paige but said nothing.

Rachel followed Marius into the hall and smiled as they left the building. She loved that he came to pick her up still, even though the facility was safer than ever before.

“She’s never going to work here full time,” he said.

“We’ll see.”

Marius shook his head. “Not after all the shit she already dealt with, including us being such asses.”

They crossed behind a building, and Marius steered them to his office building.

“I just forgot a couple of documents,” he said and ushered her through the hall.

“Do you think the meeting will take long?” she asked. It was the first one they were having with Rem as a group, and he was going to be as candid with their background as he could be.

“It could,” Marius said and pulled out his keys. They stepped inside the office

Once inside, he shut and locked the door.

Rachel stepped back away from him.

“What exactly did you forget in your office?” she asked.

His eyes were yellow orbs as he stalked her through the room.

“I forgot to bend you over my desk and taste you until you scream my name,” he said.

Rachel swallowed. “I don’t think I know that document.”

Marius unbuttoned his shirt as she moved to the other side of the desk and tossed it over the back of his chair.

It didn’t matter how many times she got to see his chest, the idea of running her hands over it made her ache inside.

“That’s a nice skirt you're wearing,” he said with a broad grin.

Rachel looked down at her outfit. It wasn’t really anything special, a striped black pencil skirt, cream blouse and black pumps.

Her cheeks colored at the pumps. They had been the ones she’d worn with her nightie.

Rachel moved to the other side and raced to the door. “I don’t think we have time for this.”

She stopped when a gentle hand wound around hers.

“We’re early,” he said. The low rumble of his voice was right next to her ear. “I came by early, and you didn’t notice.”

She glanced at the clock on the wall. He was right. She couldn’t even remember the last time she’d lost track of time in a good way or a time when she’d seen him leave work early, especially for something like this.

Rachel turned in his arms.

There wasn’t any part of this relationship that had gone smoothly, right from the start. Even now she was still fighting him without trying. He smiled down at her, and she sighed.

“I love you. Wait! Shit.” She tried to turn away, but he held strong. Marius kissed her head.

“I know,” he said and smiled.

She waited for a moment and frowned.

“Asshole,” she hissed and pinched his side.

He laughed and backed up a little. “All right, I guess I love you too,” he said.

Rachel huffed and pulled away.

“Well, don’t think I’m forcing you,” she said. “You’re more than wel—”

His mouth sealed over hers as he pressed her hard against the door. She shuddered a little when his tongue invaded her mouth. Like they had a mind of their own, her arms wound themselves around his neck and played with his hair at the base of his neck.

Leaving her slightly dazed, Marius pulled back. When she opened her eyes and stared into his bright yellow ones, she was reminded all over again why he made her heart beat like a conga drum.

“I love you,” he said with such conviction that she felt it in her soul. “I’d travel through hell and fight off an army just to make sure you’re safe. But right now, I want to get you mostly naked and show you how much I love you.”

Suddenly, breathing was far harder than she ever remembered.

His heart sank a little as she stepped out of his embrace. He loved her no matter what, but seeing her wearing those shoes reminded him of the night she was nearly taken from him permanently. He didn’t know if he’d ever get past that.

Marius shook his head and started toward the desk to get his shirt.

He stopped when he heard the sound of a zipper. He turned just in time to see her skirt pool on the floor. She was beautiful every time he saw her, but he loved that she pushed her boundaries for him.

Marius leaned against the desk and took her in. Today, she wore a cream set of panties and bra, and he loved that she still tried to hide herself from his view. She moved slowly toward him and stopped just in front of him.

He pulled her hard against him and sighed at the feel of her skin against his. Marius kissed along her chest. Through her see-through bra, he nipped her tender buds. Rachel leaned back and moaned.

“Does that feel good?” he mumbled into her ear.

She nodded.

He smiled and did it again, this time switching to the other ear.

His hand slipped down between her legs and into her folds. He rubbed as hard as he could.

“Marius,” she moaned.

“Bend over the desk, baby,” he whispered. “Let me make it better.”

Without hesitation, Rachel leaned over the desk. Marius fell to his knees behind her before she came to her senses.

Not able to wait, he slipped two fingers into her dripping pink pussy. She shuddered around him, and he wondered how long she would last this time. He placed his mouth on his clit and flicked it with his tongue. With each movement, he could feel her muscles clench around him. His dick ached to be buried deep inside.

Rachel pulled away and stared back at him.

“Please,” she said.

She could hardly stand it. It just wasn’t enough. She needed more. She felt him move behind her and sighed when his thick head bumped her aching pussy.

In one deep thrust, Marius was inside her. She grunted as he flexed deep inside.