Marius (9 page)

Titus stood across from them next to Rem. “Is it spreading?”

Rachel shook her head. “I don’t think it’s an infectious agent, but I can't be sure.”

Titus frowned at her. “Then what is it?”

She shrugged. “I just don’t know. I’ve got to keep doing research if I’m going to figure it out.”

Rachel pulled out Lucius's arm and pumped it with the syringe.

“What are you giving him?” Marius asked.

“Something to help with the fever, an antibiotic and a little adrenaline,” she said. “I have to cover some of the bases while I get this figured out.”

Titus frowned. “But won’t that boost his heart?”

She nodded. “It will, but he’s going to need the boost.”

They watched as his breathing slowly moved back to normal. Marius breathed a sigh of relief.

“It’s good you knew what to do,” Rem said.

Marius frowned. She didn’t need compliments from that bastard.

“Thanks.” She gave a quick smile before pulling out the charts and making some marks.

“Things aren’t improving,” Titus said finally.

Rachel nodded. “I agree.”

“So what do we need to do?” He sighed.

Considering the situation, Titus was taking things about as well as could be expected.

“I need help,” she said. “I need people to aid me in my research.”

“I can do some research,” Rem said with a smile.

Marius frowned and glanced to Titus, who seemed to be thinking the situation over.

“You can’t seriously be considering letting him do research for us when we don’t even know his intentions,” Marius said.

Rachel turned and glared at him.

“At least he wants to help,” she snapped.

“You’ll both help,” Titus said, he glanced between both of the men.

Marius snapped his attention to Rem, who gave him a smug smile. His hands flexed as he stared at the outsider hybrid, and he wondered if he could get away with knocking him one.

“Great!” Rachel clapped her hands together and moved away from the beds. “I’ll bring all the material into the office, and we can get started right away on this. There is so much to go over, and I’m sure with three people—”

“Not the office,” Titus cut in. His mouth was in a firm line, and it was clear that he meant business with this. “In the locked room. It’s the only way this is going to work.”

Rachel froze, and he felt dread bubble up as Titus and Rem stared at one another. “But he’s helping.”

“And I still don’t trust him,” Titus said firmly and walked to the door. It was clear that in his eyes, this discussion was over. He eyed Rem for a moment. “We'll continue to discuss the other matter at a more appropriate time.”

Rachel opened her mouth to say something but stopped when Marius spoke up.

“I’m in on this?” he said to Titus.

He looked over to Rem and Rachel and then back to him. “Keep things in order and report back to me,” Titus said. “You’re the only one I can trust.”

That was it. The words he didn’t want to hear. Marius sighed and nodded. There was nothing else to be done but work on this problem and try and help keep the situation from spiraling out of control.

Titus called for the guards, and they all watched as Rem was marched down the hall.

He turned to Rachel.

“Should we start tonight?” he asked.

She frowned and sniffed. “Not that you care, but I’d like to get a good night's sleep before we spend the day reading. That is if my warden doesn’t mind.”

Marius opened his mouth to respond but closed it when she stomped out of the room. He followed behind her.

“I don’t understand,” he said once he’d caught up. She was nearly to her office and shut the door behind her when they walked in. “You want me to work with you but not if I have to report back to Titus?”

Rachel had been facing the other direction and turned to look at him.

“Why does it always have to be that way?” she said. Her voice shook as she spoke, and he could hear the emotion just under the surface, waiting to come out. “Why do I need to be watched when I just want to help my friend? If I really wanted to betray all of you, I've had so many chances. I just don't want Hannah to die.”

Marius stepped forward, compelled by the desperation in her voice. A lone tear trailed down her face, and he swept it away with the pad of his thumb. Her cheek was cool and smooth beneath his finger, and he was surprised at how soft it was. Gently, he cupped her cheek and threaded his fingers into her dark brown hair.

“Maybe Titus just wants to know what’s going on,” he said and moved a little closer. He could feel the warmth of her body and wanted nothing more than to feel it pressed against him. “He’s worried.” Rem's claim that the Group went back much farther than a few decades left more than a little worry in Marius, but they had more pressing concerns at the moment, even if the claim was true.

“I think we both know he’s not doing this because he’s worried,” she said. Rachel lifted her head. They stared at one another for a long moment before she glanced back down.

She looked so sad and lost. Without thought, he gripped her shoulders hard. Rachel gasped in surprise. Marius took his chance and pressed forward, pressing his body into her and sealing his mouth over hers. She stiffened in his arms, and for a moment, he thought he’d made a very big mistake but groaned when her arms made their way around his neck.

He savored the sweetness he found in her mouth. For all her biting and brass remarks, Rachel was timid when it came to anything intimate. This only served to turn him on more than he already was.

Never in his life did he think he would meet someone so mind-blowingly frustrating, who’d send him from angry to turned on, all in the same breath. Half the time he didn’t know if he wanted to spank her or fuck her. Maybe a little of both.

Rachel moved up on her toes and ran her nails through his hair. He could feel the growl come up before it did. Marius wasn’t as primal as the others, but with this, it appeared, he was.

His dick twitched behind his fly and pushed painfully against the zipper. As if she knew, Rachel pressed against it.

This time he groaned into her mouth and pulled back slightly. When he looked at her, she was staring at him with half-open eyes. Her lips were swollen with his kisses, and he liked the look on her.

The door opened suddenly, and Rachel stepped quickly out of his arms. The chill from her absence made him ache. Zeno stepped in and looked around. He eyed them both and scowled at Marius, who couldn’t help but smile smugly.

“Rem wants to know what time you’d like to start,” he said to Rachel.

She looked to Marius, who shrugged, and then back to Zeno. “Tell him we’ll start late morning. I know he doesn’t sleep well, and that will give me time to do rounds.”

Zeno nodded and pulled the door closed behind him.

Marius folded his arms over his chest.

“How do you know he doesn’t sleep well?” he asked.

Rachel busied herself by gathering her materials.

“Hmm?” She looked up from her papers. “Oh, I watch him sleep sometimes.”

Marius thought that over. She had watched Rem sleep. The idea was still sinking in as she finished getting her things.

“Ready,” she said and smiled.

Once again, they were back as if nothing had happened.

Marius frowned in frustration. He didn’t know if he should be happy he wasn’t going to have to worry about getting involved or irritated that his advances would mean so little to her.

“Let’s go,” he said and stomped out of the room.

It was better just to get home where he could work some of this off.

Chapter Eight

Two hours. For two stinking hours, she listened to the steady thump and grunt of Marius working out. It was like torture. After the kiss, it was all she could think about. Well, maybe not all she could think about. All that noise certainly brought to mind other things, and if she didn’t get up soon, she was going to lose her mind.

Rachel popped out of bed and wondered how a cup of cocoa might make her feel. Maybe sleep would come like she’d hoped.

As quietly as she could, she made her way across the room and opened the door. She could see him on the bench, the heavy weight lifted over him as he lowered it to his sweat-soaked chest and then into the air. Rachel stood, once again mesmerized by his hard muscles and the strength behind them.

She followed along his body and paused on his lower half. She could clearly see his length through his shorts and nearly choked as she tried to swallow.

Her heart slammed into her chest, and she backed into her room, pushing the door closed behind her. The loud click was more than enough to indicate she was there, but she just couldn’t find the strength to care.

Never had she seen someone so… She struggled to find the right words and found that his size was not only intimidating but turning her on more than she could have ever guessed.

“It’s been too long,” she whispered and sat down on the bed.

She knew it had been too long when all she wanted to do was run in there and straddle him on that bench. Actually, the very idea was making her wet.

Rachel sighed and opened up the drawer by the bed.

“I guess there’s no choice,” she said and pulled out the pink vibrator.

She glanced around as if someone was going to be watching her. It wasn’t often she even used something like the sex toy, but there were times when she just needed to take matters into her own hands.

“Shower,” she mumbled and slipped off to the bathroom.

He had heard the door shut but ignored it. The last thing he needed was to see her. He’d spent most of the night wanting to slip into her room and show her who the better man was, but that wasn’t going to do any good. If she wanted Rem, there wasn’t much he could do about it, and in the end, she’d be leaving the lodge. She had made it more than clear that she had no intention of staying.

Marius sat up and wiped the sweat from his brow. He’d made it several hours this time. With a number of the men gone, he needed to be in prime form just in case. They never knew what was going to happen, and he was just as capable of handling shit as the rest of them, despite what they seemed to think.

He stood up and swiftly walked into his room without looking at hers. The less he thought about her, the less likely he was to have a problem with his dick again. As it was, he still hadn’t gone back to normal.

Marius stripped off his clothes and slipped into the bathroom. The hot spray on his tense muscles was just what he needed. He could hear her on the other side of the wall. Marius closed his eyes and pictured her naked and soapy with bubbles. He groaned and gripped himself.

He was all worked up over her, and she was relaxed as ever. She didn’t even seem bothered by their kiss as they made their way home.

He focused on the kiss, the way their mouths had been perfect together. Marius groaned softly and stroked himself from base to head. God, he wanted to feel her hands on him. When she had run her nails in his hair, he got his first feel of what it would be like with her and the passion bubbling just below the surface.

Something hummed on the other side of the wall, and he stopped his stroking and frowned. Was it her phone? Who would call her this late? Marius put his ear near the wall to listen. There was a little piece of him that felt slightly guilty about it until he heard a tiny moan.

He opened his mouth as he realized what he was hearing.

“Fuck,” he groaned.

He pumped his hand over his now throbbing cock as he listened to her on the other side. He didn’t care. Didn’t care if she was thinking about Rem. Didn’t care if it was right. He needed release, and if he got it this way, that would just be how it happened.

Rachel slipped the vibrator between her wet lips and rubbed the humming head against her clit. The pressure made her lean forward. She rested her head against the wall in front and lifted her leg up on the ledge. She placed the head at her opening, and it slipped in. Rachel groaned as her insides gripped the piece.

The vibrator slipped out, and she passed it over her aching clit again. Her insides clenched with need. She plunged in the toy over and over and then rubbed her clit. Rachel placed a hand against the wall, and her breaths came in short bursts as she got closer to her climax.

In one quick thrust, Rachel shoved the vibrator deep inside. Her muscles clenched hard, and she shook with the force of her orgasm.

“Marius,” she whispered in between ragged breaths.

A strangled shout came from the bathroom next to hers. She froze. The vibrator slipped out from her and hit the tub, buzzing loudly against the metal. She snatched it up and shut it off. Horrified, Rachel turned off the water and walked back into the bedroom.

He had heard her, but worse than that, he knew she wanted him.

She sat on the bed waiting, not really sure for what. After some time, she slipped on a nightgown and crawled into bed. Maybe it had been nothing after all.