Cato: #13 (Luna Lodge)

by Madison Stevens

  Cato glanced over at him. He still wasn’t quite sure what he should say about Wendy, especially with how close they had come several times to kissing. The idea of holding out on his friends didn’t sit right with him, though.

  “She’s my Vestal.” He crammed another big bite into his mouth. It gave him an excuse to not follow up right away.

  It was better just to get it out. As soon as they met her, they would know what she was and likely what she was to him.

  “What?” the two brothers said in unison.

  Cato ignored them and took another bite.

  “What are you going to do?” Nikon asked.

  Cato shrugged as he finished the food on his plate. “Nothing to do,” he said. “We have a party to plan, and it isn’t exactly the right time for me to get mixed up with the other side.”

  Alair frowned. “I’m not so sure there will ever be a right time. If you don’t take your chance now, you might never have another.”

  Cato stood. He knew that Alair was right, but there really was nothing to be done about it. Despite what his heart was telling him, getting mixed up with Wendy was a bad idea. Whatever he felt, she was still a soldier.

  “You know you can’t fight it,” Nikon said, all levity from before gone. “No one can fight it.”

  “No one has yet.” Cato shrugged. “It’s not like we have hundreds of bonded here.”

  Alair and Nikon shared a glance.

  Cato nodded to them both. “See you later.”

  It was Alair who stopped him this time. “Happiness isn’t something to try and fight. She’s not your enemy.”

  Cato grunted in reply, grabbed his tray, and turned around. Neither of the other men said anything else as he walked toward the nearest stack of dirty trays.

  Sometimes a man had to sacrifice his own happiness to ensure the happiness of others. There was no life with Wendy, especially when they were planning to escape the very people she worked for. The government would probably declare the hybrids fugitive and try and hunt them down.

  He and Wendy came from different worlds, and trying to make it into something it could never be was only going to confuse things down the line. All the talk of love wouldn’t change any of that.

  For now he needed to just keep his head in the game so he could at least be of some use to his people.

  Chapter Nine

  Wendy fully expected the day to be awkward as hell with Cato, especially after the way he had left the night before. The way he bailed so quickly after fixing her burn made a piece of her ache for him.

  There was just something in his tone and his face that made her think she’d reminded him of something he’d rather forget. Maybe she was just tricking herself and trying to make it all into something more than it was, but the pain she sensed seemed all too real.

  After her arrival at the ballroom, she realized the day would be anything but awkward. Mostly because they didn’t have time for awkward exchanges.

  The minute Wendy and Cato stepped into the room, a huge number of people greeted them, their crew for the party. Florists, caterer, DJs, waitstaff, a practical event army.

  It was a race to keep up with the chatter, questions, and the complaints. Oh, the complaints! Each person had a mountain of complaints about the timeline of the whole event.

  It’s impossible… especially with this budget.

  Can’t you just move it back a month?

  It’s almost a two-hour drive to get here from our building.

  We’re glad for the business, but our normal policy for an event this large is at least six weeks’ notice.

  And on, and on, and on.

  Wendy swore if she heard one more time about how little notice they had been given, she was going to start taking volunteers for rifle range dummies.

  The government and the Lodge were about to throw piles of cash at them, and yet they still wanted to bitch. She half wondered if some of them were just complaining in an attempt to squeeze out more money from their clients.

  She noticed Cato didn’t say much as the different people gave their spiels. It wasn’t that he was shirking his duties. He was carefully listening and watching each presentation.

  Occasionally, he would wrinkled his nose or grunt in agreement, but he seemed to want to leave it to her to make the final decisions.

  She wasn’t sure if she should be happy he wasn’t being unreasonable or annoyed that he didn’t seem to have more of an opinion. After all, the whole point of having a hybrid paired with a soldier was that the hybrid could offer his feedback on what the hybrids might like.

  He just didn’t seem to have any strong preferences. Maybe all the hybrids didn’t. The hybrids had lived a spartan lifestyle before freedom, and it wasn’t exactly like luxury and fun seemed to be a big part of their current lifestyle either.

  It didn’t matter. By the end of it all, they had a decent plan for the party. It was going to be an elegant affair, but still relaxed enough that both sides would feel comfortable.

  At least she hoped so. Cato didn’t seem to have any complaints anyway.

  The florist had been irritated they were going with seasonal flowers instead of the red roses he suggested about a million times. Somehow adding roses would have made the whole thing seem like something it wasn’t supposed to be. This was a mixing of soldiers and hybrids, not some sort of romantic ball.

  The last thing she wanted to do was make it seem like she was setting the mood or something. As it was, she was having a hard time keeping her mind out of that realm. She’d hoped yesterday she’d just been a bit confused, but after a whole day in close contact with Cato, there was no way she could deny her strong, burning attraction to him.

  Despite herself, she couldn’t seem to take her eyes off Cato throughout the day, no matter what he was doing. Now, she watched him as she arranged the table displays from across the room.

  Being the tallest and strongest in the room, he walked from place to place with the main decorator as they decided just where the various decorations would go. Over and over the huge hybrid was forced to hold a red string against the wall.

  Seeing the huge man grim-faced as he helped decide where to hang party decorations did add a bit of levity to the situation. Even those actions impressed her.

  She knew it must have been driving him crazy, but he still continued on without any complaints other than a few grimaces and grunts here and there.

  For her part, though, she needed to concentrate on her own work. She tore her attention away from Cato to attend to continue setting up the example table displays. They’d eventually need to recruit some others for set up, but it wouldn’t do any good until they had finished displays to show to people.

  “Would you come over for a moment?” someone called to her.

  Wendy looked up from the glass rocks she was placing in a vase. Vincent, the decorator, stared down at her.

  “I’d just like to get your opinion,” he said, a bit of a frown on his face. “Your friend isn’t being much help.”

  Wendy sighed. Cato wasn’t being helpful? They stepped over to where Cato stood on the ladder.

  Cato glanced between Vincent and her before shrugging. “I told you, I don’t know about this shit.”

  The twitch of his mouth suggested he was reaching his limit.

  Vincent sighed dramatically. “This is not… shit.” He glared at Cato. “This is the difference between the Van De Fleur affair and the Montgomery fiasco. I will not be humiliated again.” He crossed his arms.

  Wendy didn’t have the slightest idea what the hell either of those parties were, but it was clear Vincent was having none of that.

  She glanced over to Cato who was staring at the decorator like he’d sprung a second head.

  Of all the things she’d imagined being responsible for when she received word of the unit’s assignment to Luna Lodge, playing diplomat between a decorator and a hybrid was probably about last on the list.

  “Of course,” Wendy said with jus
t the slightest twitch of her mouth. “We wouldn’t want that.”

  Vincent nodded, glad that someone finally agreed with him. “If you wouldn’t mind doing it again,” he said to Cato.

  Cato muttered something under his breath.

  She couldn’t quite catch everything he was saying, but she was fairly certain that he’d said something about “head” and “ass.” Neither of which, she assumed, were meant in a pleasant way.

  Wendy might have snickered if she hadn’t looked back up to Cato and been totally mesmerized by the bare skin that had been exposed when he lifted his arms up.

  The tan skin there pulled tightly over the flexed muscles. A light dusting of dark brown hair ran a path down the middle and disappeared into his pants.

  She swallowed hard. Her mouth suddenly dry. The thought of running her tongue along the path made her center wet.

  Pure white heat radiated from her center, and for a moment she forgot just what she had been doing.

  “What do you think?” Vincent asked.

  Her gaze trailed up to where Cato stood staring down at her. His normal amber eyes were glowing now. Wendy watched as he took in a deep breath and heard a low rumble come from him.

  The sound made her nipples tighten under her shirt. Suddenly she was entirely too sensitive. The bra she wore scraped against the hard peaks, and she had to take in several deep breaths to keep from moaning.

  A little skin and she was already more turned on than she’d ever been in her life. Whoa.

  “Is nobody going to give an opinion here?” Vincent huffed.

  Her attention snapped over to the other man, and she could feel the heat in her cheeks.

  “Yeah,” she said with as much enthusiasm as she could muster. “That looks good.”

  Vincent smiled. “It really does,” he said. “Okay, that’s good for today. I’ll just pack up a few things and be on my way.”

  Wendy nodded. She barely heard what Vincent had been saying. Her body was far more aware of the giant hybrid climbing down the ladder so very close to her.

  Cato came to stand next to her, and she could feel the heat from him as he leaned in a little.

  Despite that, she couldn’t even look him in the eye, she was so embarrassed. Getting caught staring at a guy’s package area.

  Wendy looked up to the large man in front of her. “I’m so sor—”

  His mouth closed the distance between them, and she barely had time to think before his mouth was on hers.

  It was insane. They weren’t alone. Sure, there wasn’t anybody else left at this point but Vincent, but still…

  The kiss was hot and forceful, demanding she follow him where he was leading.

  She did. Wendy kissed him back with everything she had. The burning inside her only flared hotter when he pressed her against the wall, his knee pressed between her hot thighs.

  A small explosion burst in her panties, begging her to just rub a little against his leg.

  Suddenly there was cold air between them, as if Cato hadn’t just had her wrapped in the hottest kiss she’d ever had.

  “I think I’ve got everything,” Vincent called from over at the table.

  She turned and saw him smiling at the table, seemingly unaware of what had just taken place.

  When Wendy looked back over to Cato, she could see the ragged way he was breathing and the large bulge in his pants.

  “I’ve got to see Titus,” he said gruffly.

  She watched, unable still to say anything as he stormed out the ballroom door.

  Vincent came to stand beside her and sighed a little. “Now that is one hell of a man.”

  Chapter Ten

  Cato stormed past Ava’s desk, throwing open the office door. He stomped into Titus’s office.

  The leader of Luna Lodge looked up from his computer, quirking a dark eyebrow. “Yes?”

  “I can’t do this,” Cato said.

  Ava trailed behind him. A quick glance over his shoulder revealed a deep frown on her now red face.

  Titus nodded to her, and Cato watched as she shot him one last dirty look before closing the door.

  “You can’t do what exactly?” Titus asked. He remained behind his desk, calm and undisturbed by the sudden outburst. If anything, the faint smirk on his face suggested he was amused.

  Cato paced back and forth in the office, his heart thumping. He’d not been this worked up outside of battle. He ran a hand through his hair.

  He’d kissed Wendy. No excuses. It had been all him, and there was no changing what he’d done.

  He shook his head. She just looked so perfect there. Her cheeks still pink from the arousal he’d smelled on her. It had been hard enough waiting until that decorator was looking the other way. If the man weren’t there, Cato might have not wanted to stop at kissing.

  He could still taste her. The sweet honey taste from her mouth mixed with the rich cinnamon of her arousal intoxicated him. He wasn’t sure how he’d lasted so many years without her.

  There was no way he’d be able to keep himself from her after this. Given the way she kissed him back, it didn’t seem like she was displeased with the idea.

  “I can’t work with that woman,” Cato said, practically shouting.

  Titus raised a brow and folded his hands in front of him. “Is there something wrong with her?”

  Cato shook his head. “There’s nothing wrong with her. There’s something wrong with me. I can’t concentrate when she’s near. How am I supposed to follow the mission when I’m constantly distracted?”

  He looked over to Titus who seemed unsurprised by his words. Maybe he expected that he would react like this. After all, she really was the first woman he’d ever worked with before.

  “I have faith in you,” Titus said. “I’m sure you’ll do what needs to be done.”

  Cato had to let him know the severity of the situation. He’d assumed Titus had already figured things out, but that might have been assuming too much.

  “You don’t understand. She’s my Vestal.”

  He stopped pacing for a moment and looked down at his shoes. It was embarrassing having to admit that he couldn’t control himself because his urges were making him half crazy.

  “I know. If anything, I may have known before you.”

  Cato’s head shot up, and he stared directly at Titus who continued to sit comfortably behind the desk. “What?”

  Titus sighed and leaned back in his chair. “We assigned you to Wendy because we knew there was compatibility and wanted to test it.”

  Cato stood stunned. That hadn’t been at all what he was expecting. “So you knew that she was my Vestal and set this up?”

  Titus sighed. “We suspected,” he said. “On a previous mission, we found a list of some Vestals that the Horatius Group knew of. Wendy just happened to be on the list. It was luck that she was here and could be our chance to gain some insight with what the military is planning and if this current unit has any direct connections to the Group.”

  Cato’s pulse thundered in his ears. They had set him up. His own people had set him up for this, and now Titus was acting like it was no big deal.

  Cato growled. “So this is how it is? You set me up and just treat me like I’m some sort of fucking science experiment?”

  Titus shook his head and stood. “It’s not like that.”

  Cato was done with this shit. Being included in on the plans only to be used like some sort of rat. He glared at his great leader.

  He growled. “You’re no better than the Group.”

  Titus’s face twitched, but he kept his calm expression. “Wait,” Titus said as Cato turned to the door. “You don’t understand.”

  Cato stopped at the door. “I understand just fine.” He stormed out.

  He could hear Titus calling for him but didn’t stop. The pain in his chest wouldn’t let him. It was a betrayal. They might not see it that way, but it was. Being moved around just to see how things played out.

  So, in the end, it
’d be the same. All the freedom didn’t matter if it just meant a new group of people pulling the strings.

  It burned in him that they didn’t trust him enough to tell him the purpose of his job. He wouldn’t have been adverse. Sacrifice for the job was something he was willing to do.

  He kicked open the door outside and took in several deep breaths. “Cato?”

  Shit. This was the last thing he wanted.

  He glanced over to where Wendy stood, her face shadowed by the setting sun. Even now he felt the pull to her. Maybe that’s what they had been hoping for. That the animal would pull him to her, and things would just happen.

  It only made him angrier just thinking about it.

  “I can’t,” he said, more to himself than to her.

  He stomped away without looking back.

  Chapter Eleven

  Wendy debated if she was doing the right thing. Cato seemed so angry before when she’d caught him outside the office building. She just couldn’t seem to get the injured way he looked out of her mind even after going home. Between that and the kiss, it was like Cato had invaded her mind.

  She glanced down at her clothes as she made her way to his house. Jeans and a t-shirt. Casual. Odd how something so casual could take her nearly an hour to pick out.

  She hoped he liked it, but she really had no clue about the kind of clothes he liked. Maybe he really liked a woman in uniform.

  Wendy stabbed at some of the doubt creeping into her mind. He’d given her a passionate kiss in public, even if the only witness wasn’t looking their way at the time. At minimum, that proved that he harbored more than a little attraction to her.

  Heat spread across her cheeks. This was silly. She couldn’t be running around like a little school girl because she had a crush. Just thinking the word made her blush even more.

  Wendy stopped outside of his place and spun around on her heel. There was no way she was following through on this. It was a bad idea in every single way.

  They still had to work together after all. This wasn’t any different than getting into relationship with another NCO in her unit. It was just trouble waiting to explode.