“Your cat?” Celine chimed in.
Doris glared at her as if saying cat was somehow offensive. “My companion,” she seethed. “And she’s been missing for nearly two days while you sit in here eating cake like a queen.” She threw a hand up in her air, her face contorted in disgust.
Allison felt her smile falter. She had been working herself to the bone to solve the issue of the animal attacks, and the bitch was about five seconds from getting her ass handed to her. Old-school style.
“Oh, Doris, I’m so sorry to hear that,” Grace said, cutting into Allison’s murderous thoughts with her calming and smooth voice. “Why don’t you come into the store later, and we’ll print out some posters to hang around town?”
She gave a warm smile to Grace and a nod. “At least someone knows how to do something.” The bite in her voice, if anything, was sharper than before.
Doris huffed once more and walked to the door.
Allison balled up her fist and waited for Doris to clear the door before even looking at her sister. “Really?”
Grace just shrugged. “She’s a lonely old woman, and that cat is important to her. I’m just trying to help her out.”
Allison couldn’t help but let her jaw drop. “Lonely old woman? She spends most of her time sticking her nose in everywhere she can and stirring up trouble. That is, if she’s not outright trying to ruin people.”
She had heard talk. They all had. That Doris’s good for nothing minor-league ball player son had screwed around on his wife, Taylor. When Taylor had the nerve to divorce the SOB, Doris had gone out of her way to try and ruin their cattle business.
Taylor had ended up with one of the beefcake men. Lucas, if Allison remembered right. She supposed that the woman had earned her reward in the end, but that didn’t excuse Doris making her life hell in the meantime.
“That woman has been a mean old bitch since the day she was born,” Allison huffed. “It’s got nothing to do with her being old or lonely.”
Grace twitched as if she’d been struck. “But she was friends with Mom.”
Allison snorted. “Of course she was.”
It was a low blow, but she didn’t care. Her parents hadn’t been the model people that Grace seemed to want to remember them as. Just because you died in a car accident didn’t mean you should be put on a pedestal there after.
The harsh fact was that they were cold and distant. Neither cared much for life and made sure their children were forced to live in an oppressive household.
Rules. So many fucking rules. It was like their parents were desperate to assure their children were as unhappy as they were.
When Allison left home at eighteen, she decided right there that she would never have that sort of life again.
Grace was a different story. Being the oldest, it was always expected that she would take over the family business. So she let the rules define every part of her life and never dared to push against the idea she could have a different sort of life.
Allison loved her sister, but she wished more for her. More than the joyless life their parents had lived.
“Okay,” Celine said, cutting into her dark thoughts. “So maybe now we can talk about the creepy woman from today?”
Allison sighed. “Okay, you were right. She is creepy.”
Celine lifted her chin with her win.
“What creepy woman?” Grace asked.
Allison took a drink of her water. “She’s buying the old mill and needs some permits. Nothing major, but I just don’t think she gets how things run here. Thinks we’re too slow.”
Grace frowned. “Well, that’s not really strange. A lot of new arrivals are like that.”
Celine shook her head. “It’s not, but there’s something about her. Just gives me a feeling,” she said, and looked to Grace.
Although Allison wasn’t one to admit Celine might have a gift, Grace bought in fully to the whole idea.
Grace nodded. “I understand.”
Celine’s eyes grew distant, and a smile appeared on her face. “I’m much rather have a feeling about that group where all the hot men in the world go to live.” She sighed.
This time it was Grace’s turn to nearly choke.
Celine glanced over to her and gave a small smile. “Don’t pretend like you haven’t seen them come to the store. Like I said, beefcake.”
Grace blushed crimson all the way to the tips of her ears. It wasn’t often Allison got to see her sister this way.
“Of course, but I don’t go for guys like that,” Grace huffed.
Celine laughed. “What, hot and ready to go all night long?”
Grace stood so quickly she bumped the table so hard it nearly knocked over their glasses. “I need to get back to work.”
Allison sighed. She knew it couldn’t last. “Grace…”
Her sister shook her head. “Thanks for lunch, but I’ve been gone too long,” she said, and quickly scurried away from the table.
When Allison looked over to Celine, she could see the worry coming back into the young woman’s face.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to—”
Allison waved a hand. “It’s fine,” she said as she watched Grace race back across the street and down the road. “I’m fairly certain our parents had sex all of two times, and I’m afraid Grace has decided to follow their path of celibacy.”
Allison gave a small smile. If she wasn’t careful, she might also follow down that same path. Pushing away every eligible man wasn’t exactly the best way to get laid.
Her thoughts again returned to Quintus and his rock-solid muscles. She was certain he was exactly as Celine had said, ready to go all night.
Once again she pushed those thoughts aside. It wouldn’t do any good jumping in the sack with a guy she barely knew, let alone trusted. For now she would just have to keep it business. That was best for everyone.
Chapter Eight
It was early in the morning when Quintus pulled up to the drive outside her house. Allison was a bit surprised since she’d never known any local contractors to be early to a job, but then again, he wasn’t exactly like any contractor she’d ever seen.
With coffee cup in hand, she made her way over to the front door and gave one last glance at herself in the mirror.
It didn’t matter what she looked like. It was her day off, and she could lay around in pajamas for all it mattered, and yet she found herself glad to have gotten up slightly earlier than normal to get dressed and put on makeup.
Just because she was going to keep things professional didn’t mean she couldn’t put out a bit of effort for Quintus. Nothing fancy but better than pajamas. Besides, the jeans made her ass look great. Not that it mattered. At least she kept telling herself that.
Allison opened the door and found Quintus standing there. His dark gray shirt hugged his muscled chest, and for a moment she forgot just what she had been about to say, her mind overwhelmed by the vision in front of her.
Did it really matter when there was a chest like that to stare at? She never thought it was possible to see every sweet little line through cotton like that, but Lord there it was, and never had she been so thankful for thin cotton shirts.
Allison shook herself slightly, not wanting to be caught ogling him like a piece of meat. Heat creeped up her face as she realized there was no way he hadn’t noticed her staring, but given his calm expression, he didn’t seem to mind.
Maybe he just really wanted the job. Either way, she could work with that.
"Thanks for coming so early," she said.
Quintus gave a silent nod.
She’d noticed that about him the day before. He wasn't really a man of many words. This only made him more of a mystery to her, and honestly, it was a bit of a turn on.
Most men seemed to want to go on and on about themselves without ever allowing time to get to know the other person. Something about his quiet manner managed to both unnerve her and set her at ease.
"The problem is right o
ver here," Allison said, a bit more breathless than she intended.
She led him into the house and over toward the table. She had placed a mat over the hole just to give herself a small bit of peace of mind. Thoughts of spiders pouring through the hole kept popping up, not that the mat would really do all that much.
Allison yanked the mat off the hole, half-expecting an army of insects to rush in. Nothing came through, and she let out a sigh of relief.
Quintus leaned over the hole and examined the spot. He leaned even farther forward to more closely check the spot, and she tried not to watch his back as the muscles there moved slightly.
He reached out and ran his hand along the edges of the hole. She was surprised to spot an electric blue tattoo peeking out from under the gray shirt. The color provided a stark contrast to his dark skin.
There was a part of her that wanted to reach forward and run her fingers over the skin there, to trace the lines of the tattoo and find out just what he had.
It was beautiful.
Quintus cleared his throat loudly, and she jerked back, realizing that he had absolutely caught her staring at him.
“Did you cut yourself on this when it happened?” he said.
She glanced down at her still tender ankle. The jeans covered the bruises and cuts on her shin.
Allison’s cheeks heated a little. “I’m fine,” she said quietly.
Quintus pressed his lips together as if he wanted to say more but didn’t. She wondered whether he was worried about her, or unimpressed she managed to injure herself walking around her own home.
"Do you think you can fix it?" she said, trying not to read too much into the man’s silence.
Quintus nodded. "I'll need to trim the boards, so they have a clean line, but it shouldn't be any problem," he said. "I'll just run to the hardware store to pick up some boards the right size and a few tools. It’ll be a pretty easy fix, really.”
Allison nodded and walked with Quintus to the front door. “I’ll be back in a little while.”
He headed out to the truck, and she offered him a wave. This was working out better than she thought. She wouldn’t have to wait weeks or months to get her floor fixed, and she’d might get to know a little more about Quintus and his friends.
The fact that he was so damn handsome was just a bonus.
* * *
“Maybe you should elevate that leg while I get this done,” he said as he stood just inside the door after his return from the store. “Even if it doesn’t hurt much, it’ll help.”
Normally she would have gone against what he suggested, but there was something about the way he said it. Like he actually cared and not just that he wanted to prove a point about how manly he was.
Allison wasn't exactly sure what she should be doing while he worked on the floor but positioned herself right near the front door on the couch, her leg propped up like he suggested.
She had pulled out her laptop to get a little work done.
A few minutes into typing an e-mail, she stopped and stared at his ass as he bent over. Every attempt to return to work was foiled by him moving, twisting, or otherwise exposing some sight that drew her eye. In the end, she spent most of her time watching him over the top of her screen.
Quintus went back and forth between the hole and his truck. She watched him with interest as he messed with things before coming back to do a little more inside.
Allison liked it most when he was outside. From her position, she could still watch him openly through her large picture window. She could also admire the way he moved as he operated his saw.
She spotted the spots of sweat that pooled on the back and along the center of his chest. When he pulled it off to mop his brow, she found her mouth had run dry.
Yes, she liked what she saw.
Down low, a flutter worked inside of her. She had never seen a more well-sculpted body outside of some sort of fitness magazine, maybe not even then. Each muscle was so well defined that she wondered just how many hours a day he spent working out. Did they have some sort of state of the art gym set up where they lived?
Quintus came back inside, and she did her best to hide the fever in her eyes as she busied herself in her work.
A good hour passed before she trusted herself to dare look up at him.
She regretted it instantly. Quintus stood outside, water bottle in hand as he gulped from it. Droplets of water rolled down his chest.
Allison nibbled her bottom lip as she allowed her imagination to go wild.
As if he felt her eyes on him, Quintus turned and stared at her through the window. A wave of heat exploded inside her.
"Lemonade,” he called out.
Allison jumped up from the couch, trying not to look back out the window. A long, cold drink was exactly what she needed.
Quintus was aware of her presence the whole time he was there. Whether she was looking at him or not, it didn't seem to matter. The presence of Allison was enough to set his heart on fire, and awaken parts of him he thought were under easy control.
He swallowed the sour liquid she gave him as he sat on her couch, cooling down from the sun. Although it wasn’t that warm out, being higher up meant that the sun’s touch had a bit more strength. Plus, he’d been working hard.
It also didn’t help that she made his blood run hot whenever she was around.
"So, what made your people decide to move here?" Allison asked.
Quintus took a long draw off the lemonade. He’d expected her to ask questions. She had to be curious about his group. All the locals were. Fortunately, they’d had enough time to establish some community ties and some plausible lies to pass to curious people.
"As a business venture really,” he said.
“Really?”
“I don’t quite get it all myself. The guy in charge, Rem, he’s still working everything out for it.” He shrugged. “Which is why jobs like this help us out.”
Allison nodded, though he detected a hint of disbelief in her eyes.
Quintus resisted a chuckle. He could tell she was trying to get information out of him, but they had all been told the same thing: to pretend that they had no real knowledge of the money situation, that it was Rem who understood all the particulars.
She set her glass down on the edge of the table.
"And are you from around Eagle Ridge?" he asked.
Allison nodded. "My parents grew up here," she said. "Used to think I wanted to move away, but it sort of grew on me.” She shrugged. “My sister lives here still, so it’s probably a good thing that I didn’t move away.”
Quintus watched as she reached forward, knocking the glass off the table. On instinct, his hand shot out and caught the glass before it hit the floor. His movement was barely a blur.
He twitched. He’d made a major mistake. Humans didn’t move at that speed.
Allison stood and backed away from him. "What the hell was that?"
Quintus set the glass on the table as he stood and held up his hands. "I'm just fast.” He shrugged.
Allison shook her head. Her eyes widened with fear. "I've seen fast. And that was not just fast."
He sighed loudly. It seemed that he was out of options. He’d hoped to spend a day or two just learning more about her without raising her suspicions, but instead, he’d screwed up. Denying it wouldn’t work, no matter how creative an excuse he came up with.
Rem might not want him to tell, but this wasn’t someone they could manipulate. She’d seen the truth already. She might have already put two and two together.
Sometimes the best way to escape something unpleasant was to charge it head on. She was never going to work with him unless he told her the truth.
"What are you?" Allison said, her eyes narrowed.
He ran a hand over his head and through the short dark hair there.
"We're called hybrids," Quintus said.
“Hybrids? Like from Luna Lodge?”
"Kind of. We’re related, but we’re different from th
e guys you’ve seen on TV.”
Quintus raised his hand and pulled out the brown contacts. She stared at him for a moment.
“Blue eyes,” she whispered. “Bright blue eyes.”
Her face paled as she stared at him.
He had only a moment to think before she wilted in front of him. His arms came out and brought her gently against his chest.
Yeah, Rem wouldn’t be pleased. Things weren’t going so well.
Chapter Nine
Warm.
It was the first thing that came to mind as the blanket shifted over Allison. She felt warm and protected.
The feeling stayed with her as she woke from her short nap. She blinked her eyes slowly open and glanced around the room. Confusion overwhelmed her. She couldn’t remember why she was even sleeping.
She frowned as she stared down at her fully clothed body lying on top of her now rumpled comforter. Somehow, she made it back into her room.
The confusion began to part as bits and pieces came back to her. Quintus. The glass. His words. But most of all his beautiful blue eyes staring back at her.
Allison sat up and leaned forward. She placed her head against her hands. She’d seen a man with bright blue eyes running from the monster with red eyes. The man wasn’t Quintus, but he must have been a hybrid.
She shuddered. If glowing blue-eyed men were real, that meant the red-eyed monster wasn’t just a figment of her imagination, or some animal she’d mistaken for something worse.
Before she questioned whether she was going over the deep end, but now maybe she'd slipped in fully.
Outside her room, Allison could make out muffled talking. She climbed off the bed and crept over to the door. She listened with her ear to the door.
"And what exactly was I supposed to tell her?" she heard Quintus say. “She’d already figured it out. If I lied more, it would have only made things worse.”
Her heart beat erratically in her chest as she waited for him to speak again. After a moment, she realized no one was responding. He must have been on the phone. For some reason that relaxed her a bit, at least there wasn’t some other hybrid in her house.
Quintus: #7 (Luna Lodge: Hunters of Atlas) Page 4