Chapter Six
Rollo pushed through the doors to his apartment building and made his way upstairs, a frown on his face the entire way.
He was still annoyed and confused by Jill showing up at the senator’s office. It was bad enough that she was there in the first place, but the way his body reacted made the entire thing complete damn torture. Of all the women who could have bumbled into him, it had to be his Vestal.
The rest of the night he’d had to work with a raging hard-on and more than a little anger. Not to mention the fact that she’d just totally blown his chance for the next three days to get more information. With the way things were going, he would be lucky if the bill wasn’t passed before he had a chance again and soldiers started rounding up hybrids. About the only thing good he could say was that at least she hadn’t blown his cover entirely.
By the time Rollo had made his way to the apartment, he was tired and just wanted to drink a beer and forget what a shit night on the job it had been.
Rollo stopped short as he placed his key in the lock. He narrowed his eyes and looked at the seam of the door. The paper was gone. Someone had been in his apartment.
He let out a low growl. Maybe Jill had blown his cover after all. He flexed his hands and took several deep breaths. Whoever was in there probably didn’t have an entire team. The apartment was small, and it’d make more sense to take him before he entered if they had a team. So probably just one or two men. He assumed short-range weapons, maybe pistols or sub-machine guns. If he got the drop on them, he could take them both out before they landed a shot.
Body on full alert, Rollo reached for the back of his pants, only to remember that he’d placed his damned gun in Jill’s purse. He cursed the damn reporter once again for fucking him over. Now the only protection he had was a lunchbox and whatever he might be able to grab once inside.
If there were multiple men, he’d should throw the box at one, then charge the other. Otherwise, just throw and charge the same man. It should provide him the small window he needed.
He tilted his head to listen and see if he could hear anyone talking. It sounded like the TV was playing loudly from the front room. He frowned. What sort of idiot broke into a place and turned the TV up that loud? Maybe the idea was to convince the neighbors that the rightful owner was there.
He could use it to his advantage. It would help that they wouldn’t hear him coming. Their little trick was about to backfire in a big way.
Not taking any chances, Rollo took out his contact lenses so he’d have access to all his senses. The damned things were fine normally, but not when he needed to fight. He wanted to be able to see in the dark with ease, anything that might give him a leg up. He’d head inside, hit the lights, and then take out the enemy. He doubted they’d brought night-vision goggles for a little snatch and grab.
As quietly as he could, Rollo turned the key and stepped inside. His hand shot to the light switch, but he hesitated. He took in a deep breath. No guns or tactical teams confronted him. Instead, a familiar sweet, floral scent greeted him.
There was big trouble in his apartment all right. Just not the kind he’d expected.
A few short steps later, he had his proof in the flesh.
Jill sat on his couch, her feet tucked up under her, head nestled against the armrest as she watched some stupid movie on his large TV. She looked so small there.
Rollo took a deep breath and shook his head, his heart still thumping from the expectation of battle. Nothing about tonight was making any sense. It wasn’t exactly like his attempt to find information on Woods and his backers was a simple mission to begin with, but having a famous TV journalist sniffing around his work and apartment was going to move it from difficult to impossible.
He stared at her, waiting for her to notice him, but her attention remained glued to the television.
“What the fuck are you doing here?” Rollo shouted.
Jill’s head popped up off the arm of the couch, and she frowned at him. “You scared the shit out of me!”
“What?” Rollo said, blinking several times. “Are you fucking kidding me?”
He looked around the room for some sort of camera. This had to be a joke. There was no way this woman would have the balls to break into his place and then claim that he had scared her. It just didn’t make sense. She couldn’t be that self-centered.
Jill flicked the TV on mute. “Is that how you always come into your apartment? All sneaky, then shouting at people?”
Rollo placed his lunchbox down on the counter and glared at the woman across from him. Apparently, she did have the balls to do whatever the hell she wanted. Talk about no shame.
“It is when I think someone has broken into my place,” he grumbled. “I thought someone was here to kill me.”
“Kill you?” Jill laughed. “Why would you think that?”
“Because someone—” he pointed, “broke into my apartment. Because I don’t remember giving you either a key or permission.”
The whole situation was complete shit. Jill had broken into his place, and yet he was the one having to do the explaining. Nope. This was going to require something to drink. Lots of something.
Rollo grabbed a beer from the fridge. He would have preferred something stronger, but it’d have to do. Two were already missing from his six pack. Not only had she broken into his apartment, but she was a dirty beer thief to boot. The night was getting better and better.
“How did you even get in here?” Rollo asked. “They teach you lockpicking in journalism school?”
“No.” Jill shrugged as she continued to sit on the couch. “Wasn’t that hard,” she said. “Told your super that I was your girlfriend and wanted to surprise you with a little wink, wink.” She snickered. “Just imply a little sex and guys suddenly forget how to think. It’s kind of pathetic actually.”
Rollo’s lower half perked up at the mention of her suggestion. It still remembered just how good she had felt in his arms. He tried to push it back under control by remembering how she’d screwed up his night and mission.
He shifted his pants subtly and made his way over to the other side of the couch. The last thing he wanted was for Jill Hope to realize what kind of effect she had on him.
She reached out and placed his gun on the table. “Besides, thought you might need this back.”
“Thanks,” he said glumly.
“What the hell were you doing there anyways?”
Rollo grunted and took a drink off his beer.
She stared at him expectantly as he took a few more sips off his beer. There was no way he could trust her. Titus might, but this was far too important, and he was the one in the field who needed to make the call. One misstep, and he was fucked, and maybe even Luna Lodge.
He couldn’t and wouldn’t leave it in the hands of a woman that could ruin it all for them. Even if his lower half disagreed.
Something twisted in him. The growing demand of his inner beast to be recognized. This was his Vestal, and he was just going to have to ignore what nature said was his by right. Mating and the mission were two separate things.
“I was working,” he said curtly. “In case you didn’t realize it, I’m a janitor.” He hoped to satisfy both the beast and the woman with his answer.
“Bullshit,” Jill said, practically shouting. “You expect me to buy that crap?”
Rollo turned to find Jill had moved in closer. Her breath brushed his cheeks as she stared at him.
“Did you know your pupils dilate when you lie?” She leaned in even more. Her sweet scent enveloped him, pulling at him. “You have amazing eyes,” she said softly. “When you’re not hiding them under contact lenses.”
This wasn’t how he thought this conversation would go. She was supposed to be getting out of there, not hitting on him.
Rollo cleared his throat. “I… um…” He took another drink off his beer, draining it. Having her this close to him was clouding his judgement. He’d never been so twisted over another person before. Everything in him said to lean forward and capture her lips again like he had in the office, to finish what they had started.
Fuck, his dick was already hard with need for her, aching to be freed so he could sink into her sweet center and release his seed into her.
“You know, I could help you,” Jill said softly.
A choked groan came out as Rollo placed his bottle on the table. For a few seconds, he thought she was talking about something totally different, and he’d damn near fallen all over himself just thinking about it.
“What?” he managed to get out. “Help me with what?”
Jill shrugged. “We both want to fuck over Woods. So let’s help each other out. I know you were in there snooping because it’s what I would do, and we all know he’s the man in the government most interested in screwing over hybrids.”
Rollo grunted as he stood. He needed to put some space between himself and Jill before he did something he regretted. He couldn’t let his hybrid instincts cloud his judgement.
“I work alone,” he said. “And even if I was going to work with someone, I wouldn’t work with some nosy reporter.”
Jill snorted. “You’re stubborn,” she said. “I can see why Titus put you out here. Well, so am I, and I know things that you might find interesting. That’s part of what comes from being a nosy reporter.”
She moved closer to where he was, her hips swaying in the tight skirt she’d been wearing before. Her eyes stayed on his as she moved.
Rollo had seen this look before. It was the one she’d given Nick when she was trying to get her way.
He bit down a growl. That’s all this was. A game to her, a way to manipulate men, and he’d almost let her get away with it.
Irritation poured through him. He was over this shit. It had already been a long night, and he didn’t have time to play games.
“Go home,” he said flatly. “I don’t need your help.”
Rollo smirked slightly at the way her face fell. She didn’t like being stopped in her little seductive dance.
“That is, unless you want to finish what we started earlier,” he said, and nodded to the bedroom. He started counting in his head, waiting to see how long it took her to bolt for the door. His smirk grew.
“Fuck it,” Jill said. “Better sooner than later. Lead on, big man.”
Rollo frowned. He wasn’t exactly sure he’d heard her right until Jill stepped forward and pulled him down to her. Her lips brushed against his jaw as she made her way to his ear.
“Take me to your bedroom,” she whispered, “and rock my world.”