Chapter Four
Nero burst through the door after her. He had to know if she was okay.
He’d seen it, the look of fear in her eyes when she realized he knew she was in pain.
Nyx was a strong woman who shouldn’t have had to hide her pain. It didn’t make her weak. If anything, it showed how strong she really was. She could fight through the pain and still take down a man. Not just a man, a hybrid.
Anger burned through him at Marcus for saying something like that to a woman like Nyx. The younger hybrid had no respect for anything, and it was going to wind up biting him in the ass one day. He could only hope that it wasn’t at the cost of another hybrid.
He bit back a growl. A good part of him wanted to march up to Marcus and show him what disrespect earned. After a second, he realized it’d only hurt Nyx. Besides, the bastard had been taken down in front of everyone by her. She proved her point.
Nero rounded the corner of the building and was surprised to find Nyx leaning against the wall.
“Nyx,” he said quietly and stepped up to her.
She looked up and shook her head.
“I’m fine,” she said, a faint hint of tension in her words. She waved at him.
He stepped forward. She was anything but fine.
“You strained yourself,” he said and reached out to touch her side.
“No,” she shouted. His hand fell to his side. Nero clenched his fists to keep from reaching out to her. The urge to help was overwhelming.
“We’re partners,” he said, drawing her gaze to his as if by will. “I need to know I can count on you out there.”
Nyx frowned at him, the pain now clearly visible on her face.
She leaned toward him. “I think I could say the same,” she snarled. “How the hell do I know you aren’t just collecting intelligence to give to the Horatius Group? How am I supposed to know that you won’t go running to the Group first chance you get?
It was strange, really. He’d wondered about that same question himself many times before, but hearing those words on her lips angered him. He could feel the new and different hybrid blood coursing through his veins, making his eyes glow and tattoos burn.
“I think, above all,” he said through gritted teeth, “I have proven my loyalty to you.”
He breathed heavily as he stalked over to her. Their bodies didn’t touch but were close enough they could feel the heat from one another. Nero leaned down to her face as she stared up at him.
“There is not a thing in this world that would make me hurt you,” he said, his voice a rumble. “And I think you know that.”
Her nipples tightened to hard rocks at his words. She swayed forward, half tempted to just give in to the desire humming through her body. He was certainly tempting enough.
Nyx sucked in a deep breath and held it for a moment, enjoying the feeling of his nearness and his woodsy scent that filled the air around her.
When she released the breath, she opened her eyes and locked on to his. His deep blue eyes pulsed like a ripple on a dark pool of water.
Although his appearance had been altered from whatever was in the injection, his body was still very much the large muscular form it had been before. Now she was actually able to admire all those muscles instead of wondering if he might use them to rip her apart.
She shook herself a little. The attraction rattled her brain, so she couldn’t hardly remember the man Nero had been before all of this.
A few good deeds didn’t make a good man, and she sure as hell wasn’t going to let that sway her. The fact was, this was still the same man that had helped keep her people captive. He likely still would today if the place hadn’t collapsed. His actions had been self-serving, not selfless.
Nyx leaned away from him and his intoxicating smell.
She shook her head again, trying to shake off her damned attraction to the bastard. She was not a Vestal, the special non-hybrid women who were the other half of the hybrids. Hybrids did not bond with one another. Not successfully. Or, at least, she’d never heard of it happening. And without a doubt the Group had tried, despite the cost in suffering.
“What about the rest of them?” she asked, waving an arm to the buildings behind her. “Where does your loyalty lie with them?”
Nero opened his mouth and closed it. She knew the answer before he was even able to process.
He looked away for a moment. “I haven’t decided yet,” he said quietly.
Nyx crossed her arms over her chest and watched as his gaze moved to her now pushed-up breasts, the tips pointing directly at him. She moved her arms further up, covering the hard peaks of her nipples.
“So are you going to sell us out?” she asked, ignoring the warmth that spread over her face from his stare.
He shook his head. “It’s not like that.”
Nyx stepped forward, once again angry at him.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” she asked, slamming her hand against the side of the building. “Pick a side, Nero, before your side is picked for you.”
She spun around, ready to stomp off to her cabin but stopped as pain shot through her. Her body swayed.
“Son of a bitch,” Nero growled. She felt him at her back, wrapping an arm firmly around her waist, so she didn’t fall.
With one movement, he lifted her into his arms, one massive arm behind her back, gently protecting the battered ribs against his chest and his other arm under her legs.
If Nyx hadn’t been in so much pain, she would have laughed herself silly at being carried princess style. Then she would have kicked him in the balls for daring to.
“You are the most impossible person I’ve ever me,” Nero growled under his breath.
Nyx glared up at him. Her breath came out in short bursts. “I think,” she said and took in a breath, “that’s my line.”
He ignored her words and moved through the tree. It was hard to focus beyond the pain, but she could tell he was avoiding a walk through the middle of the buildings. The last thing she needed was a bunch of questions about something she wasn’t even sure she could answer.
When they reached her door, he set her on her feet and held out a hand.
“Key,” he said.
Nyx leaned heavily against the door frame as she fished out the key from her pocket. The movement sent more waves of pain through her side.
She steeled her face and gave him a tight smile.
“Thanks,” she said as carefree as she could muster while searching for the key. “I’ve got it from here.”
Her hand popped out of her pocket, causing her to stumble forward against his hard chest. A warm hand pressed her to him. She reached out to steady herself, pressing firmly against his massive pec.
Nyx looked up as his massive hand came to cover hers against his chest, and for a brief moment as he stared down at her, she wondered if he was going to kiss her. She licked her lips, not really wanting to stop him if he did. Even though her brain screamed it was an awful idea, the rest of her cheered.
A low rumble came from his chest. The sound zipped through her like a jolt of electricity.
His hand came off hers and pulled away the key she had been holding. Nero leaned forward, his face just past her shoulder. His warmth made her forget the pulsing pain in her side and focus on a different kind of throbbing.
The lock clicked open, and she was suddenly left with cold air between them.
She opened her mouth to thank him but watched as he stepped into her home.
“What do you think you’re doing?” she said.
She stepped through the door and watched as he rummaged around on the peninsula between the living room and her kitchen.
Nero pointed to the couch.
“Sit.”
Nyx frowned.
“What?”
Nero turned and sighed loudly. Not waiting to respond, he moved over to the door and shut it behind them. A warm hand circled around her back as he led her over to the couch.
“Sit,” he said. The same word as before but somehow less sharp than it had been.
Not really knowing what else to do, Nyx sat. It felt good to take the strain off her side, and she was instantly glad she had listened.
She watched from the couch as he walked back to the pill bottles he had been examining before.
“You skipped your pain meds,” he said, more a statement than a question.
Nyx nodded. It had been some time since she’d taken her meds.
Nero walked around to the other side of the kitchen and grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge. He returned to her quickly with long strides, a pill in one hand and the bottle in the other.
“Take it,” he said firmly.
Nyx hated being told what to do, but the pain was too much, and she would have to take the pill either way. She downed the pill and took several big gulps of water.
When she was finished, she noticed Nero had made his way back to the door, his hand on the knob.
“You should wrap your middle,” he said. “It will help with movement. And make sure to stay hydrated.”
His behavior stunned Nyx. The way he’d been acting before, she was certain he came in her house hoping for something more.
When he looked over his shoulder at her, his gaze pinned her.
“I won’t betray them,” he said. His voice was soft, but his words carried through the empty room. “I won’t betray any of you.”
“So you’re with us?” she asked, not quite sure why she should be so hopeful.
He nodded. “For now.”
Without a word, Nero opened the door and closed it as quietly as when they had entered.