Read Apollo and Val: #5.5 (Luna Lodge Book 0) for Free Online Page A

night.
    Apollo nodded. “Much better. Not sick today.”
    She rolled her eyes. Talking about her as if she wasn’t there annoyed the crap out of her.
    “The water must be feeding into the same location,” he said and looked back in the direction of the water. “Should go down over the next day. We’ll just meet outside the target. We’re making good time, so it shouldn’t be a problem.”
    Panic rose in her. Three days of walking with him? Just the two of them? This was such a bad idea.
    “I’ll radio our final location tonight,” he said and clicked off the earpiece.
    “Was he mad?” she asked.
    Apollo shook his head and sat next to her on the rock. She passed over her water and watched as he took a long drink. A trickle of water escaped from the corner of his mouth and down the side of his neck. She licked her lips at the thought of running her tongue over the spot.
    He pulled the water bottle away from his mouth and handed it back.
    “No,” he said. “I called in last night when you were sleeping. He thought it might be good if you slept.”
    Val gave a small smile. Sol might not be the loving brother sort, but that was pretty darn close in her book.
    “I didn’t expect,” he said and ran a hand through his short sandy brown hair, “that I might fall asleep as well.”
    Val frowned. “Wasn’t it dangerous not having someone stand watch?”
    Apollo sighed and looked over to her. “Maybe. The Horatius Group shouldn’t know we’re even here, but they have spies everywhere. Still, I think if they did know, we would have heard something by now.”
    Her eyes widened. She hadn’t even thought about that.
    He laughed at the face she must have been making.
    “Were you thinking animals?” he said and grinned at her.
    Val nodded. “Aren’t jungles full of things out to kill you?”
    Apollo nodded. “They are.” He took the water back from her hand. “But there’s something even more dangerous out here.”
    “What?” she nearly whispered.
    “Me.”

Chapter Seven
     
     
    They walked in silence, Val deep in thought and Apollo on high alert. Their midday stop had been shorter than she would have liked. Her legs burned from walking non-stop, and her back was starting to hurt from carrying the heavy pack.
    Part of her wanted to ask for help, while the other just knew it wouldn’t be right. She was going to have to learn to do things without him.
    She snorted at herself. How often did she plan on trekking through a jungle with a pack that she’d need to carry herself? Still, independence was independence, and that’s just what she needed. The more she relied on him, the more she needed him and, as it was, she already felt the tug toward him.
    Val was sure Rachel would tell her it was all just part of being bonded. Despite everything she had heard, it still all seemed a little too strange that certain men would bond with certain women. Vestals.
    Still, she had seen the results over and over again. Women, all from different walks of life, drawn to Luna Lodge. The force of it was undeniable.
    Val looked upward to clear her thoughts, hoping a breeze might help with the heat. Only a little light filtered in. Even that was blocked by a group of colorful birds bursting from the branches and flying away. Still, she knew the sun wouldn’t be out for long.
    The sun was slipping away, and soon the forest would be far more active. Despite Apollo’s certainty that he was the biggest predator, that didn’t stop the fears that crept in. There were a lot of things in the jungle to be scared of, things that she was fairly certain didn’t give a crap what Apollo was.
    He stopped abruptly.
    “Let’s make camp here,” he said.
    Val looked around, not really certain what made this place more special than the other dozen spots they had passed. If anything, this one was rockier and didn’t look like a good spot to pitch a tent.
    She watched as he got out a rock and tied it to an end of a rope. With a mighty swing,