CHAPTER FIVE

L ance knocked once after giving a nod to Timmy and stepped into Sofia’s room.

He’d given her the day to sleep and settle into her new surroundings, but now they had work to do. Lance had to fulfill his promise to the king and get some worthwhile information out of her. Information that could help them find Stefano Russo and break down the rebel forces.

Healthy rebellion was one thing, but blowing up castles and killing innocent vampires was crossing the line. Months earlier, Russo had also tried to poison the king. He’d nearly succeeded, and Brayden had been ready to step up to take the throne before they had uncovered the plot.

It was time for Sofia to talk. Plus, if he was honest with himself, Lance couldn’t stay away any longer. He had thought about very little except her since he had left the night before.

“ Ciao , Lance. Lovely to see you.”

He looked around the room. Sofia was sitting on the sofa with her legs crossed, reading a magazine. The Moretti prison overalls were rolled in bunches at her ankles and wrists due to her small size, the buttons open to just between her small breasts. Smallish. They’d fit in his hands nicely.

Not the point, douche.

She looked relaxed and happy and had greeted him like he had popped over for fucking tea. A complete act.

Sofia was up to something, but Lance had no idea what it could be given she was securely locked inside the Moretti castle with a guard at her door and a P-Muter wrapped around one of her ankles. With that on, all her powers were muted, hence the name.

“How are you doing this evening, Sophia?” he asked, going along with the ruse for now.

“Well, thank you. I am comfortable in my new little home, and Timmy has also been very helpful in providing me a few things.” She gestured to the magazine.

He nodded and sat at the table.

“Good.” Lance studied her movements as she folded the reading material and joined him at the table. He hoped she wasn’t looking for a career in acting when—if—she got out of here because she’d be on the breadline if she did.

“How was your day, Lieutenant?”

He didn’t bother correcting her. His title was a mouthful; Senior Lieutenant Commander. Mostly they just called themselves the SLCs.

“My days and nights are busy, but I was able to get some sleep. Thank you for asking, Sofia.”

Her lips stretched into a pleasant smile, but it didn’t reach her eyes.

Lance stared at her a moment longer, not smiling in response, then looked around the room again, assessing the environment. Nothing looked out of place. There wasn’t much to be out of place. On top of the basic furniture, Sofia now had a few magazines, thanks to Timmy, a bottle of water, and some dishes from her last meal.

“Now that you’re settled, the king would like to know more detailed information about your involvement with the rebellion.”

“Yes. I understand.”

“What does that mean?” he asked, observing her.

Sofia was a bright woman. She hadn’t been appointed a senior position in the rebellion because she was beautiful—and goddamn it, she was. She was also a survivor. Lance respected her attempt to outsmart him, and while he wasn’t yet sure what her endgame was, he had every intention of stopping her.

Whatever she had planned would not end well, and fuck if he hadn’t assigned himself as her damn protector.

“I need to choose a side, do I not?” Sofia asked. “And the man who sexually assaulted me is clearly not someone I am going to support.”

A reasonable answer, and one he believed. To a degree. Her neck was on the line here, literally. The truth was, he didn’t know what the king intended to do with their prisoners, but he knew the laws as much as they all did.

“I am glad you’ve come to this conclusion,” Lance said, crossing his legs at his ankles. “The king will be happy to hear he has your loyalty.”

Flinch.

So she hadn’t had a change of heart. His own died a little inside as he remembered this female was their enemy and could never be in his arms. Yet, as Lance watched her, he didn’t believe she would return to Russo.

“I just ask one thing,” she said, sweet as pie. A poisoned pie.

He raised a single brow.

“On top of your head remaining on your damn shoulders?” He cringed as the words left his mouth. Sofia looked away, cursing in Italian. “I’m sorry, but you have to know—”

“Grant me the gift of fresh air,” she said over his apology. “I would enjoy the feel of the grass under my feet and the breeze on my face before my life ends.”

Lance watched her eyes, his heart pounding at the way she so easily accepted her fate. They held his steadfast.

“Perhaps Timmy—”“No!” Lance snapped before he could stop himself. There was no way he was letting another male walk with her outside. Not that he should even be considering it. “I will take you.”

Sofia’s eyes leapt to his, hope flaring in them.

“I will take you,” he repeated, glancing across the table at her hands. “You will need to be cuffed, but when the sun goes down, I will take you.”

“Thank you,” she said, nodding. “Then, where do we start?”

Lance let out a breath and rubbed his temple. Perhaps someone else should take the lead on this. He wasn’t sure he trusted himself. Then he imagined another male in the room with her and how betrayed she’d feel, and he knew he couldn’t do it.

He frowned and pulled out his phone.

“Tell me about the office we met in. What was your role? I want to know about Stefano’s business, partners, and future plans,” he started, pushing the record button.

“Lance, I want to go outside every night. Not just the once.”

He pushed stop.

“Sofia.” He sighed, running his hand through his hair. “I am breaking protocol as it is. Prisoners don’t go for fucking walks. Hell!”

She lowered her eyes. “I understand. As often as you can then.”

He shook his head and leaned forward. “I get it, I really do. Being trapped like this, you feel powerless and like your life is in the hands of one male.”

Sofia stared at him blankly. He knew that look. Soldiers were trained to use the unreadable expression, and it told him everything. She was terrified and fighting for her life. She would do and use anything at her disposal to save herself.

And fuck if he didn’t respect her a little bit more.

He swallowed the words he really wanted to say and sat back. “So let’s get this information out and see how it helps you, okay?”

FOR THE NEXT HOUR AND a half, he learned Sofia was a senior member of Stefano’s newly formed team. She had grown up with the rebellion, as her father was a member like his father before him. She had recently been given a promotion and sat in strategy meetings with Russo, being privy to some of his locations, partners, and long-term plans.

Lance quickly realized they’d need to prove her claims before they put any resources into following the leads. “Tomorrow we’ll get online with some of our research and tech team members, and they will substantiate what you have told me.”

“Of course. Whatever’s necessary,” Sofia replied.

Lance held her eyes for a long moment, then nodded. Tonight she had shared a lot of information with him, and he was relieved she was talking, but he knew she had an ulterior motive. More than just a walk in the grounds outside.

Sofia turned and glanced out the window.

“Okay, let’s wrap up for the night,” Lance said, standing and stretching out his arms.

Sofia’s eyes ran across his biceps and forearms, where his rolled shirt finished, and swallowed. Tension filled the air between them. He stuffed his hands into his pockets and counted to ten. Slowly.

If you kiss her, asshole, do you think you will be able to stand by while someone takes her fucking head?

The least he could do was take her on a fucking delightful walk. He would need some cuffs, which he didn’t have on him. He telepathed Kurt.

You free?

Kind of. Urgent?

Can you meet me at the south exit with a pair of cuffs in ten?

You taking her outside?

Negotiation, my friend. It’s what she wanted.

Well, I guess she can’t teleport with the P-Muter on her ankle.

All of their prisoners wore the ankle cuff. It dulled their strength and completely disabled their ability to teleport and use telepathy.

Meet you there.

Ten minutes later, Kurt handed him the cuffs, and he placed them on Sofia’s wrists in front of her.

“Thanks, man.”

Kurt nodded and watched Sofia with all the distrust she deserved. She was, after all, a senior member of the rebellion, partly responsible for blowing up multiple Moretti castles and causing deaths.

Let’s just keep this on the down low, okay? She’s talking, so...

I’m not lying to the king, Lance.

I’m not asking you to!

Kurt crossed his arms. The fuck? You got the hots for this chick or something?

Fuck off, man. She’s going to lose her head. It’s one fucking walk.

Lance pushed the door open and waited for Sofia to walk through into the cool night air. With one last irritated glance at Kurt, he followed behind her.

SOFIA LIFTED HER HEAD to the sky and drew in a long breath. The moon was just a sliver tonight, offering very little light and letting the stars shine, but she loved the feeling of the cool air on her skin, nevertheless, knowing there was nothing between her and the inky sky.

Oomph.

“Shit, sorry!” Lance gripped the top of her arms to stop her from barreling to the ground and steadied them both.

Despite the fright it gave her, Sofia laughed. Except instead of her usual musical sound, a weird noise escaped her. Like a frog trying to be a soprano.

“Are you okay?” Lance asked, whipping her around so he could inspect her.

“Yes.” She laughed, and again let out the strange gurgle. “I think I’ve forgotten how to laugh. It’s been so long.”

His eyes widened in surprise before he frowned. “Nobody deserves that, Sofia.”

“It’s okay,” she said, her Italian accent sounding thick tonight, even to her. Then it struck her. “You have nearly lost your accent. You were born in Italy, no ?”

Lance smiled at her, and it was the most gorgeous smile she’d ever seen. She lifted the corners of her own lips, and they stood there smiling stupidly at each other.

He caught himself and waved to her to start walking.

“Yes, I was. But we were in the United States for a very long time before returning this year.” He looked across the grounds. “Come, we should walk this way.”

Walking with her hands cuffed in front of her was awkward, but this was no romantic date. She was dressed in a gray jumpsuit with a large M for the Moretti royal family. It was the same emblem Lance wore on his black Moretti royal uniform, except his shirt fit tight against his broad shoulders and the arms were rolled to his elbows despite the cool air. On his wrist he wore a large black watch, a mobile phone pocked out of his pocket, and on his feet, he wore large black boots.

While she couldn’t see them, she knew he also had a whole ton of weapons.

Their feet crunched on the gravel beneath their feet, and she appreciated the moment of silence. Sofia didn’t need to look at him to know he had dark brown eyes to match his dark hair. They had sat across from each other enough times in the past six weeks while he’d tried to interrogate her.

“Thank you,” she said.

“You’re welcome,” he replied.

“You don’t know what I’m thanking you for.”

Lance glanced at her quickly. “Yes, I do.”

“Not for this,” she clarified, waving her hands out in front of her.

“I know.”

She narrowed her eyes and slowed her steps. He slowed down beside her and turned. “I...”

He leaned down a little but didn’t come too close. In a low, dark voice, he simply said, “Don’t say another word. I know you’re scoping the property in an attempt to escape, but you won’t. So just enjoy the fresh air.”

As she fish mouthed, he pointed across the grounds. “Let’s go this way. There’s a lake down there I believe the females like.”

She groaned and followed him. How had he been able to see through her plan so easily? She let out a sigh. One didn’t become a senior lieutenant commander in the king’s army by being an idiot, she supposed.

“Lance, I—”

He spun around. “I mean it, Sofia. Say nothing. Then I do not have to repeat it to my king, or anyone.”

She softly nodded and began walking beside him again. He really was protecting her? He risked his job by not reporting every single thing, even his thoughts and suspicions.

As they walked along the path, they soon came to the lake he’d promised. Sofia sat down on a fallen tree and stretched out her legs. Lance came to stand close beside her, a solid and protective presence, and together they watched the moonbeams fall across the gently rippling water.

Eventually, Lance crouched down next to her and picked up a stick, dragging it through the dirt, drawing pictures. She watched him for a few minutes, wondering what he was thinking. Wanting to reach out and touch him.

There was this constant pull between them that had her clutching her hands together to stop from doing something silly. Silently they sat there, him playing with the stick, her watching him as she screamed inside for him to touch her.

Suddenly, Lance turned to face her, his eyes strong and burning just as she knew hers were.

Sofia longed to place her hands on his strong jaw, to feel him lean in and forcefully kiss her while he gripped her hips, aligning their bodies, laying her on the ground as he reached inside her jumpsuit and felt how ready she was for him. She could nearly feel his fingers working her open while she took his cock in her hand. Sofia had seen his erection many times. It took little imagination to guess how large he was. He’d go slow, entering her with enormous effort when all they both wanted was for him to thrust in deep, relieving them both.

She watched Lance’s Adam’s apple as he swallowed long and hard.

“We should return.”

Sofia turned back to the lake, blinking away her disappointment.