CHAPTER ELEVEN

T heir new jet landed in the Mona Lisa airport in Rome. Craig followed Brayden off the aircraft and saw parked below two black Maserati Levantes. Craig took Brianna’s hand and grinned as she froze.

“Let’s go...mate of mine.”

She glanced nervously at Willow, who smiled back and nodded encouragingly. Craig wasn’t being a smartass by kicking things off before arriving at the castle. Moretti staff was milling around them, so their game had officially begun.

By the time they reached the vehicle and the passenger door was opened by a waiting vampire for Brianna, their luggage had been loaded. He was handed the keys, and gave a nod of thanks.

“See you at the castle!” Willow called out.

Craig climbed into the driver’s seat and pushed the start button, resisting a purr of his own as the engine roared to life.

“This is pretty fancy.”

“Hell yes.” He grinned.

This time he didn’t resist as he floored it across the tarmac, mirroring the prince’s actions. They both loved powerful machines, hence the choice in vehicles. The last time they had been on Italian soil, they had been in horses and carriages.

Brianna gave a little squeal at the speed, but one glance over at her, and he saw the sparkle in her eyes.

Soon, they were speeding along the autostrade, the main network of highways in Italy, on their way home. He let the window down and took a long breath. Oh, how he had missed the warm Italian night air.

“ Casa, dolce casa ,” he said, hearing his accent kicking up a notch.

“You speak Italian?”

“I am Italian.” He laughed. “We left Italy one hundred and thirty years ago now, so this is a homecoming of sorts.”

Her eyes bulged. “I keep forgetting. That’s...wow. So how old are you?”

Craig let out a laugh. “Old. Best you don’t ask too many questions, or it will freak you out.”

She frowned.

“Before we get to the castle, we should go over the finer details of convincing everyone you’re my mate.” Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Bri chew her lip in worry. “One thing you need to know about mates is that, well, they are true loves.”

Forever love. If you were lucky.

Or unlucky.

He should know.

“So we pretend we’re in love?”

“You asked me to keep my mitts to myself, if I am quoting you correctly.” He smirked. “But that will raise suspicion. I’ll do my best to be respectful, but we’ll both need to show affection and desire for one another.”

The groan she let out made him grit his teeth.

“It’s not like I haven’t touched you before, for God’s sake,” he snapped before he could stop himself. “And you didn’t exactly complain.”

She whipped her head around to stare at him.

“I was drunk, and if you recall, you rejected me . We’ve been over this.”

He sighed.

“I did not reject you, Brianna. Fuck, how many times do I have to tell you? I just...I just didn’t want to fuck you in that damn bathroom.”

“So, pray tell, where is an appropriate place to fuck me?”

He stilled, stared at her for a long moment, and then swerved over to the side of the road.

“What are you doing?” she asked, looking panicked, but he ignored her. “Craig, keep going. Brayden and Willow are...”

He turned the engine off.

“I know where I’m damn well going. I lived here for hundreds of years!”

Her mouth fell open. Christ, now she was doing the math in her head. And yeah, that made him really old in human terms.

“Bri,” he said, turning to her. “I couldn’t go through with it in the bathroom that night because you deserved better. It had nothing to do with rejecting you.”

She didn’t look convinced.

“I can’t explain it. Something snapped inside me. I couldn’t just fuck you. You felt...more. Just. More.”

“More?”

God, he wanted to pull her into his arms and kiss her. To show her. But he couldn’t.

“Yes. Dammit, I don’t know why. Just...more than I deserve, okay.” He closed his eyes and shook his head. “I need you to know, Bri. It pained me to stop.”

She blinked.

“You would have hated me more than you do right now if I had just fucked you. You know that, right?”

“I would have hated myself.”

Ouch.

Up went his defenses

“Okay,” he said, giving up. She was human. She couldn’t understand the complexity of his feelings for her. He shouldn’t even feel this way about her or anyone. It made little sense. “Let’s do this for our friends and get through the week.”

He turned to start the vehicle and a small hand landed on his arm. He looked at it, then at her.

“I don’t hate you. I just hate...well, what you make me feel.” She looked out the windshield. “I was married.”

He knew her story. Brayden had shared some of it with him, but seeing the anguish in her eyes made his fists clench.

“He was killed.”

“I know.”

She looked at him in surprise. “So you understand I can’t do this either.”

He closed his eyes for a long moment, his past flashing before his eyes, and opened them to find green eyes that mirrored his own staring back.

“No. You can’t.” He sighed.

It wasn’t the sex he was regretful of, but the feeling of intimate connection with this female. Something he shouldn’t crave. Shouldn’t be able to crave. And yet he did.

For the first time in centuries, he was asking questions of himself. The same questions he thought had been answered long ago. A stillness hung between them that seemed heavy with possibilities, and yet there were none. None of that made sense to either of them.

The attraction was obvious. She was sassy, sexy, and made him grin like a damn soda commercial. He saw in her a deep caring she tried to hide with her independent nature, and knew she was loyal to the bone. She had formed a relationship with the prince in a short amount of time, and seemed to love him simply because he loved her best friend. A trust given in complete faith.

He wanted her to look at him like that. Yet he feared if she did...

“Well then, we should both be grateful you stopped when you did. So it’s not awkward between us.”

He raised an eyebrow and they both laughed.

When they stopped, he realized the sexual charge still hung in the air. It never left them. There would be no challenge in faking an attraction to each other. Faking he wasn’t attracted to her when they were alone was going to be the difficult part. As were his growing feelings for her.

One week. One goddamn week.

Craig sighed and ran a hand over his face.

He needed to stay focused. The rebellion was becoming a serious danger to their race. Previously, they had been more of an irritation to keep an eye on. Now, they were threatening lives—the Moretti family lives—and it was his job to protect them.

“I have work to do now that we’re in Italy. Let’s stick to the plan and get you home after the ceremony.”

She nodded.

“You will love again, Brianna Jones. One day.”

“I know.” She chewed her bottom lip. “You were just the first man I’ve kissed since...you know.”

That hit him straight in the heart and made him feel things he shouldn’t. He stared at her for a long minute, nodded, and restarted the engine. While he’d been trying to make her feel better, thoughts of another man touching her, kissing her, made his blood boil.

“Sorry if that makes you uncomfortable,” she blurted.

He turned.

“No. It doesn’t,” he growled, trying to reign in the sudden possessive feelings that had overpowered him. They didn’t belong here, not with her. “You just shouldn’t go around kissing men. Or vampires.”

As her mouth dropped open, he pulled out onto the road, tires squealing.

“Prepare yourself. If you think the castle in the States is incredible, then you’re about to have your mind fully blown.”