CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

T he surrounding room roared to life, but Craig couldn’t take his eyes off the stunning redhead across from him. She was trying to look elsewhere, but those green eyes of hers kept returning to him. He could hear her elevated heart rate, one that was becoming intimately familiar to him after a week of sleeping beside her. Just the thought of her not being in his bed made him want to punch something. His jaw tightened, then melted as she looked over at him again.

He’d nearly punched himself in the face for taking her to the lounge where he and Brayden had hosted orgies for centuries. She wasn’t just somebody he could fuck blindly, but she had let him. He’d seen the emptiness in her eyes buried beneath her arousal, and it had nearly broken him in two.

He was trying really hard not to analyze what any of this meant, but ignoring it was becoming nearly impossible. He felt like he had a burning furnace of need boiling up inside him. If it weren’t for the four royals standing in front of him, he would have marched across the floor, lifted her into his arms, and teleported them deep into the forest to make love to her for hours.

Wait. Love?

No, no, no, fucking no.

Around and around his brain went. Brianna, Marie, Brianna, Marie. It made no sense. Marie had been his mate.

Yet he imagined Brianna lying in the long grass, naked, as billions of stars twinkled above them. Afterward, he’d point out all the constellations and teach her about the sky he had gazed at as a young vampire. He would tell her about his childhood growing up in the 16th and 17th centuries.

“Alright, lover boy?”

Lance-a-fucking-lot.

“Fuck off.”

Lance, Kurt, and Marcus had been informed of the faux mating because they were too close to him and Brayden, and the likelihood of them being busted on the lie had been a good one.

While it was frowned upon, for obvious reasons, to lie to the king, there was a trust between the senior commanders, himself, and the prince which allowed them to be somewhat flexible with that little rule. In other words, they knew well the dynamics between the Moretti brothers, and did what was necessary when required. While the king would probably have their heads, and at times had threatened as much, the prince always had their back.

Or neck, as it were.

“You should have asked me to step up and take this one on the chin, Commander. She looks damn hot in that dress.”

Before the grin finished forming on Lance’s face, Craig had twisted and grabbed him by the neck, lifting him off his feet.

“Whatthefuc—” Lance’s eyes were popping out of his head.

Drop him right now. Do it, Brayden commanded telepathically. Drop him now. And get the fuck out of here.

He dropped the large vampire and turned to stare directly at Brayden. He was standing with his princess in his arms, staring at him with a blank look.

I’m fine.

Like fuck you are. Walk it off, now. That’s a direct fucking order.

“Keep your eyes and every other part of your anatomy away from Brianna,” he ordered Lance in a low growl. Lance rubbed his neck and nodded.

Craig leaned closer. “The answer is yes, sir .”

The guy let out a sigh. “Yes, sir.”

They both knew he was being an asshole. Lance might report to him, but they were also friends. Camaraderie and talk about females were usually received with humor on the regular. But about Brianna? No. Not ever.

Lance was an attractive male. Less bulky than him, but then again, they all were. The guy was still a muscular, tall, toned as fuck, super smart warrior. And as charming as they came. That smirk of his could melt panties in milliseconds. It was how he had gotten the nickname Lancelot.

Imagining his paws on Brianna had blurred his vision.

He made his way through the crowd, slipping through a side door, and stepped out into the cool night air. Cursing, he ran a hand over his short hair and pulled in a long breath. Taking a few steps, he reached a bench seat and planted one of his boots on it.

Man, he really needed to get his shit together. He’d never reacted to a female like this. He would literally kill a vampire right now if they touched her. That wasn’t normal. If she was his mate, it meant his past was a lie. All one big, giant piece of bullshit. His head spun as he tried to understand what it would mean.

Who was he if he had killed all those people—that female—because of a broken heart over someone who wasn’t even his mate?

He had excused his behavior under the premise of being a deserted vampire. Now? If Brianna was his mate, he was nothing but a murderer. And that, he couldn’t stomach.

Then he imagined Brianna walking out the castle doors and being driven away, and yeah, he wanted to hurl.

Thump, thump, thump.

He turned as the doors opened and out slipped the owner of that heartbeat, his own heart soaring at the sight of her.

“Hey, what are you doing out here?”

He held out a hand, and she came to him like a bee to honey.

“You really shouldn’t be hanging out with vampires, you know that, right?” He dropped his foot and pulled her up against his chest.

“Probably not,” she said, giving him a brief smile. “But I have no regrets.”

“None?”

She shook her head. Brilliant green eyes surrounded by long, thick dark lashes looked up at him vulnerably. Bravely.

“If I could keep you...”

Brianna slipped a finger over his lips, stopping him.

“I don’t belong in your world. We both know that.”

She stretched up onto her tiptoes and placed her lips on his. Hand in the small of her back, he lifted her so he could deepen the kiss and steal as much of her as he could with the time they had left. Their bodies melded together as one, and he felt his senses drop, something he rarely let happen. When he released her, glittering eyes held his.

“One more night. Let’s make it a good one before I forget all of this.”

He nodded, his heart physically aching.

“Will you promise me something?”

“Ask me,” he replied, his voice thick. He’d give her anything.

Brianna ran her fingers over his hair and down the back of his neck, sending shivers throughout his body and down to his nether region.

“Will you do it?

He went stiff. “Bri, I’m not sure if...”

“Please, Craig. I want to be with you when it happens. I want you to be the last person I see.”

He shook his head. He didn’t know if he could.

For one, he couldn’t leave Italy right now, so he’d have to wipe her memories either before she boarded or when she was on the aircraft. There were technicalities to planting a new story and making them stick.

Those complexities aside, the idea of her looking at him as a complete stranger made him want to punch out a wall.

“You should be with Willow, Bri.”

She looked away beyond his shoulder and nodded, the sadness in her eyes getting to him.

“God, Bri, I’ll try, okay? I’m just not sure I can.” He gripped her neck. “I’m not sure I can let you go.”

Brianna gasped at his words just as the door banged open and the new princess stepped out.