CHAPTER THIRTEEN

“ W hat’s got you in a foul mood?” Oliver asked when Ben tapped his pen on the screen one more time.

“Nothing. I just need to make sure you hit the right spots tonight,” he replied impatiently.

Oli was right; he was a grumpy shit. But fuck, when Anna wouldn’t even let him walk her out yesterday, he’d nearly lost his shit.

“I’ve done this once or twice before, thanks, Dad,” Oli said, whipping the tablet out of his hand.

Ben sat back and sighed.

“Lord, you fucked her,” Oliver declared after staring at him for a long moment.

“Yeah,” Ben admitted.

He was all out of fucks to give after her rejection. If only he could understand what she was hiding, or who she was protecting. As a Moretti lieutenant, the fact she couldn’t tell him made it pretty obvious it was something top secret.

Was she another secret Moretti relative? Her blonde coloring strongly suggested she wasn’t.

He was grasping at straws, and he knew it.

“Bad?”

Ben shook his head and stood up, pacing. “No. She basically sent me on my way afterward.”

When Oliver began to laugh, Ben turned and glared at him. “Yes, okay, fine. It hurt my pride. But it’s more than that, Oli. I wanted to walk her to her room or her appointment with my sister, and she couldn’t even do that?”

Oliver frowned. “Wait a minute. Where exactly did you do the deed with this girl?”

Ben sighed.

“Dude? Where?”

“In the changing rooms of the training center,” he answered, rubbing his hand over his face. “And that’s all the details you are getting.”

The two had shared many females together over the years, so it wasn’t like he was being a prude. He just had no intention of discussing the moment he’d had with Anna. It was his and his alone.

Oli put his hands up. “Fine. But did you stop to think that maybe it was because you just slammed her up against a wall and fucked her that she wasn’t feeling the chivalrous offer?”

He narrowed his eyes. “I never said—”

“Oh, please. Changing rooms. Wall. Hot female. Red-blooded vampire. 101, brother.”

Ben snarled at him and walked into his room. “I’ve got to shower. Be gone before I get out,” he called over his shoulder.

“I’m not your bitch!” Oliver yelled after him, and Ben couldn’t stop his grin.

While he was joining the SLCs for drinks tonight, Oli would be staking out Tomassi’s place. Ben was looking forward to hearing what he thought about his assessment of the situation, even after being thoroughly briefed. Then, they’d finalize their plan and execute it at the right time.

He couldn’t wait to get his hands on the human piece of shit.

AN HOUR LATER, BEN was seating at a tall table drinking a beer. Kurt, Lance, Sofia, Marcus, Brayden, and Willow were also there, and he was actually enjoying himself.

Putting aside the fact he was well aware they were trying to get information out of him. Yeah, it was fun.

Did they think he was a moron? Ben smirked as he brought the glass to his mouth.

“Hey!” Sofia called out, and two stunningly gorgeous females walked up to their table. “Scoot, scoot,” she said, moving their stools so they could fit in between him and his sister. “Ben, this is Ellie and Chloe.”

They both said hi, and he picked up on their accents.

“American?”

“Yes,” Ellie replied. “We moved across with the king a few months ago. I work for Seraphina, his secretary.”

“Guilty. I do boring accounting stuff.” Chloe winked. “I’m much more fun outside of work hours.”

“Can I get you ladies a drink?” he asked, standing. After taking their orders, he went to the bar. Waiting for the drinks to arrive, Ben leaned against the bar and watched as Kurt and Marcus moved around the table to talk to the two females.

Ben grinned.

He wouldn’t be around much longer, but he liked these males. In another life, he could see himself fitting into the Moretti Royal Army and being happy.

Speaking of happy, a vision of Anna lying on the mat under him filled his mind. Ben grinned. He’d expected her surprise, but having her under him, feeling her body between his legs, had been a much more potent moment than even he’d anticipated. He’d known he was not letting her go without having more of her.

And he’d taken it.

Was he wrong to do that? He was a dominant alpha, and Anna was impossible for him to resist.

Had Oliver been right?

The last thing Ben wanted was for Anna to feel like he’d just fucked her in a cold and ruthless way. He wasn’t questioning if Anna wanted him, the wetness of her pussy was all-telling in that regard. Surely, she knew he was an alpha male who took what he wanted, and she was what he’d wanted.

Had she thought it was a one-time thing and his offer to walk her home a grand farewell? He had said he wanted to taste her again, but perhaps males said that often.

He never had.

Ben didn’t go back for seconds very often. If he did, it was a coincidence, not planned.

An assassin couldn’t mate. Well, to be more accurate, he could, but he had to hang up his hat if he did. It was too dangerous to have a female in your heart and mind while doing the job, and the risk of them being used as bait if something went awry was always there. Assassins eliminated all risk and gave up their identities. With nothing to lose, you had nothing to lose.

Plus, mates couldn’t reside at The Institute, unless they were also assassins. Females, yes, but no mates.

Ben made his way back to the table and handed the drinks to Ellie and Chloe.

“Why, thank you,” Chloe said. He detected a hint of Southern accent.

“Texas?”

She nodded, placing the straw in her mouth.

“Yes, sir,” she replied, exaggerating her drawl. Ben grinned. Chloe was the kind of girl he liked. Playful, cute, with blonde waves to her shoulders, and when she winked and turned her back to him, he knew she was letting him know the option was there.

“So are you the new SLC?” Ellie asked, stepping in closer.

Ben glanced at the prince and raised a brow.

“She hears things because of her job with Seraphina,” Brayden explained, then looked at Ellie. “No appointment has been made yet. Ben is currently training for the role.”

“Oh, it’s been ages since we’ve had a new guy join,” Ellie said. Her use of the human term was something they all did when in public. Nothing like calling out hurry up, you useless fucking vampires when you were young and drunk, so they all had it drummed into them to be careful of language around humans.

“It’s early days,” Ben replied, noncommittally.

“Join us for training tomorrow,” Kurt offered, stepping up beside him.

“Yeah?” he asked. Wow, they were really pulling out the big guns now. Inviting him to their training. Ben held back a grin and failed, so used it to his advantage. “That would be great. Thanks, man.”

Great as in how the fuck was he going to stop thinking about what he’d done in there yesterday with Anna. He didn’t want to stop thinking about it, but getting a hard-on while training with the king’s senior vampires wasn’t cool.

Ellie turned to him and let her eyes run over his body like he was a piece of meat. Ben was used to it. Hell, he often encouraged it. He was proud of his body. It was a tool and a weapon; one he’d spent millions of hours honing.

“You look like you’ve worked out once or twice in your life.” She smirked.

Before he could answer, Chloe turned back around and placed her elbow on her shorter friend’s shoulder. “I’m not convinced. I think we should go to this training and get a closer look.”

Ben laughed. Then he glanced at Marcus. “Wait. You have open-door trainings?”

Marcus grinned and shook his head.

Ellie leaned in. “We’re allowed in, though. I take notes; she counts.”

“I bet.” Ben laughed. These two were trouble. Oli would be all over it. Usually, he would be too, and while Chloe certainly was appealing, Ben was obsessed with just one blonde right now.

One curvy, blue-eyed blonde that made his cock twitch just thinking about her.

As if the universe had heard his thoughts, he looked up to said blonde standing on the other side of the table, flanked by Craig and Brianna, staring at him.

Unsmiling.

Next to her was the flirty toy soldier looking like a lovesick puppy.

Anna’s eyes darted between him and the two females.

No, no, no, no, no.

Ben knew immediately where her mind was going, and panic lanced through his chest.

“Hey,” he greeted, turning on a grin, but it was too late. Anna had turned around and was stepping into her toy soldier’s personal space.

The fuck. Does she want the guy to stop breathing?

Ben froze as a thought tried to barge its way into his brain. What was going on here?

Regrouping, he cast his eyes around the table. His eyes landed on Sofia’s, who was tucked loosely under Lance’s arm. She looked back at him, guilt shining through her eyes.

Thank you, bullshit detector.

Ben had been set up. By his sister. And possibly, the rest of the crew. He gently shook his head at her, anger in his eyes, and she looked away.

No regrets. Why?

Sofia wasn’t a horrible person. Sure, she had worked for Russo, and God knew she needed to have intelligence and a thick skin to survive that environment, but she wasn’t a cunning female. In fact, he thought his sister to be full of compassion.

Had she changed?

Ben narrowed his eyes.

No, there was a reason Sofia and the Moretti team were trying to keep them apart, but they’d now crossed the line. He was done with these games.

Ben wanted answers, and he was going to get them.

“Excuse me,” he said to those around him and followed Anna as she began walking to the bar.

ANNA STARED AT THE bottles of spirits on the shelves, not really seeing a thing.

Stupid, stupid, stupid.

“Ma’am? What can I get you?” the bartender repeated.

“Anna?” Jordan said, laying a hand on her lower back. He was in civilian clothes tonight, and she hadn’t missed how nice he looked. Somehow, he looked more muscular out of his uniform, his thighs solid in the blue denim, and the white shirt fitting tightly across his shoulders.

“Pinot Grigio, please,” she answered.

“Sweet or dry?” the bartender asked again, beginning to get impatient.

Christ, she didn’t fucking care. She waved her hand. “Just. Whatever.”

“She’ll have a glass of the Cantina Termino ,” a strong voice said, and she squeezed her eyes closed.

“I’ll have a water, per favore ,” Jordan ordered beside her.

Anna turned and took in the huge male she’d had wild, crazy sex with the day before—the same one she’d just watched flirting with two beautiful females.

Ben hadn’t seen her immediately, so Anna had been given a few minutes to observe him as he grinned and flirted with them with the same grin she’d stupidly thought was especially for her.

It was obvious to anyone watching he preferred the blonde who was giving him all the go signals. Clearly, he liked blondes, she thought, tossing her own long locks over one shoulder. Well, this one was now off his dinner menu.

She already had enough shit in her life to deal with for her to add a male who couldn’t keep it in his pants for more than a day after shoving it inside her.

Anna glanced down at her dress. It had taken her hours to choose an outfit she thought Ben would like. Now, she felt like a fool.

Jordan inched closer, and she glanced at him. He was a good-looking vampire. Not in Ben’s league, but perhaps someone like him would be more loyal and respectful.

Anna ran a hand down her black, figure-hugging cocktail dress. It was seriously short, but the neckline only offered a hint of cleavage. Ben’s eyes followed her hand, and she wanted to slap him. She wasn’t going to waste this dress or night out.

Anna leaned slightly into Jordan and smiled up at him.

“Ben, this is Jordan.” The two males stared at each other and then at her. “He’s escorting me out tonight.”

A slight stretch of the truth. He was here on duty, but she knew Jordan fancied her, so she was using it to her advantage.

Because fuck Ben.

“Nice to meet you, sir,” Jordan said, holding out his hand. Of course, he knew who he was. Ben was his senior in the Royal Army.

Dammit.

Ben stared at her, ignoring Jordan, his jaw clenched. Finally, he held his hand out and glanced away. “Ben Ferrero.”

They stared at each other again, fire blazing between them, but all she could feel was betrayal.

“Can I speak—” Ben started.

“Sorry, Sofia is calling me. Jordan, can you bring my wine over?” She saw his nod as she walked away.

Seriously, did Ben think she was stupid? It wasn’t how it looked was just waiting to fall from his lips. Anna knew what she’d seen, and Sofia had warned her.

“Hello, darling, you made it,” Sofia said, kissing her on both cheeks.

“Hey, Anna,” Lance greeted, and she gave him a little wave.

Moments later, she felt Jordan move in behind her. Anna had become quite attuned to her security team, but being outside the castle was a big step for her.

One of the reasons she’d said yes to coming out tonight was because she felt incredibly safe with Ben. She knew she would be protected by every single one of these powerful vampires, but the feeling she had when she was with Ben was different.

Like he’d kill to protect her.

Anna shook her head. She really needed to stop reading damn romance novels. Right now, she hated that she’d fallen for such a fantasy.

She looked up and found Ben across the table from her, talking to Kurt, watching her. Their eyes held for a moment before she glanced away.

“Try to have fun, Anna. My brother was unlikely to want to hurt you, but he’s a free spirit,” Sofia told her quietly. “He didn’t know you were going to be here tonight.”

And that made it okay how?

“How’s your drink?” Jordan asked.

Anna turned away from Ben’s line of sight and lifted her wine to her lips. “Actually, it’s delicious. Are you not allowed to drink? I guess you’re on duty.”

Jordan grinned. “That’s right. I have an important parcel to get home safe and sound.”

“I’m a parcel?” She laughed.

“A pretty parcel.” He lowered his face and winked at her.

Anna blushed as Jordan smirked before he stood to full height, glancing around the room, doing his job.

Even for Jordan, that was direct and flirty. Anna felt a little guilty for leading him on in reaction to Ben’s behavior. She needed to keep a professional line with her security team.

The music kicked up a beat, and she found herself tapping a foot and moving her hips. Brianna danced over and grabbed her hand. “Come dance with us, Anna,” she said. “I absolutely love this song.”

Behind her, Willow was already seductively dancing with her arms in the air. Anna grinned and put her drink down, joining them on the dance floor. Soon, Kurt, Marcus, and the other two women were there, along with Brayden, Lance, and Sofia.

And Ben.

But she was not looking at him.

Anna laughed when she saw Craig standing on the edge with his hands in his pockets. He was staring down at Bri, who was doing some sort of wiggly stripper routine to encourage him to join them.

And failing.

“Yeah, good luck with that,” Brayden called out. “I’ll give you a thousand dollars if he folds.”

Craig looked at the prince with a scowl, then back down at his mate, who had wide, hopeful eyes.

“Baby,” she mock begged, running her hands over his chest, but Craig shook his head. “Don’t you want a piece of this?” she asked, shimmying backward away from him.

“It’s not fucking quicksand, Bri. I’ll just pick you up and drag you home,” he growled.

They all laughed as Brianna spun on her heels, huffing, and joined everyone else again on the dance floor.

Anna giggled. She really loved being a part of this group. They were fun.

Brianna sidled up to her and whispered, “Call Jordan over.”

“Ah, why?”

“Just do it,” she whispered conspiratorially.

Anna shrugged and turned to find the male. Like he was trained to do, Jordan’s eyes immediately met hers. She did the eye and head movement thing, calling him over.

“Everything okay?”

“ Heyyyy, Jordan. Dance with us,” Brianna said, wiggling, before she stopped for a moment, turning to Brayden. “He can, right?”

The prince nodded, shaking his head at Brianna.

“What?” she asked, feigning innocence. Anna was confused but kept dancing.

Jordan grinned and put his glass of water on a nearby table. Anna was impressed when he began to move his hips. The male had moves. Brianna grabbed Jordan’s hand and demanded he spin her.

Oh boy.

Anna had finally realized what was happening here. Brianna was playing with fire, and Jordan was smack-dab in the middle of it.

“That’s it!” Craig boomed, storming over and picking Brianna up. He threw her over his shoulder. “I’m not fucking dancing, woman, and that’s final. Stop trying to get people killed.”

“Put me down.” She giggled, and the two of them disappeared into the crowd.

“Predictable.” Brayden laughed and shook his head.

“Jesus, my life just flashed before my eyes,” Jordan said, wiping his hand over his face. “Now, let’s try that again.”

He took Anna’s hand and spun her around. God, she missed dancing. She stepped closer and let Jordan move her around the floor. He really was a great dancer. Slowly, the other vampire couples moved off the dance floor, though it was still busy with humans.

Anna saw him just before his hand landed on Jordan’s shoulder. “Can I cut in here?”

“Sure, man,” Jordan replied, stepping aside. “I need to use the bathroom, so can you watch Anna?”

“Always,” Ben said, not taking his eyes off her.

When they were alone, she began to walk off. “I need to do the same.”

Ben followed.

“I’m fine. You don’t need to protect me,” she snapped.

“I want to talk to you,” he snapped back, grabbing her hand and forcing her to talk to him. “And I will always protect you. I can’t help it.”

“My body perhaps, but not my feelings,” she snarled, and immediately regretted it. She sounded childish, and she hated it.

Vampires didn’t expect any level of commitment unless it was discussed and agreed upon, so why was she behaving this way? They’d had sex once. She had no grounds to be upset with him. And yet, she was.

Upset and hurt.

Ben shook his head. He took her arm and moved them to the side of the room. “Anna, please listen. That was a setup,” he said, pointing over his shoulder to their group.

She needed to know this why?

“Well, I’m happy for you. They must like you if they are setting you up with their friends. I hope the evening ends well. Two-for-one deal, huh?” Anna replied sarcastically.

Ben groaned and leaned down closer. “Not that kind of setup. It was Sofia. She arranged for those females to be here when you arrived.”

Anna pulled back and looked at him like he was crazy. “You’re blaming Sofia? Are you kidding me right now?”

Anna was at a loss for words. She’d pegged him for a bit of a playboy, but not someone who would shirk responsibility for his actions.

When he just stared at her, Anna’s patience snapped. “Okay, so you are saying your sister forced you to get an erection?”

Ben stood straight. “Firstly, gross. Secondly, what are you talking about? I didn’t have an erection. I was talking to them, that was all.”

“Flirting.”

“Without an erection.”

“So, you admit you were flirting.”

“As much as you were with your toy soldier,” he growled.

My what?

Anna let out a huff. “Look, Ben, you are free to do whatever you want. We’re not mates or committed in any way. It was good—”

“Don’t you finish that sentence, Anna Vitale,” Ben growled, a warning in his voice. He gripped her shoulders. “It wasn’t good; it was fucking amazing.”

Her eyes darted away, knowing she couldn’t lie.

“Fine. It was. Look, I’m sorry; I just thought...”

Ugh.

There was no way she was going to open up and be vulnerable with this male. She had thought he was someone he wasn’t. Clearly, she didn’t know him at all.

She felt stupid and betrayed. By him and her common sense.

“Anna, I am not sleeping with those females. I have no intention of doing so, either. I want...”

“To fuck me again?” she finished with a raised eyebrow.

Ben stared at her.

“No. And yes,” he replied, his eyes full of heat.

Her body reacted. Damn traitor .

Beep, beep .

Ben’s phone. He began to pull it out of his pocket and turn away. With one eye on the phone and the other on her, he grabbed her wrist. “This is important. I have to make a call,” he said. She nodded. “Let me take you home, and we can talk.”

Anna pressed her lips together and glanced around the bar. Over at the table, the females were chatting to Kurt and Marcus, flirting away, not even looking Ben’s way. And he was here with her, fighting to convince her he was only interested in her.

Were those the actions of a male who didn’t want her?

Had it been a setup, as Ben had said?

“I do actually need to pee, so let me think about it. If I don’t come back to the table, then you know my answer is no.”

“I only want you, Anna. Not those females or any others, and that’s confusing as fuck,” he told her, cupping her face, and Anna found she couldn’t move away. “Plus, I want that dance.”

Ben’s lips lowered gently to hers, and warmth spread throughout her body. There was that damn feeling again. That safe feeling of home. Anna felt him move away, and her eyes opened.

“You look beautiful, by the way,” he said with fire and possession in his eyes.

Goddamn him.

“Go. I will wait for you to decide back at the table.”

Ben turned and gave her the space she’d asked for.

Well, shit.

Ben may be a powerful and dangerous male, but those were the actions of a good man. Was she wrong to trust him again?

Had Sofia invited those females and set Ben up? Why would she do that? Their conversation from yesterday came back to her.

“ It must be wonderful ,” she had said to Sofia

“ It is, and you will never question it ,” the female had answered.

Never question it.

The words didn’t sit well with her, but she couldn’t land on a reason why. They didn’t feel true. She’d seen endless mates go through all kinds of roller coasters as they found their way together.

Shaking her head, Anna placed a hand on her heart and watched Ben sit back at the table, casting his eyes her way. He lifted his glass to his lips, and she felt him on her own.

She wanted to feel more of him. She needed to feel his large body over hers again, filling her, tasting her.

God, she wanted this male so damn much it made her dizzy.

However, she did actually need to use the facilities, so Anna turned and made her way toward them. Following the signs, she turned the corner and suddenly froze.

The hallway which led to the bathrooms loomed darkly ahead of her. Oh no. The walls closed in on her, and the smoky light intensified. The sounds around her warped, and suddenly, she was back in that terrifying moment months earlier.

“Ben...” she whispered, trying to call out, but everything went black.