CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

F uck.

You damn stupid idiot.

Berating himself wasn’t helping, but it felt good.

What had he been thinking?

Oliver had been right. The asshole was going to be back soon and would love rubbing it in. If it wasn’t such a serious situation, Ben would be grinning right now. But there was nothing funny about this at all.

Anna claimed Ben had kidnapped her. As uncomfortable as that had been for him to hear, she was also right. Of all the things he could have done to a survivor of the lab experiments who’d been kidnapped ...Jesus. The last thing he wanted was for Anna to feel unsafe. Especially around him.

Fuck.

Ben only wanted to protect her. Seek revenge for her. And he damn well would—any day now, assuming Ari gave the call.

If he didn’t?

He’d deal with it if that happened.

Ben let out a sigh.

He knew he’d crossed the line, and yet, he hadn’t been able to stop himself. Never in the nearly seventy years he’d been with the Institute had anything swayed him from his commitment to Ari Moretti. It was as if meeting Anna had rewired his brain. His focus had shifted, and he was fighting an instinctive need to make her his priority, which made absolutely no sense.

He needed to refocus and get clarity on why he was in Rome.

Tomassi.

The good news was, the enemy was the same. The why of what he was doing was what had been altered. For some damn reason, despite decades of loyalty to The Institute, Ben couldn’t ignore the desire within him to avenge Anna.

He’d figure out how he would walk away from the sexy blonde who had gotten under his skin later.

Ben heard her enter the room while his head was inside the fridge, pulling out ingredients to make her a sandwich. He hoped she liked salami. When he nudged the door closed, he forced himself not to freeze and stare.

Fuck, she was beautiful.

How she made a pair of distressed jeans and what looked like a three-hundred-year-old black T-shirt, likely the latest fashion, look stylish and hot, he’d never know. But she did, and he wanted to untuck the thing and pull it off her.

“Hey,” she said, sitting on one of the barstools.

“Salami?” he offered, holding up the roll, and she nodded.

“Where’s my phone?” she asked.

“I don’t know. It wasn’t in your room when...when...yeah, so I can get you another one,” he replied, finishing the sandwich and putting it on a plate in front of her. “Eat, and I’ll go grab one.”

“From a store?”

“No, I have...” Okay, so having a stock of cell phones wasn’t normal and would take some explaining. Then again, how much was he going to be able to hide from Anna while she was there? As much as damn possible, was the honest answer. He really hated lying to her, which was strange because lying was part of the job and something he’d been trained to do. “Oliver is getting you one. Use mine for now.”

Ben pulled out his phone, which they wouldn’t be able to trace, and located Sofia’s number.

Anna finished chewing and took the device from him.

He gripped both the phone and her hand.

“Rule one, do not tell her where you are,” Ben said, and when Anna went to speak, he continued, “Which, right, you don’t know yet. Rule two, tell her you are safe and happy to stay with me but will come home soon.”

“Are all those things true, Ben?”

He gritted his teeth, hating that she didn’t trust him but knowing he’d brought this on himself. “Yes, Anna. I will ensure you are back at the castle once I have eliminated any threat to you, or wherever you want to go. For now, you are safe with me.”

“And I’m not with the Moretti’s?”

Christ.

He stepped into her space and took her face in his hands. “God, woman, can you please just let me fucking protect you? This is what I do. I can’t explain it.”

Her mouth formed a little O , and his thumb began to run over it. Anna swallowed. Ben stepped away.

“Okay,” she answered quietly.

Ben pressed the green button, and it began to ring. He put the phone in speaker and handed it to Anna, stepping back into the kitchen to clear the dishes.

“ Ben! Dove diavolo sei?! ” Sofia shouted, asking where he was angrily.

Anna cringed, glancing at him. “Sofia, it’s me, Anna!”

“Anna! Mio Dio! ” she cried more. “Are you alright? Where are you? Are you with Ben? Where has he taken you? What is going on?”

Anna cringed some more and stood, walking into the open-plan living room. “I am okay. I am here with Ben, and he’s...” She glanced at him. “Protecting me. Looking after me.”

“When did you wake up?” Sofia asked, calming down slightly.

“A few hours ago,” Anna replied. “I’m feeling fine. Some blood and food, and I feel nearly normal again. A bit tired.”

“Good, good,” Sofia said, and Ben could almost hear the wheels turning in her head. “Where are you? I will come and get you. Ben is wanted by the Moretti’s. You need to tell me where you are.”

Anna’s eyebrows shot to the top of her head as she turned to him, her mouth dropping open. She mouthed at him, You are wanted by the king?

Right. He’d forgotten to mention that.

Ben nodded slowly. I can explain.

Anna raised an eyebrow. He circled a finger in the air, all wrap it up.

“Surely there’s been a misunderstanding,” Anna said.

No, there hadn’t, but he couldn’t explain that to her right now.

“I’m going to stay with Ben for a few days, and then I’ll be home.”

“No!” Sofia rebutted. “He attacked the commander, then he escaped. You must tell my brother to hand himself in.”

You attacked Craig?

Ben shrugged, and smirked. He couldn’t help it.

Anna shook her head. “I will tell him and try my best, but you know how stubborn he is,” Anna replied. “I have to go, Sofia. I will be home soon. If it’s okay?”

“Of course it is. We want you home now.”

Ben was surprised at Anna’s question. She didn’t believe she could return. He listened as they wrapped up their phone call. And in three, two, one...

“You are wanted by the king’s army! And you forgot to mention that?” Anna growled. “Are you out of your goddamn mind?”

It was starting to look like that.

Ben sat on one of the barstools and rested an elbow on the counter behind him. “Yeah, I think I might be,” he said, lifting a corner of his mouth. “Look, it’s a long story, but it’ll be fine. I’ll straighten it out before I leave Italy.”

“Right.”

Anna glanced away, and there was a shared sense of disappointment that, soon, they would never see each other again.

On my way up, dude.

Oliver was returning.

“Anna, you can have my bedroom. I will sleep out here,” Ben said, wrapping things up before they were no longer alone. “Oliver is on his way back. As I said, you can trust him. He is my best friend and colleague. We work together...in the United States.”

He had to be careful not to say too much because the Moretti’s would interrogate her when he eventually returned her. A plan he had to stick to. What other choice was there?

And why the fuck was he even considering anything else...

“How long will this take? This revenge path you’re undertaking for me?”

“Eager to see the back of me?” he asked abruptly, and immediately regretted the unmistakable jealous note that accompanied it.

“No,” Anna said, shaking her head, frowning. “Don’t be silly. You know how I feel about you? Or did. Or, you know, it’s just—”

Ben knew they had a matter of seconds left, but he cupped the side of her face and asked, “Did? Just what?”

“I don’t know who to trust anymore,” she replied, her eyes lowering, and it damn near tore his heart in half.

The door opened, interrupting them.

“Well, hello, kids, what have I missed?” Oliver greeted, joyful as fuck.

Ben closed his eyes for a quick moment, then opened them to find Anna staring at him. He dropped his hand and turned to face his friend.

“Anna, this is Oli. Oliver,” he introduced, placing a hand on her back. “Friend, colleague, and general pain in my ass.”

Oliver grinned and did a sweeping and dramatic bow. “Pleased to meet you, milady.”

Anna giggled.

Ben frowned. The fuck.

“I hope Ben hasn’t been boring you to tears. Especially since he basically kidnapped you.”

“Right?!” Anna exclaimed while he growled, “The fuck, Oli?”

With a beer now in his hand, Oliver sank into an armchair and lifted the bottle. “So, how do we get out of this goddamn mess?”

Ben groaned.

HE GLANCED AT THE WATCH on his wrist. 1:00 p.m. How was it still the middle of the fucking day? Ben flung his arm over his eyes and tried to get comfortable on the sofa. He’d slept in far worse places in his life, so using the piece of furniture as an excuse was pitiful.

It more likely had to do with the semihard cock in his boxers which wouldn’t go down. Courtesy of one Anna Vitale, who had decided she needed a glass of water to take to bed and had danced out of the bedroom with a bunch of sorry, sorry, sorrys, wearing nothing but a tiny nightgown.

He’d waited until she had closed the door before he’d groaned and shoved his cock down. An action which had been about as successful as his short career with the Moretti royal family.

Groan.

Damn, he was messing up.

Ben wasn’t a vampire who went off script. It was why he was Ari’s number one assassin. It was why he was here in Rome. Eventually, he’d have to let the Director know what was going on—and he would. But first, he wanted to see how things played out tonight when they gave a little visit to Xander Tomassi. The human was lucky Oliver would be with him, as Ben was likely to rip the fucker’s head off when he started thinking of all the suffering Anna had endured in the labs.

It was lucky for all of them, because unless he had a damn good reason for it, Ben could be out of a job for acting outside orders. It wasn’t that Ari was an asshole, but like any group of warriors, there was a structure they had to follow.

An order was an order, and Ari was their captain.

He heard her little footsteps first.

Ben turned his head slowly.

The door handle twisted, and Anna opened the door quietly.

He closed his eyes.

What was she up to? She knew that he would hear her if he was awake.

Fighting every single instinct he had to see if she was okay, Ben lay there with his eyes closed and tracked her steps. Over to him.

Anna stopped and was standing beside him.

Shit.

What should he do?

He felt her crouch down and get close to his face. God, he almost smiled. She sat her bottom on the edge of the sofa and gently lay down beside him.

Ben swallowed the slowest swallow in the history of all swallows.

Trusting his instincts, he lifted his arm and wrapped it around her, pulling her up against him. He moaned sleepily into her hair and felt his chest swell when she wiggled into him. He listened to her sigh, and moments later, she was asleep.

Well, fuck.

It wasn’t for another four hours, when his alarm went off, that Ben realized he’d done the same thing. And slept better than he had in a long time.

His. Right now, Anna was his.

Moments before, she had woken up and slid away stealthily. Ben had let her, smiling to himself.

He stood up and stretched his arms above his body. He could hear Anna in the shower, and nothing from Oliver’s end of the apartment, so he stepped into his bedroom to gather the things he would need for tonight’s job.

Black cargo pants. Black T-shirt. Black jacket. Black socks. Black boots. He placed the pile of clothes on the bed, adding one beanie in, you guessed it, black.

The door to the bathroom clicked open.

“Oh,” Anna exclaimed, and when he turned, she froze on the spot.

There she stood in a towel, and only a towel. Well, technically, two towels, as one was piled on top of her head in the way only girls seemed to be able to do.

She looked ready to close the door on him, which sent a rush of irritation through his body. The same female who had tucked her tush into his damn-hard cock was now acting shy. No way. Anna was trying to keep away from him; at least when he was awake.

No fucking way. She was his. For now.

He’d see how long she could play this game. Because Ben was certain about one thing: Anna desired him.

“Stop,” he commanded and walked the few steps across the room, pushing closed the bedroom door as he did.

Anna’s eyes widened.

He stood facing her, breathing in the vanilla bodywash she’d used, and a little smile landed on his lips.

Yeah, she wanted him.

When her lips began to part, Ben placed his hands on her hips, lifted her, and placed her on the carpeted floor in the bedroom. Then he stepped inside the bathroom.

“I’ll take my shower now,” he said, winking.

He closed the door on her fish-mouthing lips and grinned.