CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

“ A ll I’m saying is you could have been quieter.”

Ben shot Oliver a really dude look and returned his eyes to the building across from them. He really wished he’d hurry up and finish with the windup. It only served to remind him of the delicious moments he’d spent with Anna in his arms.

As if he was going to forget in a hurry.

All that creamy, beautiful skin, her beautiful blue eyes staring back at him, glossy with need and pleasure. The way she had reacted to his touch, his mouth, his cock. It had been different to their first, rushed time. Laid open to him, he’d been able to savor the taste of her, ensure she was pleasured, and then sink deep inside all that heat and moisture.

It had felt like heaven: her arms immobilized so he could take what he wanted, her pussy wet and filled with him. The things he’d wanted to do, but there had not been enough time.

It felt as if there would never be enough time with Anna.

Then he’d rubbed on her clit and told her to come. She had been so responsive. Tightening around him, her cries had set off his orgasm. God, she had been loud, though.

He grinned.

“Dude, you are well and truly fucked.” Oliver laughed.

They both had been.

And God he hoped they got another chance.

Tonight, it was essential he and Oliver got inside the residence of the pharma executive and got the information they needed. Then Ari just had to give them the green light to destroy the bastard so he could return to Anna.

Perhaps he’d take some leave and make sure she was settled.

He snorted quietly to himself. As if assassins got holiday leave. As if vampires flew to the Bahamas for a tropical holiday. As if Ari would say yes if any of those things were possible.

Ben twisted the dial on his rifle and sat up.

“Focus on the job, Oli, or you’ll get us shot,” Ben said, frowning.

“Chill, brother. We’re fine.”

Oliver was right. None of them had made them. They had their plans and would be inside the property in the next ten minutes.

The thing .... something was nagging in the back of his mind which wouldn’t budge.

It was true he didn’t know his sister well. Anymore, at least. They had spent seventy years apart, and both had changed. Still. He’d expected a lot more panic and basic craziness from Sofia when Anna had called her.

Then there was the ease with which he and Oliver had gotten out of the castle. With Anna. Since the moment Oli had entered his cell—or rather, makeshift cell—a few things had been bugging him. He’d let it fly because, well, he’d been more focused on sinking deep into Anna, if he was being honest with himself.

But he hadn’t ignored it. No; instead, in the back of his mind, Ben had been running a program over and over, assessing the facts. And if he was right, they had an issue.

If he was right, they were being followed.

If he was right, the Moretti’s knew where he lived.

And if both those two things were true, he and Oliver were expected to abort the mission and get the fuck out of Vegas. Or rather, Rome.

Which meant leaving Anna.

So abso-fucking-lutely not.

It was why he hadn’t said anything to Oli.

The question now was, why hadn’t Oliver said anything to him?

Oliver was a professional. He would have suspected it the moment he got into the Moretti property. They had worked together way too long for Ben to think he’d overlooked such a red flag. Oliver would never put either of them, or the job, in jeopardy.

So why hadn’t he spoken up?

Ben dropped his weapon and took a step back into the shadows of the room they were in, crossing his arms.

Oliver turned, narrowed his eyes at him for a short moment, and then looked back out at their target. A minute later, he dropped his own weapon, stood, and stepped into the shadows with Ben.

“Welcome back to the living, my friend.”

The corners of Ben’s mouth dropped into a frown.

“I didn’t go anywhere, asshole,” he said, unfolding his arms and dropping them to his hips. “So, what do we have?”

Oli briefly turned to look out the window.

“Three Moretti soldiers to our ten o’clock, one of them the commander, I suspect,” he answered. “They’ve been watching us for days.”

Ben cursed.

“You didn’t think to tell me?” he demanded, more than a little pissed off with himself for not spotting it. “Jesus, Oli.”

He didn’t need him to answer. He knew what Oli was going to say.

“You wouldn’t have listened. If she’s your mate, you would’ve disappeared without understanding her medical condition; it was safer for Anna. Everyone was staying in their places, so I just monitored the situation,” Oliver replied.

My mate, he scoffed. Okay, so that wasn’t what he thought he was going to say.

Ben shook his head.

“And then I thought they had left, their only concern Anna’s safety.” Oliver frowned, rubbing his face. “I would never have led them here, obviously, but yeah, they are back. They’re good. Better than good.”

“Yeah, they are,” Ben confirmed with a dry laugh. “But hello, you said we were fine .”

“Okay, Romeo, settle down,” Oli shot back. “They don’t seem to be interested in intercepting us. All they’ve done is observe.”

“Of course they have. They’re trying to find out who we work for,” Ben replied.

“Or they want Anna back.”

Anna.

Shit.

Ben pulled out his phone.

Hey gorgeous. All good back at the ranch?

Ranch?

Right. She was Italian.

Apartment. Ranch. House. Homestead. Castle. Never mind, just checking on you.

I didn’t run away...

Well, with moves like mine, why would you. *wink*

... typing...

What the hell?

Ben had just fucked her to heaven and back and Anna was thinking on it?

Probably typing and deleting. Lost for words. That was it.

Come back safe okay.

Oh, he damn well hoped he would...so he could try some more of his moves on her. He smiled, feeling slightly foolish for his initial reaction.

Still, that comment. Was she worried about him? A warmth spread across his broad chest, and he rubbed one of his pecs.

You bet. I want more of those lips.

He wanted more of everything, but now that he knew Anna was safe in his apartment, it was time to get back to work. Ben dropped his phone back inside his pocket and zipped it up.

He’d noticed the shadows crossing Anna’s eyes when they’d been lying together earlier.

The blue globes had been glossy with fulfilled pleasure after they’d finished. He had followed his finger from her pussy, up her stomach, between her pretty breasts, over her lips, and then his eyes had landed on hers. They’d closed, and she’d taken his finger and kissed it, curling into his chest.

Ben had held her, running his hand down her back and over her soft bottom, part of him wanting more of her, another part wanting to ask where she had disappeared to. Yet he’d felt he had no right, despite the roaring in his head demanding to know the answer.

He hated not knowing if it was because of him, the labs and those fucking monsters, or something else he would fix if only she would tell him.

Worse, Ben knew that at the end of the day, he would be leaving her with his sister and all the males in the castle. One of whom would one day hold her in his arms and be the male to fix everything.

The fury rose, but he pushed it down. Tonight, she was his. Tonight was his night. Tonight, he would right the biggest wrong ever done to her.

And he would walk away knowing Anna was safe and free to live her life. To thrive, to love and dance.

Even if it was without him.

“So, do we adjust our plan?”

“Let me dial in on their location,” Oliver replied, stepping back to his lookout spot and leaning down to the telescope of his rifle. A minute later, he rose, gave Ben the exact coordinates, and they packed up their weapons. They had smaller ones they’d be taking in to greet Tomassi. In any case, they were vampires, and weapons were more for show than anything else in a human world.

“Let’s rock and roll,” Ben said, and they made their way across the road to meet Xander Tomassi.

SIXTY YARDS DOWN THE road, Kurt turned from the window and grinned at Craig. “We have lift-off.”

“We really need to work on your lines,” Craig told him, shaking his head and walking to stand beside him. “Where are they?”

There were a few moments silence before Marcus, who was on the other side of Kurt, spoke. “Down there. Coming out of the main entrance.”

Craig spotted Ben pulling down his balaclava and knew it was go time.

“Let’s go, boys.”

“What he means is Geronimo! ” Kurt exclaimed.

“No. I don’t,” Craig denied.

“Can you not stop him?” Marcus asked as they tossed their bottles into a dumpster and headed out the door single file.

Craig smirked. “I mean, I could, but we’d be one vamp down.”

“Fucking tempting,” Marcus muttered.

It had been a long few days watching Ben and his sidekick, and they were all going a little stir-crazy. Brianna was already losing her well-honed patience, despite being busy with her new job. She wanted him home. And not just him, but Anna too.

The females, despite his insistence that Anna was safe with Ben, were worried about their new friend. Damn, those females were fiercely loyal and protective of their own. And he fucking loved them all for it.

Especially his fiery mate.

Anna was special, not just because of what she’d been through in the labs but because there was something unique about her. She had an essence that was like a big supernova. Childlike in her innocence, but they knew Anna had been through a lot in her short life.

Then Sofia had shared that her parents had all but abandoned her, unable to deal with what had happened. They had already been broken after losing their first child, but this had undone them. Craig got it. Not everyone had the tools to deal with life’s shit, but fuck, he was angry.

Anna was still standing, asking nothing of them, and they had packed up and left town. Bunch of cunts.

So, yeah, none of them were going to let Anna get hurt without a fight.

Craig had a strong suspicion the warrior making his way across the street had no intention of hurting Anna, but he was arrogant enough not to see what was right in front of him. A very delicate but strong flower.

Jesus, he was turning into a damn poet.