Page 57 of Dimitri

“Caspian shouldn’t be awake. Unless he’s adjusted his schedule to accommodate ours?”

“My mate is very much asleep. But yes, I was thinking about him. About the morning before we left three days ago.”

Benjamin held up his hands and shook his head. “I do not need to hear about your sex life with my cousin.”

I snorted. “Nyet. We were not doing that.” I sighed. I would have loved to make love to my mate, but he wasn’t feeling up for it. I would never pressure him for such things, and it was almost as if my body was completely in sync with his because, despite being newly mated, I didn’t feel the need to connect with him in that way. I was more than content to cuddle him, which was exactly what we’d done that morning until I had to leave.

“Sure you weren’t,” Briggs said, coming up behind us.

I glared at the wolf shifter, who didn’t realize Raiden was walking up behind him. When the gargoyle whacked Briggs on the back of the shoulder, Briggs turned and glared at him.

“His mate is pregnant. Most likely, he’s not doing anything like you’re thinking at the moment.”

Briggs turned and looked at me, a sad look on his face. “Seriously? I thought that if I finally found my mate, I’d finally be able to have sex frequently.”

“You can,” Raiden said. “When your mate is willing. But one thing to remember is when they are pregnant, and especially if they’re experiencing pregnancy sickness, the last thing they are going to want to do is have sex.” Raiden pointed in my direction. “Caspian has been really sick and spends a lot of his time sleeping still.”

Briggs turned back my way, and when I nodded at him, his shoulders fell. “Well, that’s just sad. Why would I want to find my mate, then? If I have someone who is tempting, but I can’t have sex, why?”

I rolled my eyes and walked away to the sounds of Raiden and Benjamin trying to explain the realities of finding your fated mate and how things actually work. Sure, sex with them was beyond any that you had ever experienced before, but that didn’t mean you got an endless supply of it. Did I love it? Absolutely,but I loved Caspian more. His pleasure, health, and happiness were all that mattered to me and my dragon. We needed to know he was well taken care of, and in order to do that at the moment, that meant Caspian got plenty of rest and lots of smaller meals.

“Marcello just messaged me. He wants to meet at the café,” Benjamin said.

“I don’t like him,” Briggs said. “He’s too eager to help, and I believe Master Ambrosius when he says don’t trust them.”

“We don’t,” Benjamin said. “At least not fully. Vincent has a desire for the Gallo cousins to be out of his territory and keep the attention of the council away from him and his coven.” Benjamin checked his phone again. “Why don’t you and Raiden meet up with Damien’s and Sebastian’s teams? We’ll be turning things over to them in another two days, and they just arrived and need to be caught up.”

“Perfect,” Briggs said. “I have worked closely with vampires for a while now, and it wasn’t until I came here that I actually ever felt like I was unsafe and on the menu.”

I chuckled at that; I couldn’t help myself.

“Unless you want to go with me, Raiden?”

“No, I’m good with sticking to here at the hotel.”

Benjamin looked at me. “Do you want to go with? Or should I take Damien?”

“I will go. Marcello does not bother me.” I actually found the vampire somewhat amusing. He was incredibly serious about his job and what he did for his “family,” and that I could understand and appreciate. Even if he was mafia and not to be trusted. The distraction would be good for me anyway. I was still waiting for Caspian to wake for the day and reach out and tell me good morning. That had been, by far, one of the highlights of my assignment. I didn’t mind being on assignment here, and my team had been amazing. Well, Benjamin and Raiden had. Briggs was still Briggs. He wasn’t mated and didn’t quite understandthe ins and outs of being mated yet. Perhaps sometime soon, he would find his mate and would fully understand.

“Then we should probably head that way,” Benjamin said.

I got up and waved to Raiden and Briggs where they were still sitting. We were in the outer room of the hotel suite we were in. The council had procured two, and we were simply using them in rotation.

“Don’t forget to go meet up with Damien’s team. They need to know what has been happening since our last communication with the council,” Benjamin called out as we reached the door. I didn’t even stop; I simply opened it and walked through. I was curious about what we might find out when we reached Marcello, but I would know soon enough.

“How are you holding up? You’ve been quiet.”

I looked at Benjamin. “When am I not quiet?”

“True.” He turned to where he was facing me as we waited on the elevator. “Still, how are you doing? I know it was difficult at times for me when I first had to leave Eli behind. Then, when I had to leave him and the twins, it was even more so.”

I nodded. “I can understand that. I am doing well though.” The elevator arrived, and when it chimed and the door opened, we were suddenly looking at a familiar face.

“Fancy meeting you here.”

We all grinned.

“Damien,” Benjamin said. “Shouldn’t you be in your suite?”

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