Let the world know Leona Vero belonged to us.
Ever so slightly, Leona poked my ribs, and I bit back a laugh.
“We’ll be in touch, Kofler,” Leona said. We turned and walked out of the warehouse like the fucking kings and queen we were. Obi and I still kept a vigilant eye to make sure we didn’t get ambushed or attacked. Fortunately, Kofler didn’t change his mind, and we made it back to the G-Wagon with no other issues.
A breathwhooshedout of her the moment the doors closed, and Obi started the vehicle.
“We did it,” she said with a grin. Her fingers flew across her phone screen and mine dinged with a text shortly after. She’d sent a message to our group chat, notifying them that our meeting with Kofler was successful. “That went much better than expected.”
“Look at you, out here making thirty-million-dollar deals.” I laughed. She was right, though.
“What, like it’s hard?” she joked, but her face flushed pink with pride.
I matched her smile and so did Obi in the driver’s seat, but I couldn’t wait anymore.
I pounced on her, sealing my lips to hers. She squeaked before melting against me and threading her hands through my hair. I groaned when her lips parted and her tongue darted into my mouth.
I barely registered the SUV moving, but I could feel Obi’s eyes on us in the mirror.
Exactly. Watch, Obi. Let’s fray that control. Let’s make you snap.
“Come on, sweetheart,” I murmured while my hands snuck under her jacket. I peeled it down over her shoulders. “Let’s mess up these leather seats. I’ve been waiting all day.”
“Yeah, you’re so patient,” she breathed while I sucked on her neck.
“I’ve beenremarkablypatient. But business is done for the night, and now it’s time to play.”
She giggled, then cupped my face in her palms and made me separate from her delicious skin. “What do you have in mind?”
I pushed her shirt up and licked from her navel to her bra. “Obi, take us back to the hotel. Now.”
21
CASPIAN
Half of me was missing.
Not having her here, within reach, was unnatural. Against my nature. We’d been glued to one another’s side for years. I’d spent almost every waking second thinking about her, planning for her, trying to get back to her.
The only time we’d been separated for so long in the eight years since I’d been her bodyguard was when Max had captured me, but she was even farther away now, and I felt no better.
She was on the other side of the country,on purpose.
Fuck. I couldn’t fucking concentrate.
I could barely think without worrying whether their meeting was going well, without counting down the hours until they were supposed to be back.
“You need to focus,” Wynn said as we pulled up to the coffee shop where Giulio had agreed to meet so late at night. It hadn’t been difficult to get in touch with him, especially with Ciel’s help. We had no reason to believe he’d snitched on us, but the possibility was there. And I still couldn’t fucking concentrate.
“I fucking know that,” I snapped, glancing at Wynn before quickly looking away. “Sorry. I’ll be fine.”
The Shadow and I had found some sort of companionship. By far, he was the one I felt most okay with—probably because he’d done exactly what I asked of him, and he kept Leona safe. I respected him. Much more than I respected Ryuji, the dickwad.
We were in neutral Russian territory, in full view of Ciel’s security cameras. Giulio had agreed to meet us here if we could swear nobody would know, which made me think he had his own reasons for keeping the meeting a secret. Ciel would make sure no eyes but ours were on this meeting.
Wynn sighed, glancing at his phone. A muscle feathered in his jaw. “This is torture.”
He wasn’t talking about the meeting. “You’re telling me.”