Page 49 of Delicious Prey

I laugh and give her another kiss. “Deal.”

She stays in my lap while I watch the camera feed on one computer monitor and read some files on Ivan’s new bodyguards on another. They’re all well trained, but I expected nothing less. None of them standout as being more than Vadim and I can handle, though. When peanut comes in wanting his supper, she gives me a kiss on the cheek before getting up to take care of him. I smile when I hear a drawer opening in the kitchen and the sound of her grabbing some licorice from the bag.

I spend the next hour going over the layout of the house and property to fully refresh my memory and then plan out exactly what I’m going to do, and when I feel confident that every detail is memorized and ingrained in my mind, I get up and stretch, rolling out the tension in my neck and shoulders before walking into the kitchen to start supper. Lydia and Peanut are on the couch watching a comedy, and when I start getting what I need for supper, she starts to get up to help.

“Keep watching, baby. I’ve got this.”

She smiles and blows me a kiss. I give her a wink and start cooking. When it’s done, I bring her a plate and sit down next to her. After we’ve eaten and the movie is over, I set an alarm on my phone and pull her into my lap as I lay back and rest my feet on the leather ottoman. I didn’t get much sleep last night, and it’s catching up to me. I can’t afford to make any stupid mistakes tonight, so I’m forcing myself to take a nap. Lydia yawns and grabs the blanket she’d been using earlier, draping it over us and resting her head against my shoulder. I wrap my arms around her and kiss her head.

Her breathing evens out, and the soft, steady breaths quickly lull me to sleep. The next thing I know my alarm is beeping and it’s time for me to start getting ready. Her body stirs at the sound of my alarm, and she gives a soft moan at the intrusion. I turn it off and gently scoot out from under her, letting her sleep some more. I pull the blanket up and kiss her cheek before going upstairs. Taking a quick shower to help fully wake myself up, I go over the plan again in my head. I’m still mentally reviewing everything as I dress in black tactical gear, and when I start to grab my weapons, Lydia walks in and wraps her arms around me from behind.

“Morning, little bunny,” I say with a smile, reaching around to pull her in front of me so I can hug her back.

“It’s close to midnight.”

“True enough, but I’m guessing you’re going to be up all night worrying about me.”

“Maybe,” she admits. Resting her chin on my chest, she looks up at me. “Are you sure you have to do this? We could just run.”

I brush back a strand of her dark hair and shake my head. “I won’t put you in danger like that. If there’s a hit on me, we will never get a moment of peace. I’ll be hunted no matter where we go.” I slide my hand between us and splay my hand over her lower stomach. “We can’t bring a child into a life as dangerous as that.”

“A baby?”

I laugh at her wide-eyed expression. “It’s only a matter of time, sweetheart, if it hasn’t happened already. I can’t wait to see you pregnant.”

She looks at me like she thinks I’m joking but isn’t quite sure, but when she feels my cock start to grow, she realizes just how serious I am. With a groan, I force the image of her naked, pregnant body from my mind so I can focus on work. Leaning down, I kiss her slowly, savoring the taste of her, and only pulling back when I know it’s either that or fuck her in the closet and risk being late. I can’t do that, not when there’s so much riding on this plan.

“We’ll finish this later, little bunny.”

She nods and steps back while I sheathe knives on my forearm, waist, and one by my ankle. I put a gun against the small of my back and another one in the shoulder holster I’m wearing along with extra clips in the pockets of my black cargo pants. Excessive? Maybe, but better to have too much than not enough. The last thing I do is grab an earpiece with a mic so I can communicate with Vadim.

“Damn, you don’t mess around,” she whispers, running her eyes over me.

“No, sweetheart, I don’t.” I cup her face and kiss between her eyebrows where she’s furrowed the skin in worry. “Stop looking so scared. I’m actually pretty damn good at my job.”

“I know you are,” she whispers. Locking her blue eyes on mine, she says, “Promise me you’ll come back.”

It’s a dumb promise to make, but I can’t deny her. I’d promise her anything. “I’ll be back, zaika. I promise. I will always find my way back to you.”

She lets out a soft sigh, taking comfort in my vow and wraps her arms around me when I pick her up and carry her back downstairs. I bring her into my office and sign back into my computer so she’ll be able to see everything. On the other monitor, I pull up my own security cameras, zooming in on the one that shows the garage and driveway so she’ll be able to watch me leave and return.

“Thank you,” she whispers by my ear before kissing it.

“Try not to worry, baby. I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

She kisses a line along my cheek before finding my lips. Her tongue delves inside, and even though I know it means I’ll be walking out of here hard and miserable, I can’t resist cupping the back of her head and deepening the kiss. She opens wider for me, giving me what I need, and when I give her tongue a suck and she moans and starts to rock her hips, I know it’s time for me to set her down. With a groan, I pull away and lower her into my office chair.

“I need to go, zaika. Stay inside and keep your phone close.”

She nods and tries to hide how worried she is. I smile and give her one last quick kiss before whistling for Peanut. He comes barreling in, and as soon as he’s close enough, I scoop him up and put him in Lydia’s arms. Giving her a wink, I turn to leave, forcing myself to put all my focus on what’s about to happen and not on the woman who I’m dangerously in love with.

I lock the door behind me, and before I get into my Porsche, I look up at the security camera and give her a wave goodbye. I know she’s safe. Between the security at the house and the four well-trained, lethal dogs, she’s as safe as she can get. Knowing that doesn’t make it any easier to drive away, though. I speed down the road, being careful to not go too fast and draw attention to myself, and slowing down even more when I hit downtown.

“You hear me?” I ask when I’m almost there.

Vadim’s voice is immediately in my ear. “Yeah, loud and clear. Everything’s quiet where I’m at. Looks good.”

I park a couple streets over and get out, slipping into the darkness of a side street and making my way to the back of Ivan’s property. Vadim is already in position on the right side of the house, no doubt perfectly camouflaged and invisible to the naked eye. They won’t know he’s there until he starts firing, and even then the suppressor he’s using will distort the sound enough to make it difficult for anyone to pinpoint his exact location.

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