Chapter 9
Anais
It was strange to be packing for a cruise holiday that I wasn’t sure I wanted to go on while my friends did the same. They were excited, but I could tell there was a little anxiety as well.
We would be traveling with Leo, the Brethren still with us. My team had slowly gotten used to having him sleeping on our sofa, but we had needed to go about our normal lives, going out every night to kill whoever the academy deemed the largest threat to our way of life.
During that time, Leo had managed to confirm that some of the vampires he was hunting would be on this cruise.
It wasn’t his contact who had been able to discover it, that turned only finding out that the turned were growing more reckless in Greece and that the relic taken had never been documented anywhere before it was taken.
In the end, Leo had reached out to other Brethren to get the information he needed and had confirmation that there would be a lot of turned on this cruise.
We had also talked over who might have invited me on the cruise and how much danger I was actually in.
Leo had booked a suite, as always, and also a smaller cabin for Alan and Tess.
Naomi had agreed to share with me, and I was going to be a sort of bait with her there as backup. Of course, Leo planned to make sure I was safe no matter what, as well, but I knew that of the team I had, Naomi was the most capable as backup.
On the other hand, I felt guilty that she was going to be in a lot more danger than the other two simply because she was the one with me. I didn’t want that for her, but she knew the risks and she had insisted.
Leo had tried to suggest that maybe she should step back from her usual role of protector and he should just make sure to be with me the whole time, but Naomi had pointed out that me turning up with a vampire would draw far more attention and make it obvious I knew something was going on.
Turning up with a female friend was just normal levels of being safe as a woman invited to a strange place for an unknown reason.
In the end I had given in and let her stay with me.
And I had to admit, I was grateful that she wanted to.
Not being alone gave me some comfort. It also gave me a way of keeping Leo at bay a little.
I wasn’t going to deny that I had been tempted to give in to his advances over the last few days while we’d gathered information and prepared to go on the cruise.
“There, I think I’m done,” Naomi declared, coming into my room. She had left her suitcase just outside and came straight in. Without me having to ask, she began rolling up the last of my clothing and helping me to finish packing myself.
“Thank you,” I said. “For all of this. I know it’s a lot to ask.”
Naomi waved at me. “This is the easy part. And we all signed up to hunt vampires and stop them preying on humans. If this Brethren is going to help us do that, then even better.”
“He’s certainly very determined to protect his clan,” I replied.
“And very attracted to you. He seems to be very protective of you too. I kind of like that in a vampire. He does not want to see a hair harmed on your head. Alan and Tess have said the same thing. He’s come to each of us in turn.”
I stopped what I was doing and looked at her, opening my mouth to express my irritation that Leo was putting each of them in danger and check that he hadn’t intimidated any of them.
“Don’t worry,” Naomi continued, lifting her hand to stop my questions. “He was a perfect gentleman. Kept his distance and even let Tess hold him at crossbow point.”
“She thought that would help?” I asked, not sure if we could kill him that way or not.
Naomi shrugged. “Anyway, he thanked us for being here for you. For caring about you as much as he did and then he assured us that he would go to the same lengths to keep all of us safe as he does you. It was pretty sweet, actually.”
“We’re not in a relationship,” I replied, not sure what else to say to that. It was sweet, but it was also... very domineering of him.
As Naomi and I put the last of my belongings into my suitcase, she reached out and took my hand. “If you did want something with him, even if it’s just a fling, or to, I dunno, scratch an itch, you’ll get no judgment from us.”
I didn’t know what to say, not sure I wanted to act on my desires but equally touched that my team would be so understanding.
I couldn’t deny that it was tempting to give myself over to Leo again for a few days.
I had enjoyed it a lot the last time but I knew that it had left me feeling mildly addicted.
While I had recovered and still been able to walk away when I had wanted to, I knew that I was likely to be with him longer this time. And that would make it a lot harder. Still, he wasn’t a bad option to go with. He never would be.
By the time my suitcase and Naomi’s were by the front door and I’d checked I had everything else I needed, Leo was back from whatever errand he had been on and Tess was zipping up her case as well.
I didn’t know exactly where Alan was, other than he was in the apartment somewhere and getting ready to go, but none of us had expected to be waiting for him.
Thankfully we didn’t have to wait long. Hearing that the rest of us were ready to go, he came rushing out of the final, tiny bedroom in the apartment.
It had been more of a cupboard but just about big enough for us to put a bed in there and some storage so he could have a few belongings in there with him.
It was the only way to fit us all in one place that we could easily afford. Or that we thought we would be able to afford. In reality, we had ended up earning so much more we could get a bigger place, but to my surprise, everyone had said they wanted to stay where we were and save, especially Alan.
Before much longer, we were in a taxi and on our way to the airport. I sat next to Leo, with Naomi on my other side, and my leg kept brushing against his. It only made me want to reach out and slip my hand in his, but I managed to resist and keep to myself.
Leo paid for the taxi, insisting that he would have needed one anyway, and then when we got to the check-in, we found he had upgraded all of our tickets to business class.
“Damn, I could get used to this,” Naomi said when we were invited to go through security in the priority lane and then go relax at one of the lounges until boarding time.
I didn’t tell any of them that Leo had paid for this level of travel the last time I had flown with him as well, letting them enjoy the process and all the perks.
“If anyone wants a drink while we wait, they’re all on me,” Leo said, going up to the bar in the lounge to order for us. I hadn’t planned on having anything alcoholic, but my team didn’t need any encouraging, and while I waited with the hand luggage we had, they made sure to get me a drink as well.
By the time we got onto the plane, everyone had drunk a couple and I was sure I would sleep soundly on our way over the Atlantic. If Leo let me, anyway.
It didn’t take long for me to remember what had happened between us the last time we were on a flight together. He had teased me and had me pleasure him, making me so horny and frustrated that when he had finally brought me to orgasm I had been a needy mess.
Although I wasn’t planning on letting him do the same this time, I was sitting next to him across the middle of the plane, as I had been before. My team were all ahead of us, unable to see us unless they turned to look behind. I didn’t doubt that Leo had carefully planned for that.
It was a sign that these next few hours were going to be difficult to handle.
Leo hadn’t given up on trying to have a relationship of some kind with me.
While he wasn’t forcing me to do anything I didn’t want, he knew he was tempting me.
I couldn’t hide my arousal. And I couldn’t hide that I was considering something more.
At least while we were working together again.
Leo remained polite and considerate the whole time we were eating dinner and my team were settling in and making the best of the status he had paid for. They were soon all wearing headphones that blocked out noise, or fast asleep, waiting to arrive in our next country.
I lifted my headphones to watch a movie before getting some sleep as well, but Leo reached out and stopped me, his hand coming through the gap between us.
“What?” I asked. “Is there something wrong?”
He shook his head and put his finger to his lips to get me to be quiet. I lifted an eyebrow, wondering what he was up to now. I didn’t particularly want to be tricked or have him repeat the very frustrating teasing he had put me through the last time I was on a flight with him.
Neither of us had discussed whether we would pretend we were together or that I was a pet of his again.
I wanted to avoid that if I could, especially if I was invited onto this cruise by people who wanted to kill me.
We knew that the vampires Leandro was looking for were likely to be on this ship.
And his friend thought the relic might be with them.
It was the only lead we had and we were putting me in danger to find out if they were the same group, or possibly another with the same bad intentions.
In many ways, there was no point in us pretending we were together.
But if they were two separate groups, appearing to be together would allow me to help him.
I leaned in closer to him so I could whisper. “Do you want to discuss a plan?”
He shook his head and then fixed his gaze on me. It was intense.
Gulping, I tried to think of something else to say.
No words would come out of my mouth. All I could think of was the last time we were on a plane.
He had decided the flight would be a good time to get me used to being intimate with him when others might be able to see, and he had made sure he enjoyed it while I grew more and more frustrated.