Page 24 of Benjamin and the Thief

“What will happen?”

“His cock won’t give it a rest…” he explained. “And he’ll have to punish you for making him want to beg you for more of it.”

His words filled her with a new sense of power and satisfaction.

“Why do I think that what you’re planning isn’t gonna feel like punishment?” she teased.

“That’s because you’re a very naughty girl who loves punishment,” he said and slanted his lips over hers, preventing her from replying.

She welcomed his kiss. Was Benjamin a sign that the bad luck that had plagued her and her brother was coming to an end? Was this finally a glimpse of hope for a little happiness in her life?

12

Benjamin awoke with a hunger for blood he knew he wouldn’t be able to hide for long. He should have stopped at his flat or at the office after leaving the Preston party and gotten some bottled blood. But he hadn’t thought that far ahead, not really expecting that he would spend the night with Catalina. They’d made love twice, and for the rest of the night, he’d held her in his arms, waking several times, instinctively making sure that she was still there.

She was still in his arms now, unaware of what he’d almost done last night. When they’d made love and she’d rubbed the spot where he’d previously bitten her, he’d realized that her body remembered his bite, even though she didn’t. He’d tried to resist by simply licking her skin, but his fangs had descended and scraped over her flesh. He’d smelled her blood under the surface, but just then, she’d climaxed, igniting his own orgasm. He was grateful for it, because he wouldn’t have been able to resist the lure of her blood a second longer and would have driven his fangs into her.

The thought made his already stiff cock even harder. But if he made love to her now, he would most certainly bite her, and this time, she might become aware of it. To escape the temptation, he got out of bed and headed for the bathroom to take a shower. By the time he was done, he heard sounds from the other room. Catalina was awake.

He left the bathroom and entered the living room. Catalina had pulled her sweatshirt over her torso, depriving him of her naked beauty. Maybe it was better that way.

“Good morning,” he murmured and pulled her into his arms, fully aware that his cock was hardening again.

“Good morning,” she replied, sliding her hands onto his ass.

Her warm hands felt like silk on his skin.

“Not fair,” he murmured into her ear. “We’ve got things to do this morning. You’d better shower and get dressed.”

She peeled herself out of his arms. “What are we doing?”

“Visiting your brother in prison.”

Her eyes widened in surprise. “But you need to make an appointment first. You can’t just show up.”

“Don’t worry about that. I’ve got connections.”

He gave her a gentle slap on her backside and shoved her in the direction of the bathroom. When she left the room, he picked up his clothes and got dressed. But he couldn’t very well show up at the correctional facility in San Bruno in a tuxedo. He had to get changed, and he needed to drink blood. There was only one problem: if he took Catalina with him to his place to get changed, there was no way he could sneak a bottle of blood from his fridge and drink it. It was too risky. She could see him and ask questions. Which left him with one other option: Scanguards. He kept a spare set of clothes in his office, just like everybody else, and he could go to the V-Lounge to drink blood. And he had the perfect idea for how to make sure she didn’t see what he was doing.

He was surprised how quickly Catalina finished showering and getting dressed. She now wore a pair of tight-fitting jeans and a T-shirt with a cardigan over it. Together, they walked to his car, and just like he’d expected, there was no ticket on the windshield. They got into the car, and he started the engine and drove off.

“We’ve gotta make a quick stop at my office. I need to get changed,” he informed her. “And you can have breakfast there. We have a cafeteria.”

It was less a cafeteria and more a five-star lounge with unlimited food and drinks for all human employees and guests.

“I could have eaten something at home,” she said.

He recalled the items she’d put into her virtually empty refrigerator the night before and realized that she was probably worried about how much she had to spend on breakfast.

“Everything in the cafeteria is free of charge. It’s one of the many benefits of working for Scanguards,” he said casually. “You should really take advantage of it. The food’s pretty good.”

“That’s very generous of the company,” she said. “But I’m not an employee there.”

“It’s free for employees’ guests too.”

They drove the rest of the way in silence. At Scanguards’ underground garage, Benjamin used his access card and thumbprint to enter and parked in his assigned spot. He knew that with a guest, he should stop off at the reception to get her a visitor pass, but they wouldn’t be here long enough, so he didn’t bother. Instead, he took Catalina’s hand, and they exited the elevator and headed straight to the H-Lounge—H for human.

He used his access card to enter the large room that could rival any VIP lounge in a five-diamond hotel, where soft music coming from hidden speakers created a calming atmosphere.