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“You can growl my name all you want, Damyr. I’m not going.”

If I wasn’t so worried about him, I’d find his defiance charming. “Look—”

The door swung open behind me and Aleksey burst in. “We’ve got a problem.”

What the fuck was happening now? “What?”

Aleksey threw a glance at Benjamin. I didn’t care that he was here listening to this, if he was going to stay with me, he needed to know what he was getting into.

“Tell me,” I ordered.

“We’re being raided at all the warehouses.”

“Fuck.” This was turning into a mess. “Aleksey, fly to this address and make sure it’s secure.” It was an old property I’d owned, and I didn’t think it was listed on my books. It was the best bet for somewhere to keep Benjamin until I had dealt with this fucking asshole. It was also warded to the hilt. I’d been paranoid in my younger years.

“Fine,” Aleksey grumbled. He snatched the address out of my hand and disappeared to do as I asked.

I summoned Vlad along the Coven Connection and felt his immediate response.

“Damyr,” Benjamin said, my name sounding like a warning. “You can’t just ship me out of the way.”

“I can and I will.” I knew he probably had an argument for everyone of my reasons for wanting to move him somewhere safe. Was I being overbearing? Probably. Overprotective? Definitely. But I needed to deal with this mess and I couldn’t do that while worrying about Benjamin.

I walked over to him and cupped his face with my hands. “Benjamin, please. Let Vlad take you somewhere safe and as soon as one dealt with this, I’ll come and get you.”

He placed his hands on my chest and looked up at me with the biggest, saddest eyes he could muster. “Come with me.”

I smiled. “Are you trying to manipulate me?”

“Maybe? Is it working?”

“No,” I chuckled. “Just trust me. Please.”

“But I don’t want to go without you.”

His words hit me in the chest and I almost caved. “I don’t want you to go, but do this. For me. Let me solve this and we can talk about what we do next.”

His shoulders sagged and he let out a defeated sigh. “Okay. But you better come back to me in one piece. If I have to patch you back together again, I’m going to be pissed.”

“Yes, sir,” I said with a chuckle. “I’ll do my best.”

I pulled him into a searing kiss, putting my promise to come home into it. It started out chaste, but it soon turned into something else. Benjamin moaned beneath me and opened his mouth, letting me thrust my tongue past his lips. I lost myself in the taste of him, encasing myself in the bliss of his touch.

The door creaked open behind me and Vlad groaned. “Can you two not keep your hands off each other for five minutes?”

Benjamin threw a scowl at him over my shoulder, and I couldn’t help but smile.

“Perhaps you should knock,” Benjamin said.

Vlad had the grace to blush, but wisely kept his mouth shut.

“Keep him safe,” I said to Vlad and then I handed my heart to him as Benjamin left the room.

I just hoped I’d done the right thing.

Chapter Twenty-Five

Benji