Lustful Cravings (The Seven Sin Sisters) (20 page)

“What a foolish observat
ion for you to share.” Madden moved closer to the man who stood his ground and did not move. He was indeed foolish, Layla thought.

“Now I want the women you kidnapped. And then we can discuss whether or not you’ll live.” Layla understood Madden could’ve ch
osen to simply kill the man in a single snap of his neck but he was hesitating.
For her?

“It matters not if I live. I have done
what
was necessa
ry. And I shall be rewarded justly.”

“And what of you
r
c
ommander?
What of Nassir?”

“We understood
the risks.” The man lifted his hands to the sky and smiled.

Muffled sounds of footsteps began moving closer. Layla sensed
the movement.
She squeezed Grac
i
e’s hand.
Three more men, all
dressed
similarly to
the
unknown
man, descended the hillside and stood in front of the tunnel blocking the path between her and
Madden
.

Madden’s eyes flickered to where Layla stood. The man’s gaze followed.

“Ah, she has awakened. She is quite lovely, this bride of yours.”

“You will let her go. She and her sister both will be released
,
” Madden directed.

“This is something I will not do. You see
,
my men need some company as a reward for their work.” As the men moved towards her, Layla brought her arms inward,
k
ept
her hold on Grac
i
e
and focused
on her home. She knew Madden could gain control if she wasn’t there
,
so she would
do this. She could use her powers to save herself
.
Layla dr
ew her mind away from the hillside, set aside all the commotion around her and focused only on being home.

*
*
*
*

Madden couldn’t believe his eyes.
He went f
rom panic to awe in a split second. Nassir’s men
moved
in on
Layla
and in a cloud of smoke,
she
disappeared. Un
mistakable purple swirls
pulled her from the hillside as she became
translucent and then
simply disappeared
.
Layla’s powers were magnificent. His mate was magnificent.
N
ow he needed to complete this mi
ssion and return to her.

“Truly incredible,” Nassir’s Commander clapped in
excitement,
as his men looked bewild
ered.

“And the last truly incredible thing you will ever see.” Madden spoke with authority so that all the men standing on the hillside turned to him. And with one word, “Go
,
” Nassir’s men fell.
Each of Madden’s men positioned on the mountain took a shot and
not a single
one of Nassir’s
m
e
n was alive to tell the tale.

“All four targets eliminated,” Granger spoke over the communication link.

“Let’s clean it up,” Madden instructed his men. Flipping to a priva
te connection with Caedon, Madden asked, “You get that
, Caedon
? We need info on his claims about their knowled
ge on Breeds.”

“Already searching,” Caedon relayed, “She’s back at the compound.
Anton has her.”

“ETA twenty.
I’m off
.” Madden left the three others
on the mountain to clean up while he headed back to the compound.

Chapter Eight

From plumes of purple smoke, Layla appeared in front of Anton. There had been no warning and the air nearly vanished from his chest at her sudden appearance.
Adelina’s voice
broke his shock.

“She has come in
to her powers. As lovely as her mother, I dare say. And thank the God
des
s
she is well.”

Struck by her utter beauty, Anton grabbed her to him.
Overcome by the simple act of Layla pressing her forehead against his chest, h
e
took a moment to savor her.
Then he noticed Grac
i
e tightly clinging to
Layla’s
side at the same time Adelina
noticed the small willowy girl
. Flurries of explanations flew from the women as they told the story of their capture and rescue. Valentino questioned Layla about Madden and the other men but she knew very little.

“We are glad you are well then,
B
ella
D
onna
. I am sure with you tucked safely
away,
Madden can focus on the elimination of this trouble.” Valentino seemed pleased with the details Layla was able to provide.

Anton sa
w Layla nod but still felt her uncertainty.
Placing his hand under her chin, he raised her face so he could look into her eyes. “What is it,
little one
?”

“Madden.” Her lips trembled, “Will he be all right? I left him.”

“He is unstoppable,” Valentino offered
.
“The strongest mission agent we’ve ever had. Now that you are safe, he will do his job and return to you.”

Layla nodded again, tears
spill
ed
from her eyes silently
as she
spoke just to Anton
.
“I left him.” Her eyes pleaded with him for comfort.

“No, sweets, you did the right thing. If you stayed, Madden couldn’t do his job. Valentino is right. He is safer with you here at home.” Anton
gave her a reassuring squeeze and turned to
Adelina. He wanted to take Layla back to their home but
he also
needed to see Grace would be cared for.

As if reading his mind, Adelina spoke
.
“Anton, I will get Grac
i
e home to her sisters. You care for Layla until Madden returns.”

“That will be wonderful.
My thanks, Adelina.”
Anton waited for Layla and Grac
i
e to embrace
,
bowed slightly
saying
his
good-bye
s
and then
walked Layla back to their home. He
called
upon his powers to
wrap his assurances
around her
like a blanket
,
cocoon
ing Layla
from
her worries.
The thoughts of losing her were nearly overwhelming before she had returned to him.
Though Anton’s powers were only of the mind, he
took solace knowing only he
could do this simple thing for her. He
w
ould
forevermore
comfort her
so she could find safety
in his arms.

“
A
bath
while we wait
, Layla.
It will help you to relax.
”
Expecting some reluctance until she knew more of Madden’s safety, Anton
continue
d
using his powers
to soo
the her and gain
her submission.
He
needed
to soothe her, to
love her.

“Yes
.
” Layla spoke softly
and yet Anton could feel her power radiating from her skin
as she wove her fingers through his and ascended the stairs
.
He
r powers began to push his out and she smiled at him
with an
eyebrow raised knowingly.

“You, my sweets, have new secrets
.
” Anton grinned at his mate.

“Anton, these are secrets even I am just coming to understand
.
”

Anton
’s eyes
took in
Layla with obvious joy, believing her to be
simply perfect
.
“Sweet, sweet Layla, you
are magic.
I have waited centuries to fulfill my
Tre Adoro
.
And to receive such beauty and magic in you is more than I had ever dared hope.
”

With a simple thought, Layla lit t
he suite with candles when they entered.
Her control of fire was becoming masterful.
“I
do
so enjoy the
flicker of a
flame
and
t
he beauty in its heat,” Layla
said
aloud
,
as she began to undress.

Anton was
once again
struck
by
her beauty
.
So unlike
the shy woman he met
on that first
morning
in Madden’s room
, she
seemed to enjoy his presence.
Her
gaze
connected to his
and
desire pulsed in her veins. He watched the pulse point at the base of her neck and found it near
ly
impossible to swallow.

“
Are you
okay, Anton?” Layla’s voice was raspy, seductive. No, he had to be mistaken. Certainly he was transferring his own feelings.

Her dress fell to the floor and h
e
captured
his curse
in his throat
.
She removed her panties and bra only to stand nude in front of him. He had
no words to describe her body
as
i
t was drenched i
n the candlelight
that
flicker
ed
in the room
.

“I’ll draw your bath
.
” Anton’s voice was rough with desire as he forced himself to turn and begin preparing for her bath. Settled on the side of the large soaking tub, Anton
took
in deep breaths to steady himself. N
o other woman ha
d
ever before
affected him as Layla
.

Layla stroked his shoulder when she came to stand behind him
.
“
A
re you all right
, Anton?”
Anton swallowed down his
overwhelming feeling
to flee
. He hoped Madden would join them sooner
rather
than later. He needed his friend
and
needed to love
Layla
as he only could with Madden’s guidance.

“I
’
m fine. Please sit and relax. I will see if I can garner more information on Madden.”

Layla
used
his shoulder
for balance
as she
dipp
ed
her toe
into the water
to test the temperature
.
Anton
noticed
she always did
this before she
settled
her full body
into the water.
The
bubbles
c
onformed
around her
body
and hid Layla
completely from
his
view
.
Anton breathed out a sigh of relief. This was much better.
Anton watched
silently for a few moments
as Layla laid back and clo
sed her eyes.

“
It’s
been a difficult
day, Layla. Rest
a
nd
I’ll
return soon
with news of Madden
.”

*
*
*
*

It was well after midnight before Madden came to her.
Though
well loved
and cared for by Anton, she needed to feel
Madden’s
touch
to be reassured of his safety
. She had refused to go to bed so Anton had laid out a blanket near the fire and held her. She re
sted but never found her
way to a full sleep
.
E
ven Anton’s comfort
was
not enough
to settle her tonight
. She needed both of her men.