A Second Past Midnight (The Sentinels) (18 page)

“No sir! I wasn’t looking at
that
.”

Somehow, Arrigo believed him.
Maybe it was the wide-eyed expression.

“She’s scary.” Marcus sighed.

“You have no idea. So don’t piss her off or she really will break your jaw.” Arrigo put the cheesecake in the refrigerator and turned back toward Marcus. He knew Sana wouldn’t really hurt Marcus, but he had to play along with her ruse.

“I’
m taking her to Sentinel HQ tomorrow before I go to Tecktar, and I want you to go with us so you can take her wherever she wants to go afterward. You are going to be available if she needs you anytime that I’m not. Understood?” Arrigo eyed him knowing that Marcus would understand.

“Got it
, boss.”

Arrigo turned and went upstairs to bed.

Arrigo lay asleep with his head on Sana’s chest and his body wrapped around her possessively. As she ran her fingers through his long hair, she wondered why he had let it grow to this length. Was it to cover the scar? She liked it nevertheless.

She found herself smiling at the thought of how she had knott
ed her hand in his hair earlier when they were in the shower. His wet hair had clung to his face and neck and she couldn’t imagine him looking sexier.

Sana had barely been with Arrigo twenty-four hours and she
couldn’t imagine her life without him. Again. While she hated herself for pushing him away when they obviously had needed each other more than ever, she couldn’t change the past. She would make damn sure that she gave Arrigo the love that he deserved and if she was able to give him a family, then she would.

As she drifted off to sleep, Sana imagined two or even three little ones in the house at the same time. While the noise of her imagination was loud, she felt comforted by the visions of babies surrounding her and Arrigo.

Morning brought with it a renewed energy. She hadn’t slept like that since, well, she didn’t want to remember when.

Arrigo was naked and still wrapped around her body.
She wanted to stay like this forever, but she had to pee. Careful not to wake Arrigo, she slid from beneath him and tiptoed to the bathroom. Sana felt somewhat as she did
before
, but not quite the same. Maybe that was a good thing. If things felt the same she might forget the pain they had dealt with and she certainly didn’t want to take anything for granted. Not this time.

Sana combed her hair and prepared herself for the day, minus her clothing. Heading back to the bedroom, she quietly opened the dresser drawer to find
something to wear. She found a pair of black jeans and a tan pullover shirt. Sliding it on, she turned to see Arrigo watching her with the biggest grin she had ever seen. He was lying on his stomach with a pillow bunched up under his arm.

“What?” she asked. Sana walked over to him and knelt beside the bed so she could touch his face.

“You’re beautiful.” Arrigo said.

“Thank you. You’re not so bad yourself.” Sana smiled back at him. Arrigo rolled over
to his back and stretched to reveal his enormous erection.

“That’s not fair.” Sana
stated. “I’m already dressed and here you are looking good enough to eat.”

“Sorry.” Arrigo
rolled his eyes and his feigned apology let her know that he really wanted to play with her.

Sana arched a brow at him as she sauntered to the bed and crawled over him. Running her fingers lightly over his shaft, she knew exactly what she would do to him.

A moan escaped Arrigo’s lips as she grasped him firmly in her hand. Sana smiled and dipped her head to take him into her mouth. The masculine taste of him filled her senses and her body sizzled from it. The salty liquid that seeped from his tip heightened her excitement and she took him further into her mouth until she felt his length at the back of her throat.

A deeper moan rumbled up from within Arrigo and Sana knew she would have him begging for his release within minutes. It pleased her to know that she still brought him to this point.

“Stop, Sana.” Arrigo whispered breathlessly. She paused long enough to look up at Arrigo and say no. Watching him drop his head back to the bed, she smiled before she continued. Sana liked having this control over him, but more importantly, she reveled at the thought that she brought him pleasure.

Moments later as Arrigo’s breathing became heav
ier and he came in her mouth. Sana moved to lay her head on his thigh.

“Morning.”
She couldn’t help but smirk at him.

“If that’s how y
ou say good morning I think I’d like to see how you tuck me in.”

Sana
laughed and scooted up so that she lay next to him.

“Arri, can I ask you something?” Sana leaned over him so that she
was propped up on his chest. With his eyes still closed, he spoke.

“Of course.”

“What do we do now?” Sana swallowed hard as she waited for his response. Arrigo’s eyes came open and he smiled at her.

“Well
we
are going to go to Sentinel Headquarters, but only after
I
rip out Marcus’ tongue.” So he didn’t really like the shortened version of his name.

“I’m
sorry, I won’t call you that again.” Sana looked away from him because the last thing she wanted to do was disappoint or anger him.

Arrigo propped himself up on his elbow and turned her head to meet his gaze.

“You can call me whatever you like just as long as you call me yours.” Arrigo pulled her toward him so that their lips touched.

Sana tried to keep a straight face while he kissed her, but what he had said was
so uncharacteristically mushy that she couldn’t take it. Sana burst into laughter.

“What’s so funny?” Arrigo asked with a smile.

“That was terribly dreamy and so not you.” Sana giggled again.

“I didn’t think it was that bad, but if you say so.” Arrigo pouted and Sana knew he faked it. She
hadn’t seen him this way in so long and it warmed her heart.

“If that’s how you really feel.”
Sana smirked at him. Arrigo rolled so that he leaned over her now.

“It is and there’s something else.” Arrigo slid his hand over her stomach. Sana guessed what he was about to say.
They’d had a very similar conversation five years earlier. “I want to make babies with you. I know how you feel about work and we’ll figure it out, but if you still feel the same way about children I want to have a houseful.”

Sana beamed with joy. She wanted exactly that.
And as far as work went, well she already had that figured out.

****

Sana methodically walked toward Williams’ office ready to spit nails. For two
years, he had kept Arrigo from her. She wanted to kill him for it, but for once in her life, she wanted to try to remain calm. The only problem was that she knew herself all too well and didn’t know if she could pull it off.

“Sana
are you sure you’re ok? You look really pissed.” Marcus asked. He was at her right flank, while Arrigo on her left.

“Yes, Marcus I’m fine.” Sana
wasn’t fine though. She nervously bit the inside of her lip.

Arrigo threw his arm in front of the closed door. “Are you sure you’re all right?”

Sana looked up at him. Placing her hand gently on his, she smiled. “I’m not going to do anything stupid.”

Arrigo nodded as he reached down to turn the
door knob.             

She
didn’t miss the fact that Arrigo had looked across her to Marcus and when she shifted her eyes to her right, she saw Marcus nod. They had a restraint plan, she guessed. Which was probably not a bad idea. It made her laugh on the inside, because Arrigo knew she never listened to him, but this time she had a surprise for him.

“Sana.
Arrigo.” Williams nodded at them as they entered the room. He also nodded toward Marcus, but he remained silent.

“We need to debrief you Sana before
you go to your next assignment,” Williams stated as he rounded the end of his desk.

“No. I
don’t think that will be necessary. You obviously know everything that is going on in Tecktar so you won’t need to talk to me.” She tried to keep the venom out of her tone, but it was challenging.

“I told you not to get involved with the Tecktar case, but as usual you didn’t listen and you almost got yourself killed because of your insubordination!” Williams shouted at her now. She was used to it though. “As if that isn’t bad enough, do you understand that you could have blown the entire case that Arrigo has worked on for the past eighteen months?” H
e slammed his hand on the desk, but Sana remained calm.

She narrowed her gaze at him and took two steps forward. Arrigo and Marcus mimicked her steps.

“I have never failed a member of my team, and I have never disobeyed in a way that would jeopardize a case, until now.” Sana took in a deep breath and Williams spoke before she could finish.

“Yes, until now. I can’t trust that you’ll be so lucky next time!” Williams glanced up at Arrigo, who had at
Sana's's request, remained silent.

“It won’t h
appen again.” Sana kept her tone even and calm.

Williams started to ramble on, scolding her, but she
wasn’t going to listen to him anymore. Not that she made a habit of actually
listening
to him anyway.

“I. Quit.” Sana said the two words that
she’d been waiting to say for quite some time. She just hadn’t realized it until she had found out that Arrigo was alive. She hadn’t been the same since he had left and knew that she not only needed to quit, but wanted to. The Sentinel group did honorable things, but it was time for a personal change. It was time for her to have a life. She was thirty and needed love and children and that all came from Arrigo.

Williams stared at her, speechless. She
couldn’t say the same for the men behind her.

“
What?” Arrigo and Marcus said in unison. Arrigo stepped around to face her.

The huge weight that she
had been carrying for the past few years, left her. She hadn’t felt this happy since the day she had found out she was pregnant. Maybe this time, things would turn out differently.

Feeling exhilarated she nodded emphatically at Arrigo.

Arrigo smiled back at her and pulled her into an embrace. Sana whispered against his ear low enough that only he would be able to hear her. “We have babies to make and I think that will keep me busy.”

“Anything you want. Anything you want,” Arrigo whispered back.
He loosened his hold on her and stepped back around so that he was beside her, but left one arm wrapped around her shoulders. Sana loved that he touched her in front of people. It showed she belonged to him and that meant the world to her.

Sana looked back at Wi
lliams to see him standing with his arms crossed and leaning against his desk. He had a most unexpected smile on his face.

“You deserve to be happy, Sana. I’m happy for you.
” Williams had never expressed anything so emotional to her before and it warmed her. Usually he was yelling at her for disobeying orders.

“Thank you,” she replied quietly.

“Now, Arrigo I need to talk to you for a minute before you head in today,” Williams added. Sana looked up at Arrigo.

“Marcus and I will wait for you.” Sana and Marcus stepped out into the meeting room while they waited for Arrigo. For once, she actually
didn’t want to hear what Williams had to say to Arrigo.

“I can’t believe you’re going to give up being a Sentinel,” Marcus stated.

Sana shrugged her shoulders and replied. “My family is more important even if it is just Arrigo and I.”

“What am I chopped liver?” Marcus whined. Sana laughed. Yes
, she had only known Marcus for two days, but he obviously meant something to Arrigo and she had already grown to like him.

“Yes, Marcus you are part of the family.” Sana patted him on the cheek once
lightly and made the second pat pop.

“
Ow! Gees mom I didn’t know you’re were violent.” Marcus rubbed his cheek, but she knew he was just playing along. She liked the fact that he called her mom, it made her feel needed and loved.

“Sana!” That Texas accent
couldn’t be mistaken. She turned around to see Sinjin strutting toward her. He had on his usual weathered brown ball cap, jeans, black t-shirt and cowboy boots. His black hair was smoothed back under his cap and stuck out the back. A smile spread across his handsome face and Sinjin quickly pulled her into a hug that caught her off guard.

“Where the hell have you been? Wil
liams wouldn’t tell me anything!” Sinjin squeezed her tightly.

“You’re crushing me, you jerk,” Sana managed to choke out the words.
Standing about the same height as Arrigo, she looked up at him. Sinjin released her but gave her a stern look.