Rules of Bennett: The Complete Collection

by Ember Michaels

  “Aurora—”

  “Don’t ‘Aurora’ me,” she said with a smirk. “Now isn’t the time to be the king and queen of La Fedeltà. Right now, we’re Mr. and Mrs. Moreno sailing on Moreno Forever for the night. Think you can take your mafia hat off and put your husband hat on?”

  I frowned. “Being protective of you isn’t a fucking hat that I take on and off.”

  “I didn’t say it was, but I need you to relax right now. Can you do that? Please?”

  I looked at her for a moment. She was right. With a war brewing on the horizon, it could be a while before we’d have a moment to ourselves like this. We needed to live in the moment like she’d mentioned before, because either of us could be gone tomorrow. The last thing I wanted to do was waste a beautiful night on anger. Business could wait until we returned, so I tucked the monster into the back of my mind and decided to be present with my wife.

  “Yeah. I can do that,” I finally said.

  She smiled up at me. “Good. So…” She wiggled her eyebrows. “What was the second surprise?”

  I sighed. “It’s probably ruined now.”

  “What was it?”

  “I don’t know. I had this whole thing planned out, but it’s a bit stupid now.”

  “I’m sure it isn’t. Just tell me or show me whatever it is,” she playfully begged, bouncing in front of me. I grinned at her and pulled out of her grasp, taking her hand. She followed me back to the upper deck, where Saint and Nyxin were pressure washing the deck to remove the blood that’d spilled on the wood. I stopped by the table and grabbed my jacket from the back of the chair, pulling it back on before leading her over to the side of the boat. She leaned into me when I wrapped my arms around her from behind and held her close.

  We looked out at the vast darkness of the ocean, listening as the waves lapped against the side of the boat.

  “You know I love you more than anything, right?” I murmured in her ear.

  She nodded. “I do. And I love you, too.”

  I tightened my arms around her and kissed her neck. “I know you don’t like to think about our past, but you’re the strongest person I’ve ever met in my life. Every day I’m grateful for the fact that you took a chance on me and gave me your heart.”

  She turned in my arms and smiled at me. “You always had a way with words. That’s sweet of you to say,” she said softly, kissing me. “I love you.”

  “I love you, too, gorgeous,” I replied, taking her hand into mine and kissing the back of it. “I know we didn’t get together in the traditional sense, and there’s a lot of things that I’d change if I could go back and do everything again. But I don’t regret having you in my life for a moment. And I mean, I pretty much saved you from marrying that one square who talked like he lived on a surfboard, ‘bro.’”

  Aurora laughed and playfully slapped my chest. “Don’t be an ass, Bennett. It’s rude to talk ill of the dead,” she said.

  “Okay, fine. But it’s true. You’re too fierce of a woman to have married someone as weak as him. And that’s not speaking ill of him; that’s the honest-to-god truth.”

  “Get on with your monologue, asshole,” she said with a giggle, wrapping her arms around my neck.

  “Alright, alright. Anyway, I didn’t think I’d get a second chance at love with the life I lead, but I can’t see anyone else being the calm to my chaos the way you are. So, I wanna do this right.”

  “Do what right?” she asked with a raised brow.

  I pulled away from her grasp and reached into the inner pocket of my jacket, pulling out the red velvet ring box. “I don’t want you to think that our marriage is a part of mafia business, because it’s not. I truly do love you and want to spend the rest of my life with you—for real. So, Aurora Nicole DuPont-Moreno,” I got down on one knee before her, opening the box. “Do me the honor of being my forever by marrying me again, gorgeous.”

  Tears glossed her eyes as she laughed. “Of course, Bennett,” she murmured, nodding. “Yes.”

  I took her left hand and slid her ruby family ring off to replace it with the platinum ruby Middleton ring, a halo of diamonds surrounding the dark red gem. She looked at it in awe before jumping into my arms when I stood.

  “Thank you so much, babe. It’s beautiful,” she squealed.

  I chuckled. “Anything to make you happy, gorgeous,” I said and kissed her. “How’d I do?”

  “Aside from you being an asshole about Heath, I think you did a great job,” she said and giggled. “I love you so much.”

  “I love you, too, babe,” I replied and kissed her.

  She looked down at her ring again before pulling me into another tight hug, tears rolling down her face as she repeated over and over how happy she was. And as I held my wife in my arms, a sinking feeling settled in the pit of my gut. Something dangerous was on the horizon, something that we wouldn’t be prepared for. As much as I wanted to bask in the love and happiness that spilled from my wife, I couldn’t stop thinking about the bullshit waiting for us when we left our bubble of paradise.

  Stay in the moment, Moreno, I told myself, tightening my jaw before forcing a smile when Aurora pulled back and looked at me.

  “How about we take this celebration below deck?” She murmured as lust swam in her irises.

  I grinned and licked my lips. I definitely wouldn’t pass up on a sexual distraction to push down the negative thoughts in my mind for another night.

  “Lead the way, gorgeous.”

  12

  Chapter 12

  AURORA

  If someone told me almost two years ago that I’d be madly in love with someone like Bennett, I wouldn’t have believed them. If someone told me that I’d have a family with this man and wanted to grow that family, I would’ve thought they were mentally fucked and delusional. Just when I thought I couldn’t love him more, he made me fall for him all over again. Tonight reminded me of the night he came to me in South Carolina and put the contents of his heart at my feet for me to accept, giving me a VIP ticket to his vulnerability that he didn’t let everyone see. And as he carried me back to our master room, I let all the fear and anxiety from Mikhail’s revelation fall away, even if it was only temporary.

  Bennett kissed me deeply, both of us scrambling out of our clothes by the time we hit the master bathroom. The passion in which he kissed me was so fierce that it brought tears to my eyes. He picked me up and walked us into the walk-in shower, blindly turning on the water.

  “Holy shit,” he hissed as the cold water pummeled us. He moved us away from the shower head and put me back down on my feet, kissing down my chest. I closed my eyes as he took my nipple into his mouth, his hand squeezing my other breast.

  “Yes,” I whispered, running my hand through his wet, dark hair. Pleasure licked up and down nerve endings, steam slowly filling the space around us. Bennett took his time, licking, sucking, and swirling his tongue around each nipple until they were both stiff peaks before he kissed his way down my stomach. I watched him as he slowly lowered himself onto his knees, lifting my leg and settling it on his shoulder.

  “Mmm,” he growled when he took my clit into his mouth. I moaned, fisting his hair in my hands as I rolled my hips. Everything was falling together beautifully, but falling apart just as bad. Just yesterday, I thought my only problem was trying to figure out how to keep my husband home. Now, I had to worry about people coming after me just to get back at Bennett for what he’d done to them.

  “Oh my god,” I moaned, Bennett snapping me out of my negative thoughts when he slipped two fingers inside of me. Pleasure swelled in the pit of my gut, spreading through my body as he continued the delicious assault against my clit. I bucked against his face, his fingers pumping faster into me. “Bennett…mmm…”

  My legs trembled as his tongue moved faster, coaxing me closer to the cliff of my orgasm. My entire body was heated with desire and the steam that swirled around us, the familiar tingling sensation creeping over me until my entire body buzzed.<
br />
  He looked up at me, lust and hunger mirroring in his gaze. “I feel you, baby. You gonna come for me?” he murmured, his voice low and deep.

  I whimpered. “I’m so close,” I breathed. “Please.”

  He grinned before taking my clit back into his mouth, growling against the sensitive bundle of nerves. A moan fell from my lips as the vibrations of his growl tipped me over the edge, my entire body shuddering as I became undone for him.

  “Oh fuck,” I moaned, tightly gripping his hair as my eyes rolled back. When the pleasure became too much, I had to pull his head away, panting to catch my breath. He chuckled as he kissed back up my body before devouring my mouth. I melted into him as he wrapped a firm arm around my waist, tasting my essence on his lips and tongue.

  “See how good you taste?” he whispered against my lips, kissing me again. I nodded, licking my lips. When I moved to lower myself to my knees before him, he grabbed my throat and shook his head. “I need to be inside you. Face the wall and bend over.”

  I followed his instructions, planting my hands on the shower wall when I faced away from him. A shiver rolled through me when he rubbed the head of his cock along my slick heat. “How bad do you want it, gorgeous?”

  “So bad, baby,” I whimpered as I pushed back against him, moaning when the action caused him to slip over my clit.

  His deep chuckle resonated around me as one hand tightly gripped my hip and the other positioned him to enter me. He growled when he pushed inside of me, filling me to the hilt.

  “Fuck,” he groaned, pausing for a moment. He placed his hand in the middle of my back and pressed down, forcing me to arch my back until my cheek was pressed against the shower wall. “Stay just like that, baby.”

  Each carnal thrust he put inside of me rattled my frame and rendered me silent. He fucked me as if he hated me, his anger from this evening’s earlier situation evident in the way he handled me. I whimpered, my pussy fluttering around his throbbing cock when he reached around and stroked my clit.

  “You’re so fucking deep,” I moaned.

  He gathered my wet hair and wrapped it around his hand and pulled. “And you’re such a good girl for taking all this cock,” he growled. “You feel so fucking good, gorgeous.”

  The sound of wet skin slapping wet skin echoed in the shower, my moans harmonizing with the heated, passionate exchange between us. Pleasure bloomed through the pain as Bennett forced me back to the edge with each hard thrust of his cock. His fingertips dug into the soft flesh of my hips so hard that I knew it would be a bruise by morning, but I didn’t care. It brought me great pleasure to know that he could release his anger and frustrations inside of me while also making sure I reached my peak as well.

  “Oh fuck, Bennett, I’m gonna come,” I whined, pushing back against him.

  He thrust quicker, groaning. “Take me with you, baby. I’m right there,” he grunted. I pushed back against him, driving him deeper into me. The coil of pleasure pulled tighter and tighter until it popped, taking my breath with it as my orgasm rocked me. Bennett’s moan bounced off the shower walls as he squeezed me tight to him, jerking against me as he unloaded inside of me.

  My heart raced in my chest as I fought to catch my breath. He slumped against me, panting as he planted feather-like kisses along my shoulders and neck.

  “That was a bit intense,” I said with an airy giggle.

  His breath was warm on the back of my neck. “Did I hurt you?”

  “I know it wasn’t intentional. I’m sure I’ll just feel it in the morning,” I teased.

  He slowly pulled out of me and turned me around, wrapping me up in his arms. “I’m sorry.”

  “I’m fine, babe. It wasn’t terribly painful, but I could tell you were still upset,” I said, reaching up to stroke his cheek. “Do you feel better at least?”

  He nodded. “I do.” He placed a soft kiss on my lips. “I love you.”

  “I love you, too, honey,” I murmured.

  He turned the hot water down until the shower cooled, which was much needed after the steamy sex we’d just had. He wrapped me up in his arms, kissing me as we stood under the cool spray of water. After a few moments, I pulled back and looked at him.

  “I think this is the best night we’ve had in a long time,” I said. “Thank you for this.”

  “Of course, baby. You deserved this; we both deserved this.”

  I smirked at him. “I think you’ve set the bar pretty high for future date nights though,” I said and tsked. “I’m not too sure how you can top tonight.”

  “We’ll see about that during our honeymoon getaway,” he mused with a grin.

  We spent the next few minutes washing each other, stealing kisses and lingering touches until he was inside of me once again. Unlike the first time, he was less rushed and rough. Each stroke was long and slow, his fingers rubbing quick circles on my clit until I came undone for him once more. My legs trembled beneath me as my desperate moan filled the shower, his groan of pleasure entwining with mine.

  “So fucking good,” he murmured as he stilled. I almost cried when he pulled out of me, but he didn’t waste time in turning me around and picking me up. I wrapped my legs around his waist as he pressed my back up against the shower wall, his hands firmly gripping my ass to support my weight. My eyes nearly rolled to the back of my head as he pumped into me, thrusting quick and deep within me as he lightly bit the side of my throat.

  “Oh fuck, Bennett,” I screamed, scratching his back as pleasure consumed me once more.

  “I love you so much, gorgeous,” he groaned.

  “I love you,” I moaned as I held him tight. His hips snapped quicker against mine, his grip on my ass tightening as he released a strained grunt.

  “Fuck, I’m coming,” he groaned, pumping into me with deep, firm strokes. He buried his face in the crook of my neck as I ran my hands up and down his back, his cock twitching inside of me.

  Cool water pelted down on us, sending a shiver through me. “We should get out of here before we turn into prunes,” I finally said. He slowly lowered me to my feet before running a lazy hand over his face.

  “You’re right. Let’s get clean—for real this time—and get to bed,” he said.

  Once we were showered and dried, we lay in bed in silence, his arm wrapped tightly around my body as he held me close to him. His skin was warm against my back, a comforting feeling to remind me that he was here and alive. I’d be lying if I said this brewing war didn’t scare the shit out of me. Bennett was so worried about something happening to me, but I was just as worried about something happening to him. When he’d gotten shot in the shoulder last year, the possibility of losing him crippled me with fear. That was when I’d realized I’d actually cared about him. He’d told me if something happened to him, I was allowed to leave and live my life, but I was terrified of a life without him. If the Russians were coming after Liam and I, I knew they weren’t going to play fair, which put Bennett in just as much danger as I was.

  “Your thoughts are deafening,” he murmured, kissing my bare shoulder.

  “How so?”

  He tightened his grip on me, causing me to squirm in slight discomfort. “You grew tense again. I’m sure you’re thinking about what happened tonight.”

  I sighed softly. “I can’t help but to think why he didn’t follow his orders,” I murmured. It was something that sat in the back of my mind ever since Mikhail admitted to what he was actually supposed to do. There was no one else in the bathroom when he came in, so it wasn’t as if he didn’t want to leave any witnesses. The logical part of me wanted to think that maybe he was lying about that, only wanting to get Bennett worked up, but that answer seemed way too easy.

  “The specifics don’t matter. I’m just glad that he didn’t if that’s what he was actually supposed to do.”

  “If he was supposed to kill me, you know it’ll just be a matter of time before they send someone else to finish the job.”

  “I won’t let that hap
pen.”

  “You aren’t safe either, Bennett,” I stated, turning to face him.

  He looked at me with tired eyes, a frown settled on his lips. “I can handle myself. My main priority is making sure you and Liam make it out of this shit alive.”

  “I need you to make it out alive, too,” I noted. After a moment of silence, I asked the question I wasn’t quite sure I wanted the answer to. “A war is our only option, isn’t it?”

  “After what’s happened at this point, it is,” he said with a deep sigh. “If we let him think he can walk all over us, we’ll fail as a family before we even get our organization off the ground. I won’t let him or anyone else think they can disrespect me or threaten the ones I love. It became personal when Mikhail cornered you in the bathroom with instructions to kill you.” He kissed my forehead. “As far as I’m concerned, Alec brought this on himself.”

  “I’m scared,” I whispered, a single tear rolling down the side of my face. “I just have this gut feeling that something really bad is going to happen.”

  He tilted my face up to meet his gaze. “As bad as I want to reassure you that I have everything under control, I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t concerned. La Fedeltá isn’t as big as I’d like it to be at this point and even though Hilcrest offered his men to us, we’re still at a slight disadvantage against a bratva that big. But I do promise that I’ll do everything in my power to keep you and Liam safe, no matter what.”

  I gave him a small smile. “I know you will.”

  He was quiet for a moment, holding me close to him. “I don’t think I’d ever recover if something happened to either of you,” he murmured, his hand idly running up and down my back. “I’d burn L.A. to the ground to make everyone responsible pay for the spilled blood of my family, even if I burn with them.”

  “I pray it doesn’t come to that. We’ll come out of this stronger than we were before. I’m sure everything will work out as it’s supposed to,” I said, reaching up to caress his cheek.