Free A Second Past Midnight (The Sentinels) by Melinda Hunter

something. When he returned to the Range Rover he handed Arrigo a bottle.
    “Here, t ake this with you and tell her I gave it to you for helping me. She won’t know anything unless you tell her and I will keep my mouth shut. I assume you told her where you were going?”
    Arrigo nodded.
    “Good man. By the way, when’s the wedding?” Sinjin sounded almost happy now and it alarmed Arrigo.
    “We haven’t exactly had a chance to talk about it.” Arrigo looked at Sinjin in disbelief. Did all of this really just happen?
    “Oh yeah.” He paused and looked down. “Look, maybe I had you wrong. She deserves to be happy and I hope you can fulfill that so if either of you need anything you let me know.” Sinjin stepped back to shut the door.
    “Are you serious?” Arrigo thought for sure he was up to something.
    “Yes. Yes, I am. Just don’t fail her. Oh, and that wine was over three hundred dollars, so sip it!” Sinjin slammed the door shut with his last words and walked back to his truck.
    Arrigo sat in his car with the bottle of wine in his hand and watched as Sinjin drove away. He even honked at Arrigo as he passed him.
    “What the fuck just happened?” Arrigo asked himself aloud.
    As he drove back to the apartment he debated as to whether he would tell Sana the truth about the meeting. It only took him a minute though. He would tell her the truth even if she wanted to kill him over it.
    “You survived, I see.” Sana stated as Arrigo walked into the apartment.
    “For now.” Arrigo took in a deep breath as Sana approached him. Holding out the bottle of wine toward her, he composed his words.
    “What’s this?” Sana took the bottle and looked at it.
    “It’s from Sinjin. He told me to give it to you since he pulled me away from our celebration.” Arrigo prepared himself for her to catch what he had just said.
    Staring at the bottle, he saw the look of confusion blanket her face.
    “Wait, what?” Her tone sounded troubled.
    “He didn’t break down. He called me out so he could tell me to be careful with you.” Arrigo instantly doubted that the truth would be the right decision.
    “I should have known he would find out. He’s always been weird around me and I know he thinks I’m psycho. He’s probably worried that I’ll run you off, too. Just like Williams is.” Sana walked away from Arrigo and slammed the bottle down on the kitchen counter. Somehow, it didn’t break.
    Arrigo didn’t understand how she could see herself so poorly. She had it all wrong. Following behind her, he wrapped his arms around her shoulders and pulled her against him.
    She started to shout, but Arrigo reached up and gently covered her mouth. Surprisingly, she didn’t fight. “Sana you’ve got it all wrong.” Turning her head toward him, she looked up at him. Arrigo quickly released her.
    “Sorry.” He apologized as she turned in his arms.
    “I don’t understand.” Sana’s eyes had glossed over and he knew that he only had a moment or two before she might lose it.
    “He warned me not to hurt you and wouldn’t back off. I finally told him that we were getting married. I’m sorry that—” Arrigo couldn’t finish his sentence as Sana did the unexpected and tiptoed up to kiss him.
    Sana knotted her hands in his hair as she held him to her. The taste of her sent him over the edge. Swiftly, he grasped her about the waist and lifted her onto the kitchen counter. Thrusting his hands into her hair and holding her, he yielded to his body's desires.
    Wrapping her legs around him, Sana pressed herself against him e ven tighter. His body hardened. While they hadn’t eaten since that morning, he didn’t care about food or drink, he only wanted to taste her.
    “Please take me to bed,” she mumbled.
    Arrigo groaned as she bit his lower lip. Lifting her off the counter, he carried her to their room. The light from the bathroom filtered in to give them just enough light to see by. He realized that this would be where they