The Vampire Assassin: The Moretti Blood Brothers, #5

By Juliette N Banks

Will he remain loyal, or win the heart of his fated mate?

Lethal vampire, Ben Ferrero, is in Rome on a covert job to kill those responsible for the experimental tests on his race. When the hit goes awry, Ben finds himself staying longer, taking risks that could reveal a centuries-old secret. Then he meets Anna, and his desire and need to protect her challenges his deep loyalty to the vampire whose secret he protects.

Anna Vitale lived a carefree life until she was kidnapped by humans. Now she'd rather be distracted by Ben—the drop-dead gorgeous male with dimples that could melt panties—than face another therapy session. But when he outwits the powerful Moretti security team, it's obvious Ben is far more dangerous than anyone realizes. To them and her heart.

Will Ben recognize Anna as his fated-mate, or will his loyalty to the vampire, and the secret he holds, blind him? 

The Vampire Assassin is the next installment in the Moretti Blood Brothers series of paranormal vampire romances. Part romance, part action-adventure, it will appeal to anyone who loves fated-mates, military romance, and dominant alphas. 

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• Language: English
• Publisher: Juliette Banks
• Release date: Feb 14, 2022
• ISBN: 9798201710576

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COPYRIGHT

Copyright © 2022 by Juliette N. Banks. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system without the written permission of the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a review.

This book is a work of fiction and imagination. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely one of coincidence. The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of various products and music referenced in this work of fiction, which have been used without permission. The publication and/or use of these trademarks is not authorized, associated with, or sponsored by the trademark owners.

Author: Juliette N. Banks

Editor: Happily Ever Proofreading LLC

Cover design by: Elizabeth Cartwright, EC Editorial

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Juliette is an indie paranormal romance author who has taken the genre by storm with her popular steamy romance novels.

Juliette has a vast background in consumer marketing and has previously published with Random House. She lives in Auckland, New Zealand, with Tilly, her Maine coon kitty, and all her book boyfriends.

Official Juliette N. Banks website:

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DEDICATION

To me.

For believing in me.

And doing it regardless of my fears and doubts.

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Shape Description automatically generated with medium confidence

CHAPTER ONE

Ben kicked off the white sheet, slammed his large thigh back down on the mattress, and let out a long groan. The apartment in Rome was well equipped with daytime shutters, so it wasn’t the daylight keeping him awake. It was a female.

Actually, that was a lie. It was his cock.

Every time he closed his eyes...

Yet another lie.

Here’s the truth. Ben hadn’t been able to stop thinking about Anna since he’d met her yesterday at the Moretti castle while visiting his sister, Sofia De Luca. Which now made it a total of twenty-four hours since he’d been semihard, despite jerking off three times already.

Even his hand had had enough.

To make matters worse, Anna had collapsed, so she hadn’t exactly been throwing come-fuck-me eyes at him, although when they’d first spotted each other, the world had slowed down.

In the moment between greeting his sister and taking Anna’s hand, he’d learned a lot about the curvy blonde. Which sounded arrogant as fuck, but Ben had been trained to be observant.

Very, very observant.

Kicking off the hard cock campaign was a set of long, thick, dark lashes which had momentarily dropped onto her cheeks in a delicate and submissive manner, doing a little flutter as a warm apricot tinge spread across her heart-shaped face. Her eyes had then lifted, connecting with his, and just before she blinked and began wiping her sweaty palms on jeans which clung to her curves, a sensual glint had given her away.

Those blue eyes had become hooded as he made his way over to her. In those few steps, it was as if Ben lived a million years; he saw Anna with her legs wide, her back arched and head flung back in pure arousal while he clutched her thighs. He felt his thumbs press into her skin as he ordered her not to orgasm until he’d finished with her completely. He tasted her on his tongue as he watched her mouth fall open.

Then, shaking off the vision, he’d taken Anna’s hand in his, and it was as if all the pleasure he’d imagined went plowing through their bodies. And he was no fucking poet, but it had struck him like a freight train.

Anna’s mouth had parted, and it had taken everything Ben had not to push her to her knees and plant his cock between her red-tinged lips.

Ben kicked off the rest of the sheet and groaned as his hand grabbed his cock.

Yank. At this rate, he was going to yank it right off.

Ben closed his eyes, imagining Anna kneeling before him. He wasn’t a dom, but he was an alpha, so a powerful woman in the bedroom didn’t excite him as much as a submissive type who opened up her soul and gave herself to him on all levels.

Fuck yes. And he knew if he had a few hours with Anna, that’s exactly what she would do.

He needed all that blonde hair wrapped around his fist.

Stroke, stroke.

Cougars—who weren’t actually cougars because Ben was over one hundred years old—who took control and rode his cock like wild cowgirls were totally okay with him, too. It just wasn’t quite as hot.

Tying a willing participant to a post—or any solid object—and adding a few nipple clips to keep the party going when he was busy downstairs got his cock dripping and ready.

Jesus.

His hand gripped harder as he continued to stroke faster, visualizing Anna removing her bra and watching him clip on some of his favorites to her heavy breasts. Her face. He wasn’t sure she would’ve played like this before, and her trepidation and excitement—though imagined—was causing major swelling in the cock area.

His fat crown pulsed as his body shuddered.

He pulled down the zipper on her jeans and slid his hand inside. She’d be wet, her panties soaked...

That was all he needed.

His body jerked, and with a few more tugs, he came all over his thigh. A-fucking-gain.

After cleaning up, Ben sat on the edge of the bed and ran his hand across his face and head a few times.

Shit. What had he done?

Not the wanking off—that he didn’t care about.

He’d accepted a job from the king. He started tomorrow.

Ben Ferrero, Lieutenant Commander, in training to step up to be a Senior Lieutenant Commander—or SLC, as they were known. Which was a fucking joke, because he had a job. Just one he couldn’t tell anyone about, especially not the Moretti’s.

Craig could probe and push all he fucking liked; he’d never get anything out of him, and he wouldn’t break. They’d never find out anything about him or The Institute. Or the Director.

Ben grinned.

He’d trained and worked at The Institute for seventy years. There was no way he was going to tell them anything. The great oaf could try all he liked; he’d just grin at the guy. He knew how much Craig loved his dimples.

Was he playing with fire?

Yes.

Did he enjoy it?

Well...maybe. Okay, yes. But life had been pretty damn serious recently. It was only because Sofia had been in trouble that Ben had shown his face. If he’d known she was mated to Lance De Luca—one of the SLCs—he would’ve kept his distance. It had happened very recently; otherwise, his intel would have been up to date.

Still, once he’d seen his sister after seventy years apart, he had wanted to see her more, at least while he was in Rome on this assignment. Which was how he’d met Anna. He was visiting Sofia at the Moretti castle, and she’d been with the female.

Why? He didn’t know. Not history fucking lessons, as she’d tried to tell him.

Little minx.

He intended to find out, before or after he fucked her.

Ben was sure it had something to do with Anna collapsing when Craig and the other warriors had confronted him in the foyer. The stress had set her off, and she’d fallen to the floor shaking. Ben had raced across the room like a mother bear, ready to kill anyone who came near her.

Yeah, that had been weird.

All the males had stayed back, which had surprised him.

Anna had reacted to his voice, calming down, before the king ordered Sofia to take her away. But not before he’d had a quick moment to make her a promise, which he fully intended to keep.

Ben ran his hand over his mouth.

The feeling of Anna’s hips under his hands as he whispered into her hair was haunting and delicious.

God, he needed to touch her again.

The king’s offer had been a shock both to him and the commander, who, while he hadn’t turned purple, had reminded Ben of the Grimace from McDonalds.

Okay, so maybe this could be a bit of fun while he completed his actual mission.

The guy needed some healthy competition, and Ben was just the guy for the job. Time to bring the guy down a peg or two.

Ben laughed and climbed back under the sheets.

He’d play along while he found a way to reach Anna again... and eliminate the pending risk to the vampire race; one he knew the king was not aware of, and hopefully, would never need to know about. It was because of the work the Institute did, and its owner, whose identity could not be revealed.

Ari Moretti.

CHAPTER TWO

Two months ago

BEN SAT ON THE EDGE sofa of the central Rome apartment owned by The Institute and stared at his phone.

He didn’t want to make this call, but he’d put it off long enough. He should have made it days ago, but had been hoping to gather more information before he spoke to the Director, who was going to be unhappy.

Ben had never missed a mark before, and this one was important.

They were all important.

The Institute didn’t take on anything that wasn’t, and as Head Assassin, Ben wasn’t accustomed to fucking things up. He wasn’t going to make any excuses, either. He knew what was on the line.

This job was personal. For all of them.

Not that he’d actually fucked up, but things weren’t going as smoothly as he had wanted. Ben ran his hand over his face and stretched out one long denim-clad leg. He cursed under his breath and pushed the call button.

Ben, the deep, powerful voice answered.

Ari Moretti was an ancient vampire. Only a handful of vampires knew he existed and who he was. Ben was honored to be in his trusted circle, but it went deeper than that. Ari was like a father to him.

Ben had a father, but seventy years ago, he had left his family when their alliance with the rebellion had reached a point he could no longer stomach. He hadn’t been able to for many years, and the debates with his parents had become intolerable.

When he’d left Italy and traveled to the United States, his plan had been to make his way to Maine, where the Moretti king resided. What he hadn’t been expecting was to find a Moretti who had branched out on his own, living covertly on the other side of the continent.

It had been a coincidence that they had met. He’d been walking out of a bar and spotted two human males accosting a woman. She had been on her own, and it had irked him. Ben had crossed the street and shoved his boot into the back of the knees of one of the men, wrapping an arm around the other while the first was dropping to the floor.

The female had gasped at him, and he’d simply winked at her and told her to run.

She had.

"Go home and jerk off, boys. If I see you again, you won’t have anything left to play with. Capisce?" he’d snarled at them before walking back across the road to jump on his new motorbike.

Halfway there, he’d sensed a pair of eyes watching him. He knew they belonged to a vampire. Without missing a beat, he’d kept walking and lifted his helmet.

Then the male had appeared in front of him.

"You’re not going to threaten my balls like you did those little fuckers?" the dark voice had said, lined with humor.

Ben had turned and come face-to-face with the ancient vampire, whose power had rolled off him. There had been a strong and calm danger to him. Holding the male’s stare, he’d simply replied, "No. I sensed your balls might be a tad bigger. In any case, you weren’t harming an innocent."

Ari had grinned...and the rest was now history.

Over the past seventy years, they had grown to trust each other as deeply as anyone could without being mates. Ari had shared his greatest secret with Ben and trained him to become his top assassin. He’d been tough on him, and it had made him what he was today.

A lethal killer.

Yet, he was only as good as the intel provided, and right now, they were dealing with a fast-changing situation. Apparently.

I’m going to stay in Rome a little longer, Ben informed. He could all but hear Ari’s frown through his silence. Red light, he added the code word, indicating the need for a private channel.

Hold the line, Ari replied.

Ben had the phone on speaker; he turned the volume down as Ari began to scramble their call. He fucking loved that they had the best technology and toys available to them. They had to—there was no mucking about when you were in the business of killing people.

Covertly.

The scratchy noise subsided, and he upped the sound once more.

Go ahead, Ari said, switching to a video call. Are you compromised?

No.

Then what’s going on?

Our intel was good, Ben started. "To a point. Bob fucking Johnstone is more in bed with the Italian president, Diego Lombardo, than we thought."

Bob was the man responsible for writing to the US president, triggering the exposure of their race to humans. Unsurprisingly, Bob’s name wasn’t really Bob. It was Xander Tomassi.

Xander was a white male, aged thirty-five, six foot one, recessing hairline, and carrying a few excess pounds. He was also wealthy as fuck. They also had proof Xander was responsible for tipping off the global media.

When it had hit the news, the Moretti royal family had gone into hiding, most of the vampire race executing their emergency plans. It was a scenario they’d all planned for centuries. But living it was a whole other experience.

Reading the human comments on social media where they threatened to hunt them down had been sickening, but not surprising. They had all lived among humans long enough to predict how they’d react, and their suspicions had been right.

Thankfully, the quick thinking of the Moretti PR team had quietened the noise online and turned the breaking news into fake news. Long may it last.

While the keyboard warriors had been stopped—for the most part—The Institute had been left with the reality. Deep in the shadows, a darker world was still taking shape, and it was Ben’s job to cut them off at the knees.

So far, things weren’t going quite as planned, and while he was trained to pivot and adjust, he was feeling more off-balance than usual.

Ben had been at The Institute in Seattle, Washington, when news of their existence had first come out. Despite leaving his family over seventy years ago, his thoughts had gone to his parents and sister. He had wanted to know they were okay.

When he’d finally reached out to his connections in Italy, he’d heard Stefano Russo, leader of the vampire rebellion, had abducted his sister. He’d taken the news to Ari and their team of analysts.

Xander, aka Bob, had referred to the rebellion leader in a letter to POTUS which they’d intercepted. That, along with  Ben’s additional news, had raised more questions. Then they had learned about the kidnapping of vampires in Rome and a lab where they were being experimented on.

A few hours later, Ari had sent him to Rome.

His job had been clear: evac the vampires from the lab and locate Xander to obtain more information.

It was likely at that point, Ari would give him instructions to eliminate the human. A big call, given Xander Tomassi was a big cheese at one of the largest pharmaceutical organizations in the world.

Through the Russo family, Tomassi had learned about the existence of vampires. What he knew and who he’d told was what they needed to understand. How deep and far did the knowledge of their royal family and the race’s secrets go?

It was important they clean up as much as they could, as quickly as they could.

After investigating more about Tomassi and the pharmaceutical company he worked for, BioZen, they had discovered something shocking. A team of humans had been working on replicating vampire abilities for months from a single subject in one of their laboratories.

The vast conglomerate had offices and labs all over the world, and they had yet to find the poor soul to get him out, but their team was working diligently to find him.

It was on the top of Ben’s list of questions when he got his hands around Xander’s throat.

Motherfucker.

But first things first. With the knowledge of where the lab in Italy was, Ben had gone there first. Unfortunately, he’d been late to the party. The vampires had no longer been there, and the lab had been dismantled.

From what he could gather, the US government had been involved in the clean-up, unaware that the test subjects were vampires. The soldiers had simply broken in, handed the vampires over to the Moretti family, and retrieved the data.

Ben had reported this back to Ari and been instructed to proceed to step two. He’d been well and truly ready to pop a shiny bullet into Xander’s skull after interrogating the asshole. However, things hadn’t worked out quite as planned.

Such was an assassin’s life.

Xander’s residence was scattered with Italy’s finest undercover guns. I couldn’t get near him. Clearly, he has government protection, along with his own personal guys, Ben informed. This is going to take a lot more recon. I may need some more boots on the ground, but not until I know more about what we are dealing with and their security system.

Oliver can head over when you are ready, Ari said, his baritone voice darker than usual. I’m setting up a video conference for you to connect in with the team and see what they can do to assist you while you remain in Italy. This is important, Ben. Take all the time you need. Within reason. We have to stop these humans.

Ben nodded as Ari rubbed his forehead. He knew the ancient vampire was strategizing. He was smart as fuck. But he looked worried.

Lie low. Make it look as if you’re in town visiting your sister after her abduction.

Right. About that.

It was time for some confessions.

Ari tapped on a keyboard somewhere out of sight, so Ben stood and walked to the full-length glass windows which looked across the roofs of Rome.

So, I’ve been in touch with Sofia, Ben started. There were no secrets between him and Ari—at least, not on his end—but learning Stefano Russo had not only abducted his sister but sexually abused her had infuriated him. His blood still boiled knowing he hadn’t been there to protect her and that his asshole of a father had all but sold her out to the psychopath. She’s mated to one of the senior lieutenants in the king’s army, Lance De Luca.

He hated to bring up the Moretti royal family, but this was too close to home for him not to share with the Director. Full transparency was important for trust. Especially in the business they were in.

That’s a good thing, Ben. Sofia will be well taken care of and protected, Ari said, then as the dots connected, he narrowed his eyes. She’s living in the castle.

Ben nodded.

Don’t get too close, Ben.

There were only about a dozen people in the world who knew Ari’s history and secrets, and Ben was one of them. He understood Ari Moretti’s identity needed to be protected, and he had pledged his life to doing so. It was in everyone’s best interest.

His secrets were safe with Ben.

"Remember everything I’ve taught you, Ben. Those vampires are nearly as highly trained as you—they will already know you are different."

Fuck.

Yeah, so, I...um... Ben rubbed the back of his neck, and Ari narrowed his eyes further. I met the commander.

Also known as Craig the fucker.

I have never met him, but I understand he is powerful and smart, Ari said.

Ben couldn’t help himself. He snorted.

Ben. I don’t need to remind you what’s on the line here. Stay away from the royals and their senior team, and get the job done, he ordered.

As Ari’s Head Assassin, it was rare he ever got such a direct order outside of a job’s specs, but Ben knew what was at stake here. As one of the few vampires alive who knew Ari’s history with the Moretti’s, his presence in Italy was a risk.

But the safety of all vampires was at stake here if he didn’t succeed.

Yes, sir, he said, pulling his head out of his ass. He’d been trained better than this, but for some reason, the male pushed his buttons. One last thing. The Moretti’s have captured Stefano Russo.

Yes, we have received the intel, Ari replied, and Ben wasn’t surprised. And his two brothers. Tongues will wag. See what you can find out and where the data from the labs is.

Ben suspected the Moretti’s had it.

Oliver will remain on standby until you are ready for him. Let’s get this job done and get you back to Seattle.

Roger that, Ben responded.

Present time

BEN ZIPPED UP THE JACKET of his Moretti Royal Army uniform and stared at himself in the mirror.

Clearly, he had followed the Director’s advice...poorly.

Well, shit, Ben said, shaking his head and walking out the door.

He had delayed his start date for two weeks so he could sort out some personal stuff, also known as getting some recon work done for The Institute. But now, Ben was ready to get back inside the castle and see one pretty blue-eyed blonde.

The one he hadn’t been able to stop thinking about.

Gorgeous Anna.

CHAPTER THREE

Y up, okay, got it, Anna Vitale said. Christ. Anna felt like she had ants in her pants. If only Sofia would stop with all the instructions.

She knew the beautiful woman was just doing her job and cared about her, but it was stifling.

Today was Anna’s first day at her new job. If only she could tell her friends she was working for King Moretti. It was an honour, to say the least.

How she’d come to live in the castle would be a little harder to explain—a story she was not permitted to share even if she could stomach it. The matter was highly confidential. Not that she had been in contact with her friends recently. Heck, she didn’t even have a phone—the thing had been lost when she was kidnapped.

That’s right. She had been kidnapped. By humans.

Something no one thought was possible before now. She was a vampire, much stronger than humans, after all. Though not as strong when compared to the male vampires she was surrounded by at Casa Moretti.

Hell, no. They were warriors.

But she had learned that her mother had assured her friends she was fine, away visiting her nonexistent aunty in Mallorca.

I wish. A holiday in Spain sounded like bliss to Anna right now, and if that sexy vampire she’d met a few weeks ago went with her, even better.

My God, he was hot.

Anna’s heart rate sped up as she imagined him in long shorts and a sexy T-shirt, his tattoos,

and muscles on display as they danced long into the tropical hours of the morning.

Ben was one of those males who looked like he’d stepped right out of a Hollywood action movie.

So yes, she’d been fantasizing about him. How could she not? From the moment those dimples had made their appearance, her heart had not stopped fluttering.

Pathetic maybe, but the way Ben had looked at her and his parting whisper after she’d collapsed—and OMG she was so embarrassed about that—had heated her up from the inside out.

Ben.

Just his name made her shiver.

Sofia narrowed her eyes at her.

Shit. One downside of being a vamp—they could hear way more than humans.