“I’d never met him until this morning,” Vaughn dismissed as he pressed the button for the ground floor.
She stared at him. “Then why did he come here?”
He shrugged. “It was a courtesy call, nothing more, because we have…mutual acquaintances.”
Curiouser and curiouser.
Not that Anastasia intended asking Vaughn for more of an explanation, for example as to who those mutual acquaintances might be. She wasn’t sure she wanted to know.
Besides, she was currently too preoccupied by Vaughn’s close proximity in the elevator. He seemed so much larger in those small confines, more immediate. His cologne was once again that heady combination of spices and the clear and crisp air of a forest.
Her palms felt damp as she clenched her hands at her sides to stop herself from reaching out and touching him. Her breathing became shallow and uneven. Her body heated, her nipples hard inside the bodice of her gown, and between her thighs felt slick and swollen.
And they hadn’t even left the hotel yet!
The fact there was a long black limousine waiting outside for them, courtesy of Nikolai Volkov, did nothing to settle her already frayed nerves.
Vaughn was aware of Anastasia’s nervousness as she sat beside him in the back of the chauffeur-driven limousine. Having lived in Russia all her life, this European tour was the first time she’d left the country. This over-the-top car was probably the most luxury she had ever encountered.
And it had been provided by that bastard Volkov!
Vaughn didn’t doubt the other man had done it on purpose. Oh, he didn’t doubt that Volkov’s admiration for Anastasia was real, but the bastard also seemed to like getting a rise out of Vaughn.
Vaughn only hoped the knife edge of his emotions didn’t spill over this evening, but inwardly knew it would be Volkov’s doing if they did. Deliberately so. The man was enjoying himself far too much at Vaughn’s expense.
“You’re frowning.”
Vaughn turned to look at Anastasia, knowing he was scowling, not frowning, as they traveled through the well-lit London streets. It was the same scowl that creased his brow every time he thought of Volkov.
“Would you rather not have accompanied me this evening?”
What Vaughn would rather not have happened was to see that look of uncertainty in Anastasia’s expression. “It would have been more enjoyable to spend the evening alone with you.” He moved across the leather seat until their thighs brushed, allowing him to lift his hand and gently, so as not to startle her, caress the hair back from her temple. Her unique perfume had already invaded and taken up residence in every part of him. “I very much want to kiss you. May I?”
Taste.
Touch.
Caress.
It was no surprise to Vaughn that his dragon wished for the same thing. They were indivisible in thought and deed.
Anastasia’s eyes widened, the pupils dilating until only that outer purple ring was visible. “I—” She moistened her lips with the tip of her tongue before nodding. “Yes, please.”
Vaughn’s heart began to beat loudly as he forced himself to move slowly toward her.
Not an easy thing to do when he knew he was going feel Anastasia’s lips against his for the first time.
To taste her.
Dear God, just the thought of it was causing his cock to throb painfully.
Vaughn held her gaze with his as he slowly lowered his head to claim her lips.
Chapter Seven
Brightly colored lights burst behind Anastasia’s closed lids.
Shooting stars.
Both those things happened the moment Vaughn’s lips claimed hers.
It was as if time ceased and every molecule of her existence tilted and became concentrated on this single, momentous event.
Vaughn’s lips were soft as they touched hers tentatively, as if he didn’t want to be too forceful and frighten her.
Anastasia wasn’t frightened. She was exhilarated.
Euphoric.
She knew of nothing else, wanted nothing else, but the feel of Vaughn’s lips against hers.
Until she parted her lips and knew the heady delight of Vaughn’s caressing tongue stroking hers before exploring every dip and hollow of her mouth, igniting nerve endings Anastasia hadn’t known existed until now.
Along with pleasure such as she had never known before.
Intense.
Spectacular.
Singular.
There was nothing else. No one else. There was only Vaughn and her fingers gripping tightly onto his wide shoulders as his lips and tongue continued to plunder and claim.
“We’ve arrived at the Volkov residence. Mr. Romanov. Miss Chenkova.”
Anastasia sprang back from Vaughn, the sound of the chauffeur’s voice reminding her that she and Vaughn weren’t alone. If they had been, the car would have crashed by now!
Not that Vaughn seemed particularly concerned by the chauffeur’s presence as he continued to hold her in his arms, his eyes glittering possessively.
With those now-familiar flames burning in those shining depths?
Anastasia was so concentrated on those flickering flames that she didn’t realize Vaughn had released her until his hands cupped either side of her face and he kissed her on the lips, slowly and lingeringly.
“We can continue this later,” he finally murmured.
They could, yes, but Anastasia wasn’t sure it was a good idea for them to do so when they were sharing a hotel suite.
Would Vaughn expect to take it further than kisses?
More importantly, would she let him?
She had zero experience, whereas she was sure Vaughn, probably aged in his mid-thirties, must have plenty. Would he ultimately find her too gauche? Too virginal?
“Stop thinking so hard.” He smoothed away the frown from between her eyes with the soft pads of his thumbs. “It would be ridiculous for me to deny I want to make love to you,” he said ruefully. “But not until you’re ready.”
“What if I never am?”
He visibly swallowed before answering. “Then I’ll accept what you give me and hope that someday it will be more.”
Anastasia looked at him searchingly, but she saw only sincerity in his expression rather than anger or condemnation. “That sounds a little unfair to you.”
He smiled warmly. “It’s enough for now that I’ve found you.”
She gave him a puzzled glance. “Found me…?”
“Do you believe in…” He hesitated before continuing, as if choosing his words carefully, “soul mates?”
“People being destined for each other, you mean?”
“Yes.”
It was close to what she had been thinking just moments ago. “Do you?” she prompted shyly.
“Very much so—” He broke off as the nearside passenger door was suddenly flung open, and they both turned to see Nikolai Volkov standing in front of the white mansion that was obviously his home.
There was an expression of mockery on the harshness of the other man’s features. “We’ll need to change it to an invitation to join us for breakfast if the two of you sit out here much longer!”
“You really are an uptight dragon, aren’t you?” Nikolai murmured derisively. “More so even than Grigor Pendragon, and God knows he had a huge stick up his arse until he met Gayle, his fated mate. She’s managed to drag him kicking and screaming into the twenty-first century.”
The two men were standing off to one side of the Volkovs’ drawing room, Nikolai having made the introductions before leaving Anastasia as the slightly shy center of conversation with Daisy Volkov and Gregori and Gaia Markovic.
The head of the London bratva was as harshly handsome as his second, except he had dark hair and was maybe a year or two younger. His wife, Gaia, was beautiful, and Daisy Volkov was equally as stunning. Both women looked extremely feminine in fitted dresses, red for Gaia and green for Daisy, at the same time as they both managed to give off a don
’t-fuck-with-me-or-mine attitude. Especially Daisy. She had a military bearing to her that said she was just as capable of kicking ass as her husband.
Vaughn’s gaze narrowed on the man standing beside him. “I still find your knowledge of the Pendragon family…disturbing.”
Nikolai gave an unperturbed grin. “If I actually valued your opinion, that might be of concern to me. As I don’t, it isn’t,” he dismissed without any intended insult. Nikolai was simply stating the truth; he had zero interest in Vaughn’s opinion of him.
Vaughn found himself liking the man in spite of his reservations in regard to allowing a human to walk around with the information Volkov had of his kind. It was confirmed, from the knowing expression in Gregori Markovic’s eyes when the two of them were introduced, that he possessed that same knowledge.
Vaughn chuckled. “I really don’t want to like you, you arrogant bastard.”
The other man gave an unconcerned shrug. “You should have met me before Daisy mellowed me.”
He winced. “You mean you were worse than this?”
“No sense of humor whatsoever.” Nikolai frowned. “Not even sure I knew how to smile back then.”
Vaughn could imagine that from what he knew of this man’s history.
It couldn’t have been easy for Nikolai, who grew up on the streets of Moscow as the son of a prostitute and an unknown father. His future could have been as bleak after he escaped Russia as a teenager by hiding aboard a ship bound for the London docks, if Gregori Markovic’s father, the previous head of the bratva here, hadn’t taken the young orphan into his own household.
Besides, it was possible to see by the lines etched beside Nikolai’s eyes and mouth, lines obviously not due to laughter, that life hadn’t always been as happy or pleasant for him as it was now.
Vaughn had a feeling that, given time, he and Nikolai might become friends.
If the bastard ever stopped laughing at him long enough!
In the meantime, Vaughn’s gaze returned to Anastasia as she chatted easily with their hostess and the Markovics. He hadn’t realized until they were inside the Volkov mansion, but her eyes had a feverish glitter, her cheeks were flushed, and her lips were slightly swollen.
Lips that Vaughn had kissed and worshipped just a short time ago until his own lips tingled, and his cock was pressing urgently against the zip of his trousers.
He was hungry for more of those kisses. Wanted to caress and kiss every inch of Anastasia’s body. To claim his mate.
This evening couldn’t be over quickly enough for him!
“Gaia and Daisy are really lovely, and Gregori was so charming,” Anastasia stated warmly once she and Vaughn were seated in the chauffeur-driven limousine on their way back to the hotel at the end of the evening.
“And Nikolai?”
“I found Nikolai…surprising.” She frowned. “I know of his reputation in Russia as The Wolf, of course. Even as a teenager in Moscow, he was someone people knew not to be on the wrong side of. Since coming to England, he’s become the powerful enforcer for the Markovic family. And yet at the same time, he’s obviously happily married and father to two of the most beautiful children I’ve ever seen.” Daisy had proudly shown her a photograph of the two children currently fast asleep in the bedrooms on the first floor of the house. “He’s an enigma,” she decided.
“And Gregori?”
“A man of calm and reason, and very much suited to head the bratva here in London. Gaia obviously adores him and their children.”
Vaughn gave a shake of his head. “You seem completely unruffled by the fact you’ve just had dinner with two of the most dangerous men in England,” he explained when she looked at him questioningly.
“I was very nervous to begin with,” Anastasia admitted ruefully. “But I quickly realized that underneath all the scary stuff, they’re also husbands and fathers.”
“Who occasionally kill people and hide the bodies God knows where.”
Anastasia gave a chuckle at the disgusted expression on Vaughn’s face. “And halfway through the evening, I thought how similar to them you are.” She eyed him curiously.
“Except I don’t always bother hiding the bodies. Sometimes I eat them!” Vaughn muttered.
“What?” Surely she must have misheard that last remark?
He eased the tension from his shoulders. “Just joking,” he dismissed. “Although I can’t say I’m sorry the evening is over.”
Anastasia arched her brows. “Is it?”
Vaughn looked at her searchingly for several long seconds. A penetrating gaze she was only able to withstand by curling her fingers until the nails dug into her palms. She didn’t have any experience flirting with men either, but she very much wished for the two of them to return to the kisses they had shared on the way to the Volkovs’ home.
His expression softened. “I don’t ever want you to think I’m taking advantage of the fact we’re currently sharing a hotel suite.”
Anastasia had been a “good girl” all her life. She’d had to be, first in the orphanage and then the ballet school, if she wanted the chance to make some sort of life for herself. She’d learned early on that if she wanted to be successful, then she had to do as she was told and not make waves.
She didn’t remember either of her parents, which wasn’t surprising when she’d been placed in the orphanage as a baby. As far as she was aware, she had no family. No parents. No siblings. There had never been hugs for her, no words of praise, only hard work.
This, kissing Vaughn, was as close as she’d ever come to intimacy with anyone.
“I don’t,” she answered him firmly. “I’ve always known myself very well, Vaughn, and from the moment I saw you sitting alone in the theater box staring down at me, I’ve felt a connection to you. One I can’t explain,” she added huskily. “But I feel a sense of belonging with you. Something I’ve never had before with anyone. I want—I want—”
“Yes?” Vaughn was now sitting so close to her, the warmth of his breath wafted over her flushed cheeks.
She gazed at him unflinchingly. “I want you, Vaughn. In a way I’ve never wanted anyone before.”
Could this really be happening, Vaughn wondered.
Anastasia felt their connection too.
She wanted him.
Because she doesn’t yet know who and what we are.
Vaughn felt the disappointment, at this timely reminder from his dragon, rush through him with the force of a tsunami. No matter how much he wanted Anastasia, how much she desired him, the latter might not be true once she knew he was a dragon shifter.
He brushed his knuckles against the warmth of her cheek. “We need to talk first. There are some…things I need to tell you about myself.”
“You aren’t already married with half a dozen children, are you?” She sounded as if she was teasing, but Vaughn could see the uncertainty flickering in the depths of those beautiful, purple-rimmed blue eyes.
“No, to both those things,” he assured dryly.
She looked alarmed. “Dying?”
“No.” Vaughn glanced at the chauffeur. The other man didn’t appear to be listening to their conversation as he concentrated on driving through the busy London streets, any more than he had shown any reaction earlier to Vaughn and Anastasia kissing in the back of the car in the Volkovs’ driveway. But this was a conversation that called for the privacy of their hotel suite and the time in which to explain all to Anastasia. After Vaughn had done that, whatever happened between them next would be her decision.
Or not, his dragon reminded him.
Or not, Vaughn echoed heavily.
Take.
Claim.
Mine.
Yes, Vaughn was well aware of how important Anastasia was to both him and his dragon. But he wouldn’t claim her by deceiving her. He already felt too much for her to trick her into becoming their mate.
Anastasia’s smile lost its teasing edge. “Then I don’t understand what the problem is.”
<
br /> “The problem isn’t with you, it’s with me—”
“You’re really going with that excuse?” She gave a disgusted snort accompanied by a roll of her eyes.
“What…?”
“I might have led a sheltered life, Vaughn, but I read romance novels all the time, and that ‘it isn’t you, it’s me’ thing is always just a way of letting someone down lightly when you aren’t interested. I would rather you were honest than try to let me down gently.” She turned to stare out the window beside her.
Vaughn spared an irritated glance at the definitely listening chauffeur as the other man gave a soft snigger. No doubt her words were a cause for amusement at Vaughn’s expense, which the driver would no doubt pass on to his bastard of an employer.
Oh, fuck what Nikolai Volkov did or didn’t think of Vaughn. It was of no relevance here and now.
With that in mind, he turned his full attention back to Anastasia. “This isn’t any sort of thing. I really do have something I need to tell you before we take this any further.” He placed his hand firmly on her thigh. “I would prefer that conversation to take place once we’re back in the privacy of the hotel.”
Except once they were back in the hotel and walking down the hallway to their suite, it was just in time for Vaughn to see another man quickly walking in the other direction before disappearing round a corner at the end of the corridor.
A familiar figure, dressed in a tightly fitting black T-shirt and even tighter black jeans that showcased the taut contours of his arse.
Vaughn quickly unlocked the door to the suite with his keycard before turning on the lights and pushing Anastasia inside.
“What on earth are you doing?” she gasped as he turned to leave.
Vaughn kept his narrowed gaze trained down the hallway where he had seen the other man disappear. “Lock the door, and don’t open it again to anyone but me,” he instructed harshly.
“I don’t understand…”
Vaughn winced at her obvious bewilderment. “I’ll be back as quickly as I can.”
“But where are you going?”
Vaughn’s nostrils flared, and he knew his angry dragon was on the verge of breathing fire.
Vaughn (Russian Dragon Heat 2) Page 6