by C. D. Gorri
Protective instincts I did not even know I was capable of welled up as she combed her hair with her fingers and rolled her shoulders before fixing her gaze on me. She was tired.
“We can do this after you’ve rested,” I frowned, but she shook her head.
“No. I’m okay. I want to see it up close.”
“Alright. If you are sure,” I said, unable to deny her, “The Cherub and Chariot.”
I withdrew the priceless egg from the box where I’d left it for safekeeping. No one had seen the artifact in decades and I admit, I was sort of giddy with that knowledge. And the fact I could share it with her.
Carina’s soft gasp seemed to echo in the silence of the room. She made no move to touch the egg, and I was content to hold it for her. The magnificent design left me speechless for a moment. So simple, and yet the craftsmanship was superb. A golden egg sat nestled in a two-wheeled wagon being pulled by a chubby child-like angel who looked back at his prize with a small smile on his face. Like he knew a secret that was hidden within and couldn’t wait to deliver it.
It’s opulence was evident in the heavy gold and silver ornaments, the glittering gems that studded the surface. Dozens of diamonds and a large sapphire adorned the trinket, but the real surprise lay on the inside. I turned the egg carefully and opened it, revealing an equally decadent golden clock.
“It’s beautiful,” Carina whispered.
“Yes. I have a special client who is quite the collector.”
“Who?”
“She is a Vampire, Princess of her Clan. Ana de Medici. We are going to attend a party she is throwing tomorrow where I will present her with this, the real Fabergé egg she’d conscripted from me.”
“I’m sorry if I in any way caused-”
“No. It was not your fault. You see, when Vladek stole my shipment, he’d already sent a fake in its stead. Ana sent two of her men with a message for me that day.”
“What happened?”
Lying would have been so much easier, and yet, I couldn’t bring myself to do that. This was as much a part of me as my fangs, as my need for blood to survive. I was the Knyaz of my Clan. I was a Vampire. I was also a businessman.
Carina needed to know all of me before I presented her with the truth. I braced myself for her reactions to what I was about to say. Would she be afraid? Disgusted? I guess I was about to find out.
“Her Vampires are strong in number. Ana’s Clan is across the river, in Manhattan, but they have grown accustomed to modern life and were not expecting me, the Knyaz of a small Clan to defend myself as I had.”
“You speak of her as if you’re in a relationship with her.”
“Are you asking me if I am?” I studied her, waiting to see her response, but Carina was not about to give herself away.
I grinned. It was just something else for me to admire about the beautiful woman who had full command of my heart, even if she didn’t know it.
“How did you defend yourself?” she asked, changing the subject.
I paused a moment. This was a moment of truth, like nothing else. She’d seen me as rescuer and as patron, now she would see me as ruthless. How would she react? There was only one way to find out, and I was not a coward in any sense of the word, though I was not sure how I would respond if she backed away from me in fear. Taking the plunge, I opened my mouth to explain.
“I had the misfortune to send one of her men back to her carrying the head of his coworker with a note that I would rectify the error.”
“Were you hurt?”
The terror in her voice at the prospect of me coming to harm warmed me like nothing else could. She cared. It was there in her bright eyes and frantic heartbeat.
“No, I was not hurt, little one.”
“Good,” she closed her eyes a moment then held out her hand, “let me see what I can read from this fancy egg.”
I smirked and shook my head. Her uncanny way of speaking was like a breath of fresh air, as was everything about her. So much effort was spent in trying not to be bored when you lived forever, but I could see I would never have that problem again with Carina in my life.
Handing over the egg was easy. Watching what it did to her was not. A bolt of some kind, like some unseen lightning or electrical short, seemed to rack her entire body before she went completely still.
Head back, wild mass of curls tumbling around her shoulders, I growled as an ethereal light began to cover her body. She was breathing far too quickly. Her heart was racing and movement beneath her eyelids told me her brain was working rapidly.
“Carina!” I yelled and tried to take the egg from her hands, but it was no good.
She was in some kind of trance, and I was powerless to help her. I heard Klaus’ booted feet running down the hall before stopping at my door.
“Moy Knyaz?” he shouted.
“It’s Carina,” I said through gritted teeth, “she is caught in a vision.”
I tried to touch her, but she was shrouded in magic. Afraid it was burning her with those little electric shocks, I crouched by her side. My eyes went to Klaus as he opened the door.
“I have seen this sort of thing before, there is nothing you can do, but wait,” he said, “but do not fear the Knyazhna will be okay.”
A snarl erupted from my lips, and I hardly noticed he’d referred to her as princess. Later I would thank him and offer her the title as well as my heart. Later. When she was well again.
Fucking hell. That was what this felt like. Like I was trapped in a deep dark hole and I couldn’t get out. Helplessness was not a good look on me.
“You should rest. I can watch over her,” Klaus said after the first hour, but I shook my head. I would not leave her. Not like this.
“You must feed, Alek, keep your strength up.”
“No,” I snarled at him, then turned back to my beloved, “Come back to me, moya krov’ pesnya, wake up.”
6
CHAPTER 6
Carina
My body was aflame. That was the only intelligible thought I’d had since I touched the Cherub and Chariot. One of the incredible fifty Easter eggs made by Faberge for the royal family. Lost to the human world for decades. This piece of the imperial history of Russia was so much more than met the eye.
I wonder if Alek knew that. Probably not, seeing as how the Vampire’s every move since meeting me had been to protect me. I didn’t know why at the time, but even now as he called my name and knelt by my side with fear racing through his veins, I knew.
Mine. The word I’d been hearing since we met was not just in my head, it was in his. We were meant to be together. A single kiss, one small bite, that was all that had transpired between us, but in between was so much more. Ever since I met him, I’d felt a mystical pull of attraction to him.
Yes, I’d been denying it, but what was the point? Scrounging out a life, pulling myself up, brushing off the stigma of being an orphan, I knew all about hard work. Being with a Vampire, giving myself into his absolute power, was probably not going to be easy. But I swore to myself right then, if I got out of this alive, I sure as hell was going to find out.
Time waited for no one. My parents’ time together had been cut short. I mourned them and wanted to avenge them, but I wanted Alek even more than that. I felt as if they would approve. Like my parents were watching me in that moment as time and space fell away and a secret history unfolded before my eyes.
The egg heated in my hands until it felt like it was branding me. Blinding lights destroyed my vision, and I could not hear a sound, except for the whisper of Alek calling me back to him.
Not yet. I sent the thought his way. I don’t know why, but it was important that I finished what I set out to do. Images of people in fancy clothes from a history I had not lived but knew well. I was a fan of tales of Anastasia as a child. The only Romanov rumored to have survived the Bolsheviks during the Russian Revolution.
But these images were before that. Faberge was a master craftsman and a cunning artis
t. He’d created and hid secrets within secrets inside his jeweled eggs. This one was powerful. This secret was old.
I pursed my lips and felt the images get clearer, sharper. A bearded man with electric blue eyes stood in the background, swathed in a black-colored cloak. He seemed to blend into the night, one with the darkness, and I knew him then.
Vampire.
But unlike Alek, I felt no shiver of attraction for the stranger. Revulsion and fear rippled through me and I shuddered as his gaze seemed to fixate on where I stood. But that couldn’t be. My abilities allowed me to track where things had been and to whom they’d belonged through time, but I was never seen or recognized when travelling through those visions.
But what did I know? I was just a normal with an unusual skill. And that black-cloaked man smiled at me, revealing his sharp, needle-like fangs. I shivered as the scene changed before my eyes. No more fancy dresses and happy music in the background. No more wine, or presents, or feasts. No more well-dressed children laughing.
Those images were replaced by the sounds of screams, terror, smoke, and gunfire in the background. The sharp stench of fear permeated the air and that terrible smell was only outdone by the next, and that one was much more horrible. The sickly-sweet decaying aroma that accompanied death filled my nostrils and made me drop to the floor.
The egg was witness to it all. The Cherub and Chariot was stowed away in a suitcase. Taken from the land, hidden from eyes, keeping inside of it a secret that I, with all my sight, still could not see. But it was important somehow, and to me of all people.
“Carina!”
Finally, I felt Alek’s arms around me, and I trembled in them, allowing his heat to push the icy chill away from my skin. I clutched at his shoulders, pushing myself firmly against him.
“Is she alright?” a voice said.
“Leave us,” Alek commanded, and I was never so grateful.
I didn’t want anyone to see me like that. It was like I’d been ripped apart. Vulnerable and terrified in the aftermath of such brutality.
“Shhh,” he whispered against my hair, turning to press kisses to my forehead, my nose, my cheek, and finally my mouth.
“Alek,” I whispered and opened my lips for him.
He breathed my name and accepted my invitation, invading and conquering me with that deep, dark, perfect kiss. This time when I trembled, it was with need. He was too good to be true. Tasting of habaneros and mangos, like some titillating, sinful concoction made only for me.
“Mine,” he growled against my lips.
I pushed my tongue into his mouth, carefully tracing his fangs before deepening the kiss. His rough snarl was so fucking sexy. Moisture pooled between my legs and I whimpered as he stood, lifting me with him and dragging me to the bed.
“This is your room, isn’t it?” I asked.
Suddenly realizing where I’d spent the last day, I understood now why it was so familiar, why I’d felt so safe. It was because of him, all because of Alek. He nodded and pressed his forehead to mine. I could see his struggle to control himself, but I wanted none of that.
“This is dangerous, Carina. I don’t know if I can stop myself.”
“Then don’t. I want to be with you.”
“I could hurt you.”
“I don’t believe that,” I undulated my hips beneath him, pressing my core against the long bar of steel inside his pants.
He was so big, so hard, for me. And that gave me power over the Vampire. Lifting up, I slid the top over my head, noting with pleasure, the way his silver eyes burned as they ran over the scraps of pink lace covering my breasts.
“Your turn,” I whispered and tugged on his lower lip with my teeth.
Alek ground his mouth into mine, claiming me possessively as he tore the shirt clean off his body. Fuck, that was hot. I trembled at the newness of it all.
I had to admit, I was closed off from the world in a lot of ways. My search for vengeance had blinded me to everything else, but for some reason I didn’t regret the fact that this, here, now, would be my first time.
“What?” Alek’s head shot up.
Dang it. I forgot he could read my thoughts. Or at least, that was my assumption.
“You’re a virgin?”
“Technically,” I confessed, “but I am hoping you could relieve me of that problem?”
“Fuck, Carina,” he growled and flexed his hips, pressing against me once more and kissing me with so much passion I damn near swooned from it.
“We have to stop,” he said.
“No. Please don’t stop.”
“You don’t understand. In my Clan, a Virgin’s blood belongs to one man only,” he shook his head but I was not about to let him go, “you have to be clearheaded about this, little one, your blood belongs to your mate-”
“You. My blood belongs to you.”
The words left my mouth as if of their own accord. I wasn’t even sure where they came from, only that they felt right. So right.
Reaching up, I licked a trail from his neck to his earlobe, sucking it into my mouth and using my teeth to nibble on his skin. Alek’s groan was delightful and his weight pressed me down into the mattress.
I relished the heat and pressure that was all him. He was so powerful. He could break me like a twig, but I trusted him. I don’t know why. It was eighty percent instinct, and twenty percent blind faith, but nothing could’ve made me want to walk away.
“You tempt me so, Carina, I don’t think you understand what you mean to me and what this will mean between us.”
“I trust you, Alek. I need you. Please, I was so cold in that vision. It was unlike any read I’d ever done before, and I need you to warm me, Alek, to make me feel again. Please,” I begged.
“If I lay claim to you, sweet, I will never let you go.”
“Don’t,” I said, and I meant that one single word more than I meant anything else in my entire lifetime, “Don’t let me go.”
No one had ever claimed me before. No one had ever wanted me.
“Then you will be mine tonight, krov' moyey krovi.”
His voice deepened and with blurred movements suddenly we were both naked and on his bed. Alek’s hands roamed my body as his mouth sought my lips. The deep bass of his heartbeat pounded through his chest and into mine as he kissed me even more deeply than before.
I never wanted to let go of his lush, beautiful mouth, but he pulled away, grazing over my neck and chest. Suckling one plump nipple into his mouth, I felt need spike through my blood as he tugged on the hardened nub with his teeth.
Everywhere he touched he was branding my soul with his mark and how I wanted it. I longed for it, for him, wanted him to bite me, to mark me and make whatever this was between us permanent. Aleksei ran his hands over my face and neck, then down to my breasts while he slid the length of my body until his face nuzzled my weeping center.
I’d dreaded the day I would lose my virginity ever since I was a child. Fearing it after the countless tales told by the other kids in foster care about pain, hurt, and general embarrassment over the sex act. It was why I was still a virgin. But not for long.
Even more amazing was the fact I didn’t fear those things now. Not with Alek in the driver’s seat. It all seemed so primal, so urgent, and so very natural. Even as he spread my thighs with his long hands and licked a path from my forbidden hole to the tight little bud that held a million nerve endings, I trusted him.
He growled again, deepening his kiss and sucking me into his mouth as he slid one finger, then another into my wet heat. Pulling and stretching me, I groaned as his tongue flicked against my clit. The speedy movement had me trembling, whipping my head from side to side while he stroked my core with those long, skilled appendages.
Those precise little licks pushed me closer and closer to the edge of bliss, and all I wanted was to fall off. Hell, I wanted to dive straight into the silvery, dark oblivion of pleasure with him beside me.
Alek was whispering in Russian, words I di
d not understand, but it didn’t matter as my orgasm hung right there in front of me, and then suddenly, it washed over me. Like an all-conquering tidal wave, a tsunami of bliss, and I was powerless to do anything but go with it. And why not? Alek was there, and I knew no harm would come to me. He wouldn’t allow it.
“Mine,” the word echoed in the room.
It spoke of possession, dominance, and proprietary rights that I would definitely be going over with him, but for right now, all it did was make me come again. And harder than the first time.
Alek slid up my body and placed the broad head of his thick cock at my entrance. Lips glistening with my juices he bent down for an openmouthed kiss as he pressed inside of my heat. I groaned as I tasted myself on his mouth.
It was raw and sexy and I wanted to fall off the edge into that river of bliss again and again with him. His silver eyes blazed with feeling too many emotions to name. They bore into mine as he broke the barrier of my virginity.
I moaned, but Alek soothed me with his hands, his kisses, his beautiful body as he made love to me. His fangs descended, and I nodded as he built momentum.
Yes. I wanted this. Craved the connection. Needed to belong to him. As that now familiar tug began to build deep inside my core, I gasped and turned my head, pulling him closer.
I knew it was reckless, borderline insane, but it felt so fucking good. Something had happened when I touched the artifact. The lost Faberge egg was much more than an imperial decoration. It was a key of sorts.
The memories it had revealed to me had burned my very soul, brought me close to death, and now all I wanted was to feel alive. To seize the moment, to be one with Alek. Here. Now. Always.
He roared above me, but he did not bite. I frowned, but I couldn’t do more than that as I was soon swept up in the tide of pleasure that had every inch of him stiffen above me. He cried out with his release and I raked my nails down his back, if he wasn’t going to bite me then I would mark him in this way.
We would have to talk about. Later. Right then, I could hardly do more than breathe. I fell asleep with him still deep inside of me as he whispered in Russian and kissed my face.