Mikhail

by Lauren Smith

  He smiled and leaned over her. She tilted her head back to welcome his approaching kiss. The sound of the fire and the distant roar of the sea felt like home for the first time, because he wasn’t alone.

  “I can’t believe I’m really doing this,” she whispered.

  He chuckled. “Having sex with a dragon?”

  “Having sex, period. I’ve imagined it for so long, and now I’m finally going to do it.”

  Mikhail nibbled her bottom lip. “I’m glad your first time is with me.”

  He meant that. He loved knowing that her first time would be with him, this beautiful, compassionate, intelligent woman whom destiny had seen fit to give to him. She was his second chance at life, and he would never take her for granted. They were sharing something intimate and special. No man would replace him in this moment. And if he had his way, no man would replace him ever.

  “Lie back.” She did as he commanded. Seeing her bare except for those tiny wet black panties made every fantasy he’d had for decades come roaring back to life.

  “What is it?” she asked, a hint of worry in her voice. “We could turn off some of the lights if—”

  “No,” he said. “I wish to look at you. All of you.” He leaned over and hooked his fingers into her panties so he could tug them down her legs. She lifted her hips, her face bright red. Her shyness was endearing, but he never wanted her to feel unsure of herself, not with him. When he dropped the panties on the floor, he grasped her knees and pushed them apart. Her breath hitched, but she didn’t ask him to stop.

  “Please, go slow,” she breathed as he crawled up her body on the bed. He nodded and nuzzled her stomach, pressing slow kisses there before moving up to her breasts. The full mounds were an irresistible temptation. He settled his hips between her legs but didn’t put his weight down on her. Piper’s hands settled on his shoulders as he kissed one nipple, then sucked on it until she moaned and dug her hands in his hair, urging him on.

  She murmured something when he slid one hand down her body to touch her folds. Then she said it again more clearly. “Distract me.” She was wet and hot to the touch, but she tensed when he stroked a fingertip between the sensitive folds.

  “Distract you?” He moved back down her body before she could react. He placed his shoulders between her thighs, stopping her from closing up on him. He kissed the top of her mound before moving lower. He licked her, like a cat with a bowl of cream, growling in delight as she tried to wriggle away but couldn’t. The tiny bundle of nerves peeped out of its hood, and he closed his lips around it.

  She gasped in shock as he slid a finger inside her, probing her. He felt the barrier of her innocence as he pushed deeper. She let out a whimper, and Mikhail smiled before he sucked harder. Her body responded with a flood of heat, which he happily licked. She thrashed her head, and he sensed she wouldn’t make it much longer. He moved quickly, sliding back up to kiss her. Then he guided his swollen shaft to her entrance and pushed in. Her body resisted, but he couldn’t go slow, not if he wanted to cause as little pain as possible.

  “Forgive me, little dove,” he whispered. He slanted his mouth down over hers in a ruthless, distracting kiss as he drove deep into her. Her hips bucked, and she bit his lip, her nails digging into his back, but he welcomed the bite of pain. They moved slowly, gently, in a way he’d never imagined. It wasn’t in a dragon’s nature to mate like this, but right now the man in him was in control.

  The cadence of whispered words and sighs as they moved toward a shared climax was breathtaking. The universe seemed to shrink to an infinite space between their breaths. Her blue eyes lit with a fire that matched the rolling heat surging through his chest. There were no words, only the awe-inspiring sensation that this moment would change him forever. His body and soul belonged to this woman now. As they reached the zenith of their pleasure at the same moment, Mikhail gave Piper everything that he was…including his heart.

  The glow inside him did not fade as he collapsed next to her, sweat dewing on his body. Tears stung his eyes, and his throat closed as raw emotion choked him. He cupped Piper’s cheeks and pressed his forehead to hers, whispering to her in Russian.

  “You are mine; I am yours. Take my body. My heart. I am yours to command.”

  Piper’s sweet sigh and bashful smile seized his heart. Loving Elizabeth, his beautiful Gloriana, had never been like this. He could measure his heartbeat against Piper’s, and his breath and his body were for her and her alone.

  She wriggled closer, and he reached for the blanket, pulling it up over them. “What did you say just then?”

  “Nothing,” he lied, but she pinched him, so he relented. “Only that I belong to you.” He held his breath, nervous to see her reaction. Piper stroked a hand on his throat and then down along his shoulders, and a blush tinged her cheeks.

  She nibbled her lip. “You belong to me?” He nodded. “No one’s ever belonged to me before.” Awe filled her voice, and finally he could breathe again. She understood what this meant, that what had just happened between them was more than sex. He had mated her. She didn’t know the full importance of what had just happened, but she would soon, once he’d summoned the courage to tell her. Elizabeth’s betrayal still left him on edge.

  “I still can’t believe you’re a dragon,” she said, her eyes fixed on his. “A real, honest-to-God dragon.”

  His lips twitched. “I suspect you will have many questions once you get used to the idea.”

  Piper chuckled. “I have questions now. How old are you? Where did the first dragons come from? Belishaw said the dragon and the man are sort of separate. How does that work? How does any of it work?”

  “So many questions.” Mikhail slid one arm around her waist, tugging her closer. “We dragons have been around for millennia. The old ones, ones so distant even history has forgotten them, were the ones who first joined with humans. I do not know much of that past; it seems more myth now than truth. My race is scattered across the earth now, and most who would know the truth have perished in battles. While we are immortal, we can be killed.” He thought of his parents. How his father’s desire to hunt Thunderbirds, another ancient creature, had gotten him killed, which in turn had killed his mother through the mating grief.

  “But you’re separate?”

  “Yes. The man and the dragon are two full beings who share one vessel. The body is fully human and fully dragon, but only one part can be expressed at a time. When the dragon takes over, the human part of me is locked away. I can see, hear, and feel what happens to the dragon, but I’m no longer in control.”

  A shadow passed over Piper’s eyes, but it was so fleeting he couldn’t help but wonder if he’d imagined it. “What did you do to me to make me help you steal the jewels? I would never have done that willingly.”

  Mikhail nodded. “Dragons have the ability to mesmerize others. I hesitated to use it on you, but it was necessary. I needed you to come with me. I knew from the moment I saw you that you and I were meant to be together.”

  He didn’t tell her about the consequences of their mating. She wasn’t ready to know yet, and he wasn’t ready to tell her. She’d been through so much with him in the last two days that he didn’t want to scare her with talk of true mates.

  She bit her lip, studying him. “Would you ever use that on me to do things I didn’t want to? Aside from jewel stealing, I mean?”

  He shook his head fiercely. “No. I would never force you to do anything, unless it was to save you. If you’re ever in danger and you refuse an order I give to protect you, that’s when I would use it on you, but only then.”

  “That’s not good enough. You could twist any situation into saying it’s for my own safety. Free will is important. It might be the most important thing there is.” She scowled at him, and he saw a hint of warning in her eyes.

  “I agree. I wish I had never done it in the first place, but I could think of no other way.”

  “Then promise to me now that you will never do it again
, no matter what. Even if you believe it’s for my own safety.” Her gaze softened, and his heart swelled in his chest. God, he loved it when she looked at him like that, like she cared about him.

  Mikhail did not want to make that promise. She did not know what his world could be like at times. But he also saw how important this was to her, and he understood. “You have my word,” he said, stealing a quick kiss.

  She sighed against his lips in a dreamy way that made his dragon purr in contentment.

  “Any other questions?” he asked.

  “Tons, but maybe in a little while,” she said and tucked her head beneath his chin. What he had said earlier had caused her to worry. He didn’t like that. She was his mate now, and he wanted her healthy and happy. He wouldn’t make the same mistake he’d made with Elizabeth.

  But this would be different. Piper wouldn’t betray him, and he would see to it that she had the world at her fingertips. He held her close, breathing in her scent and letting it banish his dark memories. Letting it bury the past.

  11

  People who deny the existence of dragons are often eaten by dragons from within.

  —Ursula K. Le Guin

  “What do you mean the jewels are gone?”

  Conrad Sinclair stared at Barty Winston from across the expansive mahogany desk in his office. The wood had been so finely polished that he could see his own ghostly reflection if he leaned close enough to the surface.

  “There was a burglary.” Barty shifted uncomfortably in the chair opposite Conrad’s desk. “Someone came in through the kitchen door that connects to the museum from the mews.”

  Conrad frowned, his temper roiling like magma beneath his skin.

  “But the auction house has security cameras and alarm systems. The jewels were in a safe.” He’d been working with Barty to acquire the information needed to make his own heist possible, but it seemed someone had beaten him to it.

  “It was an inside job. The security cameras were put on a loop. The kitchen alarm was disabled with the correct code. Oddly enough, they left a small amount of the gems behind. But…” Barty nudged his thick glasses up his nose with his index finger. “There was, however, one camera that they missed. I believe the thieves forgot about it.”

  “Thieves? More than one?” Conrad didn’t like the idea of chasing down two people. The odds they would separate and break up the hoard of jewels were high. That made his job of recovering them much harder.

  “Yes.” Barty scowled. “Piper Linwood, the gemologist you wished to acquire, seems to be involved. The lone camera that wasn’t hacked shows her and a man carrying the jewels out to a vehicle parked in the mews and driving away. Her role in the burglary seemed to be voluntary.”

  Barty dug through his pockets and his coat until he found what he was looking for, a small thumb drive. He held it out to Conrad over the desk.

  Conrad made no move to take it. “What is that?”

  “The recording of the security video. I have a friend at Scotland Yard who owed me a favor. I thought you might want to see it.”

  Only then did Conrad accept the drive. He inserted it into his computer and pulled up the video file.

  It was dark by the mews, but he could see Piper clearly as she exited the kitchen door carrying a box of jewels. A man followed her, his arms also laden with boxes. The man was dark-haired and tall, and he moved with a grace that was unnatural for humans. The man moved like a dragon. Conrad paused the video and zoomed in on the man’s face.

  “You have no idea who this man is?” he asked Barty.

  “No. Scotland Yard is currently running him through facial recognition, but they won’t have any results for another couple of days.”

  Conrad studied the blurry face of the mystery man, and then it hit him—a flash of memory, centuries old. A man he had seen only once, as they’d passed by each other in a darkened cell. The memory was brief, faded around the edges, but Conrad was sure it was the same man. Mikhail Barinov…the Russian dragon he’d convinced Queen Elizabeth I had been there to betray and use her. She’d thrown Barinov into prison only to later change her mind and throw Conrad in as well as punishment against all dragons.

  “Thank you, Mr. Winston.” Conrad removed the drive from his computer and handed it back to Barty. “I will handle everything from here on. I no longer require your services.”

  Barty gulped. “And my fee?” Each word shook as he spoke, and Conrad couldn’t resist scaring the sniveling little mortal. He stood up and placed his hands on the desk as he leaned over to stare at the man.

  “And what, exactly, do you think I owe you? You were unable to fulfill your end of the bargain.”

  “But—”

  “But nothing. You are fortunate I am letting you leave here with your life.”

  “My life?”

  Conrad let his dragon start to claw its way to the surface. His dark eyes turned to bright gold, and he lifted one hand from his desk, his fingers suddenly wreathed in flames.

  Barty let out a terrified screech and fell flat on his back as his chair tipped over. Conrad watched the pathetic human scramble away on his hands and knees out the door. Well, there was one less vote for him come the general election.

  When Conrad was alone, he sat back down at his desk, thinking. Mikhail Barinov had only one set of allies that he knew of in England, the Belishaws, which meant he could use that connection to find him.

  The one problem was that the Belishaw family was still considered the current ruling family of the dragons in England. He would be putting himself at great risk if he forced his hand early.

  Conrad snorted at the irony. Once again, Mikhail Barinov had inadvertently forced his hand, made him have to move ahead of schedule. But he needed those gems for an alliance of his own, for the final pieces of his plan to fall into place. Then the coming election would be all but guaranteed.

  And then the fun would begin.

  Conrad smiled and leaned back in his chair. There was a knock at his door, and his smile faded.

  “Mr. Sinclair?” His assistant, Brenda, a small mousy woman, appeared in the doorway, smiling hesitantly.

  “Yes?” he asked, watching her intently. He did so love to make her squirm.

  “The prime minister is in the conference room. I believe she is a tad early for your meeting.” Brenda glanced at her smartphone, no doubt checking their shared calendar.

  “Tell the prime minister that I will see her in fifteen minutes,” Conrad announced. He wondered if she was having doubts about stepping down. Well, it wouldn’t take much to remind her it was the right thing to do. For the good of the country.

  After Brenda closed the door, he laughed for a good long while. Even in five hundred years, he had not lost his ability to control humans. After the prime minister stepped down and called for a new election, things would move very fast indeed. A fiery campaign, preying on the fears and prejudices of the population, convincing them he would be their salvation. It had worked before, and those politicians didn’t even have a dragon’s charisma.

  And then, when the country put their trust in him, he would watch it all burn.

  Oh, Elizabeth, I swore to you that I would destroy your precious nation for what you did to me. I just never said when.

  Piper woke slowly, her body stirring with a languid, relaxed feeling of bliss. She’d never known her body could be so limp. Heat radiated from behind her, and warm breath fanned against the back of her neck. A large masculine hand cupped her right breast, offering a slight squeeze as she stirred.

  Mikhail.

  She was in bed with a man who could shift into a dragon. And he’d made love to her. Her thighs quivered with the memory, as did the soreness deep inside her.

  She’d done it. She’d finally had sex, and it had been scary, a bit painful, and then amazing. He’d been slow and gentle, and she’d felt herself come apart beneath him. The memories warmed her all over. She was going to be embarrassed when he woke up, but at least right now, while he
was asleep, she could enjoy this. Jodie had been right. This was so worth it.

  But as much as she wanted to stay right where she was, nature was calling. She gently pried Mikhail’s hand off her breast and slipped out of bed. He made a soft growl but didn’t open his eyes and rolled onto his back, still asleep.

  The dressing gown with the dragons stitched into it lay beside the bed on the floor. She slipped it on and went into the bathroom.

  Afterward, she stared hard at herself in the mirror and almost didn’t recognize the woman she saw. This woman had swollen lips, and her hair was in a wild tumble of waves, looking more golden than plain light brown. The red satin gown hugged her full figure in a sensual way that made her look like a lingerie model rather than a timid, curvaceous virgin scientist who knew almost nothing about sex. She couldn’t help but smile. If Jodie could see her now, she’d totally freak out.

  Hello, sex kitten; goodbye, prude!

  Piper pulled the robe tight around her as a chill slithered though the bathroom window. Struck with a sudden inspiration, she tiptoed back through Mikhail’s bedroom, pausing by the bed long enough to stroke her fingertips along his chest before she left. She had no idea what time it was, but it was still daylight out, and she was going to make them both something to eat.

  She was almost to the kitchen when she noticed a door open at the end of the hall. It hadn’t been open before. Curious, she padded down the hall and peeked inside. It was a study, but from the look of it, no one had used it in a very long time. A layer of dust coated the gilt writing desk and the bookshelves against one wall. The fireplace here had amassed an army of dust bunnies, and the sunlight had faded the rich fabrics of the couch and chairs.