Rurik: A Royal Dragon Romance (Brothers of Ash and Fire Book 3)

by Lauren Smith

  “What about them?”

  “They’re golden-green. I swear, yesterday they were pure green, like jade.”

  He shrugged and rolled off her. “It’s a trick of the light,” he answered casually, but Charlotte knew that wasn’t the case. Eye color changes were a magical trait in dragons, along with rapid healing. The wounds from last night were almost healed. The once bleeding raw holes had healed over and looked like pink knotted scars from old injuries.

  But then she remembered, he’d just been scratched, hadn’t he? But hadn’t she removed the bullets herself? Her mind fought with what she had seen versus what her gut told her was true. Had he planted the idea in her head?

  “How are you feeling?” How could she pretend not to notice that he had healed far too fast from something that would have killed a mortal man? “Have the wounds reopened?”

  “Fine,” he answered carefully. “Just a scratch, remember?”

  There was something about the way he said “remember.” He had planted the idea in her head. He looked over her head toward the window and grinned. “I see your wish has been granted. Look, snow.” He pointed at the landscape outside, which was full of fluffy flakes.

  “You’ll have to thank your brother for me,” Charlotte joked. “But I won’t be able to get to Saint Petersburg to see the Winter Palace. It’s a five-hour train ride.” It had been on her bucket list, but she’d come here for a particular mission, one that she was failing at spectacularly. She shot a guilty glance at the mini-fridge where she’d stored the vials of suppressant and their injector needles.

  I was too busy freaking out over nearly getting killed and almost having sex with a dragon shifter in the shower. Get it together, MacQueen. You just need an opportunity to take him down, and then you can call the Saint Petersburg team to secure him.

  “Why don’t you shower, and I’ll call my jet? We can be in Saint Petersburg in under three hours.” Rurik came over, his shirtless chest level with her eyes. His skin was slightly tan, like he’d spent time in the sun even in the midst of a Russian winter. She tilted her head back, and he traced his fingertips along her throat, making her tremble with delight.

  “Your jet?” she asked, trying to contain her excitement. If he took her to Saint Petersburg, they would be that much closer to the Brotherhood offices. A twinge of renewed guilt dug like a small but sharp knife between her ribs. She smiled up at him.

  “It’s one of the perks of my family. The jet is always on call.” He leaned down with a crooked grin and pressed an open-mouthed kiss on her that sent sparks of arousal through her exhausted body.

  “Okay. I’m in,” she said with a sigh.

  “Good. You should shower first. I’ll make the call.” He stole one more quick kiss that made her head go fuzzy. She forced herself to climb off the bed and go into the bathroom.

  As she stripped out of her clothes, she heard him speak in Russian to someone on the phone. She heard him chuckle, the warm sound making her smile too. She gave herself a little shake.

  What am I doing? I can’t fall for him. He’s the target. I have to get close to bring him down. That’s it. Then it occurred to her that perhaps his affections toward her weren’t genuine, but were brought on by the experimental pheromone she’d put on. Still, it didn’t make her feel that much better about what she was planning to do.

  Was this how her brothers always felt? Did they have to get close to preternatural creatures to betray them? For the first time in her life, she had to face the fact that maybe her brothers were right about her. She might not be cut out for their line of work.

  Charlotte took a quick shower and dressed. Rurik was already in his clothes from last night, examining his motorcycle jacket with a dark scowl. He slid a finger through one of the bullet holes and let out a stream of curse words. When he saw that she was watching him, he swung his jacket on. It was funny, she knew she should be freaked out over him being shot, but whenever she thought about it, she calmed and focused on one thought—she was safe and she was with him.

  “We will need to stop at my apartment again before we leave.”

  “Okay.” She collected her purse, her coat, and her camera. Then she walked over to the mini-fridge and opened the door, careful to angle herself so she blocked his view.

  “I’m grabbing some snacks for the plane. You want anything?” She tucked a small black carrying case between two candy bars and crammed them into her purse, burying them deep.

  “No, my plane will have the necessary amenities.” Rurik laughed. “Caviar from the Black Sea, if you wish.”

  “Not much of a caviar fan,” she said as she shut the mini-fridge door. She had jeans and a nice sweater on, along with a thick blue peacoat. She hoped it would be warm enough for where they were going.

  “Nor am I,” Rurik said with a chuckle. “But it is expected.”

  She waved a hand over herself. “Do I need different clothes, or are these okay?”

  Rurik smiled. “I much prefer you without clothes, but it is cold outside and I wouldn’t want you to freeze.”

  “Ha ha.” She laughed sarcastically at his teasing, even though she liked it. A hot blush flooded her face.

  “There it is.” His low rumbling chuckle made her burn with desire.

  “There what is?”

  “Your blush. It’s quite a fun challenge to see what makes you turn red, my little rose.” He slid a hand beneath her coat to stroke her lower back, giving her ass a playful squeeze.

  She smacked his chest. “Are we leaving now?” If they stayed here much longer, she was afraid they would end up back in bed and doing what they’d almost done last night and this morning. It was exactly what she wanted. And that’s what made this game they were playing so dangerous.

  “You failed,” Dimitri snapped at Luis Silva. Luis, the battle dragon of the Silva family who controlled most of Brazil, curled his lips in a challenge. He slammed his hands down on Dimitri’s desk. Dimitri looked at those hands, unimpressed by the cracks they’d made in the wood finish.

  “Last night wasn’t my fault,” Luis said. “Those bullets you provided me? Completely underpowered.”

  “That is the nature of a subsonic silenced pistol,” Dimitri countered. He’d overestimated this man’s intelligence. “You didn’t want to attract attention to yourself, now did you?”

  “Yes, but to do it right, I’d have to go right up to him and shoot him point-blank. You think I’m going to do that in front of security cameras?”

  “And what the fuck were you doing shooting up one of the nicer hotels in Moscow in the first place? You were supposed to take care of it from the shadows, not in the limelight. Don’t make me regret this alliance, Silva.”

  Luis’s black eyes were as dark as obsidian, but Dimitri didn’t back down.

  “He was with a woman. A human. I was curious to see if she would be given his protection.”

  Dimitri calmed a little. “I know the woman. I saw her too.” If Rurik was protecting a woman, they might be able to use her.

  “He took at least three bullets when he shielded her from the attack. That was instinct. She means something to him.” Silva pulled out a slender switchblade and flicked it open. He tossed it into the air, catching it by the handle as it came back down. A pointless display of agility, Dimitri thought, common among those compensating for actual talent.

  “You plan on kidnapping her to lure him in?”

  Luis nodded with a sly grin. “To the shadows, as you put it. The Ramirez family, do you remember them? They controlled most of Brazil a hundred years ago.”

  “I remember.” Dimitri hadn’t liked Pablo Ramirez. He reminded Dimitri too much of Grigori Barinov and his brothers, no doubt part of the reason the two houses had once had an alliance. Pablo had believed dragons were supposed to be guardians to humans rather than their rulers. In other words, he’d been a fool.

  “Pablo mated a mortal woman. We took her, and after we had our fun, we used her to lure Pablo’s family into a t
rap.” Luis snapped his fingers. “And that was the end of the Ramirez line. It cost me ten of my men, but men can be replaced.”

  Dimitri didn’t smile like Luis did. “Pablo was too trusting. Rurik is no fool. You won’t catch him off guard. Not enough to kill him. And he won’t take a mate. He’s resisted the lure before.”

  Luis was still grinning like a jackal. “Perhaps. But I believe I know something you do not.”

  Dimitri steepled his fingers and leaned back in his chair. “Oh?”

  Luis flipped his knife again, and this time the blade landed point down on the pad of his finger, yet no blood was drawn.

  “That woman he was with? She is human, but that isn’t all she is.” Luis continued to draw out the suspense a little longer.

  “What is she?”

  “She’s Damien MacQueen’s sister.”

  The announcement hit Dimitri like a sledgehammer. The sister of a Brotherhood hunter? And not just any hunter. The head of the entire organization.

  “Are you sure?” he asked.

  “Positive. We keep track of MacQueen’s family closely.”

  “Is she a hunter or tracker?”

  “Neither,” Luis said. “She’s a civilian, as they say. She has some degree, I forget the word, but she does not work for the Brotherhood. She has no real training, no protection.”

  Dimitri scoffed. “No protection? I doubt that. MacQueen wouldn’t let his sister go unwatched.”

  “Yet she is here with a dragon. Do you think if MacQueen was watching her closely he would have allowed that? You know how the Brotherhood feels about our kind,” Luis spat and closed his switchblade as he got to his feet. “If you want Rurik dead, you let me do this my way.”

  Dimitri got to his feet as well. “What’s your plan?”

  “We tip MacQueen off, let him know who his sister is shacking up with. Odds are he will lose his shit and come in guns blazing. And”—Luis grinned—“we’ll tell Rurik’s brothers. They can’t know who he’s with, but once they do, they’ll close ranks, ready to fight.”

  “You would give the Barinovs a heads-up? I don’t think—” Dimitri began.

  “No, we tell them that she’s a spy, a hunter sent by her brother. You have to admit playing both sides against each other is the best way to handle this.”

  Dimitri considered it. Perhaps Luis wasn’t an idiot after all. It wasn’t perfect, however. Grigori didn’t trust him, and he would trust Luis even less. However, one thing all dragons agreed upon was that they had to be careful around the Brotherhood. It was one of the few unifying forces between the dragon families of the world.

  “Fine. But let me tip off MacQueen and Grigori.”

  “Excellent.” Luis reached into his leather jacket and pulled out a pair of Cuban cigars, handing one to Dimitri. Luis snapped his finger at the end of his, and a small flame ignited the cigar’s tip. Dimitri did the same and took a slow drag of his exquisite Cuban.

  “If anyone is still standing after this is over, we’ll snuff them out.” Luis puffed out a circular ring of smoke, which transformed into the shape of a dragon and then a shapeless cloud.

  Dimitri watched the ghostly image of the dragon made of smoke fade. “Agreed.”

  The Barinovs would finally be eliminated, and Ruslan and the rest of his family would be avenged. Dimitri began to laugh, hard enough that tears even came to his eyes.

  7

  I think love is stronger than habits or circumstances. I think it is possible to keep yourself for someone for a long time and still remember why you were waiting when she comes at last. ―Peter S. Beagle, The Last Unicorn

  Charlotte stared at the interior of the luxury jet. “Holy cow, you weren’t kidding!”

  Rurik leaned against the plush leather seat closest to him as he watched her. A smile crossed his lips, one he couldn’t seem to stop, nor did he want to. She made him want to hoot and holler like a child, her innocence was so infectious.

  “I’m glad you’re pleased.” He found he wanted to be more formal around her now, to play the gentleman the way he had with the queens and princesses of old. Charlotte brought that out in him; it was amusing and a little disturbing. He’d always been good at adapting to the changing times, yet with Charlotte he felt his past self coming back, the old-fashioned side of his dragon that would cherish and guard her.

  “Rurik!” A voice from the plane’s open door made him jerk in surprise. Grigori and his mate, Madelyn, were coming up the steps.

  He blocked his brother’s path to the plane’s cabin. “Grigori, what are you doing here?”

  Grigori arched his brow when they came face to face. Neither dragon flinched. “You tell me you want the plane to show Saint Petersburg to a girl? I’m guessing this is the same girl who asked for snow? So I am curious. I want to meet the woman who’s enchanted my baby brother.” From behind Grigori, Madelyn gave a stifled giggle.

  Rurik curled his lip in the face of this age-old brotherly challenge.

  “You can meet her later.”

  “I’ve already told the pilot that he’s taking four of us.” Grigori punched Rurik playfully in the arm, and Rurik, still sore from the bullet wound, winced. Grigori didn’t miss his reaction, and his eyes narrowed.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “Not here. I’ll fill you in later,” Rurik whispered. Charlotte was approaching. He didn’t want to explain things to his brother with her around. “Charlotte,” he said, changing his tone, “this is my brother Grigori. He and his wife, Madelyn, have decided to join us.”

  “Hi.” Charlotte beamed, shaking hands with Grigori and Madelyn. “It’s so nice to meet you. I take it you helped arrange the plane? Thank you so much.” Charlotte’s cheeks pinkened, and Rurik’s body grew hard. Would it be such a bad thing if he shoved his brother out of the plane en route? He could fly, after all. He wanted Charlotte alone so he could introduce her to the mile-high club. A meddling older brother would only get in the way.

  “It’s a pleasure.” Grigori shook Charlotte’s hand, and Madelyn did the same.

  “Come on, let’s sit down. I have so many questions.” Madelyn tugged Charlotte to the back of plane, and they seated themselves in two chairs side by side. It gave the brothers a few minutes to talk alone. Rurik had no interest in being lectured by his brother, but it seemed it was inevitable.

  “What happened?” Grigori asked, studying his brother. “Who hurt you?”

  “I was taking Charlotte home from the club last night. A sedan pulled up and opened fire on us. I took a few bullets. They were made of pure iron.”

  Grigori’s eyes widened, and he leaned in closer, touching Rurik’s shoulder.

  “Are you all right?”

  “Yes. Charlotte is good in a crisis, it turns out. Fortunately, they hadn’t gone deep. She dug the bullets out of me. I’ve almost healed.”

  Grigori jerked his head toward the back of the plane. “Then she knows what we are?”

  “No.” Rurik grimaced. “I altered her memories so she remembers my jacket as stopping most of the damage.”

  Grigori relaxed, his features losing the harsh tension. “Good. But this news concerns me. We will have to talk more of it later, when we are assured of more privacy.” He sighed and smiled. “Let’s sit so the plane can take off.”

  Rurik followed his brother to where Charlotte and Madelyn sat, their heads bent together. Madelyn said something, and Charlotte blushed and laughed. Rurik sat spellbound by the sight of Charlotte laughing and smiling so easily. Grigori joined them, choosing a seat across from her. She smiled again, her expression open and free. In that moment, when Rurik watched her with his family, how open she was and how easily she fit right in with them, as though she had always been there, his heart jolted.

  She could be my true mate.

  Charlotte was slipping past the barriers he’d erected around his heart. But he could not let her in, could not let her become a part of him.

  If I let her, she could destroy everything. She woul
d live another seventy years at the most, and I would die with her. Then who would protect my family?

  With a ruthless heartbreaker smile, he joined them at the back of the plane. He sat next to Grigori, facing Charlotte.

  “So, Grigori, tell me—what was Rurik like as a child?” Charlotte asked as she grinned at Rurik. He couldn’t resist chuckling before he turned to his brother.

  “Choose your words carefully, Grigori, or I’ll start sharing your secrets with Madelyn.”

  When his brother laughed, the sound was infectious. How long had it been since he’d heard Grigori laugh? Too long. Being mated had been good for him, just as it had been with Mikhail and his mate. Both of his brothers had relaxed ever since they’d found the women fate had chosen for them. Madelyn was a thunderbird, an immortal in her own right, though she hadn’t known it until recently. Piper, Mikhail’s mate, had triggered an ancient dragon stone and became a dragon shifter herself. But the odds of such luck happening with Charlotte to make her immortal? Impossible.

  “Rurik as a boy… Where do I begin?” Grigori tapped his fingers on his chin in mock contemplation. “He was an absolute rascal. Always scrambling off to places he shouldn’t go or doing things he knew he shouldn’t. And he was tough. He had a knack for wrestling, far more than Mikhail or me.” Grigori shared a glance with Rurik, a twinkle in his blue eyes. There was a compliment there, one rarely given between the brothers, and it made Rurik want to puff out his chest with pride.

  “Of course, he’s also stubborn and reckless, but I’m sure you’re figuring that out just by being around him.” Grigori laughed again, and Charlotte nodded.

  “I am.” She laughed, but it wasn’t at him. “He certainly keeps me on my toes.”

  They continued to talk as the plane rose into the sky. After the flight attendant brought them refreshments, they relaxed for a while, enjoying their newfound companionship.

  Madelyn suddenly paled, holding one hand to her stomach. “Grigori?”

  “What is it?” Grigori was out of his seat in an instant, taking her hands in his.