I struggled to catch my breath as he pulled his organ from my body. Every inch of me was tingling as I listened to my lover panting next to me. There was nothing that I could do; my body was no longer mine to control. Everything that I was belonged to him, and him to me. I rolled over and gazed into his breathtaking eyes, the same exhausted smile playing across his lips. His hand moved up my hip to rest just below my breast, and to my surprise, my body reacted right away.
How could I still want him so much when we had just shaken the very core of existence with our passionate sex? Yet there I was, my nipples growing hard, and my throbbing sheath aching for his manhood once again. Even his fingers brushing gently across the bottom of my breast sent me into another frenzy of desire. Sex had never been like this before, I knew that we were destined to be together, no matter what my visions said. He was mine.
***
I smiled at him and brushed a strand of hair from his face. He was the most stunning creature I had ever encountered in my life. I had been with a few men before, but it was nothing like it was with Mikhail. Our worlds had somehow collided together in a way that I never could have anticipated.
“Did I hurt you?” he asked.
I shook my head, “No. I wanted everything that you had to give to me.”
“Good,” he whispered. “You know that we can’t stay here, right?”
“I know. I just wish that we could. It’s so quiet and peaceful here. I wish that we could stay in this bed, in this room, forever.”
He grinned. “We will find our place. My father will keep his word, though. He will be back for me by tomorrow.”
“Then we should go now and get a head start on him. Do you have a plan?”
“I do, but I know that it’s not going to work forever. Rhett can shield the Federation. I think that, with his help, we can get you into hiding.”
I froze, “What? I’m not going anywhere without you!”
“I don’t want to be away from you either, but my father will keep hunting me. I need to lead him off your trail. I promise that it will only be for a few days. Then I will find you, and we can find a path to follow together.”
I shook my head. “No. We are going together, or not at all.”
“What makes you think that you get to make that decision for me?” he asked.
I glared at him and jumped from the bed, looking for my clothing. “Why should I? You did the same thing to me. You just assumed that I would go along with your plan!”
“It’s the only way to keep you safe!”
“No! It’s not the only way! I told you that we are in this together. I am not going to leave your side.”
With a dramatic sigh, he threw his hands up in the air and jerked on his pants. I knew that he was upset with my decision, but I was going to stand my ground on it. The last thing I wanted was to be away from him. We were stronger when we were together. I flopped down on the bed unceremoniously, and let out a deep breath before taking his hand and tugging him down with me.
“I know that you are worried about me, but we need to stick together. It’s the only way that we are strong enough to fight off whatever comes our way.”
“I don’t like you being in any danger.”
I laughed. “Just yesterday, you were coming to assassinate me! I think that I can handle myself just fine.”
He grinned. “Maybe, but it doesn’t mean that I have to like it. So, you won’t go about this my way?”
I shook my head and kissed his cheek. “I don’t think so. I care about you too much to let you be the bait that leads your father away from me. I think we should stay together. Rhett can protect us, and if that fails, we will protect each other.”
“Alright, you win. For now. But at the first sign of trouble, I am getting out of there and leading them away, do you understand me?”
I rolled my eyes. “I understand, but I think that we will be okay.”
“You don’t understand the Federation, my love. They will stop at nothing to get what they want, and in this case, that is you.”
“What happens,” I asked, “if they catch me? Would they simply kill me and be done with it?”
“I have no idea. Before, yes. You were just thought to have the gift of sight, but now that may not be true. You have other gifts that none of us knew about. If you are an evolution of human or fae kind, then they will want to examine you more.”
“That doesn’t sound like fun,” I muttered.
“No,” he said breathlessly. “They can be cruel to outsiders.”
There was nothing more to be said about the subject. We both knew what was at stake if we were discovered, but it didn’t matter. I couldn’t bear the thought of a life without him if that’s what my only other option was. I would take death over losing Mikhail.
“So, if they find us?” I asked.
“They would take you away from me. We would both be tortured, but I fear that your death would come long before my own.”
“Oh,” I whispered.
Mikhail appeared to be buried deep in his thoughts. He looked more worried than before when we had talked about it, like he was seeing things through a new angle. I reached out to him, and he smiled at me, but I knew that it was only to make me feel better.
“Why don’t you try and get some sleep? I will call Rhett, and we can start planning.”
I yawned at the mention of sleep. “Are you sure? I can help.”
He nodded his head and kissed me softly on the lips. “Let me handle this. If anything happened to you, I don’t know how I would live with myself. I only want you to be safe.”
“Okay. Will you wake me up soon, though? I don’t want to miss any of the action.”
“I promise that I will wake you up as soon as something has been decided.”
I laid back on the bed, my eyelids heavier than just moments before. He took my hand and kissed it softly, but something didn’t seem right about the entire situation. The sadness that had come over his face was now in his beautiful eyes as well. I wanted to know what had changed, but the weight of sleep was pulling me down. As my eyelids drifted shut, I promised myself that I would find the cause of his pain as soon as I woke.
Chapter Seven: Mikhail
I watched her sleeping with nothing but her jeans on, and my body stirred once again. She had awoken a part of me that no one had ever unlocked before. There was nothing that I wouldn’t do for her, or to keep her safe. I knew that I loved her. It was the only explanation for the amazing past few hours. How could I put her in danger like this? It was my fault that she was even there to begin with. I couldn’t keep her safe if I was locked away. Then what would happen? She would be hunted down and murdered along with anyone who helped her to escape the wrath of the Federation.
Carefully so I didn’t wake her, I slipped from the bed and quietly went out into the main part of the house. The door softly closed behind me, and I shut my eyes, calling out to the only person I knew who could help me.
“Well now, this is a little more like it. Did you two have a good time?” asked Rhett.
“Keep your voice down,” I grumbled. “Veronica is sleeping, and I would prefer if she stayed that way. I need your help to keep her safe. You are the only person I trust.”
He raised his eyebrow. “Does Veronica know that you are asking me for help? She doesn’t seem like the type of woman who is going to play along with being the damsel in distress.”
“I don’t care anymore if she wants the protection, damn it! I can’t let her be a part of this! Don’t you understand that? They will never stop looking for us. You don’t leave the Federation unless you die.”
“So, this is your answer? To pawn her off on me and hope that you can get the Federation off her back?”
I shook my head. “No. I’m going to make a deal with them.”
“This doesn’t sound like a good idea. Kind of like making a deal with the devil. Do you honestly think that you can trust them?”
“The Federation is a
bunch of bureaucrats, Rhett. They need foot soldiers, like me, to do their bidding. If I strike a deal with them, they won’t break it. Sure, they are ruthless, but all they have is their word. If they break the agreement, then the dragons’ reign will fall.”
“What could you offer them for Veronica that they would want?”
I closed my eyes, trying to steady my nerves. “Me.”
“Mikhail, no! If you do that, then they will never let you go! Veronica will be devastated!”
“I would rather she be devastated than dead, damn it! Don’t you understand that? She will be tortured and murdered. I can’t live with that. I can’t go on if she is dead.”
“Are you sure about this? She will never forgive you,” Rhett whispered.
I flinched, knowing that he was right. No matter what happened, she would never understand why I was doing this. All I could do was hope that Rhett would be able to help her cope with the loss of me. It felt conceited to assume that she would be heartbroken, but I knew that I already was. I didn’t want to do this. I wanted to spend my entire life by her side. That would be a short life, though, if I was in it.
“It’s the only way,” I repeated. “You need to move her away from here before I call my father.”
He nodded. “She will wake up as soon as we go through the portal.”
“I know. Go quickly,” I muttered.
I pushed open the bedroom door, taking one final look at my love. She was still sleeping peacefully, but that would all change in a few seconds. Rhett put his hand gently on Veronica, and she stirred in her sleep. I nodded to him, and he closed his eyes, tightening his grip on her. Just as the portal opened and the pair of them started to fade into space, Veronica’s eyes flew open.
“No!” she screamed.
Then they were gone, and I was left alone in the bedroom with my heart breaking. The final look on her face was terrible. She looked so betrayed. I needed to keep moving or I would lose my drive and change my mind. Veronica was my everything, and I was already feeling the weight of her absence. I jogged out of the bedroom and closed my eyes, summoning my father. It was only seconds later that I heard the doorbell ringing.
I opened the door, glaring at my father as he stepped in. “Father.”
“I must admit, I was surprised to hear from you. You seemed so sure before. I thought that I was going to have to hunt you down myself. Not something that I would enjoy doing. So, where is the girl?”
I shook my head. “You can’t have her. None of you.”
“Then I’m afraid we have nothing further to discuss,” he said as he turned around.
“Wait!” I called after him. “I think you and your friends at the Federation will want to hear my offer before you go.”
“What are you talking about? What can you offer besides the girl that we could possibly want?”
“I will go back with you willingly. I will follow all the plans that have been laid out for me. I will marry the princess and be a faithful follower. You will not have any further rebellions from me.”
“In exchange for what? The girl’s life? Why would the Federation want to take that deal?”
“Because I am the best that you have, and without this marriage, the Federation will be weakened, maybe even vulnerable. If I know the Federation, then word of this fiasco hasn’t gotten out yet, has it? You are all trying to keep it under wraps if possible.”
He glared at me. “You are willing to give up everything for this girl?”
“I am if it means that Veronica is safe. I would, of course, need the word of the Director before I go with you willingly.”
He snorted and picked up his phone. “As you wish, son. I will make the call, but I cannot promise you anything beyond that.”
“Director?” he said into his phone.
I watched him walk away and took a ragged breath. My heart was still racing. My body didn’t feel like my own, and I knew what was happening. Veronica was trying to reach out to me, and I was worried that she was actually going to succeed. I needed to get back to the Federation. At least they had wards there that would keep her from tracking me if Rhett was unable to control her. I could only protect her if she stayed away from me. There was no way that I could guarantee her safety if she went out looking for trouble, especially with the vampires that were seeking revenge now against me.
My father came back and put his phone on speaker,
“Mikhail?” said the Director.
“Yes, sir, I am here,” I replied.
“I understand the offer that you have made to your father, and I will give you my word that I will not harm her if you come in willingly. One human isn’t worth losing one of my best soldiers.”
“You give me your word that you won’t harm Veronica?”
“Yes, I give you my word,” he said. “You come back home, and I will send my guys on her tail home.”
My eyes shot up to my father. “You already had people looking for her? How is that possible?”
“Thank you, Director. We will be back soon,” said my father before quickly hanging up the phone.
“You didn’t honestly think that I was just going to sit on my hands while you plotted against us, did you? I had men casing Rhett’s hideout as soon as I left here. I knew it was only a matter of time before you brought your strange best friend.”
“Well, call them off. We’ve made a deal. Veronica is not to be hurt.”
He nodded and picked up his phone, texting at a speed that I didn’t think as possible for a man his age. Something still felt uneasy about the whole ordeal, but I couldn’t back out now. I had made the deal, and to break it would mean to break my word. As a dragon, we never broke our word. It was something that physically couldn’t be broken. If a deal was struck and one dragon didn’t uphold the honor of it, bad fortune would follow him forever.
My father smiled. “You are right. You have made the deal that the Director will not harm Veronica and in trade, you will return to the Federation and follow through with the marriage. Those are the terms of the agreement. Once we are back, I will make sure that the accord is upheld.”
I nodded my head and followed my father outside, looking back once more at the home where I had shared just a few short hours with my beloved. There would be no time travel or portal shifting for us. My father handed me a small rock that looked much like a diamond with an orange haze in the center. I dutifully put it in my mouth. It was yet another reason why the treaty with the fae was so important to secure.
The small stone was a powerful emblem, it cloaked us from the sight of humans as we flew overhead in our dragon forms. I let the power surge through me, feeling my skin shift and expand into its natural form. It always felt the same, like I was unleashing my true self out into the world after being caged for too long. My fingers extended out into long, black talons, and my otherwise perfect eyesight faded in and out until I could not only see with perfect vision, but I could see miles away. Eagle vision had nothing on dragon sight.
My shoulder blades pierced through my skin, a pain that I hardly noticed as they, too, transformed into large wings. The bones forming then became draped by my uniquely colored wings. Each dragon was a little different, the color of our bodies giving a hint as to our lineage. In my case, it was a pale orange glow, representing the House of Drakon. We were the protectors of the dragons in our own right. Though we were not recognized anymore as a single entity, having sworn our allegiance to the Federation years ago, I still secretly held our house higher than the Federation.
With the transformation complete, I took flight into the sky. Letting my father lead the way, the trip went by fast. I wanted more time to enjoy the last breath of freedom that I had, but the magical cloaking stones also gave us more speed. Within the hour, we were firmly planted on the ground outside of Rome. I shifted my form once more on the grassy knoll overlooking the Federation building. It was cloaked like all our buildings. This one looked much like the farmhouse we had just left, but inside it was a
building the size of the Eiffel Tower.
“Come, the Director is waiting for you,” said my father.
As we walked through the halls, no other dragon seemed to pay us much attention. It confirmed what I had already thought. The Director and my father had kept the past twenty-four hours under close wraps, not wanting their dirty, little secret to get out. It was like nothing had happened. It was just another mission that I had returned from unscathed. No one could see the internal turmoil that I was facing. My heart was breaking to the point that it was more physically painful than the torture I had endured over the years.
We approached the final door to the Federation, deep in the stomach of the organization. This would be the final barrier. After crossing over the magical threshold, my link with Veronica would be severed. She wouldn’t be able to find me, and I would have to let her go forever. I took a deep breath and took the final step.
I dropped down to my knees in agony. The pain in my chest was now beyond anything that I had ever felt. When my organs had been ripped from my body, it had felt like a light sting compared to what I now felt. I clutched my chest as my father and the Director ran toward me, trying to lift me from the floor. We were alone in the antechamber, just the three of us without anyone else there to witness my weakness.
“What is happening to me, Father?” I asked.
He shook his head. “I don’t know.”
“My God, I never could have imagined this would happen! You fell in love with that human!” said the Director.
He was a slight man, with black, beady eyes and matching hair. He was the oldest among us, and for this reason alone, he ran everything.
“What is going to happen to my son?” asked my father.
The Director looked away from me. “Nothing. The pain will stop soon.”
He stood up and pressed a button on his desk. Through blurred vision, I saw two men enter. I didn’t recognize them, but I could smell the magic that emanated from them. They weren’t dragons or shifters. They were a rouge group of fae, assassins for hire that we had stopped using centuries ago because of how brutal and unreliable they were to work with.
The Guardian Mikhail Page 6