by Lauren Smith
Rurik relaxed as they ascended the stairs, and the erratic pulse of her heart calmed a little. She didn’t want to upset him, but she meant what she said. The fact was he was a stranger to her. He knew more about her than she did about him.
He chuckled, pausing. “Where to start?”
“What about the nightclub? Why did you choose to go into that business?”
He stroked his chin, considering his answer. “The clubs aren’t just about dancing. They are about letting go of control, about living a fantasy, even if only one night. I’m addicted to that feeling. As a battle dragon, I have to stay in control all the time.”
“Except with your mate?” she asked, a blush heating her face as she remembered how they’d made love the last time, with her on her hands and knees and him behind her. There hadn’t been anything controlled about that.
“Yes. That’s the one time I can be me, in bed and out. But the club helps me feel close to that. It was why I had you dance in that cage.”
“I still can’t believe you did that.” She was half teasing, half admonishing.
Rurik moved to the side of the stairs, cornering her against the wall, grinning.
“I gave you a mental nudge, nothing more. I could see how much you wanted to try it, but you were holding yourself back.” He trailed a fingertip down the column of her throat. What was it about him that made her feel so reckless and wild? He carried an edge of danger that made her forget her worries and want to live only in the moment.
She saw the grin on his lips and slapped his shoulder. “Stop playing games.”
“Ah, but there are so many games we can play,” he whispered darkly. “Games that will leave you wet and breathless, perhaps even hoarse from screaming my name.” His lips twisted in a seductive smile that weakened her knees and made her womb clench. “I’ve had thirteen hundred years to perfect my lovemaking skills.” He closed the distance between them, kissing her hungrily, as though she were the cure to a fever that was burning him up.
His chin was covered in light stubble, and it burned her skin in a wonderfully erotic way. He bit her bottom lip, tugging on it, and she moaned helplessly, always wanting more. Her body needed to be connected to him. Now.
“What kind of games?” she asked as he released her lower lip. Her breath quickened as he pressed a thigh between her legs, rubbing her sensitive clit. She clutched at his shoulders.
He licked the shell of her ear. “Any kind you want. I admit I like the idea of you being bound. I’d love to tie you down and torture you with my hands and mouth. Any fantasy you have, I can make it come true.” He pressed his thigh against her core again, whispering all the things he wanted to do to her and how it would make her feel. The need to come was so strong she couldn’t stand another—
Smack!
He’d given her ass a little slap at just the right moment, and she exploded. He covered her mouth with his, silencing her cry of pleasure. Her eyes flew open for a few seconds as she tried to breathe through the violent riptide of her climax. Above her, the gold lights of the electric candles bounced off the mirrored walls of the hall and the tapestries lining the stairs. She’d always wanted to live a princess fantasy, but this was close enough: having an orgasm on the stairs of the Catherine Palace with her dark Russian prince.
It was a perfect dream, and she was so afraid it was going to stay just that, a dream that would never be a reality within her reach.
32
“I love whom I love,” Prince Lir repeated firmly. “You have no power over anything that matters.” ―Peter S. Beagle, The Last Unicorn
Rurik held Charlotte’s hand as they stood in his apartment in Moscow, facing down his brothers. Charlotte had been brave when they’d flown back with Grigori and Madelyn, but she’d said little. But now she had to officially tell his brothers the truth and explain everything.
The more difficult task would be having them believe her.
She trembled hard enough that he could feel it through her hand. The gold lighting from the modern chandeliers cast shadows between them, accentuating the distance between him and his brothers. He had put his body slightly in front of hers, just in case his brothers didn’t believe her and decided to treat Charlotte like a possible threat.
Madelyn and Piper were also studying Charlotte, Piper openly curious, Madelyn a little wary. Mikhail’s eyes glinted with mischief, though, which boded well, at least for Charlotte. Rurik knew his brother would most likely tease him for the next hundred years over this. He tugged Charlotte closer, lending her his strength and warmth. Her shaking softened.
“So this is your mate?” Mikhail asked, smirking.
He let go of Charlotte’s hand so he could put his arm around her shoulder. “She is.”
“Of all the women in the world to mate, you mate a MacQueen,” Mikhail mused with a wicked grin. “Perhaps we should have her secured? Handcuffed to a chair? Fair is fair, given your family history.”
Charlotte tensed, leaning into Rurik.
“He’s teasing you, little rose,” Rurik murmured in her ear, then added louder, “And if he’s not, I’ll remind him who the stronger dragon is.”
Mikhail chuckled. “Fair enough. You can save the handcuffs for bed.” He winced when his mate, Piper, jabbed him in the ribs.
Grigori tugged at his tie, still frowning. “Rurik, we have to discuss this. Your mate has reverse-engineered the drug that was used on Mikhail in London. Can you imagine if Drakor got his hands on it? He would use it against any dragon who dared oppose him, make them swear fealty to him out of fear. What if the Brotherhood decided to use it to eliminate us? We can’t have anything out there that can give our enemies the advantage. It must be destroyed.”
“I know,” Rurik growled. “But the genie is out of the bottle. The Brotherhood will have her notes. We cannot live in a world of what-ifs. It exists. We must deal with that fact.”
Grigori considered this. “Charlotte, could you make an antidote?”
“It’s certainly possible. I had planned on working on that next when I got back. My hope was that the Brotherhood would only use the serum for their own safety during interviews and interrogations, and then the antidote could be given upon release.”
“Good. We’ll need it in case Drakor learns of Charlotte’s formula. And if he does, we’ll have to alert the other houses as well.”
“You have to relax, brother,” said Rurik. “You’re helping no one by acting like we’re on the verge of war.”
Grigori sighed, accepting but reluctant at the same time. “Very well. Are we still having dinner?” His tone was calmer, but Rurik knew that was only for Charlotte’s sake. The tension was rolling off his brothers in waves. But tonight was supposed to be a “meet the family dinner,” not an interrogation. His brothers and their mates walked ahead of them into the dining room, and Rurik held Charlotte back.
“Don’t worry, they will like you. It’s just…this news has everyone on edge.”
“I know. I hate that I replicated that stupid drug.” A tear rolled down her cheek, breaking his heart. He didn’t want her to ever be afraid, but reality had to be faced.
He cupped her chin. “I promise we will sort all this out. Besides, if you hadn’t made the drug, you might never have come to Russia, and I never would’ve found you.” He kissed her, trying to tell her with that kiss what words could not. He needed her in his life, and now that he had met her, had known the bliss of having a mate, he would never wish to change the past.
“I know you are hungry, so why don’t we get some food? You’ll feel better.”
She smiled and wiped the tear away from her cheek with the back of her hand. “Okay.”
At the table, it took Piper and Madelyn some coaxing to get Charlotte to join into their conversations. She was still scared. He could feel the tension inside her through their mate bond. It was surprisingly strong, even to him.
He hadn’t told her everything he knew about mates. His mother had once explained that such
a strong connection so early on could be both a wonderful and dangerous thing. Someday he and Charlotte might be so close they would be able to share thoughts. Their powers would even be shared if they had both been dragons, but Charlotte was mortal. He buried the unwelcome thought that accompanied that fact.
I will die, and my brothers will be left without a protector. Even if a new battle dragon was born to one of his brothers, it would need time to grow up, to train, before it could assume the duties Rurik had held for more than a thousand years.
Rurik glanced at Mikhail and Piper, jealous of their luck. Piper had been a mortal, but she’d almost died trying to save Mikhail’s life. But an ancient ruby called the Dragon Heart Stone had allowed Piper to become a dragon. How it worked was a mystery, even to the oldest of living dragons. All they knew was that it had required an act of valor and sacrifice to draw the dragon’s spirit out of the stone. As far as he knew, there were no more of these, only stories of those who had been lost searching for them.
No. These are the cards we have been dealt, and we must play them.
He thought of the old babushka from Saint Petersburg, the way she had turned the tarot cards over, her wrinkled face deathly serious. He believed in magic—as a creature of magic, how could he not?—but he’d never given much thought to tarot cards before. It had given him chills to see how accurate the woman had been.
He was silent most of the dinner, preoccupied. Charlotte reached over to clasp his hand, giving it a gentle squeeze. It pulled him away from the distracting path his thoughts had taken and forced him to remember that she was the one who needed him right now.
“So, the Brotherhood,” Piper began, taking a hasty sip of her wine. “What’s it like to be the little sister of a team of Buffys?” Mikhail and Grigori shared a puzzled look. Piper could tell nobody got the reference. “You know, vampire slayers?”
Charlotte’s cheeks pinkened. She laughed nervously. “Uh… Not as fun as it sounds, I can tell you that. But the women hunters are pretty badass.”
“That sounds fun.” Rurik chuckled. “I’ll be keeping you away from all of that danger from now on,” Rurik told her imperiously.
“Excuse me? I just escaped two overly controlling brothers. I’m not going to wind up with an overly controlling lover.” Charlotte snorted at Rurik’s shocked expression.
“I suspect Grigori and Mikhail will be the same way, especially if they have daughters.” Madelyn touched her stomach and gave Grigori a knowing smile.
Grigori quirked a brow. “You’re only having sons. Daughters would give me gray hairs a thousand years too early.”
“Stock up on hair dye,” Madelyn said, grinning. “I’ve been dreaming about a girl. I think that’s a sign.”
“Fine, have a daughter and watch me age, woman. See if I care,” Grigori replied, hiding a smirk as he reached for his wine.
For the rest of the meal, Rurik held Charlotte’s hand beneath the table. He could see how it could be…the rest of their lives, full of family, laughter, and love. He was in love with Charlotte, and it made him afraid and excited all at once.
“Well, I think we should leave the new mates alone,” Madelyn said. “I recall being unable to focus on much else when we first bonded. In fact, we still have trouble focusing, and it’s been four months.”
“We should let them be alone,” Mikhail agreed, nodding to Charlotte. “You’re all right for a mortal, even if your brothers are MacQueens.” He reached for Piper’s hand, and they joined Grigori and Madelyn. They soon made their farewells at the door, and the two were finally alone again.
Rurik kissed her cheek and gave her waist a little squeeze. “See, you survived my brothers after all.”
“They are pretty scary.” She ducked her head sheepishly as she admitted this.
“Yes, but they understand what it means to be mated. It doesn’t matter that you come from the MacQueen bloodline—all that matters is that you’re one of us now.”
“Am I?” She wrinkled her nose. “I’m not a thunderbird like Madelyn, and I didn’t become a dragon like Piper. I’m just me…Charlotte. There’s nothing special about me. I’m not—”
Rurik spun her to face him. “How can you say that? You are special. You’re everything to me. You’re a precious gift.” He hugged her fiercely, holding her close, suddenly afraid she would vanish if he let go. When she curled her arms around his neck, he relaxed a little.
“Do you trust me, little one?” he asked.
He felt her nod against his chest.
“Good. Now why don’t we go to your hotel room and find that vial. The sooner it is in our hands, the more comfortable my brothers will feel. Then we will come back here, and I’ll feed you a sinful dessert and make love to you by the fire, though not necessarily in that order.”
Charlotte’s shy smile made him feel like a god. “That sounds wonderful.”
“Then grab your coat.” He kissed her again before they headed for the door.
They rode his motorcycle to the hotel and walked into the lobby. Workers were putting up new glass in the front windows of the hotel. It was an awful reminder of how close he had been to losing her, and he hadn’t even known then that she was his mate.
“I had a wonderful time today,” Charlotte said as they got into the elevator.
“Me too.” It’d been years since he’d done something for pleasure besides bed a woman, but today had been different. He had visited his past and had done so with his mate, and it hadn’t been as painful as he’d expected. He’d enjoyed sharing the past with her and looked forward to sharing a future.
When they reached Charlotte’s room, she caught him, curling her arms around his neck and kissing him deeply, then opened her hotel room door like it was an invitation. His chest was oddly tight, and her kiss had left him dizzy and excited in a way he’d never felt before. Damn, mating was exactly like everything he’d dreamed it would be—and more.
Charlotte flicked on the lights in the room. A sudden flash of movement was his only warning. Rurik grabbed Charlotte and shoved her to the ground, covering her with his body. The phft! of a silencer cut through the chaos, and his ears picked it up between the shouted commands. He groaned as a wave of nausea hit him.
“Charlotte—run—” he gasped, rolling off her as he clutched his neck. He pulled out a dart as he leaned against the wall by the door. His vision spun, and he saw Charlotte getting to her knees, heard her calling his name as two men dressed in black grabbed her, dragging her away from him. Whatever was in the dart packed a hell of a punch, and the dart had a pure iron tip.
“Run…” he said breathlessly before he slumped to the floor and knew no more.
Charlotte screamed and lunged for her mate but two men pulled her away from Rurik. He collapsed, a red dart falling from his fingertips to the floor.
“Secure him!” a man shouted. The voice was familiar, but…
“Damien?” Charlotte gasped. One of the masked men pulled off his balaclava, and she stared at him in horror.
“Thank God you’re okay.” Damien pulled her into a tight embrace, but Charlotte didn’t hug him back. She shoved him hard enough that he stumbled. The others in the room took their coverings off as the situation stabilized.
“Hey, sis,” Jason said with a grin.
Meg came over and clasped Charlotte’s shoulders. “Thank God. You scared the shit out of us.”
Jason nudged Rurik in the back with his boot. They had already bound his hands behind his back and his ankles together with iron cuffs. Seeing Rurik lying there tore at her. It was because he cared about her that he was on the ground unconscious, because he’d dared to shield her from whatever danger they faced. The entire scene was so sickening, so…
Charlotte rushed to the bathroom, shoving Meg aside. Her palms slapped against the counter, and she dry-heaved into the sink and splashed cold water on her face. It helped, but only a little. When she stopped for air, she saw Damien watching her from the bathroom door.
&nbs
p; “Are you okay? He didn’t hurt you, did he?”
“Hurt me?” Charlotte wiped her face with a fluffy white towel, wanting to hit her brother. “He didn’t hurt me. He’s done nothing to me.”
Damien relaxed. He stopped standing in that alert-soldier way he always did when he was worried.
“Thank God. Then we got here in time.”
“In time?” She threw the towel to the ground. “What the hell are you talking about?”
Damien bristled, like a dog with its hackles raised. “We found out what you were up to. You lied to me, Charlotte. That’s never happened before.”
“Yes. I lied. I wanted to do something important for once. I thought if I could do what none of you could do, you’d finally respect me, let me work with you. I made that serum, but if I came to you with that, you’d have thanked me and shut me out all over again. So I came here, and now…” And now I’m mated to the most wonderful man in the world, who my brothers just subdued like some common criminal.
“You did great,” Damien admitted. “You got closer than any of us could to the Barinovs. Now we have one in our custody, and we can get the information we need from him.” Damien held up a vial of her serum. The green liquid taunted her as it shimmered in the florescent lights of the bathroom.
“You can’t use that on Rurik.” She lunged for the vial, but Damien stepped back, slipping the serum into his black jacket.
“Why not? Is there something wrong with the formula?”
“Rurik is a good man. He doesn’t deserve to be drugged and interrogated.”
Her brother raised a brow. “Charlotte… He’s a dra—gon.” He drawled out the word dragon into two emphasized syllables. “He’s dangerous. You’re lucky he didn’t seduce you. They can turn women into slaves with their pheromones.”
Charlotte advanced on her brother. “Yeah, well, he wasn’t the only one using those.”
Damien frowned. “Yeah, Meg told us about that. What were you thinking?”