Share

Chapter 6

Author: Lauren Smith
last update Last Updated: 2022-06-15 14:05:54

Mikhail leaned forward in his chair and raked his hands through his hair. "Please, Randolph. I wouldn't ask, but"

"Say no more. If the promise of gems draws you out of your little cave in Cornwall, then consider it done. I'll go with you, of course. I'm rather fond of the new American gemologist they brought here. I should like to see her again."

Mikhail's body went rigid. An American gemologist? His little virgin gemologist who smelled like heaven? The one he'd done a poor job of not thinking about for the last hour?

"Gemologist?" Mikhail forced himself to sound neutral.

"Oh yes. A succulent little creature with the biggest brown eyes and legs that go on for days, as the Americans say. I'd love to have them wrapped around my hips, if you understand my meaning." Randolph grinned wickedly.

Brown eyes? Not pale blue? So it hadn't been the woman named Piper Linwood. The small, curvy human with eyes like alexandrite, a bluish-gray that could change shade with whatever she stood close to. He'd taken one look at those eyes, and for a moment he was lost in fantasies of stripping the woman bare and draping jewels over her body. He wanted to see diamonds glinting across her stomach and strings of pearls rising and falling over the mounds of her breasts.

The fact that her profession was studying and understanding such treasures had made his dragon growl in pride and the man part of him hard as stone.

"So tonight we go to the reception." He looked at Belishaw, who was still grinning as though he, too, was lost in personal fantasies.

"Indeed, but you're going to need a suit." Belishaw eyed Mikhail critically. "You didn't bring one to London, did you?" Belishaw was known for his fine taste in clothing: the finest suits, the most expensive Italian leather shoes. Mikhail simply wore whatever was in his closet with little thought to it so long as it was dark in color.

Mikhail chuckled. "You know I did not. Rolling up a fine suit and strapping it to my leg during flight would have ruined it."

Belishaw burst out laughing. "I forgot you Russian imperials are always so rustic. British dragons don't fly anymore, not unless it's an emergency. I only fly now when I need to clear my head."

Mikhail shuddered at the thought of going so long without transforming. The dragon inside him could not go that length of time being caged inside his human body.

"I suppose I am more rustic." He thought of the cliffs by his home and how often he leapt from them, allowing his body to elongate and his skin to turn into scales. There was nothing more glorious than flight.

A pang of longing for homehis true home in Russia, the Fire Hillsslammed into him. He hadn't seen his brothers in two hundred years. He hadn't spoken to them for that long, either. He wasn't sure what to say to them after so long. The last time he'd gone home, his father and mother had been traveling the world. He'd defied his father's orders of exile and come home for that year.

He had brought the Englishman James Barrow with him. Barrow had been a friend and confidant. He had known what Mikhail really was, and rather than be afraid, he'd been curious. Fascinated. Barrow had been a naturalist, and exploring the world of dragons had been one of his greatest joys. Mikhail had worried that his brothers would not open up to Barrow, but they had been welcoming. Grigori, his eldest brother, was a man who lived for duty to his family, and the younger hotheaded Rurik was the Barinov battle dragon. Each brother had a duty assigned to him.

And I am the one who failed mine.

"I can see it, you know," Belishaw said, his eyes peering deeply into Mikhail's.

"See what?"

"Your pain. You came here to bring home a treasure to your family, but you were betrayed by a woman you intended to mate. I know your father blamed you, but you must stop blaming yourself." Belishaw set down the empty glass he had been holding. "It's been five hundred years. Your parents are gone, and from the way you speak of your brothers, they would take you back in an instant, yet you haven't talked to them for two centuries. Who are you trying to punish, them or yourself?"

Belishaw always had a way of reminding Mikhail he had a tendency to play the martyr.

"You are right. It is time I returned home to them," he admitted. His gaze drifted to the fire in the hearth, watching the logs pop and snap beneath the vermillion flames.

"So what's stopping you?" Belishaw's question was more of a challenge.

"Nothing. I will get those jewels back and return with my honor restored."

Belishaw grinned. "Ah. Now things are getting interesting. What do you plan to do, exactly?"

A slow smile curved Mikhail's lips. "My plan is to seduce a gemologist into giving them to me or aiding me in their retrieval."

Belishaw tensed. "Not my brown-eyed creature."

"No. It seems there are two here to help with the auction. You can distract yours all you like. I shall take the one with eyes like alexandrite."

"Then we'd better get you one bloody good suit. No doubt it's been a while since you've seduced a mortal. You're bound to be rusty."

Mikhail winced at the truth. His skills at seduction might be rusty, but from the way Piper Linwood had looked at him when he'd kissed her hand, it shouldn't be too hard to convince the woman that he was interested in her. It would be his greatest pleasure to get Piper alone and show her just how good at kissing he really was.

Related chapters

  • Brothers of Ash and Fire   Chapter 7

    But there, beneath those rings, beneath the talisman and gems and precious stones like blue eyes (lovers' keepsakes) there still remains the silent crypt of sex, filled to its vaulted roof with flower petals. Rainer Maria RilkePiper Linwood was speechless.The Thorne Auction House was nothing short of stunning. It was an old townhouse dating from the eighteen hundreds located on Curzon Street, and it had been converted into a boutique auction house and reception hall. The owner, Mr. Wesley Thorne, was an old English teddy bear who, as it so happened, looked a bit like Teddy Roosevelt, with ruddy cheeks, a bushy moustache, and rounded spectacles perched on his nose.Piper and Jodie had come to the auction house earlier that evening and had been escorted to rooms upstairs where they could change into their evening gowns. He'd even offered to let them stay the night in case they had to work late. The reception was a black-tie affair, so she and Jodie had bought evening gowns at Harrods

    Last Updated : 2022-06-15
  • Brothers of Ash and Fire   Chapter 8

    Maybe tonight would be special after all. Piper fetched her black pumps and leaned against the bed to put them on. Her stomach gave another nervous flip as she exited the room and headed toward the staircase. She paused at the top when she realized guests had started to arrive early. The reception hall was filled with at least a dozen people in suits and cocktail dresses. Jodie was already engaged with some of the guests; she was a complete natural in social situations. Footmen bearing trays of champagne floated among the crowd. The glow of the chandeliers illuminated the bubbling gold liquid in the glasses. Piper soaked up the moment. She'd come a long way since she'd been a kid in Boston, studying hard instead of going out. Nights like tonight had seemed impossible. Something to daydream about, not experience. She'd come from a middle-class home and had to scrimp and save to get to college. Now it felt like her entire life had led to this moment. She rarely stopped to pat herself

    Last Updated : 2022-06-15
  • Brothers of Ash and Fire   Chapter 9

    This was madness to be kissing a stranger in a darkened room lit only by firelight. What else could you call it? But she was tired of being boring old predictable Piper. Mikhail made her feel wild and reckless, alive in ways she'd never dreamed. She didn't want to stop, didn't want to go back to being responsible. She wanted to live in this moment forever."What about my taste?" she asked, her voice trembling with desire.Mikhail stared down at her and slid his hand into her hair at the nape of her neck, his fingers coiling the strands tight. A slight pinch of near pain shot sparks into her womb. Piper gasped."It's like the sweetest of Georgian wines. It lingers upon my tongue until I ache to become drunk on it." He nuzzled her cheek, his breath echoing hers in quick pants.All they were doing was kissing, yet it felt like a wildfire had burst to life inside her, and there was no stopping the coming inferno."You are to be my ruination." He nipped her bottom lip, and she whimpere

    Last Updated : 2022-06-15
  • Brothers of Ash and Fire   Chapter 10

    That was the deep uncanny mine of souls.Like veins of silver ore, they silentlyMoved through its massive darkness. Blood welled up among the roots, on its way to the world of men, and in the dark it looked as hard as stone.Nothing else was red.Rainer Maria RilkeBarty Winston seethed as Piper Linwood walked away from him. Little American bitch thinks she's something special. Too good to talk to methat much is obvious.But not for long. He'd made a deal with the devil tonight, and soon he'd be rich enough to take whatever he wanted, including her."Is that the woman?" a deep voice asked behind him. Barty jumped, startling a passing footman who barely avoided dropping his tray of empty champagne flutes before continuing on his way. Barty gave a short nod, afraid to look over his shoulder at the man lurking behind him.Conrad Sinclair was a tall, imposing man of six foot three, with jet-black hair and eyes just as dark. But Barty never liked to look at him directly; there

    Last Updated : 2022-06-15
  • Brothers of Ash and Fire   Chapter 11

    Conrad Sinclair stepped into his private car waiting outside the Thorne Auction House, his nostrils still filled with the scent of Piper Linwood. A virgin, of childbearing age no less. It was so rare to find them in these modern days. Hundreds of years ago, there had been an abundance of sweet-smelling creatures he could pluck like ripe fruit, but now? It was almost impossible.Conrad's skin burned at the thought of stripping the woman's clothes and shoving her onto her back so he could take her. He would enjoy her cries of pain and the feel of her nails clawing at him. He loved it when females fought him. He was a male dragon, after all, and enjoyed being dominant in bed and in life. Dragons did not breed with weak creatures. He would prefer a dragoness, of course, but they were increasingly rare and more resistant to the advances of dragon males than ever.He watched the streets with their bright flashing lights and immense video advertisements and growled. The modern age was a dre

    Last Updated : 2022-06-15
  • Brothers of Ash and Fire   Chapter 12

    Mikhail waited in the shadows of the mews outside Thorne Auction House, counting each heartbeat as he watched the lights in the windows being extinguished one by one. It reminded him of times long ago, with dark nights and firelight, eagerly waiting for any hint that Elizabeth wished to see him.I was such a fool then to wait for a queen's command. For one who knew so little of lovemaking, the Virgin Queen had known exactly how to master and manipulate men. But that was long ago, centuries away from this moment and the woman he wanted to see now.Piper Linwood. His true mate. The moment he'd kissed her, he'd caught flickering visions of a little girl chasing a fat white rabbit in a backyard before stopping to pick up some brightly colored eggs. The vision had changed to a young woman bent over a desk, staring at gems gleaming on a black velvet cloth, her focus intense as she studied them. A dragon knew his true mate by the bonding that began with a first kiss. Invisible threads wou

    Last Updated : 2022-06-15
  • Brothers of Ash and Fire   Chapter 13

    My nightly craft is winged in white, a dragon of night-dark sea.¨DAnne McCaffrey,?DragonsongOh God, this is bad. This is so bad. I've committed a crime, and now I'm on the run with a jewel thief.The thought kept racing through Piper's mind in an endless loop. Somehow this man had convinced her to help him steal the Cheapside hoard. All of it. How the hell had he done that? He just looked into my eyes, and I went all gooey.She couldn't erase that feeling, the heavy compulsion to do exactly what he'd asked. Had he hypnotized her? Didn't someone need to swing a pocket watch or something to do that? She was in a hot mess, and now he was taking her to God knows where against her will.But he'd also kept assuring her she was safe. Her natural instincts were torn between trusting him and wanting to knee him in the balls and escape. Mikhail still had her trapped beneath him, his hands gripping her wrists. She'd stopped screaming once the car started moving. Some part of her was staying

    Last Updated : 2022-06-15
  • Brothers of Ash and Fire   Chapter 14

    The car halted, making Piper pitch forward a little. She woke up and blinked. She was warm and cozy, and the last thing she wanted was to move."As much as I enjoy you cuddling against me, little dove, I need to get you inside where you can sleep in a real bed." Mikhail's voice was a husky whisper close to her ear. She glanced around and realized that she was practically on top of him. Her head was tucked beneath his chin, and he had one arm curled around her waist. Her legs were across his lap, and his other hand rested on her outer thigh."Oh!" She scrambled away from him, which only made him laugh. The rich, rumbling sound warmed her down to her toes, and she hated that. A kidnapper should not have that effect on her. But Mikhail did. This was definitely a bad case of Stockholm syndrome. There was no denying that."Why don't you come inside and warm up? I'll put a pot of tea on." Mikhail climbed out of the car. Piper watched him walk over to Belishaw by the SUV and speak to him. It

    Last Updated : 2022-06-15

Latest chapter

  • Brothers of Ash and Fire   Chapter 81: Epilogue

    Above us, outlined against the brilliant sky, dragons crowded every available perching space on the Rim. And the sun made a gold of every one of them.?―Anne McCaffrey,?Nerilka's StoryThe sound of the door chime at Rurik's apartment made Charlotte tense. Madelyn and Piper both giggled at her, but Charlotte wasn't laughing. After she'd almost died the day before, everything had become a chaotic blur. She'd been staying at Rurik's apartment while her brothers and Rurik's had seen to handling the cleanup of the dragon battle. She hadn't been sure if they would agree to come when she and Rurik had invited them over today."It's going to be fine," Madelyn said. "They fought together against Drakor and the Silvas.""And your brother saved my ass," Piper added. "That counts for something."Charlotte bit her lip, studying her future sisters-in-law. Behind them in the kitchen, Grigori and Mikhail were teasing Rurik about being mated, just as he'd predicted. He'd put up with it long enou

  • Brothers of Ash and Fire   Chapter 80

    SnowSnow was falling. Charlotte could feel it on her skin before she opened her eyes. She was there in that realm between, feeling Rurik's beating heart. The warm glow was so close, but as she sat up and blinked, she saw the flames flicker and sputter, threatening to go out.She surged to her feet and pushed through the thick snowfall as the storm became fiercer, wind whipping at her. She had to reach his heart this time, or else the wall of shadows creeping in at the edges of her vision would overtake her.Charlotte braced her arms in front of her face, shielding it from the icy wind. Shapes moved ahead of her, but they weren't shadows. These shapes weredragons. Hundreds of them, lined on either side of her path to the dwindling glow of Rurik's heart. Their massive, long-snouted heads bowed, their frills fanning up as they watched her pass by beneath them like giant statues."Another comes to the doorstep. Come, brother. Come home. There is so much for us to show you. So much you

  • Brothers of Ash and Fire   Chapter 79

    Like a fruit suffused with its own mystery and sweetness, she was filled with her vast death, which was so new she could not understand that it had happened.Rainer Maria RilkeRurik had fought a thousand battles, but nothing compared to the one inside him the moment he saw Charlotte pull Drakor over the edge of that building. Every nightmare he'd ever had as a boy of having a mate and losing her came true in that instant. The terror, pure and violent, froze him in place, but not for long. His dragon, buried deep beneath the serum, suddenly stirred."No!" His roar shook the already unstable building around them. He didn't have time to think. He rushed toward the ledge, just as Damien and his team stormed the room. It only took a moment for the hunter to recognize his intentions."Rurik, no!"Rurik leaped from the window, his rage and love blurring together in a swell of emotions that drowned out everything else. His dragon exploded out of him as he hurtled down toward his mate.

  • Brothers of Ash and Fire   Chapter 78

    Charlotte woke with a gasp. Rurik's voice still lingered inside her, a whisper, more in her heart than her head. Had she dreamed it? Her lungs burned and her throat was in agony. For a moment she didn't remember where she was, until she saw Luis Silva crouched over her. His hands were no longer wrapped around her throat. Now they were balled into fists at his thighs.The memories of what had happened before she'd passed out came roaring back. But he seemed to have lost interest in her, which was perhaps the only thing that had saved her life. Luis was staring at something over her head. Clutching her throat, she rolled over and looked out through the tall windows and saw three winged shapes headed straight for them. Their wings flapped in a strange but familiar way, something between a gliding bird and the pulsing frenzy of a bat. Dragons.Luis growled, eyes fixed on this imminent threat. Charlotte realized this would be her only chance. She scrambled to her feet and lunged at Luis

  • Brothers of Ash and Fire   Chapter 77

    The brave men did not kill dragons. The brave men rode them.Game of ThronesRurik stared at the floor number digits, which kept changing in the elevator as he and Damien's team rode it to the top floor, when suddenly his head seemed to clear of the fog that had separated him from Charlotte.Flashes of what she was seeing came through the bond to him. Drakor's face, the serum in his hand as he talked. Red-gold eyes burning into Charlotte's. Another man standing close behind Drakorone Rurik recognized with dread. Rurik felt her heart pounding and her terror spiking. He leaned against the side of the elevator, gasping as her strong emotions swamped him.Charlotte, where are you?"Uhguys, the dragon's face just turned green. I think he's going to puke," Jason said, cautiously inching away from Rurik. Meg and the other hunters stepped back. Damien gripped Rurik by the shoulder. "What's the matter?""I know I know where she is!" Rurik's head exploded with new images. An office build

  • Brothers of Ash and Fire   Chapter 76

    Dragons and legendsIt would have been difficult for any man not to want to fight beside a dragon.―Patricia Briggs,?Dragon Blood"You are Rurik's mate," the Russian dragon mused as he leaned in and inhaled Charlotte's scent. She tensed, closing her eyes as he drew close enough to kiss her. He didn't, but the invasion of her personal space was unsettling.When he finally leaned away from her, she opened her eyes again. Luis, the man she'd head-butted, leaned against the closed door, watching her with black eyes. He'd brought her to an expensive high-rise structure in Moscow, newly built and mostly empty. She almost fainted at the height when she realized they were more than forty stories up in an empty corner office. She sat in a metal chair, but she wasn't restrained. Why bother? She had no way to escape, except jumping.Luis's gaze raked down her body. "She reeks of Barinov." Dimitri Drakor didn't seem nearly as brutish as she'd expected. He was nothing like Luis, who'd so cas

  • Brothers of Ash and Fire   Chapter 75

    The course of true love never did run smooth.- Willian ShakespeareRurik's face hurt like the devil. Jason's one punch had left Rurik feeling agony he normally felt only in battle with another dragon. He spat, the bloody mess landing on the hotel carpet floor. Damien was staring at him, a contemplative look in his eyes, and Jason looked ready to go for round two with him."There's really no way to sever the mating bond?" Damien asked, his tone dangerously quiet. This time Rurik didn't feel like trying to hide his answers. Nothing he would say would change whatever it was they intended to do with him."Only death can break the bond." He looked Damien in the eyes. He saw only one option left open to him, even though it would shatter his heart. "Our intention, our hope, was to convince you there was another way between our peoples. But if you are so blind that you can't see this, then I have another option."Damien frowned. "What's that?""I will leave her alone. You take her hom

  • Brothers of Ash and Fire   Chapter 74

    Charlotte lay on her side in the back of an SUV, her head pounding. She tried to sit up, but her body ached. She blinked, her brain foggy. She recognized the two women in the front seats of the vehicle."Tamara, Meg, what's going on?" She didn't immediately remember what had happened, but when her gaze met Tamara's in the rearview mirror, the last few hours came flooding back to her."Rurik!" She gasped and scrambled to reach for the car door."Charlotte!" Meg spun around in the front passenger seat. "Calm down, okay? Tamara and I are working on a plan. But first we had to get you somewhere safe." "A plan?" "Yeah. We both think your brothers are a bit unreasonable at the moment. Damien especially. I know it's going to piss him off, but I know what I saw between you and Rurik tonight. I've seen enough shifters in my day to know what a mating looks like. But the fact is we're never going to get your brothers to calm down by flying off the handle. So just relax, okay?"Charlotte t

  • Brothers of Ash and Fire   Chapter 73

    Whatever can die is beautifulmore beautiful than a unicorn, who lives forever, and who is the most beautiful creature in the world. Do you understand me?―Peter S. Beagle,?The Last Unicorn"All right, you fucking bastard, talk!" A rough hand shook Rurik in the chair he was tied to. Rurik could feel the tranquilizer leaving his system. If he could delay whatever torture they intended just a few minutes longer, he might be able to break his bonds and then"You want me to talk?" he replied with a grin. "What shall we talk about? How about the cowardice of the Brotherhood? You seem well acquainted with it."The man who'd shaken him cocked a fist, but the door opened and a second man entered. This was the one Rurik recognizedDamien MacQueen. The younger man resembled him so much that he had to be Jason. Charlotte's brothers."Stand down, Jason.""Let me do this," Jason insisted. "Just one little punch.""I would barely feel it." Rurik chuckled, flexing his hands against the chair a

Scan code to read on App
DMCA.com Protection Status