by Shannon West
I turned over and flipped him so that his back was to me and his cute little ass was cradled in my groin before I spoke. “Sebastien. He’s on his way.” I reached down into his shorts and took his swollen cock in my hand, stroking it slowly. I couldn’t help but smile as I heard him give a low groan. I leaned over him and whispered in his ear. “I think that’s enough talk for now, and I also think that you have on too many clothes.”
He didn’t say anything, just nodded and pushed his ass against my cock which was responding quickly to the contact. After stroking his shaft a few more times, I slid back from his body and turned him onto his back. Throwing the cover back, I got onto my knees and removed his underwear, allowing myself to stare down at him for a moment. God, he was beautiful! There was little hair on his body, and his skin looked golden in the dim light coming in the window. I must have been staring longer than I realized because Luca opened his eyes and looked up at me. “Dmitri?”
I blinked and brought his knees up, placing my hands on them and spreading them, so that I could settle down between them. I managed to place myself in a position where our cocks were touching, but I held my upper body off his by propping on my elbows. He was smaller than me and I didn’t want to crush him. This arrangement had the added advantage of allowing me to kiss him, which I did. As my tongue entered his mouth, I began to grind our cocks together and the combination of our tongues touching and the friction of my dick rubbing against his velvety, smooth one was eliciting groans from both of us. I felt him wrapping his legs around my thighs to pull me closer and I ground into him harder and faster. I could feel myself getting close and struggled to hold on until he came. Thankfully, it wasn’t long before I felt his warm release between us. That was all I needed. I felt a familiar tingle at the base of my spine and my cock began to pulse with my own orgasm.
I couldn’t seem to hold myself up off him any longer. My body went limp and I didn’t think about the fact that I was lying fully on him until he tapped my shoulder and gasped, “I can’t breathe.”
I rolled over quickly. “Sorry.”
“Don’t apologize. That was wonderful.”
And it was. I’d had sex with men before, every way that one could imagine, but it was different with Luca. I couldn’t explain why it was different. It just was. I’d have to think about that sometime later, but for now, I just wanted to go back to sleep for a while. We didn’t even bother cleaning ourselves up. He snuggled up to me again and sleep overtook us.
Chapter Six
Luca
I knew immediately when Dmitri drifted into sleep. I wanted to go back to sleep myself, but I also wanted to go get cleaned up. The problem was that I couldn’t seem to move. It was like I was paralyzed. Damn, I was still lying in the same position as when he rolled off me, my legs spread wantonly, like an open invitation. I’d always had enjoyable relations with men in the past. I mean, what’s not fun about fooling around? But sex with this man was, I don’t know, different somehow. Like I couldn’t get enough of it, or of him. I turned my head on the pillow and looked at his handsome face. He was a beautiful man, even more so in sleep, with his features relaxed and without that look of superiority that got on my last nerve.
Finally, I was able to force myself to climb out of bed and go take a shower and shave. I felt considerably better once I was done. I took my only remaining change of clothes out of my small carry-on bag, wondering what I was going to do for clothes after today. Then, I remembered hearing Dmitri on the phone saying that he was going to take me shopping for warm clothing. And something about a Sno-Cat, so apparently wherever we were headed was going to be damn cold with lots of snow. I have to admit that I wasn’t too happy about that. I’m from the South, after all, and not accustomed to a snow and ice and freezing temperatures. Not for extended periods, anyway.
I’d just finished dressing and turned around to notice that Dmitri was awake and staring at me. He looked warm and sleepy and so damn sexy. He raised an eyebrow and asked, “What are you doing up already?”
“I needed to get cleaned up, so I made myself go take a shower and shave.” I arched a brow at him. “You might want to give some thought to it.”
He smiled and rubbed his belly. “Meaning what?”
I shook my head and huffed out a laugh. “Well, you don’t smell bad, but without a shower, it’s only a matter of time. And your beard is moving from sexy scruff to hairy beast.”
Still smiling, he threw his legs over the edge of the bed and sat up, flipping his long hair off his face. “I guess I’d better go take care of business then.” On his way to the bathroom, he stopped and turned toward me. “Don’t even think about trying to make an escape while I’m in the shower.”
“Are you crazy? I’m in a country where I don’t know anyone, don’t speak the language and don’t have any money or know my way around. Where the hell would I go?”
He nodded thoughtfully, seeming satisfied with my answer, and walked into the bathroom. What I didn’t say, and what really bothered me was that I didn’t have any desire anymore to leave him. What the hell was that all about? I had a feeling that, once again, I was about to do something stupid, if I hadn’t already. Like maybe falling for this guy. That would be one of my top ten fuck-ups because what Golden pure-blood was ever going to want me long term?
I was still mulling this over when Dmitri came out of the bathroom twenty minutes or so later with only a towel wrapped around his waist. His lean, muscular body was a sight to behold. He’d blow dried his silky hair and he smelled heavenly. What the hell was wrong with me? I’ve always had a healthy sex drive, but this was ridiculous. It had only been a short time since I’d had a huge orgasm and now I was ready again.
I firmly removed my gaze from what interested me most and smiled at him. “Are you taking me shopping?”
He smiled back. “I am. You act as if you’re anxious to go.”
“Well, not anxious. I hate shopping usually, but that’s because I had so little money to spend and had to get whatever I could afford. But if you’re buying, then maybe I could get a couple pairs of nice jeans and maybe some new Nikes? I fully intend to pay you back, by the way. I don’t take charity.”
He nodded, his eyes warm. “We’ll see,” he said, and I got the feeling he was laughing at me a little.
By the time we finally got back to the hotel late that afternoon, we were both weighed down with packages and more would be delivered to the hotel by the next morning. Those were the things Dmitri had bought me that needed to be tailored for me, like a new suit that cost so much I had to sit down for a few minutes to catch my breath when he told me. After that he wouldn’t let me see the price tags.
Also he bought me dress pants and shirts and a dinner jacket, which just looked black and fancy to me, but I guess I was supposed to wear it only at dinner? Anyway, I got my jeans too—really expensive ones with brand names I never even heard of. I sneaked a look at one of the tags and then just stopped looking, because they cost as much as I made in a month. I didn’t get my Nikes, but he bought me some silver Air Jordans, which he called “sports shoes,” along with a few pair of men’s “dress” shoes, one of which was made out of honest to God python skin, and were I think they were named after an expensive car, the Ferrari. Dmitri said I was saying the guy’s name wrong and pronounced it Ferraro and said he was a famous shoe designer from Italy. Whatever. Anyway, he bought me some really nice stuff, including a fur lined coat. He said it had a raccoon shearling lining and soft black leather on the outside. He had one almost like it, and he said it would keep me warm. He also bought me some fur-lined hats and gloves with the same kind of fur and black leather on the outside.
While I was looking over my haul, there was a knock on the door and Dmitri went to the little hole in the door and looked out. He smiled then and pulled the door open to admit Sebastien. They did the one-arm hug, slash, back-slap like some guys do when they’re glad to see each other, then started to talk to each other in what I can only
assume was Russian, because it sure wasn’t English. I kept busy taking the tags off my clothes and folding them neatly to pack in my huge new suitcase Dmitri had also bought me that afternoon. I guess I must have been looking a little overwhelmed by everything, because Sebastien prodded Dmitri with his elbow and they both looked at me. Then Dmitri came over and wrapped his arms around me and kissed the top of my head.
“Why don’t we all go and have a nice dinner tonight? We’ll make it an early evening and eat here in the hotel restaurant since we have an early flight to Kamchatka in the morning.”
“Sure.”
“Would you rather order room service?”
“Nah. That would be way too expensive. I’m fine.”
“I’m not the least concerned about the expense, Luca. I want you to be comfortable.”
“You saying things like that is what’s making me uncomfortable, Dmitri.”
He looked at me with a confused expression, and I took his hand in mine. “I love everything you’ve done for me, but it’s too much. I can’t ever pay you back for all of this stuff, you know that, right? And I’m just getting deeper and deeper in. Up until I met you, a big night out on the town for me was getting a hamburger and fries at McDonald’s. I’ve never had clothes like these or even knew they existed before now. You have to give me a little time to get used to it all.”
“Of course, Luca,” he said, rubbing little circles on my back “As much time as you need.” I’d have felt a lot better about him saying that if I hadn’t caught the look he sent to Sebastien in the mirror behind him. I didn’t know what it meant, but it gave me an icy feeling down my spine. I was a long way from home and had only Dragon pure-bloods to keep me company. I had a sinking feeling that I just might be fucked.
****
Dmitri
After a nine-hour flight from Moscow, we arrived at the Yelizovo airport in Kamchatka around three o’clock the next day. The sky was clear and blue with puffy white clouds and the weather was bracing, but not too cold, or at least it didn’t seem so to me. There was snow on the ground by that time of the year, but not a lot, and I watched Luca stand on the icy tarmac in front of the small terminal and gaze around himself at the range of rugged mountains and volcanoes all around as far as the eye could see. The volcano near the airport was snowcapped and shaped like a cone. It was very beautiful. Luca was wide-eyed and seemed to be a little stunned by everything he was seeing. I took his hand and Sebastien led the way inside the terminal so we could collect our luggage.
Since the airport was so small, it didn’t take us long to get sorted out and there we found Vassi, our driver, waiting for us.
“Lord Dmitri, Lord Sebastien,” he said, bowing his head a little stiffly. “So good to see you both.”
Luca was giving me a lot of sidelong looks of astonishment as we walked toward the big Sno-Cat. I figured I’d hear all about the Lord thing later on.
Vassi helped us carry our luggage out to the Sno-Cat to begin the journey home, and kept sneaking slightly covetous glances at my beautiful Luca. Vassi had worked for our family for many years, but I still kept a revolver in the breast pocket of my coat. It wasn’t that I didn’t trust him—exactly. But Eldor had a long reach, and enough money could subvert anyone. Until I had my treasure safely home, I wouldn’t rest easy.
Vassi fired up the engine on the Cat and soon the heater had the interior toasty warm. We headed out over the tundra to our home some sixty miles away. Luca was tucked in next to me and Sebastien took the seat beside us. By the time we were about halfway there, Luca had tired of looking out the windows at the snow-covered terrain and the tall mountain ranges in the distance and was dozing on my shoulder. Sebastien had gone to sleep soon after we left the airport.
Distances can be deceiving in the early evening dusk, so when the lights of my home finally came into view, I decided not to wake Luca, because I knew it would take us another forty-five minutes to reach the house. When we were only ten minutes or so out, I nudged him awake and he sat up, rubbing his eyes and blinking to clear the sleep from them.
“Where are we? Are we there yet?”
“Yes, Luca, my home is just there, near that range of mountains. Can you see the lights?”
“Oh yes,” he gasped. “It’s so big. And literally in the middle of nowhere. How do you even have lights and water?”
I smiled at him. “Yes, it is big because we have a large family, so our home has ten bedrooms, each one with its own separate bath. Some of my cousins live with us, but most of them are away from home for now. We have a great room, too, and a huge kitchen, of course. As for the rest of it, generators provide the electricity we need, and we have large cisterns that collect rainwater and snow for our use. It’s a pretty elaborate system, actually, and provides for our plumbing and all the rest. I’ll give you a tour one day soon since you’re interested.”
“Okay,” he said distractedly, still staring at the house, which was made of thick, native stone and timbers. It was a beautiful place, especially to be situated where it is in the “middle of nowhere” as Luca said. The building had been home to the Solokov Dragon clan for well over a hundred years. Before that, another, more modest structure stood in its place. But the Sokolovs had been on this land for generations.
Vassi drew up to the front entrance and we climbed down from the Sno-Cat as he went around the back to collect our luggage. We walked up to the large double front doors with snow falling down into our shoes. I rang the bell and stood back as we heard footsteps approaching. I looked down at Luca and smiled. He tried to return the smile, but it was more of a grimace. Before I could tell him to relax, the door was opened by Viktor, who had worked for my family since before I was born. Viktor looked down at the two of us and for the first time I tried to see him as he must appear to a stranger. He was a huge, bear-like man, but almost forbiddingly formal. Even though I’d been gone for weeks, he nodded at me as if I had just been out for a walk and looked down at Luca like he was a stray puppy I’d dragged home.
“Welcome home, Lord Dmitri,” he said stiffly. “Your parents are in the library.”
“Thank you, Viktor.” I turned toward Luca, putting my arm across his back and pulling him close. “And this is Luca. He’ll be staying with me in my suite. Please see to it that his luggage is placed in the room next to mine.”
“Very good, sir.” He turned away from me then with only the slightest arch of a brow, which I caught, though he hid it quickly, and moved to bow formally to my cousin Sebastien.
I started moving across the wide entry hall, pulling Luca along with me. He seemed to be dragging his feet. I looked down at him and noticed that he was biting his bottom lip nervously. “Come on, Luca. There’s no need to look so worried. You’re not about to face a firing squad.”
Our footsteps were echoing off the marble floor as he said quietly, “I’m not so sure. This is kind of a scary place. And what is all that ‘Lord’ business?”
I laughed down at him as I reached to open the double pocket doors leading into the library. “Just a title. It doesn’t mean much really. And the house is just big. You’ll get used to it. Now, relax and follow me to meet my parents. Oh, you don’t mind getting these clothes a little scorched, do you?”
I laughed at his wide-eyed expression. “Just kidding. Come in and meet them.”
Chapter Seven
Luca
I followed Dmitri into a huge room with floor to ceiling bookshelves on two walls. On a third wall, there was a massive marble fireplace. As if all that wasn’t intimidating enough, a large, handsome blond man, who looked a lot like Dmitri, stood up from the leather wing chair he was sitting in and turned toward us. I’d been trying to hang back a little and hopefully hide behind Dmitri so as to become somewhat invisible, but no such luck. That damn bossy Golden had his hand on my back and kept pushing me forward.
Before the man, who looked to be in his early to mid-fifties, had a chance to say anything, a beautiful woman of about the same a
ge and who had been sitting on the sofa facing him, looked up languidly and held out a hand to Dmitri. She said, “Darling, I’m so glad you’re home. I was worried about you.” She shook her head. “You see so much on the news about the crime over there in America. So much violence.”
I stiffened. I wanted to tell her that she was talking about my country and that I didn’t appreciate it at all, but Dmitri obviously caught my slight movement and headed me off at the pass. He put his hand on my shoulder and gave it a squeeze before walking over to the woman and taking her hand. He leaned down and kissed her cheek. “As you can see, Mother, I’m perfectly fine. And please remember that Luca’s home is in the United States, and he would probably not appreciate any disparaging remarks about it.” He looked back at me then and smiled. Damn, he was handsome. And how could I resist that smile? I smiled back. And just like that, he had me in the palm of his hand. What a rock I was.
His mother gazed at me like I had just crawled out from under one. “Yes, well…the truth can be unpleasant, I suppose.’
Thankfully, I didn’t have time to continue the argument with Dmitri’s mom, because his dad interrupted my plans to annihilate her with my retort. He nodded his head toward me. “So,” he said, looking me up and down as if I was some sort of commodity. “This is the Wyvern?”
“Yes, Father, and he has a name. This is Luca.”
“Have you verified that he’s as valuable as Eldor hopes?”
“No. I was trying to get him to safety first. That seemed the most important thing at the time.”
“And if Eldor was wrong about him, what do you propose to do with him?”
Okay. By this time, I’d had enough. They were talking about me as if I was a thing, not a person and frankly, I was pretty damned tired of it, so I spoke up. “Um, excuse me, but since I’m a fairly intelligent adult, I think I might have something to say about what happens to me.”
