by Lauren Smith
No. Not yet…
Her scent was intoxicating. He growled as the dragon prowled and paced beneath his skin. Now came the hard part. He knew she would not help him willingly. She was a woman with honor, and she wasn’t going to like what he planned to do next.
I am a bastard, but those jewels are rightfully mine, and I do not have the time to explain.
The wood floor creaked and groaned beneath his feet the moment he reached the bed. Piper stirred. Her long dark brown lashes fluttered up. Those pale blue eyes widened, and she tensed as she saw him, her mouth open in a silent fit of surprise. He leaned over and clapped a hand over her mouth. She fell flat on the bed, a muffled cry vibrating beneath his hand.
“Easy, love. I said I would be back, didn’t I? I don’t wish to hurt you. But you will listen, yes?”
Her eyes locked on his, and she gave a jerky nod. The scent of fear rolled off her, and he cursed silently to himself. He didn’t want to do this, but he didn’t have any options. It was the only way he could get to the jewels before they were sold.
“You’re going to help me, aren’t you?” he asked. The look of confusion in Piper’s eyes told him she still didn’t understand why he was here.
He continued to lean over her on the bed, his hand on her mouth. “You have access to the jewels?”
A tiny, shaky nod.
“Good. Now listen to me carefully.” He studied her eyes and noticed the lessening of trembling in her body as his mesmerizing gaze took hold. Her pupils dilated, and she was almost glassy-eyed.
“I am going to remove my hand. You will not scream, and you will not be afraid. You are going to help me open the safe, and we’re going to take the jewels to their rightful home.” He carefully pulled his hand away. Piper released a soft gasping breath but didn’t scream.
“Now.” He reached for her, and she tensed. He growled in frustration and gripped her arm gently as he pulled her off the bed.
“You won’t hurt me?” she whispered, still in a daze.
Mikhail cupped her chin and gazed down at her. “I will never hurt you. You have no reason to fear me and every reason to help me. Do you understand?” She had no reason to fear him, but the same couldn’t be said of the consequences of their actions. While he didn’t like making her an accomplice, he had to use her. She knew how to get into the safe. But his plan had accounted for all that—there would be no record of her helping him once this was all over.
She was barefoot, which was a good thing, and he nudged her ahead of him, keeping hold of her arm. If she got too far away from him, he risked losing control over her. Free will was important between mates, and a dragon’s biology made it impossible for them to coerce their potential mates for long.
“Take me to the jewels.” He had arranged for Belishaw to wait in the mews with a vehicle. Once Mikhail was ready, he would load the jewels inside the vehicle. Piper walked slowly ahead of him, and he nudged her lower back with his other hand.
“Quickly, love.”
She jerked forward, and they returned downstairs to the ballroom. The jewels had been collected from the display cases, which now sat empty.
“This way. They were secured in the vault after the last guest left.” Piper took him to a small door built into the wall. She released a hidden latch, and the door swung open, revealing a tiny reinforced room that contained a large vault built into the back wall. She glanced at him, biting her lip, and he nodded. Already his hold over her seemed to be fading, but he would wait to use it again if he could.
“Open it.”
With shaking hands, she entered the combination on an electronic keypad. There was a series of beeps and clicks, and then the vault made a loud hiss. Piper cranked the metal wheel at the door’s center, and the door swung open. A light turned on, revealing the collection of jewels tucked safely away in travel boxes. The sight filled Mikhail’s heart with joy.
At last.
Pearls, opals, emeralds, rubies, amethysts, gold—it was all there. The tightness in his chest that had lasted for nearly five hundred years started to loosen. He was so close to bringing the jewels home and reuniting with his family.
“Help me carry the boxes,” he urged Piper with a jerk of his head.
She stiffened, and her lips parted as though to protest. Mikhail curled his fingers around the back of her neck, holding her still, not hurting her, but more in the way a male dragon would handle a rebellious drakeling as he reminded her who was in charge.
“Piper, now is not the time to test me,” he warned.
“Why do I feel so strange?” she asked quietly. “It’s like you’re making me help you, but…”
Mikhail didn’t answer her. Instead he met her gaze and worked his will into her again, reinforcing the belief that they were returning the jewels back to where they belonged. Which was true, for him at least.
He didn’t miss the flash of anger in her eyes before they softened with obedience. That was also good. She was strong enough to fight his powers. That was a quality worth admiring in a female. His mother, gods bless her, had been both beautiful and fierce, and Mikhail had always longed for a female of his own with such qualities.
Piper lifted a box labeled “Emeralds” and waited while he grabbed a box of topaz gems. Then he nodded at the door.
“Go to the kitchens and exit through the door that leads to the mews. There will be a Range Rover waiting for us.”
“Okay.”
They were able to move the entire cache in less than ten minutes. When Piper moved to take the final box, Mikhail stopped her.
“Leave it. Those who found the treasure have done me a great service. That is their reward.” It was a decent-sized box, holding perhaps a tenth of the trove, but she had no reason to disobey. “Now, lock the vault and come with me.”
Piper did as he commanded and followed him to back to the kitchens. The door was open, and he could see the car was ready. The back door behind the driver’s side was already open. Belishaw slipped out the back door of the auction house.
“Cameras are still on loop, and the guards are still at their posts.”
“Mr. Belishaw? What are you doing here…?” Piper stared at him, then at Mikhail as though pieces were falling into place. “You planned this together, didn’t you? The guards, the cameras…” Her accusing tone stung him because it was true. They’d planned this quite carefully, and if she didn’t get in the car soon, she would ruin his plans.
“We did. Now, get inside. You’re helping take the jewels to their rightful home, remember? This is the right thing to do, Piper.” He gestured to the car. Belishaw walked around to the driver’s side door and climbed in.
Piper froze, her eyes full of fear. “But—”
“Get in or I will make you. You must come with me now.” He wasn’t going to leave her here. She was his true mate, and he wouldn’t leave her behind. If he could convince her the jewels were rightfully his, she just might lose her fear of him and realize she wanted him.
That was a big if, however, because from the look in her eyes right now, the ones that burned with resistance, he knew that she didn’t trust him. It was going to be a hard battle to win her over.
“Please, Mikhail, just let me go. I won’t tell anyone.” Her voice broke, and it crushed something soft and unprotected inside his heart. He didn’t want her to cry or beg, didn’t want to see her afraid of him. But he needed her to come with him. A true mate was sacred, a gift from the gods, and he wasn’t going to let her go, not after living nearly two thousand years without her.
“Piper, I swore I wouldn’t hurt you, but you need to listen to me. You cannot stay here. You helped steal the jewels. Come with me, and I will take you somewhere safe.”
She shook her head and took a step back from him. It was the only warning he was going to get. She started to turn, ready to run. Mikhail lunged for her, grabbing her waist and hauling her back against his body, clamping a hand over her mouth again. He didn’t want to entrance her again if he
could help it.
Her teeth sank into his fingers, but he swallowed down a cry of pain as he carried her back to the vehicle. Mikhail shoved Piper into the back seat of the Range Rover and followed her. She jabbed an elbow into his face, catching his jaw. Pain radiated from the point of impact, but he shook it off and pushed her flat on her back. Then he snatched her wrists, pinning them against the leather upholstery.
Piper screeched and struggled but wasn’t able to budge.
“Need help?” Belishaw chuckled as he glanced at them struggling in the back seat. “I can mesmerize her for you if you are tired of playing the villain.”
Mikhail let out a soft hiss of warning. “Just drive!”
The car sped into the night. Mikhail focused on keeping his little human female captive. It wasn’t going to be easy. Piper was a fighter.
6
My nightly craft is winged in white, a dragon of night-dark sea.
―Anne McCaffrey, Dragonsong
Oh 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 rational despite everything that had happened tonight. That voice was now warning her to save her energy. No one would hear her. She was being held hostage in a black Range Rover. Getting free was going to be difficult, and she wouldn’t make it far, being barefoot in a party dress.
Mikhail watched her intently, his gaze hot and frightening. Dark hair fell into his eyes, and he licked his lips. How could she have fallen for a jewel thief? She’d been head over heels for him, kissing him and letting go of her control to just feel everything with him, only for it all to have been a lie. He’d been using her and had somehow gotten into her head. The memory of his mouth on hers now tasted bittersweet.
“Are you ready to behave?” he asked.
The word sparked a new fire inside her. Even though he’d hauled her into the car, she didn’t think he would hurt her on purpose. It gave her the courage to stand up to him.
“Behave?” she echoed, her voice dangerously silky. “You’d like that, wouldn’t you? A little slave who would do whatever you tell her to?”
Mikhail chuckled. “You are no slave, not unless you wish to be.” His own tone now turned dangerously soft. “Do you?”
It was then she became truly aware of her body in relation to his. He was lying on top of her, her thighs parted, his slender hips cradled by her body with her skirt bunched up to her waist in black and red ruffles. Memories of their kisses came back to her, and she hated how much she already missed them. Kissing a damned jewel thief. She was going to need some serious therapy after this, because his damned natural dominance was turning her on.
“You said you wouldn’t hurt me,” she warned. If he tried to do anything to her, she would castrate him, no matter how good a kisser he was.
“And I keep my promises, but sometimes a bit of pain intensifies pleasure.” He let go of one wrist to twine his fingers in her hair and tug lightly, prompting a rush of heated memories from their kiss earlier when he’d done the same thing. It had felt so good, so hot, and it spiked new desires inside her.
She shook off the memories. This was not the time to let her fantasies play out. He’d made her help him steal a fortune in jewels somehow and then kidnapped her. Shame filled her at the thought that she was still turned on by him. She’d always thought Stockholm syndrome took longer to set in than this.
Piper turned her shame into anger. “Get off me!”
Under other circumstances, if she’d trusted him, the thought of him dominating her would have made her wet, hot, and panting. Right now she was just angry. He wasn’t going to abduct her, turn her into a felon, and just expect her to swoon.
Mikhail’s eyes softened. The strange gold gleam swirling at the edge of his pupils faded, and the summer-green jade returned.
“Easy, easy now.” She felt that strange desire to do exactly as he said wash over her again. For a long while they simply stared at each other until she felt relaxed and collected. Not brainwashed, just…calmed.
He sat back, let go of her wrist, and loosened his fingers from her hair. She scrambled to the opposite side of the seat and curled her arms around herself. Strangely, being farther away from him made her feel vulnerable in a way that made no sense. As mad and scared as she was, when he touched her it felt…safe. Why the heck would it make her feel safe? Not having an answer to that question wasn’t exactly comforting.
“Where are we going?” she asked.
“Cornwall.”
“Cornwall?”
“Yes. To my home.” His haunting green eyes entranced her even as they frightened her.
“Why…why are we going there? Are you planning to sell the jewels there? Have you already found a buyer? Or is that your hideout?” She didn’t understand why he had brought her with him unless he was worried about witnesses. Didn’t witnesses to crimes usually end up dead? The thought made her stomach roil and blood roar in her ears.
He chuckled. “All understandable guesses, but no. I’ve no intention of selling them, and I would never call my home a hideout.”
“Why not?”
Mikhail smirked. “Perhaps it is, after a fashion.”
She lowered her arm slightly, shivering. Mikhail removed his coat and held it out to her. She stared at it, then him, wanting to decline.
“Take it. It won’t bite.” Something about his tone made her think he was teasing her.
Piper took the coat hesitantly, but then after another shiver she slipped it on. The large coat made her feel so small, like a child wearing an adult’s clothes.
“What are you planning on doing with the jewels then?” she asked.
“I’m taking them to Russia.” He seemed to wait for her to react to that.
“Russia? But…” Her brow furrowed as she tried to puzzle out his intentions. “You really don’t plan to sell them?” Why would a man steal jewels worth millions, leave some of them behind, go through all the trouble and risk to smuggle them to another country, and not get his money’s worth?
“No.” He settled back against the seat and put his arm around the back of it, his fingertips inches from her shoulder. Her body hummed with tension at his close proximity, and she noted privately that not all of that tension was from fear.
“So why steal them if you don’t plan to sell them?” Piper asked, burrowing deeper into his coat. She lifted the edges of his coat up, inhaling his scent. Damn, it smelled good. She shouldn’t like it, but she did.
“How about I ask you a question first?” His eyes glinted with mischief, which put her more at ease—not that she wanted to feel that way.
“Okay. Ask.” She was curious to know what he wanted to ask, and she hoped that if she played along it might give her some small advantage. A hostage who did what she was told didn’t give the hostage-taker much warning that she was planning to escape, right?
“Why did you become a gemologist?” His green eyes were a pretty shade in the dark, like emeralds covered by shadows.
“I…well…” She’d never really thought about it before. She’d started out in geology, then… “I’ve always been drawn to jewels and gemstones. I guess I’m just fascinated by the array of co
lors and knowing that they are found that way in nature. It’s amazing.”
“It is.” He smiled wolfishly, but Piper didn’t feel threatened. She’d learned one thing about him tonight—that was a playful smile, not something to be afraid of. Maybe he wouldn’t kill her after all. Her gut didn’t think he would, even though her mind insisted there was no other reason to kidnap her after using her to steal the jewels.
“I like gems. There’s something about their purity, the depth of their colors, and the endless facets that are possible. It’s fascinating.”
“I quite agree. I could spend days holding a ruby in the palm of my hand.” He lifted one hand in the air, palm up, as though imagining a large red stone sitting there. “And watch the light play upon it.” He tilted his head as though thinking about something. “When we reach Cornwall, I wish to show you something.”
Piper bit the inside of her cheek as she tried for the hundredth time to figure out how she was going to get out of this mess.
“Why don’t you sleep awhile? It will be a long drive before we reach my home,” Mikhail said.
“Sleep?” She straightened her shoulders. “I couldn’t sleep here…”
“Piper,” Mikhail sighed, shifting his body closer to hers. “No one is going to hurt you.”
“You’re not planning to kill me?” The question popped out. She’d had no intention of alerting him to her fears, but it was too late now. She was exhausted, and it had just slipped out.
“Kill you?” Mikhail gaped at her. Belishaw chuckled from the driver’s seat, and she glanced between them.
“Yes. Kill me. It’s what the bad guys do with hostages, right? I’m a witness…”
Mikhail shook his head. “I swore to you that I wouldn’t harm you. It should be obvious that includes killing you.” He rubbed his temples with his thumb and forefinger. “Foolish little creature.”
