Page 17 of Mikhail
She lowered her arm slightly, shivering. Mikhail removed his coat and held it out to her. She stared at it, then him, wanting todecline.
“Take it. It won’t bite.” Something about his tone made her think he was teasingher.
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’sclothes.
“What are you planning on doing with the jewels then?” sheasked.
“I’m taking them to Russia.” He seemed to wait for her to react tothat.
“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’sworth?
“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 fromfear.
“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 shedid.
“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 thatway.
“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 byshadows.
“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 colors and knowing that they are found that way in nature. It’samazing.”
“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 thejewels.
“I like gems. There’s something about their purity, the depth of their colors, and the endless facets that are possible. It’sfascinating.”
“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 yousomething.”
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 thismess.
“Why don’t you sleep awhile? It will be a long drive before we reach my home,” Mikhailsaid.
“Sleep?” She straightened her shoulders. “I couldn’t sleephere…”
“Piper,” Mikhail sighed, shifting his body closer to hers. “No one is going to hurtyou.”
“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 slippedout.
“Kill you?” Mikhail gaped at her. Belishaw chuckled from the driver’s seat, and she glanced betweenthem.
“Yes. Kill me. It’s what the bad guys do with hostages, right? I’m awitness…”
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 littlecreature.”
Piper studied his face for any hint that he was lying to her. He glanced back to Belishaw, then to her, and cupped her chin, forcing her to look into hiseyes.
“I didn’t want to do this again, little dove, but you give me no choice. You’re exhausted, and you need rest. Now…sleep.” His deep, rumbling voice and the gold flecks in his jade eyes, like dancing flames, lulled her into a strange, hazy, dreamlikestate.
She felt her eyelids droop, and her brain went fuzzy. She could just close her eyes for a few minutes, catch acatnap…
* * *
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 tomove.
“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 outerthigh.
“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 denyingthat.
