Page 28 of Mikhail
“Okay…” Dragons came from another realm and bonded with humans to form one shared being? She was going to have to process all of this later. Muchlater.
“For some reason, Mikhail’s dragon attempted to harm itself. Do you knowwhy?”
“The dragon? He can’t controlit?”
Belishaw’s face darkened. “Most of the time the man and the beast have the same desires, the same needs, but sometimes a trauma can occur, and the dragon’s will becomes too strong.” He struggled forward. “Like when a dragon shifter loses his mate, the dragon’s grief is too strong to survive. The dragon dies, and the human dies with it. It’s why dragon shifters rarely mate mortals. When a dragon’s human mate dies within eighty or so years, the dragon perishes within days of their mate’sdeath.”
“Is Mikhail…mated?” Piper asked. The thought of him belonging to another woman while he’d been kissingher…
“Almost, but no. She turned her back on him and broke his heart. After she died, he was overcome with grief. I believe part of him still mourns her as though he’d mated her. There have been other times I’ve seen an unmated dragon mourn the loss of a potential mate. The dragon, unable to die from its grief, attempts to harmitself.”
“You mean likesuicide?”
The grim expression in Belishaw’s eyes made Piper uneasy. She glanced at Mikhail, who was still on the couch, eyesclosed.
“But what would make him like that?” sheasked.
“That’s what I was hoping you could tell me.” Belishaw frowned as he looked at Mikhail. “It’s been many centuries since I’ve seen him like this. The last time was when…” He sighed. “When he was released from Elizabeth’s dungeons and watched her funeral procession down theThames.”
Piper’s lips parted in shock. “Centuries?” He couldn’t meanthatElizabeth.That…no…
“We have lived a very long time, he and I. He hasn’t told you, of course, but…” The man paused again, suddenly looking sheepish. “I should say no more. It’s not my story to tell. We need to keep him warm. A dragon can withstand much, but cold water gets under the scales, chilling even the human half. And it seems he was battered badly against the rocks.” Belishaw gestured to the bruises on Mikhail’sribs.
“Are they broken? Should we call for a doctor? Would they be able to tell that he’s not human?” she asked. The bruised patterns on his beautiful chest made her heart ache. Had he really tried to kill himself? Or rather, had the dragon tried to killhim?
“We cannot be taken to hospitals or seen by human doctors. At least, those who don’t know what we are. Our blood possesses certain qualities that would be noticed immediately by mortal physicians and raise too many questions. He will heal. He has suffered much worse before this. But I fear the dragon is regaining control. I was going to return to London after I checked on you both, but now I think it’s best if I stay for a while longer.” He headed for the door. “Keep him warm. I need to make a fewcalls.”
Piper hesitated for a minute before she settled on the couch beside Mikhail. He used to radiate with heat, but now she could practically feel the icy chill within him. She came closer and laid a hand on his cheek. Her fingers were bloody around the knuckles where she’d cut herself, but she ignored the sting. Mikhail shivered and leaned his cheek into herpalm.
“So warm,” he whispered and gave another full-body shiver. Piper bit her lip and crawled beneath the blankets on top of him, pressing her body against his. His shirt was still wet from his fall on the shore. He needed to get out of those clothes. They weren’t helping him keep warm. She should have thought of that when they first brought him in. She reached for the buttons on his shirt and slipped them open. Then she peeled his shirt from hisshoulders.
“Sit up for me,” she said and leaned forward so she could remove his shirtcompletely.
He chuckled, but the sound was slightly ragged. “Trying to undress me? You need only ask.” When she looked up at his face, she saw that his green eyes weren’t as glassy now, but his gaze was still distant and unfocused, and that botheredher.
“Come on, Mikhail. Stay with me,okay?”
Every moment of this was completely surreal. But when she touched him, those wounded, haunted eyes grounded her in the reality of the moment. Maybe that’s why she’d not been able to resist him. Something about him had drawn her in like a moth to a flame. Dragons, Queen Elizabeth—all of it she could decipher later. Right now, this beautiful, mysterious man was on the verge of being lost, and everything inside her begged to rescuehim.
“Jeans next…” She reached for the front of his pants, but he shook hishead.
“I just need to lie down.” He shifted beneath her, and she gasped as he stretched out on the couch and she fell on top of him. “Feels nice.” He curled his arms around her and his head fell back, his breath softening in sleep. Piper moved to get more comfortable and adjusted the blankets to make sure they could keep the heatinside.
She rested her chin on his chest and counted his long dark lashes that spread out on his cheeks, envious of them. Only a woman should have lashes like that. Rather than take away from Mikhail’s masculinity, they added to his devastatingappeal.
Piper soon found she couldn’t keep her eyes open, and she let herself catch a few minutes of sleep. When she awoke, Belishaw had returned. He sat in a chair by the fire. His elbows rested on his knees, and he stared unseeing at the flames. He, like Mikhail, had haunted eyes. She hadn’t noticed them before when she’d first met him. She’d been so focused on Mikhail at the reception. But now she could see it, the weight of centuries as a dragon, living a thousand lives while others died around you, while the world changed. No wonder she could see such sorrowthere.
“Belishaw?” She was relieved he was here, but she was unsure of what she needed tosay.
He replied without looking at her. “I’ve managed to find his brothers. They were hard to trackdown.”
“His brothers?” It was another mystery to add to the growing list of things she didn’t know about this Russian dragonshifter.
“Yes. Grigori and Rurik. He has not seen either of them in two hundredyears.”
Pieces of the things Mikhail had said about his family and himself started to fit together. “It was never his ancestor who lost the jewels. It washim.” She stared at Mikhail’s face in stunnedsilence.
Belishaw’s brows rose in surprise. “So he told you some of thestory?”
