Page 33 of Mikhail
Mikhail nodded. “Dragons have the ability to mesmerize others. I hesitated to use it on you, but it was necessary. I needed you to come with me. I knew from the moment I saw you that you and I were meant to betogether.”
He didn’t tell her about the consequences of their mating. She wasn’t ready to know yet, and he wasn’t ready to tell her. She’d been through so much with him in the last two days that he didn’t want to scare her with talk of truemates.
She bit her lip, studying him. “Would you ever use that on me to do things I didn’t want to? Aside from jewel stealing, Imean?”
He shook his head fiercely. “No. I would never force you to do anything, unless it was to save you. If you’re ever in danger and you refuse an order I give to protect you, that’s when I would use it on you, but onlythen.”
“That’s not good enough. You could twist any situation into saying it’s for my own safety. Free will is important. It might be the most important thing there is.” She scowled at him, and he saw a hint of warning in hereyes.
“I agree. I wish I had never done it in the first place, but I could think of no otherway.”
“Then promise to me now that you will never do it again, no matter what. Even if you believe it’s for my own safety.” Her gaze softened, and his heart swelled in his chest. God, he loved it when she looked at him like that, like she cared abouthim.
Mikhail did not want to make that promise. She did not know what his world could be like at times. But he also saw how important this was to her, and he understood. “You have my word,” he said, stealing a quickkiss.
She sighed against his lips in a dreamy way that made his dragon purr incontentment.
“Any other questions?” heasked.
“Tons, but maybe in a little while,” she said and tucked her head beneath his chin. What he had said earlier had caused her to worry. He didn’t like that. She was his mate now, and he wanted her healthy and happy. He wouldn’t make the same mistake he’d made withElizabeth.
But this would be different. Piper wouldn’t betray him, and he would see to it that she had the world at her fingertips. He held her close, breathing in her scent and letting it banish his dark memories. Letting it bury thepast.
11
People who deny the existence of dragons are often eaten by dragons fromwithin.
—Ursula K. LeGuin
“What doyou mean the jewels aregone?”
Conrad Sinclair stared at Barty Winston from across the expansive mahogany desk in his office. The wood had been so finely polished that he could see his own ghostly reflection if he leaned close enough to thesurface.
“There was a burglary.” Barty shifted uncomfortably in the chair opposite Conrad’s desk. “Someone came in through the kitchen door that connects to the museum from themews.”
Conrad frowned, his temper roiling like magma beneath hisskin.
“But the auction house has security cameras and alarm systems. The jewels were in a safe.” He’d been working with Barty to acquire the information needed to make his own heist possible, but it seemed someone had beaten him toit.
“It was an inside job. The security cameras were put on a loop. The kitchen alarm was disabled with the correct code. Oddly enough, they left a small amount of the gems behind. But…” Barty nudged his thick glasses up his nose with his index finger. “There was, however, one camera that they missed. I believe the thieves forgot aboutit.”
“Thieves? More than one?” Conrad didn’t like the idea of chasing down two people. The odds they would separate and break up the hoard of jewels were high. That made his job of recovering them muchharder.
“Yes.” Barty scowled. “Piper Linwood, the gemologist you wished to acquire, seems to be involved. The lone camera that wasn’t hacked shows her and a man carrying the jewels out to a vehicle parked in the mews and driving away. Her role in the burglary seemed to bevoluntary.”
Barty dug through his pockets and his coat until he found what he was looking for, a small thumb drive. He held it out to Conrad over thedesk.
Conrad made no move to take it. “What isthat?”
“The recording of the security video. I have a friend at Scotland Yard who owed me a favor. I thought you might want to seeit.”
Only then did Conrad accept the drive. He inserted it into his computer and pulled up the videofile.
It was dark by the mews, but he could see Piper clearly as she exited the kitchen door carrying a box of jewels. A man followed her, his arms also laden with boxes. The man was dark-haired and tall, and he moved with a grace that was unnatural for humans. The man moved like a dragon. Conrad paused the video and zoomed in on the man’sface.
“You have no idea who this man is?” he askedBarty.
“No. Scotland Yard is currently running him through facial recognition, but they won’t have any results for another couple ofdays.”
