Evgeni (Siberian Ambush Book 1) (12 page)

“For what?” Celia laughed acerbically. “Allowing you to be kidnapped and then taking so long to rescue you that you almost died? Yeah, definitely not my best work,” she murmured in displeasure.

“Dude, whatever,” Bianca replied. “Okay, so maybe you did take a little longer than I expected, and maybe I was
literally
seeing the White Light, but still, you came through for me. You always do.”

Celia pressed a light kiss to Bianca’s forehead. “It’s what a big sister does.”

“I love you, Celia.”

“I love you too, Bianca.”

Even before the bedroom door opened, Celia felt the strangest vibration in her core. She knew that it was Evgeni coming to check on her. The sensation of security and comfort that accompanied that vibration made her eyes sting. For so long, she had been alone and fighting to survive and care for her sister. She had resisted instantly the idea of Evi taking her as a mate. With their complicated history and her responsibilities toward Bianca, it seemed an impossible thing to join her life with his.

And yet…

And yet it also seemed like the most natural thing in the world.

What they had shared the other night had awakened a hunger inside her. Beyond that sexual hunger there was something else awake within her. A yearning for affection and love and friendship. The need for a partner in life to help her and love her and support her.

“Isn’t this touching,” Evi lightheartedly teased as he entered the room. Bearing a silver tray supporting an exquisite bone china tea set, he carefully crossed the floor and placed the tray on the bedside table. She didn’t miss the way he breathed in deeply as he poured a cup of the steaming tea. He was trying to scent her, testing to see if she was all right and if she returned his affection and need.

Their fingers touched when he handed Celia the cobalt blue and gold saucer with matching teacup. “Alexei left this restorative tea for you. You’re to drink two cups twice a day for two weeks, no exceptions.”

“What’s in it?” Celia wondered, nervously eyeing the tawny liquid as she blew ripples across its surface.

“Mullein, red clover, chamomile, cowslip, jasmine, ginger, peppermint and about twenty other ingredients that I can’t even begin to remember,” Evi said, sinking into his favorite chair. “I’m not going to pretend that it’s delicious. Those herbal remedies rarely are.”

Celia hesitantly sipped the tea. It was exactly as horrible as she imagined it would be, but she managed to muscle it down. Realizing the second cup would be even more difficult to drink, she quickly motioned for Bianca to pour another dose. As soon as Bianca returned the cup, Celia gulped it down and sputtered at the bitter aftertaste.

“If it’s any consolation, that tea he left me isn’t so hot either,” Bianca assured her.

“I think you’re looking much better already,” Evi chimed in, his stare intensive.

Sensing that some alone time was warranted, Bianca rose and excused herself. “I’m going to go finish unpacking and setting up my room.”

“Her room?” Celia questioned, her eyebrows arched as she watched Bianca skip into the hall and shut the door.

“I had your things moved here,” Evi explained. “There’s no need for you to live in that dingy apartment. I don’t know how you could stand living there.”

Ignoring Evi’s subtle cohabitation request, she answered the latter. “We lived there because it was close to Texas Children’s Hospital and Bianca’s transplant team and— Oh god!” Celia groaned into her hands. “How am I supposed to explain Bianca’s miraculous recovery to her doctors?”

“There are ways to avoid that,” Evi matter-of-factly replied. “Destroying medical records, altering a few memories and the like.”

“Call me crazy, Evi, but I think messing with a doctor’s memory isn’t such a great idea.”

“I know someone who’s very good at that sort of thing.”

“I’ll bet you do,” she dryly muttered.

“Ilya is our family’s…fixer.” He seemed to have chosen that word carefully. “When we need a problem fixed, he cleans it up for us. He won’t break a sweat doing this for Bianca now that she’s part of the family.”

Celia swallowed nervously. She didn’t want to talk about that but it had to be done. “Is that what we are now? Your family?”

He must have sensed her fear and hesitation. “We don’t have to make it official tomorrow or next week or next month or even next year. I know that you’re mine. You know that I’m yours. That’s enough for me.”

She smiled shyly at him. He was so certain, so sure. It wasn’t arrogance though. It was confidence.
In me. In us.

“We’ll take it slow,” he continued. “We sort of crashed into this the other night. It might be good to start at the beginning and try this relationship thing in the proper way. Dates, dinners, the ballet…” As if sensing her disappointment that lovemaking wasn’t mentioned, he added, “Ropes and straps and paddles and canes…”

She tried not to smile too much at the teasing in his voice. She wanted to explore all of that with him. She wanted the wooing and the seduction and the exciting bedroom games he wanted to teach her.

But first, needing closure, she asked, “What happened to Didier?”

Evi didn’t answer immediately. “What was left of him burned in the house fire that Ilya started to destroy all of the evidence.”

“What was left of him?” she asked in a quiet voice.

“He nearly killed my mate. It was my natural reaction.”

She didn’t want to think about the massive Siberian tiger shredding Didier to bits and pieces. Instead, she asked, “And his henchmen?”

“A few of them made it. That big one that you pounded survived.”

“What about the police? I’m sure that the gunshots and explosions raised a few eyebrows.”

“Don’t worry about it, Celia. Ilya took care of it.”

She decided to leave it at that. “And Bianca? How did you know that the blade would save her?”

“I didn’t,” he admitted honestly.

“That’s comforting,” she mumbled unhappily.

“Look, Celia, she was going to die. I decided to take the risk.”

“What I don’t understand, Evi, is why no one in your family has ever used the blade.”

“Probably because immortality isn’t everything it’s cracked up to be,” he replied. “What’s the motivation for living if there’s no threat of an end?” He paused before continuing. “My ancestors pledged to protect the Blade of Amrita from people like Didier, and that’s what we’ve done.”

“So why isn’t Bianca immortal?”

“I haven’t the foggiest idea,” Evi confessed. “Alexei thinks that perhaps because she was practically dead or possibly even clinically dead for a few moments before I stabbed her that it only healed her body. It’s also possible the dagger never really conferred immortality. It might have just been a myth or a misunderstanding or a bad translation.” He shrugged. “Who knows?”

“
I
want to know.”

“Then I suppose you have your next project.” Fixing her in place with a look, he said, “Right after you catalog and sell all those other objects you’ve stolen over the last few years. I won’t have any of those things in my home. You’ll return them or sell them on the black market.” He slashed a hand through the air. “You’re done with stealing and thieving, Celia.”

“Yes, sir.”

He gave her a dark look when she replied so submissively. “Don’t try to entice me and change the subject.”

She exhaled roughly. “But what am I going to do with myself if I can’t take jobs anymore? It’s what my family does. It’s what made us infamous.”

“It’s what your family
did
,” he corrected. “You’re part of this family now. We’ll find you a new occupation if you must have one.”

“I must.”

“Well, you’re rather good at finding things, aren’t you? Perhaps you could find things—artifacts and the like—for people.”

“Maybe,” she said, her mind already running full speed ahead with that thought.

“Celia?”

“Yes?”

“We should talk about the other night.”

She blanched. “I’m really sorry about dosing you with the sleeping potion. I didn’t know how else to get out of the house. I didn’t want to provoke you into shifting. Putting you down for a cat nap seemed like the best option.”

He frowned at the cat nap remark. “I understand why you did it. Just be thankful that I have a very high metabolism and my great-great-grandmother’s teleportation amulet.”

“I am, and thank you. I really misjudged the situation.” Her face flamed with embarrassment as she remembered how close they had all come to dying.

“We all make mistakes, Celia.”

In a conciliatory and flirtatious gesture, he patted his lap, inviting her to sit. Without hesitation, she rose slowly and walked over, lowering herself onto his lap, dangling her legs over the arm of the chair and resting her forehead against his cheek.

“Celia, I know I’ve already had Ilya move all of your things here, but I wanted to ask you properly. It’s all right if you want to change your mind. I don’t want to keep you as my prisoner.” His arms tightened around her, and she sensed he feared she would reject him. “Celia, I want you to stay with me. You and Bianca.”

“Why?” She needed to know it was more than just her scent that he recognized as his mate’s.

“For one thing, it’s lonely in this old house. I’m so tired of having no one to share all this with, Celia. More importantly, if you live here, you won’t have to steal anymore. I’ll take care of you, both of you. Being with you the other night—well, it wasn’t what I expected it to be. It felt so much more
real
than anything I’ve felt in a long time.” He kissed her forehead and squeezed her hand. “I need a mate. I need
you.
”

“Because I smell good?”

“Because you smell
right
,” he corrected. “You know what my kind are like. You know how it is for us.” His voice seemed far-away as she said, “Maybe we were always meant to be. Maybe that’s why my friendship with Homer was so instant. He smelled like you. Something inside of me must have recognized that my mate was related to him.”

Touching his chest, she whispered, “I shouldn’t have said what I did about you and Homer last night. I know you didn’t kill him. I know that it was an accident.”

“It was my fault.” Guilt darkened his voice. “It was my idea to have a wild weekend. I should have known better than to take him into a place like that. We had no business there. He wasn’t a shifter. He was strong—like you,” he added, giving her shoulders a squeeze, “but he wasn’t strong like my kind. He didn’t stand a chance in that fight.”

“You don’t have to punish yourself for his death anymore.” She touched his jaw. “I know that’s why you live here alone, like some tortured recluse from a gothic novel.” She traced the outline of his mouth. “You should honor his memory by living.” She leaned in and kissed him tenderly. “You should honor his memory by taking care of his sisters.”

Evi’s tense expression relaxed. “I think he would have come around to the idea of us together eventually.”

“Eventually,” she agreed. “He probably would have punched you in the face first, especially if he knew about all the dirty things you like to do in the bedroom.”

“He didn’t know about that,” Evi assured her. “But you’re right. He would have punched me in the mouth for simply kissing you.”

“Well, you should know that Bianca has a temper like Homer,” she warned. “Now that she’s healthy there is no telling how difficult she’ll be.”

“I suspect she’ll go a bit wild, but we have the family to protect her. Roman won’t let her get away with much. He’ll probably end up playing the role of her bodyguard when she decides to go away to college.”

“College,” Celia repeated the word. She blinked rapidly as the relied and wonder of so much hope hit her. “A few days ago, I was afraid to think of Bianca’s future in anything but days. Now she can go have a real life. She can finish high school and go to college and fall in love and get married.”

A chaotic tirade of emo music interrupted her warm and fuzzy thoughts. Celia rolled her eyes, but before she could yell, she heard another voice, this one loud and rough shouting, “Bianca!”

Seconds later, the volume dipped to an acceptable level.

“Roman,” Evi said with a laugh. “Your sister seems to have picked him out as her favorite target.”

“She’s a mischief maker,” Celia warned. “Back at the children’s hospital, she was always the kid pulling pranks and getting into trouble. Now that she’s healthy, I’m really in for it with her.”

“We,” he corrected gently. “We’re in for it.”

Touching his jaw, she gazed into his eyes. “Evi, are you really serious about all of this?”

“Yes.”

Keenly perceptive, Celia realized that he meant it. He wasn’t perfect, but neither was she. There was still a lot to learn about one another, but the foundation for a great relationship was there. That was all they really needed. Everything else would come in time.

“Okay, Evi. We’ll stay.”

He grinned excitedly. “You’re sure?”

“Yes.”

Clutching his face, Celia insistently kissed him. After all those years of resilient independence, it was a novelty to be held by someone who wanted to protect and provide for her. It felt
good
.

And so does that
, she thought as Evi’s greedy hands groped her breasts. With the gentlest of movements, he shifted her body until her back was against his chest and she was sitting squarely against his pelvis. His chin rested on her left shoulder as he lightly nipped at her neck and earlobe. Cooing sighs escaped her lips as his fingers kneaded her flesh through the thin fabric of her camisole.

Ever so slowly, his right hand traveled down her stomach and slipped beneath the waistband of her pajama bottoms. As she wore no underwear, his fingers encountered no resistance and he cupped her mound, eliciting a low groan.

“Do you want me to stop?” Evi asked, obviously hesitant because of her battered state.

Breathing heavily and highly aroused, Celia shook her head. “Keep going.”

Relaxed in Evi’s arms, Celia enjoyed the sensation of his fingers playing with her body. When he removed his fingers she moaned in protest, but after coating the tips with his warm saliva, Evi found her clit and began leisurely massaging the swollen nub.