Kiss of the Dragon (9 page)

I turned my attention back to Yves being away from Paris because of me. "I'll be heading to London tomorrow, so you can both go back to Paris then perhaps." I wanted them to know they didn't need to stick around for days on end, that they could return to where they were needed most. I appreciated that they had taken time out to be here, to offer extra protection upon my return, but their lives were waiting. Not to mention the innocents of Paris needed them back home.

"What takes you to London?" Yves asked.

"I have an assignment," I said sounding extremely pleased with myself. Yves grinned back at me, picking up on my school-girl excitement.

"A dangerous assignment?" he asked.

"Are there any others?"

He laughed and shook his head, then added, "Ah, but will it involve silver?"

"I'm hoping a whole lot," I replied, wondering in that second where my stakes and Svante sword had got to. I'd had them in
Álfheimr
, but Sergei and I had left in such a hurry I hadn't taken the time to retrieve them from the
Hyrða
guards.

They arrived not long ago, sent through a portal directly here
, Michel whispered in my mind.
Aliath did not wish for you to be unarmed
, he added, sounding a little put out by the Fairy King's continued interest in my wellbeing. I was relieved my weapons had returned to me, but I had to wonder why the Fey had portal access to the
Château,
that they could apparently use with such ease. Michel didn't comment in my mind, making the uneasy feeling inside increase.

"Could you use some assistance?" Yves was asking, making me struggle for a second to pick up where our conversation was. Michel was distracting when he was near, but when in my mind it was ten times worse.

"Um," I said finding my place again. "I'll have vampire guards with me and my
Tego Texi Tectum
. I should be good."

"But it never fails to have too much," Yves commented. "Another Nosferatin wouldn't go astray."

I wasn't sure it was necessary, I could always call on Arthur Pencarrow's crew. The London based Nosferatins were sticklers for rules though and always worked in a team. Asking for their help would mean
all
of them would join in and the thought of Marie, my former scaredy-cat protégée, getting involved in whatever I was doing, was a little disconcerting. If I could keep her out of harm's way at all, I would.

Out of curiosity I asked, "Who have you got in mind?"

"Sophie," Yves replied and the young girl smiled up at him. It seemed caring and full of pride that he would suggest her at all. But surprisingly not full of lust. Maybe she wasn't his girlfriend after all. "She is experienced," he went on. "Well trained, highly skilled and" - now he smiled with pride - "she moves silently through the night. None would know she is with you, should you choose to use this skill. She is a definite asset and could cover your back whilst remaining hidden from sight."

"Can you Dream Walk?" I asked the younger Nosferatin. It was the only skill I could think of that would allow her to move silently and hidden through the night.

"No, my talent is more on the side of Shadow Walking," she said, then clarified, "but not quite the same."

Hmm. Interesting and also enlightening. She had called it a talent, which meant she had come into some of her Nosferatin powers before turning twenty-five. Not many do, I had and Amisi has, and I knew that Nero had too, many centuries before. But it was still considered unusual to inherit our skills before we matured and joined. Nut, our Goddess, must have considered it necessary, which only made me realise how precarious things were right now. And that Sophie was going to be a powerful Nosferatin. One to watch.

"I appreciate the offer," I said to them both, but as Sophie was still an immature Nosferatin, I didn't think it was wise to pull her into this.

"She is my best Nosferatin," Yves added, clearly understanding why I was reluctant to take up his offer.

"I'm sure she is, Yves," I said, trying to think of a polite way to let them both down. It was a generous offer, I really did appreciate it and some part of me could see how useful she would be, what a great addition to my team she would make. But I still felt uneasy about pulling her into what could potentially be quite risky. I'm not sure I would want her safety on my mind when facing my own.

Michel appeared at our sides from out of nowhere. Yves and I took his sudden appearance in our stride, Sophie gasped slightly, but hid her reaction fairly well. It was easy to be bamboozled by Michel's speed, not to mention his appearance. The young Nosferatin was staring at him with open mouthed awe. Then again, he is the Champion, the leader of the
Iunctio
which was set up to guide all Nosferatu as well as Nosferatin. He was her leader too.

"You vouch for her?" he asked Yves, surprising me.

"Absolutely," Yves replied without hesitation. Michel turned his attention to Sophie, I think she was trying not to pee her pants.

"You are aware, Nosferatin, of what danger you could face?" His voice was gentle and I noticed laced in a little
Sanguis Vitam
. He was trying to calm her enough, so she could answer his question without fumbling. I loved him even more in that minute, that he would take the time to soothe a young Nosferatin's fear. His eyes flicked to mine briefly, a flash of magenta letting me know his vampire-within was also here and as much a participant as him.

I loved them both.

Michel's hand came out and clasped mine, he brought my knuckles up to his lips for a kiss, his eyes though back on Sophie.
Her
eyes widened slightly at his intimate and open gesture.

"Yes, Champion," she finally answered. "I am aware."

"And you would like to assist my kindred?" he asked, still in that gentle voice.

"It would be my greatest wish," she replied instantly.

"Do you think you would be of some help?" he continued to interrogate her, albeit softly.

"Most certainly," she replied and although her confidence could be confused with pride, it clearly wasn't. She just had enough faith in her own abilities to back herself. I immediately liked her.

Michel turned to me. "It is your call,
ma douce
, but I believe she would indeed be an asset to your team."

I held his gaze, knowing he wouldn't suggest this if he didn't truly believe she would help rather than hinder. Michel knew how much difficulty I had training and working with Marie in London. But then Marie, despite being a mature Nosferatin, was definitely not skilled. She had been a liability and Michel would never consider placing me in a position such as that again. Plus, it was obvious, Michel wanted me to have as much protection as I could. Things were not good in our world right now. He'd asked Yves for Nosferatin protection for my return to this realm, he clearly felt Nosferatins could offer something in addition to his usual vampire protection squad.

If I hadn't have taken the gravity of the climate seriously before, I sure as hell did now.

I nodded at him, letting him know through my thoughts and expression that I understood. Then turned back to Sophie and Yves.

To the young woman I said, "Welcome to the team."

She smiled broadly back at me, then fisted her hand over her chest and bowed to us both.

In that instant she reminded me of Amisi, who had been raised in a community of Nosferatins and Nosferatu. Amisi knew instinctively how to be a Nosferatin. I had always envied and admired her for that. I looked at Sophie, who clearly knew too how to be a Nosferatin, and thought perhaps this just might work.

It looked like I had a new sidekick and for some reason that didn't make me as scared as I had expected to be.

The moment the Grandfather Clock in the hallway, outside the sitting room we were all in, announced it was midnight, Michel was back at my side. I had been catching up first with Kathleen and Matthew, and then lastly Sergei and Natalyia, with Christopher adding a little to the conversation here and there. It had been a great evening. I felt settled and grounded and at peace with my family around me.

Marcus and Matthias had been playing an impromptu game of poker with Michel's Shadow Guards down one end of the room, so I hadn't wanted to interfere and touch base with them. They seemed hell bent on consuming as much alcohol as they could manage and losing as much money as the night allowed. It was raucous and entertaining to witness. I knew I'd have time enough to catch up with my personal guards in London, though and I had never been close to Michel's Shadow Guards, so didn't feel the need to go there.

It was Samson who worried me and threatened to upset my pleasant mood. He had spoken with Michel for a while and then spent the rest of the night in intense conversation with Yves and Sophie. The young Nosferatin woman had appeared at first starstruck and then as the conversation continued a little pissed off. She hid it well, having mastered a blank mask no doubt at an early age. When around vampires so much you need to be able to hide your reactions, a vampire will use anything it can to gain the upper hand. She played the game well, but I am equally adept at recognising minute expressions, and I had seen the frustration and anger on her face fleetingly, before the mask fell into place. Just what the hell was the matter with Samson?

"
Ma douce,
" Michel murmured in my ear against my neck, interrupting my thoughts and the conversation with Sergei, Natalyia and Christopher. They all ceased speaking and watched the scene unfold. Michel had never been shy about showing affection in public. It had taken a concerted effort from him to get me to unwind in any degree in front of others, but I was still not up to his standard of exhibitionism

His arm now, had come around my waist pulling my back against his broad chest. One hand held my side firmly, his fingers splayed across my hip and waist in a claiming gesture that would not have been lost on those standing before us. His other hand had come up to my head and tipped it gently sideways, exposing my neck to his lips. He spoke against the skin there, an intimate gesture that promised much and left no one in any confusion about what was on his mind.

I refused to crumble under his assault and just replied, rather obtusely, "What, Michel?"

He chuckled against my skin, sending hot waves of his breath over my flesh. My body shuddered before I could stop it and I watched with a frown on my face as Natalyia flashed an amused grin from ear to ear. Sergei and Christopher just looked resigned. They'd seen it all before.

"We have a date," Michel murmured. "It is midnight."

I began laughing then, his arm tightened about my waist.

"You have plans," I added, starting to get into the swing of the conversation despite myself.

"Yes," he replied beginning to nibble on my ear. "Say goodnight,
ma belle
. You are mine."

Well, that settled that. I smiled at the vampires before me, they all wore various sizes of grins on their faces... and then they were gone. Poof! So much for subtlety.

I quickly said goodnight to the room at large, receiving various chortles and smirks from the poker table, polite farewells from the humans. And nothing from Samson. He had disappeared.

My heart plummeted. I bit my bottom lip and Michel sighed.

"He is struggling,
ma douce
," he whispered, as he took hold of my hand and led me up the grand staircase, which swept in an impressive curve from the ground floor to the top.

"Struggling with what?" I asked, suddenly not feeling amorous at all.

Michel ran a hand through his hair clearly frustrated at Samson affecting my mood.

"The
Nothus
, his new powers." He paused. "The fact he cannot be with you to aid and protect you as Sergei and Natalyia are."

"Is he jealous?" I asked stunned, as we entered our plush bedroom. It was large with a sitting area by the fireplace, a huge four-poster bed with navy velvet drapes that matched the drapes over the bare windows - the shutters hidden from sight within the walls themselves - dark wooden side tables and dressers, soft carpet underfoot, copious amounts of silver and navy pillows cascading over the bed.

There was also a bathroom and dressing room off to the side, both bigger than our bedroom at St. Helier's Bay had been. Everything in this house was
big
. And plush. And simply beautiful. Fit for a King, I decided, then amended that thought to
fit for the Champion
.

"Of course," Michel answered my question. "But more so, he is concerned for your safety and wishes to be of help."

"He helps me by looking after my obligations back in New Zealand, just as Doug and Shane look after yours. I'm sure they would prefer to be with you here, than all the way in the South Pacific."

"This is true," Michel replied beginning to undo his neck-tie and strip out of his suit jacket with practised ease. "But Samson is your first born,
ma douce
. You feel more for him than the others, do you not? Likewise his feelings towards you are more."

"I couldn't leave Sergei or Natalyia in NZ," I said a little petulantly. I needed the
Tego Texi Tectum
with me in case a fairy jumped out of the shadows and attacked. Besides, neither of them were in love with the
Nothus
Nut had forced me to watch over in exchange for saving her life.

"I know,
ma douce,"
Michel said softly, trying to calm me down from the heights of emotional turmoil I was threatening to climb. He glided towards me, his jacket, shirt and tie gone, his naked and very lick-able chest catching my eye. I was momentarily stunned, unable to move or make comment, my tongue automatically coming out to lick my lips. Michel grinned as his hands came up to cup my face.

"He is in the right place, Lucinda. You have done the right thing. We have no control over other's emotions, we can only attempt to accept them and allow them time themselves to come to accept them too." He brushed his lips over mine softly, then returned with the tip of his tongue along my bottom lip. My mouth opened without further encouragement and he took the invitation immediately, slipping in between my teeth.

Tongues tangled, his arms came around me - one up into my hair twisted in the strands, the other around my waist and cupping a butt cheek under my short skirt, but over the top of my knickers - his bare chest against the fabric of my T-Shirt, which was suddenly way too much clothing for my liking.

He pulled back and lifted my arms, then swiftly removed my top over my head, discarding it to the side of us on the floor. His amethyst eyes hadn't left me.

"Mine," he whispered. I was seeing a pattern emerging here. Any separation is too much of a separation for both of us, but for the vampire in him it was cause enough to reclaim. It wasn't a supernatural claiming, we'd been through one of those before and there had been little control, this was all measured, managed, directed. He
wanted
to show me and himself that I was indeed his.

"Yours," I whispered in reply and watched as his eyes glazed over slightly and a small breath of air escaped his lips.

He flicked his wrist out from under my skirt and in an instant a multitude of candles, I hadn't even noticed, flickered to life about the room.

"Soft candlelight, huh?" I asked as he nuzzled into the side of my neck, one hand still twisted in my hair the other deftly undoing my bra-strap at the back. He didn't reply, but in the next instant low music began to waft out of hidden speakers, it took a second for my over dazzled brain to work out who was singing.
Lisa Ekdahl - Sings Salvadore Poe.
Not at all what I would have expected him to choose, but then Michel was never one to stick to conformities.

He began stripping me of the rest of my clothing, within seconds I was naked before him. He was still in his trousers and shoes. My hand slipped down to cup his erection through the material
covering him and he responded with a scrape of his teeth down the side of my neck. The zip on his trousers came down, the button undid and I slipped my hand inside his boxers and wrapped fingers around his thick and very hard shaft. He thrust his hips towards me, I was thinking it was an unplanned movement, a slight loss of control.

I loved that I could make him do that. Michel was Mr Control, but with me that mask often slipped.

His trousers and boxers fell over his hips and he stepped out of them, not removing his lips from my skin or his hands from my body. He kicked off his shoes and socks and then thankfully there was nothing between us at all. Not even air. He walked me backwards, one purposeful step after another, all the while devouring my flesh with his lips and tongue.

My knees hit the bed and I was falling. He followed me down, his body covering mine as though it was made to do just that, fitting every curve, filling every gap, moulding to the shape of me.
It felt divine
. He pulled me up the bed in a simple movement, hands at my waist as he knelt above me. My head hit a pillow, his fingers traced up the side of my body, tingling a path across my sensitive flesh, and then he grasped both my hands at either side and lifted them above my head.

His mouth began plundering mine so I didn't have time to contemplate what his plan was, I was too busy kissing him back. I vaguely felt something soft brush one wrist and then the other, and then his hands came away from mine and trailed back down my body again in deliciously feather-light touches. I moved to stroke his hair and found to my horror and disbelief that I was actually tied to the bed as he had earlier promised. I tugged the velvet restraints slightly and then frowned down at the dark haired head kissing its way across my belly.

"Michel," I reprimanded. "Undo my hands!"

"Ungh-uh," he replied incoherently, too busy licking over my hip bone at that moment to give a damn.

"Michel," I repeated, this time using a little of my Light to get his attention. He just groaned and pushed his body closer to mine in obvious pleasure.

"Do that again,
ma douce
," he husked. I huffed and then sighed as his shoulders parted my thighs and his head dipped lower still.

"I'll get you for this," I promised, and then all thought left me as his clever tongue got to work, closely followed by his magical fingers. In less than ten seconds he had me panting and begging for more.

Just as I prepared to breach that delicious wave of delight, he pulled back and kissed across my thigh, nuzzling his face into my femoral artery, allowing his fangs to scrape above it in an open tease.

So, this was how it was going to be?

I writhed beneath him and then arched my back bringing his attention up to my breasts. It never did take long. His mouth wrapped around one, his fingers tweaked the other and I trapped him between my legs, my calves pinning his thighs in place above me. He rocked his erection against my groin as he devoted all his attention to my breasts. I rocked back against his body seeking the climax he had denied me moments ago. He was so absorbed in my boobs that for a moment I thought it would work, then just as another wave threatened to break over me, he pulled his hips back denying me any contact at all.

"Bastard!' I breathed in frustration and then promptly attacked him with my Light.

His body collapsed back against me with a groan of delight and I continued with my previous endeavours. Both of us seeking release. Then, again, when I was so near and he obviously was too, he pulled away completely and lay down beside me with a grin.

"You are mine to play with tonight,
ma douce
," he announced with a mischievous grin, then rolled on to his back and reached over to the night stand, lifting a bottle of massage oil up and returning to my side.

"You weren't kidding, were you?" I said, half amused, half impressed.

He smiled wider. "When have I ever joked about seducing you?"

He spent the next ten minutes covering me with delicious smelling and delightfully feeling oil. His hands were masters of massage, easing out any tension left over from my confrontation - or lack of confrontation - with Samson. Making me forget our world was in peril, that some vampire was raising an army against the
Iunctio
, and almost half of its Council were against my kindred and prepared to get to him through any means, including me.

By the time he had covered my entire body I was putty in his hands. Happy moans were slipping out every other second, my body languidly moving with each touch of his hands, my eyelids drooping, my mouth slightly open and short but delectable pants coming in quick succession. I wasn't the only one in Heaven. Michel watched my responses avidly, his eyes flashing amazing combinations of amethyst, indigo and violet. He venerated my body, he sought my pleasure at the touch of his fingertips and he took his sweet time doing it all.

"Michel," I pleaded, my skin so sensitive that it was actually starting to feel a little like torture, my body so turned on I thought I would die if I didn't have him inside me before too much longer.