Mikhail leaned forward in his chair and raked his hands through his hair. "Please, Randolph. I wouldn't ask, but""Say no more. If the promise of gems draws you out of your little cave in Cornwall, then consider it done. I'll go with you, of course. I'm rather fond of the new American gemologist they brought here. I should like to see her again."Mikhail's body went rigid. An American gemologist? His little virgin gemologist who smelled like heaven? The one he'd done a poor job of not thinking about for the last hour?"Gemologist?" Mikhail forced himself to sound neutral."Oh yes. A succulent little creature with the biggest brown eyes and legs that go on for days, as the Americans say. I'd love to have them wrapped around my hips, if you understand my meaning." Randolph grinned wickedly.Brown eyes? Not pale blue? So it hadn't been the woman named Piper Linwood. The small, curvy human with eyes like alexandrite, a bluish-gray that could change shade with whatever she stood close
But there, beneath those rings, beneath the talisman and gems and precious stones like blue eyes (lovers' keepsakes) there still remains the silent crypt of sex, filled to its vaulted roof with flower petals. Rainer Maria RilkePiper Linwood was speechless.The Thorne Auction House was nothing short of stunning. It was an old townhouse dating from the eighteen hundreds located on Curzon Street, and it had been converted into a boutique auction house and reception hall. The owner, Mr. Wesley Thorne, was an old English teddy bear who, as it so happened, looked a bit like Teddy Roosevelt, with ruddy cheeks, a bushy moustache, and rounded spectacles perched on his nose.Piper and Jodie had come to the auction house earlier that evening and had been escorted to rooms upstairs where they could change into their evening gowns. He'd even offered to let them stay the night in case they had to work late. The reception was a black-tie affair, so she and Jodie had bought evening gowns at Harrods
Maybe tonight would be special after all. Piper fetched her black pumps and leaned against the bed to put them on. Her stomach gave another nervous flip as she exited the room and headed toward the staircase. She paused at the top when she realized guests had started to arrive early. The reception hall was filled with at least a dozen people in suits and cocktail dresses. Jodie was already engaged with some of the guests; she was a complete natural in social situations. Footmen bearing trays of champagne floated among the crowd. The glow of the chandeliers illuminated the bubbling gold liquid in the glasses. Piper soaked up the moment. She'd come a long way since she'd been a kid in Boston, studying hard instead of going out. Nights like tonight had seemed impossible. Something to daydream about, not experience. She'd come from a middle-class home and had to scrimp and save to get to college. Now it felt like her entire life had led to this moment. She rarely stopped to pat herself
This was madness to be kissing a stranger in a darkened room lit only by firelight. What else could you call it? But she was tired of being boring old predictable Piper. Mikhail made her feel wild and reckless, alive in ways she'd never dreamed. She didn't want to stop, didn't want to go back to being responsible. She wanted to live in this moment forever."What about my taste?" she asked, her voice trembling with desire.Mikhail stared down at her and slid his hand into her hair at the nape of her neck, his fingers coiling the strands tight. A slight pinch of near pain shot sparks into her womb. Piper gasped."It's like the sweetest of Georgian wines. It lingers upon my tongue until I ache to become drunk on it." He nuzzled her cheek, his breath echoing hers in quick pants.All they were doing was kissing, yet it felt like a wildfire had burst to life inside her, and there was no stopping the coming inferno."You are to be my ruination." He nipped her bottom lip, and she whimpere
That was the deep uncanny mine of souls.Like veins of silver ore, they silentlyMoved through its massive darkness. Blood welled up among the roots, on its way to the world of men, and in the dark it looked as hard as stone.Nothing else was red.Rainer Maria RilkeBarty Winston seethed as Piper Linwood walked away from him. Little American bitch thinks she's something special. Too good to talk to methat much is obvious.But not for long. He'd made a deal with the devil tonight, and soon he'd be rich enough to take whatever he wanted, including her."Is that the woman?" a deep voice asked behind him. Barty jumped, startling a passing footman who barely avoided dropping his tray of empty champagne flutes before continuing on his way. Barty gave a short nod, afraid to look over his shoulder at the man lurking behind him.Conrad Sinclair was a tall, imposing man of six foot three, with jet-black hair and eyes just as dark. But Barty never liked to look at him directly; there
Conrad Sinclair stepped into his private car waiting outside the Thorne Auction House, his nostrils still filled with the scent of Piper Linwood. A virgin, of childbearing age no less. It was so rare to find them in these modern days. Hundreds of years ago, there had been an abundance of sweet-smelling creatures he could pluck like ripe fruit, but now? It was almost impossible.Conrad's skin burned at the thought of stripping the woman's clothes and shoving her onto her back so he could take her. He would enjoy her cries of pain and the feel of her nails clawing at him. He loved it when females fought him. He was a male dragon, after all, and enjoyed being dominant in bed and in life. Dragons did not breed with weak creatures. He would prefer a dragoness, of course, but they were increasingly rare and more resistant to the advances of dragon males than ever.He watched the streets with their bright flashing lights and immense video advertisements and growled. The modern age was a dre
Mikhail waited in the shadows of the mews outside Thorne Auction House, counting each heartbeat as he watched the lights in the windows being extinguished one by one. It reminded him of times long ago, with dark nights and firelight, eagerly waiting for any hint that Elizabeth wished to see him.I was such a fool then to wait for a queen's command. For one who knew so little of lovemaking, the Virgin Queen had known exactly how to master and manipulate men. But that was long ago, centuries away from this moment and the woman he wanted to see now.Piper Linwood. His true mate. The moment he'd kissed her, he'd caught flickering visions of a little girl chasing a fat white rabbit in a backyard before stopping to pick up some brightly colored eggs. The vision had changed to a young woman bent over a desk, staring at gems gleaming on a black velvet cloth, her focus intense as she studied them. A dragon knew his true mate by the bonding that began with a first kiss. Invisible threads wou
My nightly craft is winged in white, a dragon of night-dark sea.¨DAnne McCaffrey,?DragonsongOh God, this is bad. This is so bad. I've committed a crime, and now I'm on the run with a jewel thief.The thought kept racing through Piper's mind in an endless loop. Somehow this man had convinced her to help him steal the Cheapside hoard. All of it. How the hell had he done that? He just looked into my eyes, and I went all gooey.She couldn't erase that feeling, the heavy compulsion to do exactly what he'd asked. Had he hypnotized her? Didn't someone need to swing a pocket watch or something to do that? She was in a hot mess, and now he was taking her to God knows where against her will.But he'd also kept assuring her she was safe. Her natural instincts were torn between trusting him and wanting to knee him in the balls and escape. Mikhail still had her trapped beneath him, his hands gripping her wrists. She'd stopped screaming once the car started moving. Some part of her was staying