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Chapter 13
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Brothers of Ash and Fire Chapter 14
The car halted, making Piper pitch forward a little. She woke up and blinked. She was warm and cozy, and the last thing she wanted was to move."As much as I enjoy you cuddling against me, little dove, I need to get you inside where you can sleep in a real bed." Mikhail's voice was a husky whisper close to her ear. She glanced around and realized that she was practically on top of him. Her head was tucked beneath his chin, and he had one arm curled around her waist. Her legs were across his lap, and his other hand rested on her outer thigh."Oh!" She scrambled away from him, which only made him laugh. The rich, rumbling sound warmed her down to her toes, and she hated that. A kidnapper should not have that effect on her. But Mikhail did. This was definitely a bad case of Stockholm syndrome. There was no denying that."Why don't you come inside and warm up? I'll put a pot of tea on." Mikhail climbed out of the car. Piper watched him walk over to Belishaw by the SUV and speak to him. It
Brothers of Ash and Fire Chapter 15
They walked down a short corridor and paused in front of a heavy oak door with intricately carved designs. The latch was an old brass contraption that had not been updated like other parts of the house. It was stiff when Mikhail gave it a jerking twist with his hands. She guessed that most people would have taken a home like this and done their best to update everything so it was new and modern, but Mikhail hadn't. His home was ancient. The stones by the window were covered in moss, and the walls were thick enough that the roar of the sea outside couldn't slip between the cracks and stones, though the windows were still a problem. It was a place that filled one's mind with dreams of days long past and the lives people might have once lived. The house was a haunting place full of surreal beauty.The wooden door opened, and Mikhail led her inside. A four-poster bed sat on a small dais, with blue-gold brocade curtains draped over the bed, shadowing it from the light of the chandelier."
Brothers of Ash and Fire Chapter 16
I would rather be adorned by beauty of character than jewels. Jewels are the gift of fortune, while character comes from within.Plautus"No! I wasn't going anywhere!" She gasped and dug her fingers into his arms, trying to make him release her."Why do I get the sense that you're lying?" He chuckled, but the sound was dangerous. "Does this mean I must keep watch over you, even while you sleep? Or shall I tie you to the bed?" He carried her back down the hall to his room and tossed her none too gently onto his massive bed."Stay," he ordered and went to lock the door, blocking her only way out."How dare you!" Piper snapped, even though her heart was racing again. She hadn't forgotten what he'd threatened to do to her in the SUVabout how he would punish a woman. She also hadn't forgotten that his dominance turned her on.I'm going to need major therapy after this.Mikhail opened a drawer from his dresser and turned to face her, a pair of silk neckties in his hand. He wound a b
Brothers of Ash and Fire Chapter 17
Mikhail stood outside the door to Piper's bedroom for a long while, listening to her shift and toss under her sheets. When he heard the faint chattering of her teeth, he'd had enough. He eased the door open and peered cautiously inside. She was asleep but still cold, despite the mountain of blankets on her bed. With a growl of frustration, he approached the bed and carefully slipped her out from under the blankets and into his arms. Her chattering teeth stilled, and she murmured something fretful in her sleep before she nuzzled his chest and sighed.Unable to stop a cocky grin from spreading across his face, he carried her back to his room and settled her beneath his blankets before he turned out the lights and joined her under them. Her feet were like ice, and her hands were just as cold. He tucked her body close to his and placed her feet on his shins. Soon she'd warm up. A dragon gave off more body heat than a human, one of the perks of being a shifter, such as being able to exti
Brothers of Ash and Fire Chapter 18
Those who build walls are their own prisoners. Ursula K. Le GuinPiper woke slowly, in that hazy way one does on a winter weekend when one has snuggled deep into the blankets. Bright, clear sunlight bathed the room and bed in stark pale colors, washing everything out and making it feel surreal.She blinked and studied the bed hangings and the dying fire in the fireplace. Where was she? Bit by bit, memories of last night came back to her. She winced as she realized it hadn't been a wild and fantastical dream. She was really in Mikhail Barinov's house in Cornwall and had been forced into helping him steal the Cheapside treasure trove.It took her a few seconds longer to realize she was in a warm bed, but not the bed she'd gone to sleep in. She whipped her head up as soon as she recognized where she was: Mikhail's bedroom. How had she gotten here? Surely he hadn't She lifted the sheets and breathed a sigh of relief. She was still clothed. Nothing had happened last night, as far s
Brothers of Ash and Fire Chapter 19
Mikhail collected the letter and carefully tucked it back into the stack before he finally answered her."My family was betrayed. Elizabeth I took advantage ofmy ancestorand drugged his wine and tricked him into revealing where he'd stored the jewels. My ancestor was forced into prison but he never forgot what she did with the jewels.""But why?" Piper asked. "It wasn't out of some kind of greed, was it?"Mikhail considered his words. "No. She believed herself to be in the right. She believed the jewels were a part of her father's royal treasury, and they had been, once. But her father had given them to the Belishaw family in the early years of his reign for their services. And the Belishaws, in turn, had given them to us. Henry, however, grew to resent the deal in his later life and no doubt told all who would listen that he believed them to be rightfully his. He was a bitter man, petty and vengeful. And there were other voices that poisoned the queen against my ancestor" Mikhail's
Brothers of Ash and Fire Chapter 20
There were cliffs there,And forests made of mists. There were bridges spanning the void, and that great gray blind lake which hung above its distant bottomLike the sky on a rainy day above a landscape.Rainer Maria RilkeThe mist rolled through the coast of Cornwall like a silent wave, blanketing everything with dampness and chill. For the first time in a long while, Mikhail felt cold. A dragon's blood runs hot, even in the deepest of Russian winters. But today he felt a bone-numbing ache and cold. It seemed to cut deep, freezing the edges of his very soul.Belishaw's call had been a grim reminder of reality. He'd lived so long outside of the world that he'd lost track of the rules, forgotten about things like consequences. He'd involved Piper, and now her life was crumbling around her. He could see how much it might cost her, and it wounded him as much as it had terrified her. The last thing he ever wanted was to hurt his future mate.I never think things through. Not five h
Brothers of Ash and Fire Chapter 21
Mikhail buried the memories, now bitter in his heart. The past was the past, and he should not dwell on those dark days and forget to live. He looked out to the sea. Beneath the mist-covered cliffs, the white froth of the ocean churned against the rocky beaches, forming tiny inlets that had once hosted a place for the men and women of Cornwall to catch fish or raid the shoreline for the flotsam and jetsam of shipwrecks, provided by unfortunate captains who'd underestimated the dangers of the coast.His dragon paced in the prison of his mind, demanding to be set free, even for a few hours. The weight of his sorrow at Elizabeth and now Piper left Mikhail weak. With a sigh, he allowed the dragon to come soaring to the surface.Mikhail stripped out of his clothes and leapt off the cliff. He flung his arms wide, and for a moment he dove like an Olympic athlete. Then the transformation roared through him like a riptide. His muscles stretched, his skin hardened into dark moss-green scales,
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