Page 40 of Crimson Oath (The Firebird and the Wolf #2)

Oleg

H is fangs were down, but Tatyana walked to him, stood on her tiptoes, and brushed a kiss over his jaw.

Her voice was breezy and unconcerned, a sure tell that she was upset. “I was enjoying the play but not the company. How did you find us so quickly?”

“Tatyana, I can smell your fear,” he growled. “Who shall I kill?”

“No one.” She sighed and sat on the sofa. “So domestic. The vampire lord of the Kievan Rus waiting for me after a night out with my friends.”

She probably thought that would offend him, but Oleg frankly liked the image she put into his mind. He wanted to take her to plays and ballets and watch her enjoy them with her vampire vision, hear the music with new ears.

He liked the idea of waiting for her to return to a place they shared, knowing she would tell him about her evening and make him laugh with her sardonic humor.

“I smell adrenaline and cortisol,” he said. “The same scent I have smelled on you when someone has frightened you. Tell me who it was unless you want me to walk to that gathering and start lighting vampires on fire.”

“Will you calm down?” She stood and walked in front of him. “You are ridiculous,” she hissed. “You cannot follow me through the world, killing anyone who makes me angry or afraid.”

“Why not?” he snarled.

“Because you…” She let out a huff of breath. “Because it’s ridiculous.”

“You do not overreact to threats—I should correct myself—you do not overreact to threats from vampires other than myself.”

“Overreact? You think I overreact to you?”

He looked down. “What do you call running from my house a few hours before dawn when you were only a few months immortal?”

“Survival?”

He growled. “And who was threatening you?”

“You!” Her mouth dropped open. “Not…” She let out a breath, stepped away from him, and walked to the far side of the trailer. “Not the way you are thinking.”

He felt the loss, but he was frozen in confusion, which was not an emotion he experienced often. She was picking a fight with him, and he couldn’t remember the last time someone had done that.

Centuries?

Maybe longer. Not even Mika was willing to go toe-to-toe with him, but this little girl thought she was a match for him?

Fine. They’d been dancing around this fight for months, and he had reached the limit of his patience.

Oleg walked over slowly, keeping his voice deliberately soft. “And how was I threatening you, Tatyana? How? By protecting you? By killing Zara?”

She said nothing, staring at his feet with her arms crossed over her chest.

“Perhaps I threatened you by pulling the pain of Zara’s death into my own body so you wouldn’t die from the loss of your sire when you were only a few months immortal? ”

That got a reaction. She dropped her arms and took a step toward him. “You did not.”

“Of course I did. I’m stronger than you. I knew you could survive her death as long as I had enough of your blood, and I was right.”

Her eyes went wide. “That’s why you took my blood? That’s why you bit me?”

“No.” Oleg walked over, leaned down, and growled in the back of his throat. “I took your blood because I wanted it .”

And he wanted more of it. The scent of fear was gone—the scent of her arousal had taken over. He wanted her blood, her kiss, her sex, her laughter. He wanted to see her dance, and he wanted her to be safe.

Fuck him, Lazlo was right.

“Who was threatening you?” he whispered.

She was frozen in place. “You felt your pain and mine when she died.”

“Yes, and I’d do it again. Who was threatening you tonight?”

“I didn’t want you to kill her.” Tatyana pushed past him, but he grabbed her hand, keeping them connected even as she walked away.

“Tatyana—”

“I was going to kill her.” She spun around. “I wanted to kill her. Or Mika could have done it. I knew it would hurt you and you’d already killed Luana?—”

“You don’t protect me!” Even the thought of it made him furious. “I’ve already told you this. That’s not how my world works. You don’t protect me .”

“Then what do you want from me?” She pulled her hand away from his grip. “You want me to need you” —her hand curled into a fist over her heart— “but you want nothing from me.”

He shook his head. “You know that is not true.”

“Oh, that’s right. You want to own me.” She walked to him and bared her fangs.

“You want me like a trophy sitting in your dead mate’s house, fucking you when you happen to remember that I exist.” She lifted her chin.

“What a lucky girl! To wait in the wings for the great Oleg Sokolov to grant me his attention.”

Everything in his cold, hard chest softened, and he felt his heart beat once. “Is that what you think of me, volchitsa?”

“You want my world to be nothing but you.” Her mouth twisted in a grimace. “You want to own me, but you want to know what is worse?” Tatyana blinked, and pink tears rolled down her cheeks.

Oleg said nothing.

“If I had stayed with you in Sochi, I would have let you do it.” Her smile was bitter. “If I had stayed with you, I would have become nothing. And then…” Her voice dropped to a whisper. “ Then you would have hated me.”

He slowly straightened. “If you think that is what I want for your eternity, I have failed.”

She said nothing, but she shook her head and wiped her eyes with the back of her right hand.

Oleg grabbed her hand and kissed the tears of salt and blood, tasting the flavor of his failure. “I will think of what you said tonight, and we will talk more tomorrow.” He folded her small hand between both of his. “But tonight you must tell me who frightened you.”

“Oleg—”

“Not because I do not think you are capable or intelligent, but because I am older than you and I know the immortal world better than you do. If there is danger, I want you to know what to do.”

She said nothing.

“Will you acknowledge this? That I may understand the opaque politics of the Poshani better than you do?”

“Yes.” She sighed. “Fine.”

He waited for her to speak.

“Vano,” she said quietly. “Vano threatened me.”

Oleg growled. “I will kill him.”

“No, you will not.” She pulled her hand away from his.

Yes, he would. He’d been wanting to kill Vano anyway, and this was as good an excuse as any. He already suspected that the man was working with Ivan behind his back, and now he’d frightened the woman Oleg cared for.

“This is why I didn’t want to tell you.” She crossed her arms over her chest. “You shouldn’t even be here, and if you march out and set Vano on fire?—”

“I will not do that if you explain why he threatened you.” Oleg put his hand on her shoulder and led her to the sofa across from the wall of books. “Unless you are in immediate danger, I will wait to kill him.”

“You cannot kill him.” Tatyana sat down. “Not for this.”

Oleg sat next to her and waited for her to speak.

After a time, she started. “I’ve made friends with some of the human women who are cooks for the kamvasa. They’re the ones who helped me learn Poshani. Vano arrived a few nights ago, and last night I heard him yelling at those women for wasting money by giving the children snacks and treats.”

“That is ridiculous; the Poshani are not suffering financially.” Unless there was something Vano was hiding, the Poshani businesses that Oleg interacted with were thriving. “Our organization works with them regularly, and their finances have no appearance of being in distress.”

“I think it was a control and power thing.” Tatyana frowned. “The financial argument is only a cover. I know how much I paid for my season here, and I have a feeling I got the family rate judging by how Radu and Kezia talk.”

“To be fair, Radu would make you feel like you got the family rate even if he had gouged you.” He reached over and took her hand, sliding her fingers between his own.

“That doesn’t surprise me.” Tatyana rubbed her thumb over his knuckles absently. “But I still think they charge others even more.”

Her thumb stroking over his knuckles was intensely satisfying. “Did Vano know you saw him threatening those women?”

“He thinks they told me about it, and I didn’t correct him. But Rumi already said she was going to talk to Radu about Vano’s threats and disrespect, so I don’t understand why he threatened me.”

“He probably sees it as an internal matter. The Poshani try to always present a united front to outsiders, but like any clan, they have internal power struggles.”

“That makes sense.” She stared at the books, but she wasn’t really looking. “There is more tension than I sensed at first.”

“Be cautious around Vano.” Oleg wanted to steal her away, but her words kept reverberating in his mind.

You want to own me. You want me like a trophy sitting in your dead mate’s house, fucking you when you happen to remember that I exist.

He could not take her away from the kamvasa when she already thought the worst of him.

“I will be careful.” She looked at him and raised an eyebrow. “And you?”

“I will not kill Vano for threatening you. Tonight.”

She sighed. “I suppose I can live with that.”

“Good.” He nodded. “This has been a productive encounter.”

She smirked. “No seducing me tonight?”

“No, I have decided that I am going to court you.”

“What?” She blinked. “What are you talking about?”

“I am planning to court you, Tatyana Vorona.” He tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “Because apparently you think I only want you for a trophy, and that is not the case.”

“Listen, I am sure in your own mind?—”

“No.” He leaned down and pressed a fast kiss to her mouth. “There will be no more arguing— Well, not about this. You asked me what I wanted from you? I will court you, and you will see what I want.”

“Courting me.” She leaned away and looked at him. “Who talks like that?”

“Someone who is significantly older than you,” he muttered. “But this will be good. While you are still in the kamvasa, I will court you. ”

She shook her head. “What does that even mean?”

“We will spend time together, talk about many things, and share experiences that are not sex. So you will understand my character and I will understand yours.”