Page 41 of Crimson Oath (The Firebird and the Wolf #2)

She grimaced. “So… no sex? Just talking for another six weeks?”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” he said. “We can have sex and talk at the same time.”

Oleg left her shortly after their discussion but took his time returning to the encampment with his druzhina.

He waited on the edge of the kamvasa for nearly an hour, tracking the movements of the Hazar and second-guessing his decision to leave Tatyana in a place where other vampires might see her as vulnerable.

It wasn’t that he didn’t trust the Hazar, but if Oleg could sneak into the camp, it was possible that others could too. He wasn’t the only one who could mask his amnis.

After an hour, he started back to the cave Lazlo had dug, enjoying the fresh night air as he walked.

“You’re as stealthy as a bear in rut.”

Oleg looked up. Ludmila was sitting in the low branches of a tree a few meters away and aiming a rifle at his head.

“Stop with the flattery. I’ll buy you the new rifle you want.”

“I already bought it.” She clicked the safety on her firearm and set it in the notch of the pine. “Did you kill anyone while you were courting your little bookkeeper?”

Oleg narrowed his eyes. “Did Mika tell you where I was?”

“You smell like her.” Ludmila sniffed the air. “She doesn’t wear heavy perfume, but it’s distinctive.”

“It would irritate me that you know her scent, except you’re a mated vampire.” Oleg leaned against the trunk of the tree and looked at the faint light in the distance where the Poshani had circled their wagons. “Vano is in the camp.”

“And?”

“He threatened Tatyana. And some of the humans who have befriended her.”

“We should kill him.”

This was why Ludmila was a favorite.

“I agree, but Tatyana doesn’t think it’s wise.”

“Ugh.” Ludmila grunted. “She sounds like Mika. ‘Don’t provoke known allies, Ludmila.’” She imitated the Estonian’s accent.

“‘Stop maiming our business rivals’ stupid employees.’ If I maim them, they will learn not to be so stupid.

How are they supposed to learn not to be stupid if they don’t suffer physically? ”

He narrowed his eyes. “You and Oksana don’t have any plans to adopt children, do you?”

Ludmila shook her head. “She knows I would be too soft with them.”

“It’s amazing how your mate’s thoughts mirror my own.” Oleg felt the butt of Ludmila’s rifle on his shoulder. He reached up and took the weapons so she could jump out of the tree.

“Vano is a weak little man who thinks he’s smarter than he actually is.” Ludmila looked into the distance at the same lights Oleg had been contemplating as she slung her rifle over her shoulder. “The Hazar nearly caught you earlier. I had to distract them. They may move the kamvasa again today.”

“They won’t. Kezia likes that little pond too much. They’ll stay there for a week at least. The theater company just premiered a new play, and the stage is complicated to set up.”

“They sacrifice security for entertainment.”

“We all do sometimes.”

“Are you talking about risking our organizational security so you can pursue the bookkeeper?”

Oleg ignored her. “Did you learn anything useful while you were spotting me? ”

“There is a new guest,” she added. “René DuPont.”

“The French thief?”

“Is he French?” She narrowed her eyes. “I thought he was Belgian.”

“Does it matter?”

Ludmila shrugged. “Probably to the French and Belgians.”

“What do we know about him?”

“He moves like a cat.” Ludmila glanced at Oleg, then back at the distant lights. “He moves like a good thief. Very quiet. He spotted you earlier, but he wasn’t close enough to identify you.”

“Do you think he’s planning to rob the kamvasa?”

“That would be stupid.” She shrugged. “But criminals are often stupid.”

“ We’re criminals.”

Ludmila grimaced. “Not anymore, boss. You’re very law-abiding these days. It’s lucrative—don’t misunderstand me—but it can be a little boring.”

“Perhaps I can convince some pirates to target our shipping fleet.”

“That might be fun. I’m sure Ivan is already planning on it.” She looked up at him. “You’re going to have to kill him.”

“René DuPont?”

“Ivan.”

He’d known she was talking about Ivan, he just didn’t want to deal with it right now. “I think I might be in love with Tatyana Vorona.”

“That’s not bad. She’s not crazy like Luana if that’s what you’re concerned about.”

“No, I’m more concerned with being in love with someone.” He lifted one shoulder. “I did not plan on this.”

“Life is unexpected. You think I planned on falling in love with a water vampire who collects painted ducks and enjoys watching English baking shows?”

Ludmila’s mate Oksana looked like a rugby player, wielded an axe like a Varangian, and Oleg had witnessed her take the heads of three vampires with one broadsword strike.

“Oksana collects painted ducks?”

Ludmila sighed. “She found this pottery-painting café in Odesa that is open until midnight. There are five of them in the apartment now.”

“All the same ducks?”

“No, different ducks.” Ludmila frowned. “I believe there is a collection of complementary ducks that go together.”

“Little ones too?”

“Yes, the little ones are the cutest, but they’re harder to paint.”

“Huh.” Perhaps Tatyana was missing her mother’s cat. “Maybe I should get Tatyana a kitten. She likes cats.”

“If you are in love with this woman, do not give her gifts that require time, money, or maintenance.”

“That’s probably good advice.” He frowned. “She thinks I want to own her.”

“Of course you do. You want to own everyone and everything you care about, because then you can fit all the things you love into carefully controlled borders that you can protect.”

“There’s nothing wrong with protecting the things you care about.”

“No, but you have never been known for your moderation, Knyaz.” Ludmila looked up. “She’s not your soldier, and she’s not looking for a leader to follow.”

“Then what is she looking for?”

“How am I supposed to know that?” Ludmila turned and started walking back toward Lazlo’s cave. “That’s what you have to figure out when you’re courting her.”

She’s not your soldier, and she’s not looking for a leader to follow.

Ludmila’s words were circling his head the following night as he watched Tatyana’s trailer from the forest.

Tatyana had woken at dusk and gone to the play she’d skipped the night before. That night the performance was a repeat, the players were more relaxed, and more of the Poshani humans had joined the audience, including Tatyana’s friends. When she returned to her caravan, Oleg was waiting for her.

And now they were playing a game of chess on the coffee table while he listened to her relate details about the play.

“I keep trying to figure out how that water vampire blows the snow across the stage.” Her face was glowing as she moved a pawn to take his knight.

“I want to try it, but no matter how much I concentrate, I can’t get my breath cold enough to freeze water.

Even when it’s a very fine mist.” She looked up with a slight frown. “Can you freeze water?”

“Freeze?” He smiled as he shook his head. “Definitely not. Heat is easier than cold, I think.”

“Obviously for you.” She sat back and waited for him to move. “Your turn.”

“Is it?” Oleg didn’t care about the chess game, but he very much cared about watching her delight as she took advantage of his distraction. He leaned forward, considering her queen’s position on the board before he moved a bishop.

She rolled her eyes. “Are you trying to lose?” She moved her rook. “Check.”

“Don’t speak too soon.” Oleg swiftly moved the previously positioned bishop to take her rook.

He wanted the game over, but not too quickly.

“Heat is easy because our amnis lives for vibration and vibration produces heat,” he said. “It’s a little more accessible for me because of my element, but any vampire can produce heat. That’s how we keep our skin from being ice-cold around the humans. ”

“That makes sense.” She cocked her head to the side. “But I cannot figure out the snow.”

She was darling when she pursed her lips like that.

Oleg asked, “Was Vano at the play?”

Tatyana shook her head. “I didn’t see him, and Rumi didn’t mention him.”

“Good. Did she report the altercation with Vano to Radu?”

“If she did, she didn’t tell me, but she wouldn’t because she doesn’t know that I saw their fight.”

He raised an eyebrow. “You didn’t tell her?”

Tatyana shrugged. “I didn’t want it to change anything.”

“Why would anything change?”

“Because then I would be a vampire when she is in conflict with another vampire.” She reached forward and repositioned her knight.

She was stringently independent, and he didn’t approve of that streak in her. Self-sufficiency was a good trait for anyone, but vampires who isolated themselves and refused help usually didn’t live long in his world.

“Your human friends know you are a vampire, Tatyana. If they are your friends, that will not matter.” He reached for the glass of blood-wine she had poured for him.

“It does though. The Poshani say that vampires and humans are equal within the clan, but that’s not true.” She sat back and crossed her hands over her waist. “Surely you’ve noticed this.”

“I have noticed that… I do not see Poshani vampires cooking goulash or building houses in Minsk.” He smiled. “So yes. I see what you mean.”

“Exactly.”

“It is better than most organizations though.”

She pursed her lips as she stared at the chessboard. “I will have to take your word for it, but it doesn’t seem very equal to me.”

“You still think like a human.”

“I know, and I don’t want that to change.” She stood, walked to the sofa, and nudged his arms to the side so she could straddle his lap .

Oleg sat back and tried to ignore his cock, which had very definite opinions about Tatyana moving onto his lap. “You in this position tells me that you know you’re losing this chess match.”

“I acknowledge nothing of the sort.” She leaned forward and put her face in the crook of his neck, inhaling deeply.

Oleg smiled and angled his head to the side. “You sniffed me.”

“I like the way you smell.”

“Vampire.” He put his hands on her hips and rubbed gentle circles with the tips of his fingers. “You look beautiful in this dress.”

“Thank you.”

She was wearing some floaty, light green thing with slits at the sides that rode up her legs when she sat on him. He wanted to tear it off, but this might be the first time Tatyana had initiated intimacy with him in such a direct way.

Oleg was going to sit back and enjoy it.

She didn’t move her head from his shoulder, and he could feel her breath on his neck.

“Tatyana.”

“Hmm?”

Oleg put his hand on the back of her head, stroking her silken hair. “You asked me the other night what I wanted from you.”

She laughed a little bit. “I have a feeling I know what you want.” She spread her legs further, riding the heat of her sex along the thick ridge of his cock, which was heavy and hard between them.

“I told you what I wanted from you before you ever left me,” Oleg murmured. “You just misunderstood what I meant.” He angled his head farther to the side and urged her mouth toward his neck. “I told you, little wolf: I want your fangs. ”