Page 44 of Crimson Oath (The Firebird and the Wolf #2)

Oleg

O leg waited four nights to visit Tatyana. He figured that would give her enough time to rebuild the walls that had come crashing down when she’d taken his blood.

It was an experience he’d relived in his mind approximately a dozen times since it had happened.

Tatyana splayed over him, her elemental power misting over his skin like a kiss of fog as she rode him. The power on her face as she eyed his neck. The tentative touch of her fangs giving way to rampant, bloody desire.

Caution giving way to power giving way to desire. Then the near-instant rise of wariness again as the walls between them dissolved in a wave of joined pleasure. Utterly unexpected and completely novel.

Tatyana taking his blood was the singularly most erotic experience Oleg had ever had.

His amnis was alive in her body now, so even when she was distant from him, he felt a sense of her. She’d been vulnerable that night, bordering on afraid.

“You’re not afraid of me. ”

“Sometimes I am, a little bit.”

Now he understood her fear because a level of it had entered his own blood.

He didn’t know what they were building or what path this bond would lead them toward, but Oleg was more sure than ever that Tatyana belonged to him.

After over a thousand years of life, discovering the unexpected was intoxicating.

“Boss.” Mika’s voice broke into his mental distraction.

“Hmm.”

His chief boyar held up a phone. “Confirmation from Polina.”

“About?”

“Vano and Ivan.” Mika sat across from him on a fallen log. “Her people finally found someone at the gold exchange to confirm the transfers from Ivan to Vano. The first payment was two nights before the first hijacking, and the following payments matched the timeline of the other robberies.”

“So Ivan was paying Vano’s men to rob our trucks.” Oleg frowned. “Even the ones headed into Ivan’s territory?”

“Yes, which means that Ivan killed some of his own people in the robberies.”

Oleg’s fangs grew long, and he smiled. “That’s excellent.”

“That’s horrible.” Mika curled his lip. “I have no love for Ivan’s people, but to be betrayed by your own sire and brothers?—”

“Yes, it’s terrible, and it’s exactly something that Ivan would do.” Oleg leaned forward. “The Poshani will hate it.”

Mika nodded. “They will.”

“We’re still holding that Danior at the citadel, yes?”

“Yes, but according to Yuliya, he hasn’t spoken again. Without your fire to frighten him, no other means of persuasion has worked.”

Oleg mulled over an idea. “Ivan’s betrayal of his own men could be useful. ”

Mika nodded slowly. “The Poshani—even a criminal like Danior—value loyalty above all. The vampire would find it despicable.”

“We will wait and see if we need to use him.”

“Good.”

The Vashana Zata, the high festival of the Poshani, was only weeks away.

Within two weeks, Radu would send him a location, and Oleg could join the kamvasa without subterfuge. No more hiding. No more sneaking into Tatyana’s trailer and risking the Hazar finding him. He could enter the kamvasa as an honored guest.

Now Oleg had other reasons to be at the Vashana this year. A snake was hiding in his territory, and he had a plan.

If he was successful, Vano would lose his status and his reputation, would be ousted from power, and none of the Poshani would ever work with Ivan again.

Business would suffer. Roaming fees would not be paid. And Ivan’s lieutenants would bear the brunt of the loss.

Exactly as Oleg wanted.

Tatyana swung the door of her trailer open a moment before he reached it.

Oleg smiled as he slipped inside and shut the door. “You felt me approaching.”

“Do you know an American vampire named Benjamin Vecchio?”

Oleg froze. “I know the name Vecchio.”

“He’s the nephew of some horrible assassin, and he’s arrived at the kamvasa in the past few days.” She looked distracted, and her amnis was surging erratically. “Something is wrong.”

She was very intuitive. Yes, she would make an excellent mate.

Wait, what ?

“That.” She pointed at him. “What was that?”

“Nothing,” he growled. “What are you talking about? You’re acting crazy.”

Mate? That was a ridiculous thought.

“No, I’m not. I felt something from you.” She rolled her shoulders as if there was something crawling on her skin. “I do not like this.”

“You’re simply feeling the combination of our blood.” Oleg waved a hand and walked farther into the trailer. “You’ll get used to it.”

“I don’t like it.”

“Then don’t take my blood again!” Oleg snapped. He felt his fangs getting long in his mouth.

He wanted her to take his blood again. He wanted to bind Tatyana to him so tightly that it would be like ripping herself in half to leave him.

“I’m not going to apologize for being uncomfortable.” Her voice was quiet. “Your amnis is much more powerful than mine, and…”

Oleg froze. “And what?”

“It’s hard to think clearly when you’re in front of me. My mind is completely focused on you. I want you close, and by close I mean that I would like to be sitting in your lap right now because my body does not feel like it is entirely my own.”

Some of his anger retreated. He hadn’t fully considered how much influence his amnis could have on a vampire so young.

“I understand,” he said. “It is never desirable to feel out of control.”

“The moment I felt you get nearby,” she continued, “my mind became overwhelmed with…” Her forehead wrinkled in confusion. “What is this?”

“We are linked now. Both of us.” Oleg walked to her and put his hands on her shoulders. He felt her amnis calm when it touched his own.

“My blood is not as strong as yours,” Tatyana said. “It’s not the same. ”

“I know what I felt after I took your blood, volchitsa. You will become accustomed to it.”

Tatyana looked up with wide eyes. “Is this why you kept looking for me after I left?”

No.

“Yes.” He nodded. “That is why it was difficult for me to leave you alone. Your blood was in my body, and I felt very restless.”

Well, that wasn’t a lie.

Tatyana sighed. “I’m still angry that you chased me, but I suppose I understand it a bit better now.”

I chased you because you’re mine.

And you should be my mate.

Fuck.

He’d had a mate, and she was highly unstable. The pain of having to kill her had devastated him, and Oleg was honest enough to admit it. He still felt the hollow pain of Luana’s loss in his blood.

The fact that he wanted another one might be proof that Luana’s instability had infected him after all.

Distract her.

Oleg saw she had replaced the chessboard with another game. “You ended our game?”

“Yes, I played ahead and saw that you would inevitably lose, so I had mercy on you.” She was staring at the door. “You’re welcome.”

Oleg smiled, pleased to hear the vinegar return to her voice. “Such a kind opponent.” He walked over to the coffee table. “What is this?”

She waved a hand, but she was still pacing. “Just a puzzle.”

It looked like a kind of mosaic. “Hmm.”

“Haven’t you seen a puzzle before?” She walked over. “My mother loves them.”

“Is this a competitive game?” He sat on the couch and immediately saw at least a dozen pieces he could put into place.

“Are you serious right now?” She sat next to him. “Have you never seen this before? ”

“I have solved many puzzles, but this looks like a painting that has been carved into pieces.” He shook his head. “Why would you do this?”

“Because it’s fun to put it back together.” She picked up a piece and pointed. “See? That’s the picture it’s supposed to make.”

There was a box standing up on the table with a picture of boats in a harbor. It was a watercolor painting.

“It’s not a competition.” She tried the piece she held in one location, then another. “You do it with friends or you can put it together by yourself.”

Oleg looked at a void where a small mast was isolated against a blue-green sea. He quickly scanned the pieces scattered on the table, found the piece, and put it in place.

“See?” She leaned against his side and placed another piece into the broken picture. “It’s a good way to pass the time.”

“Hmm.” Oleg sat on the couch, enjoying the sensation of Tatyana’s body pressed into his own. She was like a cat, leaning on him, and the weight was intensely pleasurable. “This is a children’s game.”

“There are children’s puzzles, but this one has a thousand pieces, so it should take me a while to…”

Oleg quickly put a dozen pieces into place, working from the bottom of the puzzle up.

Tatyana nodded. “It seems that mosaic artists may have an advantage when putting puzzles together.” She leaned her head on his shoulder. “You catch on quickly.”

Oleg put his left arm around her and used the other to put pieces into place. She took a deep breath, and he felt her blood settle.

He turned his head and kissed her forehead. “I should not have stayed away from you.”

“That is such a twenty-year-old asshole thing to do,” she muttered. “I didn’t expect game-playing from you.”

“I wasn’t playing games; you told me to leave.”

“I didn’t tell you not to come back. ”

Oleg paused in his relentless puzzle construction and turned to look at her. “I am sorry that I stayed away too long.”

Tatyana looked up, meeting his stern gaze. “What are we now?”

He had no idea.

“Us.” He kissed her forehead again. “Just… us.”

More pieces of the boats. Starting on the long pier that jutted out into the water. Tatyana leaning into his side with her right hand resting on his thigh. Oleg leaning his cheek on her head.

Peace.

“I called you an asshole to the new vampire who joined the kamvasa,” Tatyana murmured. “Once out loud and several times in my head.”

“Is this a confession?” He smiled. “I’m sure it’s not the first time you’ve called me an asshole. You might need to come up with some new insults, or you will get bored.”

Piece by piece, Oleg built the dock until he was not going in order but building the picture from one element to the next.

“Who is the new vampire?”

“The one I mentioned.” Tatyana reached out and started putting pieces of the sky into place. “Benjamin Vecchio.”