A crooked smile curved Mikhail’s lips, and it made him that much sexier. He stood there in nothing but unbuttoned jeans, showing the dark trail of hair from his navel leading down to his waist. The indentions of his hips made her mouth run dry. She was thirsty for a taste of him.

“Surrender and I won’t be too rough,” he said in a smug tone. A hint of the medieval badass he had been six hundred years ago crept through, which might have scared any other woman. But she wanted that rough edge in him. She didn’t care that she was still sore; her body wanted—needed—to be owned and possessed by him.

She started to crawl over the bed, her eyes wide and soft as though she planned to give him what he wanted. He placed his hands on his hips and came closer. When he reached the bed, she leaped off and sprinted for the bathroom. But he moved too fast for her. She was grabbed from behind and lifted into the air, then tossed onto the bed. He grabbed one of her ankles and with a gentle tug flipped her over onto her stomach. Then he pulled her back toward the edge of the bed. Her legs fell off the side of the mattress, and cold air hit her backside as he pushed the dressing gown out of the way. She was completely exposed from behind and bent over the bed. Piper dug her nails in the bedding, her breath coming fast.

“Naughty little wench.” Mikhail’s deep growl was more animal than human, and that dangerous undertone made her body flush with heat. Damn, this man could role-play like a god.

“Guess you have to be rough then,” she said, hoping he would take the hint.

He leaned over her. His jeans and hips pressed into her bare ass until she felt the bulge of his shaft. His fingers twisted into her hair, tugging just hard enough that a wisp of pain skated down her spine.

“Like that?” he asked. He gave another tug, and she whimpered as her womb clenched and her thighs quivered. It was a good thing she was bent over the bed because her legs wouldn’t be able to hold her up much longer.

Mikhail stroked a fingertip down her neck, then traced down the line of her spine and finally slipped that finger between the cleft of her ass, down to her slit. She buried her face in the bedding as he thrust his finger in. He soon found a spot inside her that made her whimper. Her hips gave an involuntarily jerk. He found it, instinctively, that spot some men swore didn’t even exist. And he was killing her with it.

“Beg,” he commanded. Darkness edged his voice, but it was a darkness she craved and did not fear. If she needed him to, he would stop in a heartbeat. That’s what made this all so much better. He could give her what she needed.

“Please…” The word barely escaped as he continued to rub that spot with the pad of his finger.

“Please, what?” His tone was indulgent now, like a cat who’d allowed a captured mouse to get free, only to hold on to it by the tip of its tail. She bit her lip as he withdrew the finger and gave her ass a light slap.

There weren’t words for how good that felt. The stinging subsided to a slow burn. He rubbed the spot with his palm, a possessive, affectionate gesture that sent fresh heat flooding through her. He traced her folds with his fingers. The way he owned her was intoxicating. There wasn’t anything outside this room, this breathless struggle between them to reach the heights of pleasure.

“Such a hot, wet little wench. I wonder how you taste.” He dipped his finger into her again and withdrew it. She glanced over her shoulder and watched him slide his index finger into his mouth. Those gold eyes burned as they met hers, and he popped his finger out.

“Like ambrosia.” He hissed low, as though he was picturing how it would be to eat her out. She swallowed hard. If he went down on her now, she’d die.

“Please, Mikhail…” She wriggled her ass, trying to entice him.

He was no longer smiling; there was only a serpentine hardness to his features as he unzipped his jeans and let them drop to the ground. His massive cock jutted out, and he ran one hand along its length and leaned over her, grasping her by the back of the neck. She buried her face in the bedding again, but her mind’s eye still pictured everything that was happening to her.

The tip of his shaft rubbed along her slit, teasing her as he coated his cock with her arousal.

“You belong to me.” That was the only warning she had. He thrust into her, hard, and she saw stars. He was too big, too full for her sore channel, and for a moment she couldn’t breathe.

“Oh God.” The words were muffled by the pillow as he shoved in deep, withdrew, and thrust in again.

They were so deeply joined that she couldn’t remember what it felt like not to be a part of him and he a part of her. The flash of exhilaration made her vision hazy. She closed her eyes, panting as he fucked her the way she imagined a dragon would a mate. That was the only comparison that came to mind. This wasn’t just sex—it was a thousand times more intense than that. Her skin started to burn just beneath the surface.

Suddenly she could feel the wind across her cheeks and the heavy condensation of clouds freezing along the tips of her wings as she climbed higher…higher. Then the sun was blazing above her, the air getting thinner…

She came crashing back to the earth. The climax roared through her like a tornado, tearing down every wall she’d built, and something wonderful happened as it always seemed to when she lost control with him.

Flashes of memory swam across her mind. Memories that weren’t hers. Darkened halls, flickering torchlight, the whispers of a long-dead queen, the stumbling heaviness of a body drugged with wine…and the darkness of a dungeon around her, suffocating her. No, not her…

“Piper!” Mikhail’s voice was a shout, but it sounded so far away, as though through a distant tunnel. It bounced off the walls inside her head.

“Stay with me!” he shouted. His voice verged on panic.

Panic? She jolted, her eyes flying open. She was lying on her back on the bed. Mikhail held her in his arms, his hands cradling her face. His green eyes were wide in terror, his fear creating shifting silver glints in their depths.

“Piper…you’re safe. You’re safe.” He crooned her name with tenderness as he stroked a fingertip over her lips. “Stay with me, little dove.” He lowered his head and brushed his mouth over hers. The waves of soft, sweet emotions that filled her head made her want to curl up in his arms and forget the outside world.

“What happened?” Her voice was hoarse. The memories this time had been too dark, too real. They had choked her with despair. Was that how he’d felt when Elizabeth had imprisoned him? Her heart ached for him, knowing now why his dragon had been driven half-mad all those centuries ago.

“You fainted, I think,” he said. He moved his hand from her cheek and curled his arm around her waist, holding her close. “Your heart rate spiked and then plummeted, and it scared the hell out of me.”

“I saw something from your memories.” Her eyes narrowed as she tried to remember what she’d seen. “A dark hall with torches. A redheaded woman in a cream-and-orange gown, and suffocating darkness.” Her body shivered at the terrifying final memory.

Mikhail blew out a shaky breath. “That was the night Queen Elizabeth betrayed me. She drugged me. I told her where my jewels were, and the next thing I knew, I was imprisoned. For forty-four years I couldn’t shift, and it drove my dragon mad. That must have been what you were experiencing.” He gave his head a little shake.

“That was incredible…and honestly a little scary.” She closed her eyes, but the images were already beginning to fade, as though they’d never been in her mind.

“I was afraid I was too rough—you shouldn’t have taunted me. I can’t be like that with you. You’re fragile, and I should be gentler with you.” His words were painted with sorrow and frustration. “This was a mistake.”

Piper prickled with anger as she faced him. “Oh no you don’t. You can’t pull away from me. I want the real Mikhail. I need you to be yourself. The rough, fire-breathing animal that you are. I don’t regret a second of what we did. It was incredible. You were incredible.”

She ignored the rising blush in her cheeks and the realization that she was completely naked. The old Piper would have been scrambling for a blanket to hide her curves under. But she was changed now. There was no going back to who she was, who she had been. She wanted to be this new version of herself, and she wasn’t about to let him pull back after what had happened.

Mikhail pressed his forehead to hers, and they stayed close and quiet for a long while. Time seemed to be suspended. Even the sunlit motes of dust seemed to hang motionless in the air.

Mikhail coiled a tendril of her hair around his fingers. Piper studied his face, the way a shadow of a beard had already formed across his strong jaw. She trailed her fingertips along this line, letting the faint stubble tickle her. There was nothing more perfect than this moment. She felt giddy, unable to resist asking the question that had sparked the explosive sex they’d just shared.

“So what is the difference between werewolves and wolf shifters?” she asked.

He laughed and kissed her. “Werewolves are bitten; shifters are born. It’s a little more complicated than that, though. Shifters are more like us, their ancient ancestors born from binding to the spirits of animals, while werewolves are creatures of dark magic binding, a corruption that manifested itself to where the ability to shift can be transferred by bites.”

“So werewolves are bad? When you say dark magic…” She shivered at the thought.

“Not at all. Their ancestors might not have had good intentions when they bound their bodies to wolves, but the descendants are quite normal, some good some bad, just like dragons and humans.”

She tilted her head. “Why didn’t you want to tell me that?”

He grinned. “I wanted you to think about me, not some big hairy dogs.” He rubbed his nose against hers in an Eskimo kiss, and her heart turned over. The man was romantic as well as sexy. He couldn’t be more perfect if she’d wished upon a shooting star.

“I am definitely only thinking of you.” She kissed him, letting the passion burn like a winter fire in the middle of a snowstorm. Kissing a dragon was the most intoxicating thing she’d ever experienced. But then, all too soon, she had to bring herself back to reality, if only for a little while.

“Mikhail, what are we going to do about the jewels? Or the police, for that matter?” The last two days had been a wild sort of dream, but she had to face facts. She was a suspect in a jewel heist, and if she wasn’t already fired, she would be the moment she came back. Her life, the one that she’d worked so hard to build, was over.

He stroked a lock of hair behind her ear. “I have friends in high places. Or, more accurately, friends who have friends in high places. I will make sure you won’t suffer for what I’ve made you do.”

She shook her head. “It’s not that easy. This isn’t a trivial robbery. I don’t think anyone can call them off.”

He was silent for several long seconds. “I’ll figure something out.”

She closed her eyes and tucked her head under his chin. He didn’t seem to understand the depth of their situation. She couldn’t just leave with him and the jewels and live happily ever after. They’d stay on every major agency’s wanted list for the rest of their lives. Mikhail could easily mesmerize his way out of trouble if he had to, but what about her?

That voice inside her head, the one that whispered negative thoughts, came to the surface.

He doesn’t love me. He’s just infatuated. He’ll get tired of me like all my other boyfriends, and what then? I’ve destroyed my career and put a target on my back. For what? Great sex?

Piper wasn’t going to be stupid, not when it came to men. No matter how perfect Mikhail felt, she couldn’t just pretend that they could walk off into the sunset and live happily ever after. He was a dragon, so he would stay young and beautiful forever, and she was just a human. One who would grow old and die. She hadn’t forgotten what Belishaw said about dragons mating humans, about how it would kill him. But if they weren’t fully mated yet, perhaps there was still time.

But she couldn’t tell Mikhail that she was planning to leave. He wouldn’t understand. He would feel betrayed, and he’d had enough of that in his past already. But she had no other choice. He could run off to the wilds of Russia and never have to worry about his life or livelihood. But she couldn’t.

We aren’t mated, and we aren’t in love. We’re just…

She didn’t want to label the wild and passionate experiences she’d had with Mikhail. It was everything she’d always wanted with a man, but at the end of the day it was still lust. She couldn’t destroy her life simply because she wanted a few more nights in his bed and in his arms. Even as she tried to convince herself of that, she knew deep in her bones that there was something more, something deeper between them.

It can’t be love, but whatever it is, it’s scaring the hell out of me.

If she let her heart stay in control rather than her head, she’d stay with him, and damn the consequences. But someday, when he grew tired of her, her heart would break and her life would be over. She would have risked everything for him, and it would only destroy her. There was no way she could stay, facing that outcome. Piper could only pray that someday he’d forgive her for what she had to do.