Chapter 9
If Nikolai was surprised by the warmth of Gayle’s greeting, flinging herself into his arms the moment she saw him standing in the sitting room, then his usual unsmiling demeanor and coldly assessing eyes didn’t reveal it as he briefly hugged her back. He even kept an arm about her waist to keep her at his side once the hug was over, seeming to know how much Gayle needed that as the two of them turned to face the whole of the Pendragon family.
For Gayle’s part, it was just so good to see a familiar face. One that wasn’t a dragon shifter or someone married to one. Someone normal, after the insanity of the past few hours. “Is Adam here too?”
“Unfortunately not,” Nikolai drawled. “But he sends his love.”
“I—”
“Take your hands off her!” Grigor demanded as he strode forcefully into the room. “And who is this Adam you keep talking about?” He turned his accusing gaze on Gayle.
She instinctively moved closer to Nikolai as Grigor walked toward them, his eyes glowing that scary red. Luckily, it seemed to be the only part of him that had partially shifted.
“What the hell?” Nikolai murmured beside her. “What mischief have you been up to this time, little girl?” he prompted indulgently.
“I said take your hands off my mate!” Grigor towered over the other man by at least five inches.
“Mate?” Nikolai lowered his head slightly to look into Gayle’s face. “You’ve mated with a dragon shifter?”
Her eyes widened at the realization, the shock, of knowing Nikolai knew exactly what and who the Pendragon brothers were.
“Yes, she is my mate!” Grigor thundered, seemingly stripped of all pretense of being human as talons pierced the tips of his fingers and his hand encircled her wrist to pull her toward him. Except Nikolai Volkov refused to remove his arm from about her waist. “You will release her right now if you do not wish to have your head ripped from your body!”
The Russian’s eyes narrowed to steely slits. “I will release Gayle when she asks me to do so, not you.”
Gayle felt like a tasty bone being fought over by two predators. Grigor might be a dragon shifter, but Nikolai had grown up and survived on the harsh streets of Moscow, and he bowed down before no man. Or dragon shifter, apparently. Gayle knew from talking with Adam that Nikolai had more than earned his name in the London underworld as the Wolf. Consequently, he didn’t seem in the least concerned that he was currently standing in a room with seven dragon shifters, one of whom had just threatened to rip his head off with his lengthy talons.
“It’s okay, Nikolai.” Gayle gave his chest a reassuring pat as she stepped away from him. “He’s basically a big flying lizard who likes to throw his weight around.” She heard one of the other women in the room give a titter of laughter, but she had no idea which one as she kept her challenging gaze fixed on a Grigor. A Grigor so white in the face with anger, he looked as if he might combust any minute. “Isn’t that right, Grigor?”
“We will discuss that remark and you will be punished for it later,” he spoke through gritted teeth.
Gayle’s cheeks warmed at the thought of her last “punishment.” “He’s also under the impression everyone is frightened of his big scary flying lizard,” she challenged.
“I think it’s time we put…personal matters behind us for now,” Nathaniel cut in firmly, “and listen to the reason Nikolai is here.”
Gayle’s cheeks warmed even more at the deserved rebuke. She could also feel her body once again responding to Grigor’s close proximity. Her blood felt like liquid fire pulsing through her veins. That awareness set her nerve endings aflame, so that her core ached and her bare nipples rubbed painfully against the material of her T-shirt. Her bra, which was still on the floor in Grigor’s bedroom, had been too badly damaged for her to resume wearing it.
If anything, the heat of the desire coursing through her body was worse than it had been earlier. Because Grigor the Bastard hadn’t allowed her to come, but had denied her release over and over again, as part of that previous punishment.
Well, she wouldn’t give him that satisfaction a second time, didn’t care how much discomfort she was in now or in the future. No way was she ever going to plead or beg for Grigor to give her relief. Ditto the serum that would help alleviate this raging desire. No fucking way. After his rejection of her earlier, Gayle would rather die of that sexual need than show Grigor even a moment of weakness.
Nikolai’s gaze was still glacial as he answered Nathaniel. “I could have telephoned with this news, but as your family and our organization now has something of an…accord…” He glanced challengingly at Grigor, “…Gregori and I both thought I should bring some of our men with me and deliver this news in person.”
“Which is?” Nathaniel prompted politely.
“Sybil Rider, an ex-employee of Markovic Enterprises and the reason we made Gayle’s acquaintance several days ago,” Nikolai gave her a brief smile, “escaped our…retribution before then disappearing from London.”
“Careless of you,” Nathaniel drawled.
Nikolai’s eyes gleamed icily. “The people responsible for her escape have been…dealt with. We have reason to believe Miss Rider might have now made her way to Wales.”
“Why?” Bryn prompted.
Nikolai glanced at Gayle. “It is our understanding that the Rider woman was working for the Romanian Mafia when she stole from Gregori. As a test, an initiation, if you will. One at which she ultimately failed. They have given her the opportunity to redeem herself by…eliminating one of the two people responsible for denying them twenty million pounds. One of those people, Adam Bishop, is in our employ and now in a safe house being closely guarded.”
Gayle felt a shiver down her spine that had nothing to do with her complete physical awareness of the brooding and silent Grigor standing just feet away from her.
Because she was the other person responsible for reclaiming Gregori Markovic’s money, after she’d been stupid enough to hack into one of his bank accounts and helped Sybil Ryder steal it in the first place.
“She is coming for Gayle.” Grigor now had his dragon back under control, his talons retracted into his fingers. The dragon was still there, simmering beneath the surface of Grigor’s skin, ready to leap to his mate’s defense should it be necessary. But for the moment, Grigor needed to concentrate solely on what Volkov was telling them. “I believe this Rider woman is already here in Wales.” He had no doubt she would be identified as their elusive intruder.
Volkov frowned. “You’re sure about that?”
“Does she smoke particularly pungent cigarettes?”
The other man raised surprised brows. “Yes.”
“Then, yes, I am sure of it,” he bit out grimly.
Gayle turned accusing eyes on him. “You thought all the time this intruder was here for me?”
Grigor eyed her impatiently. “I suspected that might be the case, yes.”
“But you chose not to tell me.” She gave a disgusted huff. “Why is that, Grigor?” Her chin rose. “Mustn’t alarm the defenseless little human?”
“There is nothing defenseless about you,” he dismissed in a hard voice before turning to his brothers. “We will find this woman and eliminate her before she has chance to come anywhere near my mate.”
“I’m not your mate, damn it!” Gayle snapped, but strangely felt no satisfaction when she saw Grigor flinch.
“Yes, you are,” he rasped.
“No, I’m really not,” she insisted again. “And now that Nikolai is here, I can go back to London with him and his men—”
“You will remain here.” Grigor had never felt so furious in his long life. Gayle was not leaving Pendragon Castle, and no one but him would ever protect her.
She narrowed her gaze on him. “They’re keeping Adam in a safe house. I’m sure they can do the same for me.”
“I said no—”
“You can say what you damn well please, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to accept it.” Gayle stepped forward until the two of them were almost touching, her eyes glaring up into Grigor’s. “You had your chance, Grigor, and you blew it,” she told him softly, seemingly unaware, or uncaring, that at least six other people in the room had the same preternatural hearing as Grigor.
His gaze softened as he looked down at her. “I thought only of your welfare when I kept my suspicions to myself.”
“Yeah, right.” She tossed the long length of her red hair over her shoulders as she stepped back. “I’m going with you when you leave, Nikolai.”
A red tide passed in front of Grigor’s eyes. “You will not—”
“I suggest, as it’s late, that we all sleep on the situation and decide in the morning what’s the best course of action.” Once again, Nathaniel was the calm voice of reason as Grigor exploded into anger. “Nikolai, you and your men will, of course, spend the night here.”
The Russian nodded. “I would appreciate that.”
Gayle gave Grigor one last narrow-eyed glare before stepping back to link her arm with Nikolai’s. “Whenever you decide to leave, I’m coming with you,” she told him warmly.
“Gayle.”
She turned to look at Nathaniel, her cheeks warming slightly as she saw the reproof in his calm green gaze. But what did he expect? What did Grigor expect? The whole of the bloody Pendragon family for that matter? That she was going to meekly roll over, bare her nape, and let Grigor bite her, mate her, just because he had decided she would?
Hadn’t she offered to do exactly that half an hour ago?
And been rejected.
Her shoulders straightened. “As you said, Nathaniel, it’s late, and we should all sleep on this latest development.”
Not that she would have changed her mind in the morning; she was determined to leave when Nikolai did. But the heat in her body, the desire raging through her veins, was becoming so unbearable, she needed to get away from Grigor, from everyone, so she could at least fight this desperate physical need in private.
“’Night, everyone,” Gayle announced breezily, her head high as she forced herself to walk and not run from the room.
But she did run once she was safely out into the entrance hall. Up the stairs. Along the hallway to her bedroom. Closing the door of that room firmly behind her to lean weakly back against it, her breathing ragged as she tried and failed to control the desire raging through her body.
It was going to be a long night.
A very long night.
Grigor was so stunned by Gayle’s abrupt departure that for several seconds, he was unable to move.
“Go take care of your mate,” Nathaniel instructed evenly.
He looked blankly at his brother. “You all heard her say she doesn’t want me.” That had hurt more than Grigor was willing to acknowledge or admit.
Nathaniel’s expression softened. “Gayle is as stubborn as my own mate.” He gave Chloe an affectionate glance before frowning. “Perhaps even more so.”
“And you are a big scary flying lizard,” Chloe teased Grigor. “One more used to giving orders than using charm,” she added dryly before shaking her head. “The last thing you should have done was try to tell Gayle what she should or shouldn’t do.”
His nostrils flared. “She is my mate.”
“She’s also human,” Tegan reminded. “A human who has been through several difficult situations recently.” She glanced pointedly at Volkov. “On top of that, her sister, her only relative, has disappeared for an undetermined time to mate with the man Gayle now knows is a dragon shifter.”
Grigor snorted. “Gayle has shown time and time again, she is scared of nothing and no one.”
Except, he reminded himself, being alone or feeling abandoned.
But as his mate, Gayle need never be alone again or ever feel abandoned. Their mating bond would see to that.
A mating she hadn’t asked for.
And had now made clear she didn’t want.
Earlier, Gayle had suggested, in her own inimitable style, that she was willing to mate with him.
An offer he had refused. But now that Gayle knew about the Rider woman, surely she understood his reason for having done that? To lose himself in the mating frenzy now, when Gayle was in danger, would be madness on his part.
Except, Grigor knew, if the opportunity arose again, whether the Rider woman had been found or not, he would not be able to resist Gayle a second time.
“Speaking as another human,” Volkov put in dryly, “I’d think twice, more than twice, about being mated to your scary-assed dragon.”
Grigor’s mouth twitched with unexpected humor. “Luckily, as I have no desire to mate with a man, you will never be asked to do so.”
“The feeling is mutual, believe me.” The Russian smirked before pinning Grigor with those icy-gray eyes. “You have a good and brave woman there. I suggest you treat her well.”
Grigor took the compliment for what it was. “I intend to do so.”
“So,” Izzy put in briskly, “how many men do you have with you, Mr. Volkov, so we know how many bedrooms to prepare?”
Grigor allowed the conversation to flow around him after that, his attention all on Gayle as he moved to sit in one of the armchairs near the darkened window.
His senses told him she’d taken a shower immediately after she reached her bedroom. A cold shower? If she was feeling the same heat to mate as Grigor was, then in all probability, yes.
She had then crawled into bed naked, but he knew from the sound of the uneven tenor of her breathing that Gayle wasn’t asleep.
Because her body ached, yearned, heated for him in the same way Grigor’s burned for her.
And yet she didn’t make a sound or cry out, but merely gripped the duvet tighter, her body rigid beneath the cool cotton.
Not only because she was stubborn, Grigor realized, but because she hated needing anyone or anything, even though the thought of being alone terrified her.
Volkov was right. His mate was brave. Brave and rebellious, but so very beautiful in that courage and rebellion.
He now thanked the fates for giving him such a willful mate. Gayle, with her stubbornness and quirky sense of humor, was exactly the mate he needed. The one he wanted to claim with an undeniable fierceness.
He almost laughed out loud at the memory of Gayle calling his dragon a big scary flying lizard.
Mine.
An insult his dragon hadn’t taken exception to.
Neither had Grigor, because he knew the insult for what it was: another of Gayle’s defense mechanisms.
He—
Grigor rose abruptly to his feet as his preternatural hearing allowed him to hear Gayle’s whimper. Her need. Discomfort. Pain.
He had to go to her. To help her. Pleasure her. Ease—
“Don’t, Grigor.” Tegan placed a hand on his forearm as he would have turned and left the room. “Allow Gayle to keep her dignity.”
His mouth thinned. “It is a ridiculous dignity that has already caused her to refuse the serum which might ease her pain—”
“If Gayle wants the serum, or you, she’ll let you know,” his sister-in-law reasoned.
If Gayle ever wanted him again.
Which, as Grigor knew only too well, was still in question.
His mate was just stubborn enough to let them both die rather than relinquish an ounce of her pride.