Charlotte was lost in his gaze all over again. “You… It’s like you’re making me dizzy… How do you do that?” she murmured dreamily. It was just like at the club when he’d convinced her to dance in the cage for him. She wanted to do anything he asked—anything. It had to be the power of hypnosis dragons had. It felt like he was mesmerizing her. Her being turned on by all this, however? That had to be the pheromones at play.

He blinked, his eyes no longer golden, and with a low growl he turned his back on her. She watched him pace away from her, and her thoughts soon cleared of that strange fuzziness.

“I should escort you home before I change my mind,” he said in a dark tone.

She stood, slipping her heels back on. “Change your mind?” Her body felt a little shaky, as though she’d just had a wild burst of adrenaline and was coming down from the high.

“Yes.” He turned back to her, eyes lingering on her face, then sweeping over her body in that peculiar way that felt like a caress. His hands clenched into fists, as though he was suppressing the urge to reach for her. “I’m tempted to carry you over my shoulder into my bedroom. I’d spend the next several hours having my way with you, fucking you into blissful oblivion.”

She tensed at his harsh words and the rough fantasies they conjured up in her mind. Rurik was a man who took what he wanted, a dragon in full control. She suppressed the thrill that came with that thought. She’d always dreamt of being with a man like that, who knew exactly what to do next in bed. A man like that was hard to find. It was probably the reason she was still a virgin. She just couldn’t picture herself with a man who wasn’t like Rurik. She’d probably spend the rest of her life a virgin if she compared every man to someone like him.

“Fuck, you smell sweet.” He raked his hands through his chocolate-brown hair, and his eyes seem to turn from green to gold again. “I have no control, not with you smelling like heaven.” He braced his hands on the kitchen counter, staring straight ahead, not at her.

“Rurik…I think I should go.” She reached for her purse, but he stepped closer and caught her wrist. She looked up at him, and he tugged her to him, pinning her against the counter, hip to hip, as he captured her mouth with his. It was another drugging kiss that set her head spinning. It reminded her of when as a child she’d sat on the swing at the park, twisting her seat around so the chains twisted tighter and tighter. When she let go she was rocketed around in a wild, unstoppable spin that ripped a cry of joy from her before she did it all over again.

“Tell me to stop. Beg me.” He cupped her face in his hands and murmured this between slow, deep kisses.

“I…” The words didn’t come. He gripped her thighs and lifted her up onto the counter, locking her legs around his slender hips.

“Fuck.” The roughness of his palms explored her bare skin. It felt so good, tracing the shapes of her calves up to her outer thighs.

He pushed her flat on the counter by pressing his palm gently on her chest. Then he trailed a fingertip down her throat to her breasts, which were heaving against the neckline. Charlotte threw her head back, panting as her body flushed with wild heat. Every part of her felt electrified by his touch.

“I’m going to rip this dress to shreds.”

The words jerked her out of the haze of her body’s rising desire.

“No, wait! I really like this dress. Give me a sec, and I’ll get out of it.” She reached behind herself to try to unzip her dress, but he growled impatiently and pulled her down from the counter. She braced herself as he spun her around and bent her over the granite top as he tugged the zipper down to her lower back. She wore a black strapless bra with matching panties, which he bared as he slid the red garment down around her hips. She stepped out of the dress, and he ground his denim-clad hips against her, letting her feel the hard press of his massive erection. She pushed back. God, being with him was like being in heat—

She tensed, turning around so they faced each other, and then placed her palms on his chest and pushed at him. He let her have a bit of space, but he was breathing hard, his eyes a swirling golden green.

“Wait…” She panted and stumbled away from him. She had no doubt at this point that the pheromones she’d been warned about were at work. She was not going to let her first time with a man be under some kind of influence. It needed to be of her own free will.

Rurik was breathing hard, just like she was. Part of her wondered if her special perfume was having a similar effect on him. His hair fell into his eyes, and he watched her in that predatory way that made her shiver. But he didn’t try to force her.

“Put your dress back on. I will take you back to your hotel.”

He stalked over to grab his jacket from the counter and slung it on. Charlotte bit her lip as she shimmied back into her dress and snatched her purse off the counter.

Charlotte, what have you gotten yourself into? It was supposed to be recon only tonight. Not a half-naked make-out session with your target!

She followed him to the door on shaky legs. Neither of them spoke as they stepped into the elevator. Damn, this night had been a disaster on so many levels. She had gotten too close to him, and he’d manifested some sort of power over her. She hadn’t been ready for how things had spun out of control. But he had stopped when she’d asked him to. That was unexpected.

She ducked her head, avoiding looking directly at him. She might have blown any chance of meeting with him again, which would make the rest of her job more difficult. Though she was certain she’d matched the formula they’d found, it still needed to be tested in the field. But if it worked as they’d hoped, they’d have a powerful tool to use in case the dragons ever got it in their heads to take over.

It wasn’t as far-fetched as it sounded. Every couple of decades some group of supernatural creatures tried to take over, and the Brotherhood was always there to stop them. Just a few months ago a dragon had been on the road to becoming the next prime minister of England. That man had used this very serum to try to remove some of his rivals.

If she brought Rurik back to the Brotherhood as a prisoner, who knew what further tests they might run to prove the serum worked, with or without his permission? And what if they tried to weaponize the formula? Or find a way to make it permanent? Some members of the Brotherhood were known to be overzealous in their charter, including the woman who’d almost become her sister-in-law. She cringed at the memory of what had happened to Serena, the hunter who’d been engaged to her brother Damien. She’d had a personal vendetta against the vampire “corruptions” of the world for as long as she’d known her. One day she’d crossed the line, taking out a vampire coven without cause. The Brotherhood had known they were a benign group, using blood from a blood bank, but she didn’t care. For Serena, the only good vamp was a dead vamp. Given Damien’s plans to reform the Brotherhood, it had been a source of constant debate between them.

In the end, Serena’s overzealousness had been her undoing. A French vampire assassin had murdered her in cold blood, leaving her for Damien to find as a message to the Brotherhood. Her brother had never been the same since, had never taken another lover. It had broken his heart and made him less certain of his plans to change the Brotherhood’s ways.

As Charlotte and Rurik left the building and stepped out onto the street, where the valet had Rurik’s motorcycle waiting, she noticed someone lingering by a car, watching them. He continued to watch them while she and Rurik climbed back onto his motorcycle. Something about the man was off. He looked familiar, but she couldn’t quite place his face.

* * *

Dimitri Drakor stood by the black SUV outside Rurik Barinov’s apartment building.

“Found yourself a new toy, eh Rurik?” he murmured as he watched the dragon shifter pull a female onto the back of his motorcycle. The woman glanced at him, and for a moment Dimitri had the unnerving feeling that she could see right through him. But he merely inclined his head as she turned from him and gripped Rurik’s waist. He was far enough away that she couldn’t get a good look at him anyway.

“Far plainer than the last one,” he muttered, thinking of the previous woman Rurik had taken under his protection, for all the good that had done her.

Dimitri pulled out a cigarette as he watched the taillights of the motorcycle vanish into the night, trying to keep the memories at bay. But he could never forget the night that had changed everything: the night his son had killed Rurik’s possible mate and Rurik had murdered him for it. He had been proud of Ruslan for making a bold move like that, but he hadn’t done it in the right way.

Killing a dragon’s mate took away a dragon’s will to live. None could survive that. But they hadn’t yet mated, and instead of glory, Ruslan had forced his own father into battle with the Barinovs—and that had ended far worse than Dimitri could have ever predicted. Now his entire family was dead, slaughtered before his eyes.

But he was still alive, and the need for vengeance burned inside him.

I will not make the same mistake again.

Rurik was the Barinov battle dragon, the fiercest and most dangerous of the family. The other two Barinovs would not go to war, not now that they were mated. If it came down to it, they would flee with their mates to protect them.

But Rurik was still here, the last obstacle that kept Dimitri from taking control of Russia. His family had once controlled the east before the Barinovs had killed all but him. He deserved to rule all of the country. He was stronger and older. A better dragon than the softhearted Barinovs.

He watched and made sure Rurik was long gone before he pulled out his cell phone.

A man with a Brazilian accent answered. “Hello?”

“Luis, he is headed your way. His motorcycle is marked with a GPS. I will send you the coordinates when he stops.”

“My men will take him out,” was the curt reply.

“Our deal doesn’t come into effect until he is dead.”

The other dragon hissed. “We will kill him. And then the Moscow drug trade is ours alone.”

“Of course.” It was an easy concession to make. Dimitri had no interest in the drug trade. Luis was a Brazilian Starback shifter, and his little overseas empire was welcome to do what they wanted once the Barinovs were eliminated or neutralized.

His only concern was that the hotheaded Starbacks might draw the attention of the Brotherhood if they weren’t careful. He’d faced the Brotherhood before, many centuries ago. He’d witnessed them slay dragons in Europe with cunning traps and deadly weapons. Even though they’d possessed the talents and intelligence of cavemen, the Middle Ages had somehow given these human mortals an unfair advantage. But today the Brotherhood was limited in their ability to fight the preternatural unless it was absolutely necessary. They were more concerned with preventing humankind from knowing that monsters did exist. But times changed, and if the Brotherhood should turn their eye toward his kind again, he wanted to be ready for them.

Dimitri would not let another slaughter of dragons occur, not again. Once he was in control and had a strong alliance with the Starbacks, he would extend his connections to the Chinese serpents next. When the dragons stood united, they could defeat the Brotherhood and truly take over. They would put the humans in their place, beneath the clawed feet of their betters.

But in order for that to happen, Rurik had to die.