Dragons beget dragons, and phoenixes beget phoenixes.

—Chinese Proverb

She was a thunderbird.

Grigori still couldn’t believe it. He’d never seen one before, but every drakeling was told stories about them. They were fierce shifters that in one blinding instant transformed from humans into birds of lightning and thunder. They could drop from the sky and break the sound barrier. And when they flapped their wings in a particular way they could create a sonic boom. The vibration was powerful enough to kill a dragon.

It was how his father had died, he had cornered a pair of thunderbirds, and when they fought back he’d been killed. His mother hadn’t been able to survive her grief. She died only a few days later. She’d had only enough time to call Grigori and tell him what happened and where she was. When he caught the first flight to the U.S., he’d arrived just in time to hold her hand as she passed away.

Any other dragon would have wanted revenge on the creatures that killed his parents, but Grigori didn’t believe that his father was right in hunting down another species simply because they had a natural power which could kill him.

And he’d never hurt Madelyn. He stared at her, her skin warm and soft beneath his hands as he stroked her cheeks. She was his mate. A thunderbird. He wasn’t even sure that was possible, but he could not deny how he felt.

His little mortal human was . . . not mortal or human.

“Grigori, you have to tell me everything about thunderbirds,” Madelyn said. There was a desperation in her eyes, a need to understand who she was that he understood all too well. He settled closer to her on the couch in the library.

“I will,” he promised. “I don’t know everything, but I will tell you all that I can.”

“Brother, you are a fool to mate our greatest enemy,” Rurik growled in Russian so Madelyn couldn’t understand.

“She is my mate. I may not understand how or why, but I will not question the gift I have been given. Don’t you see? She’s immortal.” He would not die another sixty years, not like he’d expected to. No, he’d been given a mate who can walk beside him for the next several millennia. It was a beginning. Not an ending.

“I really hate when you guys do that.” Madelyn was frowning, a light furrow on her brow.

“Do what?” he and Rurik asked at the same time.

“Speak in Russian. I can’t understand you. I recognize words here and there but you talk too fast.”

“That’s the point,” Rurik replied darkly.

“But—”

The library door opened and the butler rolled in with a tray. There was hot soup, a selection of roast beef, and a bottle of wine from the cellar.

“Thank you.” Grigori nodded to the servant who nodded back, bowed and left the room.

“Come and sit at the table,” Grigori stood and took Madelyn’s hands, lifting her to her feet. “We will eat and I will tell you everything I know about what you are.”

They gathered at one of the lacquered reading desks. Rurik, after a reluctant grimace, sat down with them and poured wine into their glasses while Grigori passed out bowls of soup. “No one knows where thunderbirds come from. They were born far back in the mists of time, like dragons and phoenixes.” Grigori sipped his wine.

“Wait, phoenixes are real?” Madelyn’s eyes were wide as she listened to him eagerly.

“Oh, yes. Phoenixes are cousins to thunderbirds, but they cannot die, only be reborn. Thunderbirds are immortal like dragons, but like us you can be killed.”

“Okay.” Madelyn’s eyes were still wide that she was focused on him. He could tell that the fact that she would live several millennia still hadn’t set in.

“You have a mortal form, but you can shift into a bird, a large one. Think of an eagle only a lot bigger.”

She raised her hands, and he knew what she was trying to picture. Her body covered in feathers.

“What do I look like? As a bird I mean?” she asked.

“I’m not sure. I’ve never seen one before. I think you might be gold feathered with a bit of red, but that’s all I know.” No dragon had lived to tell what a thunderbird look like when it wasn’t in a pulsing position. Except his father, who had killed a few but rarely spoke of it. That was the problem with creatures that were natural enemies. You never knew what the other one looked like until it was too late.

“Why didn’t I know what I was before now? I mean, I would’ve changed before, right?” She was forgetting to eat and that bothered him. She needed to regain her strength.

“Eat, little one,” he ordered, but kept his tone gentle.

Rurik chuckled, and he shifted a little closer to them. It amused Grigori that his fearless brother was petrified of an innocent young woman simply because of what she was capable of. They were all capable of dark and terrifying things. The dragons more so than the thunderbirds.

He waited until Madelyn took a drink of her wine and ate several spoonfuls of her soup.

“I know that dragons come of age around thirteen or fourteen, but it might be different with you. Some species need to be awakened.”

“Awakened?” She nibbled on a piece of bread before she dipped it into her soup. Grigori leaned back in his chair, studying her.

“Yes, some transitions or shifts are latent. A creature can be awakened after being around a possible mate or . . .”

“An enemy,” Rurik cut in. “Being around us might have awakened your powers. We are your natural enemies.”

“Okay, what about. . . .” she blushed. “Mates. What about them?”

Grigori exchanged glances with his brother. “Mates are a little different for each species. Dragons mate for life, and search the world for their true mates.”

“How can you tell who a true mate is?” From the way she was watching him, he had a feeling she was replaying every sexual encounter they had. Would she guess the truth? He was hesitant to tell her. She’d only just had her life turned upside down and he didn’t want to make that any worse by throwing a mate situation at her.

“Well, when you kiss you share . . . emotions, memories, and your very soul. There’s also an insatiable desire for the other person, a kind of frenzied lust, and yet it softens when you touch, like fur blankets and fire.” He tried to explain, but he could tell she didn’t understand.

Rurik coughed loudly and Grigori thought he heard his brother utter the word idiot under his breath.

“It’s like catching a scent you are drawn to and once you smell it, it’s inescapable. It’s fate.”

“Like cats and catnip,” Rurik interjected with a chuckle.

“You’re not helping,” Grigori growled.

His brother raised his hands in surrender. “You should tell her.”

“Tell me what?” Madelyn demanded.

“I think I’ll leave you alone while you tell her.” Rurik picked up his tray of food with a cocky grin and left the library.

Grigori shifted in his chair, suddenly hot and flushed. He tugged at the neck of his T-shirt.

“What?” Madelyn sat up, her eyes narrowing and he caught a hint of a storm in the air.

He set his wine glass down and shifted closer. It would be much easier to show her that would be to tell her.

“Allow me to show you,” he reached over and brushed her hair back from her face, his fingertips dancing along her cheek and then her throat. She shivered and let out a slow soft, sensual sigh.

“You are distracting me,” she murmured, leaning into his caress.

“No,” he whispered. “I’m showing you, what it feels like when a mate touches you. Soft like furs,” he brushed his fingers over her lips. “And yet it burns sweetly like a fire, one that can only be quenched when mates come together.” He gazed into her eyes, watching the moment comprehension lit their depths.

“Wait. You mean you and me?”

She bit her lip and it made every inch of his body hard.

Gods, the woman was born to simply drive him mad with desire.

“Yes. I realized it the moment I took you in my arms in Moscow. I knew.”

“Knew what?” She was leaning into him, her eyes fixed on his mouth.

He waited, savoring her reaction. “I knew you were mine. The last few days I’ve been struggling to control myself and not frighten you.” He sidled a few inches closer. Their knees bumped beneath the table and she tensed, her breath catching. Sparks of arousal shot between them and he knew she was truly experiencing their mutual desire in a way she hadn’t before. Because she knows the truth of it now. That she belongs to me. The possessive side of his dragon growled softly in pleasure. Mine to possess, protect and claim . . .

“But how . . . how can we be mates if we aren’t even the same species?”

“I have no idea.” He closed the distance between them and pressed a kiss to her lips. “All that matters is that I found you. After nearly two thousand years of being alone, I found you.” He smiled against her lips, breathing in her sent and hearing the rain begin to fall against the library windows.

“You are wicked,” she moaned as he nibbled a path to her sensitive ear and bit the lobe.

“I know,” he chuckled. I’ve been going slow with you, sweetheart, because I thought you were mortal, but well . . .” He feathered a kiss below her ear again and she trembled. “It’s time to let go of all that control.”

* * *

Mates . . .

The word drifted almost dreamily through Madelyn’s mind. She arched her neck, letting Grigori torture her with pleasure from his lips. Everything she thought she knew about her life and her body was a lie, and it stung, but Grigori’s kisses and tender touches made her want to forget—even if just for a short while. There was one thing that she was certain of: Right now, she wanted to be with Grigori in every possible way.

“Show me more.” She circled her arms around his neck and he slid her off the chair and onto his lap.

He stroked a hand along her back. “How much more?”

“All of it.” She nipped his bottom lip, and reveled in the way he jerked and growled.

“You will be the death of me.” He wrapped his arms around her and stood.

“Not here?” she asked as he led her toward the door, one arm curled around her waist.

“No mate of a Barinov will have her first time on a reading table.” He tugged her along, almost running down the hall and up the steps. Madelyn clutched his hand as he let go of her waist, a wild euphoria sweeping through her. All her life, she had played things safe and never gone after what she wanted. Until now. She wanted Grigori and she was going to have him.

Because he’s my mate.

She still didn’t fully understand what that meant, but it had to be a good thing. Mates for life, he would never leave her, wouldn’t abandon her. He would always be there for her.

Grigori open the door to his chambers and pulled her inside. She laughed and fell into his arms, their mouths meeting. They kissed for an eternity, bodies pressed flush against each other. When they finally pulled apart, Grigori nodded at his bed a few feet away.

“A Barinov’s mate should be taken first in her mate’s bed, completely naked, with the softest furs beneath her.” He stepped backward, his body stopping only when he hit the bed. She followed, a little nervous, but also excited. A sudden thought made her halt.

“What . . . What if I’m not good at it?” She cast a pointed look at the bed. “I’ve only ever had some heavy make-out sessions with previous boyfriends . . .”

He caught her chin, turning her face back to his. “You will be perfect. You are my mate. There can be nothing bad between us. Only exquisite pleasure.” He spoke so confidently, but she still feared she would let him down. He had two thousand years of lovemaking experience and she’d never been with a man before.

“Are you sure?” she asked between kisses. He was lifting her sweater off her head and the words came out muffled.

“I think I need to distract you again,” he mused, a dark, wicked expression on his face. She had no time to react. He lifted her up and turned, tossing her onto the bed on her back. She landed with a gasp as he pounced on her. The white ermine fur beneath her bare skin was soft and she couldn’t resist wriggling a little. To enjoy the sensation.

“I want to know everything about you,” he whispered, sincerity in his tone. “Tell me something that no one else knows about you.” As he spoke, his hands unzipped her jeans, pulling them down. He tickled her as she removed her boots and socks before moving her pants. Madelyn lay back, just in her bra and panties watching him.

“Something that no one else knows?”

He nodded as he lifted his shirt over his head. “Yes, something that I can take with me into my dreams,” he said as he leaned back over her and kissed her sweetly, playfully. Madelyn circled her arms around his neck, then explored his shoulders, his muscles jumping beneath her touch.

“I used to imagine that my parents were a king and a queen in a distant land and that someday they would find a way to come back for me, that they hadn’t really died. I just wanted to know them, and where I came from. The police never found out who they were, not even their names. They didn’t even have driver’s licenses on them when they . . . died.” She paused. “It’s not that I had an unhappy childhood. I had a wonderful one, but I always felt different.” She’d never told her adoptive parents that. She loved them more than anything, but she grown up with an unshakeable sense she didn’t belong. She’d just never dreamed that she’d been this kind of different.

Grigori stroked her hair away from her face, sighing softly.

“It is a hard thing not to know where you come from.” When he kissed her this time, his lips were more urgent and his hands more insistent as he unclasped her bra and freed her from her panties. She shivered at the exposed, vulnerable feeling of being completely bare on his bed, but there was a decadence to it to that she couldn’t deny. He gently cupped one of her breasts, playing with the sensitive peak, and Madelyn pressed her legs together as a flood of emotions moved through her. It was as though she could feel him, not his body but something infinitely more powerful just within reach. She wanted to reach out and grab hold of it, but she was afraid it would be as impossible as trying to harness the wind.

“You smell divine,” he growled, and his eyes began to turn golden.

“What does it mean when your eyes change colors?” she asked as she brushed her fingers through the fall of blond hair that covered his eyes. As they stared at each other, emotions building between them, connecting them, she felt herself opening up inside in ways she’d never thought possible.

“It can mean many things.” He captured her hand and brought her palm to his lips, kissing it. “Excitement, anger, but . . .” He smiled down at her. “It mainly means arousal.”

Madelyn blushed, but she traced his lips with her fingers. “I wish I could show you how turned on I am.”

“No need.” He chuckled. “You forget I can smell you. Your sweet scent is ambrosia, like honeysuckle and sugar in the air.”

She wrinkled her nose, still not sure if she liked the idea of him being able to smell her.

“Madelyn, I am going to claim you. I don’t want you to be afraid.” He nuzzled her cheek and then her neck.

“I won’t be,” she replied breathlessly as he shifted above her. “I want this, I want you.” She had never been more sure of anything in her life. There was no room for fear, not with Grigori. Whatever claiming was, she trusted him.

The furs whispered beneath her, their softness making her feel cocooned in warmth between them and Grigori. Outside, the rain pattered against the windows and for the first time she understood what the rain meant. She was feeling a dozen emotions and it was too much for her to process, so it was coming out of her in the form of rain.

Grigori lifted his head and glanced toward the window before he smiled at her. Then he reached for his jeans, unbuttoning the fly. Madelyn began to tremble as he kicked his pants away. Was going to just take her? Now that she had time to think, she was panicking again.

“Grigori,” she whispered the second he rid himself of his briefs. It was impossible not to see him. All of him. Holy mother of . . .

“Easy, little one.” He chuckled.

“Why do you always call me little one?” She wrinkled her nose. “I’m not exactly little.” She was pretty self-conscious about her curvy, size twelve body.

“It’s a dragon term of endearment. And you are perfect.” He brushed his nose against hers, their bodies melding on the fur blankets.

He was the perfect one. He made her feel special in a way she’d never felt before. She wanted to be brave for him.

“Kiss me again,” she begged in a low whisper.

He lowered his head and she was lost in the sweet rush of his lips on hers. When he nudged her thighs apart, she opened for him and he slid into the cradle her body created. He used one hand to guide himself into her and she tensed as his hard shaft nudged her in entrance.

“Madelyn,” he purred in that rich, dark voice that made her melt. “Have you ever dreamt of flying?”

“No . . . what’s it like?” her words were an excited whisper. He feathered his mouth over hers, kissing her tenderly, but his lips were hot against her skin, making her relax.

“Flying is,” he stole another slow delicious kiss and slid deeper into her. “The most wonderful thing you can imagine . . .” He pulled back and then pushed deeper into her.

The sharp flash of unexpected pain made her gasp, but he covered her mouth again, a soft sensual plundering of lips and tongue. The heat between her thighs gave way to a throbbing need for something more.

“Are you all right?” he nuzzled her cheek, his warm breath and gentleness stealing her heart.

“Yes . . . tell me more . . .” she panted. “About flying.” She closed her eyes and little flashes of that glassy lake came back to her, the wind beneath her wings, the sun on her scales, the sense of oneness with the world around her . . .

Feel my heart, my soul. Be my mate . . . Grigori’s rich voice was as clear as day in her mind.

Grigori rocked gently against her, and the feel of his shaft filling her until she couldn’t breathe was almost too much.

“It’s a lot like floating through a dream. The cool condensation of the clouds clings to your scales and your wings.” He withdrew almost completely from her body before he thrust in and she moaned, throwing her head back. She let down every barrier she’d built and suddenly he was there . . . in her head, in her heart, filling her completely.

“And then . . . You free fall, the wind whips across your body and your stomach drops to your feet . . .” He was growling softly now, their bodies coming together harder, their breath catching as they climbed on an invisible height together. It was like nothing she had ever experienced. The maddening need to climax with Grigori locked inside her was driving her wild with a hunger for pleasure. Madelyn dug her nails into his back, not caring if she left marks. Something primal, ancient, inside her demanded that she claim him as he was claiming her.

“So . . . perfect . . .” Grigori almost snarled as he thrust into her over and over, harder and harder. Madelyn loved the pleasure/pain from each joining. She locked her legs tighter around his hips.

“More,” she begged. She craved his roughness, the domination, the power of his hold over her in this moment. Writhing beneath him, she fought him, demanding without words that he take more control.

He took her wrists and pinned them into the bed, completely trapping her and that was it. She exploded from the inside out with sheer, glorious pleasure just as he came with a wild roar. His pleasure and hers seem to rebound in her head, over and over. At his sudden roar, something deep inside her panicked like it had in the field when she’d seen Grigori and his brother battling each other. The tension in her body that had been tightening, coiling inside her and threatening to burst suddenly was unleashed . . .

BOOM!

Suddenly Grigori’s body was flying off the bed. He smacked into the wall, splintering the wood before he fell to the ground facedown.

No, no, no . . . The scream ripped from her throat as she stared in horror at her lover on the ground.

Madelyn, too exhausted to move fast enough, fell from the bed, her body struggling as she tried to get to him.

“Grigori, oh God!” She whimpered as she reached him. Panic and fear crashed together inside her, choking in the other words she might have uttered. She gripped his shoulder and rolled him onto his back.

“Please wake up.” She stroked his face, hoping he would stir. Before she could do anything else, the bedroom door crashed open and Rurik rushed in.