you came to be there in the first place?" Drake asked.
I hesitated a moment, unwilling to tell them about the blackmailer and amulet, but knowing the connection to Kostya might have some importance. As succinctly as possible, I told them about Cyrene's blackmailer, and how he'd sent me to retrieve an amulet.
"From Kostya?" Drake's expression was thoughtful.
"What amulet was it, did the blackmailer say?" Gabriel asked.
"No. He didn't tell me anything at all about it, not what it was, why he wanted it, or even how Kostya came to have it." At the thought of the amulet, a question arose. "What will happen to my things the committee took when I was arrested?"
He considered the question. "They'll remain locked up with them, I suppose. It would be rather awkward to request them to be returned now."
"Yes, but..." I bit my lip.
"Did you have something of value?" Drake asked, his eyes glittering as he sniffed the air a couple of times.
"Not really, although I will be in a world of hurt if I don't get my passports back," I said slowly. "I use them when I don't wish to be recognized."
"We will have another made for you," Gabriel said.
Drake sniffed the air again, then suddenly lunged forward, his face pressed into my breasts. I squawked and threw myself backward at the same time Gabriel snarled something.
"I meant no disrespect," Drake said as Gabriel shoved him back into his seat. "Your mate has been wearing gold. Recently."
Both dragons turned thoughtful gazes upon me. "Gold?" Gabriel asked, the pupils of his eyes narrowing. "You have gold?"
"No, I don't have gold," I said, amused at both of their reactions. "I touched a few of Kostya's things when I was going through his chest-he has gold."
"What sort of gold?" Drake asked, an avid light in his eyes.
"Was the amulet made of gold?" Gabriel asked at the same time.
"I think so. I don't know anything about the quality of gold, so I'm afraid I can't give you an estimate of its purity. It looked like Kostya had a lot of things, and almost certainly the phylactery was in one of the locked chests. There were three chests in all, two bound and locked. I didn't have time to look at them. I found the amulet at the bottom of the unlocked chest."
"Unlocked," Drake said, sitting back with a dismissive gesture. "He wouldn't keep anything valuable in an unlocked chest. This amulet must not be worth much."
"But it was gold," Gabriel said. "What else did you find in the lair?"
I couldn't help but smile at him. "I knew dragons liked gold-I didn't know it was a borderline obsession with you."
"It's not an obsession... well, a little one... but we do find gold incredibly..." He lifted my hand to his lips, his tongue painting my fingertips with fire.
"Expensive?" I asked, wondering that men who obviously had so much wealth could pant after a few bits of gold. "Precious?"
"Desirable," Drake said, his face aglow with avidity.
"Arousing," Gabriel corrected him, the sensual velvet tones of his voice affected not in the least by the fact that he was nibbling on my fingertips. I shivered as his tongue made little circles at the tip of one of my fingers.
"Yes, arousing. Very, very arousing." Drake frowned for a moment and whipped out his cell phone. "I must call Aisling."
I turned to Gabriel to give Drake a little privacy during his phone call.
"And what about you?" I asked, another shiver sweeping over me as Gabriel bit the pad of my thumb. "Does gold have an erotic effect on you, too?"
His quicksilver eyes scorched me. "Most definitely. I look forward to seeing you wear some of my gold pieces... and nothing else."
I was perilously close to flinging myself on him, so it was a feat of strength to drag my mind from the promise he so temptingly offered back to the present.
"Um... what was it you asked me?"
It took him a moment to gather his thoughts, as well, a fact that pleased me to no end. "Er... what you found in Kostya's lair?"
"Oh, yes, that." I thought for a few moments. "There wasn't much else in the unlocked chest. Some necklaces, the amulet, a couple of old-looking pieces of tapestry, and that's about it."
"You had no difficulty getting into his lair, then?" Drake asked, putting away his phone. "Did the blackmailer let you in?"
"On the contrary, he said it was going to be difficult to get in. But... well, there's a bit of a