Vladimir (Russian Dragon Heat #1) - Carole Mortimer Page 0,14

the heart for.

Vladimir wasn’t fooled for a moment by Tanya’s less combative behavior when Dimitri escorted her into the dining room shortly before eight o’clock that evening.

The small, round dinner table had been set intimately for two, as Vladimir had requested. If the Mikhailovs were curious as to the strangeness of this request, they didn’t show it by word or deed.

The tablecloth was snowy white, with silver cutlery and sparkling cut-glass wineglasses appropriately placed next to the black tablemats Vladimir favored. The glasses had a distinctive half inch of gold about the rim and were produced on Murano, an island close to Venice where the famous glass was made.

Vladimir wore tailored black trousers and a black shirt which, as requested, had two buttons unfastened at his throat.

Despite her earlier comment of having nothing to wear, Tanya looked beautiful this evening in a loose red silk top worn over fitted black jeans.

It pleased him that she had left her black hair in a loose and silky cloud about her shoulders and down her back. Her lashes were naturally long, but she had added mascara to them this evening to make them appear even longer, along with a red gloss that drew attention to the fullness of her lips.

Not that he thought Tanya cared one way or the other what pleased him, nor was he fooled for even a moment by the guileless expression in her deep blue eyes as she looked at him. He had set them on a course earlier by revealing his desire to bed her, but he was sure Tanya now had her own ideas of where that admission would take them. No doubt it would include Vladimir’s death rather than their mating.

Mine.

Patience. Vladimir sent that soothing emotion to his restless dragon.

Tanya was unlike any other woman Vladimir had ever met; strong, stubbornly determined, and most of all, completely unimpressed by who and what he and his brothers were. Nor did she seem to fear the strength of the physical power they wielded as dragon, from the tips of their wings to the end of their tail.

Because of Tanya’s complete lack of awe, Vladimir would not be able to use the offer of an extended lifespan to coax her into mating with him either, a ploy that would have succeeded in seducing many other women. Nor could he simply tell her of their mating bond and expect her to comply with the fierceness of the mating, the bite, and the exchange of blood that would ensure they were joined as mates for the rest of Vladimir’s long life.

Currently, his mate was being skittish, as indication she would either fight him or refuse him.

As such, Vladimir was fully aware Tanya had her own agenda for the evening ahead of them. No doubt one in which Vladimir’s head was removed from his body with one of the dinner knives on the elegantly set table, which she eyed keenly whenever she thought Vladimir wasn’t looking.

“Something amusing you?” Tanya prompted when Vladimir gave a rueful smile at the thought of what he believed she wished to do with one of those knives.

He shook his head. “I am simply happy to be here with you.” He spoke the truth. He did feel lighter in spirit just being near his mate. Inwardly, his dragon purred his agreement.

Making a complete nonsense of Vladimir having fought against accepting this mating these past months.

He should have known there was no walking away from the bond with a mate.

His brother Karl had learned that when, having physically completed the mating, his female had then refused to accept him or his dragon. Karl had died only weeks later, the woman not long after.

Even without their physical mating, Vladimir was fully aware of his bond with Tanya. A bond she seemed unaware of as yet, but which would cause Vladimir to be the one to suffer, emotionally as well as physically, the longer they delayed completing the mating.

Perhaps.

Having read the journals of Tanya’s parents, Vladimir had come to that different conclusion regarding the Petrovs’ interest in the dragon shifters and their desire to write down everything they discovered about the Romanov brothers. He doubted it was a conclusion Tanya would willingly accept.

“Let’s eat.” He moved to pull back one of the dining room chairs in invitation for Tanya to sit down. Her cautious gaze remained fixed on him as she did so. “I have a story I wish to tell you,” he added lightly as he shook out and placed