us making love together, while wholly pleasurable, will not begin our mating. Only the bite and exchange of blood will do that.”
“What if I want to?”
Impossible to miss the hope that suddenly burned in the depths of Vladimir’s dark eyes. “You must be very sure. A dragon’s mating is for millennia, not the trifling fifty or sixty years of a human marriage. Once mated, your lifespan would henceforth be linked to mine.”
“And how long do dragon shifters live?”
“Several thousand years.”
Her eyes widened. “You’ve said you’re already a thousand years old.” Dear God! “Does that mean I’d get to live another thousand years too?”
“Possibly longer.”
“Wow.”
“Indeed.”
“What happens if I decide against the mating?”
“I take you back to St. Petersburg to live the rest of your human lifespan. You might experience a little discomfort at first at being separated from me, in the same way you have felt the itching beneath your skin, but I believe that will also fade with time.”
“What about my knowing you and your brothers are all dragon shifters?”
He shrugged. “It’s a knowledge you’ve had for the past ten years but, as far as I am aware, never shared with anyone else. I see no reason for that to change.”
She gave a self-derisive grimace. “Or that anyone would believe me if I did try to tell them about men shifting into dragons and living for thousands of years.”
He smiled slightly. “Exactly.”
Was Tanya thinking of mating with Vladimir?
Alternatively, could she bear to go back to her own life and leave this proud and aristocratic man to live the rest of his long life alone and unmated?
Did Vladimir deserve that?
As he had denied, time and time again, anyone in his family being involved in her parents’ deaths, a denial Tanya now believed, the answer to her question was a resounding no.
Did that mean she’d decided to go ahead with the mating?
Tanya gave herself no more time to dither on the subject. Instead, she held Vladimir’s gaze with her own as she slowly unfastened the belt on the robe before slipping it off her shoulders and discarding it completely. She was now as naked as he was.
As close as they were, it was impossible to miss the way Vladimir’s eyes darkened and the pupils dilated. His chest barely rose and fell as he breathed shallowly. As if he was afraid of breaking the spell between them if he made too drastic a move toward her.
The longer they stared at each other, the more Tanya was able to discern the emotions in the depths of that dark gaze. Respect for her. Admiration, again for her. Pride, also for her. And something else. Something that caused his eyes to burn with an intense fervor.
She was afraid to hope it might be love.
Her breath caught in her throat at the thought of someone as magnificent as Vladimir loving someone like her. Could he ever really do that, knowing what she’d once been and that she’d also tried to kill his brother? Vladimir claimed Vaughn had forgiven her for that, but had Vladimir?
There was only one way to find out.
“Bite me,” she invited huskily.
Chapter Twelve
Vladimir’s heart felt full with a swirl of deep emotions as he gazed at the woman destined to be his mate.
Tanya was obviously nervous beneath her air of bravado, as well as slightly apprehensive, but she wasn’t allowing any of that to stop her from vulnerably presenting her throat for Vladimir to bite.
Tanya truly was magnificent, utterly fearless in spite of her nervousness about the future.
So much so it was impossible for Vladimir not to have fallen completely and irrevocably in love with her.
An intensity of love which now prevented him from accepting the invitation to bite her.
Once upon a time, Vladimir knew he would simply have taken what Tanya offered, in the same way he had physically taken what he wanted from so many other women during the thousand years of his existence. But this was too important, Tanya was too precious, for Vladimir to simply take anything from her.
Which wasn’t to say he wouldn’t accept her offer to make love to him!
A naked Tanya was stunningly beautiful. Her alabaster skin was smooth as silk. She had full breasts tipped with rose-colored nipples, a slender waist, and curvaceous hips. Those dark curls covered her mound and the nubbin Vladimir had so enjoyed playing with the night before. And he wanted her long legs wrapped about his waist as he pounded inside her.
Vladimir’s cock, already engorged, had hardened to the point of