AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Vladik lowered Zori to her feet but didn't let her go. He moved to reveal Anton, Maxim's head of security.
Vladik's lip curled. "She's not going anywhere that she doesn't want to."
"Zoria, you had your fun. It’s time to go home. Dr. Bogrov is expecting your call," Anton said firmly.
Vladik went to move, but she grabbed his arm. "Don't. It's fine, Vladik."
Zori gave his hand a squeeze before moving around him and going to Anton. He somehow already had her coat and put it around her shoulders.
Zori swallowed hard and looked back at Vladik. His eyes were troubled, but his face was stone cold. "It was nice to… Nice to meet you."
She turned away, her heart clenching, and let Anton lead her out of the club. There was no point in fighting. She'd learned that long ago.
Outside, the snow was falling heavily. Anton opened the back door of an SUV, and she got in. Vladik came out of the club entrance, and she gave him a small wave, helplessness crashing over her. She just wanted one night of freedom.
"You could have taken longer to find me, Anton. Let me have some fun for once," she said, hating how sad she sounded. In the past, he'd given her at least three hours.
"I'm sorry, Zoria, but Moscow is a dangerous place, and I couldn't risk it," Anton replied. "Dr. Bogrov has enemies in this city, and he would never forgive himself if he lost you."
Zori doubted Maxim would notice she was gone, but instead of saying it, she leaned her head against the glass and said nothing.
3
Vladik stared at the black car disappearing through the snow before his body sprang into action. He bolted down a side alley and launched himself into the sky, his human skin melting away to the dark gray stone underneath. His wings snapped open, and he flew high up into the snow-choked clouds.
He didn't need to be able to see them; he knew exactly where that fucking car was going. Maxim Bogrov had been number one on his shit list for ten years. It was Zoria that had been the surprise.
Vladik had heard rumors of the ward Maxim kept hidden from the world. He just had no ideawhathis ward was, and by the looks of things, neither did she. She carried a relic of Kitezh around her neck and didn't seem to know how dangerous that was either.
What the fuck was going on? It wasn't until Maxim's lackey had turned up that Vladik even realized whose pretty nipple he'd had in his mouth. He'd been one step away from carrying her to the nearest bathroom and fucking her brains out.
Vladik had wanted a drink after a long day of trying to track Maxim's activity, now that the piece of shit was back in Russia. Zori crossing his path had been pure luck.
Or Fate,the voice of the high priestess said in the back of his mind. She believed that Morana would give him the perfect way to infiltrate Maxim's tower, and for the first time, Vladik believed her.
He had only been in the bar a few minutes when he'd heard Zori's cry of sorrow on the dance floor. It was pain and yearning, and Vladik had been drawn to her like a dying moth to a flame. His kind had been created to protect. He'd felt her soul reach out and grab him by the throat.
He hadn't felt her magic or smelled the creature within her, but he had been drawn to her all the same. Her taste had given it away, sweet and addictive. His beast had taken over, needing her to surrender to him so he could take care of her. His lust fueled brain had still been processing the presence of Morana’s pendant in her bra when Anton turned up.
Vladik should have grabbed the man and forced him to let him into Maxim's tower. Instead, he had stolen Zori's phone out of her back pocket.
High in the clouds, Vladik welcomed the stinging ice on his face. Hopefully, it would make some common sense sink in. He landed on the roof of a building opposite the tower, his wings folding neatly behind his back. If anyone looked up, they would only see a gargoyle, not a beast on the hunt.
Vladik had used this perch more than once to check on Maxim's tower of death. The bastard had been out of Moscow for years, and when he did visit, it was only for a few days. Zori had never been with him.
The side of the penthouse that had always been dark, now had all its lights on. The door opened, and there she was.
"Zoria," Vladik murmured. The name suited her. The Zorias were the goddesses of the dawn, midday, and evening. His Zoria had tasted like midnight and had made desire burn like starlight in his veins.
He didn't understand his reaction to her. His people called him Iron Heart for a reason. He was not a gentle being, but he had wanted to be for her. Vladik yearned to kiss her until the sorrow melted from her eyes, her screams of sadness turning to pleasure.
Oh yes, he wanted that. He could still smell her arousal, see the stark desire in her pretty eyes.
Vladik's claws cracked the concrete beneath them as he watched her strip off her corset, the adorable harness, and the leather pants that clung to her curved, plump ass like a second skin. She was down to her bra and panties, a scrap of lace so skimpy, it could hardly be considered a garment. He wanted to rip them off her with his teeth, knowing they would still be wet and taste of her from their too brief encounter. He really needed to finish what he had started on her pierced nipples.
She disappeared into the bathroom, and he felt like he could breathe again.
Vladikneededto get into the building. His brother, Misha, had been captured by Maxim years ago, and he needed to find out what happened to him. Not knowing was eating him alive, and he couldn't get distracted by Zori unless it was to use her. The idea didn't give him any joy. She seemed to be a prisoner just as much as Misha was.
