Chapter 13
Oleg
Everything I want.
Oleg sat near the fire in the library at his private home in Warsaw, flipping through the finalized wedding contract with Tatyana’s signature and seal.
They had formalized the final contracts two weeks after initial negotiations had been opened—relatively quickly by immortal standards—and according to vampire custom, they were now basically married, though the pomp and ceremony would start at the end of December.
He had worn the same gold-threaded kaftan to the signing ceremony that he’d worn to the ball, though Tatyana had worn a different formal Poshani dress.
The papers were then cosigned by Radu, Kezia, Mika, and Lidik, each vampire adding their signature and their personal seal in either wax or ink.
The signing dinner had been hosted by the Poshani, and Oleg and his people had been treated to traditional Poshani dancing, singing, and dining.
He had brought another sturgeon as a host gift, and while suspicious stares were directed at Oleg, he was pleased to see that Tatyana had received universal praise in the speeches.
Everything I want.
Oleg smiled as he ran his fingers over Tatyana’s crimson wax seal and the gold ink she’d used to press her mark into it.
It was perfect.
In the beginning of their public life, he and his mate would have to appear indifferent and mildly hostile to each other in public, but that would be fun.
Over time, they could warm to each other, as many arranged marriages did, and eventually the entire immortal world would bow to their union, acknowledging the shrewd alliance and brilliant maneuvering of the lord and lady of the Kievan Rus.
“You’re feeling very clever right now, aren’t you?”
Oleg looked up at his wife leaning against the doorframe, her arms crossed over her beautiful breasts.
He had heard and felt her approaching, but he’d chosen to sit in repose, his feet kicked up near the fire, waiting for the delightful sight of her annoyed expression.
He smiled, making sure it was wide enough that she could see his fangs. “Hello, wife.”
Clever? Yes.
He was also feeling very horny. They had not taken the chance of meeting privately throughout the negotiations, so it had been weeks since he’d had her in his bed.
Oleg continued. “I see you slipped away from the Poshani revelry to meet your fiancé.”
Tatyana shook her head. “My god, you’re so arrogant.”
“And you love me for it.”
She rolled her eyes, and a stray thought flitted through his mind: It is no wonder I adore you.
She didn’t move from the doorway. “What would you have done if Kezia had said yes?” Her eyes were narrowed. “It was a huge risk, Oleg.”
“Not if you know Kezia. That one will never marry.”
“She likes to be contrary. She might.”
“True, but I trusted in her innate dislike of me. I knew Radu would call a meeting of all the terrin, and she would reject the proposal.”
“Is that so?” She uncrossed her arms.
“I also trusted you to weigh in on the business consequences of her rejection.”
“Hmm.”
“You would very practically state all the benefits alignment with the Kievan Rus would bestow on the Poshani, which would make Kezia dig her heels in even more.”
She had uncrossed her arms, but she still didn’t move. “You were that certain?”
“Yes, but on the off chance Kezia had felt like being a martyr, I would have simply found something ridiculous to request during contract negotiations, which would have scuttled the plan.”
She narrowed her blue eyes. “You thought of everything, didn’t you?”
“To get everything I want? Yes.” He held out his hand. “Lady Tatyana.”
She slowly walked to him. “Are you really going to make Mika call me lady every night?”
“Yes.” He set the signed contracts on his side table and took her hand, pulling her into his lap.
His erection was trying to distract him, but Oleg ignored it. He wasn’t a newborn vampire even though his mate made him feel that way at times.
Oleg knew his wife, and he also knew she needed to think aloud for a moment while she was in his arms.
“My family is coming around to the idea of this.” She let out a breath as soon as his arms were around her. “More and more, they’re mentioning ‘my sacrifice for the clan,’ which means they do see the benefits that being formally allied to the Kievan Rus will bring.”
“Mm-hmm.” He nodded, then rested his chin on her shoulder. “And what about your mother?”
“She just laughed when I told her about it. Then she asked if she was going to have to go to any fancy vampire banquets, and I reassured her she would not.” She glanced at him. “She won’t, will she? She would hate it.”
Oleg shook his head. “There is no formal role for the mother of the knyaginya of the Kievan Rus because it is rare for a vampire to still have human family when they reach that level of authority.”
“I’m not going to have actual authority though, will I?” She frowned. “I thought this was a ceremonial role.”
“In public? Of course not. I will remain the supreme authority of my people. But privately, I will always listen to your advice. You will not always be right, but I will listen. I would be a fool not to.”
“You want my advice? You need to do something about your cybersecurity. You have no unified structure, and your organization is ridiculously vulnerable to—”
“I am meeting with an expert in immortal cybersecurity next week.” He kissed her temple. “Anything else?”
She put her arm around his shoulders, and her fingers brushed along the back of his neck. “You need to kill Ivan.”
“Mmm.” He shrugged. “There is no rush on that.”
The back of the neck was the most vulnerable place on a vampire, and her touch sent a thrill down his spine.
She said, “I heard about that processing plant in Mordovia.”
It was the last thing he wanted to talk about when her fingers had started to play with the hair at his nape. “Is that so? What did you hear?”
“Was it Lazlo or Rudov?”
“Does it matter?” His hand gripped her thigh and spread her legs, but she was too fast for him.
She turned in his arms, her quick fingers wrapping around the erection that had been pressed against her thigh. The fire in the hearth leaped as his amnis surged, the energy in the room turning electric.
“You know” —she pressed her lips to his neck— “I think I read about one more ceremonial tradition we must fulfill before our contract is final.”
Oleg smiled a little. “Is that so? Where did you read about this tradition?”
Her tongue licked up the length of his neck, and her hand tightened around his cock. “It’s very well known. Written about in The Guide for New Vampires Who Must Endure Overbearing Mates.”
“Surely this does not apply to you then.” Oleg ran his hand up her side, his hand slipping under the neat silk blouse she wore. “Since your mate is the most understanding of men.”
He teased the curve of her breast, his fingers reaching beneath her undergarments and pinching her right nipple to a hard, sensitive point.
She tried to twist away, but he locked his other hand on her hip, pressing her thigh into his erection, trying to ease the ache of his blood-engorged cock.
Tatyana released his erection and pulled at the zipper of his trousers, sliding her hand under the pressed wool and open fly of his boxers until her fingers could dance over him, teasing his flesh as she teased the vein in his neck with the tip of one fang.
“Wolf,” he hissed. “You know I want your fangs.”
She released him, climbing off his lap and slowly undressing until the firelight danced on every inch of her pale skin. Oleg stretched out his legs, stroking his erection with a firm grip as he watched her move toward him.
She straddled him in the velvet chair, lowering her body until his aching cock was seated in her heat. She rode him slowly, taking her pleasure in deliberately slow strokes as his mouth watered at the sight of her breasts and the curve of her neck.
Oleg wrapped his hands around her waist, lifting her up and down with aching deliberation despite the raging desire that made his blood surge and his heart thump.
He leaned forward, closing his mouth around the tip of her breast, and slowly slid his teeth into her flesh, their joined amnis buzzing over her skin as the pleasure of his bite spread in a wave of warm energy covering her breast, her shoulders, her back.
He felt her skin react to him, pebbling under his fingertips as her sex began to pulse around him.
It wasn’t enough. He was so thirsty for her blood that he pulled away from her breast, leaning her back along one arm as he bent and bit into the rise of her other breast.
She gasped and came again, her pleasure rolling in waves from the center of her body, up her spine, and along the nape of her neck where he grasped and held her to keep from falling.
Oleg lifted her up and held her to his chest before he stood. Tatyana’s legs wrapped around his waist, and he walked to the only wall in the library not covered in books; Oleg didn’t want his wife bruised, but he needed to fuck her.
Once her back was against the wall, he pinned her, thrusting his cock into her and releasing weeks of pent-up energy and anticipation. He felt the fire crawling over his skin and caught a hint of burned cotton staining the air.
“Yes.” Tatyana threw her arms around his neck. “My sun. My fire.”
He felt the kiss of water on his skin, and steam rose from his shoulders and his neck.
Oleg growled low in his throat, and Tatyana angled her head to the side, baring her neck to his bite.
The climax started in his cock, but as he bit into his mate, the pleasure radiated through his entire body, an explosion that rocketed through his veins and nearly made his knees buckle.
He leaned into Tatyana, his body heavy against hers, pressing her to the wall as he closed his eyes and let the elemental joining of power flow through him.
Like a drop of wine in water, the kiss of her amnis touched his and spread through his system as her blood flowed down his throat.