“Will there be anything else, my lord?”
“Stop calling me that?”
Mikhail just stared at him, mouth shut but posture speaking volumes.
Nikolai stepped into black pants, part of his typical street-fighting uniform, and yanked them to his waist. He reached for the little leather pouch he always carried on him. That his friend thought to bring this to him made his throat go tight. He cleared it as he tucked the bag in his front pocket. “Where is she?” he asked, tugging a T-shirt over his head. When Mikhail didn’t answer, he turned.
The warrior’s expression had him bracing for bad news. The man pursed his lips, then said, “The dungeon, rear cell.”
Chapter Six
A series of metal clinks preceded the pounding of boots down the corridor outside Kate’s cell. Weighed down by exhaustion, hunger, an oppressive headache and a sore butt, she stayed seated on the cot, back against the wall, knees drawn up in front of her.
A low, terse exchange echoed off the stonework a moment before two big bodies filled the doorway in front of her.
My vampire!
She flew forward on the bed, her feet settling on the floor. She fought a groan and gripped the metal edge of the frame to keep her balance. This damn headache. But it didn’t matter, because her vampire was standing before her. Conscious. Healthy. More gorgeous than any man she had ever seen.
Those eyes. Those bright sapphire eyes. That’s what she noticed first—not just their incredible color, but their haunted intensity, the way she could almost feel them raking over her in return. Golden-blond hair flowed past his broad shoulders, though it wasn’t braided like that of the black-haired warrior who stood at his side.
She sucked in a breath and glared at the other man. He was the one who had pretended to want to talk, but had really just distracted her so the gray-eyed vampire could jump her.
Her vampire cut his gaze back and forth between them. He bit out a question Kate couldn’t understand because he asked it in German. She frowned.
The exchange went on for a moment, and Kate pushed off the bed and took a step toward the door. Another. She just needed to make sure he was really okay. After everything. And the closer she walked, the farther her body wanted her to keep going.
Both vampires turned to look at her and she froze.
Heart kicking up in her chest, she met her vampire’s bright eyes and asked, “Are you okay?”
Light seemed to flicker behind his gaze, which dragged down her body and focused for a long moment on her blood-covered legs. He cocked his head as if not understanding her, though she knew she’d spoken in flawless Russian. Finally, he met her eyes and nodded. “I am well. And I understand you had something to do with that.”
Kate’s stomach flip-flopped at the sound of his voice, deep and much more commanding than what she’d heard in her mind. She felt it like a physical touch. She shrugged. “I tried.”
“Katherine—” the other one interjected “we are in a bit—”
She groaned at his use of her name. She’d never made introductions—had never been given the chance. “My passport. Right? You took my passport?”
The man nodded. “It was necessary. Your belongings will be returned to you.”
Kate crossed her arms, not sure whether to trust his words or assume they were simply a ruse, same as he had done in the alley when he’d distracted her. “And you’re Mikhail, right? Since you know so much about me, it’s only fair I know a little about you in return.” Her gaze shifted from the dark vampire to the one she’d saved, who wore an expression that appeared almost amused.
“Yes, I’m Mikhail—”
“Nikolai,” her vampire blurted. “And you, your name is Katherine.”
A thrill shot down her spine. She loved the sound of her name on his voice, as if his tongue caressed the letters. “Yes. I go by Kate, though.”
He shook his head. “Katherine is a beautiful name.”
“My lord—”
Nikolai held up a hand. The gesture was full of an authority the other vampire responded to immediately.
My lord? What was that about?
The blond vampire scowled. “Leave us, Mikhail. And give me the keys.”
Intrigued, she watched the warrior obey and depart with a final glance her way.
Alone again, Kate wasn’t sure what to say. God, he was tall and broad. She remembered the muscular feel of those shoulders. She wanted to run her hands over him and prove to herself he was well. She wanted to press her face into his neck. Instead, she stood there watching, waiting, hating the iron bars that separated them. But maybe it was better to have the barrier. It would keep her from caving into his allure as easily as she’d done before.