“Mmm.” His hunger sated for the moment, now her mate was purring. “I can already hear your objections.” His lips whispered across the line of her jaw. “‘A waste of money. Useless luxury.’”
“It is a useless?—”
“They make you look like a goddess.” He pulled back and met her eyes with his fierce stare, which had always reminded Tatyana of a bird of prey. Her own personal firebird. “They make you look like a queen.”
“Can we not have this conversation when you are literally in me and still hard?”
“There is no better time to have any conversation than when I am in you and hard.”
Now she was laughing. “Oleg, put me down.”
“No.” He kicked off his trousers and stepped out of them. “You installed that giant copper tub for a reason, and we are making use of it.”
“I can walk.”
“Do you think I’m going to drop you?” He was still wearing his suit jacket, his button-down shirt, and his handmade leathershoes when he started up the stairs. He slapped her bottom and lifted her higher. “I am not one of your soft little office boys.”
“No, you’re the most arrogant man who has ever lived.”
“I know. You’re welcome.”
They lounged in the tub,letting the steam curl around them. It was Tatyana’s one indulgence in each house where she resided. There would be at least one bathroom with steam vents and a massive tub so she could relax for hours.
She could warm her body with her immortal energy, but her base temperature was cool now. Being surrounded by heat made her feel a little more human.
And there was nothing that made her feel more human than leaning against Oleg’s muscled chest, his skin hot to the touch while he played with her hair.
She closed her eyes and luxuriated in the sensation of her blood moving within him.
“I want to create a piece on that wall.” Oleg spread his hand out, gesturing to the wall that faced the tub where two arched windows looked out into the clear night sky. “A landscape perhaps. Create a focal point with a full moon. Or a sunset to bring in warm tones.” He ran his fingers along her hairline. “Yes, a sunset. Bring in the reds and golds to complement the copper in the fixtures you’ve picked.”
She sighed against his chest, happily releasing the last of the tension she’d woken with at sunset. “The only problem is that I would not be able to use this bathroom for months whileyou sneak away from Odesa to secretly install a mosaic in a bathroom I only use a few times a year.”
His fingers froze. “You could spend more time here.”
“Because it’s only an hour flight to Odesa?”
“Bucharest is a lovely city, and this is a delightful house.”
It was far easier for Oleg to sneak into Bucharest with some kind of business excuse than it was for him to fly to Warsaw, even though the flight was only one hour longer.
For five years, they had existed in this limbo, playing rivals and reluctant allies to the outside world while trying to create some kind of relationship that only their closest confidantes knew about.
Even Radu—as much as Tatyana trusted him and as much as her brother liked Oleg—did not know they were blood mates.
Did Radu know Tatyana and Oleg had been lovers? Yes.
Did he suspect they still were? Maybe.
It wasn’t something she spoke about with either of her fellow terrin.
Tatyana turned her face and pressed her cheek against Oleg’s chest. “I can try to be here more. I do like this house.”
“Yes.” His voice was more positive. “It’s very cozy.”
“It has five bedrooms, seven bathrooms, and a front and back garden in the middle of the city.”
“Like I said. Very cozy.” He kissed the top of her head. “You do know I’m going to compensate all your drivers, don’t you?”
