Dimitri (Immortals of New Orleans, Book 6) (16 page)

“What?” she said, blinking her eyes in disbelief.
Wait.
Where is he going?

“Sorry, cher. Gotta sit down. We’re taking off. Better buckle up,” Dimitri said with a wink. He enjoyed playing with Gillian, gauging her willingness to submit.

“Things were taking off, all right. Just came to a screeching halt.” She caught the sly grin on his face, and realized he was teasing her.

“You’re evil,” she said, feigning anger with him. Jake shook his head and laughed. She’d completely forgotten that he’d been there, watching them. “Both of you.”

Gillian crossed her legs and squeezed them tightly together. Her tiger roared, letting her know that she yearned for the beta. Gillian’s lips tightened in a fine line.
No, no, no. No submission. No mating. No giving up my nature
. She could feel Dimitri’s eyes burning through the back of her head as she stared out the window. The plane lifted off and soon there was nothing but blackness.

Dimitri’s dick was as hard as a lead pipe. Hours ago, they’d been intimate, and he couldn’t wait to be inside his mate again. Glancing at Jake, it wasn’t lost on Dimitri how his friend looked at Gillian. He resisted telling Jake to put his eyes back into his head, as they roamed her body. Her fiery spirit and quick wit would be enough for any man to find her attractive, but tonight, she looked incredibly sexy, her toned thigh peeking through the slit. Dimitri wasn’t the jealous type, having shared women with both Logan and Jake. Yet the wolf in him wouldn’t allow it until she’d allowed him to mark her as his, to begin the mating process.

Needing to talk with her alone, Dimitri gestured with his hand, in an effort to get Jake to leave. His friend shrugged in response and made his way out of the main cabin. Dimitri knew that Jake was probably thinking he just wanted to join the mile high club. While that option was fully on the table, he and Gillian first needed to clear the air about why she was so resistant to dating him. The knowledge that she was his mate was a secret that he couldn’t keep for much longer.

“Gilly,” he called to her with a smile. His kitten had been aroused by his words, suggesting the terms of her submission. He suspected that she was intrigued by it, the idea of Jake watching. Interesting that she’d conceal her desires, yet he looked forward to testing her limits.

“Yes,” she responded, her face still flushed.

“Let’s go lay down. The seatbelt sign is off and Jake’s gone up to talk with the pilot,” he said, pushing out of his chair.

Dimitri held out his hand, smiling as she put hers in his. He led them to a sofa that had a long chaise. He released her briefly, so he could reach up to retrieve a pillow from out of the overhead compartment. Throwing it onto the couch, he sat down, bringing her with him.

“Lie back,” he directed. Pleased that she did what he asked, he took her feet into his hands and slipped off her shoes.

“Not sure how you women walk around in these,” he commented, massaging her instep. Gillian moaned, and he laughed.

“Oh my God, that feels so good,” she sighed, laying her head back.

“So tell me, what’s the deal with not wanting to be around wolves? I know you didn’t want to tell me before at the theater, but now, it’s just you and me.”

“You want the truth?” Gillian’s eyes flashed open.

“No, I want you to lie to me. Of course I want the truth. No more coy excuses. The plan ole truth will suffice,” Dimitri told her.

“Seeing that we made love, I suppose I owe you as much. But for the record, I wasn’t trying to lie to you. It’s more like I was protecting myself.” She tried to pull her foot away from him, but Dimitri held her tight.

“No running. Spill.”

“I told you before that a wolf can’t mark me,” she explained. Even though his touch calmed her animal spirit, she’d never told anyone else and her voice began to tremble. “If I choose a mate, and I must be the one to make the decision, then it will happen. I’m a rare breed of tiger. Maljavan. That’s why I can mate a wolf. Most shifters can’t mate outside their breed. Even hybrids can’t, not unless they’re human.”

“No doubt, you’re strong enough to take on most wolves, individually anyhow, but I still don’t get why you don’t want to date a wolf.”

“Because…if I mate…” her voice faltered.

“Hey, it’s okay. You can tell me,” he cajoled. Dimitri released her foot, slid next to her and adjusted her body so that she lay on his chest.

“My tiger…she’ll die,” Gillian managed. It was the first time she’d said the words out loud.

“I’ll admit, I’ve never heard of a tiger, or any other shifter for that matter, mating with a wolf, but shifters don’t just die.”

“Mine will.” Gillian lifted her head and turned to look in his eyes. “She’ll die. My mother mated with my dad. The Alpha. Afterwards, she never shifted again.”

“She’s mortal? I thought you said your mom was alive?”

“She’s alive. She hasn’t aged but she doesn’t shift. Not ever. Jax said he thinks she may have turned wolf when she mated, but denied her beast.”

“What do you think?”

“Remember when I healed you?”

“Yeah?” Dimitri pulled her closer.

“Your wolf. It was weak.” Gillian slid her fingers underneath his unbuttoned shirt, touching his abdomen. “I can sense him. I haven’t done it very often but I knew. My mom, I’ve hugged her, touched her hand. I feel nothing. It’s as if she’s human.”

“But how do you know what you’re saying is true? Is there anyone else you can ask in your family?”

“I told you, we’re a solitary species. I don’t even know my grandparents. From the small amount of research I’ve done, it seems that if I mate with a wolf, it’s unlikely my tiger would survive. There’s a small chance that my wolf, which I highly doubt even exists, would show herself.”

“So you avoid wolves because you don’t want to meet your mate?”

“I can’t risk it.”

Dimitri sighed, disappointed that she couldn’t feel what he felt. He knew she was his mate. She hadn’t a clue. Worse, if she chose him, she might not be able to ever shift again. Yet he suspected there was more to the story.

“It still doesn’t make sense why Chaz is after you. What does he get out of it if you’re no longer a tiger?”

“I don’t know what he knows,” she lied. She didn’t want to tell him that whoever she mated with would receive the gifts of her tiger. He’d run faster, have the claws of a feline, would possibly even be able to shift into a cat.

“You’re sure about that?” Dimitri pressed, sensing she was hiding the truth.

“I don’t really know. Maybe he just wants to say he killed a tiger. It doesn’t matter because the only way I’ll mate is if I choose it. I’m very much like a human that way.”

“So if you met a wolf, your mate…you wouldn’t consider it?”

“Do you remember what it felt like not to be able to shift?”

“Hell yeah, it was terrible…” Could he ask her to give up her cat just so he could be with his mate?

“What if I couldn’t shift? Would you choose a mate who’d never be able to run with you? Someone who was practically human?”

“I’d choose the person I’m supposed to be with. Sorry, darlin’ but I believe in fate. I also believe in mates. You can call it chemistry, if it makes you feel better. But with wolves, we know when we find a mate…it’s meant to be. The more ya fight it, the worse it gets. The desire to mark, to mate her will become intolerable. The wolf must be satisfied. There are some things in life you can control and some you can’t.”

“What if you couldn’t shift? You felt what it was like on the beach that night, not to be able to shift. What if you were like that, vulnerable, forever?”

Dimitri grew quiet as she spoke his worst fear. Ilsbeth still hadn’t found a cure. The tonic in his duffle bag was only temporary. He hadn’t told a soul about his prognosis, not even Logan.

“You saw the witch?” When Dimitri shrugged in response, Gillian withdrew her hand from his shirt and pushed up to see his expression. “What? You saw her, right? I can feel your wolf now. What aren’t you telling me?”

“I saw her,” Dimitri said with a small grin.

“So? What happened? Did she do a spell?”

“Yeah.” Guilt churned in his belly as the memory of the naked witches played in his mind. He shouldn’t have let Ilsbeth so close. When she’d kissed him, he’d gone cold. Now that he’d made love with Gillian, the knowledge that he’d touched the witch made him sick.

“It worked?” Gillian brushed her fingers over his jaw.

“Yes.” Dimitri justified his answer by telling himself that his wolf was alive…for now. He questioned what to do with his mate. Not only could he lose his ability to shift, asking her to mate with him could cause her to lose hers as well.

“Is there something wrong?” she asked.

“No, cher. Just thinkin’ is all,” he answered. Dimitri yearned to tell her that she was his mate, but now that he knew why she’d avoided wolves, he doubted his original plan. His avoidance couldn’t continue forever, he knew. The more he was around her, the greater the attraction would grow. His wolf would demand that he mark her, mate her.

“If you’re worried about me being around your pack, finding a mate, I’ll just stay away from the other wolves. Jax will come for me soon.” She hoped. “We could always just stay in bed for the next five days. I’m sure that’ll keep me safe.”

“Now what makes you think that? How do you know that I’m not your mate?” he laughed.

“Well, I don’t know. I mean, I’m not a wolf, but wouldn’t I know something like that? I always just figured that some kind of wolf ESP would kick in if I were around wolves…that I’d just know.”

“And then?”
Goddess, she really doesn’t know.

“Well, I’d have to stay as far away as possible. That’s always been my plan.” She slid her hand lower, past his belly button and wrapped her leg over his.

“Someday, you may find that doesn’t work so well,” he advised. Soon, he’d be forced to tell her. The closer he allowed himself to get to her, the worse it would be when they had to part ways. As much as his wolf wanted this woman, he couldn’t be the one to kill her tiger.

“I never thought I’d date a wolf,” she reflected, her fingers grazing his beltline.

“You admit we’re dating?” Dimitri’s cock thickened as her fingers played with the trail of hair below his abdomen.

“I don’t know what’s really going on. I just know that tonight when you showed up, I was so relieved.”

“Not a fan of Nick?”

“Nick’s fine. He’s nice,” she said and took a deep breath. “But there’s something about you. I just…I don’t know what it is. Tonight…what you did to me, what we did. I’ve never felt that way before.”

“There’s something about you, too, cher.”

“I’ve never done anything like that in public…never even thought about it. It was crazy.”

“I’m looking forward to teaching you all kinds of things.”

“But Dimitri…we can’t keep doing this. It’s dangerous.”

“How so?”

“I don’t want to get hurt.”

“I’d never hurt you…ever.” His voice grew serious.

“But what if you find your mate?”

“What about it?”
You are my mate, little one
, he thought to himself.

“I’m not the kind of girl who plays around a lot. Between the wolves and not finding a tiger, I’ve only been with humans. They’ve never been enough,” she admitted.

“Too tame?” he guessed.

“Yeah, it’s just, like tonight…when we made love…God, I felt wild. I’ve never felt like that before.”

“So what’s the problem?”

“You could find your mate. I’ve heard that wolves don’t commit to anyone else. Don’t get me wrong, I mean, we just met, but I’m not a ‘friends with benefits’ kind of girl.”

“What makes you think I wouldn’t commit to a woman?”

“Because that’s how wolves are.”

“That’s how a lot of people are, not just wolves,” he countered.

“True, but humans are different. Hybrids are different. They aren’t sitting around waiting to find a mate. Seriously, have you ever dated someone for a long time, committed to them, knowing they weren’t your mate?” she asked.

“Well, no, but that doesn’t apply here.”

“What would happen if you committed to a girl and then your mate came along?” Gillian pinned him on the spot, getting to the crux of her argument.

“The attraction to one’s mate cannot be denied. There’ve been many women I’ve cared about. I’m not a callous man. But with my mate, it’s chemistry. Nature, fate at its finest. No matter who I’m seeing…who I’ve seen in the past, they will all pale in comparison to her.” Dimitri dug his fingers into her hair, loosening the pins. “I won’t be able to resist her. I may have been a single man, but she’ll change my life.”

“And that’s why we can’t continue. What if you find her? Even if you weren’t looking…”

“I haven’t been looking…it’ll be destiny.”

“Exactly. You won’t mean to hurt my feelings, but you will. You won’t have a choice.”

“I told you once…I’ll tell you a million times, darlin’, I’ll never hurt you. It’s not meant to be.” Dimitri wished he could tell her she was his mate, but now that he knew the truth about what their mating would do to her, he needed to think about what to do. As he twirled his finger into her hair, he wondered if maybe Ilsbeth could help them. She’d be pissed as hell, but even the witch couldn’t deny his preordained future.