Page 61 of Blood Mosaic

Just as Roman brought her a bottle of spring water and a cut-crystal glass, she heard footsteps on the stairs leading to the plane. Glancing over her shoulder, she saw Oleg enter, followed a few moments later by Mika.

“Mr. Sokolov, welcome.” Roman gave him a deep nod. “Good to see you, Mr. Arakis.”

Pleasantries were exchanged, but Oleg’s eyes scanned the plane with clear intent, settling on Tatyana immediately. He gave her a curt nod, then greeted the other passengers like a courteous boss and ignored Tatyana.

He walked down the aisle, opened the cage, and sat in a seat, picking up a newspaper and opening it. Mika followed a few minutes later, chatting with no one but Oleg’s driver before he also entered the cage and closed the door behind them.

The moment the compartment closed, it was as if a switch flipped.

Dim lighting brightened, and the hum of electrical appliances and instruments started.

Roman and the second steward started moving around the compartment, handing out drinks and securing the compartment for flight.

Oleg called from the back compartment. “Blood-wine, Roman. Two glasses and a bottle.”

“Right away, Mr. Sokolov.”

Tatyana looked up and realized that Oleg’s seat was opposite hers, separated by four rows, but she was directly in his line of sight. Was it intentional?

“I protect my assets. And you are one of my assets now.”

She didn’t feel like an asset. She felt trapped.

Tatyana looked away from the strange man who now dictated her life and back at the book in her lap. It was a bestseller that her mother had picked up and shoved at Tatyana as she walked out the door.

Roman walked down the aisle with an open bottle of wine and two wineglasses, passing them through the slats of the metal cage without opening it.

“Thank you, Roman.”

“Of course, Mr. Sokolov.”

Oleg caught her curious stare. “It’s a Faraday cage. The only way I can fly.”

Tatyana said, “I thought vampires could fly.”

There was a low sound of laughter around the plane, and she felt her cheeks heat.

Oleg looked at her, the hint of a smile touching his lips. “Come.” He flicked two fingers at her in a come-hither gesture. “Take one of the back seats and talk with me. I cannot open the cage while the electronics are active, so you’ll be very safe.”

More quiet laughter.

Tatyana was tempted to ignore Oleg, but she had questions and she didn’t want people laughing at her. She grabbed her old messenger bag and her glass of water, moving to the farthest seat in the back that butted up to the cage where Oleg and Mika were sitting.

As soon as she sat, he held his hand out.

Tatyana stared at the hand. Mika was studiously ignoring both of them, sitting across the aisle in a chair that faced to the back and reading a book.

“Come on.” A snap of Oleg’s fingers and he held out his open palm. “You can reach in; I cannot reach out.”

“I told you the snapping was going to annoy me,” she muttered.

The corner of his mouth turned up, and Tatyana tentatively put her hand into the cage. She looked Oleg in the eye. “Why do you need a Faraday cage on an airplane?”

“It’s a special modification so I can fly.” His fingers wrapped around her hand. “Do you feel it?”

Tatyana frowned. The moment Oleg’s hand touched hers, there was a slight buzz, as if she were touching a covered wire. Gradually she felt the buzz move up her hand and her arm. At the same time she felt her heart start to race, and the hairs on her arm stood up. Her skin was impossibly sensitive when he rubbed his thumb over her knuckles. Her lips tingled.

Tatyana pulled her hand away, shocked by the sudden arousal Oleg had provoked with a single touch. “What is that?”

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