‘‘Cease!’’ Kostich yelled, his face red with anger as I stood with the pitcher over my head, poised to throw it at Gabriel. ‘‘This behavior is unacceptable. Bailiff, remove that woman from our presence.’’

‘‘I will not be treated in this manner!’’ I yelled, tossing the water onto the small man who had been picking up papers. ‘‘And you have not heard the last of me, mage. The sisterhood will hear of this treatment, as will the Council of Elementalists! I will have justice!’’

I turned on my heel as the now-sopping clerk headed for me, marching out of the room with my head held high. Drake, a silent figure with his two men, raised an eyebrow as I passed them. I gave him a head toss and strode angrily from the room.

‘‘As for your demands, Tauhou-’’ Kostich said, but I didn’t hear any more. The clerk didn’t touch me, but herded me unceremoniously downstairs and out of the building with a murmured request to not return unless summoned.

‘‘Hrmph,’’ I snorted at him as he went back into the building, heaving a sigh of relief at my freedom.

I wasn’t quite sure what I was supposed to do once freed, but I didn’t have long to wait. Before I’d taken a couple of steps, the dragons burst from the building, Gabriel yelling curses at Monish as he stood with the little clerk barring the door.

Gabriel stormed by me, Drake and the two others hot on his heels. None of them looked at me as they passed. ‘‘Hey!’’ I yelled, running after them. ‘‘I’m not finished with you, either!’’

The men stopped at a sleek black 1930s limo. I didn’t wait for an invitation; I pushed Gabriel aside to get into the backseat, praying someone wasn’t going to run out of the building calling for my immediate arrest.

It wasn’t until the car turned the corner and headed down a busy Paris street that I slumped back in the seat, but my slumpage was short-lived. Gabriel wrapped one arm around me and pulled me onto his lap, his lips finding mine in a way I could only applaud.

‘‘You make a hell of an actress,’’ he murmured against my mouth.

I smiled and bit his lower lip, my heart beating wildly. Part of it was from the adrenaline generated by the scene with Kostich, but most of it was due to the man from whose lap I was gently pushed.

I made a little noise of unhappiness as Gabriel’s mouth parted from mine.

‘‘I appreciate your enthusiasm, little bird, but now is not the time,’’ he said, nodding toward where Drake sat opposite us.

I pinched his hand. ‘‘You can’t kiss your own mate in front of another wyvern?’’

‘‘It is not fitting,’’ Drake answered, his face passive, although I could have sworn he was fighting a smile.

‘‘Fitting?’’

‘‘Dragon etiquette demands that mates be treated with the utmost respect in public,’’ Gabriel said solemnly. ‘‘Excessive shows of affection are frowned on when in the company of other dragons.’’

Gabriel’s words might have been staid, but his eyes were downright molten with desire.

‘‘Screw etiquette,’’ I said, grabbing his head and pulling him over to me. I groaned into his mouth as his tongue immediately twined itself around mine, sliding with sinuous, teasing movements that made me want to crawl on top of Gabriel.

‘‘Fire,’’ I whispered, tugging on his hair, and I felt his lips curve as I was bathed in dragon fire, filled with it, consumed by it. I reveled in its heat, in his heat, returning it to him with a joy that threatened to set my very soul on fire.

‘‘I hesitate to point out that the upholstery, while fireproofed, does have its limits, but this car is a favorite of Aisling’s, and I would hate for it to be out of commission.’’

Drake’s voice acted as water on the flames of our desire.

‘‘I should chastise you for such a breach of etiquette,’’ Gabriel said, his lovely voice husky with all sorts of sensual promises.

‘‘It won’t do any good,’’ Drake said, sighing. ‘‘I have tried many times to school Aisling, but she refuses to listen. It’s a very annoying trait in American women, I’ve found. Perhaps you will have better luck with May.’’

I snorted, giving Gabriel a gimlet eye. ‘‘Don’t even think about going there.’’

He grinned. I melted.

‘‘American women,’’ Drake said, shaking his head.

‘‘What’s going to happen to Cy?’’ I asked Gabriel as the gravity of the moment returned. ‘‘Does this plan of yours that she couldn’t tell me about include her rescue, as well?’’

‘‘She will rescue herself in about’’-he consulted his watch-‘‘two hours. Enough time for us to get you safely to England. Then she will reveal herself as the true naiad, claiming you drugged her in order to escape.’’

‘‘Won’t they notice that she hasn’t, in fact, been drugged.’’

‘‘She will be,’’ he answered cheerfully, his fingers stroking my leg. ‘‘She has a small vial containing a sleeping draught, which she most likely took as soon as you left the cell. Once she wakes up, she will no doubt make a demonstration of her naiad abilities, and since the committee has nothing with which they can charge her, she will be released.’’

‘‘That is pretty smart,’’ I said, giving him an admiring glance before doubt returned to worry the edges of my mind.

‘‘We thought so. And now that you are free, perhaps you would tell us how it is you came to be there in the first place?’’ Drake asked.

I hesitated a moment, unwilling to tell them about the blackmailer and amulet, but knowing the connection to Kostya might have some importance. As succinctly as possible, I told them about Cyrene’s blackmailer, and how he’d sent me to retrieve an amulet.

‘‘From Kostya?’’ Drake’s expression was thoughtful.

‘‘What amulet was it, did the blackmailer say?’’ Gabriel asked.

‘‘No. He didn’t tell me anything at all about it, not what it was, why he wanted it, or even how Kostya came to have it.’’ At the thought of the amulet, a question arose. ‘‘What will happen to my things the committee took when I was arrested?’’

He considered the question. ‘‘They’ll remain locked up with them, I suppose. It would be rather awkward to request them to be returned now.’’

‘‘Yes, but…’’ I bit my lip.

‘‘Did you have something of value?’’ Drake asked, his eyes glittering as he sniffed the air a couple of times.

‘‘Not really, although I will be in a world of hurt if I don’t get my passports back,’’ I said slowly. ‘‘I use them when I don’t wish to be recognized.’’

‘‘We will have another made for you,’’ Gabriel said.

Drake sniffed the air again, then suddenly lunged forward, his face pressed into my breasts. I squawked and threw myself backward at the same time Gabriel snarled something.

‘‘I meant no disrespect,’’ Drake said as Gabriel shoved him back into his seat. ‘‘Your mate has been wearing gold. Recently.’’

Both dragons turned thoughtful gazes upon me. ‘‘Gold?’’ Gabriel asked, the pupils of his eyes narrowing. ‘‘You have gold?’’

‘‘No, I don’t have gold,’’ I said, amused at both of their reactions. ‘‘I touched a few of Kostya’s things when I was going through his chest-he has gold.’’

‘‘What sort of gold?’’ Drake asked, an avid light in his eyes.

‘‘Was the amulet made of gold?’’ Gabriel asked at the same time.

‘‘I think so. I don’t know anything about the quality of gold, so I’m afraid I can’t give you an estimate of its purity. It looked like Kostya had a lot of things, and almost certainly the phylactery was in one of the locked chests. There were three chests in all, two bound and locked. I didn’t have time to look at them. I found the amulet at the bottom of the unlocked chest.’’

‘‘Unlocked,’’ Drake said, sitting back with a dismissive gesture. ‘‘He wouldn’t keep anything valuable in an unlocked chest. This amulet must not be worth much.’’

‘‘But it was gold,’’ Gabriel said. ‘‘What else did you find in the lair?’’

I couldn’t help but smile at him. ‘‘I knew dragons liked gold-I didn’t know it was a borderline obsession with you.’’