Viktor: Heart of Her King (3 page)

It was only one more evening’s preparation, one more night’s sleep, and one short car ride before she came face to face with
the
Viktor Katsaros. Kat was not afraid to admit she was nervous, maybe even a little scared. Saying a silent prayer for guidance, she exited the elevator and found herself standing right in the middle of the most imposing entrance hall she’d ever seen...and she’d been in the Texas Governor’s mansion. As if that wasn’t enough, she looked out into a gorgeous expanse of living space she knew damn good and well was bigger than her house and was sure she was in the wrong place. Her perusal was cut short when the sound of someone clearing their throat had her spinning on her heels.

“Pardon me, ma’am. (Which sounded more like mum than ma’am.) Didn’t mean to startle you. I’m Jordan, your steward. Let me take your coat and then you can tell me where you’d like your belongings.”

Taking a step back as Jordan took his first step towards her, Kat asked, “Are you sure this is my room? I think there must be some mistake. This looks more like a...well...I guess I’m not sure what it looks like, but I know it’s a lot more than the suite I booked online.” 

Pulling a card from his uniform pocket, Jordan carefully followed his finger over every word Kat could see printed on the paper before he looked up, smiled, and announced, “No mistake at all, ma’am. The Royal Penthouse has been reserved for Katarina Romalesky, who judging from the picture I have here, is you.” He turned the registration card so she could see that it did indeed have her picture from the Roma Tech brochure on it.

“But there has to have been some mix up. I reserved the Junior Suite. Let me call down to the front desk and I’m sure Cecily will get it all worked out.”

Kat stepped to the glass-topped table where the phone sat and picked up the receiver as Jordan continued reading. “Your Junior Suite has been upgraded to the Royal Penthouse with the compliments of the hotel owner.”

Receiver still in hand, Kat spun around and asked, “The owner? But...wait...” She narrowed her eyes before continuing, “Who owns this hotel?”

With great pride, Jordan stood tall and proclaimed, “We were recently acquired by Katsaros Industries. The best for all of us if I’m not speaking out of turn, ma’am.”

“As in Viktor Katsaros?” She asked the question even though she knew the answer.

“Yes, ma’am. He also had that beautiful bouquet of flowers and basket of gourmet edibles delivered just for your arrival.” The steward beamed with pride as he pointed into the sitting area.

Following Jordan’s direction, Kat couldn’t help but gasp at the biggest, most beautiful floral arrangement she’d ever seen sitting beside an equally enormous elegantly woven basket filled to the brim with enough food to feed Yogi, Boo Boo, the Ranger, and any other stragglers who happened through the forest. Had it not been for the phone cord she’d wrapped tightly around her midsection during the last few confusing seconds, Kat had no doubt she would’ve fallen on her butt from surprise.

Why is Viktor Katsaros sending me gifts? Aren’t I supposed to be courting him? In a purely professional manner, of course.

Trying to act like she received expensive gifts in the course of her daily dealings all the time, Kat unwound herself from the phone cord and took off her jacket. She decided to go with the flow, at least until her meeting the next day with whom she was now thinking of as the infamous
Mr. K
.

She’d almost forgotten Jordan was in the room until he once again cleared his throat and looked down at her baggage. Putting on her best professional smile, Kat sucked it up and said, “Right. You need to know where to put all that luggage. How about the master suite and I’ll follow you so I know where it is, okay? A girl could get lost in a place like this.”

She was rewarded with the steward’s chuckle as he bowed. “Yes, ma’am, Miss Romalesky, as you wish.” Jordan rose up already holding her suitcases and headed into the palatial living area.

A quick right turn had them ascending what could only be described as a grand staircase. She followed the slow winding of the stairs, running her hands along the smooth mahogany railing and wondering exactly what Katsaros was up to.

It was no surprise to find the second floor just as beautifully appointed and completely decadent as the first floor. There were four bedrooms with linens so soft she had to believe they were woven by fairies and the same number of bathrooms decked out in honey onyx and Skyros marble. She only knew the details because Jordan had talked nonstop, giving her detail after detail of her lavish accommodations.

Finally, after returning to the first floor and shown the kitchen, guest bath, and wine pantry, Jordan headed for the door/elevator. One push of the button and the door slid open, the young steward stepped inside, bowed, and said, “Please call if you need anything, anything at all, Miss Romalesky. Enjoy your stay.”

Before she could answer, he inserted his card in the slot she knew was on the panel inside the lift, the doors closed, and she was blessedly alone. It wasn’t that Jordan was a bad steward. In fact, he was incredibly helpful and extremely likable...but Kat was beat. She needed time to think, to take in all she’d seen since arriving at the Corinthia.

Looking at her watch, she was shocked to see she’d only been in the hotel for a little over thirty minutes. It seemed like forever. Between the feeling of being watched and then the whole accommodation fiasco, not to mention the sleepless night before and her inability to nap on the plane, Kat was spent.

“I should be studying the proposal or deciding what suit to wear tomorrow. At the very least I should unpack my clothes so they don’t look like I slept in them, but I think I’m gonna take a long hot bubble bath and then a nap. I’m sure I won’t be sleeping tonight anyway and I’m about to drop.”

One hour and two glasses of wine later, Kat poured herself into the massive king sized bed with million thread count Egyptian cotton sheets. As she drifted off to sleep, the heavily accented voice that had become her obsession called to her.

“There you are,
amica mea
. It seems like forever since we last met.” 

“K
atsaros.”

“Hello, Mr. Katsaros, this is Carlyle. She just checked into the Corinthia.”

“I want hourly updates on her movements.”

“Yes, sir. As you wish, Mr. Katsaros sir.”

“Thank you, Carlyle, and remember
no one
is to know of your assignment.”

“Yes, sir, Mr. Katsaros,” were the last words Viktor heard as he disconnected the call and returned his cell phone to his inside jacket pocket. Carlyle had been a loyal steward since his eighteenth birthday, as had many generations of his family before him.

Viktor was sure Katarina would need to rest after her trip and therefore, not leave her hotel, but he was taking no chances. Although he’d avoided her thoughts at all cost since their brief phone conversation over three months ago, it had been impossible not to feel her growing anxiety throughout the night and during her flight. When it became intolerable, he’d ordered Carlyle to wait for her at the airport and follow her until their appointment the next day just to be sure she was safe and well. It would be all the chaperoning she would ever need because Viktor had no intention of letting her out of his sight ever again once she was in his grasp.

Staring out the window of his office on the thirty-second floor of One Churchill Place, the ancient supreme commander saw not the people and cars moving below him or the sun attempting to break through the clouds above him, Viktor Katsaros saw only the face of the woman who had haunted his dreams for well over thirty years. She was his obsession, his infatuation... his
everything
.

It was just as Zeus had explained so very many, many years ago. The instant Katarina Romalesky had entered the world, Viktor had known. He’d felt it in his soul. Every cell in his body had become supercharged. Everything around him more vivid...more alive. It was as if the three millennia before had been a preamble, a type of poor preparation for the moment
she
was born.

The world around him ceased to exist. The only thing that mattered was joining his consciousness with that of the
keeper of his heart
, his
custos animae.
The only woman in the world with the ability to keep his immortal heart beating. He’d expected resistance, was sure her newborn mind would rebel at his intrusion, but had been overjoyed to find the opposite to be true. Katarina’s consciousness had actually reached for him. Their bond was immediate and complete.

Over the years Viktor had been a mere shadow in the far reaches of her mind, out of sight but ever present, maintaining their bond while allowing Katarina to grow and mature. She had to make her own choices, had to live her own life, had to become the woman she was destined to be. It was the only way they would ever share an eternal life together. He could not interfere.

Katarina Romalesky was the strongest person Viktor had ever known in all his three thousand years. He remembered the day of her parent’s death as if it happened yesterday. The profound depth of her grief had nearly driven him to his knees. The breaking of her heart shattered his world. The mighty grip of her pain rushed across land and sea to steal the very breath from his lungs. His comrades, the other Kings, were forced to physically restrain Viktor as he fought to go to his mate.

Weeks spent chained to the stone walls of his castle, howling like an animal, fighting with all his might, needing to be by her side, had nearly driven Viktor mad. It was something he’d never before experienced and would most definitely never forget. Not even in death had he
ever
lost control.

Collapsing to the floor, spent, barely able to draw his next breath, Viktor had reached for Katarina’s mind, only to be met with a strength rivaling his own. Her determination pushed back his madness and allowed the King to think rationally for the first time in nearly a month. He stood in awe of her resolve to let nothing and no one, not even the loss of her parents, keep her from putting the pieces of her life back together. It had taken nearly a year but in the end, the keeper of his heart had taken control, pulled herself out of her own despair, and saved her father’s failing company. Now, eight years after the tragedy, Katarina was the youngest CEO of a company that had been recognized by Fortune magazine.

Her uncanny ability to see an obstacle, formulate a plan, and take action was something they had in common. Katarina was a warrior in her own right. Their union would be explosive and complete, a true meeting of equals.

Lost in thought, Viktor was forced to hide his surprise when the voice of his oldest and most trusted friend sounded behind him.

“Contemplating world domination?”

“But of course,” Viktor chuckled to hide his surprise. He couldn’t remember a time anyone had been able to catch him off guard.

“I’m sure your distraction has nothing at all to do with Kat’s arrival on our fair shores.”

Viktor thought about correcting Roman’s use of Katarina’s nickname just as he had every other time his friend had used it over the last three months, but decided there were more pressing issues. He watched as Roman strode towards the credenza, poured two fingers of single malt scotch, looked over his shoulder, then shrugged before downing his drink. His long-time friend made quite a production out of pouring himself another drink before making himself comfortable on the settee in the middle of Viktor’s office, then picking an invisible piece of lint from his trousers.

Never one to wait patiently, Viktor was forced to swallow his words when Roman looked him right in the eye and asked, “You ready for your big moment, old boy?”

Silently counting to ten to avoid punching his trusted comrade in the mouth, Viktor took a seat behind his large granite-topped desk and simply returned Roman’s stare. Had his assistant not chosen that precise moment to alert him to an incoming call, the supreme commander had no doubt they would’ve been sitting there for years. After all, they’d had a millennium to perfect the depths of their stubbornness.

“Mr. Katsaros, Mr. Giannopoulos is on line four. He says it’s urgent.”

“Of course he does, everything in his world is urgent,” Viktor grumbled under his breath before thanking Clara and pushing the speaker button on his desk phone. Achilles’, most commonly known in this century as Lee, voice immediately filled the tense air in Viktor’s office.

“Hey, Vik. How’s everything? Have you seen her yet?”

Viktor for once ignored the use of the moniker he despised and instead, leveled his stare at Roman, raising an eyebrow for effect. The man he’d known longer than any other at least had the decency to look embarrassed for sharing Viktor’s personal information with another of their comrades. The King knew he was overreacting. It was no secret that his mate walked the earth. They’d all been with him the day she was born, had been the ones to chain him up and keep watch over him after her parents died. His friends had all lived over two millennia and were well versed in the ways of their kind. All seven of them, the Kings of the Blood as Zeus had named them, were bound by blood, bound by death and resurrection, and bound by their unrelenting commitment to one another and the world they’d chosen to protect. That included each man’s
custos animae
...but still it pissed him off.

Salvatore, the youngest of their kind and the philosopher of the group, would say Viktor was projecting his anxiety on others and the younger man would be right. The time that Viktor must reveal his true intentions to Katarina and pray for her acceptance was close at hand. For the first time in his very long life, Viktoras Katsaros had to admit he was scared.

Clenching his fist until his knuckles turned white and his jaw until he wondered if he had broken a tooth, Viktor took a long cleansing breath before answering. “No, Achilles, I have not seen her yet. Our meeting is scheduled for tomorrow morning at nine a.m. Now, I am somehow sure you have more important things to worry about than my love life, so what can I do for you today? And please, for the love of all that is holy, stop calling me Vik.”