by Julia Mills
Quickly slamming the gate closed on her imagination, Kat cleared her throat and answered, “I can be there in ninety days, if that works with your schedule.”
She knew she’d taken too long to answer when her eyes met Roman’s and his cocky grin was replaced with a sly smile and a twinkle in his hazel eyes. Kat imagined a similar, sexier grin on Viktor Katsaros’ face before clamping even tighter on her wandering mind.
Thankfully, Viktor was quick to respond, “No sooner?”
Letting out the breath she’d been holding, Kat responded, “No, sir. That’s the soonest I could make the trip.”
She knew it was a lie—or a business maneuver—as Leo, her attorney, liked to say. There was absolutely nothing keeping her from packing up that very night, grabbing a ticket, and taking the redeye to Heathrow, but she didn’t want to seem too eager. Keeping the fact that Roma Tech needed KI more than KI needed Roma Tech would be her secret for as long as she could keep it. “Always leave them wanting more” was her father’s philosophy and one Kat had adopted her first day as President and CEO of what had then been a failing tech company in a small town in West Texas.
There was also the tiny issue of typing up the proposal she’d so expertly given to Roman. She had been writing and practicing it in her mind for months but never took the time to put it on paper. It was important that it have copious details with all the charts, bells, and whistles she could manage. It was going to take a hat trick to make this deal a reality, but she was up to the challenge.
When Viktor spoke again his voice was even lower, somehow more seductive, and his accent thicker. “If that is the soonest you can come, I shall count the days to your arrival.” Then to Roman he replied in a totally matter of fact tone, “Thank you for the call, amicus. See you tomorrow.”
The rest of the banquet had been a blur, just as the last three months had been. Kat spent every day and most of every night preparing her presentation, while running Roma Tech and trying not to lose her sanity from the nightly visits of her dream lover.
Just as she’d expected, it was Viktor’s voice she heard in every dream, more compelling with each appearance. So real that every time she awoke, her hand automatically searched the other side of the bed for him.
Kat knew from all her research into Katsaros Industries that only blurry, out of focus photos existed of its withdrawn owner. But that simple fact did not keep her from searching at least once a day with the hopes that something she’d missed before would magically appear. Of course, nothing had, so she’d depended on her incredible imagination while constantly reminding herself it was unprofessional to mix business with pleasure.
But oh, what pleasure I imagine it could be.
Grinning at her own joke, she planted her best black stiletto on British soil for the first time and headed to retrieve her luggage. Apparently, the heavens were shining down on her, because her bags were the first onto the carousel. Her luck continued to hold as she walked out into the dreary London morning and straight into a waiting cab to be immediately whisked away to her hotel.
Viktor had offered to have his car pick her up at the airport when she’d sent her itinerary to him and Roman a week after their phone conversation. Once the initial shock of a personal response from the CEO himself had worn off, Kat had politely declined. She needed him to see her as a capable, worthy partner despite her age and gender. It was a daily battle and one she would not let stop her from taking Roma Tech to the top.
As her taxi stopped in front of the Corinthia, Kat had a moment of wide-eyed awe. Never in a million years would she have guessed the building before her had at one time housed the Ministry of Defense. The restoration the building had undergone left it in absolutely gorgeous condition. It was like nothing she’d ever seen.
For just a second, she felt like a princess finally arriving at her castle. Sadness threatened her mood as Kat thought of all the fairy tales her mom had read to her over the years and the times her dad had played the part of the horrible beast keeping the princess captive in the bell tower. She missed them so very much but knew they were looking down on her with pride. Life had dished Kat up a bushel of lemons and she was making lemonade as fast as she could.
The fact that she was a country girl at heart would always be her best kept secret from the professional world. Sure, as an only child taking over the family business had been in her thirty-year plan. Right along with marrying the man of her dreams and having two beautiful children. She’d always imagined she and her spouse running the company together after her parents had retired but destiny had other plans, and now it was time to take her father’s dreams worldwide.
Smiling to herself, she jumped as the hotel attendant opened her door and extended his hand. Quickly paying the cabbie, Kat gently accepted the bellman’s help and exited the vehicle. There were several other stewards unloading her luggage while she was escorted through the pristine glass double doors into the hotel lobby.
If this is any indication of what my suite looks like, I may never go home.
It was all she could do to keep from gaping at the opulence before her. There were chandeliers as far as her eyes could see, glittering like diamonds against the silver and white ceiling. Marble columns strategically placed around the perimeter of what she counted to be at least ten separate alcoves stood at attention like palace guards protecting the groups of patrons who sat either at delicately adorned tables sipping morning tea, or in the more informal settees. A splash of pink decorated every tabletop as a light, fresh fragrance from the bright fuchsia flowers kissed the air around her.
Kat’s heels lightly tapped the geometrically patterned marble floor as she made her way to the front desk. A cute young woman with short brown hair whose nametag read Cecily looked up and smiled as Kat approached.
“Checking in?” the younger woman asked with a thick British accent.
“Yes. The name’s Romalesky.”
“Katarina?”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
It took only a few moments for Cecily to confirm Kat’s reservation, secure her credit card, and hand over the key to her suite, but as she was waiting—Kat couldn’t help but feel as though someone was watching her. Looking over her shoulder, first one way and then the other, she saw only hotel patrons enjoying their stay. No one looked out of place or seemed to be paying an inordinate amount of attention to her. Shrugging, she returned her attention to the clerk.
“Enjoy your stay, Miss Romalesky. The bellman will be waiting in your suite with your belongings.”
“Thank you, Cecily.”
Kat entered the first mahogany paneled elevator, ‘lift’ as Cecily had called it, she came to. As the doors closed, she shoved her key into the slot as she’d been instructed and let out a deep sigh of relief. The slow upward motion helped to soothe her increasing anxiety. She took another deep breath and leaned back, letting her eyes slide shut for just a moment. It was the first time she’d been alone in nearly fourteen hours.
Not that Kat was a hermit or a recluse like the man who was quickly dominating her every thought, it was nothing like that. She enjoyed being around people. Had always loved the comradery of friends and had a blast chatting with the people at Roma Tech. Goodness knew she could talk to anyone and had on many occasions struck up a conversation with another shopper at the grocery store over whatever product they were both looking at.
But this was not the Piggly Wiggly and she wasn’t in Texas anymore. This was real life and she was about to enter the race with the big dogs. Correction, the biggest dog of them all, the one that not only won every race, but also owned the racetrack. The future of her company, the one her father had built from a workshop in the back of their garage to one with its shares traded on the NYSE, was at stake. The one she saved from bankruptcy after both her father and mother were killed in an unexplained single car accident on a clear fall night would be sold to the highest bidder if she failed. The one that had the only interactive graphic chip with artificial
intelligence capabilities in the world would fall to the wayside if KI declined. It all depended on her ability to convince an elusive billionaire, who to the best of her knowledge never did partnerships—only believed in takeovers— to take a chance on her. It was all more than a little daunting.
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.”
Chapter Two
“Katsaros.”
“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.