by Julia Mills
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.”
Laughter floated from the phone while Viktor prepared for whatever absurdity the comedian of their group was about to spew and he was rewarded for his preparation. “Well, since you have me running all over the world keeping the peace, I was wondering if you needed me to pick up anything special for the wedding? Say Indian Turmeric from the markets of Mumbai for the purification of your body and soul? You are, after all, like a million years older than her.”
“That will not be necessary,” Viktor growled before remembering Lee wasn’t supposed to be anywhere near Mumbai. “And what are you doing in India? You were to be in Australia for the opening of the mines.”
“Funny story...”
“Aren’t they all?” Roman added as he finished off his drink and shook his head.
“Don’t you know it?” Lee laughed out loud. “Hey, Roman, how you been?”
Needing to end the chaos around him and get back to his brooding, Viktor speared Roman with a look that said he might just cut out the other man’s heart if he answered. To Lee he repeated his question, but this time with more force. “What are you doing in India, Lee?”
Again a chuckle and then an answer, “What else? A lady. Doing what I do.”
Pushing his personal issues aside, Viktor gave Lee his undivided attention. Focusing on his friend with the powers given to him by Zeus as The Unum of their brotherhood, he asked, “What woman, Achilles?” At the use of his given name, Lee’s pulse jumped and his heart rate spiked.
Viktor could feel Lee trying to come up with a plausible explanation for why he’d changed his plans without telling his commander the truth. As hard as it was to wait, the King knew it was the only way he would get confirmation of what he already knew...Lee was tracking his own mate. Time stood still as the ancient warrior listened to his comrade’s inner debate.
Being the most open of all of them, Lee never tried to hide his thoughts from any of the Kings, even when it would have kept him out of more scrapes than any of them could remember. Viktor admired his friend for his openness but still wanted to wring his neck for breaking the code of their kind. Kings were never permitted to track, make contact with, nor in any way be a part of their custos animae’s life until she made her way to him. It was an oath they’d all taken before their original death. They simply could not interfere unless their mate was in mortal danger...then all bets were off.
Viktor knew this was not the case. He’d discussed it with Lee more than once. The young King’s mate was approaching her thirtieth birthday and still had given no indication she knew of Lee’s existence. Their initial bonding had been difficult to say the least, and over the years, Juliette’s adventurous spirit had nearly driven her King to distraction. Apparently, Lee had decided enough was enough and was going to stalk the keeper of his heart until she decided to notice him.
“Ah hell, you already know what I’m doing. Do I really have to say it?”
Lee sounded dejected and for the first time in a very long time, hopeless. For just a second, Viktor contemplated letting his friend’s indiscretion pass but knew he couldn’t; it was his duty and one the Father of all the Gods would not let him get away with ignoring.
“Yes, Achilles, unfortunately you know that you must admit what you’ve done.”
“Well, shit then. Let’s just get it over with. I’m in Mumbai because Juliette is in Mumbai. She’s on a dig for the Archaeological Institute of America in the Ghatkopar Hills during monsoon season. There will most likely be landslides and only the gods know what else while she’s digging her little heart out nine hundred and ninety-one feet above sea level. That has to count as her be
ing in mortal danger, doesn’t it?”
“You know it doesn’t, but if you give me your word that you will get on the next plane to East Kimberly and get that bloody diamond mine opened, I will consider your punishment complete. I think Zeus would agree that being marooned in the northern most region of remote Western Australia with a crew of a hundred aboriginal male miners is sufficient penance.”
There was silence on the other end of the phone. Viktor once again listened to Lee’s thoughts. His inner debate had turned to self-recrimination, something a twenty-nine-hundred-year-old immortal King of the Blood (or as they had been known since some man named Dracula wreaked havoc in the Carpathian Mountains in the 1890’s – vampire) simply should have no time for, but then Lee was a true original.
Finally, the man who’d been an expert archer for the ancient Grecian Army spoke, “Yeah, all right. I’m turning the jeep around.” Then under his breath he added, “Should’ve known better than to call. Why did I call?”
Dismissing Lee’s ramblings, Viktor responded, “Thank you, Achilles. Please do call when you arrive at your destination.”
“Yeah, whatever, you got it, Boss,” was the other man’s only response before the connection was severed.
“Do you honestly think he’ll leave Mumbai when his Juliette is once again tempting Destiny?” Roman asked, clinking the ice in his glass while staring off into space.
“I do. Achilles will not risk Zeus’ wrath.”
“Or yours...” Roman sounded as if he had more to say but was holding back.
Viktor was just about to question his friend when a soothing warmth rolled over him, stealing all thought from his mind. The scent of warm vanilla and sugar filled his senses while the feel of soft cotton brushed his cheeks. He knew he was feeling what Katarina was feeling. For the first time in almost a week, she was relaxed and if he wasn’t mistaken, a little tipsy.
Needing to be alone with his mate in the only way he could at the time, the King ignored his friend’s obvious need to talk. After promising himself he would check on Roman in a few hours, Viktor spoke as nonchalantly as possible while pretending to look at his computer screen. “I have a conference call with Tokyo in ten minutes. Are you training this evening?”
Viktor watched as his second-in-command shook off whatever was bothering him and once again wore the face of the-devil-may-care-playboy persona he showed the human world. Answering as he moved towards the door, Roman stopped with his hand on the knob. “Yes, I am. At last count, Sal, Tommy, and Bain were all joining. No word from Nik yet this morning but he closed Sanguinem last night, so I’m guessing he was falling into bed as we were rising from it. You joining?”
“Yes, I’ll be there,” Viktor replied, knowing it was the only way he wouldn’t end up pacing the sidewalk outside the Corinthia.
Looking over his shoulder before opening the door, Roman continued, “Don’t think I didn’t feel you lock us all out of your thoughts, but I’ll let you have this one.”
Not waiting for Viktor’s response, Roman opened the door and exited the room using his gods given preternatural speed. The ancient commander could only laugh to himself.
Who am I kidding? Who really cares? They know Katarina is here and what it is doing to me. They can watch what they have to look forward to.
All of his kinsmen had felt the birth of their mates. It was common knowledge that Katarina knew of his existence and had reached out to him. It was also no secret that he was less than six months from his three thousandth year. The year when without the bond between him and the keeper of his heart complete, Viktor Katsaros would simply cease to exist.
Not willing to waste these few precious moments he had with Katarina, Viktor shoved all thoughts of his comrades to the back of his mind. Pushing the black button underneath the edge of his desk, he grinned as the lock on his door clicked shut. It took no more than three seconds for him to put his office phone on Do Not Disturb and his cell phone on silent before he leaned back in his huge, overstuffed leather office chair and closed his eyes.
It took every ounce of his considerable control to keep from being an active participant in Katarina’s sensual dream. He recognized his own voice, as well as the shadowy form her dream lover had taken, and knew it was an exact replica of the only photo that existed of him on the internet. The picture had been taken many years ago. Not that it mattered since Viktor hadn’t aged since his original death but it was still the one time a photographer had gotten the best of him. No one would’ve ever been able to pick him out of a crowd from the image. He rather resembled the fake pictures of Big Foot he’d seen on the supermarket rags his assistant always read—tall, out of focus, and running. But it still irritated him that it existed.
He could no longer remain passive. Katarina’s pull was too strong. His resurrected heart beat with a renewed vigor as Viktor became a tangible participant in Katarina’s dreams. His place in her mind, as well as her heart, was beginning to take hold. Even though she was unaware, the King knew beyond all doubt it had happened the night they’d spoken on the phone. That simple conversation had solidified the future for both of them.
The ancient commander was pulled from his wayward thoughts as Katarina sighed his name in her dream. He watched the scene unfold as if it was a movie. It was the first time he was an active participant instead of a passive voyeur in her fantasy.
“Viktor?” she sighed, her arms outstretched, calling him to her bed.
“Yes, my deliciae meae?” he teased, knowing what she wanted but needing to hear her say it.
“Please don’t make me beg. I’ve waited so very long for you.” Her voice was so deep, so breathy, only a whisper on the wind. The ancient commander had a hard time controlling himself as the scent of her arousal perfumed the very air he breathed.
Slowly closing the distance between them, Viktor almost lost control when the tips of her fingers touched the skin just above his belt. He looked deeply into her heavily lidded eyes and saw forever. Never in his very long life had he imagined what it would be like to be joined with the only woman in the world who would ever truly know him.
Leaning over, he watched her eyes slowly close the rest of the way as her hands slid up his torso, across his sensitive nipples, and around his neck. He willingly went as she pulled him to her. Kissing first one eyelid and then the other, he kissed his way to her sweet mouth knowing the minute their lips touched he would be lost to her forever.
“Never has there been nor will there ever be a more beautiful woman,” Viktor whispered in her ear before kissing his way down her neck.
His hands slipped under the sheet to find his mate blissfully naked and craving his touch. Her back arched as his fingers moved up her ribs. She called out to him when he laid his palms over her tender nipples. Her well-manicured fingernails bit into his neck as he tore the sheet from her body and moved his body against hers, all the while continuing to torture her silky skin with his kisses.
Goose bumps covered her body as he reached between them to rid himself of his trousers and rubbed the back of his hand against her aroused flesh. Twisting his wrist, he ran his index and middle fingers up and down her quivering flesh, coating them both with the hot, wet proof of just how much she enjoyed his touch.
He smiled against the flesh of her ample bosom as Katarina rolled her hips in an effort to force his fingers where she craved them most. Needing to see her face when he entered her for the first time, even if it was only with his fingers and in her dreams, Viktor pulled back and leaned against his free forearm.
Katarina’s ivory complexion was the most delicate color of pink. Her cheeks almost glowed in the soft light of her dream world. As Viktor contemplated the sheer inconceivable beauty of his mate, she opened her eyes and smiled a lazy smile. His control snapped. He slammed his lips to hers, slid his fingers deep inside her, and began to do everything within his considerable power to give the keeper of his heart the pleasure she so richly deserved. He sought to mark her as his own, for a
ll eternity.
As he pushed her higher and higher, felt his dear Katarina coming apart in his arms, his desire was interrupted by an annoyingly incessant beeping just out of his reach. The farther out of Katarina’s dream he fell the louder the noise became, until Viktor was once again watching his mate’s vision instead of experiencing it with her. From one heart beat to the next, he was thrown completely from her dream back to the reality of his office.
It was then he realized Katarina had set an alarm. He should’ve expected as much. His mate would never sleep the day away with what she thought to be an important presentation hanging over her head. She was just too responsible.
Now, she was unfortunately awake, which meant the King had to retire once again to the deepest corner of her consciousness. Sighing, Viktor adjusted himself, uncomfortable from his unspent excitement. He chuckled despite the situation, remembering the last time he’d been this hard with no way to relieve himself he’d been thirteen years old, watching the prostitutes the officers brought along for entertainment on the battlefield perform their dance of seduction.
Standing, he once again looked out the window. Just as before, he didn’t see sky above him or the people below. No, all Viktor Katsaros saw was his future...the long happy future he wished for reflected in the glittering grey eyes of the keeper of his heart.
“Katarina, my dear Katarina, meum custos animae, cor meum...”
Chapter Three
Kat attempted to ignore the incessant beeping of the alarm she’d set for herself. She was in the middle of the most wonderful dream she’d ever had and refused to wake up until both she and her lover were completely and blissfully replete from their lovemaking.
Yeah, like that’s ever going to happen. I’m having imaginary sex with a man I’ve never met, who’s only ever spoken exactly forty-eight words to me, and wouldn’t know me from a bum on the street.