Viktor: Heart of Her King (4 page)

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 being 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 all 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...” 

K
at 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.

“Good grief, I’m a mess.” Kat groaned in frustration as she slapped the clock with one hand and felt the cold empty space beside her with the other. Huffing her bangs out of her face, she jerked her hand away from the empty sheets and ran it through her tangled red curls.

She was being irrational, childish even, and the worst part was she knew it. There was no way any man,
especially
Viktor Katsaros, was going to sneak into her room for an afternoon tryst. It was stress, had to be...maybe even a little jet lag. It was the only explanation.