Viktor:Heart of Her King(4)

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.

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.