ROMAN: Fury of Her King (Kings of the Blood Book 2) (17 page)

“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, 
se agapó
. It seems like forever since we last met.”

NOW AVAILABLE

Her Mad Dragon, Dragon Guard #15

“You have 
got
 to be out of your 
bloody
mind
. You want 
me
 to ask 
that woman
 out
on a date?” Maddox bellowed. “Are you daft?”

The mad dragon threw his hands in the air and stared at one of his
oldest friends and three of the men he thought of as surrogate sons like they
each had three heads. It was obvious Kayne, the son of Lugh, the Celtic God of
the Sun, as well as a Guardsman, had been visiting his dad in the sun too long,
or maybe his complete loss of sense was from living in Hell as a hellhound for
a hundred years. Kayne may have worked hard to catch up with modern times with
his speech and actions but the old boy undoubtedly had a screw loose
somewhere.  And love had made the O’Reilly boys soft in the head. That’s
just all there was to it. In the last few months, all three had found their
mates and were blissfully mated.

Blech…

He’d seen them all fall like lambs led to the slaughter. Whipped
by a woman and being lead around by the nose. It was enough to make a grown
dragon cry. There was absolutely no way he was going to go act like a bumbling
teenager barely out of short pants and ask Calysta St. Kroix out on a date. A
date? What the hell was that anyway?

His four brethren were sitting around the table in the little
cottage he was occupying while staying at the lair, hell bent on coaching him
on the way to approach his mate. He’d known something was up when they’d all
four appeared at his door with pizza, beer, and MacAllan 36. These boys didn’t
spring for the good hooch unless it was bad news or a party…and this was most
definitely 
not
 a party.

“You’ve got to do something besides growl at her or run away when
she’s within a hundred yards. I know Calysta and she’s gonna get fed up with
your mangy ass before she really gets to know you if you keep acting like
that,” Royce said just before taking a huge bite of pizza.

Maddox thought he’d been granted a few moments peace while the
middle O’Reilly brother chewed, but Rory, the youngest of the brothers, quickly
added, “If you know, she knows, and I’m sure she’s wondering what’s going on
with you. You have to get a move on, old man. Your woman’s waiting.”

Groaning into his hands, Maddox scratched at his stubble, trying
to come up with a means of escape. Unfortunately, Kayne was sitting in front of
the kitchen door, Rian by the front door, and Rory was standing in front of the
sliding glass patio doors. The mad dragon was trapped and growing more
irritated by the minute.

Bastards knew I’d run…

How could this be happening? He’d lived over two hundred years
without a mate. What in all that was holy made the Universe think he needed a
woman in his life 
now
? And of all the creatures under the sun, a
witch? No, wait, not just a witch…
the
 Grande Priestess, the
witchiest witch there ever was.

Well, hell, now I sound like a children’s song.

 Thinking about the topic of their conversation, Maddox had
to admit, at least to himself, that Calysta was pretty enough. The Goddess made
sure her carnation on earth was the fairest in the land. His mate had
beautiful, long, strawberry-blonde curls that just tickled the crest of her
perfectly rounded bum, emerald eyes that shone so bright he felt as if he was
falling into them with every look, skin resembling the finest porcelain, lips
that begged to be kissed, and a body with curves that made his palms itch and
his mouth water.

She was not too tall and not too short, just the right height.
There was no doubt she would fit perfectly with his arms across her shoulders,
pressed against his side, or writhing from pleasure in his bed. But it was her
voice that drew him to her and her voice that still called to him in every
dream, waking or asleep. It was just smoky enough to be sexy, lively enough to
be feminine, and melodious enough to calm both man and beast. For the first
time in decades, the mad dragon felt calm just from the sound of Calysta’s
voice.

“Hey, asshole. Wake up. I’m trying to help you out here.” Kayne
rapped him on the shoulder and added, “Time’s a wastin’. You’re sure as hell
not gettin’ any younger.”

Jumping to his feet, he turned on the demi-god like a rattlesnake
turns on a mouse and roared, “What the fuck do you know? You’re not mated.
You’re older than I am. What the hell am I even listening to you for anyway?”

Shoving his chair to the side, the mad dragon stomped to the
refrigerator, grabbed a beer, and stepped to the side before leaning against
the kitchen counter. He could see his brethren staring at him, could hear the
buzz of their mindspeak and thought about telling them to all get the hell out
but knew it wouldn’t do any good. Opening his beer, he took a long drink then
watched out of the corner of his eye as Rian, the oldest of the O’Reilly
brothers and the Leader of the Blue Thunder Clan, walked towards him.

Preparing for what was to come, Maddox blew out a long suffering
breath and shook his head. He was just about to tell the Dragon Leader to
bugger off when Rian said, “Before you tell me to go to hell, just listen. I
know what a pain in the ass you are and you know what a pain in the ass you
are. That’s one of the reasons why you retreated all those years ago. But don’t
you think the Universe knows what She’s doing? Isn’t it you who’s always
preaching ‘The Universe doesn’t make mistakes’?”

Rian stepped forward, opened the fridge, took out a beer, and
stepped back before continuing. As he spoke he opened the bottle. “The Almighty
knew it would take the strongest, most stubborn, most magical, most
understanding and kind woman on the planet to deal with your foul humor and
lookie there, Calysta appeared.”

Lookie? Really?

Maddox needed time alone in the worst way. He needed to think, to
figure out how the hell he, of all people, was going to handle having a mate.
He thought about flying off to his mountain. A few weeks of solitude would do
him good, but what if Rory was right. It would be a miracle since the little
jackass didn’t have a clue most of the time, but stranger things 
had
 happened.
What if Calysta did know? What if she was waiting on him to make the first
move? If that was the case, he’d already disappointed the one person in all the
world who was made just for him.

Way to go, Maddox…

Lost in thought, Maddox nearly dropped his beer when Rory tapped
on his shoulder.

“Jumpy, old man?” The youngest O’Reilly brother chuckled.

“I was thinkin’,” Maddox grumbled.

Shaking his head, Rory leaned his shoulder against the
refrigerator. “I know you’re freaking out, but you’ve got to get over it and
make your move.”

Kayne and Royce joined the conversation with the demi god putting
his hands up in surrender and chuckling. “I know you think I don’t know what
I’m talking about but I’ve seen a lot of couples get mated, and I know one
thing for sure…time waits for no man.”

“Kayne’s right, Maddox. You gotta get your shit together and get
over there. Talk to her. I swear, it’s easier than you think.” Royce was
grinning from ear-to-ear, making the mad dragon wonder exactly what he 
wasn’t 
saying.

“I know there’s something you’re not telling me. I can feel it in
my bones. You assholes are up to something. I just can’t figure out what.”
Maddox growled, took a long swallow of his beer, and then tossed the empty
bottle in the trash. Leveling his stare at each of them, he promised, “But I’ll
figure it out and then I’m gonna kick your asses. That’s a guarantee.”

It took the better part of the next hour to get Rian, Royce, Rory,
and Kayne to shut up and leave. He finally had to promise to take the early
morning training class of the new Guardsmen just to get them out the door.
Taking out the trash, the mad dragon looked at the cloudless sky and once again
wished he was back on his mountain. Up there, away from civilization, he could
call his dragon and take flight whenever he liked. Flying helped him think,
make sense out of things that simply seemed ludicrous everywhere else. It was
the thing he missed most about being back with a clan. Well, that and his
solitude.

Deciding to take a walk, Maddox headed for one of the smaller
lakes at the back of the lair. It was quiet enough there for him to think and
as close to the wilderness of his home as he could get for the time being.
Walking through the woods, he listened to the cicadas, the beautiful song of
the nightingale, and the mating call of a male tawny owl. A few minutes later,
the mad dragon actually smiled when he heard the female owl’s reply. In nature,
unlike his world, everything was simple.

  
Even the flippin’ birds are havin’ a go at it…

He replayed his ‘ambush’ from earlier in the evening. Knew the
guys had his best interests at heart but couldn’t shake the feeling that there
was something they weren’t telling him, something he 
needed
 to
know. It was possible Calysta had already decided to ignore their mating. She
had been wed before, had a grown daughter and an entire nation of witches to
govern. What the hell would she want with a crazy old dragon like him?

He knew the mating bond had started. Felt it the first time they
locked eyes. If she was to turn away from him now, it meant that he would never
love another, could never be with another, and would never have children. It
wasn’t that any of that really mattered. For all intents and purposes, Maddox
had given up on the happily ever after dream a very, 
very
 long
time ago.

Sitting on the far side of the lake, hidden by the shadows from
the half-moon brightly shining on the large oak tree he was leaned against, the
mad dragon watched the ripples in the water as a school of fish broke the surface
to feed on the mosquitos flitting about. It was nice to be alone, let his
thoughts wander, be one with his surroundings. These were the things he missed
after his return to civilization.

He knew they all thought he was crazy for wanting to be alone.
Dragons were supposed to be in groups. They were supposed to thrive on the
comradery, flourish in the togetherness, work together towards a common goal,
and there had been a time when that was what he believed too, but things had
changed. Friends had died. Missions had failed even when they’d looked like a
win on paper and Maddox had simply had enough.

The sound of approaching footsteps pulled the mad dragon from his
memories. Shifting to his knees and using the foliage for cover, he watched and
waited. Night blooming jasmine and sage scented the air seconds before a vision
in white broke through the trees. His breath caught in his throat, his heart
beat a profound staccato rhythm in his chest, and his dragon purred at the
sight of Calysta gliding towards the lake and kneeling at its bank.

It took all his considerable control to stay put. Both man and
dragon longed to join her. The mating call was at full strength and demanding
that Maddox act upon his impulses. Drawing upon his incredible strength, he
resisted. He had to be sure. Needed to know that she truly wanted him, would
accept him and all his faults. Had to be sure that this whole calamity was not
a figment of his overworked imagination.

Unaware of his presence, the Priestess took a small satin pouch
from the pocket of her gown. Gently loosening the drawstrings, she poured a
combination of aromatic herbs into the palm of her right hand before laying the
empty sachet on the ground. With just the tips of the fingers of her left hand,
Calysta touched the surface of the water and transferred a few tiny drops of
liquid into the herbs.

Bowing her head, his little witch began to pray as she sprinkled
the damp herbs over the surface of the water. They rode the ripples like tiny
surfers fighting to remain close to the one whose hand they’d just touched. It
only added to the ambiance of the moment, as if all things, both great and
small, were hanging on Calysta’s every word. The reverence of her tone was awe
inspiring and the emotion filling the air an inspiration. He was mesmerized as
the beauty of her prayer unfolded.

I come to you, Goddess of All, seeking wisdom and comfort. Please
help me shine light on what is dark in the world. Help me strengthen and repair
what is weak and broken. Bind the negativity that threatens my faith. Banish
the doubt and heal whatever sickness lives within me. Help me find the peace
and love that has been taken from us and use me as a beacon of Your everlasting
devotion and hope in Your world and Your children. Show the path that is Your
will. Let me always walk in the light of Your love. I am Your humble servant,
now and forever. Blessed be.

Maddox had never been what most would call a ‘religious man’. He
believed all blessings flowed from the Universe. He knew Fate had a wicked sense
of humor and Destiny could be a cruel mistress. He was thankful for every
breath he drew and every day he had on earth, even if he did bitch and moan
through most of them. He had faith. Some might say he was spiritual but none
would ever accuse him of the kind of devotion he’d just witnessed as he watched
the woman meant to be his mate pray to her Goddess.