“Private jet?”
Victoria nodded as she crossed the room, careful to avoid the papers that were scattered about the floor.
“Sorry about all that,” Kerstyn said, waving a hand toward the floor, “they were notes. I can’t seem to get this exhibit set up correctly.
With the right flow.” Her eyes scanned the walls. She had taped the photos of her historic displays to the areas she had assigned to each.
“Honestly, I think Gabriel should have picked a bigger room. I highly doubt the longship will fit in here along with everything else.” Kerstyn shook her head. Was she making any sense? Her thoughts were a mess and sleep tugged at the corner of her mind. For all she knew, she could be slurring her words.
“I am positive it will look wonderful.”
“Thank you.”
248
Victoria leaned against the card table beside Kerstyn and, for a long moment, a comfortable silence stretched out between them.
“Kerstyn,” Victoria finally said.
“Hmm?”
“I believe you made a wise decision.”
“Truly?” Kerstyn asked. “None of the men seem to think staying in Vegas is a wise choice.”
Victoria scoffed, “They are men. How often do they make a wise decision?”
Kerstyn’s laughter shook her shoulders. “I really needed to hear that I wasn’t being an idiot.”
“Good heavens, why would you feel as if you are acting idiotic?”
“It's dangerous to stay here and I know it would be better if I went with you―”
“Stop. You are where you belong, with Dimitri. Do not second guess yourself.”
Kerstyn ran her hands over her face.
Victoria reached out and rubbed Kerstyn’s shoulder, “Darling, have you slept?”
“Not much, maybe two or three hours. I can’t seem to keep still let alone try to lie down and sleep. After Dimitri left the room to meet Dorian and Gabriel, I came down here.” Kerstyn laughed. “I’m still wearing the same clothes from yesterday.”
“Have you eaten?”
Kerstyn shook her head. “I’m not hungry.”
Victoria nodded in understanding. “I know it must have been a horrific shock to learn of His Majesty’s vision.”
“It's a shock just to hear Dimitri referred to as ‘His Majesty’.”
“I know death is not the cause of your worry or your stress or your fear.”
Death,
Kerstyn thought. How a simple word can turn into a foe, she would never know.
“It's Dimitri.”
249
Kerstyn turned her head, her gaze meeting Victoria’s for the first time. The woman’s eyes were filled with knowledge and warmth.
“The two of you will be separated,” Victoria clarified, wrapping an arm about Kerstyn's shoulders. “Oh, sweetheart. I know how you feel. I was in a similar predicament.”
“Really?”
“Yes. There was a time, years ago, that I believed I had lost Dorian forever. I thought he had been killed.” Victoria cleared her throat and ignored the tears that glistened in her eyes.
“How awful,” Kerstyn whispered, her heart seized as she once again imagined losing Dimitri. Those dreadful thoughts were what had forced her from her bed and down to the museum. She had to do something to keep her mind off this coming weekend and the possibility of not only her death, but also a life without Dimitri.
“Yes. When Dorian and I met, the Red Order of Hunters were attacking his Clan and a traitor was trying to claim his throne. I knew that he would have to face and battle his enemy and he had asked that I not accompany him.”
“But you did?”
Victoria smiled. “He was concerned for my safety, but I was not going to allow my husband to march head on into danger. So, I understand exactly what you are feeling. Your emotions are out of sorts, but you need to focus.”
“That's why I'm down here. I thought I might as well focus on my work.”
Victoria moved to stand before Kerstyn, her hands lightly resting on the younger woman’s shoulders. “Nothing is going to happen to Dimitri. He has fought many battles and is very strong. You need to have faith in his abilities.”
Kerstyn’s eyes began to sting as tears blurred her vision. “I know,” she said with a sniffle.
“You remind me a lot of myself and your curiosity reminds me of my younger sister, Margaret.”
Kerstyn smiled. She would take the compliment. As far as she could tell, Victoria was a strong, kind, and intelligent woman.
“I’m sure you’re a wonderful sister.”
250
The usual happy light that glowed in Victoria’s emerald eyes dimmed as sadness glimmered across her face.
“Margaret passed some time ago. There isn’t a day that goes by I don’t think of her. She was such a sweet girl.”
“I’m sorry.”
Victoria shrugged away her sorrow. “Such is life. Margaret lived as all humans: she aged and married and, sadly, had no children.
Still, she was happy.”
“Did she know about you and Dorian?”
“Yes, we intended to keep it a secret. Dorian has the ability to mask his age. Through mind manipulation, he can change a human’s perception of him or others. As I said, Margaret was naturally curious, like you, and she quickly discovered our secret.”
“And her husband?”
“She married a Shaw witch,” Victoria answered. “Kerstyn, this life, as an immortal, is both a blessing and a curse. Dorian and I have been together for nearly two hundred years and I would not trade a moment for anything in the world. But, I have seen my share of death and have experienced more grief than any person should.” Kerstyn’s chest grew tight. Being with Dimitri for eternity would be wonderful, but out-living everyone she knew was not something anyone would want. Watching them all die while she remained young and healthy would be difficult and it was a pain she could not bring herself to think about now, especially not with everything else that was happening. Besides, Dimitri had made it clear as freshly Windexed glass that he was not going to change her.
Kerstyn flinched as a knock shattered her depressing thoughts.
Victoria gave her shoulders another squeeze before turning.
“My apologies, my lady,” Gannon said with a bow to Victoria,
“but your car is here and the flight has been set.”
“Lovely, I am ready to return home.”
Gannon gave Victoria a nod before turning his attention to Kerstyn, who still leaned against the card table.
“Are you sure you don’t want to head off to Europe? Tourist season is over so there won’t be a crowd.”
Kerstyn smiled and crossed her arms over her chest. “I’m sure Europe is lovely this time of year, but I think I will stay here in boring
251
old Sin City where I can enjoy the crowds all year long. Thanks anyway.”
Gannon gave her a wink before he stepped back into the main hall of the museum where he had been standing guard all morning.
Placing his hand over his wire earpiece, he said, “The queen is ready.” Victoria pulled a piece of the hotel’s stationery from the pocket of her designer jeans. “Hold your ground, Kerstyn. Do not allow these men to push you around. They are used to getting their way and it is up to us to see that it does not happen too often.” Kerstyn’s laugh eased some of the tension in her body. “It was nice to talk to another woman who has gone through this, makes me feel better.”
“Well, if you ever need to talk, just give me a ring.” Victoria pulled Kerstyn in for a hug. “Situations like these have a way of working out. And remember, you are where you should be, with your mate.”
“God, I wish you could have been my older sister,” Kerstyn said with a light laugh as she pulled away.
“You may think of me as such,” Victoria said with a smile.
The clearing of a male voice drew the women’s attention to the hall where Dimitri and Dorian stood just inside the Viking display room.
“My kitten, are you set? We must board our plane,” Dorian said.
Victoria nodded and bid Kerstyn a farewell and joined her mate. Dorian gave Dimitri a bow while Victoria performed an elegant curtsy before they headed for the museum exit.
“I am sorry for leaving the room so early,” Dimitri said, “with Ven expected to arrive Saturday, we needed to make sure every precaution was in place.”
“I understand,” she replied with a yawn.
“You should get some rest.”
“Are you saying I look like hell?” she teased.
“No.”
“I know my eyes are bloodshot and I’ve got dark circles under them, making me look super pale. I always look like that when I go
252
without sleep.” Kerstyn shrugged. “I wouldn’t be surprised if my teeth were turning yellow from all the coffee I have been drinking.”
“Would you like to come up to the room with me?” She glanced about the messy room. “I’ve probably put in enough overtime to skip work today,” she said with a tired laugh.
Kerstyn pushed herself away from the table and her knees buckled beneath her. She would have fallen had Dimitri not caught her to him.
“Always my savior,” she whispered against his chest. He was so warm and she felt so very cold.
He scooped her up in his arms and carried her from the museum. She buried her face in the crook of his neck, breathing in his dark scent. The instant he had stepped into the room, she had felt all the negative energy drain out of her; all that had been left was her exhaustion.
The casino was calm, though a few people were beginning to line up at the buffet, waiting for it to open while some sat at the slot machines. Kerstyn did not lift her head to see how many were staring at them as they crossed the floor to the elevator. She knew they had guards with them, men dressed in black suits with serious faces and hard eyes.
Her eyes drifted closed for a moment and when she opened them, Dimitri was pushing open the door to their room within their suite. He did not put her down on the bed as she expected, but continued on to the bathroom.
“Would you like a bath?” he asked as he set her down.
“Sounds heavenly,” she sighed.
Dimitri started the water in the Jacuzzi tub. She smiled as he sprinkled in salts and poured in some aromatherapy oils. Turning to the mirror, Kerstyn was not surprised by her reflection.
“Yep, I look like hell.”
Dimitri came to stand behind her. Leaning down, he wrapped his arms about her waist and, resting his chin on her shoulder, he whispered against her neck, “You are always beautiful to me, my angel.”
253
Kerstyn’s cheeks grew warm with a blush as she rolled her eyes. “Aren’t you sweet, but you don’t have to flatter me.” Turning in his arms, she kissed his cheek. “You’ve already got me, for keeps.” Dimitri smiled and pressed his lips to her brow. “The water is ready.” Kerstyn nodded and he stepped away. “Would you like something to eat?”
“Yeah, some blueberry pancakes, scrambled eggs and bacon with orange juice sounds divine,” she said surprised. Suddenly she was starving. “Did you do something?”
Wrinkles creased his forehead. “I do not understand.”
“I was completely exhausted, running on E and then I touch you and, poof, exhaustion gone. I wasn’t hungry, though I haven’t eaten since lunch yesterday and―”
“Magically you are starving?”
“Yes.”
“I can relieve pain, nothing else.”
“Then you have more of an effect on me than I thought,” she whispered, stepping over to the tub. She quickly stripped.
“I will call room service,” he said as he watched her sink beneath the water. Turning his back, he headed for the phone beside the bed.
Kerstyn stretched her arms over her head and pointed her toes.
The water felt amazing as her muscles went lax beneath the warm lavender-scented water. The jets felt wonderful against her lower back.
“Would you like a neck massage?” Dimitri asked.
Kerstyn glanced over to her vampire, who stood with his shoulder resting against the jamb of the door.
“Are you offering?”
He nodded.
“Okay, take off your shirt, drop your pants, and join me.” Dimitri’s light laugh made her heart skip and his smile sent a shiver down her spine as he undressed.
“Not planning on getting in the tub?” she asked as he came forward. He still wore his boxers.
254
“The tub is rather large compared to most, but I fear my frame would be overwhelming for its size.”
She laughed, the sound echoing in the bathroom. “I really get a kick out of the way you speak.”
Dimitri sat on the edge of the tub, placing his legs on either side of Kerstyn’s shoulders.
“Oh…dear…lor―” She sighed as he began to massage her neck.
Closing her eyes, she surrendered to the pleasure. Every worry vanished. Her mind went numb and the world dropped away. She didn't notice when her food arrived and was vaguely aware when Dimitri ordered Gannon to leave the tray in the bedroom.
Dimitri’s hands slipped forward from her nape and slid up to cup her jaw. Gently tilting her head back, he asked, “Feel better?” Kerstyn was unable to speak as she stared up into his hypnotic eyes.
“My angel,” he whispered before placing a soft kiss on her lips.
Releasing her face, he began to massage her shoulders. “The holidays are coming.”
Kerstyn frowned at his odd change in subject.
“New Year's is about two months away.”
“Provided we both make it past―”
His finger pressed against her lips, stopping her words. “We will,” he stated, his words stern.
She nodded in agreement. She needed to stop dwelling on the negative that
could
happen and focus on the positive that
would
happen.