Page 5

I swallowed and took a step back, then another.

Theo stayed in place and laced his hands behind his back. He looked regretful but determined.

“Please, do not be alarmed, Miss Victoria, but I’m not going to leave you alone until the deal is finished.”

“Wasn’t the deal to accompany me during the work hours?” I asked, frustrated at the only place in the Sunset Mansion where I felt safe being invaded like this.

“No, Mister Cornello said ‘while she is in my employment’,” Theo corrected.

“Don’t you have anything better to do than, what, watch me sleep?” My shift started in the afternoon, so by now it was time to go to sleep.

“I’m here to assure your safety and that could never be a waste of my time,” Theo said earnestly.

“And you need to sleep in the same room to protect me?” I looked towards the ceiling, cursing whatever god was responsible for this farce.Is that you, Loki, you old trickster?

“The alternative is me spending the night guarding your door from outside. Say a word and I will do so,” Theo said seriously.

“Very well,” I called his bluff with my chin up high.

To my surprise, he nodded and left my room.

“Goodnight, Miss Victoria. Sweet dreams,” Theo said softly as the door closed behind him.

I went to sleep but a vision of a faithful guard dog protecting my door wouldn’t leave my mind. I tossed and turned until I finally got up with a groan. Cracking the door open revealed Theo was sitting next to the entrance, his eyes alert and wide open. I couldn’t let his cute butt freeze off in this cold and drafty corridor...

When he raised an innocent eyebrow at me Theo looked like one of those golden retrievers waving their tails as they waited to perform a trick for a treat.

“Get in,” I gave a defeated sigh and the blond man sprang to his feet with a grin. Weaponized cuteness truly wasn’t a joke. Those puppy eyes were lethal.

When the door closed with a definite click I stepped up to the bed and threw a pillow at Theo. He caught it from the air, robbing me of the pleasure of seeing the pillow hit him in the face.

“This is all you are getting,” I grunted out. “I don’t have any spare blankets but maybe we can scrounge something up tomorrow. Have fun with the floor.”

“Thank you!” the man called out brightly as I curled up in my bed.

Chapter Three

Tristan

“You felt it too, didn’t you?!” Matthias gripped my shoulders the moment we were behind the closed doors of my room.

He was on tenterhooks since the moment the run-of-the-mill negotiations took such an unexpected turn. And so was I, but I masked that much better than Matthias as I engaged the head of the Cornello family in verbal sparring. The mafia boss and I circled around each other trying to navigate the suddenly changed circumstances.

I came here for a business deal but I could gain so much more.

“Yes, I felt it too. And so did Theo,” I confirmed, letting emotion swell in my voice. “She... Victoria is perfect. Her blood calls to me. She is made for us.”

“Why didn’t you tell me? Tell us, that something like this was in the cards? Was possible for vampires?”

“I didn’t know,” I said. “I have heard stories about blood which smells and tastes like ambrosia and legends about fated matches between vampires and humans... but I thought those storieswere fairytales. There are so many myths about vampires and you know from personal experience most of those are absolute hogwash. I have never met a vampire who claimed to experience anything like we did with Victoria.”

“Fated match... I like the sound of it,” Matthias grinned. “But even if it is fate... let’s help it along.”

We looked at each other, completely in agreement. Hell or Heaven, we were going to do everything we could to make Victoria ours.

This felt like the last puzzle that was missing in my life. A reward from the Gods. A blessing.

Maybe someone up there had decided that after the life I had I deserved to finally taste happiness.