Page 8 of Viktor’s Temptation (East Coast Territory #2)

“Gracie,” Viktor said, his tone firm but not unkind. “You need to concentrate. This is important.”

“I am trying!” she snapped, her frustration boiling over as she leapt to her feet. She gripped her hair tightly, her fingers curling into the strands. “Why is this happening to me?”

Viktor rose as well, and the sheer size of him made her heart pound even harder.

She turned to him, her silver eyes meeting his stormy grey ones.

His expression was grim, but beneath the hardness she caught a flicker of…

kindness? No, that couldn’t be right. Men like him didn’t care about women like her.

“Who are you?” she demanded, her voice trembling.

He let out a heavy sigh—not with his lungs, but with his entire body. It was a gesture that spoke of centuries of weariness. “You know who I am,” he said quietly. “As for the rest, that’s what I’m trying to discover.”

He stepped closer, and Gracie instinctively backed away, her heart racing. The creeping pain in her body was back, but it was mingled with something else—an awareness of him that she didn’t want to feel. It was too much. He was too much.

“I won’t ever hurt you, Gracie,” he said, his voice steady.

“I know,” she whispered, surprising herself with how much she believed him. She hugged herself tightly, both to ward off the growing ache in her body and to suppress the maddening pull she felt toward him.

“You’re feeling it again, aren’t you?” he asked gently.

Gracie’s eyes widened. How did he know? Was he reading her mind?

“Yes, I can read people’s minds. That’s one of my gifts. But no, I’m not reading your thoughts at the moment,” he said, as if answering her unspoken question.

“How did you…?”

“Because I can read your body language, Gracie,” he replied, stepping back to give her space.

Her eyes followed him, betraying her struggle. He was so lean, yet his body exuded power, the muscles beneath his dress shirt visible with every subtle movement. She forced herself to look away, but the image of him was burned into her mind.

“Gracie?” he prompted, forcing her eyes to lift from his chest. He handed her a bag of blood.

She took it, but didn’t open the bag. “What?”

“The parking lot. Did you sense anything unusual?”

Gracie closed her eyes, trying to push past the jumble of memories and focus. She tilted her head back slightly, her mind replaying the moments she’d walked to her car. Had there been someone lurking? Watching?

“No,” she finally said. “I didn’t sense anything.”

“Good. What happened next? You drove home?”

“Yes. It’s a ten-minute drive. My house is pretty close to the hospital.”

Viktor’s eyes narrowed at that. “You bought the house alone? Or with your fiancé?”

Her chin lifted, pride flickering briefly in her expression. “It’s my house. I met Warren after I bought it.” Then she froze, her mind offering her a flash of…something!

“What?” Viktor demanded sharply, catching the flash of emotion in her eyes. “What did you just remember?”

Gracie’s lips parted, the memory hitting her like a punch. “Warren kicked me out of my own house!” she spat, her voice shaking with anger.

Viktor’s jaw clenched, his fury palpable. “Why? What justification could he possibly have for that?”

She hesitated, stunned by the intensity of his reaction. Viktor looked like he wanted to annihilate Warren, his hands curling into fists at his sides. The protective rage in his expression took her breath away.

“He said I wasn’t good enough for him,” she whispered before she could stop herself, her voice laced with bitterness and hurt.

Viktor’s expression darkened, his fury sharpening into something dangerous. “That man deserves to answer for what he’s done to you,” he growled, his voice low and lethal.

Gracie shivered, torn between gratitude for his protectiveness and terror at the depth of her own feelings. She couldn’t crave his touch. She couldn’t let herself want him—not when wanting had only ever brought her pain.

Viktor let out a stream of what Gracie suspected were expletives, but since they were in an unfamiliar language, she couldn’t be sure.

“Tell me everything,” he urged, his voice carefully controlled. She looked into grey eyes that were suddenly glowing with a silver light.

“I’m trying to remember. But the memories still aren’t clear after I arrived home.”

She watched as Viktor took a deep, steadying breath. “Did you drink anything when you got home?”

She paused again, trying to picture the night in her mind. “No. Not that I can remember.” She frowned thoughtfully and blinked. “Wait. There was…!” She stopped, tapping her head with one hand, trying to remember.

He moved closer when she hesitated, his hands lightly gripping her upper arms. “Think, Gracie. What did you see or sense?”

“Another man was there!” she gasped. “Warren was angry because…” she clutched the side of her head. But the harder she concentrated, the more intense the headache grew. It was so bad, her stomach roiled warningly.

“Enough,” Viktor commanded and released her. For a moment, she thought he was going to walk away. Instead, Viktor reached out and pulled her in to his chest, holding her close and stroking her back.

Gracie breathed in the scent of him and wished she could just curl up right there and stay forever. But that was ridiculous. Viktor was helping her. She’d never impose her needs on him, especially when those needs would more accurately be defined as “desires”.

“Relax, Gracie,” he soothed, taking her hand and leading her back to the sofa. “You’re in pain again, aren’t you?”

“Yes,” she whispered, realizing she was unable to hide it at this point.

“Drink this,” he ordered, tapping the bag of blood still clutched in her hand. He even sliced it open for her.

Gracie felt her heart leap with joy at the sight of the blood, which was so wrong! She shouldn’t crave blood! She wasn’t a vampire! She was just…!

She gulped the blood down without missing a single delicious drop. As soon as the blood hit her system, the vicious needles receded. Even the headache settled. He handed her another bag and she started to reject it.

“The pain will come back if you don’t drink more.”

She sighed and accepted the bag. This one was cold and she looked up to find another stranger standing beside Viktor. He seemed vaguely familiar. But she focused on drinking the next bag of blood. Thankfully, the pain receded completely this time.

In fact, Gracie didn’t just feel a lack of pain.

She felt…strong! Just like earlier, her bones and muscles tingled, as if they were growing stronger by the moment.

Which, as a nurse, she knew wasn’t how that should work.

Growing muscles took time and effort. And she definitely didn’t put in the effort.

Not with her work schedule. She regularly worked twelve hour shifts, often longer depending on the surgery, and the surgeon who requested her in the operating room.

She took pride in the fact that doctors fought to have her by their side when operating.

When the second bag was empty, she slowly lowered it to her lap and stared up at the two men.

Viktor’s expression was bland, but oddly compelling.

The other man…he was classically handsome.

His dark hair and blue eyes matched his tall, muscular body.

The man was scary, but instinctively, she knew that he wouldn’t hurt her.

He didn’t seem to think much of her though.

However, he was holding more blood bags, so Gracie decided to forgive his grumpy demeanor.

“Her mind was wiped,” the grumpy man announced abruptly.

Gracie’s eyes widened as she looked from Mr. Grumpy to Viktor. The latter’s grim nod confirmed the statement, sending a ripple of unease through her.

“Wiped?” she asked, her voice shaky. “What does that mean?”

Her head swiveled between the two men, panic clawing at her chest. Mr. Grumpy looked as though he’d rather be anywhere else, while Viktor’s gaze softened as it landed on her. Immediately, he stepped forward and gently took her hands in his.

The warmth of his touch was startling, and to her shock, Gracie felt an overwhelming urge to step closer. She wanted to press her cheek to his chest, to let his arms envelop her, shielding her from the chaos swirling in her mind.

What is wrong with me? she thought, horrified by her reaction. This couldn’t be real—none of it. Maybe she was trapped in a particularly vivid nightmare.

Viktor’s voice grounded her. “One of the advantages of being a vampire is that you now have the ability to control another person’s mind, Gracie.”

Her jaw dropped. “Mind control? That’s… awful!” she exclaimed, only to bite her lip in frustration—and wince when her sharp fangs pierced the skin. “Ouch! Darn it!”

The grumpy man snorted in amusement, dropping a few bags of blood onto the glass coffee table. “She needs more,” he muttered before stomping out of the room without another word.

Viktor nodded, his thumbs brushing soothing circles over her knuckles. “He’s right. You’re a new vampire. That means you’re going to be ravenously hungry for the next few days.”

Gracie’s heart thudded faster at his touch, her mind spinning. She wanted to pull away but found herself rooted in place, craving the reassurance he seemed to exude effortlessly.

“This is insane!” she whispered, her voice trembling. “I can’t be a vampire.”

His lips curved into a small, knowing smile. “Come back to the mirror, Gracie. Look at yourself. Really look this time.”

Reluctantly, she followed him. When her shoulder brushed his bicep, she glanced up and noticed the strange silver glow in his eyes.

“What does that mean?” she asked, mesmerized by the way his gaze seemed to burn with an intensity she couldn’t comprehend.

He didn’t answer. Instead, he stopped in front of the mirror, his hand resting lightly on her arm as he turned her to face her reflection.