Chapter Six
Halle had been relieved when Viktor led her back to his car. The sleek, charcoal grey Aston Martin was beautiful and graceful just like the man himself. When Pandora had first told her that her true mate was a vampire she had been terrified that he would want to fly her all over the place and she had never been a fan of heights.
“So how come you don’t fly where you need to go instead of driving?” she asked, trying to make conversation since he hadn’t said anything since they’d gotten in the car.
“Flying takes energy, just like anything else. I prefer not to waste mine, plus driving makes it easier to blend in with the humans.”
After a twenty-minute drive out of the city, they finally arrived at an old gravel road that looked as though it had been closed due to a river washout. She just about peed in her pants when he simply sped up and drove right through the barrier… When they popped out on the other side unscathed she was shocked to see the large, beautiful home that was surrounded by dense forest.
“You could have warned me about the illusion. Goddess, I almost had kittens,” she murmured, his answering grin catching her off guard. Who knew Viktor the Destroyer had a sense of humor?
“Well that would have taken the fun out of it for me then, wouldn’t it?” he said as he parked the car and came around to open her door for her. “Plus I paid extra for the barricade illusion so I want to make sure to get my money’s worth from those extortionist witches.”
****
“Wow, this place is really nice,” Halle said as she strolled through the huge entryway of Viktor’s home. “I was expecting something a little more … well, serial killy to be honest.”
“I’m glad you like it,” he answered, trying to keep a straight face. Halle’s bizarre habit of blurting out whatever was running through her head at the time was exceptionally charming, and he was having a difficult time not engaging her in conversation just to see what she’d say next.
Viktor was also more pleased than he should have been that she admired his home. He was proud of it. He’d spent centuries collecting various art pieces and antiques from all over the world, and he’d found the perfect estate to showcase it all. He’d even done the decorating all himself, though if anyone else knew that he’d have to kill them. Interior decorating didn’t really mesh with his bad boy image.
He’d owned hundreds of properties over his lifetime, but this was his favorite by far. He loved the remote location, which was close enough to the city to make it convenient, but far enough to give him his solitude. He took great care in keeping it a secret as he had no intention of ever giving it up. Most places in the past he’d been relieved when it had been compromised and he’d been forced to move somewhere new, but perhaps the impossible had happened and he’d finally gotten tired of running away from life.
Plus, he had every modern convenience here that was imaginable, and a man had to have his toys. One simply could not compare modern living to what life had been like before Viktor was turned. The dreaded memory of the sanitation alone was enough to make him shudder.
He led Halle to one of the guest rooms that had never been used, as he’d never had a guest before. Subconsciously he put her in the room right across from his own suite.
Subconsciously—right. He didn’t want to admit to himself that he may have had another motivation for putting her there.
“This will be your room. You can refresh yourself, and I will go down and see about getting us some dinner,” he said, turning quickly before he followed her into the bathroom and did something he shouldn’t.
He made his way back downstairs and was utterly disgusted with the fact that his butler Gerald almost surprised him as he rounded the corner, all because he was still thinking about what Halle would look like naked in his very expensive shower.
“Sir, Molly said that we have a guest. Of course, I knew she must have been jesting as you aren’t known for your entertaining,” the older male said in a dry tone.
Gerald and his wife Molly had been with Viktor for over sixty years now. They were house brownies and quite good at what they did, so good in fact that even Viktor had to overlook the incessant sarcasm thrown his way on a regular basis. Brownies sure could be a pain in the ass, but no one pressed a button-down shirt or ran a household quite like they could.
“Funny, Gerald, but yes, we do indeed have a guest,” Viktor said as they continued into the kitchen where Molly was just pulling some cookies out of the oven. “Oh, are those oatmeal?”
“Getcher’ fingers out, sir!” Molly answered with a smile as she swatted his hand away from the tray.
“But those are my favorite,” he said with a frown. This was his house, so why was she denying him his favorite cookies?
“Well, you know they’re better once they’ve had a minute to set,” she said in an excited voice. “Plus, these are for the little miss upstairs. I imagine she’ll be hungry, and dinner won’t be ready for a few hours yet. It’s so nice to finally have a lady in the house!”
He didn’t bother to ask how Molly knew Halle was upstairs. Between the two brownies, they knew everything that happened in this house, and he’d accepted that about their particular magic years ago. Viktor couldn’t help but frown. Already this female was causing strife in his household, and she hadn’t even been here for a full hour. He knew he should take her somewhere else immediately before his peace and quiet were gone for good … not to mention his cookies, but just the thought of having her out of his immediate reach stirred uncomfortable feelings in his chest that he decided to ignore.
Molly had tried to play matchmaker the first couple of decades when they’d come on staff, thinking that Viktor needed a woman in his life, but he’d quickly expressed his displeasure in her efforts and she’d let it go. The last thing he wanted now was for her to get her hopes up that Halle would be here for longer than necessary and start all that shit up again.
“She isn’t staying. This is just temporary until we find her somewhere safe to go,” he said as he used his vampire reflexes to snatch a cookie off the tray and continue on his way into the study.
“Sure it is, ya rascal,” Molly said, laughing after him, “I saw the befuddled look on your face when you came down the stairs. This one will be different.”
Viktor could’ve sworn he heard a ghostly snickering laugh that sounded suspiciously like the little goth fairy from the bar as he left the kitchen and entered his study, but his senses told him there was no one there…
Well—that was creepy. Maybe it is time to get the house exorcised?