“Why don’t you have others? Other children.”
“I didn’t want that responsibility. My master…Baxter. He was just the very worst. And I didn’t want to chance being like him. And it turns out I’m not. Ilsbeth had a point that I probably shouldn’t have left him that long in San Diego. But then again, I’m also right about Rafe being an adult. If there were any issues, Jake would’ve handled it. She’s just being a bitch.”
“He seems quite fond of you.” Waverly looked around the dimly lit living room, through the windows to the city. “It’s beautiful here. I don’t think I’ve ever been up this high in an apartment.”
“It’s a little chilly this time of year,” Viktor said.
“Do you spend a lot of time in New York?”
“I spend most of my time in Miami, but I have other homes around the world. New Orleans. LA. London. Amsterdam. Paris. Milan. Fiji.”
Viktor retrieved his cell phone and tapped at the glass. Within seconds, the room illuminated with soft lighting. He slid his finger across the screen and a gas fireplace ignited, ambient reggae music began to play. “I’m in the process of buying a property in Croatia.”
“Who are you, Viktor Christianson?” she laughed. They’d literally just gone from a fire-breathing flying dragon show to relaxing in luxury, and he didn’t miss a beat.
“I’m an ancient vampire with a penchant for living my best life. This includes travel and experiences and fun.”
“And sex?” she asked with a flirtatious inflection in her voice. Her cheeks flushed with warmth.
“Perhaps,” He shot her a sexy smile but didn’t answer her.
“Have you ever been in love?” Her stomach tightened as she asked the question, but curiosity got the best of her.
“I may have thought I was in love a few times as a boy. I didn’t have that luxury as an adult.” Viktor stared off into the night, his expression solemn.
Waverly sensed his change in demeanor, his pain washing over her. But unlike other times, the vision didn’t come.
“You saw some of my past. I don’t know why I wanted to show it to you. To be honest, I didn’t really know if you’d be able to see it. There are no other humans I’ve ever done this with. But I suppose there’s just something about you. And how I feel when I’m with you…this thing with us. If there is a thing. I’m not good at this, Dr. LaFleur.” He gave a small laugh.
Waverly’s heart melted at his words.
“When I died, I hadn’t learned love. When I was, what you would call ‘reborn’, my sire made it clear there was not ever going to be love in my life.”
Waverly’s mind wandered to the initials on the fleam. B.A.O. Baxter.
“My sire was the worst of all humans and paranormal. It was like every evil thing in him thrived. I’ve thought about it. Like maybe he was possessed when he was turned. But however he got that way, he was like the devil himself. One sadistic son of a bitch.”
“How do you know he’s really dead?” she asked.
“Let’s not go too far down this path. He’s dead because I saw him die. Quint killed him. I was there. We all were.”
“We?”
“Waverly. We are among the oldest creatures that still walk the earth. We are the earliest of our kind. We are the children of Baxter Anwir Ó Cléirigh. And we’re not all good guys.”
“It’s going to be okay,” Waverly said out loud to calm her mind, the full spectrum of emotions stabbing through her. She craved this vampire with her body and mind. But he was over a thousand years old, and she was only thirty-three. He’d lived lifetimes, lived in a different world. There were a million reasons to take a break from her newest obsession. But as she gazed at him, her heart crushed with emotion.
“This thing between us…for vampires, when we are drawn to someone, and the Goddess presents our person…it’s just one of those things…it’s bonding.” Viktor took Waverly by her hands.
“You’re telling me that you’ve gone over a thousand years and haven’t found that person?” Waverly smiled as he brushed the back of his hand to her cheek.
“Yes, that’s exactly how it works.” Viktor took her in his arms, and slowly danced with her.
A shiver ran through her body as he leaned in, his lips brushing over her neck.
“If I bite you, the bond will begin. You must consider the consequences, mo chroí.”
“I—" She ached between her legs.
“If you taste of me, our bond will be complete. I should probably walk away,” he rested his forehead against hers, “but I can’t.”
Waverly closed her eyes, attempting to process his words. Bonded. With a vampire. It didn’t make sense, yet no man had ever made her feel the way Viktor did. She’d never met anyone like him and knew for certain she never would.
“I’ve spent my life learning about art. Working hard but having fun too. It’s been a great life so far. But it’s been lonely. I’ve dated a few guys, but nothing serious. Whatever we are supposed to feel to let us know we’ve found our person, I haven’t felt it…until now,” Waverly confessed as they continued to slow dance. “It’s like with you…even though I wasn’t expecting it, or wanting it, it’s been incredible. Imagine going your whole life with people telling you your visions weren’t real, so you bury them only to have them awakened by someone who accepts you, who can reach through to your soul. I don’t know what bonding means, but the way I’m feeling…I just can’t walk away, either. Last night. If it weren’t for Greyson…I wanted you.” To bite me.
“I can’t give you children,” Viktor told her, his gaze meeting hers.
“It’s…it’s okay.” Children. Waverly hadn’t given it a thought. Her career had been all-consuming, and she never once gave thought to raising a family. “If I change my mind we can adopt.”
“Once we bond. It cannot be undone. Attempting to break a bond can be devastating.”
“And if we don’t bond at all? If we just walk away from each other? Then what?” A pit formed in her stomach. She was too far gone.
“I can’t let you go,” he confessed. “It would be really difficult. I want you in my life.”
“I guess that settles it.” Relief washed over her.
“Settles what?” He gave a small smile.
“I’m saying yes.”
“Yes?” he asked.
“Yes, I’ll be your girlfriend.” The complication of what would happen in the future was too much for her to contemplate. “I’m not going to pretend to fully understand bonding. Honestly, I don’t think there’s a way for me to understand just yet. So, I’m going to go with ‘you’re my boyfriend’.”
Viktor laughed. “Leave it to a human to simplify vampiric magick. You will be immortal if we bond.”
“I can’t think about that just yet.” Waverly couldn’t quite picture herself drinking blood.
“It’s kind of an important detail to overlook.”
“But I won’t be turned into a vampire? I’ll still be human?”