Chapter 5
CHAPTER FIVE
VIVI
I have no cellular service.
Not surprising, given that I’m in the middle of nowhere in the Carpathian Mountains.
Though, I’m not sure what I would write to Gaby if I could. Hi. It’s me, your crazy friend. I went to Negru Castle with a stranger, and now I’m locked in a beautiful room overlooking a courtyard. The count wants to have dinner with me in five minutes. And he’s making me wear a sexy red dress, too.
Gaby would probably reply with something like, Sounds like one of my favorite books, V. Let me know if he glitters…
Or she would freak out and tell me to get the hell out of here.
The latter is probably what I should be feeling. Instead, I’m just staring at the door and waiting for Marius to unlock it from the other side.
I’m not afraid. I’m… I’m something else entirely. I’m a ball of nerves, the flutters in my belly overwhelmingly appropriate. This is it, the culmination of all my research.
Count Negru is real.
And I’m about to meet him.
My pulse races, probably for all the wrong reasons. He’s a vampire. A monster. I… I shouldn’t be excited to see him.
Yet I can’t help the way I feel.
When a click sounds through the room, I hold my breath and wait.
But the door doesn’t open.
Frowning, I stare at it, then try the handle and find it unlocked.
“Why are you…?” I trail off when I reveal an empty hallway beyond the threshold. “Umm.” I peek out to look left and then right. “Okay…”
So the door auto-unlocks.
“Yeah, that’s not creepy at all,” I mutter to myself.
My heels—which not only fit me perfectly but also make me three inches taller—clack against the wood floor of the corridor as I leave the bedroom. I found them in a box beside the red dress on the bed, along with a note that read Ms. Dalca, Dinner is at 7:00 p.m. Dress appropriately.
I’m not sure how appropriate this clingy gown is, as it feels more like lingerie than a dress, but at least I’m not cold.
Negru Castle’s exterior may boast an otherworldly and historic appeal, but the interior is definitely current with the times.
There are modern features throughout—such as motion-sensor lights and warm water that automatically turn on with a single wave of a hand—and thermostats to control the temperature in the bedroom and en-suite bathroom.
When Marius showed me the kitchen earlier, I noted all the advanced tech while wondering idly if vampires actually eat food.
There are no drafts anywhere that I’ve felt, not even in the big open spaces like the grand staircase that I’m walking down now.
The massive front doors are latched shut, making me wonder if they’re locked on the inside and the outside. But I don’t bother trying to test the theory as I pass through the foyer. There’s no point. I’m not running. I’ve been craving this day for years.
With my shoulders back, I head through the front living area—there are several others throughout, only two of which I actually saw on my brief tour with Marius—and into a space with a cocktail bar and lounge chairs.
“For an empty castle, there sure are a lot of places to socialize,” I told Marius earlier.
He chuckled in response, then took me into the kitchen, which is where I go next.
It’s huge, the size of which I would expect to find bordering a cafeteria, not a traditional dining hall. Though, I suppose the oversized room does have a table large enough for at least twenty chairs to sit around it.
Still, this all feels rather extravagant for a single vampire.
“Does anyone work in the castle?” I asked during my tour.
“Yes” was Marius’s reply. He didn’t elaborate. However, I’ve yet to see a single person other than him today. Probably because I’ve only actually been here for about three hours—it was a long drive—and I spent most of that time locked in a bedroom.
With drawers and drawers of lingerie, I think, shivering.
Count Negru must have had a former mistress. Maybe another vampire. Or a human. But that’s the only explanation I have for the closet of formal gowns and the dresser of sexy nightwear.
The fact that it all seemed to be my size is… well, it has to be a coincidence. There’s no way he bought all of that in less than twenty-four hours. And I’m pretty sure some of those labels were in French, suggesting they would have been shipped in from France.
Count Negru couldn’t have known that I existed until last night, and that’s assuming Marius even told him about me at all.
Well, he had to have said something since I’m here.
Still, there’s no way the count had time to purchase all of those items for me in such a short amount of time.
Unless meeting Marius wasn’t a coincidence at all. That thought is one that’s occurred to me several times today, ever since I realized that Marius wasn’t really a tour guide. And that he might be a familiar or something else entirely.
There’s only one way to determine the truth.
And that’s by entering the dining room.
Taking a deep breath, I step through the threshold and find the table lit with candles.
There are two place settings, one at the end and the other right beside it.
There are also several food dishes situated nearby, all with serving utensils, but the lids are closed, making it impossible to know what’s inside.
This might all be for show, something my nose seems to agree with since there are no lingering scents in the air.
Well, nothing other than the lavender and vanilla.
I inhale, loving that aroma and searching for the source. Because I know it’s him. I can’t explain how I know that. But it’s just like when I first started researching Count Negru. I’ve always known what he is, and I’ve refused to believe otherwise.
“Hello, Viviana.”
Goose bumps pebble along my arms.
That voice doesn’t belong to Marius.
It’s darker. Deeper. More cultured in nature. A stronger accent.
It’s English… I think. Regal. Crisp.
The shadows of the room seem to move, the candles decorating the walls flickering in response.
I try to find the source of the movement, the source of the voice. But I can’t see him. He’s everywhere and nowhere at all, his scent stronger now and wrapping around me in a wave of eroticism. I… I feel like kneeling. Lowering my gaze to the floor. Begging him to reveal himself.
“Count Negru,” I breathe, trying to be respectful and respond to his greeting. Because this is him. It has to be. Who else would be in this room, commanding such energy? Exuding this wicked of a presence?
“The title of Count is beneath me,” he replies, the world seeming to shift as the shadows again taunt the surrounding light. “I’m a king, pet.” The outline of wings becomes visible, causing my heart to flutter wildly in my chest. “The Strigoi King.”
A Strigoi, I think, familiar with the term from Romanian folklore. It’s come up several times throughout my research, the myths similar to the vampire legends I’ve studied. But never in reference to him.
He steps into the light, causing my lips to part. His muscular stature is encased in a pale suit that’s clearly been tailored to fit him perfectly.
Because it’s framed around his wings.
Enchanting bat-like wings.
Gray in color.
Just like the illustration…
Only, his jet-black hair is shorter now, the ends dancing around his pointed ears.
But the tail is exactly like it was depicted in that image. I know because that’s the part of him I studied the most. Something about it captivates me. And seeing it in person is no different.
It’s a deeper red than the illustration, almost appearing black in color.
Or maybe it just appears that way because it’s wrapped around his leg, creating an enticing contrast against his light-colored suit pants.
“This is the part where you kneel, Ms. Dalca,” he tells me, drawing my gaze up to his square jaw and the beautiful full lips that just spoke.
However, his words have me focusing on his alluring gaze. So otherworldly. So stunning. Like obsidian stones glittering in the sun.
His almond-shaped eyes are mostly humanoid, just… decidedly powerful.
He lifts one black brow, the action reminding me that he told me to kneel.
I could. I should. I even wanted to moments ago.
However, I don’t obey the request.
Because some part of me wants to challenge this male. An inane, ridiculous, rebellious part of me. A part of me that says, “Make me.”
A bold choice, one I didn’t expect to make. But deep down, it feels right.
That dark eyebrow of his inches even higher. “I will happily make you kneel, Ms. Dalca.” The reply is smooth. Seductive, even.
And accompanied by movement as he strides toward me.
But it’s not his legs that catch my attention so much as his tail.
The triangle tip touches my ankle, eliciting a gasp from me as it slides up my calf and along the back of my knee to my thigh. His palm grasps my nape in the next moment just as his tail wraps around my legs.
I yelp as my balance tilts.
Yet he doesn’t send me to my knees.
He… he pulls me into him instead, his gaze capturing and holding mine in an intense embrace that forces me to stop breathing.
He’s real.
I knew that already.
However, seeing him, being here, it’s a dream come true. A fantasy come to life.
So many years of research. So much certainty. So many nights wishing…
Tears fill my eyes, the emotion overwhelming and suffocating.
His gaze narrows. “What is this?” he demands. “Tears, already? I’ve barely touched you, Ms. Dalca. If you’re going to break before we even begin, then this is a most disappointing—”
“I’m not breaking,” I interject. “I’m relieved.”
He blinks. “Relieved?”
“Yes.” I stare up at him, mesmerized by the perfection in his features.
He’s a monster.
A vampire.
I know this.
I… I should be terrified.
Yet all I want to do is touch him. Assure myself that this is happening. That he’s standing before me. Fisting my hair…
He studies me, his brow furrowing. “Marius was right about you being a fascinating creature.”
I shiver.
I remember Marius calling me that last night in the restaurant.